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The Infamous Black Bird Southern Oregon History, Revised


Jackson County 1878
A TRIP THROUGH SOUTHERN OREGON.
    The Pacific Coast embraces such a large area of desirable land which is open for settlement that it is somewhat bewildering to the immigrant to decide which locality will suit him best, and be most likely to provide him with a comfortable home. Different sections of the [Pacific] Slope, however, are adapted to different people, and the most that we can do is to present the facts and leave them for the consideration of our readers.
    We had occasion to make a trip through a portion of Southern Oregon and, during our stay, we traveled principally on horseback. We had an excellent opportunity to judge of its resources and what advantages it offers to persons who desire to settle in a comparatively new country where land is cheap and timber and water abundant. The territory which we traversed was but thinly settled, and as yet no railroad has penetrated it, but the arrival of the iron horse is but a question of time, for the agricultural productions of this part of the state are already of considerable value, and when the large tracts are divided up into small farms, the carrying trade of Southern Oregon will be immense.
    The principal towns of Jackson County are Ashland and Jacksonville, both of which we visited, and were much pleased with the thrift and enterprise which the inhabitants seemed to possess.
    Ashland is located upon a creek which is admirably adapted for manufacturing purposes, and the town already possesses a woolen and flour mill. The former of these employs twelve hands and manufactures blankets, flannels, cassimeres and broadcloth of excellent quality. A tailor's shop is connected with the factory, and altogether the institution is of great benefit to the town, adding much to its prosperity. Messrs. Wagner, Anderson & Co. are the proprietors. The flour mill appeared to be doing a satisfactory business, and ought to prosper with the rich country surrounding it. There are three general stores in Ashland, an excellent drug store kept by Dr. J. H. Chitwood, a gunsmith and barber shop, blacksmith shops, hotels, etc., etc.
    We had the pleasure of being present at the reunion of the pioneers of Southern Oregon. The exercises were very interesting. * * * We also attended the dinner given on the occasion, which was tastily arranged under the trees, and altogether had an exceeding pleasant time. We think Ashland is destined to become one of the largest and most important trade centers in Southern Oregon, and we shall endeavor from time to time to chronicle its progress.
    We next passed through a fertile though not very thickly settled country and reached Jacksonville, which is distant about seventeen miles from Ashland. Here we found a flourishing town with a population of about 1,000. The people are engaged in mining, agriculture and stock raising, and are also anxiously waiting for the railroad which will build up their section and give them a share of the immigrants which have been pouring into Oregon during the past few years.
    At Wilderville, in Josephine County, distant about thirty-five miles from Jacksonville, there is a flourishing settlement. Mr. Wilder is constructing an excellent road to Kerbyville, which is much needed. An attempt will be made to remove the county seat to Wilderville at the election next June, and we should judge that the town is situated in a favorable position to fulfill the duties of that dignified situation. Mr. R. D. Hume is represented at this place by Mr. W. T. Whili [W. T. Bailey?], who is manufacturing sugar pine lumber in large quantities. Mr. Hume has quite extensive canneries at the mouth of Rogue River, and owns the steamer Alex. Duncan, which makes three trips per month between the river and San Francisco.
    Mr. Wilder, the founder of Wilderville, has made Southern Oregon his home for the past ten years, and is confident that his section has a bright future before it. The land surrounding the little town produces fine crops of oats and other cereals. The hotel is conducted in an admirable manner by Mr. Knight, and the people are generally hospitable and endeavor to make a stranger feel at home. An important industry has been inaugurated by A. M. Jess, Esq., who lives about two miles from Wilderville. He has succeeded in raising tobacco of good quality and has also a manufactory where he is working it up into quite a good article.
    Kerbyville is distant from Wilderville about 18 miles. The new road will be an easy grade, and the manner in which it has thus far been constructed is very creditable. It will be very convenient as there is considerable travel between the two towns. Mining is going on in the vicinity of Kerbyville, and prospectors are busy.
    There is no doubt that the mineral resources of Southern Oregon will add much to its prosperity for many years. While it is not probable that a "big bonanza" will be developed, we believe that but a small portion of the mineral deposits of this section has as yet been discovered. We are satisfied from all reports that this portion of our sister state, which we had the pleasure of visiting, is fully equal to any other in fertility and mineral wealth. We are confident that persons who make their home there will, if they do not accumulate a fortune, at least secure a comfortable livelihood.--Hall's Illustrated Land Journal.
Ashland Tidings, March 1, 1878, page 1
OUR YREKA TRIP.
    At 5 o'clock p.m., on the first day of last week, we boarded one of the O.&C. Stage Co.'s elegant coaches, bound for Yreka. We took our seat on the "hurricane deck," by the side of that famous "old whip," Ab. Giddings, who was going as passenger. Nort Eddings, the regular driver, discovered an opportunity, and, by a little sharp practice, succeeded in placing "Ab." at the end of the "strings."
    We arrived at Major Barron's and halted to change horses and get supper. After doing ample justice to Mrs. B.'s most excellent repast, we were soon wheeling up the mountain over the smooth grades of the "Siskiyou Wagon Road," amidst the grand solitude of the magnificent forests that beautify Old Siskiyou's northern slope.
    The temperature of the evening was all that could be desired, and we were fanned by a fine northern breeze, in grateful contrast with the heat of the day. Just before reaching the summit, a general silence ensued. Each passenger, and I think the driver may be included in the list, seemed anxiously peering ahead as far as the light of the lamps made the roadside visible. Nort at last broke the silence, and, pointing his whip to a clump of bushes on the left, said in somewhat suppressed tones, "There's the place; they always come out along here." Not another word was spoken until we were wheeling down the mountains where robbers never show themselves.
    At 10 o'clock, the moon rose and as it broke over the mountains, the smoky atmosphere magnified it to gigantic proportions. The mountains, with their ragged outlines made visible through the smoke by the rising moon, with their bases hid in their own dense shadows, stood like perpendicular walls against the sky, making, altogether, a scene more grand and imposing than "daylight e'er presents."
    We enjoyed the ride all the more in consequence of being in company with a very intelligent lady with whom we shared the outside seat. She, with her husband, Mr. Geo. McKnight, has been, for several weeks, visiting friends near Rock Point, and they are so much pleased with our country that they were returning to their home in Weaverville, California, to make immediate preparations for making Jackson County their permanent home.
    We arrived at Yreka at 3 o'clock a.m. and were soon occupying an elegant room at the Franco American. Next morning, we took a stroll around town and met a number of old-time friends, through whom we soon became pretty generally acquainted.
    Dr. Hearn suspended his own business and accompanied us on a general raid around town in behalf of the Tidings. Mr. H. Dunkel, who does business on the old site of the "Round Tent" where, in days of yore, we used to buy our "grub," etc., was our first subscriber. We found Mr. Dunkel to be a gentleman.
    Among the old Jackson County people we met were Pat F. McMannus and his lady. He is doing an extensive mercantile business, besides, as usual, dabbling in livestock--he still has a keen appreciation of a fine horse. Mr. Ed. Autenreith, who captured one of our Jackson County girls, Miss Emma Plymale, is practicing law in Yreka.
    With Dr. Hearn we visited the new cemetery, which has been laid out and is now being improved under the auspices of the Odd Fellows. They have disposed of portions of it to the Red Men and other societies. It contains twenty acres and is accessible to an abundance of water for irrigation and is altogether one of the finest sites for the purpose we have ever seen.
    We next visited the district school house and were very much surprised to find such an edifice in a town the size of Yreka. It is built of brick, two stories high and was completed in 1870 at a cost of $30,000. It is filled with all the modern improvements and appliances. It contains a full set of mathematical and scientific instruments, charts, globes, etc. The recitation rooms are so arranged that each two on either side of the hall can be opened out into one, in case of lectures or other public performances. This school house would be a credit to a city of ten thousand inhabitants.
    We found nothing in Yreka during our visit that interested us more than the mineral cabinet collected and owned by Dr. F. G. Hearn. It contains specimens from every mine of any note on the Pacific Coast, besides a large collection of Indian antiquities and historical reliques of the country. To the geologist especially, many things in his collection are extremely interesting. Many specimens shown by the Dr. would seem to require either the abandonment of old theories, or a skillful explanation by learned experts. Among other things to be explained is how came gold-bearing rock in the Lava Beds of Lake County, Oregon. And, further, how came gold in the peculiar kind of igneous conglomerate in which it has been found there. He has specimens of porphyry, calcareous spar and various minerals, containing free gold, positively contradicting long-established theories.
    At ten o'clock on Wednesday evening, we bid goodbye to a number of friends who were awaiting to see us off. We took our seat by the side of "Nort," as the only passenger aboard, and set out for "Cottonwood." As the stage rolled down Yreka Creek, our mind reverted back to days long gone. And, as we passed Blue Gulch, Long Gulch and other places which were familiar in the days of our earliest manhood, we were sensibly reminded of the time when we looked upon "an ounce a day" as but indifferent recompense and a "slow road to fortune." We passed within a stone's throw of where we let a fortune slip through our grasp, and yet, we contemplated it with an emotion akin to pleasure--certainly without a regret. Ay, we would not, if we could, change the result of those days. Could we have known what was in our reach, the whole course of our life must inevitably have been changed for better or worse. Our present social and domestic relations must have been different from what they are. We judge others by ourself when we say that most people would not give up present joys to get rid of present miseries. If there is an individual on top of earth who would sacrifice his brightest pleasure to disenthrall himself of all his griefs and hardships, we pity that man from the very depths of our soul, for he is, indeed, miserable--just such as suicides are made of.
    We fear that we have soared above our subject and lost our trail. We shall, therefore, leave the remainder of our trip until next week.
Ashland Tidings, August 30, 1878, page 2
OUR YREKA TRIP.
    We left our readers last week on a side track over about Long Gulch. We will now switch on, and proceed on our way to Cottonwood, where we arrived at two o'clock, and laid over for the purpose of seeing the town by daylight. When morning came, we saw the cozy little town for the first time by daylight. The first thing that attracted our attention was the fine orchards and comfortable-looking dwellings that composed the town. A fine-looking farm lay adjoining the southeast portion of the town, on which the threshers were busily threshing alfalfa. We were informed that the land in that vicinity produced 200 lbs. of this seed to the acre, valued at 25 cts. a pound, making a very profitable crop.
    The business of the town at present consists of one store, one hotel, one blacksmith shop, the post office and telegraph office. The store is owned and kept by Ed. Doneghy, whom we found to be a very genial and enterprising man. We were surprised to see so large a stock of goods in a place so small. His stock is not only large but contains everything likely to be required in the community, from a suit of clothes or a sack of salt to a dose of pills, or a bottle of soothing syrup.
    Mr. A. Schultz, formerly of this county, is running the blacksmith shop, and we are glad to learn that he is being well patronized, as he is a good mechanic.
    During the day, we visited the claims of Wm. H. Smith, almost in the town limits. These are the only claims now being worked by white men, the water in the other claims being dried up for the season. It reminded us very much of old times, as we sat by and saw the yellow "scads" occasionally shine through the dirt, as the pick broke down the bank. These claims are in a level field, and appear to be inexhaustible, as there are many acres that look as well as where they work; and as they have a monopoly of the water, they can take a lifetime in working it.
    We took supper with Mr. and Mrs. Fultz. We were very deeply interested during the evening by Mrs. Fultz in her reminiscences of pioneer days, she being one of the survivors of the Whitman massacre in 1847. Her two brothers, John and Frank Sager, were killed in that bloody affair. Mrs. Fultz, although quite young at the time, remembers the incidents of those terrible days with all the vividness and detail of childhood's days. Mrs. Fultz and her daughters have charge of the post office and telegraph office.
    When we retired, the sky was overcast with clouds, and a steady rain set in. At half past 2 o'clock a.m. the stage arrived, and we took our seat beside the driver in a "drenching" rain, which continued unabated until day. We arrived at home in due time, to find that it had not rained near so much as it had beyond the mountains. Altogether, we had a very interesting trip, adding materially to the interest of the Tidings.
Ashland Tidings, September 6, 1878, page 2
SOUTHWESTERN OREGON.
Its Grand Scenery and Delightful Climate--The Rogue River Valley--
Productions of this Wonderful Country--Sheep Husbandry and Farming--The Mining Interest--Gold, Platinum, Copper,
Plumbago and Diamonds Found, Etc., Etc.
Interesting Letter from a Former Editor of Missouri.
    EDITOR GAZETTE:--I owe you an apology for not writing ere this to the GAZETTE, as I promised, some of my experiences in the wilds of Southwestern Oregon. The enervating effect of the intense warm weather of the past four weeks is the only reason that I can assign for not writing sooner.
    Six out of the eight months that I sojourned on the Pacific Coast I spent away from the great valleys in the mountains of Southern Oregon. During that time I have noted down a number of facts about the climate, the soil, products, mines, etc., that it will take some labor to "write up," and I can give you at this time only a cursory article, without any regard to system or arrangement of subjects.
    The five seasons preceding the last winter, the
CLIMATE OF SOUTHERN OREGON,
including the magnificent Rogue River Valley, has been as near perfection as can be. The superabundant rains of the Willamette and Puget Sound countries to the north, and the oppressive droughts of California to the south of us, were entirely unknown. And whilst the crops in California perished for the want of rain, and those of the Willamette and Puget Sound countries suffered on account of too much rain, Southern Oregon has not experienced the least inconvenience from these causes. Indeed, crops have never been known to fail here since the first settlement of the valley by whites in 1851-2.
THE ROGUE RIVER VALLEY
proper, in extent about forty-five miles one way and twenty-five the other way, is a continuation of Southern Oregon, and with the surrounding mountains, forms the third grand division of the state. It partakes very much of the character of the Umpqua Valley on the north. It is still higher and dryer, the atmosphere is warmer and balmier, the air is pure and soft, the days are warm and the nights cool. The climate is equal to that of the Isle of Wight, the south of France or Italy, and is not surpassed by Madeira for invalids. The spring is early, the summer is lng, and the winter short and mild. It abounds in extensive and beautiful valleys, divided up into large and cultivated farms that yield from twenty-five to sixty bushels of wheat to the acre, according to cultivation. Corn grows and produces abundantly. Figs, peaches, pears, prunes, apricots, plums and all such fruits grow to perfection. Grapes are making great progress in quantity and quality, and wine to a limited extent is manufactured.
    Nuts of various kinds, especially the almond and English walnut, are being cultivated to advantage. The valley is well sheltered by the Coast and Cascade
ranges, by its own mountains, and its numerous spurs from them. These mountains are well covered with fir and pine timber; the foothills and valleys have a great deal of fine and scattering oak, yew, pine and laurel, that add great beauty to the country.
    As already remarked, this valley gets little rain compared with the Willamette, but the soil is just adapted to that state of things, and what it wants in rain is made up by extraordinary facilities for irrigation from the numerous rivers, creeks and springs that abound in the valley and that are so placed by nature as to be available for that purpose.
FARMING AND SHEEP HUSBANDRY.
    Farming in the valleys and sheep and stock raising in the mountains, whenever intelligently and earnestly carried on, have so far been sure of success. The sheep business especially, which is extensively carried on all through this country, is a source of never-failing profit to all engaged in it. The mildness of the climate is especially adapted to this kind of industry. During the winter months there is not frost enough in the valley and the lower "mountain benches" to impede outdoor farm work. On the nice rainless days in December, January, February and March, I frequently observed men plowing, sowing and harrowing in their fields. The climate is certainly extremely partial to the Oregon agriculturist and stock-raiser, as but few men seem to think it necessary to provide shelter in the winter for their livestock.
    The nature of the soil is peculiar. In the main Rogue River Valley, it is a decomposed granite soil, and can stand any amount of wet as well as dry weather. During the rainless months of last summer I was surprised to notice the healthy and vigorous look of vegetation, especially the orchards, vineyards and forests--and this without irrigation. Of course, at points where irrigation was used, the gardens, meadows and alfalfa fields were covered with a luxuriant verdure nowhere surpassed.
    During my sojourn in the valley, I have conversed with quite a number of discouraged farmers, who allege that they have not been able to make farming profitable, because of the want of a ready market for their surplus produce. The isolation of the country, the want of graded roads leading out of the valley through the mountains to the Pacific Ocean, the difficulty of constructing a direct wagon road or railroad to the seaboard, etc., are spoken of as so many barriers against reaching, cheaply and conveniently, San Francisco, the great market for this coast. As a result of this depression among agriculturists, farming is but indifferently carried on, and many of the farmers are interested in one or more mining enterprises. The valley or agricultural lands are held in large tracts by these men, and many are really "land poor," with their farms mortgaged for debts contracted in a number of ways, mostly in stores.
AN OUTLET WANTED.
    Located within less than one hundred miles of the great Pacific Ocean, where there are points for the safe anchorage of vessels (Ellensburg, Chetco, etc.), the people of the Rogue River Valley have to this day no outlet except by way of Portland, three hundred miles to the north, and San Francisco four hundred miles to the south of them. And in order to reach either of these points the citizens pay a tribute to both the stage and railroad companies. In going to Portland the nearest railroad station is one hundred miles; and in going to San Francisco the nearest railroad station is one hundred and seventy miles. It is not difficult to see why it does not pay to ship their produce to market in this roundabout way. The evils complained of could be remedied by utilizing the great ocean that washes the western shores of this state.
    Ellensburg harbor, at the mouth of Rogue River, with from eight to ten fathoms of water at low tide, and Chetco harbor, at the mouth of the Chetco River, with from eighteen to twenty-two fathoms, are the natural outlets of Southern Oregon. Crescent City, in the northwestern corner of California, was thought to be the proper ocean landing for Rogue River Valley, and government built a lighthouse there, but the experience of mariners for the past ten years has demonstrated that it is nothing but an open "roadstead," unapproachable to vessels in heavy weather. But as the attention of the authorities as well as the people is now being directed to the wants of our western seaboard, it is thought that the relief so urgently needed will not long delay.
    The bill introduced in the United States Senate last winter by Senator Mitchell, of Oregon, to extend the Fort Klamath military wagon road from Jacksonville to Ellensburg harbor, appropriating $50,000, did not become a law for want of time to examine its merits, but will undoubtedly pass at the next session of Congress. When once completed this road will be of incalculable benefit to both the government and the people inhabiting the coast region between the 41st and 43rd parallels of north latitude, and will render of easy access one of the richest mineral countries in America.
THE MINING INTEREST.
    Mining for the precious metals is a growing industry in Southwestern Oregon, especially "placer" gold mining. Whilst in Oregon I devoted considerable time to the examination of mines, and what miners call "prospecting." The presence of gold in divers forms and quantities all through the creek and river flats and mountainsides is revealed by the process of prospecting. (One takes a panful of earth that he supposes to contain particles of gold, carries it to the water and washes the dirt thoroughly. Gold, being the heaviest of all metals, will settle at the bottom of the pan, while the sand and dirt pass out.) Of late years, surface mining, i.e., the old muscular method of "panning" and "rocking," is fast being abandoned as unremunerative, as the easy pay streaks have become exhausted. But as there is nonetheless gold in the earth, new methods of mining, especially hydraulic mining, are being successfully introduced. Hydraulic mining can only be carried on by an outlay of large sums of money invested in the construction of ditches for carrying heavy streams of water to the ground where needed. A stream of a thousand inches of water, playing upon a gold-bearing gravel bank through a pipe and giant, effectually does the work of 400 men with pick and shovel. The power of water with two hundred or more feet of pressure is very great and rapidly moves and washes away immense bodies of clay and gravel. The dissolving masses flow through sluice boxes, four feet wide, three feet high and hundreds of feet long, according to the amount of "dump." At intervals all along the bottom of the sluice boxes (or flumes) riffles are placed for catching the gold.
    Much of the subsoil of Jackson and Josephine counties, Oregon, is composed of immense gravel deposits, varying in depth from three feet to three hundred feet. In most instances the gravel is knitted or cemented together with a yellow clay, interspersed with every imaginable size of round and smooth quartz and granite rock. The fact that the rock found in these gravel beds has a smooth surface plainly shows the action of water at some remote period of the world's history. In Jackson County the gravel channels range from southwest to northeast, and what is most remarkable and inexplicable, many of them are situated hundreds, and some thousands of feet above the present river and creek beds. In our "prospectings" every portion of them have been found to contain gold, the parts nearest the bedrock exceeding in richness the parts nearest the grass roots. The gold is scattered promiscuously in small particles throughout this gravel.
    By what agency of nature these immense gravel deposits have been formed, and how the gold got there, is a problem yet to be solved. Certain it is that the earth since her existence has undergone many overwhelming changes. The action of fire as well as water is plainly visible, especially the latter. It was undoubtedly the action of whirling streams of water that washed into perfect smoothness the millions of small and large boulders to be found all through this country.
    Numerous "prospects" that have been made by practical miners in the counties of Jackson, Josephine and Curry have revealed an unprecedented mineral fertility. Besides gold in "placer" and "quartz" formations, the country is rich in platinum, cinnabar (ore of quicksilver), copper, iron, coal, plumbago and isinglass. Indications of lead and silver have also been discovered in different parts between Jacksonville and the coast. In "cleaning up" at several hydraulic mines along Little and Big Applegate two very valuable diamonds have been found recently.
    In order to successfully carry on hydraulic mining three things are indispensable. First, a gold-bearing gravel deposit. Second, facilities for outlet to deposit the "tailings," called "dump." Third, an abundant and permanent supply of water. The construction of ditches for the carrying of water to the gold fields is the main item of expense in hydraulic mining, and none but capitalists can engage in these enterprises. I have noticed several English capitalists on the Pacific Coast seeking investments in this class of mines. During my sojourn there I heard of the transfer of two hydraulic mining enterprises, one in Oregon and the other in California, Englishmen being the purchasers in each case. The one in Oregon brought $75,000, and the one in California $250,000. For the past sixteen years there have been built in California 530½ miles of ditches for mining purposes, at a cost of $3,565,648. Included in this count are seventeen of the principal hydraulic mines in California. A number of other companies have made ditches with which they are operating mines, but not having their statistics at hand I cannot give their length nor the cost of their construction.
    Within the past twelve months, mining in Jackson County, Oregon, has taken a new start. Old mining ground, supposed to have been worked out long ago, has been worked over again, and found to contain rich deposits of gold. New ground has been taken up in different portions of the county, and found to be equally as rich.
    A little over a year ago the Sterling Hydraulic Mining Company commenced building a ditch twenty-seven miles in length at a cost (including purchase price of water rights and mining ground) of $75,000. They began to operate about the middle of March, and on the first of August, when the water gave out, they began to "clean up." They have washed an immense amount of gravel since they began, and their returns will be correspondingly large. A partial cleanup, some weeks ago, leads to the belief that upward of $200 per day was realized.
ADAM KLIPPEL.
    SEPTEMBER 2, 1878.
St. Joseph Gazette, St. Joseph, Missouri, September 11, 1878, page 2
Letter from Oregon.
    As we have many readers in the eastern states to whom the following graphic letter, clipped from the Mills County (Iowa) Journal, will no doubt be interesting, we will reproduce it in the columns of the Tidings. Mr. Sherman is now a resident of Phoenix, in this county.
    Hon. S. Sherman, late of Dakota, and a brother of the senior of the Journal, is now a resident of southwestern Oregon, whither he drove overland last year, arriving there last September. A private letter from him presents some matters of such general interest that we venture to print a part of it, descriptive in character, as follows:
    "This is a very romantic region of the country. The surface is varied with beautiful valleys--basins of very rich, loamy, sandy land, having a clayey, gravel subsoil, which valleys occupy and compose about one-third of the country. Then the small hills, ridges and foothills occupy one-third; then the divides--mountain ranges--snow-capped peaks, called buttes, rise thousands of feet, seen in all directions, near and far. Among the latter, Anderson's Butte is 8,000 ft. high, and five miles west to the base; Wagner Butte, eight miles south, 10,000 feet high, and numerous minor buttes without specific names. From five miles on the road to Jacksonville can be seen to the east, 60 miles off, the famous Mt. Pitt (now Mt. McLoughlin), 13,000 feet high, whose peak is covered with perpetual snow. Likewise Mt. Shasta, in California, and 75 miles southwest of here, can be seen from the peaks of the buttes first named, but the Siskiyou Range lies between here and there.
    "I am now approaching a point of business. There are heavily timbered valleys, ravines and gulches yet unclaimed and subject to be pre-empted, homesteaded, or entered at $1.25 per acre. These are rare opportunities for a citizen--the head of a family--to speculate. I have bought a man's improvements, which, you are to understand, means his claim to the mouth--which is the only entrance, passway, or outlet--for several hundred acres of the best timber in the known world, and the prospects are now that the link, yet unfinished, of the California and Oregon Railroad will be completed within two years as the charter expires at that time, and it cannot miss my ranch more than four miles, as that is the width of Bear Creek Valley at that point, and a regular inclining grade at the rate of about 200 feet to the mile. Heretofore, the citizens have taken timber what and when they wanted, not thinking [it] worthwhile to purchase the land, consequently there was no market for timber. I calculate there are, at the lowest estimate, 1,000 ties on my ranch to the acre, and as the incline is so gradual down to the open valley, one span of horses, mules or oxen might haul 50 green or 100 seasoned ties at a load, and a man might make from two to four loads per day, and I believe that all I would get over five cents apiece would be clear profit. The timber is fir, spruce, pine pitch or yellow pine, red cedar, yew, alder, willow, laurel and dogwood--decreasing to about a twofold ratio in quantity as the names or varieties succeed one another. There are firs in my gulch that will measure three feet in diameter, 200 feet from the ground, others about big enough to square the size of a railroad tie and make twelve ties without a limb, and six more after the brush is knocked off, and in places they stand in groups so close together a man cannot swing an axe among them only on the outside of the grove. This fir timber, for a great many practical purposes, is not surpassed by any other variety, ash not excepted. It makes durable posts, and solid and smooth enough for all kinds of woodwork. I believe it is tougher than ash or hickory, and much more durable; also lighter. Then, next in quantity and valuation is cedar. It works very easy and smoothly, and makes the best of furniture and finishing lumber. It is also valuable for posts and rails, shingles and clapboards. Next in order is pitch and yellow pine. It is valuable for rough lumber, such as house and barn sheathing, fencing boards, etc. Next, and perhaps rarest, is yew, as hard as, and similar to, lignum vitae. It is principally valuable for fence posts. They are of remarkably slow growth, one tree seldom making more than two posts in length, and it is hard to chop and almost an impossibility to split it. The alder is a small tree, but unlike the yew it is a soft and very white wood, similar to old Ohio basswood, and good for about the same purposes."
Ashland Tidings, October 11, 1878, page 1


    We reached the Rogue River Valley early in the evening, and by nine o'clock were in Jacksonville, the largest and most important town in Southern Oregon. This place has a population of about 1,000, and being in the center of a large mining and agricultural community, is enterprising and prosperous. It was the first place north of California in which gold was discovered, and this incident made it for a time the metropolis of the state; but since the decadence of the placer mines it has retired into a steady-going town which pays much attention to religion, education, politics and quiet amusements. The region of which it is the capital has an area of 1,800 square miles, and is the equal in beauty, fertility of soil, and geniality of climate of any portion of Northwestern America. Its physical conformation is a rolling plain, interspersed with low, oak-covered hills, which make excellent pasturage or vineyards, as they have a gradual slope, a granitic soil, and are well drained. The experiments made with the grape have proved that it will thrive there as well as in California, and, having a large amount of saccharine matter, it makes good wine.
    For fruit cultivation in general the region can scarcely be excelled, as it produces figs and peaches of fine flavor, and the cherry, plum, crabapple, and all the smaller berries grow wild there. Its climate is much warmer than that of the more northerly sections, the average temperature in summer being 85°, and in winter 48°. A few days in July may reach 102° in the shade, and in January go down to 26°, but these are said to be exceptional cases. The summers are so long that two crops of figs are said to be gathered, and the winters so mild that they do not injure even the delicate magnolias. The winter may be said to be confined to December and January, when the nights are frosty, and a little snow falls at rare intervals, but it is never cold enough to cause any cessation of outdoor labor; and the hottest days are rarely oppressive, owing to the cold breezes which blow from the snowy crest of the Cascade Range, seventy miles distant.
    There are more foliaceous trees in this valley than in any other portion of the state, owing to its southern latitude, and the abundance of the laurel, ceanothus, arbutus, chaparral and manzanita give it a semi-tropical appearance. One of the handsomest trees in the state is the madrona (Arbutus Menziesii) which is a peculiarity of the flora of the Pacific. It attains a height of from 20 to 30 feet, and a diameter of 14 inches, and has an exfoliating bark, which is green in summer, but reddish in winter. The leaves, being large, thick and glistening, cause it to resemble the Magnolia grandiflora of the Southern states. The wood being hard and smooth, it could be used for the manufacture of domestic articles, but were it even useless for that purpose it should form part of the arborescence of every well-kept garden, as it is both handsome and ornamental. The California laurel is also a fine tree, and the equal of the noble laurel of Europe in beauty. It attains a height of 30 feet, a diameter of 7 inches, has a lustrous, evergreen foliage, numerous involucred flowers, and its leaves, when rubbed, emit an aromatic odor. The manzanita is much sought by the grizzly bear, its berries, the well-known uva ursi, being one of its favorite foods; hence, where it is plentiful, the monarch of the western wilds may be expected also.
    The mineral wealth of this valley is deemed to be very great, as gold, lignite, quicksilver, magnetite, chromic iron, galena, graphite, gypsum, carbonate of lime, steatite, dolomite and kindred minerals have been discovered in many localities. The placer gold mines, which cover an area of 100 square miles, have yielded 16,000,000 dollars since they were first worked in 1849, but they are now largely in the hands of the Chinese, who are content with from 2 to 5 dollars per day for their labor. Quartz ledges, which "prospect" well, have been found in several places, but the want of capital prevents the development of their treasure. The region is peculiarly rich in soda, salt and sulfur springs, both cold and thermal, and others which yield boracite and magnesia. Their steam ascending into the air on a frosty morning throws a heavy vapor over the tract adjoining them and gives it a rather misty aspect, while the odor they exhale has a most significant suggestion of subterranean abodes.
    The great obstruction to the progress of this section is the want of means of communication with the outer world, they being at present confined to a steep mountain road leading to California, and another to the town of Roseburg, 100 miles to the north. On the completion of the Oregon and California Railroad, however, it will have ample facilities for the transportation of its products to a market, and one may then expect it to become all that its fertility of soil and geniality of climate could make it.
    It should become a great resort for invalids, tourists and the lovers of field sports, as it abounds with medicinal springs, boasts some of the strangest and grandest scenery on the continent, and its forests teem with deer, grouse, pigeons and quail, and its streams and lakes with several species of the delicious mountain trout. The bear, panther, wolf, wildcat, and other animals which stand high in the estimation of the hunter, are found there as numerously as the people care for, and he who wishes to measure himself against them need not have far to go to fulfill his desires to the utmost. One pleasant fact about these woods and prairies is that there are few venomous reptiles in them, and the same may be said of the whole of Western Oregon; at least, I never heard of such a thing as a person being stung by a rattlesnake or any of its congeners. The only members of the Ophidian family that I saw there were the garter snake, greenracer, and bull snake, and they are perfectly harmless to human beings. Even flies--mosquitoes excepted--injurious to man or beast are, I believe, unknown, except in one section near the Lava Beds, where a horsefly is so numerous and persistent in attack that it will seriously injure a horse left uncovered. The Batrachians even are few and of little importance, there being only three or four species of the Anoura, of which the most abundant is the Oregon wood frog (Hyla regilla), found in the timbered regions. The Uradela has one representative in the warty salamander (Taricha torosa), a very slow and stupid creature. The Saurian family is also small, and confined to two species of the Eleyaria, a couple of fence lizards, and a horned toad (Tapaya Douglasii), found on the dry plains of Eastern Oregon. It would, therefore, seem as if some Indian Saint Patrick had banished the venomous reptiles from the country soon after it emerged from its icy coating. The cause of its immunity from these creatures is of course due to the humid climate, for it is a well-known fact that all snakes, except those attached to water, prefer a high, dry, sunny habitat to the rains and fogs of heavily wooded regions.
    During my sojourn in Jacksonville a party of gentlemen planned an excursion to the Rogue River Falls and Crater Lake, two scenes well worthy of a visit from those who appreciate the beauties and wonders of nature, and at their invitation I accompanied them. Starting out early in the morning, we looked, as we emerged on the plains, like a body of guerrillas going on a raid, as our raiment was composed of many textures and colors, and we were armed with rifles, shotguns, revolvers, and bowie knives, while our mustangs ranged in hues from black to piebald and white. Our motley appearance produced many witty comments from members of the cavalcade, but one was so carried away with its imposing mien that he compared it to the march of a body of knights going on a chivalric mission to break lances with their foes. A practical individual destroyed the effect of this noble simile, however, by suggesting that we looked more like horse thieves, or outcasts from civilization, who were rushing all over the country in search of something to steal, and he strongly intimated that our presence in any hamlet would cause the people to lock up their houses, or to turn out and fight us. With such good-natured badinage as this the morning passed rapidly away, but finding that we should not reach our destination as soon as desirable by keeping at the pace we were then going, the leader gave the driver of the wagon containing our tents and provisions instructions where to meet us, then slyly hinted that we ought to gallop away from the wagon as rapidly as possible if we would not be suspected of being out on a poultry-stealing expedition. The hint was laughingly taken, and putting spurs to our mustangs, we were soon dashing over the prairie at a breakneck pace, and in a comparatively short time reached our first halting place, on the wooded banks of the Rogue River.
    I noticed here, as I had in the open spaces, the unusual abundance of liliaceous plants, and the gaudy colors of nearly all the flowers. This gave the region a most brilliant appearance, for red, yellow, crimson, purple, straw and light blue hues were the most prominent; modesty of floral attire was, in fact, conspicuous by its absence, and this I subsequently found to be the case throughout the whole of Northwestern America.
    Our first movement, after tethering the horses and turning them out to graze in a pasture so rich that the grass reached above their knees, was to make a pilgrimage to the Rogue River Falls, and drink in their beauty for an hour. These falls are formed by the river not far from where it breaks through the Coast Range on its way to the sea. The stream, being surrounded by magnificent firs, pines, cedars, and other trees throughout its entire course, it has the appearance, in perspective, of an undulating silvery thread stretched through an extensive field of foliage; and where it takes its abrupt leap the forest is so dense as to be almost impassable in summer, owing to the luxuriance of the shrubbery and undergrowth, and so dark and cool, even in the warmest weather, as to exhale a palpable humid coolness. Looking upward at the falls from their base, they are seen to emerge from a narrow opening between two huge masses of dark crags; but ere they reach the ground they seem divided into three sections of foamy spray, owing to the interruption of the line of sight by the dense and tangled foliage. Their actual height is estimated at 200 feet, and their width at 30, and their volume of water in early summer, during the spring freshets, at a depth of 8 feet. They are then in their finest condition, and the stream possesses such powerful velocity that it whirls large crags along its course as if they were pebbles. One of the most interesting features of the falls is the luxuriance of the mosses and lichens wherever the spray falls. Their base is surrounded by cedars, junipers, alders and willows, which are covered with moss to such an extent that their trunks and branches are almost concealed. This, of course, prevents much leafage, so that they present the appearance of a forest of gigantic mosses. Desiring to avoid the spray, I tore away some of the mossy covering from a tree, and found between it and the trunk a chamber, large enough to hold ten persons, and thoroughly waterproof. In this snug retreat I had a fine opportunity of studying the delightful scene before me, which in picturesqueness excelled any of a similar character I had seen before. The water in its fall threw copious showers upon the evergreens, and produced a permanent rainbow in the forest which extended from the highest tree to the lowest shrub. This was the first effect of its kind I had ever noticed, and most pleasing it seemed, as the line of foliage through which it passed was brilliantly illuminated with all the prismatic hues.
    Having feasted our eyes on this vista of wood and water, we returned to the upper world once more and made preparations for supper. As we had no fresh meat it was decided to kill some deer, while others went fishing; but who should hunt and who should fish was a difficult matter to decide, as all seemed to be aching to practice their rifles or shotguns on something, if it were only a squirrel. The dilemma was solved, however, by drawing lots as to who should be compelled to try and drown a worm for an hour or two; and as I was one of these, I cut a twig for a rod, tied my line to it, and soon had my legs dangling over a bank, trying to drown a very small angleworm. I was not long engaged in this arduous duty when my hook was seized with a vigor that seemed to bring my heart to my mouth, but I soon recovered myself, and fought as well as I could against a 6-lb. trout as to whether I should land him on the bank or he pull me into the water. Science triumphed and I was victor. The fish were so plentiful and voracious that it became a labor to haul them ashore; and thinking I had enough, after I caught two dozen splendid fellows, I returned to camp, and there found some of the expedition busily engaged in skinning two fine stags which they had slain within half an hour after starting on the hunt. The others were not so fortunate, but everyone brought in something--a hare, a wood duck, or a grouse; and one individual who could find nothing else, and was resolved not to return empty-handed, brought in a long-tailed wood rat--the greatest thief on earth--which he found trying to steal an old boot heel, hoary with age and hard work. When he threw his treasure on the ground, a cry was raised immediately to hang him as a "heathen Chinee" sailing under false colors; but the sentence, after much argument, was changed into making him bring all the water needed for supper, and this he promised to do. That al fresco meal was a joyous one, for wit and humorous story enlivened it. When it was finished, and pipes or cigars were lighted, the "yarners" commenced their work and kept it going until near midnight, when the laughter-satiated expedition retired to rest. We were astir early the next morning, and after breakfast moved for the Cascade Range, about eighty miles distant, to visit Crater Lake. Our route led over some of the finest views to be found on the continent, for on one side were the cumulus-covered snow peaks, and on the others, heavily timbered mountains 4,000 feet high, while between, like a sea of verdure, rolled the undulating valley. We camped out the first night without any other covering than our blankets, and by noon of the next day reached the object of our journey, high up amidst the forests of the Cascade Range.
    I had heard much of this lake, and expected much, as a matter of course, but I must say that it went far beyond my most sanguine expectations. When we first reached its summit the mountain was covered with an almost impenetrable mist that concealed all objects; but that soon cleared away, and we had a fine opportunity of gazing down into the cavernous depths of the rock-bound tarn. From measurements made by a party of engineers, the lake was found to be the most deeply buried body of water of its size known, the altitude of its walls being placed at 2,500 feet, and its superficial area at thirty-six square miles. It is said that a ball fired from a rifle cannot be seen to strike the water, a statement very natural to believe, inasmuch as it is nearly half a mile from the top to the surface of the lake. Several of our party tried it, but in no instance could the bullet be seen to strike, nor did I expect it at that distance. We reached the water by following a steep trail formed by the large wild animals which frequent it to allay their thirst, and considered ourselves quite fortunate in doing so without suffering any greater injury than a few gashes from jagged stones. Once below, and we had a splendid view of the watery waste that stretched out before us like a lake of ink, and the towering walls that enveloped it in so close an embrace that no vestige of a shore line was visible. The water had a dark-blue look, exactly like ink, and this blackish effect was increased by the sooty crags and the somber conifers that grew on their summits. The picture it presented had no expression of brightness or gentleness in its composition; all was savage wildness, rude grandeur and cold desolation, for look were one would and nothing greeted the vision but black waves, bare crags and gloomy trees. The silence was so oppressive as to seem droning, and the absence of all life gave it an air of weird solitude that appeared unnatural. It is a perfect tarn of death, for not a fish lives in its inky waters, nor a fly in the air, and no songbird ever enlivens its brooding stillness with a merry warble. After gazing upon it for awhile it seems exceedingly unearthly, and arouses a feeling of strangeness akin to awe, which is difficult to shake off.
    Our party went on a tour of exploration over it, having found an old skiff, which had been built by earlier visitors, near the shore. Our first halt was at a rocky islet which rises up in its center to a height of 1,200 feet. This has a crater in the top which is 100 feet deep, and whose mouth is one mass of scoriaceous lava. A long line told us that the water at the base of the island was over 500 feet deep, so that the lake from the top of the walls to the bottom is over half a mile in depth. It is certainly a wonderful spot, and one well worth visiting, if only for its unique character.
John Mortimer Murphy, Rambles in North-Western America, London 1879, page 78




Last revised March 27, 2024