The west shore., August 01, 1883, Page 175, Image 5

August, 1883.
Ing Its line northward from Redding, and
will reach the south end of the tunnel before
that great work is finished. Work is being
vigorously pushed on the tunnel, and it will
be completed for the passage of trains In about
one year. Connection will then be mnde by
the two lines and a route be opened from
San Francisco to Portland. Rogue river
valley will be on the through route between
Portland and the east by the Central and
Southern routes, and between San Francisco
and the east by the Northern. Its facilities
for reaching markets north and south and
the east by two routes will stimulate its In.
dustries and increase Its production. Good
roads lead from the valley to the grazing re
gions of Southeastern Oregon and North
eastern California, also to the mines of
Southwestern Oregon and Northwestern
California and a stage road runs from Jack
t sonville to Crescent City, where connection
( . Is made with a steamer for San Francisco.
Good county roads lead out from the towns
in all directions, and the conveniences for
. reaching the railroad from outlying districts
are extremely good. The stage accommo-
'dutlons ort the regular through route have
always been good, but those now supplied
by the California & Oregon Stage Co. are
very superior. New. coaches- were put on
the line this season, and with the skillful
drivers employed travelers enjoy as great a
degree of comfort and safety as on any stage
line In the world. The trip between Glen
dale and Redding now occupies about forty
hours, and many passengers prefer going by
this route to traveling by steamer. The
scenery Is grand, and it alone leads many to
adopt this route between San Francisco and
Portland. Parties desirous of visiting this
region" in advance of the completion of the
railroad, will find the stage accommodations
excellent, and the employes and agents of
the company courteous and attentive.
SCENERY.
The diversity of mountain and valley
scenery in Jackson county is pleasing In the
extreme. After a long ride on the steep
mountain grades, through the dense forest
and along-deep and rocky canyons, It Is like
a glimpse of Paradise to come suddenly upon
the summit of a ridge commanding a view
of the rolling hills, plains and green-fringed
streams of the valley. And from the valley
Itself a lovely picture Is formed by the encircl
ing walls of mountain, the graceful pines
spreading their mantle over the very sum
mits, save where here and there some rocky
peak tin uts up its barren head, often
crowned with wreath of snow. Besides
the usual beauties of mountain scenery, this
region offers special attractions to the tourist
and the lover of the grand or wonderful In
nature. The beautiful Rogue river falls, so
much admired by all who see them, He but a
short distance from the railroad. The river
Is very turbulent stream, running through
deep gorges and canyons and forming a suc
cession of rapids, cascades and falls until It
loses Itself in the ocean. Pilot rock, on the
summit of Siskiyou mountain Is an old and
mmiliar landmark. Mount Pitt, In the Cas-
THE WEST SHORE.
cades, Is a snow-shrouded peak worthy ol
much admiration. The Klamath basin lies
at the eastern base of the Cascades range,
and.ls about fifty miles long by twenty wide
Big Klamath lake lies In the northe'rn ex
tremity and I. some thirty miles in length
with a varying width of five to twenty miles.
Little Klamath, a much smaller body of
water, lies Immediately south and receives
the water of Its companion through a stream
3oo feet wide, which foams and dashes down
a perpendicular height of seventy feet in lis
short length of one and one-half miles. This
connecting stream has been aptly named
" Link river." Tne river and lakes are alive
with the most delicious trout, weighing from
two to eight pounds each, and waterfowl of
many kinds abound. Deer In great numbers
can be found in tne mountains. The most
wonderful feature of Klamath basin Is the
hot springs which issue from the ground in
many places with great force, having a tcin
perture almost to the boiling point.
The Hole In the Ground is one of the curi
osities of Rogue river valley, being a spot
where a small stream pours Into an opening
In the earth and dlsuppears, the noise of Us
falling waters gradually fading away as they
descend. It is not a chasm, but simply a
hole, and all e llbi ts to sound Its depth have
been fruitless. Pyramid canyon, on the road
over the Cascades, is a deep canyon where
sandstone, worn by the constant action of
water, forms huge pyramids and fantastic
forms of many kinds,
CKATKR LAKE,
The greatest curiosity of this region and
one of the greatest of the whole northwest,
Is Crater lake, In the very summit of the
Cascades, seventy-five miles northeast of
Jacksonville- Its remoteness from the usual
routes of travel has kept It In comparative
seclusion; but more are attracted hither
yearly, and it will, In the future, be one of
the regular objects visited by tourists In this
region, It has been variously known as
Blue lake, Deep lake and Lake Majesty, but
the more appropriate title It now bears will
no doubt remain with It forever. In ap
proaching, the visitor suddenly finds himself
upon the edge of a tremendous precipice and
looking aciossa wide stretch of water that
lies far beneath. The shores vary from 1,51x1
to 3,000 feet In height. To be critical, there
Is no shore, for only at one point can a sure
footed person descend the cliff to the lake
level, and when there the presence of a few
boulders and some fallen debris Is all that
Indicates a shore. The waters are wide,
deep and silent. It Is seldom that a breee
disturbs tlicnf, but at moments a wlcrd
breath moves softly alpng and breaks the
calm surface Into ripples. Looking across
from the surrounding wall the sky Is seen so
perfectly reflected In the water that were It
not for the rocky margin of the lake It would
be Impossible to discern the line ol division.
The circumference Is more than twenty
miles, and the altitude of Its surface as great
as the summit of the pass over the mount
ains. On the outside the strep walls
shelve off Into mountain ridges, wooded to
'75
the top; on the Inside they stand almost per.
pendlcular, looking down forever on the cap
tive sea.
In the early years, before the wide scope
of country to the east was covered up with
lava and ashes, there must have stood here
one of the grandest mountains of the world.
How great this Immense volcano must have
been can be Imagined when It Is realised
that these walls that now stand from 7,500 to
aa feet high, art only the shell of the
mountain as It once existed. With a base
twenty miles In circumference, at a height of
7,000 feet, what must have been the the alti
tude of the cone that was reared sIkiv llr
Beside It Hood, Shasta and Tacoma would
hide their diminished heads. That such a
mountain once stood here as an active vol
cano can not be doubled. The country to
the east for many square miles Is burled be
neath ashes, pumice and volcanic scoria. To
the terrible convulsions of nature, those
miles of dessolallon, those rocky wall and
this vast crater bear witness. In the midst
of the lake rises a perfect but extinct vol
cano, at least 1,51x1 feet In height, It sides
fringed with a stunted growth of hemlix'k.
The lava flowing from this has made an
Island In the lake at least three miles lung,
The cone has a dish-like depression In Its
apex, which shows where once It crater
was, and Into which one can look from a
position on the bluffs above, The period of
the first great eruption was probably followed
by a season of rest and then a second erup
tion, during which this small rone was
formed by the final effort of the expiring
forces. Burning lava flowed fiercely down
its sides, where now the dwarfed hemlock
has gained a precarious foothold and seeks to
hide Its ugliness beneath a mantle of veglla-
lion.
The Indians view Crater lake and It sur
roundings as holy ground, and approach It
with reverence and awe. It Is one of the
earthly smts made sacred by the presence of
the Great Spirit, and the ancient tribal tradi
tions relate many mysterious InrldcnU In
connection with It, In the past none but
medicine men visited It, and when one of the
rlbe felt called upon to become a teacher
and healer, he sicut several weeks on the
shore of the lake In fasting, In communion
with the dead, and In prayer to the Khahul
lah Tyee. Here they saw vision and
drramed dreams, and when they came down
from the mountain, like Moses from Nlnal,
they were looked up lo with reverence a
having communed with the Great Spirit and
seen the unknown world.
A bug saw mill awl ship raid Is lo be built at
once at the very bead of I'm! Toamseml bay,
nearly a bile sunlb of Irundal. The parties e
gagtd ia the enterprise have set-arid abunl fiftjr
acres of land and splendid water friMit, and have
contracted to expend $150,000 In Improvements,
This I Ihe first large skip IwlMIng eolerprl of
lb cuny that will In few year I established
along Ihe shore of Paget sound, where all Ihe
coodillun are favorable and Ihe raw malarial
abaadaat sad superior quality.