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Jackson
County 1848 South of the Calapooya Mountains is the Umpqua River and valley. The valley is upwards of a hundred miles long, and perhaps from thirty to forty wide. It has more little mountains in it than Willamette Valley; between these little mountains or high hills are many beautiful valleys and bold streams, affording good water power. The soil is rich and the grass good. It is said the navigation of Umpqua River is obstructed by rapids near its mouth. This valley ranges east and west, being bounded on the south by the Umpqua Mountains, ranging west to the coast. South of a range of mountains is Rogue River, and its narrow valleys of rich soil; on these mountains are good grapes and excellent timber. South of Rogue River Valley is Klamath River, which is but little known, but it is said that where it empties into the ocean it is a beautiful country, and should it be as represented, it will be a fine part of the world, being on the coast, and having good harborage at the mouth of the river. Of wild animals of this country there are elk, deer, grizzly and black bears, panthers, large and small wolves, wolf-tiger, wildcat, fox, coon, otter, beaver, polecat, squirrels of different kinds, weasel, rat, mice, gopher, moles, &c. Of birds, the vulture, gray and bald eagle, buzzard, raven, crow, several kinds of hawks and owls, the robin, blackbird, two kinds of jaybirds, black woodpecker, the pelican, white, sandhill and blue cranes, white and gray geese, brant, many kinds of ducks; the pheasant and grouse; the grouse is twice as large as the pheasant: they are plenty, easily killed, and good meat; two kinds of partridges, different from those of the U. States. Most of the animals, bipeds and vegetation differ both in appearance and size from those of the States, for instance, the partridge is larger, having a topknot on its head; one kind of jaybird is as deep a blue as indigo itself. The elder bears a good berry, some of it 30 feet high, and large enough for houselogs. The dogwood bark is perfectly smooth; the hazel 10 times as large, bearing a nut precisely in the shape of an acorn; and the blackberry happens to be yellow. Of wild fruits, &c., the whortle or huckleberry, gooseberry, dewberry, thimbleberry, raspberry, elderberry, strawberry, salmonberry, dewberry, chokecherry, service and a berry called the Oregon grape, which grows on an evergreen shrub; no plums or grapes north of Rogue River; crabapples are small but plenty and good. It is said the peach and apple are small but good, and a sure production every year. M. Vanderpool, "Letter from Oregon," St. Joseph Weekly Gazette, St. Joseph, Missouri, November 24, 1848, page 2 Last revised September 16, 2025 |
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