The Daily Missoulian. [volume] (Missoula, Mont.) 1904-1961, 1909-04-20
ENGINEER KUPHAL MAKES REPORT
ON THE FRENCH BAR GOLD MINES
Stockholders Meet to Hear the Official Statement of the
Expert, Who Has Made Careful Examination of the
Properties of the Company North of Helena.

There was a good attendance last
night at the meeting of the stock
holders of the French Bar Gold Min
ing & Milling company. The meeting
was called for the purpose of receiv-
ing the report of engineers and min
eral experts who have recently exam
ined the property of the company.
The holdings of the French Bar COM
pany are north of Helena in Lewis
and Clark county, and comprise some
properties that have been famous in
the history of the great gold belt of
which Helena and Last Chance gulch
are the center. This Is one of the
most extensive mineral districts in
the world, and has furnished some of
the great wealth of gold that has
gone out of Montana With the pass
ing of the rich river deposits which
could be worked by the crude meth
DDS of the early placer mining, the
problem of getting out the gold in
the lodges above became the ques-
tion it is to this that the French
Bar company is turning its attention.
The history of the French Bar
group of mines is interesting, as in
deed is that of nearly all of the big
districts of the west. In 1868 a placer
miner, following the trail to some dig
gings that had been reported on the
Blackfoot, heard the song of a whip
poor-will, so the story goes, and the
notes of the bird made him homesCk
for Back East, and he started up the
hill to get sight of the bird. Climb
ing the hill, he stumbled over a piece
of float quartz that caught his eye
as it rolled away. There was a CLINT
of gold in the bit of rock, and the
bird in the tree was forgotten. He
traced the float and located the
Whip-poorWi mine. That was the
birth of the famous Marysville dis
trict.
Equally romantic and humble was
the early beginning of the York min
ing district located in the Little Belt
mount: ms northeast of Helena,
Mont, where forms the heads of the
Whites. He'll Gate, Avalanche and
Confederate gulches, all famous for
producing placer gold, Montana bar
in Confederate gulch being the richest
half-acre ever found.
Extending from west of Trout creek
there runs near the top of the south
ern slope of the mountains, a reef or
dyke of porphyry and slate carrying
gold, and years ago there was con-
siderable bullion produced from mines
located along this dyke, principally
from the Little Dandy group, now
owned by the French Bar Gold Min
ing & Milling company of Missoula.
S. A. Stevens, now residing at
York, Mont, was the original discov-
erer; this was in the early COS. Mr..
stevens, then young man just from
the east-Bangor Maine-attracted
10 the west by the gold fever, was
wandering over the hills adjacent to
the rich placer diggings, firmly be-
lieving that the great dyke contained
gold at the head of the placer mine.
Becoming weary he sat down to rest,
and in letting his pick fall to the
ground piece of quartz was broken
disclosing a beautiful piece of speci-
men gold. An incline shaft was sunk
and more gold was developed. The
Little Dandy was full of specimen
quartz, one piece weighing a little
less than 10 pounds and which was
called the Golden Hinge, for the rea-
son that when broken through the
center the separate parts were held
together b wire gold. 1t was ex-
hibited at the Chicago worlds fair
and when crushed and panned, to re-
lieve the pressing necessities of one
of the owners, yielded $50.
The Little Dandy group of claims
purchased last year by the French
Bar company, has been steadily de-
veoped ever since, many large veins