The west shore., June 01, 1888, Page 314, Image 24

THE WEST SHORE.
nil
It is cdj witUa a few V r tkat the eat DOrth
wrt has Un cad accessible to the toariBt by that
jwLt attihilator of the discomforts of travel, the
railri! Vat ar.d variM a are iU attractions, grand
and Ric-tt m are the ever changing panoramas
of mountain, hill, plain, lake, river, hay and estuary,
h.ftj mountain ranges only to be overcome hy loDg
at i tnlioui journal by tage, have, until recently,
practically hut the whole region out from visitation
l y the em inmaMEg numbers who, moved annually
!t otid-ratioc of health, desire to traval, search of
rdaxntion from the cares of buMnehs, or love of the
1 astiful in nature, ck up their wraps and clothing
and d'm.d like armies of olervation upon hitherto
untrod ?n C'lda.
It is ray purpjM in this article, not so much to at
tempt a descriptive presentation of the attractions of
fered l y tie route I projrfe to joint out, as to indi
cate the general features of a trip to which the term
"A Picturejue Tour" can be applies! with unchal
lenged exactne and jrfect truth.
When, a! out fifteen yews ago, after a sojourn of
N-mal years in Han Francixi, and lx-ing practically
ignorant of the charms of the state of California, I
ravle a Uur of olamntiuu in the southern part there
of, I iu moved t- exclaim, "California is full of
pVaMU lurpri for the traveler within her bor
ders." Nut 1 m in degree, though differing radically
in kind, are the pleasant farprises which await the
leisurely rcfi.h r of nature's Imuk, who, along the route
indicate!, gives kimm-lf or herself up to the jKrasal
of the great Volume, lUmped with the impress of the
(treat Author.
This pictunxjue tour will probably disappoint, in
one of the wonl, the 'HI Ihmti tourist Except,
j rhaj, at thrv or four joint, there will l a woeful
lack of tliu lr uu truf!!r, m , ,vmi an damnon,
.n'njsijncfniiiuA the various other corajonent
tU of the eicry day menu of the temporary exile
frura IMaouco'i and other caterers of our great
cities; but aliniwt everywhere that h may have occa
ion t it-p over, he will find good hedging, good fare,
inch ling fruiU and game in season, and many pleas
ait and hpitable jple, lilral in courtesies to the
tracer. In addition, he will find a summer climate
aU.lut. ly without a lurior, the thermometer rarely
rraclitg the ciu tie, in the daytime, and almost inva
riably wjth the coming on of night deluding to a
;Lt which makes Uvp a luxury.
The completion of the railroad extending from
haa I tun to Portland has made this tour a in.
d ihty. The initial joint, as More stated, is Ash
land, ia ritfr of
LicU, nth it. surroundings, will well repay iDSpec
tna The plaint little tom through ahich runs a
mountain torrent, admirably adapted to, and wisely
utilized for, manufacturing purposes, claims promi
nence as a health resort and rightfully so. The
streams in the vicinity abound with game fish, and
the woods are full of deer and other large game.
Within easy travel of the town, in Josephine county,
are extensive caves in the limestone formation, the
trip to which will repay the adventurous and vigor
ous. Within a few miles of Ashland, Jacksonville,
the 6hire-town of Jackson county, invites a visit Ow
ing its settlement, in a large degree, to mining inter
ests, the eastern tourist, not familiar with the pecu
liar features of a miniDg town, will find here much
that is typical of an era fast passing away, so far as
the early characteristics of the business on the Pacific
coast are concerned. Hydraulic mining is carried on
in the vicinity, and those who have never seen a bank
of earth disappear by this process, may safely put
themselves to the trouble of watching the operation
without fear of disappointment The tourist will find
Jacksonville a pleasant, hospitable, orderly town. A
visit to Herbert Helm's cabinet of ores, minerals and
fossils will form a pleasant interlude of his stay, and
it is a foregone conclusion, that after an inspection of
Peter Britt's collection of photographic views of ad
jacent scenery, he will be desirous of carrying away
with him souvenirs of this romantic and inviting sec
tion of country. Drives and excursions to neighbor
ing points of interest, deep canyons, shady dells and
mining camps, can well fill up the spare hours of the
tourist's stay, whether it be long or short
A few miles to the north of Ashland, is the young
and nourishing town of Medford, from which point,
or the adjacent mining camp of Gold Hill, is the
starting point to Crater lake, one of the most remark
able and awe-inspiring localities, it is not too much
to say, on the American continent perhaps in the
wholo world. Those who have visited it speak in
ever increasing terms of admiration of this relic of
days when the fury of volcanic action swept in tor
rents of fire along the crests of the mountain chain.
From the summit of the mountains, Crater lake is
reached by difficult and precipitous descents of from
one thousand to two thousand feet It is situated in
Klamath county, ninety miles east of Medford. The
Jacksonville and Fort Klamath military road takes
the tourist to within three miles of the lake, and is an
exceptionally good road for a mountain country. The
surface of the lake is six thousand two hundred and
fifty-one feet above sea level, and it is surrounded by
precipitous walls, with but two or three approaches
to the surface. The lake is about six miles wide and
pen miles long, with a depth of about two thousand
t Far out in the lake is a solitary, cone-like
wand, eight hundred and forty-five feet in height, in