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About Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937 | View Entire Issue (April 29, 1907)
THE MORNING OREGOXIAX, MONDAY, APRIL 29, 1907. OREGON THE PARADISE OF NIMRODS AND ANGLERS Game, Furred and Feather, Abounds in the State Best Deer Shooting in Country Here-Bear Still Plentiful and Elk Are Not Rare. Lordly Salmon, No ble Trout, Gamy Bass, and Many Other Fish Attract Eager Disciples of Isaak Walton to Beaver State. tj KW-v . . . II By A. 3. Winter. IP THBRf; is such a thing as a sports man paradise, still remaining in the Vnited States. It Is to be found In the Pacilo Northwest. There is no other sec tion of the country that ts so thickly popu lated with such a variety of game as the three states of Oregon, Washington and lldabo. The sportsman will find an abun fdaaee of small name and of game fish in nil parts of these three elates, and in the counties not yet thickly settled bear, mountain Hons. deer, etc.. abound. R e -mote from settle ments a great many elk are still to be found. Of feathered game there is such a vari ety that it is hardly possible to enumer- I ate. and one can only give a general idea or what is to be found throughout this rin- fo&ccd main W hairs an A. J. Winter.. abundance of ducks and geese, as well as swans and jack snipe. The wild fowl moat abundant are the teal, mallard, widgeon, sprig and wood ducks. Along the coast and in cer tain other localities, canvasbacka, red heads and bluebllls are numerous. In fact, wood ducks, teal, mallard and sprig very often rest In Oregon. Along the Columbia River and Willamette Slough . these ducks breed, and by September 1 there are thousands of them large enough to make good shooting, al though they are somewhat unsophisti cated. I presume, however, that in the Klamath Lake courltry, of Southern Ore gon, there are more wild fowl hatched than In all the sloughs of this part of the state or Washington combined. In the Klamath I.ake country swans, geese and pelicans, besides ducks, abound. Of upland birds we have an abundance. Chinese pheasants, quail and prairie chickens are common, and in the more sparsely settled sections of Oregon we find what we call native pheasants and blue .grouse. Of these upland birds the Chinese pheasant In Oregon, at least in the west ern part of the' state. Is the most abun dant, although the quail of Southern Ore gon and the prairie chicken of Eastern Oregon and Washington run them a elite second. The Chinese pheas ant, in the western part of Ore gon and Washington, Is becoming more plentiful year by year, and consjquently the shooting on Puget Sound is now al most as good as in the Willamette Valles'. There are more native pheasants and blue grouse In Kastcrn Washington and Ore gon than west of the Cascades. It Is as serted by some sportsmen that the Chi nese pheasant has a penchant for killing the young of the native varieties. Per sonally, my preference is for shooting quail, and 1 believe that there is no sport that can equal the quail shooting that is to be had In the vicinity of Medford, in Southern Oregon, No state In the I'nlon now has the deer shooting that the State of Oregon enjoys, particularly In the southern part of the tste. The counties of Coos, Curry, Doug las and Josephine. I venture to say. have more deer than any other four counties n this continent. These deer, however, ire mostly the blacktail varieties. Di rectly east, over the Cascades, near Prlne ville. the large muledeer abounds. In Southeastern Oregon there are big herds f antelope, but. on account, of the fact that It la very far irom railroads, the uiteiope are not hunted to any great ex tent, aiosi of the deer in the State of Washington are blacktails. and the best shooting is to he found on the slopes of the Cascades. Elk are found in the mountain districts of all three states. I presume there are more elk In the Bitter Root Mountains of Idaho than in either of the States of Ore gon and Washington, although It Is con ceded that a herd of 73 elk ranges south of Astoria and north of Nehalem. in the vicinity of Saddle Mountain, in Oregon. There are also good-sized bands of elk in the Slletx country, as well as on the Coos and Coquille Rivers, on the head waters of the Willamette and McKenzie Rivers of Oregon and in the Olympic and Cascade Ranges in the State of Washing ton. Mountain goats in plenty are to be found above the timber line in the Cas cades north of Mount St. Helens, in the State of Washington, while a little farther north, between Lake Chelan and the British line, there are moun tain sheep in large numbers. Tile common black bear is very numer ous in the Oregon country, and there are . few brown bear. They are the same species, except that they are different in color. The grtxzly bear In this territory Is practically extinct, with the possible exception of a portion of Idaho tributary to the Yellowstone Park. At least no grizzlies have been killed in this state for a number of years, nor have any been seen. The California grizzly bear of pio neer days is practically exterminated. This bear was once numerous in the louthern part of this state. The elk hunting In the Bitter Root Mountains is the best. In fact, elk can now be hunted only in this locality, as they aie protected for a term of years in both Oregon and Washington. The elk thown In the photograph on this page was kilted in the Bitter Root country two years nr,o. Naturally, any elk killed in the States of Oregon and Washington would not be photographed. So far as mountain scenery is concerned. I believe that the Stales of Orcaon and Washington have anything in this coun try "beaten to death." 1 am sure this ts the case when It conies to game. I noticed this particularly on a recent trip through the northern part of the State of Colo rado. To one who has been used to hunt ing in the Cascades and Coast Mountain Colorado does not look inviting. The hills look too dry and barren. The little town of Rifle, on the lenver Rio Grande road, is a famous starting point for hunt ing trips, but if the hunting country looks anything like that around Rifle, it must be very tame compared w ith the country we have here. I have hunted and rlshed all over the States of Oregon and Wash ington und a portion of Idaho, and have seen no country more rugged nd grand than is to be found In the Ol vmpics of Western Washington, or in the Coast Mountains, near John Mule Creek, in Southern Oregon. In fact, I have never been tn any more rugged country than 'V iWrk .2. . is i 'NLjYT'iirs treed by a woyvDrD. MfcJfe J-- 1., J a 111 1" Y I I issi.SlSSSSllSSllSIBIIIISl.il SWBISi ISSIIL IS! . S "JjSsH ' 11 11 " " '" II I I J I I LSJ IWWIS. 1ISIIIWU U II L 7WZ ZZA ffljVT ! Jliss 'J ' i I hiiijis mm il iismi.iiiisimi ll ill mi i usill isyilMHII .in i i iii sun i.i.ii iiiiiiiniiliiiiiini.il il i ii i i ii 111 m i i.si i ill 111 im iHrlltss I I . p t &- I w M M 74 1 fl II CHATOOK CAUGHT that from i!ie mouth or me John Mule Creek to the mouth of the Illinois Klver, which empties Into the Rogue River. 1 have mentioned the fact that in Southern Oregon is to be found the best deer shooting In thu? countrv. Proof of this assertion Is the acconmanving photo graph, sr'owh'g a string of eight old bucks hung up on a hunting trip last Seotcmber. The photograph of the wounded bear was also talwii on this hunting trip, but we were not very successful in killing bear, securing only two. One of the partv also killed a mountain lion. There is some rare game to be found in this teintory. Along the snow lines, par ticularly in the vicinity of Mount St. Hel ens, in the State of Washington, sports men shoot the ptarmigan, or white grouse. Bob White quail in certain sections are numerous. In fact. Bob White and moun tain ouai! are to he found almost any where in the States of Oregon and Wash ington, and the .mountain quail are quite numerous in Mmio. although there are but few Rob W hues, except In the south ern portion of that stale, in the farming country. I have not mentioned the saffehen as a game bird, although In Eastern Oresron and Washington young sagehens really are very good eating and may be classed as a game bird. 5 3 'riBiiMiinitir i rrr TiaBr-rr ---"-'- --- II These tigures substantiate the statement made regarding the coolness of the nights in all parts of the state, which in July averages 48 degrees, 66 degrees and 39 de grees, respectively, in the three principal districts. The extremely low mean of the minimum temperatures in July at Silver t-ake is largely due to the altitude of the station, which is about 4700 feet above pea level. The tarrierl presented by the Rocky Mountains is the prime reason for the fewness of the cold waves in Winter, as it is seldom that the cold from Alberta and Saskatchewan drains Into the coun try west of the Rocky Mountains, and it is the absence of rain In Summer that makes the state so free from the de structive effects of thunder storms. Mineral Wealth of Oregon OFF FOR TfiZ fWTING G&OUNDS BEST OF CLIMATES IS OREGON'S BOAST No Place on Earth So Greatly Blessed Says Government Expert Rainfall Seasonal and Summers Delight ful Reasons Explained by Scientist Southern Coast Counties of Beaver State Enjoy Perpetual Spring By Edward A. Beali, District Forecaster I -oca I Weather Bureau. THERE Is probably no section of the world having a more delightful cli mate for the round year than Ore gon. Its prominent characteristics are the absence of thunder storms, the coolness of the Summer nights and the rarity of cold waves in Winter. These features are general everywhere, and they add much to the salubrity of the climate, which statistics show to be one of the most healthy in the United States. In the matter of rainfall there is a wide di vergence In the ex tremes, and one can find localities where the annual rainfall to .,.. -irwi . ..K 3 where it is less than eight Inches, with Intermediate grada tions to suit the taste of tha most "fastidi ous. Another atti bute of rainfall in Oregon Is Its season al character, s.s near of the total annual I if LVLJ K. A. Beats. Iv three-fourths amount falls during the months of Xo vemlier. December. January, February and March. The reasons for the great variation in rainfall are three-fold: First, the prox imity of the state to the Pacific Ocean, which supplies the moisture: second, the prevailing winds, which carry the moist ure inland, and third, the' mountain ranges, which act as condensers. There are three great mountain systems In the state, and the "heaviest rainfall occurs on their windward slopes and the least In the valleys to the leeward of the differ ent systems. The first range parallels the coast and the heaviest rainfall is to be found on its western slope, where it varies from 136 Inches In the northern portion to about 70 inches In the southern portion. The next range is known as the Cascades, and it runs north and south at an average distance of a little over HO miles from the coast. This is the highest range, and several of its peaks are snow capped during the entire year. Over the western slope of this chain of mountains, at an altitude of about 3500 feet, the rain fall averages 90 inches in the north and about 40 inches In the south. The third system is known as the Blue Mountains, and they lie for the most part in the northeast portion of the state- The rain fall on thslr western slopes averages a little over 20 inches annually. It is on the windward slopes of these several ranges of mountains that the vast for ests of Oregon are to be found, although the eastern slopes of the .first two ranges are also heavily timbered. The broad valley between the Coast and the Cascade Mountains is well watered by numerous streams, and the rainfall is abundant, but not more than is needed for vegetation. The climate of this sec tion corresponds much with that of many parts of England, and the rainfall ranges between 45 Inches in the north to about SO inches in the south. Portland, the larg est city in the state, is situated at the northern end of this valley, and a record of the rainfall has been carefully kept in that city for the last 35 years, and it averaged in that time 45.10 inches. The district between the Cascade and the Blue Mountains is, for the most part, a high plateau where the rainfall averages' less than 15 inches, but, notwithstanding the scanty fall, large quantities of wheat are raised in the northern portion of this dis trict, and it Is said that wheat could be raised, equally as well in many other lor calltles but it Is not done owing to the lack of transportation facilities. This section, for some reason not as yet fully explained, has a secondary maximum of rainfall in the Spring, which falls Just at the time that it is most needed and which is nearly always suffi cient to carry the crops through to matur ity. The lack of rain during July and August is in some ways beneficial, as har vesting operations can be conducted with perfect safety and there is no fear of the grain crops being damaged by too rank a growth or by wet weather after being cot. Tf one wishes to find a climate that is neither too hot nor too cold, and also one where the changes ' from day to day are small. It is to be found in the western third of the state. At Newport, on the coast and about 100 miles south of the Columbia River, the mean Winter tem perature is 45 degrees and the mean Sum mer temperature is 57 degrees, with a difference of only 12 degrees between the temperatures of Summer and those of Winter. At Portland the average Winter temperature is 41 degrees and the tfverage Summer temperature 65 degrees, neither of which extend beyond the extremes of temperate weather. In the central and sub-. arid portion of the state the temperature is not so equable and the Winter mean Is as low as 30 degrees, but the Summer mean averages only 60 degrees, which is largely due to the cool nights, as the days as a rule are quite warm. .Mean . temperatures, however, do not convey a very clear Idea of the conditions to be met with from day to day, and a better understanding can be obtained if the mean of the maximum and the mean of the minimum temperatures are avail able. I will 'therefore take representative stations In all three districts for the months of January and July and give the mean maximum and the minimum tem perature at each of them, which will show tha average coolness of the nights and the average heat in the daytime. Along the coast a. representative station, is Newport, and the January mean mini mum temperature is 38 degrees and the mean maximum 62 degrees. For July at this station the mean minimum tempera ture is 48 degrees and the mean maximum 6S degrees. In the district between the coast and Cascade Mountains. Portland, although at the northern end of the Val ley, is a representative station, and the January mean minimum temperature Is 34 degrees and the mean maximum tem perature is only 44 degrees, while in July the mean minimum temperature is 56 de grees and the mean maximum tempera ture is 78 degrees. In the central plateau region Silver Lake is centrally located and its January mean minimum tempera ture as 17 degrees, and for the same month the mean maximum temperature is 40 degrees. In July at this station the mean minimum temperature Is 39 degrees and the mean maximum temperature la S5 degrees. THOUGH still tittle known east of the Rocky Mountains as a mining state. Oregon for many years has been a large producer of gold, and at the present time :s undergoing the greatest mining devel opment in Its history. Huge veins of low grade gold quartz, inexhaustible deposits of copper and valuable ledges of silver and lead ore that heretofore, owing to lack of railroad transportation, have been neglected, are now attracting the atten tion of capitalists, and scores of dividend paying mines are now being worked In all parts of the state. It is the belief of such men as the Gug genheims, the smelter kings, that Oregon's copper deposits alone will make this one of the great mining states of the coun try, and thej- are backing their judgment with their dollars. The first mining was done in Oregon about 57 years ago. immediately after the discovery of gold in California, the same precious' metal having been found in Southern Oregon first and later in every part of the state except the northwest ern. These placer mines, since 1850. have yielded many millions of dollars, the to tal gold output of the state since that year being estimated at 32.000,000. Last year It Is estimated, the gold yield was 158.000 ounces, valued at about S264.0QO. Oregon hs.. in the Cascade Range less than 150 miles from Portland, one of the few producing quicksilver mlites In the "United States and cobalt, nickel, plat inum, bismuth and other comparatively rare metals are found in considerable quantities. Coal deposits of almost incredible extent exist in Oregon, but are still undeveloped, though for more thari 40 years coal has been mined on Coos Bay for shipment to San Francisco. The greatest coal de posits are in the vicinity of this harbor. Most of the coal so far found m the state is lignite, but well adapted for ordinary use. Most of the steamers in the coast ing trade between San Francisco and Portland burn It. Free Trip to Pacific Coast. The Portland Commercial Club offers $5000 cash for articles on Portland. Or., and this part of the United States 80 prizes. Many sufficient to pay all ex penses for the trip. Write for particulars. . its. . Ner t hiirrhmnn. By ey Chnrehrtan, "President Oregon Flph and Cento Association. IT IS the natural right of man to hunt and fish, but In nearly all "t the older states of the Union he has r.othing left but his legal rights, surrounded by the particular laws ef : the community In which he desires t fish and hunt, further abridged by cre ated Ip.v.d and water estates and rights, mills and chemical works of various kinds, ur.tll fishing Is but a mockery 1 of that ancient sport. mil ,uww.iiwi Then, with the fever still in his veins, he looks with longing eyes to vlr- 'j gin fields, and now .1 rises before his soon to be enchanted vision the glorious t a t of Oregon. with more streams and more different kinds, tribes and species of trout and tHtmon than were ver dreamed of In o 1 d Ike Walton's philosophy. Within the s'ate are from 35 to 40 different varieties of trout and chad, according to different authorities, with some eight or ten distinct species, all nterbreeding-or crossing within their distinct classes, taking habits and col ors from their surroundings, so that It is impossible for any icthyologist to distinctly classify them all. If you are a newcomer to the state and have the fishing (term in your blood, you can battle with the glorious steelhead and silver' salmon from Sixes River and its tributaries on the south;, to the Columbia River and its various tributaries on the north; or from the Kecanlcum on the west to the McKenzle and its branches on th east, and tight red sides. Tolly Var dens. cut-throat and char of various kinds, until with wondering eyes and grateful heart you marvel how as a sportsman you could have missed for so many years such a paradise for sportsmen. Perhaps it Is an exaggeration, but some Oregon anglers swear to It, that here some of the fish are so old that they wear eyeglasses and are so "game" that they will occasionally help the fisherman by pushing or shouldering- the captive fish toward the shore, thus making more room for Overcrowded wateVs. In fishing within the state and keep ing strictly within the game laws, the fisherman can find sport with strictly game fish all the year around. In lde waters tributary to the Columbia and Willamette he can find the salmon trout up to two and one-half pounds In weight, and silversldes and pink, spotted, bull-nosed. Dolly Vardens, all from to 5 pounds in weight, from September l to April 1. Then come the various species of brook trouts. With spoon fishing at Willamette Falls at different stages of the river from May till July. From the first warm days in May, you may catch the broad-shouldered pot-bellied black bass, with a freight warehouse for a mouth, and eyes that since his introduction into the state have expanded from viewing Its glori ous scenery till they fairly twinkle as he snaps the seductive minnow. The exotic hass gives the older fishermen with the rheumatic pegs a fight with out the heart-breaking climbs and wades that pursuit of the brookle with the fly incur. Come to Oregon, ye fisherman, and once feel the jolt of a six-pound bass with good tackle, or a 15-pound salmon on a spoon hook, and you will be content to devise the East ern States out of their private pre serves, either for hunting or fishing, to John D. and bis fellow-plutocrats. They will attract you no more, once having tasted the joys of Oregon sport For the rear guard of the angling host, a practice ground for the re cruits are the various fresh-water sloughs and lakes where the timid angler with cane pole and worms -will And the yellow and black catfish, in troduced from the Delaware River in Pennsylvania. They did not Introduce the best variety the white catfish probably because politicians and not fish experts generally receive appoint ments as palace-car fish distributors for the Government. Properly cleaned and fried, all the catfish are consid ered mighty good eating where no bet ter fish abound. Still milder fishing is the little Ger man carp, with the markings of a beer glass on his side; and last of all, sans fight, sans meat, but plus bones' is the sucker that the Eastern boy with his half-holiday, caiifrht and sold to the family on Fridays for a shilling 'loJsen. to make pocket rr"ey a fis in the economy of nature greedily de voured for want of better varieties If.7" ,are dyPeptic. ff your bo-ok won t balance, if your engine won t steam, or your clothes don't fit yon- if your liver is on a strike, leaning 'up against your backbone with a plug hat on and you live In Oregon, get out and fish, and your troubles will surely dis appear. Diverse Fruit Product. Fruits grown in Oregon are known In all metropolitan markets in this country, and because of their excellence are meet ing with an increased demand abroad. The estimated value of ail fruits pro duced in the state last year rs $2,875,160. Apples lead in this with a value of 135.00. Other fruit are included as fol lows:' Pears. r.7.2SO: peaches $172 7.V-; prunes, $693,500; cherries. $113,410: grapes. $37,000; strawberries, J2SS.O00; all other fruits. $158,650. The orchard acreage Is constantly being extended, and more care is being taken in the culture, including compulsory spraying to avoid fruit pests. Hop Industry Is Important. Oregon's hop crops are bountiful and the quality excellent. Both soil and climate are well adapted for this pro duct, and large breweries within the state afford a ready market, while Oregon hops are much in demand outside the state. There were 30,000 acres set out in hops last year, producing 158.K55 bales. This crop has a value of $3,457,250. The plckinc of hops affords both employment and recreation to thousands of people each year. Last year the average price paid was 50 cents a box of nine bushels.