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About The Sunday Oregonian. (Portland, Ore.) 1881-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 19, 1906)
TIIE SUNDAY OREGONIAN, PORTLAND, AUGUST 19, 1906. Op? 1MJ Moustsiial 'CENTERS ..WMERE-J9B LANE F9UGMr INDIANS FIFTY YEARS AG? si i i FA irrr y 8M I Li. I I i . . i g,rti 1U -HWA RAPID ROPING STREAM- WAS HARNESSED T9 SERVE MANUFACTURING NEED5 ' Jt -Jim i a - j 1 1 I I t. - J I III -h - " v-1. w., , r w I ' k; L.;-:7i 1 1 , r - . it -'' I ill ( I,, . 'rt-jsJC- Its-. I f III ."r;-:' -V-.f.4r;;: .'V- A o'- i J I" III nf . . iL. :r Y.-d h fill j - riy'fsli''Z -21:r mtJ' WW III I ' ' -'' I III III LLT A. - rrS Vv I ill" l IMaia,',"nnMi!it''-'" ?'""tl'Y o-" i lull B"of:..afr . . ill - "T v:- J lull 5::v;a r"Tf - ' - i .'.;r:rv -in III the go rr Towim which an by thf him TENSION WIPES ACROSS THF RbUE JilVER AjitRX.TR(m TABl Bar 9ZJJ M 'Mr 1 I. - K f I I I S 111 l " ' ' -V 1 ill j I i..., i - - lllli I ' X ' ' """l 111 l v - ' -.1111 1 5s . T- . 'Ill 1 L :?. ' ''ii " ' "" V' 11 1 t ' 'k - , ."w . Jf- ," -'"V s' II' It -, ' - . s , " - - j 1 I li...,;, -" J 1 - --i AS tlie Southern Pacific train slowly zig-zags Its way through the beau tiful Rogue River "galley. In South ern Oregon, thousands view the huge dam across the Rogue at Gold Ray, a short distance north of Medford, and admire the falls of that great, surging mass of water. But few know that here Is situ . ated one of the largest electrical generat ing plants in the state, exceeded in sise only by those In Oregon City and ' Portland. For miles around the precious energy Is distributed over the longest transmission line In Oregon. Ten years ago the idea of a large power plant which could dis tribute the power all over the valley was considered hopeless and the pessimists of Southern Oregon predicted a complete failure for the enterprise. Today every available unit of power Is "utilized and the capacity of the plant Is to be doubled In a short time. The entire Southern Ore gon received a wonderful stimulus through the introduction of cheap electrical power and light, and there Is hardly a farm house In the valley now which does not have "the current." And how few associate the site of the power plant and the dam with one of the notable landmarks of Oregon the old battlefield where "Jo" Lane, the great Indian fighter, met Chief Joseph, of the Rogue Rivers? Little did General "Jo" imagine that almost on the very spot where bis memor able treaty' of Table Rock was signed by Chief Joseph over 60 years ago thera would now stand a mammoth electrical plant and that the swift waters of the Rogue River would be- harnessed by man at this place to produce over 6000 horse power of energy. The wonderful evolution offthe country since that time has been a marvel to all. Where 50 years ago an oil lamp was a curiosity In Southern Oregon there are now thousands of elcctrio lights in the most remote villages and farms. Miles from the nearest railroad station farmers operate all their machinery by electricity and with the aid of the power for Irri gating purposes thousands of acres of arid land were transformed into veritable gardens of Eden. Where Peace Treaty Was Signed. Table Rock, at whose foot the power plant is located. Is a magnificent. Im posing flat-topped mountain, which bold ly rises from the waters of the river below. The rock was the watch tower of the Indians when immigrants were pour ing Into Southern Oregon In the early fifties, and many a white man who strayed from his party, espied by the alert sav ages, found his death in the surrounding brush. From their lofty outlook the Rogue Rivers would watch for their prey and pounce upon the whites when least expected. It was here that Lane by his undaunted courage obtained Chief Joseph's treaty of peace in 18S0. and It was here again only a few years later that the same "Jo" Lane was wounded by the treacherous Rogues after the terrible massacres in the valley. I And as though in memory of the man who was so instrumental in opening the land to white settlers there now stands the power plant. The war cry of the In dian is almost forgotten and In its place Can be heard the constant "purring" of the dynamos, as Kipling describes It, bent on their peaceful mission of In dustrial development. Nothing now re mains of the old battlefield but the reminiscences of the old settlers. Occa sionally an arrow point Is picked up. a few beads or an old shell. The lands where the redskin roamed are now yield ing millions of bushels of choice fruit, the mountains are being developed for their mineral wealth and even the free waters of the rivers have been conquered by the palefaces and turned to benefit their fellow men. - Back In 1S98 Colonel F. H. Ray, a prom inent capitalist of New York, saw the possibilities of electric power In South ern Oregon, and with his brother. Dr. C. R. Ray, of Medford, proceeded to formu late the plans. A company was formed shortly afterwards and over $o00.000 of New York capital was placed at the dis posal of the engineers, in charge of .the construction. , . The site for the dam was chosen only after a careful consideration and survey of all available sites on the river for a f distance of nearly 50 miles. The place finally selected was an ideal one for developing water power. At - this point there was a series of rapids and the river bank on each side was of solid granite bed-rocl with no gravel or loose soil to wash away or undermine the foundation of the dam after It was com pleted. There was also a natural basin for storage of the immense quantity of water which wculd naturally be formed above the dam. Hundreds of acres of choice farming land had to be purchased from farmers along the river, as for over a mile up the river the land on both banks would be under water the year round. The portion of the dam under water is built of heavy timber cribs filled with rock, starting from a concrete founda tion which ls held by heavy anchor bolts, drilled directly into the. bed-rock at the bottom of the river. The dam Is in the form of a segment of a circle with the curve facing up stream, to withstand the tremendous pressure of the water on Its downward path. The dam Is 420 feet long, one of the largest artificial dams In the state. At one side of the dam la the opening through which the water flows Into the canal and from there into the powerful turbines in the power-house, located at the foot of the canal. The canal was blasted out of solid rock on one side of the river and a heavy ma sonry wall, six feet thick, was built to hold the water in place. The walls of the canal as well as of the power-house aTe built of solid masonry and concrete, a construction that is almost as enduring as the granite bluffs which crop out of the hill on the opposite bank of the Rogue. After entering the canal the water passes through screens and gates and then with a terrific force falls into the water wheels, which drive the dyna mos above in the power-bouse. After passing through the water wheels the water is discharged below the power house and carried away in the tail race. Worked Waist Deep In Water. Construction of the dam in the swift Rogue River and through a narrow can yon presented a formidable" engineering problem. The canal was first blasted out and then by building a 'temporary cof fer dam above the prfls?nt site the water was diverted from the main channel. which was left comparatively dry. Then the real work of building the present dam commenced. Over 200 laborers were employed during the entire time of the construction of the dam, but the ques tion of supplying sufficient labor was a difficult one. Although the main water was diverted into another channel, there was still enough of it In the river bed to seriously Impede the workmen. As the bulk of the work was done during the rainy season the men had to work waist deep in the icy cold water. It was Im possible to stay in the water more' than 15 minutes, and while one gang, exhaust ed and chilled, was warming itself on the bank, another gang would go In and con tlue the work. It was impossible to keep the men more than a few days, and some of the old men express it: "There were three crews working all the time: one coming, one working and one going." When the main river bed became dry It was discovered that the numerous crev ices In the rock, filled with gravel.'were literally filled with' gold dust and nug gets. It was no uncommon thing for laborers to pick up several nuggets In one hour's work, worth all the way from J5 to $20 each. Combined with the work of building the dam the company Im mediately commenced placer mining on a small scale, and the dry river bed was gone over very thoroughly. The officers of the company refused to state the ex act amount of gold taken out, but It is known that the figure ran far Into the thousands. It always was known that the bed of the Rogue River Is very rich in gold, but on account of the rocky formation and the swift current the treas ure could never be extracted. At the foot of the canal stands the power-house. It has room for four large dynamos and water wheels of 1000 horse power each, or a total capacity of 4000 horsepower. As all of these machines usually carry an overload In case of emergency,' the electrical equipment of the plant may be figured to be 5000 horsepower. Two of these monster dyna mos are already Installed and operating, while tne other two are already on their way from the East and will be placed In position in a few' months. These dynamos generate the electric current at pressure of 2300 volts, and the cur rent after leaving the machines passes through the v switchboard and then through lead covered cables, laid in spe cially constructed, conduits, to the trans-former-house, about 60 feet-away. Transforming the Current. Here the current, passes through six huge transformers, of 330 horsepower each, which convert the current to a voltage of 25,000 volts, when It Is ready for transmission over the main line. The switchboard In the power house, through which the generated furrent passes before entering the transformers, is of the latest and most modern pattern. No expense has been spared by the builders to make the plant thoroughly j.ip to date, from the designs of the foremost electrical en gineers in the country. Kach. circuit has Its measuring Instruments, wjiere the voltage, the kilowatts and the am perage are registered and where is also placed the large automatic oil switch for controlling' the current. Entering the transformers the coils of wires are submerged in oil, kept at an even tefliperature by coils of waterpipes, through which cold water constantly circulates. From the trans former house six large aluminum ca bles span the river to a 69-foot tower built of cedar poles on the opposite bank of the river. This span Is 650 feet between supports, and the wires are held In position by large Insula tors of a special type, 12 Inches high. From this tower two main lines are run. One of them passes Gold Hill, Woodvllle, Grant's Pass, and the Greeaback mine, a total distance of about 45 miles. The other line runs through Central Point, Medford and Ashland, with a branch line to Jack sonville. - The whole length of the main line Is a little over 80 miles, by far the longest transmission line in the state. This does not include the numerous branches and distributing lines to the small settlements and farms, which receive the energy. In all, the company operates over 200 miles of pole lines, which penetrate the most remote nooks In Southern Or egon. Grant's Pass, Ashland. Medford. Jacksonville, Central Point, Gold Hill and Gold Ray are. lighted by this company, and use a treat amount of energy for power for. the different Indus trial establishments in thooe cities. At different points on the line are likewise numerous large consumers of electric power. The Greenback mine alone uses about 200 horsepower for Its stamp mills, compressors and lights. At Foot's Creek, seven miles from Gold Hill, the gold dredge of Champ lln & Co. uses over 300 horsepower day and night for operating the huge chain of digging buckets and lights. The Granite Hill mine, near Grant's Pass, the Homestake mine, near Woodville, the Opp mine, near Jacksonville, and the Braden mine, near Gold Hill, the largest mining enterprises in the state, are all large consumers of the Condor electric power. Water for Irrigation. But. not alone In Industrial develop ment has Southern Oregon benefited from the cheap electrical power. Its most important use is in Irrigating. Although the land in Rogue River Valley Is naturally very rich, the dry seasons, which last nearly four months every year, have always been a men ace to successful farming and fruit growing. It has been demonstrated many times that crops in the valley can be doubled and In many cases quadrupled with the help of Irrigation. Although reluctant at first the farmers have taken up the subject earnestly now, and there are at the present tlem hundreds of farms on the waiting list, ready to be fitted out .with pumps for Irrigation. The Gold Ray power plant is unable to supply the demand until the two newxlynamos arrive and it is seen now, and there are at the present time confined to Irrigating purposes. It is a fact that the choicest fruit In Rogue River Valley is now grown on irrigated soil, and the fruit growers who Installed irrigating outfits In their orchards last year are now reaping a bountiful harvest on their foresight. The direct outcome was the marked Increase In farming lands In the whole valley. Not only in the construction of their dam and power plant but also In the transmission lines have the Builders used the best material and the most skilled labor. The large, heavy, straight poles. In perfect alignment, thoroughly braced at all corners, with the heavy Insulators and stranded aluminum cables, make an ex ample of modern line construction. In many places the pole had to be set in solid rock, run through thick forests and brush and over high mountains, but so thorough were the plans that not one casualty occurred during the whole con struction of both the plant and the line. Great precautions had to be taken against the possibility of crossed circuits through coming in contact with the tele phone wires and also against fires, which would endanger the pole line. The brush and trees on both sides of the pole line were cut down or burnt, and bo far, over a year since the lines were constructed, not a single serious break occurred. J. D. Alsup, a prominent engineer of New York, had the entire charge of the construction of the dam and power plant. The Installation of the electrical machinery and the construction of the pole lines was under the direct super vision of H. C. Stoddard, who some time ago reconstructed the Salem electrical plant. In a year of Its existence the power plant demonstrated Its use and the great benefits it brings to the Industries of Southern Oregon. Many new enterprises are planned, due to the ability of ob taining cheap and convenient power. The people of Southern Oregon have shown more than once their progressive spirit and their willingness to adopt modern methods, aril they now proudly point to their farming products, their fruit, their Industries, their mining and timber as the natural resources of a rich and pros perous country.' Four Aces of the Kiss. Though oms perhaps may reckon less. Some calculate it more, This much is safely pentfin - The klu has aces four: . On some defenseless baby's chek ' The first kiss leaves its print. While doctors disapproving; stand And microbes darkly hint. ' The second kiss is quite the best Since Eden's bubble burst. For then the maiden axks the youth, "Am I the very first?" Then comes the kins the husband gives lTpon his wife's fair brow. Whereat she safely specule-tes "What Is he up to now?" Last comes the kiss promiscuous When past-the yfra bftve whirled. On some fine women Is bestowed The smack heard. round the wot-ld. t AlcLandburh Wllsoa.
