172
THE WEST SHORE.
August, 1883,
JACKSON COUNTY.
Its Great Agricultural and Min
eral Resources.
ROWS RIVER VAM,EY IHr 1TAL0F OREGON,
Fruit, Grain, Bay, Butter, Stock, Timber
and Minerals.
Though a, third of a century hai rolled by
lince smoke fint Issued from the clay chimney of
the uttler'i cabin in Rogue river valley, that re
gion ii but now being opened to the world by
that great factor of modern progress, the railroad.
The iron horse of commerce is rapidly approach
ing it from the north and the south, and before the
birth of another yeai its forest-crowned hills will
echo across the grain-carpeted valley the locomo
tive's shrill whistle. A new branch will be added
to the tiee of commerce ; not a tender shoot but
a stout limb of vigorous growth, one that will
give more than it receives and strengthen the
trunk to which it is united. Though to a degree
isolated from its sister counties, communication
maintained only by means of the staee and
cumbrous freight wagon, cut off almost totally
from an outside market for its products, the
natural resources of Jackson county have been
dcveloed to a degree almost unknown and en
tirely unappreciated by those not familiar with its
condition and history. The rude cabini have
given place to comfortable and elegant residences,
large and substantial barns have succeeded the
thatched stables of the pioneer, well tilled fields
and thrifty orchards attest the success of agricul
ture, manufacturing industries have sprung up,
towns with houses, dwellings, population and
trade that astonish the strnnger have grown and
nourish, farmers and business men have become
wealthy, and all the indications of proerily arc
observable on every hand. With such a begin
ning, what must be the result of an early con
nection with the trade centers of the world ?
Jackson county lies in the extreme southern
end of Oregon, Imrderlng on the California line,
and Is hemmed in between the Cascade mount
ains on the east and those of the Coast Range on
the west, the Kogue river mountains on thi north
and the Siskiyou on the south, all ol which oc
cupy a portion of the ,8oo square miles em
braced within lis territory. Surrounded by these
mountain ranges is the thickly settled portion of
the county, I lie lieautiful Kngue river valley.
The valley pror is alwut forty miles long by
twenty wide, though sometimes the name is made
to embrace the whole walcr-shed of that turbu
lent stream. The mountains are heavily timbered
and rich in minerals the foothills afford splen
did erasing for cattle and sheep, and their special
adaptation to viticulture and the growth of cer
lain kinds of fruit is now being recogniied ( the
valley lands produce cereals, hay and vegetables
in abundance, and the river bottoms fruit of un
suriwued excellence. In the diversity of its
producti and resources, Jackson county is ,upe
rioi to any In the state, and needs but the rail.oad
advantage, soon to be given to take a front rank
in wealth and Importance.
The beauty and probable fertility of Rogue
Hm valley were frlr commented upon for y.ra
by the bands of American and English trappers
that traversed it on their way between the Co
lumbia and the trapping grounds of California,
but owinp to the fact that it was cut off from an-
o - ------------ r
proach by sea and to the hostility of the Indian
tribes of that rerion. no effort was made to 00
cudv it until lonir after the settlements in the
Willamette had become so numerous that the
territory of Oregon was organized. The hostile
and thievine character of the savapes won for
them the title of " Rogue Indians," and this
name has descended to the valley, the river that
drains this whole region and the mountains that
border the stream toward the coast. The regu
lar trail from the Willamette to the Sacramento
led through this valley, and many a fatal en
counter is recorded between the natives and bands
of trappers and emigrants passing through
Under such circumstances there was sm.nl! in,
ducemcnt for the emigrants to settle there with
their families, when so much desirable land could
be found in the Willamette vallev. where a de.
gree of safety was assured by the very extent of
tne settlements. The discovery of gold on
Klamath river and its tributaries in 1850 and the
great rush to those mines in the spring of 1851,
led to the discovery, also, of rich diggings on the
streams of Jackson and Josephine counties a few
weeks later. Hostile Indians never protected a
rich mining region from invasion bv the irre.
pressable gold hunter. Miners flocked into the
mountains bordering the vallev on the west, and
though they suffered frequently at the hands of
ine native proprietors, they not only were not
driven away but increased in numbers. Th,
town of Jacksonville sprang up and become the
uaue center, pack trains brought supplies from
both Oregon and California, and the quiet wil
derness awoke suddenly into life and activity.
The great demand and hich mice for
ables and grain induced settlers to occupy the
cnoice spois in tne valley and alone the streams.
exposed to the wrath of the savages and suffer-
mg me otner disadvantages of pioneer life. For
the next six years a constant warfare was min.
laincd. Travelers and pack-trains were am
bushed, whole families massacred, bloody Wattles
fought and worthless treaties made, ending in
the extermination of a majority of the Indians
and the complete removal of the remainder to a
reservation many miles away.
Freed from this ereat drawback to its m,.
ity, Jnckson county made rapid progress. Its
nm.es were rich and supported a large popula
lion, drawing supplies of food chieflv fmm it..
farmer, in the valley. The mutural support thus
afforded by ils two leadine industries is lb. .......1
of the great prosperity of this region, a prosper-
, -.uukui "'"" nseii, substantial and perma
nent. The opportunity soon ir. l, r j
. , . - - "v. UiimcU OI
shipping to other markets the surplus products,
u. -...en mere win be an abundance as soon as
ne snipping inclines are provided, will be im
proved by the people now living here and the
hundreds who will be led tomoL.h;. .i..:.i.
, , men uume,
and the present prosperity and wealth will rapidly
increase. Such is a brief
Of toly nW COn'itler JCkSOn f
CLIMATE.
In its climate this delirium! r.i
o -vg.u u9aci9-
.i of" n l,lvm,,Rr of ,he other
rcl'on. of Oregon w.thout ,, accompanying
drawbacks. It enjoys the warmth of summer
and the frosts of winter known in Eastern Ore
gon without the extremes there experienced'
With a rainfall ample enough for all the purposes
of agriculture it escapes the continual rains of
the Willamette valley in winter, and receives but -occasional
refreshing showers in summer, the
annual rainfall varying from twenty to forty
inches and averaging about twentv-five. m.-
Ureme limit of the thermometer in summer is
100 , tnough it seldom exceeds 900, while j
winter it seldom sinks as low as io, the average
for the winter months being about 400 and in
summer about 700. Snow falls occasionally to
the depth of three or four inches but rapidly dis
appears, while ice never exceeds two inches ia
thickness and forms but a few times during the
season. In the mountains, of course, there are
more snow and ice, and upon this fact the miners
rely for a supply of water for their business. It
will thus be seen that in both valley and mount
ain nature has provided just the climatic condi
tions required by the two great industries of the
county, agriculture and mining. To the eastern
man especially, who desires in summer a warm
climate without the excessive heat of his native
state, and in winter a clear, bracing atmosphere
unaccompanied by extreme cold and exemption
from continuous snow or rain, Rogue river valley
presents attractions peculiarly inviting. It is be
yond question the Paradise of Oregon.
AGRICULTURE.
The market for the valley's products has hith
erto been necessarily local and limited, thoueh
more extensive than one would at first suppose.
The stage companies and teamsters have con
sumed large quantities of hay and grain, while
the flour, vegetables and fruit of Jackson, Jose
phine, Curry, Del Norte. Klamath and Lake
counties have been largely supplied from this re
gion, iieyond what was necessary to supply this
demand, however, has not been produced, and it
can truly be said that the capabilities of the val
ley for extensive agriculture have never been
fully tested. The arable land embraces about
one-tilth ot the entire area of the county, includ
ing foothills, plains and river bottoms. The foot
hills possess that rich soil to. be found on all the
hilly lands of Western Oreeon. while the plains
have much adobe land and the bottoms are com
posed of the most fertile alluvium. In the valley
wheat, nats. barUv. rnrn nnttifrws. hav. etc.
, , - 1 "i r 1 J '
yield abundantly, and anything less than a half
crop has never been experienced during
the thirty years of cultivation. Twenty bushels
01 wheat to the acre are considered a very unsat
isfactory crop, while as hich as sixty bushels have
been realized. Barley and oats produce propor
tionately well, and potatoes and corn are of es
pecial excellence and yield abundant crops, the
former contrasting favorably ii quantity and
Quality with lb infrrinr tulvrs nf California.
The facilities now afforded for shipment to other
markets will no doubt serve to largely increase
the crop of cereals in the future.
LIVE STOCK.
The foothills of lackson countv furnish erasing
4 4
for lhrn f.f tha finf n.ialitw nr,A th ht itttinS
r w. ..... ..vo. 1"'"JI
Of fin frinn kava kun tntrwttirH into the
county. So much attention has been paid to
improving the sheep. of this region that soutnem
Oregon wool ia rated higher in the market than