Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 19, 1928)
SESDEOEB 3CSIU..TRrBHNT3, ffilEDFORDV OREGQ1ST, SUNDAY, 'AUGUST .19,-1928. r P5GE MVT3 11. E TELLS THRILL OF ROGUE FISHING A vivid descriptive narrative ot a fishing trip lo the Rogue river by Mrs. John Borden of Chicago, a mnrnber of the famous Borden Alaska, Arctic expedition, and close friend of Mr. and Mrs. Hnrrv Sentt of San Francisco and Medford, was a featured article in last month rt issue of "Outdoor America," pub lished by the Jzaak Walton league of America. Written in an espe cially interesting style, Mrs. Bor den tolls of the Joys of angling in the well' known southern Ore gon strpam, in which she and her hushand. alone with other mem- 1 hers of party bound on an expedi tion lo Alaska spent several days fishing. Thq article, which is the second in the magazine, Is well illustrated with river scenes, which were taken near the summer cabin of Harry Scott, who spends six months every year at the cabin, whlh Is located on the river this ahtt of Trail. Kntltlod, "Battling the Rogue, or How a Beginner Sees It," the narrative Is as follows: The train roared over the Siski you mountains, Oregon, with Its rolling hills, Ipvely fertile valleys overflowing with ripe fruit, on a clear Septemher day a cloudless sky shining over the peaceful land scape, lay before us. In the valley a winding river sparkled In the lrly morning sunshine, the clear blue waters tumbling and splash ing over grey houlders, hastening in a furious descent towards the Pacific. "There's the famous Rogue" exclaimed my husband excitedly: " ho loo stared out of the car win dow. While the train descended into the valley, I sat back, watching the swift onrush of Mister Rogue. So it was In this river where one must wade In order to catch steel head! The riffles lcoked unpleas antly rough the current much toe rapid. Cool shivers tingled up and down my spine. How I wished that I had taken our trip more seriously - had practiced any where the precious art of "pre senting the fly!" "This will give you a good chance to see whether the outdoor life appeals before we start on a Jong trip to Alaska," John Borden interrupted my questioning thoughts. "Medford!" shouted a third member of our party, standing in the doorway hat on the back of his youngish bald head; a broad smile extending from ear to ear. 'We climbed off the dusty car and breathed deeply the cool, clear air that blew off the mountains. A young man in tweeds, and tennis shoes, met us. He was the fourth member of our .little vacation trip, and he, too, wore a healthy grin. "Hello, boy! Hero are the Bor densl" Introduced our companion as we all shook hands. , A hundred and one suitcases and mhnl.nntu u-o..n hnulllv.thi-nwn Into 1S an automobile, bound for our host's rnnch about ten miles dis tant. We were piloted to the near est outfitting store. Here, we were to buy high waders either wol.it or shoulder length, besides, of course, the particular files that were then in vogue among the fickle steelhead. had fished be fore and caught brook trout but never had I heard such heated, violent arguments concerning the many varieties of flies that were spread out alluringly on the coun ter. There were reds, blues, browns, and oranges some bright feathery ones, others distinctly drab and dull. "lienle, . meenle, minie, mo! My mother told me to take this one !" Why not it seemed plausible? "Do many wives try this game?" I asked hesitantly I was almost -yenkening. "Sure! But most of them sit on the bank and have their fun get ting tangled in branches," laughed the man who had met us, being " highly amused. His was the point of view known and understood by confirmed bachelors of forty years experience women were still a grim conundrum. Other people were bustling In and out of the store. It seemed to be the hot-spot of fishing gossip. : An odor of rubber (that unmis takable aroma which immediately greets one's sensitive nostrils on boarding ship) permeated the stuffy room equally diluted by strong smells of fish and lenther nn entirely proper outfitting store. Armed with appropriate imple ments we hurried off anxious to be somewhere along the Rogue before' the afternoon was over. Nothing to Interrupt now only time out for changing clothes. The famous sport steelhead fishing was nearly upon us. Soon we reached the white reach hous? snugly situated below a hill, surrounded by trees bearing lusci ous pears end crimson apples. Below these trees were men and children packing the delicious fruit in crates pl.Ing the crates 1 one on top of the other. -Well we're ready!" shouted someone. Of course, a male voice! Four of us after a hurried un packing our arms bulging with rods of every length and weight our heavy hob-nailed boots echo ing along the porch over which we attempted to walk very lightly so as to avoid scratching the re cently painted floor. ' Next, the bottom of the car groaned with boxes of tackle, flies and leaders, dry shoes, extra sweaters, and, last but not least food. . . It was eleven o'clock. The cool winds whipped across our faces as we sped over gravel roads; everywhere was health and peace. We somewhat resmbled dogs with our necks stretched to windward sniffing the fragrant apple-laden air. "What a life this gentleman's sport! No more Afternoon bridge games, pink teas, end pinker houses' thought the teg Inner in the gam. DURANT BEATS FASTEST HUMAN RECORD IN 100 METER DASH V J"? tU&WBU.TSSfWST t'tmsa.MDH jffiBSWrwW'&- WWS!if.stSsl . - "8 s. "': :l mS3i te-wr!i ' toward the bruised; and. still shak ing object that was me once on terra flrma the novice stayed put. More power to the world's champion flycasters! No more will I speak of fisherman's luck not anyway when trespassing on j year ago, inose ureatniess worus siiuetnuuu fisherman's luck In the Rogue. 1 Another logger Killed MADERA, Aug. IS. Uf) John S. Burke, 29, died at a hospital of injuries suffered when he was crushed between two logging cars on the Madera Sugar lJino Lumber company's railroad. He Is - sur jvived by his widow and a brother at Long Beach. A force of 750 men and women will start work next week on pear canning at the plant of the West ern Oregon Packing corporation here. The pear pack la expected to be more than double tliut of a Thar question was answered Inst week by a Durant Star Four utility roadster on the Los Ange les Coliseum clndorpath. Timed by. Los Angeles sports critics and Ralph Chick, manager of the Coliseum and A. A. U. officials' the Durant Star beat the man made record for the 100-metei' dash by four-fifths of a second -the 200-meter mark by four and four fifth seconds nnd the - rec ord for 400 meters by fifteen and four-fifth seconds. Photos show: (1) Awniting the starter's gun. (2) On nn unbanked turn. (3) Breaking the. tape in the 100 meter '.spring' being timed by of ficials of the Coliseum. "Think Ross' riffle the best bet today announced our host who was driving the car. "Bill caught one there yesterday." " 'One there yesterday . . ?" And I had imagined five or six of the silvery creatures would be a good fisherman's dally catch! You see, brook trout was my standard of measurement Did he actually infer that the bigger and better go getters boasted of one steelhead? . . Little did a tenderfoot realize hooking and landing one of that special brand of rainbow trout. Reaching a particular bend in the river, where it seemed to be gurgling and splashing over black er depths, we learned this was Robs', riffle it carried a juicy reputation. Each of the three men announced into which pool he would wade my allotted spot was in between. One thoughtful -man among the three, gave me an arm on which to lean as I made my initial acquaintance with the rocky slimy depths of a steep pool. The water was mercifully not as cold against the waders as anticipat ed. But the boulders- wer fiend ish! Rough, jagged, slippery some round, others pointed ; and every so often we stumbled over an honest to goodness perch upon which we could rest before strug gling, pushing, ahead. We dropped into space then, again, an un expected rock knocked against us. It was uncanny! . . . Somewhat like I have always imagined it would be like to walk on stilts that were about to skid out from under at any minute. The swift current pu.shed against us a mightier strength it had than one would suppose. Almost common nicht-mare sensations; trying to i stand up ngainst a cyclone! Then I was coached. . . One must cast quickly agilely let ting the feathered lure stretch out into a pool where the water gush ed over magic depths drawing It back with a firm steady hand. . . . Then out again! This we continued for four or five lessons. One must quarter the pool; exhaust its f ish i possibilities before moving on. It i didn't seem so terribly difficult. . , . But my line never seemed to I strike the water far enough away. J . , , And when it did there was; too much splash! i Soon I was left to .my own de vices. A fresh, crisp smell of clean earthy things rose from nearby shores, A breeze swayed the branches which hung over the bank rippling across placid pools: birds twittered. . . . Hours passed. ... My stomach began to rumble! What time was tt I wondered ? But no signs of any interest from below the greenish waters. . Not a nibble!. "Perhaps the others have had better luck?" I queried. Visions of a crackling fire fish sizzling in a frying pan from where a hot, greasy smell would greet our hungry senses; my mouth watered at the memdry of closing my teeth over such tender morsels. (We had no forks I knew but so much the better for the novelty.) , After what seemed an eternity. something splashed behind mi. MinJ host was picking his footing very gingerly. "Iio :" I t nought ; "There are others who htve u hard time keeping right aide up!" "Catch anything?" j "Skunked!". He shouted. "Let's eat. . . . Better take my arm," he added wading closer. Firm ground was a relief. . . . Sitting down still more of a relief. In a few minutes the two other men made their wet, bedraggled appearance from round a bend in the Rogue. Both were empty handed both began talking at once. "Skunked!" They were too. "I had a hunch Brown Marsh was the baby that would do the stuff," moaned H , the one per son who had cheerfully wasted precious time teaching me. "I'm going to Rtlck to that hunch next time. Nothing even smelled my fly!" sitting down with a thud reaching for a sandwich. "Me for Dusty Miller:" put in another voice. My husband chuckled. When one lives In Chicago one fishes seldom not enough to take It with heartbreaking seriousness. Sandwiches, oranges, and a drink from the river, refreshed us. Another ten minutes saw us at it again. It was four o'clock. This time the beginner's fly went out a little bit further. The late afternoon sun played lazy shadows over a green world; glit tered across the darkening surface of the Rogue. Hovering above the summit of a high ridge. Would the men never appear? The early smell had lost its sweetness be come damp and strong. At last! Voices came out of the twilight Voices that were still arguing about flies and riffles. No one had enjoyed suc cess . . . but there was always hope for the morrow. Four tired Trojans scrambled into the car. Before we reached our haven of rest, a round pink moon burst upon a black world shedding golden rays along our path. Houses and barns were sil houetted against dai.w. .shadows. . . . Someone started singing "Sweet Eveline" a very off-tune chorus. But lights now twinkled from a familiar hill side. A steam ing platter of beefsteak smothered in onions was crackling , on,, the stove guarded by a faithful Chinaman despite Us being after nine o'clock. After a much relished meal, while the pine logs flickered in a wide, cheery - fireplace, we sat toasting our spirits for perhaps an hour; a row of many-sized woolen socks smoldered on a rack; stiff leather boots cluttered one corner. Pipes and cigarettes vied with the fire. We yawned" and stretched like contented catsbefore turn ing in ... . A second day happened just such a one as the first, only this day one of the three men caught a steelhead! We saw him strug gling heard the reel sing he must have ploughed through the water at least a quarter of a mile. We followed . . . His hat was on the back of his head perspiration running down his forehead. . . He was laughing a bit tremulously, v Some babies!" . . . The reel whizzed then stopped. "Whew!" he cried, taking time out to blow his nose. "It's a good one." The f'ght was over. The strug gling fish was conquered. On the third day, my husband , successfully lured one . of the 1 elusivo, finned creatures. Feeling his decided superiority, without admitting It to the others, he quietly placed a shiny spinner on the end of my over-worked line. Secretly I longer for a worm! With this added attraction dan gling from my rod (I insisted on calling it pole in those dnys; much to John's humiliation), I sallied forth deeper and deeper out into the beckoning shadows of a very alluring pool. The water climbed to the extreme of my waders. .Barely keeping a highly precarious balance against heavy pressure pushing from three sides I cast a noble line. Whang! ... A strike! Instantaneously a dead weight struck me broadside ... A sicken ing shiver crept over me the blood scorned lo freeze In every painfully slack. Without thinking, I started after it. The bottom of all things abruptly disappeared. My right arm went down into the water, In an effort to hang on to something. My feet went out fr?m under. . . , The question Was actu ally: How soon would I be floating head first? At last the heavy boots bumped against something solid while I still hovered in wet space . . . Saved! What a mo ment! . And I had complete ly forgotten the one precious, much angled-for, wept-over strike. But with this vital event of a nudge added to my pathetic credit I could finally join in the flow of conversation which never ceases as I realized, when fishermen get together, on the subject of proper sensations when one first meets a steelhead. Possibly it is much bet ter that I never landed his majesty (undoubtedly a large one), be cause the existence of the dazzling spinner would then have been kn"vn. Crawling cautiously toward shore which offered easier mo ments, a strange commotion, In a shallow, . still. - pool arretted my panting attention. Stealing fur ther the disturbance turned Into a large number of huge, mouldy, greenish salmon wallowing In the sand; their fins bristling above the water, their slippery bodies ca- vcln. What on earth was lurking reening about sleek sides glisten In those mysterious, plnmmyj ing in the afi rrnoon sun that pene depths? I couldn't look . . . Bang! , trated between low-hanging Again it knocked pgnlnst my knees branches. It whs l heir final des which all but gave way . . . The ! pprato attempt to fool destiny; sninner and nudge wore forgot- j Life, for them, wns nearly over; ton ... I the eggs were laid nnd fertilized; ' Then I remembered someone ex-I soon each sluggish, slimy object plaining: "Don't get scared if ni would burrow into the loose sand hulf-deiid salmon hits you In the there breathe Its final, gasping rear" .... breath. In the menntime, my line wns' Not long after, figures enmo QWmldrit you Jnefer a car built in theu WotMs Most Modern Me Plant?' A A a Today you Uemand infinitely more in your automobile than you did five yearft go. You demand higher top cpead, uiore trtfct worthy performance, greater snap and acceleration and longer life. In order to satisfy you, Oakland now builds the All-American Sis and the ?o'ntiac : wilh greater care than ever before. Where oler tmcesol one-thousandth ol in ipich were once permissible, now scores of operations are accurate within one ten. 'thousandth of an inch. Oakland and Pontiac Sixes are built in factories constructed almost Oakland All-Ameriran Six, $l04i to I26S. entirely within the past two years. Oakland is constantly discarding and replacing equipment, content to use only the very newest, most accurate designs. Oakland inspec tion standards aresecondtononein the industry, regardless of the price of the cars towhich they areapplied. Wouldn't you prefer a ear built, in the world's mosc modern, automo bile plant with standards of pre cision such as Oakland employs? Drive an AU-American Six or a Pontiac Six, and you'll find the answer in superior performance, stamina and reliability. Pontine Six, $745 to $875. All prlca at iaaory. Check OaMand.Pontiac delivered price, they include lowest handling char,... General Motor, J ime Payment Plan i available at minimum rale. SANDERSON MOTOR GO. SOUTH BARTLETT & EIGHTH STREET Phone 1385 Robinson Motor Co., Ashland, Ore. OAKLAND rPONTKG PRODUCTS OP f M I OENER.AL MOTORS ' Start Pear Canning CORVAl.MS, Ore, Aug. 18. (ff) HAVANA ASKS BEAUTIES TO KEE CUBAN CARXIVACj HAVANA, Cuba (P) The most beautiful Kills In the United States and Europe will he Invltod to at tend the annual Cuban carnival betrlnning February is, says an announcement by tho Cubun na tional tourist commission. tl Is expected that many of the prize winners in tho recent Galveston beituiy contest will take part In the festival. Hundreds Reported Killed in Tornado at Port Au Prince PORT AU PRINCE, Haiti, Aug. 18. W) Scores ot per- fr sons are reported lo have been killed, many villages wiped t out and incalculable damage l 4 done to crops by a tropical storm which swept Haiti yes- torday and last night. 4- Home estimates place the f dead at 200 with 10,000 per- 4 sons homeless. i lo dollar buns as roi -i i ii mu co as a numouth dollar Plymouth 4Door Stdan, $735 rnn--c h LPUy R Y S LEU Only in Plymouth of all cars in the lowest-priced field can you get the distinctive new Chrysler style and beauty which all the world is admiring. Nowhere else in the lowest-priced field can you get a full-sized car, v ith ample room for adult passengers. And, above all, you get smooth power and speed of true high- compression performance with new "Silver - Dome" engine, using any gasoline and the safety of internal-expanding hy draulic four-wheel brakes, with squeakless moulded brake lin ings, unaffected by weather conditions, a tap 0 and unuos J Roadster (tnul rumble ml), 673 ; Coupt, S83 ; Touring, : 693; 2-Door Sedan, 700, : DeLuxe Coupe (with rumble teat), 733; 4-Door Sedan 733. All prices f. o. b. Detroit. Plymouth dealers are in m posiiiou to extend the convenience of time payments. ' FITCH MOTOR COMPANY 128 So. Riverside Phone 762 ' TERRBIFB PACt rsrv 3 Pj M SALES continue their increasing gainH. January, February, Murvh, April, Muy, June, July, AugnHt . . . each month sees new Durunt sales records crcaled. TO D Ay Durant present a selling spew tacln unpurallrlcil In the molor ear InilusU-jr. DURANT Star f our THE WORLD'S FINKST I.OW-PIt ICED CAR DCRA.NT SILVKK ANNIVKRSARY SrXF.S 45 1. a. m. uawmu SABIN & RINDT North Riverside Phone 366