USA > Oregon > Douglas County > History of southern Oregon, comprising Jackson, Josephine, Douglas, Curry and Coos counties, comp. from the most authentic sources > Part 54
USA > Oregon > Jackson County > History of southern Oregon, comprising Jackson, Josephine, Douglas, Curry and Coos counties, comp. from the most authentic sources > Part 54
USA > Oregon > Josephine County > History of southern Oregon, comprising Jackson, Josephine, Douglas, Curry and Coos counties, comp. from the most authentic sources > Part 54
USA > Oregon > Coos County > History of southern Oregon, comprising Jackson, Josephine, Douglas, Curry and Coos counties, comp. from the most authentic sources > Part 54
USA > Oregon > Curry County > History of southern Oregon, comprising Jackson, Josephine, Douglas, Curry and Coos counties, comp. from the most authentic sources > Part 54
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Umpqua bay, from its entrance to its head, is eight miles long, and from three- fourths to one-half mile wide. On portions of both sides, marshes, intersected by tidal sloughs, extend to the hills. These lands cover about 1,800 acres, which, when reclaimed by diking, will be valuable. The bay is perfectly land-locked, affording a sheltered anchorage of 1,500 acres, with depthis ranging from fourteen to thirty feet at low tide. It is the deepest just below Gardiner. The entrance to Umpqua bay pre- sents the same principal features and general outline as the sea. Rugged hills, covered with fir timber on the south, a long line of sand spit, strewn with drift, on the north, the channel running westward to the bar, which lies one-half a mile outside of the general shore line. No change of importance is perceptible in the form and position of the bar, as shown by the United States coast survey of 1852. The engineers made soundings across the bar, and found thirteen feet the least depth at low tide. Sailing vessels provided with pilots who know the bar, can enter in favorable weather. The floods of the Umpqua occur in the winter. The highest recorded is that of December, 1861, which rose to a height of forty-five feet above low water mark at Scottsburg, and covered the marshes in the bay to a depth of two feet.
PACIFIC
Siuselaw River.
LAN
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N. Fork Siuselau
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Elk CT.
ELKTON.
Umpqua River.
YONCALLA.
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Calapooia Cr.
OAKLAND
Hubbard Cr.
UMPQUA FERRY.
WILSUR.
CLEVELAND.
South Fork.
ROSEBURG.
LOOKING GLASS,
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TEN-MILE,
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Smith River.
GLAS
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GARDINER.
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Dean Cr.
Elk Cr.
& Clear, Lake.
Miller Cr.
URRY COUNTY
JOSEPHINE
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Umpqua.
East Fork.
Willamette Meridian.
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North Fork.
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F. W. BENSON, C. E.
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385
DOUGLAS COUNTY.
The survey mentioned was requested by the citizens of Scottsburg for the purpose of ascertaining the feasibility and cost of removing the obstructions to navigation between that point and Gardiner. These consist of three bars, existing at Brandy island, Echo island, and the mouth of Deane's creek, and of a number of rocks in the channel just below the steamboat landing at Scottsburg. These bars have been formed recently, as within a few years schooners drawing seven and a half feet ascended to within a mile of Scottsburg. They are composed of sand, mud and gravel overlying rock, with a ruling depth of two and a half to three feet at mean low tide. The materials required in building jetties to increase the scour are found in abundance in the vicinity. The estimated cost of improving the three bars is $11,110. With this report the matter was dropped, no subsequent action being taken either by the government or interested residents.
As the main artery of the valley, the navigability of the Umpqua was formerly discussed, and Curtis Stratton attemped to demonstrate the feasibility of running flat- boats laden with agricultural produce down the river to Scottsburg and there selling the vessel for what the lumber would bring, having no hope of being able to ascend the river with any craft. This bold navigator made his experimental voyage in a small skiff, manned by two or three persons, and for the sake of impressiveness carried a flag and a tin horn whose tootings resounded through the wooded hills and rocky canyons of the Umpqua. Their report of the difficulties they encountered destroyed all hope of navigating the river, for a time at least, steam power not then having entered into the calculation. The Swan, a steamer commanded by Captain Hahn [Hann] ascended the river as far as Roseburg in 1870. The distance from Scottsburg to Roseburg was stated to be nearly 100 miles. The latter place is situated at an elevation of 324 feet above the ocean, according to the topographical engineers ; but later surveys make it somewhat more. Winchester is 308 feet above tide-water, and Canyonville 516. A move was made to secure appropriations from the general government for the purpose of improving the channel, as Captain Hahn reported that the expenditure of a few hundred dollars would enable vessels like his to pass the rapids with facility, except in seasons of extreme low water. Shortly after the initial voyage a company known as the Merchants and Farmers' Navigation company, was incorporated with the object of " navigating the Umpqua river from Gardiner to Canyonville or as far as practicable." The directors of the corporation were J. C. Floed, president; T. P. Sheridan, J. C. Hutchinson, D. C. McClellan and S. W. Crane. Asher Marks was treasure and James Walton secretary. The capital stock was fixed at twelve thousand dollars. Captain Hahn's services were engaged and a suitable steamer was immediately constructed. This vessel was built under the direction of Captain Hahn, and was completed in August, 1870. Her name was the Enterprise, and her cost with incidentals was about $8,000. The directors of the company advertised their rates for freighting from Gardiner, which were as follows : To Scottsburg three dollars per ton ; to Calapooia ten dollars ; to Roseburg twelve; and to landings above the latter place fourteen dollars. The rates down river were just one half the up river tolls.
In editorial comment upon these events, the Plaindealer remarked: "There is now no doubt that the Enterprise will be able to come to Roseburg for at least four months in the year, and, with a very little improvement of the river, will be able to make her 50
386
SOUTHERN OREGON.
trips for eight months. The difficulties in the way of navigation are more apparent than real, the distance from Scottsburg to Roseburg being one hundred miles, and the altitude of the latter place being about three hundred feet above mean tide. The improvements required consist principally in blasting rocks from the channel. There is sufficient water to secure navigation all the year around if confined in one bed, and the improvements, if once made, will last forever. Some few wingdams may be neces- sary on the South Umpqua, but the expense of these will be comparatively trifling. The estimated cost of these improvements is $75,000, which would open to commerce a more productive country than the Willamette valley. Senator Williams, the champion of Southern Oregon, introduced a bill in congress to authorize the secretary of war to make the necessary improvements, but the bill failed to pass. While we believe it to be the duty of congress to make improvements upon the navigable streams, we are happy to say that in this matter we shall not wait for their action, but will help our- selves."
About the first of February following, the Enterprise left Scottsburg on her first trip up the river, and ascended beyond Sawyer's rapids, but finding the water dimin- ishing, she returned to Scottsburg, and made no further effort. The winter was uncon- monly dry, and the Umpqua remained very low. In January of 1871, the state legis- lature memorialized congress for an appropriation of $75,000 to improve the navigation of the Umpqua. Some months before this, namely, in 1870, two officers of the U. S. engineer corps, Colonel Williamson and Lieutenant Herren, were detailed to make a survey of the river, in order to ascertain its navigability. They reported that it could be made navigable for about seven months in the year, with a depth of four feet above low water, from Scottsburg to Roseburg, for about $22,000; and that a steamer could then carrry freight to Roseburg for $20 per ton, and the amount saved annually on imports would pay for the improvements.
The community had not by this time recovered from the pleasant sight of seeing a steamer floating in the South Umpqua at Roseburg, and upon that event quite a " boom " had been built up. Aided by the reports of the government engineers and the action of the state legislature, an appropriation was secured, congress giving the sum of $22,600 for the purpose of removing the obstructions to navigation. This took place in March, 1871. In the same month the Plaindealer said : " We are confident that ere two years have elapsed Roseburg will have daily steam communication with the coast for seven months in the year. Farmers, plant grain!" It is noticeable that for two or three years the newspapers argued manfully in the rainy season in favor of steamboats on the Umpqua. In summer, with the diminished floods, their thoughts took another turn, and railroads were their topic, until the advent of the Oregon and California road.
The appropriation becoming available, the question of how to expend it became an important one for the whole county. Contracts were let for removing the rocks at the most dangerous rapids, and W. B. Clark undertook the work. The work was duly carried out and accepted. Mr. Clark received some $14,000 of the sum, the remainder, it is understood, not having been yet drawn. The results as to the navigation of the stream do not appear to have equaled expectations. No vessels have been able to ascend the river, or, rather, it does not appear that any have tried. Probably the idea
387
DOUGLAS COUNTY.
of navigating a stream which falls on an average three feet in each mile, is sufficient to deter every experienced navigator. Since the coming of the railroad, the trade of Scottsburg with the interior has almost ceased, and the demand for river traffic has ceased with it. The steamers of the Merchants and Farmers' Navigation Company (they had purchased the Swan of Captain Hahn) were engaged on the lower river, between Scottsburg and Gardiner, and after a time the Enterprise was taken around to Coos bay for service on that body of water. Captain Hahn, the veteran navigator, the Columbus of the Umpqua, removed from the scene of his triumphs and perils, and withdrew to California. The railroad projected from Roseburg to Coos bay will finally remove all necessity for navigation of the Umpqua.
Near the eastern boundary of Douglas county lies a very interesting and remark- able region, whose peculiarities deserve a somewhat lengthened description, unique as they are in many respects. It is a region of trees, of rocks, and of waterfalls. Here nature is seen at her grandest. The precipitous sides of the lofty mountains are clothed with evergreens. In the shade of the mighty forest the streams flow from slope to slope, tracing their lonely way over rock and through chasm, laving the mossy boulder and bearing away minute fragments to the land below. In summer this is an enchanting land. All nature as seen in the temperate zone, conspires to make inter- esting and sublime the country of the Cascades. It is of the higher altitudes that mountaineers and travelers speak when they describe the glories of the scenery. The region is one of wonderful beauty, grandeur and picturesqueness. The union of vast distances, with towering heights, mirror-like expanses of water, limitless forests, and rushing torrents, makes up a scene that even the most prosaic of humanity can but regard with interest and awe. The mighty Cascade range culminates at the head of the Rogue and Umpqua rivers. It is there that are massed and concentrated the grand- est views, the most romantic situations, the fairest of nature's works. In no other region of equal extent are found a greater number or variety of objects attractive to the tourist, the lover of nature or the pleasure-seeker. Eleven grand snow-peaks are ranged within view. Mounts Scott, Thielsen, Pitt, Old Baldy, the Bohemian range and Dia- mond Peak, crowned with everlasting snow, seem to crowd npon each other. A score of beautiful lakes, tenanted by the gamest fish, lie about the bases of the giant peaks. Crater lake, to the southward, on the confines of Jackson county, lies surrounded by its five sentinels, objects to rivet the eye and the mind. The volcano lying within the magic circle formed by the upper waters of South Umpqua, presents its ruined and demolished walls as evidence of the mighty agencies which built up this stupendous range, and later on covered a vast region with pumice and scoria. This mountain, or rather the remains of what was once a mountain, and perhaps one of the largest and highest of all the Cascades, lies southwest of Cowhorn Peak, and but a few miles dis- tant. It consists of a rim of rock a few hundred feet in height, rising steeply from the east and nearly perpendicularly from the west, toward which point the rim is concave like the arc of a circle. This are partly ineloses the space upon which the volcano sat, but whose internal forces destroyed it and blew it in fury from its resting place. Four small lakes filled with clear water and alive with trout, sparkle in the place where once such mighty energies were at work. Five hundred feet perpendicularly rise the rugged rocks to the east, forming an inaccessible wal! which overlooks the now placid and
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SOUTHERN OREGON.
quiet scene. The altitude of the higher peaks varies from 8,500 to 9,250 feet, Diamond Peak and Mt. Scott being of about the former height, and Baldy, Cowhorn and Pitt, each over 9,000 feet. The Bohemian range, at the junction of the Calapooias with the Cascades, is something like 7,000 feet, and many other prominent points north and south approach or exceed these figures
Through these solitudes the lordly elk once made his way, but now his race is there extinct. Bears of various species, the brown, the black, the cinnamon, and even the grizzly, abound upon the lower slopes, deriving their sustenance from the clover, which blossoms early, and getting fat in the time the huckleberries ripen. At other times they exist upon smaller and weaker animals, the sheep of the adventurous fron- tiersmen forming a greater part of their diet. Bears are most numerous upon the head- waters of the South Umpqua, where they may be seen in dozens, in early spring, browsing upon the tender shoots of clover. Here is the sportsman's paradise. To hunt and kill even this game is a thing of little moment. Even the powerful grizzly is dis- patched with hardly a thought of danger by the hardy guides and mountaineers. The deer (blacktail) are hunted with success, three Indians having killed, in a few days, or rather murdered for their hides, no less than two hundred and ten deer on the small stream known as Fish lake creek. These beautiful and timid animals become very fat in the autumn, their flesh being equal to the best beef and mutton. The mule deer is occasionally met with on this slope of the range, but not often do they come west of the summit, their habitat being upon or among the less wooded hills and mountains of Eastern Oregon and Idaho. They exceed the blacktail in size, but not in quality of meat. The maximum weight of the mule deer is said to reach 300 pounds, or twice that of the largest blacktails.
Antelopes have been seen near Cowhorn, but their range is eastward on the open hills, and rarely are they found in a densely timbered country. Mountain sheep are reported in the Cascades, but are seldom or never seen in Douglas county. Grouse are abundant, pheasants not less so. The former, a migratory bird, accumulates much fat during his stay among the huckleberries and salal bushes, and provides for the hunter's fare a delicacy not easily surpassed. Geese and ducks breed in the lakes and marshes of the higher Cascades, and during a great part of the year are exceedingly numerous. Their flesh, too, assists to vary the diet of the hardy hunter. Trout of two species abound in nearly all the lakes and streams. These matchless game fishes are of more than one species, the small mountain or brook trout existing in the rapid streams, a much larger variety finding its home in the lakes and certain of the larger and deeper rivers. These latter not unfrequently attain a weight of ten pounds or more. Some minor varieties of fish also occur here, the chub being the principal. In Fish lake, close to the volcano, the greatest profusion of these varieties occurs, making a favorite resort, not only of man, but of those more skilled fishers, the fish-eating birds and mammals. By a singular chance there are no fish in Cowhorn lake, as reported by mountaineers. The water of that lake is said to be warm, which may account for their absence. The guessed altitude of this sheet of water is 4,500 feet, its surface has an area of 5,000 acres, it is comparatively shallow, is oblong in shape, and forms the source of the North Umpqua. Next to Crater lake it presents more points of interest than any other of the remarkable bodies of water found on the higher Cascades.
H
WALLING -LITH - PORTLAND-OR,
LATE RESIDENCE OF JOHN SISEMORE AND HOME OF PELTON BROS. SAMS VALLEY, JACKSON CO.
3.89
DOUGLAS COUNTY.
The region of the North Umpqua is one of canyons, endless precipices and water- falls, and is destitute of aught but the faintest of trails. Taking its rise in Lake Dia- mond (Cowhorn Peak lake), the river flows in a stream of thirty or forty feet in width, and perhaps a foot deep, running over a bed of pumice stone. Further on it is swelled by numerous affluents, all rising from springs, sometimes of great capacity, and all carrying the clearest and coldest of water, within which the speckled trout gambols. Instead of extensive prairies, only very small openings appear, covered with grass. Within these the greatest profusion of game, animals and birds find sustenance, and in the shadow of the woods the huge and active cougar (California lion) stalks, cat-like, upon his unsuspecting victim. Man has never reduced these lonely solitudes to his sway, and for many a long year will find them profitless, save for the timber which grows here, or for the health which all may seek in the pure air and icy waters.
The Coast Range mountains, though not so lofty as the Cascades, and not possessing the snowy peaks and great mountain lakes of which that region boasts, are still most picturesque and beautiful. From it run down many small streams to the sea, or to augment the waters of the Umpqua, Sinslaw or Coquille, which have hewn a passage for themselves through this opposing wall. These little streams dash from rock to rock, gathering here and there into cool and shaded pools where dwell the speckled trout. At their banks the timid deer assuages his thirst. Sometimes the lordly elk- scion of a fast disappearing race-ventures to the mossy brim. Certain wise and cau- tious forest inhabitants, the marten, the weasel, the fisher, here hide from the eye of man, and prey upon the harmless creatures destined for their food. The blundering black bear, much maligned for his love of mutton, has his unpretentious home among these almost impenetrable thickets. The California lion has been heard to roar in these solitudes, and his lesser congener, the wild cat, is not unknown therein. The active chipmunk and the small red squirrel, with their graceful and handsome relative the bushy-tailed gray squirrel, find within these woods the sustenance and protection which their habits demand and utilize. This is even now the condition of these mountains, so little has the order of nature been disturbed.
The avalanche or landslide, is a feature of this region, when great masses of earth, loosened by the action of the water, come rushing irresistibly down some narrow canyon. Sometimes every loose boulder, all trees, and every partiele of earth will be swept onward with the accumulated waters, leaving the place over which they passed as clean and bare as if it had been carefully cleared by the mightiest forces of science and nature. A marked example of this may be seen at Laird's Half-way House, usually known as Sitkum. A slide of unusual magnitude took place in the mountain above the house, an enormous amount of timber, boulders and earth falling over the 100-foot cascade near by. From the narrow canyon below the fall every vestige of loose rocks, trees and earth was removed, leaving the solid sandstone walls and floor perfectly smooth. Below and near the buildings the debris collected, and now lies many feet in depth, covering fertile land and desolating an otherwise pleasant pros- pect. Nearly twenty persons were gathered in the house, and all narrowly escaped death, the avalanche passing so near as absolutely to pile itself to a considerable height against the end of the building. A little diversion of its flood and all would have been lost.
CHAPTER XLVII.
RESOURCES AND INDUSTRIES OF DOUGLAS COUNTY.
Wealth of Timber-Extent of the Forests-Varieties of Forest Growth-Timber Comparatively Untouched-Min- eral and Coal Resources-Agricultural-Sheep, Cattle and Horses-Fruit and Berries-Transportation Facilities.
The natural resources of Douglas county are of the most valuable and inexhaustible character, consisting of a wealth of desirable timber, valuable deposits of minerals, and a soil of great fertility. Agriculture and stock-raising, especially sheep of the finer grades, comprise the leading industries of the people. Of the various resources and industries it is the purpose of this chapter to speak in detail. The most prominent and observable source of wealth is the limitless extent of forests that cover the sides and bases of the mountains which enclose the Umpqua basin. Two vast ranges of forest- covered mountains traverse the state from north to south, the Coast Range and Cas- cades, and within the limits of Douglas county, united as they are by lateral ranges, they bear upon their tops and sides a wealth that would ransom a nation.
As yet, the woodman's axe has left uneffaced the glories of the great forest, which clothe, as with a garment, the rugged, scarred and canyon-seamed sides of the Cascades. For thirty miles, with scarcely a break, the mighty woods extend downward, from near the everlasting snow to the green and smiling valleys. Here grow the cedar, pine, fir, hemlock (scattering), yew and other less notable trees, and attaining a great size and producing lumber of the very best quality. The pine is of two varieties, the sugar and the white pine, the former, a most beautiful and valnable wood, predominating. Speci- mens of this timber yield boards, split with frow and mallet, to the length of thirty and even fifty feet. They grow to a great height, affording a length of from 70 to 100 feet clear of limbs and knots, and reaching five and a half feet in greatest diameter. The finest groves of sugar pine exist on a small tributary of Cavitt creek, where, on a space of one acre, sixteen of these fine trees stand, whose average base diameter is nearly four feet. The firs also flourish, growing with a straight grain that allows them to be split to almost any length. The yellow fir is the most valuable; the red variety most abundant. The cedar grows abundantly, partaking of the qualities of the pine as far as regards adaptability to the construction of dwellings. Two varieties, the smooth bark and the mountain cedar, grow, the latter by far the most abundantly, but least valua- ble. A portion of the timber may be found to be affected by dry rot, but the greater percentage is perfectly sound in every particular. The sugar pine attains a maximum diameter of seven feet ; there are red firs of a diameter of eleven feet, though these are rare ; and specimens of the smooth bark cedar have reached eight feet through or twenty-five feet in circumference. The rough bark cedar is somewhat less in maximum diameter. Besides these, some less important growths are found. The yew, famous for
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DOUGLAS COUNTY.
its durability, grows upon the low flats sometimes to a diameter of thirty inches. In Portland, the wood commands eighty dollars per thousand feet, being used for the finer grades of cabinet work.
In order to arrive at a roughly approximate estimate of the amount of fir, pine and cedar timber now standing in the eastern part of Douglas county, it is necessary to inquire what area of land is covered by these trees? For other purposes we may assume that the whole country east of range 4, is timber land. This area equals about thirty townships. In the absence of minute statistics one can do no more than assume that the average of standing timber thereon is 35,000 feet per acre-presumably a low esti- mate. These figures result in 22,666,000,000 feet, a quantity inconceivable to the mind, but certainry a very important and telling factor in the future prosperity of the country.
Thus far but faint attempts have been made to utilize this splendid source of wealth. Two small mills only are upon the North Umpqua. Of these, Patterson's mill, owned now by the Tipton Brothers, stands upon the banks of the river a mile below the East Umpqua. Steam is the motive power, and there are double circulars, edgers, trimmers, a planer, etc. This mill, built in 1876, was located four miles further up stream, but on the accession of the present owners, in 1878, was removed to its pres- ent site. Its capacity is from 10,000 to 13,000 feet of lumber per day, most of which finds a market at Roseburg. The other mill spoken of is owned now (1883) by Messrs. Sambert & Noble, purchasers from Mr. Trask, and is located one mile below the Pat- terson, having nearly the same capacity. The motive power is water. The mill was built about 1876, and manufactures ordinary lumber, doors, windows, shingles, etc. The average price of rough lumber, fir, per thousand, has been about ten dollars, while sugar pine has brought twenty-five dollars.
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