Sports
From Josephine County, Stories About
Medford
Tribune
SECTION B MEDFORD, OREGON, SUNDAY, MAY JB, 1963 PAGES 1 to 8
Finding a Gold Mine; Wild Flowers at Rough and Ready Park
Features
By PH1SCILLA AVERILL
Mail Tribune Correspondent
Grants Pass-The history
of any gold mining region
is usually rife with legends
of mysterious "lost" mines
and of miners who have lo
cated a rich strike only to
die without revealing the
secret of its location.
In Josephine county an
other chapter is being add
ed to this hoary mystery
tale - only in reverse. This
time it is a mysterious
"found'' mine, and the mys
tery is: who lost it? and
When?
The mine, an early-day
gold placer operation, was
unearthed in the Illinois
valley this winter by George
Reynolds, an amateur sour
dough from Grants Pass.
Prospecting some land
which he and a partner had
purchased along B r i g g s
creek, Reynolds had spotted
some rotting timbers stick
ing out of the creek bank.
They apparently had been
exposed when the creek had
washed out part of the
bank. Something about
them suggested they were
old riffles.
Pari of Raceway
Digging back along their
length, he found they were
part of the raceway of an
old placer mine, now five
feet underground. Still
clinging around the riffles
were the fine bits of gold
which they had been set
down to . catch. Beyond
them the raceway stretched
back some unknown dis
tance into the grounds
, - Reynolds had little idea
of the date of the mine's
origin, but of one thing he
was sure: the operation had
been hastily and unwilling
ly abandoned one day In the
past. No miner would have
gone to all the trouble of
laying pole riffles in a long
raceway without ever re-;
turning for the fruits of his
labor. Anyone intending to
abandon a mine would have
taken up the riffles and
cleaned them of their gold.
Why hadn't the unknown
miner come back? Had he
met with an accident or
been killed during the
lusty, brawling early days
of gold mining in these
parts? Or had he perhaps
been one of the Chinese
who were driven out in a
fight with the white miners
George Reynolds, discoverer of an old abandoned mine along Briggs creek in the
Illinois valley, shows some of the fine gold taken from the sluicebox which he built
at the end of the old raceway, Reynolds found the mine last winter and now wonders
who lost it and when.
back before the turn of the
century?
Spare Time Digging
Since first uncovering
the mine, Reynolds has
spent most of his spare time
digging-digging back along
the old raceway and digging,
back into history to try to
discover its origins. So far
he has dug out about 35
feet, aided at one lime by
a troop of Grants Pass Boy
Scouts, uncovering coarser
gold all the time. He fig
ures the cut may go back
hundreds of feet more.
His digging back into his
tory, however, has not yet
yielded any pay dirt. Reyn
olds knows that the prop
erly, which he owns in
partnership with Grants
Pass logger and miner W
Pieren. was first patented
in 1914 as the Barr mine.
Its 160 acres of patented
ground consisted of 8 claims
of 20 acres each. The pal-
5
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This photo shows the mine's old raceway with riffles as
unearthed by Reynolds, who may be seen working in the
background. Reynolds found the old mine when he spotted
some rotting timbers sticking out of the bank along Briggs
creek.
ents were first applied for
in 1901. There is no record
of the lost workings among
them.
One of the patented
claims, howeveu, lies on
ground directly above the.
old cut. The renjains.niits.-.
raceway can be seen ex- '
tending back for about 100 '
feet on the surface, some
five feet above. Reynolds'
diggings. This would seem
to indicate the old workings
were lost and well covered
by the ravages of time be
fore 1901.
Was Mining Activity
It is known there was
considerable mining activ
ity along Briggs creek in
the 1870 s. It is also known
that a lot of gold was taken
out in those days which
was never recorded.
What kills this theory for
Reynolds, however, is that
the riffles in the raceway
are nailed with round nails,
and he figures thai nails
used before the turn of the
century would be square.
Reynolds Is sure the mine
must have been worked by
more than one miner be
cause some of the boulders
were so heavy it would
have taken more than one
man to move them. An old
cabin on the property has
long since burned down.
Another more recent (but
still ancient) cabin stands.
Had Several Owners
Reynolds found the prop
erty had had several own
ers before it was acquired
by Barr about 1900. It was
first slaked out by a farm
er named Farren, who mov
ed there in 1880. Farren
had put in a ditch from
Briggs creek for mining
purposes. The Chinese were
mining on Briggs creek
when Farren arrived.
Ralph, Chester and Fred
Moore bought an interest
in the property before 1910,
and one winter took out
$1,700 in gold from the up
per pits. This was all coarse
gold, with many $4 and $5
nuggets. The largest record
ed, worth more than $130,
would bring considerably
more today.
The next owners, Cougar
Consolidated Mining com
pany of Denver, installed
hydraulic pipe and ran a
big operation. It was work
ed once more by the Moore
boys In the 1940's.
Curiously, all this activity
was on land that was
around, and even on top of,
the old slice - which might
have held its secret locked
forever if a wayward cur
rent hadn't finally come
along to wash away part of
the bank which was Its
tomb.
By LETHA COOKE
Mail Tribune Correspondent
A traveler on southern
Oregon's Highway 199 may
not notice modest signs de
noting "Rough and Ready
Creek State Park." ,
There is no explanation
to tell, that here, within
a small rugged area lies
one of the world's most
, elaborate displays of nat
1 ural flora. Definte bounda
ries are not designated, ex
cept that the park follows
both sides of Rough and
Ready creek for some dis
tance in either direction.
The area is well-known
by botanists and laymen,
however, who for years,
even before this part of
Josephine counly was set
aside as a park area, have
traveled from ' far to see
the wild flowers.
April Most Prolific
March, April, and May,
with perhaps April the
most prolific, are the best -months
to see the abun- ,
dance of color and variety.
There are only about two
months of the year when at
least one variety cannot be
found.
Seasons being unpredicta- '
ble, sometimes the show
starts in mid-February, and
often winter makes a re
turn trip to play tricks on
premature spring harbin
gers. Tender blossoms of
gold stars and grass widows
are left shamefully hanging
their despoiled faces.
The weather, governed
by Pacific storms, brings
warm rain over coastal '
ranges into the valleys, and
mountain altitudes produce
aw-
if m
Morning glory bloom all summer at Rough and Ready Creek State Park off High
way 199 in the Illinois Valley.
an overlapping of climatic
conditions. This hybrid t
mosphare Is considered part
ly responsible for flowers
known as endemics, exclu
sive to Rough and Ready
flat and a large pari of this
southern Oregon county.
Grotesque Oaki
Scattered along in groups
or singly, grotesque oaks
, ' . . i
xms&msrimt,, mm. mm,mm
M5 Wit XM-
5.' '
Alpine phlox, shown above, Is a rose colored flower which harmonizes with the
green grasses and gray desert driftwood manzanlta at Rough and Ready Creek Slate
park.
Another of the plants adding color Bnd beauty to Rough and Ready Creek Slate park
Is this arrow leafed balsam root. Each month finds different wild flowers at the little
known park, making II a haven for flower lovers.
and small scrubby pine rep
resent nature's own perfec
tion, enthusiastically pur
sued by fans of Japanese
bonsai. Manzanlta and mes
qulte border open spots
where the extravaganza ot
variety not only of colors,
but numbers of varieties
grow. '
Rough and Ready creek
tumbles from the mountains
clear and cold and green.
Sometimes filled to over
, flowing by warm rain and
, melting snow, it carries
sand and leafmold . Into
crevices of rocks and piles
it against the higher shrubs,
thus Improving soil condi
tions for low growing al
pines. from early spring until
latest fall, multitudes of
flowers grace the rocky
terrain.
Deforming Factor
' Periods of rainfall In
spring seem to be the de
termining factor for some
species. If conditions are
unfavorable certain varie
ties do not appear until a
spring when sun and rain
are conducive to their re
quirements. One elegant pixie Is
known lo remain dormant
for two years. About the
middle of May, its rose
lipped tubular corolla,
spoiled with yellow in the
throat, makes its appear
ance. Many varieties of wild
flowers bloom during the
spring and enrly summer,
while in later months - Au
gust and September - desert
plants dominate the scene.
Mutations Occur Frequently
Not to be forgotten or
Ignored are the mutations
nccuring with frequency,
possible only In the midst
of a teeming efflorescence.
Pure white arabls, odd
combinations of color in
frltlllaria and intense pig
mentation, of broom rape,
Orobanchc aro noticeable to
a casual observer.
Botanists with keener
knowledge and ambition to
delve profoundly into pri
vate lives of plants have
recognized many digres
sions and classified them as
endemics.
It seems almost impossi
ble that here, In an area
of 30 acres, In prolific splen
dor, during three seasons
of the year, flowers of
desert, mountain, meadow
and prairie grow. Condi
tions are right in one spot
or another during rain, cold,
heat or drouth to satisfy
the Individual demands oi
countless varieties.