Terms, Five Dollars a Year. 

 Ten Cents a Copy. 



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NEW YORK, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 7, 1875. 



( Volume 5, Number 9. 



1 17 Chatham St. (CityHall Sqr.) 



For Forest and Stream. 



^rnnblittQB in 0r*$cm. 



— * — 



PART I. 



THE State of Oregon, which is now said to absorb the 

 greater portion of the emigration from the States 

 and territories bordering the Eocky Mountains, is undoubt- 

 edly less known than any portion of the United States, 

 owing to its isolated position and the difficulty of reaching 

 it from the East; and yet no section is so eagerly inquired 

 for at present, not only by our own migratory class, but 

 also by a large number of the natives of Great Britain, 

 who have heard that it possesses a climate similar to that 

 of England, while it produces all kinds of grain, fruit and 

 vegetables in the most lavish profusion. The information 

 heretofore given about the country is extremely meagre in 

 extent and poor in quality, as the writers were not ac- 

 quainted with its character, and judge it from a superfi- 

 cial examination; hence, a false impression has been given 

 of ii in many respects. Its scenic charms 1iave also been 

 misrepresented or overlooked, when, in reality, it will com- 

 pare with any region on this continent in all forms of 

 beauty from the picturesqueness of sylvan vales to the 

 sublime grandeur of towering mountain peaks clad in 

 shrouds of eternal snow. One may behold there at a coup 

 d'oeU tranquility and energy, action and repose, picturesque- 

 ness and ruggedness, bleak desolation and tropical lux- 

 uriance. Grandeur and expansiveness are, however, the 

 most marked characteristics of the country, for Nature 

 seems to have made everything there with a lavish hand. 

 It is also one of the finest hunting and fishing regions of 

 the world, for almost all species of game birds and fish 

 found west of the Rocky Mountains are very numerous 

 there; and in Summer its valleys display their floral wealth, 

 for they seem one vast flower bed in which the gaudy hues 

 are most prominent. It is a splendid field for the naturalist 

 and geologist ; hence I may safely assert that it possesses an in- 

 terest for all classes of people, from the farmer to the 

 tourist and scientist that cannot be surpassed by any por- 

 tion of the country. Those who seek new fields for their 

 enterprise and energy, or desire to behold scenery entirely 

 sui generis, will find that distant commonwealth well worthy 

 of consideration. To reach it from the East one has a 

 choice of three routes. The first is to leave the cars at 

 Keltou, Utah, and take the stage through the artemisid 

 plains of Idaho, and the bunch-grass plateaus of Washing- 

 ton Territory; the next is to go by rail to San Francisco, 

 thence take the steamer north; and the third is to pass 

 through California overland by stage and rail, and enter 

 Oregon from the south. The former is the most tedious ; 

 the uext the most comfortable, and the third the most inter- 

 esting, as one has an opportunity of enjoying grand old 

 woods, towering snowy pinnacles, and wild, primeval Na- 

 ture in all her most erratic moods. On my first visit to the 

 country I chose the latter route, and on the fifth day after 

 leaving San Francisco crossed the Siskiyon Mountains, 

 which divide Oregon and California. On reaching the 

 northern side of the range a magnificent panorama, formed 

 of rugged mountains crowned by many-shaped peaks of 

 snow, immense forests of dark green firs which stretched 

 away to the horizon in every direction, and a rolling valley 

 clad with coppices of foliaceous trees of warm hues, and 

 smiling beneath the soft, yellow rays of the morning sun 

 was spread out before me like a map, and to give anima- 

 tion to the scene, flocks of white, restless sheep and large 

 herds of horses and horned cattle roamed over the plain, 

 and numerous mining camps and cosy farm houses em- 

 bowered in leafy arbors dotted the landscape in various di- 

 rections. It was such a tableau as that region only can 

 show, with many forms of beauty. I gazed long and 

 earnestly at it and drank in its charms with an enthusiastic 

 delight I have seldom experienced. At my suggestion the 

 stage driver stopped a short time to let me enjoy the scenic 

 feast of which I could not weary. The horses dashed mer- 

 rily down the mountain side and in three hours I reached 

 my first halting placed, Jacksonville, a city of about seven 

 hundred inhabitants, and famous as being the first place 



outside of California in which gold was discovered. It is 

 situated in the midst of a large mining and agricultural re- 

 gion, and is the entrepot for all goods passing through 

 Southern Oregon. It has also acquired notoriety from 

 having been the headquarters of the troops operating against 

 the Modocs, and the first place to declare Captain Jack an 

 outlaw. The country surrounding it is one of the most 

 beautiful on earth, and can scarcely be excelled in fertility. 

 The mines were formerly the principal wealth of the place, 

 but they are now mainly confined to placer diggings, which 

 are in the hands of Chinamen, and some quartz ledges 

 which would pay well were the transportation of ores not 

 so costly. This region is a perfect paradise for immigrants, 

 provided they can bear comparative isolation for a few 

 years, and take pleasure in the chase, natural beauty and 

 the acquirement of competence, if not wealth, instead of the 

 company of their fellowman; The entire area of the 

 Rogue River Valley, which embraces several hundred thou- 

 sand acres, is composed of rolling vales and oak-clad hills, 

 which make excellent pasturage, as they are covered at all 

 seasons with an abundance of graminaceous verdure. The 

 rich alluvial soil of the plains produces all crops in profu- 

 sion. Wheat yields from twenty to sixty bushels to the 

 acre, according to mode of cultivation; oats, barley and 

 rye from forty to ninety bushels; vegetables and tuberous 

 roots grow in equal luxuriance, and fruils raised there will 

 equal in flavor and size those of any portion of the conti- 

 nent. Many species of fruit are indigenous, such as the 

 wild plumb, the cherry, crab apple, grapes, strawberry, sal- 

 monberry and kindred fruits. The foothills produce the 

 grape in lavish profusion, as the subsoil is of granite for- 

 mation, and is both well watered and well drained. The 

 fruit is also free from blight or the attack of worms, so 

 that it can attain the fullest perfection. The experiments 

 made have proved that these hills are equal to those of Cali- 

 fornia as vineyards, and that the boquet of the wines pro- 

 duced compares favorably with the best vintage of Hun- 

 gary . As a locality for those desiring to engage in stock 

 raising, farming or vine culture I know of no section of the 

 country that offers equal facilities, for the reason that land 

 is cheap and fertile, and that the Winters are very mild, snow 

 being a rare visitor, while the Summers are genial and 

 moderate, owing to the cool and bracing breezes which con- 

 stantly sweep over the plain from the snowy mountains 

 which environ it. Its most serious disadvantages are the 

 lack of a ready market and facility of transportation. 

 Whenever the latter is supplied the Rogue River Yalley 

 will prove one of the arcadian spots of the Pacific coast. 

 One important advantage that it possesses for the immi- 

 grant is the liberal support given to the public schools by 

 State and people, and considering the small number of in. 

 habitants occupying the region, it will be found that its in- 

 stitutions of learning will compare quite favorably with those 

 those of much older and more pretentious localities. 

 The residents are largely composed of natives of the 

 once border States, and, although many of them are 

 imbued with rather primitive ideas of life, and are some- 

 what deficient in education, yet they manifest a keen in- 

 terest in all pertaining to intellectual advancement. I did 

 not encounter one man who did not have a fair general 

 knowledge of his own country, and none that did not seem 

 to have devoted nearly all his years to the study of politics, 

 if I should judge from the glibness and positiveness with 

 which all argued on political issues. I learned subse- 

 quently that this species of knowledge is readily obtained, 

 for there is not a town of five hundred inhabitants in the 

 State that does not boast of two weekly journals, and 

 these are nothing if not controversial. The fact that the 

 press is so well supported is, of itself, an indication of the 

 interest of the people in useful information. I found the 

 citizens of Jacksonville obliging and hospitable and willing 

 to do all in their power to make one acquainted with the 

 fertility and beauty of the land of their adoption. They 

 seemed to be anxious to give every information about it; 

 and their statements I found on investigation to be true. 

 One thing attracted my attention, even among the rural 

 population, where the study of aesthetics is popularly sup- 

 posed to be overlooked, and that is the keen interest they 



manifested in any striking scenery. This attribute they 

 receive from the beauties surrounding them, for intellect 

 must be dull indeed that would not be impressed with the 

 charms which Nature displays so generously in southern 

 Oregon. I heard much from all classes of a lake said to 

 exist in the Cascade Mountains, which was so deep that a 

 bullet fired, from a rifle could not be seen to strike the 

 water, and the walls around it so steep that it was impossi- 

 ble to reach the base. This I resolved to visit, so, accom- 

 panied by four friends, I started out early one morning, and 

 reached the foot of the mountains, distant about seventy 

 miles, late in the evening. We provided our own larder, 

 tents and camp equipage, as we did not expect to meet many 

 houses on the route, and these we strapped on the back of 

 a mule that would not permit a rider to occupy that ex- 

 alted position. Our course led over the broad rolling val- 

 ley until we came to the foot hills of the Cascade range, 

 and there we encamped for the night. During our journey 

 I noticed the almost tropical luxuriance of the flowers, and 

 their general gaudy hue. All seemed to delight in the most 

 striking colors, fox yellow, crimson, white and orange were 

 the prevalent shades. The liliaceous plants are very nu- 

 merous in the region; in fact, Oregon can produce a more 

 generous display of this family than any country known 

 to civilization, and many of them are unknown to science. 

 A German botanist sent there by the Duke of Baden said 

 that if his master owned such a magnificent floral bed, he 

 would spend more money upon it than the Government of 

 the United States did for exploring all the territories. It is 

 certainly not very pleasant to consider that the rich scien- 

 tific stores of the country do not receive more attention from 

 government or people. 



At an early hour next morning we were astir, clambering 

 up the mountains, and having a good bridle path we found 

 little difficulty in reaching the summit. We had to camp 

 there that night, and despite a roaring fire we suffered much 

 from the bitter cold, for the snow laid in heavy masses on 

 the ground. After breakfast we went in quest of the lake 

 and soon discovered a clue that we knew indicated its pre- 

 sence, in the soft pumice and scoria freely scattered about; 

 and following a pathway of these rocks we soon found 

 ourselves standing on the brink of a cavernous basin, whose 

 gloomy waters made it look deeper even than it was. Gaz - 

 ing downwards for a few minutes causes a dizziness that 

 the strongest nerves cannot withstand. One has to jump 

 away rapidly to escape this dizziness, for any toying with, 

 the nerves is only increasing the danger; that is, provided 

 one stands on the extreme edge. After observing its 

 depth from above, we discovered a trail leading down the 

 bluffs, which is used by deer, bears, elks and other large 

 animals in reaching the water, and being profusely clad 

 with scrubby pines and tough shrubs, we were enabled by 

 their aid to descend to the base, after much stumbling, 

 checking and slipping. Once below and we had an op- 

 portunity of experiencing to the fullest extent the rude 

 wildness and desolate grandeur of the scene. The walls, 

 which are formed of the Plutonian, augitic basalt, hug the 

 water so close that not a vestige of shore is seen. They 

 average two thousand five hundred feet in altitude, and are 

 as smooth, apparently, as if they had been planed by gla- 

 ciers. The lake itself, which resembles a huge, round chal- 

 dron; has a circumference of about thirty-six miles, and a 

 depth of nearly six hundred feet in the middle. No living 

 object, however, is sustained in its inky waters, for not a 

 fish, or even a fly, disturbs its droning solitude. A large 

 island, having a diameter at the base of several hundred 

 yards, and a height of three hundred feet, towers upward 

 in the centre, and this has a crater at the summit which is 

 one hundred feet deep, and about twenty feet in width. 

 The island, like the walls, is of igneous formation, and 

 from this circumstance it is supposed that it was once an 

 active volcanic peak which sunk when the burning mat- 

 ter in the interior was rejcted. This is a very plausible 

 theory, as scoria, pumice and other igneous rocks, appa- 

 rently as fresh as if they were thrown out only yesterday, 

 are very abundant in the vicinity. Whatever its origin may 

 have have been, the lake must remain an object of interest 

 to tourists and geologists, as its scenery is entirely alone in 



