pratt.] CORUNDUM GEMS. 49 
It was reorganized in L897 as an American company, known as the 
Eldorado Gold and Gem Company, with A. N". Spratt, of Oakland, 
Cal. , president, and Frank Spratt, of Helena, Mont., manager. No 
work lias been done at any of the bars by tin 1 present company. 
This bar is shown in fig. 8, the bluff rising from the river being 
p) to 50 feet high. 
Directly across the river from Spokane Bar, but about three-fourths 
of a mile from the river, is Metropolitan Bar, which has been worked 
during the summer of L899 by differenl men who have staked out 
individual claims. The gravels are from 6 to 20 feet thick, and are 
washed in hand rockers, the water being obtained from shallow wells. 
Several of the claims are owned by Kobbin Bird, Charles Johnson, 
and John Durrant, of Helena, Mont. 
Above Spokane Bar, French Bar, Cheyenne liar, ami Emerald liar no 
Regular mining has been done during the last few years, but frequenl In- 
different persons have worked in the old drifts for a few days ai a 
time, washing by hand the gravel obtained. 
A large part of 1 he work done at Emerald liar has been under ground, 
by means of shaft and drifts. Henry Crittenden, of Canyon Ferry, 
has done a large part of the work here, and st ill controls the deposits. 
Below Spokane liar, at Dana liar, Eldorado Bar, and American Bar 
there was no mining for sapphires during L899. 
Most of the gems that have been obtained from these bars during 
L899 have been put on the market through the Helena Lapidary 
Company, of Helena, Mont., of which William Knnlh is manager. 
Mr. Knuth has done considerable work on these bars, and has been 
Instrumental in the development of the .Montana gem fields. 
As mining investments these sapphire deposits have not thus far 
been financially successful, partly on account of the heavy capitaliza- 
tion of Hie companies who have bought the mines and partly on 
account of the color of the stones. They are, for the most part, of a 
bale-greenish or greenish-yellow color, and do not command a wvy 
high price in the market. Occasionally pink and yellow ones have 
been found that have cut good gems. Stones approaching a vr<\ or 
bine color are, however, extremely rare. 
There are still a great many sapphires in the gravels that have not 
been worked, but on account of their color it is rather doubtful 
whether under the most favorable conditions it will pay to mine them. 
The crystals from all these bars show the same development, and 
are prismatic in habit. The prism, a (1120), is always present, and 
is usually in combination with the base, c (00,01), and the unit rhom- 
pohedron, r (10ll), as represented in fig. 9,^1. Some of the crystals 
have the prism very short and the rhombohedron is wanting, giving 
the crystal a v^vy tabular appearance (tig. 1), B). A pyramid of the 
second order, n (2243), was observed on some of the crystals in addition 
to the base and unit rhombohedron, and is represented in fig. 9, C. 
Bull. 180—01 -i 
