USA > Oregon > Douglas County > History of southern Oregon, comprising Jackson, Josephine, Douglas, Curry and Coos counties, comp. from the most authentic sources > Part 47
USA > Oregon > Jackson County > History of southern Oregon, comprising Jackson, Josephine, Douglas, Curry and Coos counties, comp. from the most authentic sources > Part 47
USA > Oregon > Josephine County > History of southern Oregon, comprising Jackson, Josephine, Douglas, Curry and Coos counties, comp. from the most authentic sources > Part 47
USA > Oregon > Coos County > History of southern Oregon, comprising Jackson, Josephine, Douglas, Curry and Coos counties, comp. from the most authentic sources > Part 47
USA > Oregon > Curry County > History of southern Oregon, comprising Jackson, Josephine, Douglas, Curry and Coos counties, comp. from the most authentic sources > Part 47
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This concludes the effective history of quartz mining in Jackson county, all developments subsequent to 1861 having an abortive cast, and being inconsequential in comparison with the operations of 1860-1. About 1866 quite an excitement was occasioned by reported discoveries of rich silver ore in the hills near Willow Springs. Enormous percentages were returned by assayers and people without distinction of age, race or color hastened to locate claims, 256 of these being recorded. The Jacksonville Reporter caught the infection and in an earnest editorial uttered the opinion that the new silver mines of Jackson county were incomparably richer than those of the Con- stock lode in Nevada, and "if properly worked will produce enough of wealth for every man, woman and child in Oregon." In conclusion the editor expressed the heartfelt wish that there should be no legal squabbling about the ownership of claims.
WALLING - LITH - PORTLAND - OR .
RESIDENCE OF TOBIAS S.RIDDLE, CANYONVILLE, DOUGLAS CO.
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Litigation proved unnecessary; and within a few months "every man, woman and child in Oregon" knew that the silver veins contained no silver.
Of a better sort is the Esther mine on Upper Grave creek. This mining property lies in a belt of valuable quartz ledges, and is thoughit to be a good mine, although undeveloped. The possessors are the Messrs. Browning, father and son, who have labored for years to get the mine in shape to produce. It is on the right bank of Grave creek, a mile from the stream, and the vein is from one to two feet thick. There was a time-about 1876-when the Esther was the foremost min- ing property in Jackson county; but lack of skill or capital, or both, have injured its successful working. A mill containing four stamps, driven by water, was put up some half dozen years ago, and later on a joint-stock company secured the property and worked it somewhat, running for two years with considerable success. The rock, partaking of the milling character, yielded twelve or fourteen dollars per ton.
CHAPTER XL.
THE EARLY PIONEERS.
The Earliest Pioneers in Jackson County The First Impressions -- A Lovely Valley - Contrasts -The Southern Route-Settlers in 1851-The First Land Claims Taken-Discovery of Gold at Rich Gulch- Rapid immi gration of Miners -- A Rush- Roads.
The early pioneers of Rogue river valley have with singular unanimity and earnestness borne witness to the sensations with which their hearts were thrilled when they first set eyes upon the fair region of which we now speak. Those tired and travel-worn men and women had set out for the Pacific shore as for a land of promise, and throughout the long and terribly wearying journey had traveled slowly toward the setting sun, intent only upon reaching the country so often but dimly described, and from whence such romantie and charming accounts had come. They watched the passage of time while days lengthened into weeks and months, and the slow beasts of burden dragged the loaded wagons, the emigrant's shifting home, and man and beast alike felt the heavy ills of life. The desolate and never-ending plains, the drouth, the imminence of death from thirst and hunger, the ever-present fear of hostile Indians, and the terrible isolation and loneliness of the route, weighed upon the souls of even the strongest, and many laid down their heavy burdens and sank to rest far from the goal they had struggled to reach. Perhaps there never lived a class of men and women of such strong and self-reliant character as these early
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pioneers. They were cradled in hardship, spending their early years on the border of the then uttermost west. To penetrate into unexplored wilds and there subdue the earth, and lay the foundation of a state was to them a second nature-a desire trans- mitted from their parents, whose glorious characteristic was also to advance the bounds of progress and civilization, and make glad the waste places where man had never previously trod. Theirs was the mission to keep forever in the fore-front of the battle which man is ever waging with the forces of nature, and from the wildest regions accessible to man to send back the glad news that freedom had found yet another breathing place. Of such descent, and of such aspirations, were the pioneers of Jack- son county, and how they fulfilled their self-appointed task these pages will briefly and imperfectly tell.
After the straits to which a six-months' land journey across the most desolate part of North America had brought them, how welcome to their vision must have been the sight of the grassy plains, the wooded slopes, and tree-fringed water courses of Southern Oregon. How deep the song of thankfulness that arose from their breasts! Possibly the divine artificer could have created a more beautiful, a more fruitful valley, but doubtless he never did. If we may believe those pioneers, the country was one of primitive wildness, yet of obvious fertility and productiveness. The wild grasses grew in profusion, covering everywhere the land as with a garment of the softest and most luxuriant verdure. The hill sides were concealed beneath this marvelous plant growth which hid nature's ugliest scars from view. The rich soil, as yet unimpaired in fer- tility, sent up the stalks to the height of a man or of a horse. Wild berries flourished ; the beautiful mountain streams, clear as glass and of most refreshing coolness, ran, unpolluted by the dirt from mines. The wild deer and elk, grazed undisturbed in the open meadow, or sought the shade of their leafy coverts and gazed out upon their quiet world. The hill tops, now mainly covered by dense thickets of manzanita, madrone and evergreen brush, were then devoid of bushes and trees because of the Indian habit of burning over the surface in order to remove obstructions to their seed and acorn gathering. In the streams roved the trout, the salmon-trout and the salmon, the favorite sustenance of the Indians. Some scattered villages of natives formed the only fixed population of the beautiful Rogue river valley, which were located near Table Rock, on Ashland creek, Little Butte creek, and at a few other points, where in after years they struggled manfully against the incoming tide of white settlers.
Such was the aspect of the lovely valley of Rogue river when first beheld by the immigrants at the close of their arduous journey. The current of emigration which, setting at first for the vale of the Willamette, had been partially diverted toward the gold fields of California, suffered a still further change by the beginning of 1852, when the gold placers of the Rogue river country were discovered and the town of Jacksonville was founded. To thoroughly understand this change it is necessary to review a portion of the preceding events. The Willamette valley, we have said, was the objective point of the stream of immigration, prior to the discovery of gold in California. Since 1843 the fertile region of the Willamette had received constant though small accessions of population, the most of whom, starting from the border states and territories of the Mississippi valley, found their way by long and toilsome journeys to the Columbia region, The Dalles being a point upon their route. The
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Cascade range lying to the east of the infant settlements upon the Willamette, as yet had not been explored, and was supposed to present insuperable obstacles to travel. To the south of the settlements lay Southern Oregon, known only to a few adventurous spirits who had traveled its wilds and brought back reports of the untamable ferocity of its inhabitants. The condition of things was such as to prevent the Rogue river valley and the neighboring regions from being explored, although no doubt even at that early day its fertility and desirability were partly understood and somewhat spoken of. In another part of this volume the experiences of the trappers and earlier travelers through this region have been set forth as far as they relate to the character of the Indian inhabitants, and some of the more notable expeditions between the Wil- lamette and California have been mentioned. Of a more important character was the expedition of the Applegates, in 1846, in search of a route by which the emigrants, now coming overland in increasing numbers, could reach the Willamette more easily and quickly than by The Dalles route. This journey of discovery, previously referred to herein, resulted in opening a passage by which many thousands of people entered Oregon and California, it being widely known under the name of the southern route, or south road. In the year of its discovery a considerable number of people entered Oregon, passing through the Rogue river valley, the line of travel entering at the head of Bear creek and following the old California and Oregon trail from the Siskiyous down Bear or Stewart's creek to the Rogne river, and keeping along the south side of that stream to a point one and a half miles southwest of the present village of Grant's Pass, where it crosses the river, and turning north, proceeded by a hilly and uneven course northward to the Canyon, on the southern border of Douglas county, there entering the Umpqua valley. Returning from Fort Hall the Applegate party acted as guides for the first emigrants who passed over the route, their way taking them through the country of the Modoc and the Pinte tribes, who were very troublesome, murdering one of the white men at Lost river and stealing some stock.
During the progress of the Cayuse war, which followed the massacre of Doctor Whitman, near Walla Walla, in 1847, Governor Abernethy wished to send a message to the commandant of the United States' forces in California, soliciting aid in prose- cuting hostilities. Jesse Applegate was chosen as messenger, and provided with an escort of sixteen men-Levi Scott, John Scott, William Scott, Walter Monteith, Thomas Monteith, A. G. Robinson, William Gilliam, Joseph Waldo, James Campbell, James Fields, John Minto, James Lemon, John Dise, Solomon Tethero and George Hibbler. The party set ont from La Creole (Rickreal) in Polk county, and arrived at the Siskiyou mountains about the first of February, 1848. Here, instead of passing directly across into California, they undertook to travel eastward for a distance, and were lost in the snow. Half of the party turned back, taking all the horses, while Jesse Applegate with eight others pushed on by the aid of snowshoes. They, too, had to succumb to the depth of the snow and the rigor of the season, and turning north- ward they overtook the others at the South Umpqua river, and proceeded with them to the Willamette. No difficulties were experienced on account of the Indians, nor were the latter molested.
In 1848, 1849 and 1850 the Rogne river valley was increasingly traversed, mainly by parties of gold seekers on their way to California or returning to the Willamette.
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These men, intent chiefly upon the acquisition of gold, were not of a class to do more than slightly note the beauties of nature as exemplified in the luxuriant fauna and flora of the charming, yet wild and dangerous, region through which they had to pass. Thus far not only were no settlements made in Jackson county, but no reason existed for such settlements, excepting the obvious one of the country's fertility. It was too isolated for the abode of an agricultural community, and possessed the disadvantage of being occupied by hostile Indians, whereas the Willamette, whose farming industries were the most extensive on the coast, was devoid of disaffected aborigines. The time was not yet ripe for the advent of the race of pioneers, who were to change the scene of primitive wildness into the abode of industrious humanity, and build upon the haunts of wild beasts and wilder Indians the foundations of a peaceful and pros- perous society.
In 1851 began the settlement of the county, or more properly speaking, it then began to be looked upon as a possible home for settlers. In the spring and summer of that year three houses or stations became occupied permanently by white men, these being the three ferries on Rogue river, namely, Long's, Evans' and Perkins'. Other than these there were no houses or cabins between the South Umpqua and Yreka; or, in other words, Jackson county was uninhabited by whites, except for the few em- ployes of the ferries and the transient travelers who might be upon the road, or rather trail, leading from California to the Columbia. Curry county, the westernmost of the tier of three, was likewise uninhabited, receiving its first white population on the ninth of June of that year, when Port Orford was taken possession of.
The beauty, healthfulness and fertility of the valley had not proved sufficient incentives to induce the immigrants to pause here in their journey and occupy the pleasant land, for causes which we have slightly touched upon, and it was reserved for the tremendous attractive power of gold to cause the valley to become peopled, an effect which was brought about very rapidly, as we shall see. In the spring of 1851 travel became more than ever impeded by the depredations of the Indians, and organized efforts became necessary in order to keep open the trail then becoming much used. Murders and robberies were frequently reported, and Governor Gaines, ex-officio super- intendent of Indian affairs for Oregon, made a treaty with the Indians in midsummer, his action being preceded by a short but effective campaign by United States troops and volunteers combined against the braves of Sam and Joe, wherein the natives were badly beaten. The details of these operations having been set forth in the account of the Indian wars, the reader is referred thereto for the details and effects of the campaign. Directly following the close of hostilities Judge A. A. Skinner came to the valley in pursuance of his duties as Indian agent, and took up his residence southeast of Table Rock, on a donation claim supposed to have been the first taken in Jackson county, or in the whole Rogue river valley, for that matter. His house was the first one built on Bear creek and was a small log structure. With Judge Skinner resided the govern- ment interpreter, Chesley Gray, who took a donation claim adjoining and built a house upon it in order to comply with the law governing the holding of donation claims. He preferred to reside at the agent's, however. The Skinner claim is now the property of John B. Wrisley, while Isaac Constant owns the Gray claim. Moses Hopwood came from the Willamette with the oldest of his nine children and settled upon the well
WALLING. LITH. PORTLAND, OR
PUBLIC SCHOOL, ROSEBURG, DOUGLAS COUNTY.
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JACKSON COUNTY.
known Hopwood farm on Bear creek, near the two just mentioned, filing his claims thereto on Christmas, 1851. At about the same date Kennedy and Dean settled on the Willow Springs farm. Several other settlers came in at nearly the same time, and early in the year 1852 .Judge Rice occupied the location next to Skinner's and brought his wife and a small family, the lady probably being the second of her sex to locate permanently in the valley. The Riee place has been occupied by the family ever since, and is now owned by the widow. Mrs. Lawless possessed the distinction of being the first white woman settler, coming some time in the early part of 1852. Directly after his arrival Mr. Hopwood brought the wife and the remainder of his family from Portland, and set about farming on a small scale, being the pioneer of the farmers of Rogue river valley. In December, 1851, Stone and Poyntz took up their land claims at the crossing of Wagner creek and resided there for a short time, returning to their families in the East in 1852. An old man named Lewis took a claim adjoining theirs, but going to the Willamette valley for a stay of several months, his claim was "jumped" in his absence and he failed to recover it. A little later than Poyntz, Stone and Lewis, L. J. C. Duncan, now of Jacksonville, located a claim at Wagner creek, sometime in December, 1851. Chris. Thompson also came before the beginning of 1852 and accord- ingly ranks as one of the very earliest of the pioneers.
At the upper end of the valley the Mountain House claim was taken up and here resided Barron, Russell and Gibbs. On the Tolman place were Patrick Dunn, Thomas Smith and Frederick Alberding. The following white persons were residing in the Rogue river valley on New Year's day, 1852: Major Barron, John Gibbs, Russell, Thomas Smith, Patrick Dunn, Frederick Alberding (R. H. Hargadine came to 1sh- land in January), Stone, Poyntz, Lewis, L. J. C. Duncan, (E. K. Anderson and brother came to Wagner creek in January), Samuel Colver, Judge Skinner, Chesley Gray, Sykes and two others residing at Skinner's ; Moses Hopwood and two sons, N. C. Dean, Bills and son, Davis Evans and one or two others at Evans' ferry ; Perkins, and prob- ably one assistant. Total, twenty-seven or twenty-eight persons, all males. At Per- kins' ferry was a log house, supposed to have been the first one erected on Rogue river, which was fortified to resist Indian attacks, but notwithstanding his fortress Perkins was obliged to leave during the latter part of 1851, fearing the natives.
On the present Chavner place near Gold Hill, an old man named Bills had located, with his son. These men experienced great difficulty with the other whites, being charged with having conspired with the Indians to murder all the settlers. It is not very clear whether one or both of them became objects of suspicion, but it seems that they had to leave the country. One account is to the effect that the young man was detected in the conspiracy in his father's absence, and was arrested by the miners on Big Bar; while others recount that the old man was the suspected party. Forty pairs of blankets, some allege, was the price demanded for his surrender by Sam and Joe with whose people the culprit had taken refuge, and this Judge Skinner paid.
In January, 1852, the placers on Jackson creek were discovered by Sykes, Clug- gage, Poole and others, and an extensive immigration of miners began immediately on the dissemination of the news. In March it was estimated that from 100 to 150 men were working in the vicinity of Jacksonville, mainly on Rich gulch and the right branch of Jackson creek. James Skinner, nephew of the Judge, was among the 14
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lucky ones, and took out a decent fortune within a few weesk. Later in the season " Old man Shively," working in the gulch which bears his name, accumulated $50,- 000 and set out for home, guarding the box containing his wealth with a drawn revolver. At Big Bar a party of eight or ten men had early worked with rockers, and in the summer at the time of the Indian disturbances, wherein Lamerick and his company distinguished themselves, there were at times some hundred or more workers on the bar. Prospectors had begun at once to examine all the region, moving out from the Jackson creek diggings as a center, and prospecting every gulch, streamlet and hill side for many miles. The miners who in the preceding year had worked, on Josephine and Canyon creeks, in what is now Josephine county, had mostly deserted those diggings and betaken themselves to other scenes; but many of these now returned to Jackson county and engaged in mining. At an early date gold- bearing gravel was struck at the present Cameron place, on Applegate creek, and shortly after Forest creek was invaded by a small army of miners, who worked with excellent results amid its sands. The greater part of the mining was done with the rocker, scarcity of water preventing the use of toms. Foot's creek became a noted mining ground, hardly second to Forest creek. By the middle of the summer of 1852, not less than a thousand miners had arrived in the valleys of Rogue river and its tributaries, and prospected nearly every spot where gold was likely to be found. The wave which had swept over California and laid bare its mineral treasures, was now expending itself upon the far northern verge of the great auriferous belt, and its first low wash had crept up the foothills of Southern Oregon, the forerunner of the mighty human sea which was to follow.
Thus begun the active progress and development of Jackson county. With the open- ing of the placers, and the influx of miners, there sprang up a demand for the neces- saries of life, from whence trade took root and flourished, and merchants and packers entered upon their occupations. The chief seat of trade and activity was Jacksonville, which place quickly assumed the appearance and reality of a flourishing mining center, and was frequented by the workers from all the neighboring diggings. Provisions for such a throng were, of course, difficult to procure, being of distant production and con- sequent high price. Long trains of animals, mostly mules, performed the important and arduous service of bringing, from the Willamette valley and from Scottsburg, the necessaries of life most in demand, for it was not until several years later that the wagon roads were constructed, which, in their turn, connected the valley with the outer world. The principal highways, or, rather, trails, leading from Jacksonville were the road over the Siskiyous and the road northward to the Umpqua, via the Canyon. A year or two later, the Crescent City road was projected and laid out, whereby that port became a successful rival of Scottsburg-in earlier years a place of much real and enormous spec- ulative importance. Its fortunes began to sink by the year 1853, and within a few years it had ceased to be an important factor in the commerce of the Rogue river valley. Crescent City, on the contrary, grew and flourished at the expense of its northern rival, and shortly absorbed the trade which formerly centered at the mouth of the Umpqua. In 1851, the general government, through the military officers on the Pacific coast, resolved upon a road for military purposes from Scottsburg to Camp Stewart, on Bear creek, and in October, 1851, Major Alvord completed a survey of
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that portion of the road lying south of Myrtle creek, in Douglas county, choosing the Canyon route in preference to several others lying to the eastward. The road, for the greater part of its course, coincided with the old "Oregon trail." Congress appro- priated money for its construction, amounting in the aggregate to $120,000, and this money, or rather a portion of it, was expended under the direction of Colonel Hooker, afterwards called "Fighting Joe."
In the spring of 1852, several settlers began to experiment on the productive qualities of their lands, putting in whatever crops their very limited resources would admit. The grain and vegetables used for seed were brought from the Willamette valley and planted in soil whose capabilities were in no degree understood. The result of the first season's work was discouraging, indeed, to the new-comers, for the unusual drought of that year prevented the plants from coming to maturity. Some of the set- tlers planted several aeres of potatoes, with the expectation of realizing well upon them, but scarcely sufficient tubers were procured from their fields to keep their fami- lies from starving. Breadstuffs rose to an enormous value; late in the year, flour attain- ing a maximum price of a dollar and a quarter per pound. In the previous autumn it had ranged from twenty to thirty cents, with other articles in proportion. A great many land claims were taken up in the year 1852, and nearly all the bottom lands of Bear creek valley were claimed, mostly by people from the Willamette. If there is any distinetion to be made in the origin of the mining and farming population, it lies in the fact that the farmers were mostly Oregonians, while the greater part of the miners were from the California placers. But many embraced both occupations, pursuing the one when the weather served for mining, and returning to their donation claims when water gave out. For, as yet, only the shallowest placers were worked, and very little skill was necessary in order to successfully extract the gold, nor was much apparatus required. Thus a large number of settler had gathered and found occupation in the vicinity of Bear creek and its tributaries, the enterprising pioneer farmer had entered upon his pursuits, the mines were in an extremely productive condition, though, as yet, only the simplest and most laborious processes were in use, and the new town of Jack- sonville was gaining rapidly and proving its advantageous location for trade and activ- ity. The most valuable sites for farms were occupied that year by individuals, many of whom still live to reap the result of their timely and sensible action. Thus, within the space of one year, this rich and fertile country had become populated and advanced far upon the highway of rapid and thorough development. Even at that early day her resources had become recognized; her mines of gold were being prospected and worked as rapidly as the nature of things would admit; her forests of fir and pine were being drawn upon for lumber to serve the multifarious nses of the farmer, the miner and the inhabitant of towns. Precise accounts of the immigration of 1852 are not at land, but the reader will remember that it was in this year that the tide of human- ity, previously setting for the Willamette valley and the mines of California, was, in some measure, diverted to the Rogue river valley, whereby many settlers were added to those who came from other portions of the Pacific slope. In this connection, the reader will also recall the Tule lake massacre by Modoes and the subsequent exploits of Wright and Ross and their brave followers, as described in previous pages of this book. In the following year, 150 wagons came to Rogne river valley, rin the southern route,
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