328 GEORGE F. KUNZ 



Carolina— and were principally cut from small transparent 

 portions of the colored corundums that were otherwise more 

 or less opaque. Corundum is mined in that state extensively 

 as an abrasive material, and ruby and sapphire are simply 

 transparent varieties of it. The Montana gems began to at- 

 tract notice al^out 1869, and for some years they were collected 

 abundantly from the bars of the upper Missouri east of Helena; 

 these were of varied and often beautiful tints of pink, blue, 

 green, and intervening shades, but rarely of the deep colors 

 in favor for jewelry. The latter, the rich blue sapphires equal 

 to those of India, have since been found at Yogo gulch, in 

 Fergus county, and active work in mining them from the rock 

 has been carried on for several years by the New Mine Sapphire 

 syndicate and the Burke & Sweeney company. Two other 

 important localities in Montana are at Rock creek, in Granite 

 county, and Dry Cottonwood creek, in Deerlodge county, 

 worked by the American Gem Syndicate company. The for- 

 mer of these yields a wonderful variety of colors, often very 

 beautiful, but few that have the deep shades most valued in 

 the gem market. No locality in the world has shown such 

 variety of tints in sapphires— pink, reddish brown, brown, yel- 

 low, green, etc., with occasionally a ruby of the paler type of 

 Ceylon. Gems of considerable value have been annually 

 mined at Yogo gulch for several years past. Fine sapphires 

 of the cornflower and velvet blue of the best oriental stones 

 have been obtained, weighing as much as 3 carats, and a few 

 as high as 5 and even 7 carats after cutting. Besides those 

 used for setting, large quantities of small ones from both these 

 locahties have found ready sale for watch jewels and bearings; 

 indeed, more have been sold for this purpose than for gems. 



True rubies have been found and to some extent mined, 

 in the Co wee valley, Macon county, N. C. Some of them have 

 the rich and peculiar pigeon's blood color of the finest rubies 

 from Burma, but the crystals are small or imperfect, aad the 

 yield thus far has been quite limited. The operations were 

 conducted by the American Prospecting and Mining Company. 



True emeralds, suitable for cutting and setting, can hardly 

 be said to be found in the United States. It is true that large 

 and very fine crystals of emerald were obtained at Stony point, 



