Fergus County argus., 1902-01-22

bodies OF ore lay within reach ant
loath to leave. those interested in tn,
camp again left their stamping grount
and turned their attention to proper
ties which could be handled by les,
expensive methods, and interest
shown in the quartz properties in thai
district has been very spasmodic un
Ill the present time.
In 1894 f. r. Carroll, representing
Boston syndicate at the head OF
which was DR.. Farr, commenced prep
srations TO conduct series of exper
iments in placer mining by the hy
draulic system. A ditch was taken
cut and a powerful head of water oh.
tanned but the experiments proved a
failure owing to the expensive opera.
tons necessary to carry on the work
For period of several months Yo,
go was again consigned TO oblivion
as far as the outside world was con.
cerned and the next stir was OCCASION
ed by the discovery of placer ground
on the hill and in the vicinity Of En-,
lie Dornblaats old sawmill site. The
find was made by Louis Pepin and ia
cob Hoover, who hauled wagon loads
of dirt to the creek which paid from
$3.50 TO s20 per load on washing.
Large tracts of placer ground were
located by them from the head of the
1ollgate hill to the ground above
Louis W. Pecks ranch. S. S. Hobson
and DR.. j. S. Bovct of Chicago became
interested in the venture and purchas.
ed Mr.. Pepin's interest. A company
was formed which consisted of S. 5
Hobson. DR.. J. $. Bovet and Jacob
Hoover and steps were taken TO bring
supply of water to the vicinity OF
the locations for the purpose Of oper.
ating them. A ditch was constructed
which extended from above Bear gulch
q distance Of eight miles at an ex'
pense amounting to s25.0OO.
Placer mining operations were con.
Quoted with success during the sum.
mer of 1896 and toward the end of the
season sapphires were discovered dur.
ing the progress of sluicing in the vi.
oinity of where the sapphire mines
are now located. There are many
stories circulated as to how the fam.
GUS Yogo sapphires were first found I,
some say that Jacob Hoover. while
walking across the country, spied sew.
eral of the stones In few buckets OF
dirt thrown out by badger. others
contend that James Ettien discovered
the first sapphire in the vicinity OF
his sheep camp at the Dornblaat saw
mill.
IL matters little who first discover
ed the stones as long as the fact re
mains that large quantities of them
are taken out of the ground every
year which by their superior lustre
and exceptional coloring have gained
renown the world over. Shortly after
the finding of the gems London capi
talists purchased an interest in the
property and the New Sapphire syn
dicate was formed. Shortly after this
John Burk located a lead of the ia
nous blue clay, in which the sap
phires are contained, on Yogo gulch
which was operated with success ant
in which an interest was purchased
by Patrick Sweeney of Neihart dur
ing the next spring.
During the past few months con
siderable work has been done on tn,
various claims in the vicinity OF Yog,
and the outlook for the coming sea
son Is good. A hundred foot shaft ha,
been sunk on the Blue Dick and cross
cuts have been made In the main tun
mel with very satisfactory results b!
Jack Lessler, who Is In charge OF thu
work. which is being done by Senator
Paris Gibson and State Auditor Cal
dcrhead. The ore in the Blue Dick Il
rich in copper; sample assays takel
from the recent workings run as higl
as 80 per cent copper and contain
gold values to the amount of $40 pc
ton.
Hay Bros. OF Belt are devcloplnl
the Weatherwax mine IN Skunk gulcl
with very gratifying results and
large body of rich ore has been III
covered. George Settler is still worl
ing on the Tough. a promising gol
prospect back OF Yogo and on the Cal
Shirt, a copper prospect on SiX,ec
Color gulch, and at the latter min
has a considerable amount OF ric
p smelling ore on the dump. Patric
Langdon is working some yaluabl
prospects which are situated on tn
ridge between Boulder and Lea
gulches. Ore carrying over 20 pc
cent copper. which is accompanied b
: small values In gold has been found I
large bodies and Mr.. Langdon has n
fused several offers for the propert
which has attracted the attention {
: prominent mining men. The Lehma
J. property on the ridge between Yog
and Wolf creek Is at present in
state of idleness but developmer
: work will be pushed extensively |
e the spring.
Richard Potter and Gus Hall al
: the owners OF a promising group (
gold and copper prospects which al
a situated on the ridge running eai
1 from Old Baldy and as the result OF