Montana oil and mining journal. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1931-1953, 1941-07-26
Yogo Gulch Sopphires Were Chosen by Princess
for Rings Montana Stones Among Worlds Finest

In Montana, the interest which
claimed mems attentions In the
decades following the passing Of
the halfway mark Of the last CEN
fury was gold. Men had not for
gotten the sensational dlggings Of
Bannack, Virginia City and Last
Chance guIches, though a period OF
some years had elapsed since they
were discovered, when In 1879 it
was rumored that rich dirt had
been struck on Yog0 creek I'm the
Little Belt mountains and miners
stampeded 90 this area by the
hundreds.
The town Of Yogo was begun, anc
scattered up and down the creek fol
is miles there were 1900 to 1901
people.
However, Yogo was not destined Il
attain lasting fame because Of its gold
mines, and at the end Of the season
their expectations unfulfilled and Their
enthusiasm gone, the miners began to
leave In disgust.
Little Gold Found
Interest in Yogo diminished until
1894, when attention was again called
to its gold deposits. In the summer
of that year, Jake Hoover, q noted
prospector in many parts of Montana,
with Frank HobS0n, uncovered flake
Of gold while gouging In a crevice of
q rocky ledge under which the two
men had taken refuge in a hailstorm.
They Immediately went to the South
Fork of the Judith river, where Hoover
owned cattle ranch, obtained a gold
Ifd v,ocaf{v4nr
with favorable results. They did not
limit their prospecting to Yogo creek,
and sank some 40 holes between Yogo
and the Sage creek divide.
Later they put proposition to S.
8. Hobson, offering him q share in
their claim If he would construct q
ditch to work the ground. Hobson in
formed them that he could get the
money from friend, DR.. Bouvet diff
ferent accounts spell the name Bovette
and BovetO, a veterinarian from
Chicago.
Doctor Provides Funds
DR.. Bouvet came out to Montana,
was favorably impressed and deposited
funds in the Bank Of Fergus county.
A partnership consisting OF Hoover,
Frank HobSon and DR.. Bouvet was
formed; an engineer from Butte was
employed, and the ditch built, at a
cost of $4,000, to carry the Yogo water
up to the benchlands just east Of Yogo
canyon.
The project was q failure, as the
cleanup amounted to less than 81 600,
about 500 to be exact. However, small
blue stones kept appearing in the
~f.- - 20 - ~N& %t4A
ditch cut across the lead or sapphire
bearing vein.
About this time, Frank Hobson made
q visit TO his home In Maine, where
he told lady friend Of his, q school
teacher, about the gold project. She
asked him to send her some gold as
1t would be Of interest to her pupils.
Upon his return home, Hobson and
Hoover filled an Ayers pill bottle with
gold. That she might have sample
Of everything, they included several
Of the blue pebbles they found in the
rifles with the gold.
What's Sapphire
HobSon soon received a letter from |
the lady, which was read for him by
P. W. Korrell, In which she thanked |
him for the sapphires, but made no
mention of the gold. When Korrell
finished reading, Hobson said, 'What
In he'll is sapphire?"
In the meantime, Jim Ettien who
was herding sheep on the benchland
east of Yogo creek, noticed fissure
In the limestone whose soft filling re-
sembled the outcrop of vein, which
was later proved to be the mother
lode Of the sapphire deposit. He hap
pened to observe number Of gopher
holes along an almost straight line.
The holes had been dug into this
soft fissure since the adjacent lime
stone was too hard and undecomposed
for the animals to burrow into. Later
these holes proved the means OF To-
staked, and many of the finest stones
were picked from the material exca-
waited by the gophers.
Discovery
Ettien apparently had no knowledge
Of what sapphire was, but he filed
two claims, hoping for gold. &C. M.
Gooden got half interest for the con-
Of filing and recording
these) Some ore was then. taken to
Yogo creek and washed, but 1t yielded
nothing but the blue pebbles or sap
phires. The importance Of this dis
covery was recognized by Hoover.
He and Hobson were at this time
gravel on a placer claim. Their
engineer, Mr.. Baker, informed them
that they would be liable for damages
Il they ran their tailings on Ettien's i,