The Butte inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1901-1912, 1901-12-20
DISCOVERY IS RICH
HIGH GRADE COPPER ORE RE-
GENTLY FOUND ON BIG RIVER.
NEAR SUMMIT OF MAIN RANGE
Said to Be a Mountain Of Low Grade
Copper Pyrites - Story About
Prospector McDougald. ~-~...
Especial to Inter Mountain.) ,

especial to Inter Mountain) s.
Kaispell, Dec 20 Jimmy Furlong. on
old prospector and miner, on the mid
| die fork of Flathead river. with head
| quarters at Java. has made what prom
| ises to be a rich discovery in copper.
| The location is about two miles from
Java and adjoins the Santiago lode.
owned by Sidney NJ. Logan and Others
| of this place.
The discovery was made during the
! fine weather of the past two weeks,
| and at that time the mountains We're
| practically bare of snow. The vein is
| four feet wide and lays in a forma ton
| of red shale. and is capped with blue
| limestone. characterized by hard, blacl,
| flints.
1t has all the earmarks of a true tis.
sure vein and the pay streak is several
inches wide and apparently permanent.
The ore in this streak consists of a
high grade of bornite. and a recen,
assay of this streak shows 81 Is per
cent copper, s ounces of silver and 81. 80 in
gold.
Old mining men who have examined
the samples brought to l<alispell, de-
clare that the samples are not only
fine specimens, but that they have ali
the appearance of coming from a per-
manent ore body. The district where
this lead was found is near the summit
of the main range about 40 miles south
of Allyn and at the forks of Bear creek |
and the middle fork of the Fiathead.
The line OF the Great Northern rail-
way passes through the heart of the |
district. the location recently made be !
ing within few hundred yards of the
track. The country has not been pros
GecteO lOca-
tions of a number of very promising !
prospects have been made within the
past few years. bly, the White Chief
and the Santiago. v
Mountain of Low Grade Copper.
Considerable work has been done OF
those two claims and both show up Large
bodies of copper ore.
The White Chief was bounded three
years ago. but the purchasers failing to |
make the first payment agreed upon.e !
and the owners refusing an extension |
of time, the bond was cancelled. EThe |
owners, Steve Coughin and Jimmy Fur
long. have continued work on the claim !
and have recently opened a shoot of very |
rich ore. consisting principally Of Dor |
mite and pyrites OF copper
The Santiago was located last sum- |
mer by Ed Hackett, Thomas E. King. |
Charles Pitzka and Sidney Nj. Logan !
1T is literally mountain of low-grade |
copper ore. the copper being in the form |
of pyrites with occasional seams of, |
bornite. The lead is over 20 feet wide |
and lays between walls of red shale !
capped with blue limestone. as
The workings of both these claims are |
within few hundred feet Of the rail- |
road and the abundance Of timber and |
water power coupled with their fine |
showing M l<a heD
Using, if not valuable properties
This is only one of the many promis- |
ing mining districts of Flathead county |
one or the most promising, yet most |
neglected. is that section which lays |
west of the main range and around the |
head waters of the middle fork of the |
Flathead. or big River as it is COM
monty called by the hunters, prosper
tors and Indians.
Extending through that section and |
cutting the main range transversely |
there is an immense dixie Or, rather
boss of granite. This boss of granite
has been traced by various persons from
the headwaters of Big river across the
summit and down to the headwaters
of Birch creek on the east side of tn
range. 1t is very rough country and
some of its peaks rise to an altitude G
5000 feet and upwards.
Few prOspectors have ventured into
that locality. but those who have sue
ceeded in breasting the swift current
| of Big river and surrounding the diff
| culties presented by fallen timber, dense
underbrush and precipitous mountain
sides, have returned with pieces of fioat
rich in copper, gold and silver, and many
pieces can be found around the railway
stations of Essex and Java which indi-
cate that somewhere in that locality
there is large deposit of valuable
minerals
Romantic Story of McDougald.
1t was in this locality that the ILL
| fated McDougald, in al. probabilities
found his rich prospect, but he died be-
| fore giving the secret of it's exact To-
! cation to the world.
The story of McDougald as told by
! the hunters and prospectors of Flat
| head and Teton counties, is one of much
| interest, colored by slight tinge of ro-
| nance. r."
| A few years ago. so runs the story, a
| little syndicate of Helena and Butte
mining men outfitted McDougall to pros
| pect along the eastern slope of the main
range between the north and south fcrks
| of Birch creek. McDougald was 4 prac-
| tical miner, assayer and metallurgist,
| and among his equipments he ca~~;~-' all
! of the assaying paraphernalia neces-
| sary to enable him to make accurate
| tests of minerals while in the NOUN
tains. He was, withal. a conservative
man, not given to pipe dreams nor like
| ly to lose his head over a prospect not
| having substantial merit
Early in the summer of that year he
passed through the little town of Dupuyer
and made his way up Birch creek, stop
ping at ranch of a friend for a few
| days to recuperate and rest his horses
before striking into the mountains
Leaving the ranch he entered the Rocky
mountains at a point near the forks of
Birch creek. and WAS not seen nor heard