Herald and news., May 12, 1963, Page 20, Image 20

ystery Mist impressed Early Say Klamath Lake Visitors
(Continued from Page 1)
slate legislator, and his partners
from Dixon Hall.
The first of the homesteads to
be passed by the tourist traveling;
vest is marked by a stone fence
which served to confine livestock.
The highway leads over a saddle
ahd into a long flat valley which
was once part of the lands owned
by the other homesteader.
Near the Geary Ranch main
tenance shops are a grove of eight
apple trees which still bare fruit!
more than 80 years after they
were planted by the original
owner. 1
; THE MISNAMED BAY
Four miles farther along the
highway is Howard's Bay, which
in recent years has become known
as Wocus Bay because, it is said,
an errant mapmaker inscribed
that name on one of his produc
tions. The name, similar to that
of a finger-shaped bay in Klam
ath Marsh, apparently stuck.
Howard's Bay is a popular spot
for fishermen, and along its shore
line is one of the few public boat
launching sites on the lake.
'The road abruptly leaves the
lake and ascends a moderate
slope along Doak Mountain. About
two miles from Howard's Bay,
the highway crosses the summit.
and far below, to the right, looms
the northern portion of Klamath
Lake, centered before some lofty
peaks of the Cascade Range, in
eluding the once towering Mt. Ma-
zama which blew its top, and in
the crater that remained formed
the cradle for fabulous Crater
Lake.
WILDERNESS LAKES
the early season angler who Is
hardy and willing to endure low
temperatures and the rigors of a
long hike.
At the summit of Doak Moun
tain, the highest peak on the sky
line is Mt. McLoughlin lalt, 9.493),
once known as Mt. Pitt, an ex
tinct volcano in the southern Cas
cade Range. Mt. McLoughlin'sl
lofty pinnacle was once the site
To the left of the pass, across! of a fire lookout station that was
a verdant valley fed by Denny
Creek, are Mt. Carmine and As
pen Butte (alt: 8209) which cra
dles part of the Mountain Lakes
Wilderness Area between their.
slopes, including Harriet, Como,
and Eb and Zeb lakes.
Entrance into the wild area is
via one of two trails, the first
which starts from the Denny
Creek road end goes east, while.
the other begins at the Varneyl
Creek Trail, near Rocky Point,
and provides access into the re
gion from the west.
From the latter trail, Como and
Eb and Zeb lakes are nearly five
miles from the end of the Var
ney Creek road over a moderate
ly steep trail. Harriet Lake is
approximately another four miles
beyond Como Lake.
The high mountain waters pro
vide excellent trout fishing fori
came by steamboat when those
crafts were the means of travel
on the lake. The Griffiths later
sold the resort to the Copco Com
pany, which possessed the his
toric landmark when it was con
sumed by fire. The land was once
the site of a cattle ranch owned
by W. R. Alexander, who estab
lished one of the first Angus
herds introduced in Oregon.
In prehistoric times, Eagle
Ridge was a weather station to
local Indians who placed religious
significance in a peculiar boulder
there known as "Chimney Rock
Lcsend indicates that Indians,
determined the weather by listen-
inz to the sound of the wind as it
passed through openings in tne
rock.
About one and one-half miles
manned by a hearty forester who
left the lookout only to pack in
his own food and supplies. One
year the forester died and soon
after the lookout tower was strucK
by lightning and destroyed in the
fire that followed. The station was
never replaced.
EAGLE RIDGE
From the pass, the highway de
scends about one mile beyond the turnoff to Eagle Ridge
lake along the route of the present I taking panorama of the lily-pad Icinity of Three Mile Creek, is a
base of Doak Mountain and from
that point the rest of the journey
around the lake is over land ei
ther flat or gently rolling. At the
bottom of the summit and to
the right is a dirt road leading!
to Eagle Ridge, once the site of
the Eagle Ridge Tavern and
Lodge which were destroyed by
fire. Inaccessible by road, the
lodge was owned by Mr. and Mrs.
Dan Griffith and received fre
quent visits from tourists who
tt'S''fA V," . .---" . . .. '
HINGES FROM OLD FORT IN USE A tat of hinges used 100 years ago at Fort
Klamath, a U.S. Army fortress abandoned in 1889, is in service at a gasoline station in
a local community named after the old fort. Pointing to one of tha hinges is Gut Page,
operator of tha service station located near tha Fort Klamath Hotel, one of the more
interesting historic landmarks remaining in tha county. Page has indicated a willing
ness to donate the hinges to tha Klamath County Museum if someone will replace them.
The old fort and other points of interest in the vicinity of Upper Klamath Lake are
the subjects of an article appearing in tha feature section of today's newspaper. The
article, one of a series of four to be published at various times in forthcoming Sun
day editions, has been written'to enhance the pleasure of visitors or local residents
who will, et some time, take one or some of the Klamath County Chamber of Com
merce's four tours through the county. Other stories in the series will cover tours
through the Sprague River area, Crater Lake and Lake of the Woods.
:v
ifs;."iv
N'
is a stone monument proclaim
ing that three men of John C,
Fremont's exploration party of
1846 were killed by Indians while
the exDlorers were camped in
the area.
Denny Creek (now known as
Rocky Creek 1, which flows
throuch a meadow nearby, was
named in honor of one of the victims.
The site of the massacre is
four miles west of the stone mon
ument, and was marked by a rock
fountain which had been ton
structed in memory of the inci
dent. The monument was origin
ally placed near the historic site
but was moved to its present lo
cation when vandals destroyed
the fountain.
Chronicles report that two of
Fremont's party were killed by
arrows lone was struck five
times) in the night attack byl
Klamath Indians. The other vic
tim succumbed to a blow on the
head from an ax-wielding In
dian.
The sound of the ax striking the
pathfinder awakened the members
of Fremont's troops who jumped
from their blankets and drove off,
the Indians. The Klamaths lost
a chief in the brief battle.
Fremont later turned south
where he and his followers took
part in the Bear Flag revolt which
freed California from Mexico,
making the nation's most popu
lous state a republic. Soon after
it was annexed to the United
States as a territory and became
state in 1850.
TRADING POST STILL STANDS
The dirt road that bears south
from the monument leads to Den
ny Creek and Aspen Ijike,
shallow, marshy body of water
that produces good catches of
catfish. ,
One-half mile beyond the Den
ny Creek road on the main high
way is the first of two turnoffs
to the Wilderness Lakes Trail
and the Mountain Creek Trail.
Two and one-half miles farther
tour.
The truck scales near (he junc
tion mark a portion of an old
dirt road which linked Klamath
Falls with Rocky Point, via Round
Lake, Aspen Lake and Long Lake.
In the early days, tourists trav
cling In horse drawn wagons
negotiated the 38 miles of dusty
road in 18 hours, compared to
their modern counterparts who
tour nearly the same distance in
less than an hour in automobiles
over asphalt highways.
About a mile from the junction,
the highway is intersected by 1
dirt road leading to Pelican Butte
Lookout, Horse Creek and Cold
Springs. The latter point, termi
nus of the road, is the start of
the 3'Tmile forest service trail to
Heavenly Twins Lakes, a popular
baven for trout Iishcrmen.
MECCA FOR TOURISTS
Another mile farther and the
highway returns to the lake at
Harriman Lodge, once the site
of a mansion constructed for
E. H. Harriman, an early day
Eastern railroad magnate.
The seven-bedroom house stood
for 60 years before it burned down
in 1943. The property was orig
inally homestcaded by a man
named Lincoln, who sold it to
Harriman. The land was later
passed on to S. O. Johnson who
invested about $1 million con
structing a number of cabins, cot
tages, a dormitory, and a dining
room to accommodate ISO people
in an attempt to develop the area
into a mecca for tourists.
Johnson's ambitious plans ended
forever when he filed bankruptcy
in 1933.
The property was later acquired
by the Klamath Development Co.
in 1936, and in 1955 it came into
possession of the present owners,
Bob and Peggy Sloan.
In the days of the steamboats
on Klamath Lake, paddle-wheel-crs
such as The Fly, The Wasp,
and The Winema stopped regular
ly at the lake front near the
lodge.
A 25-pound rainbow trout was
landed near the lodge by a Dr.
Sykes in 1930 and represented the
covered, marshy region of the up- forestry sign marking Mares
per waters of Klamath Lake. Eggs Spring, a natural phenome
One mile past the springs is on unique to Klamath County
r.u -at ik. t ,n .1 and several other parts of the
leoed earlv dav battle between world.
largest of that species to be
caught until 1956, when a rainbow
of a similar weight was taken at
the mouth of Odessa Creek.
LEGEND OF LOST GOLD
The asphalt highway ends at
the lodge and the remaining dis
tance to Fort Klamath is over
rock and gravel surfaced road,
mostly rock (and large ones!) for
the first few miles of the journey.
The two-lane road departs from
the lake shore and wends several
miles under cover of tall trees
to Malone Springs, a natural
spring marked by the forest serv
ice. At one point along the route,
the road ascends upon a clearing
Indian placer miners and t h e
story of buried gold.
A description of an area is not
complete without a saga about a
lost treasure.
One such tale concerns a kero
sene lantern filled with gold which
still lies buried at the base of a
juniper tree near Rock Creek. The
creek, which flows as a narrow
thread of water during most sea'
sons of the year, bisects the west
side highway about seven miles
from Rocky Point.
The legend is that a group of
Caucasians and a Chinese were
placer mining along Rock Creek
when they learned that Indians
had attacked other miners near
by. Hastily, they concealed their
gold dust in a lantern and buried
it beneath a jumper tree in event
they were attacked.
The miners marked the location
of the gold with three stones
placed in a triangle at the base
of the tree.
A short time later, the group
was set upon by Indians and ev
eryone, except the Oriental, per
ished in the ambush. The survivor
was so terrified that he fled from
the scene, never to return. On his
deathbed years later, he related
the story of the buried treasure
which has yet to be uncovered
The area near Rock Creek was
originally settled by homesteaders
but is now almost as it was when
white men settled thereabout
half century ago.
MARES' EGGS
Within the next three miles, two
creeks that provide fishermen
with good catches of trout early
in the season bisect the highway.
The first is Crystal Creek, one
mile north of Rock Creek, and the
other is Cherry Creek, located
two miles farther along the road
on a ranch with the same name
as the stream.
During the middle, of summer
an abundant supply of water flows
from the west and passes under
LAVA SUGGESTS VIOLENT ERA Rock slides of hardened lava near Algoma attettt
(o I lis prehistory of Klamath County when it was buffeted with showers of volcanic
mogma and aih. U.S. Highway 97 interiecti the hills and the eaitern rim of the lake.
, 4. uii....., ; .mear lire wp qi a mil ana avau-
along the highway now fringed: . . . r . . .,
u.. - A.,HM auic u vicni-4 is a ui emit'
is the east boundary of the Wine
ma Forest, an area ol 913,444
acres which includes within its
boundaries countless trout
stocked lakes along Oregon's
famed skyline trail, a bird and
wildlife refuge, and Tomahawk
Ski Bowl. Plans to construct an
other skiing facility at Pelican
Butte, the nearst bluff north of
Tomahawk, has been considered
by the Klamath Falls Ski Club
and is still under study by that
group.
After entering the Winema For-!
est look to the right for a view
of Odessa Creek which flows par
allel to the highway.
At the turn of the century, In
dians canoed across Klamath
Lake and paddled tip the creek
to swap their furs at a trading
post located at the headwaters
nf the stream.
The old hand-hewn log trading-
post still stands, although in ru
ins, under a grove of trees near
the ranch house of A. E. "Mick
ey W ampler, a nearly life-long
resident of (he area.
On the west side of (he Wam
plcr home is a huge foundation
sun, the only remnant of the
Odessa Hotel which stood at thai
point before it was Ignominiously
torn down some years ago. " 1
A short distance east of the
old hotel site is a pine tree which i
is believed tn mark the grave of
(lie mother of Dan Griffith, who
operated the hotel and later es
tablished the lodge at Eagle
Ridge.
COLDEST DAY OV RECORD
One of a number of diaries kept
by Wampler reveals that the low
est temperature on record at
Odessa occurred Feb. 10. 10
when the mercury fell to 31 de
grees below tero. During a four-
day period the temperature never
rose higher than J9 below.
One and a half miles past the
the highway bridge only to dis
appear underground several hun
dred yards from the road.
Inquisitive summer tourists
seeking the course of the stream
should be fortified with insect re
pellent because hungry hordes of
The spring is named for unicel
lular algae known scientifically as
Nostoc, which are minute cells
that ioin together in chain-like
form and then break apart after
reaching various lengths.
Each section forms a new chain
and the process continues, with
the chain finally breaking off to
form yet another colony. Eggs,
varying in size from a pin-head
to that of a baseball, grow in
the shallow spring approximately
an acre in extent and four feel
deep at its center. At that point
eggs have grown into high piles.
The spring is clear ana coia,
originating from the melting
snow near Crater Lake. Even on
the warmest summer day, the
soring is never higher than 40
degrees in temperature, raracei
sus, in the 16th century, gave
Nostoc its name. It is also known
as witches' butter, star jelly, and
spittle of the stars but the name
Mares Eggs is bonevea to nave
been derived locally.
Many people believe that the
springs is the only place in the
county where the algae is found,
but specimens have Deen oo-
served at the head of the Wood
River, Agency Spring, and Spring
Creek.
HINGES SURVIVE FORT
Seven miles farther around the
lake is Fort Klamath, a cattle
and dairy community (population
170, altitude 4,150) located near
the site of a U.S. Army Forti
which was known by the same
name. The fort, constructed
1863, has since been dismantled
and today no trace remains of
the structure which offered pro
tection to white settlers against
Indian attack.
A pair of hinges, once affixed
to the doors of the stockade at
the fort, now serve tn swing a
pair of double doors at a service
station operated by Gus Page
and located near the Old Fort
Klamath Hotel. The hotel was
constructed in the late 1800s and
is one of the few remaining build
rags in the county that provide
a link to Oregon's exciting and
colorful past.
The road through Fort Klamath
is designated Highway 62. East
HERALD AND NEWS, Klamath Falls, Oregon
PAGE 2 Sunday, May It, 1M.1
WOODEN SPOKE WHEEL RECALLS RIGOROUS TIMES
A. E. "Mickey" Wampler, elder Odessa rancher, toys
with the scars on a wooden wheel that was part of a
horse-drawn wagon he drove as a youth hauling logs.
Wampler raises Herefords on some 3,000 acres in tne
Odessa area.
mosquitoes await them there at of the community near the high
that time of year. way is Wood River, a meandering,
From 1885 through 1888. a small 1 transparent river noted for its
sawmill was operated by Fred
Brown in the vicinity of Cherry
Creek.
Large numbers of elk were ob
served in that region about the
turn of the century but the later
encroachment of civilization scat
tered the progenies of the herds
into more wild areas to the west.
Approximately three miles far
ther along the highway, in the vi-
trout fishing and bird hunting.
A few miles farther, at the junc
tion nf Highway 62 and the road!
In Cnllier Park is a museum
n.rlivt hir tflv Wild Faole -I3!" "lhs
Karok Indian. The private mil
seum displays artifacts and Indi
an relics of periods before and
after the coming of the while
man.
Several miles past the junction
"jr iJC
I
is Crooked Creek, a productive
trout stream, on which the State
Fish Hatchery is situated.
HOME OF INDIAN AGENCY
From the creek the highway
hears south on the last leg of the
circuitous route back to Klamath
Falls. About two and one-half
miles ahead and on the right is
Agency, headquarters of the Chil-
oquin Ranger District and the lo
cation of an office of the Klam
ath Forest Protective Association.
The buildings now housing the
staff of the ranger district were
formerly the local quarters of
the Bureau of Indian Affairs,
which administered to the Klam
ath Indian Tribe before it was
disestablished by the Klamath
Termination Act in I960. The Agen
cy was established in 1865 by
Capt. O. C. Applegate who brought
initial equipment for the office
from Ashland by oxen-drawn wag
ons.
Near the site of the old head
quarters is Agency Spring, the
southernmost in a scries of
believed to flow under
ground from Crater Lake by way
of the great escarpment named
after the famous lake.
On the highway about 100 yards
from Agency is the Chiloquin
Klamath Falls Junction. Both
roads are about equal in distance
to Klamath Falls the one to the
right skirts the eastern rim of
the lake and connects with High-
or before it joins the swift cur.
rents of the Sprague River sev
eral miles farther downriver.
Chiloquin, named in honor of
Chaloquenas. a Klamath Indian
chieftain of the middle 1800s, is
centrally situated in the former
Klamath Indian Reservation and
is largely populated by members
of the tribe or those who have
become disassociated from it.
Near Chiloquin on the William
son River, John C. Fremont and
members of his party fought
their last skirmish w ith the Klam
ath Indians while en route to Cal
ifornia in 1846.
At various points along t h e
highway past Chiloquin, large
slides of volcanic rock may be
noted on the west slopes of a low
range of hills parallel to the road.
The light pumic material attests
to the violent volcanic activity
that occurred in the county dur
ing prehistoric times.
About 10 miles south of Chilo
quin on the west side of the
highway is Modoc Point, so
named because a group of Modoc
Indians wintered there under
their Chieftain .Modoc Jack dur
ing 1869-70.
The area, now the location of
a small number of homes, has
special significance in Klamath In.'
dian folklore.
Modoc Point is part of a bold
bluff of dark lava 1 basalt) lapped
by the waters of the lake. The
way ai aioooc i nini. wnile ine b utf marks lh ,,r.- r . ,ik
other flows into the same high- weslerly crack along which the
vi. navas have fau led It form. in
the hi Is about two miles f the southwest edge of a block
.., M,.. , ovc 0, lne earUl crusl na nas hw)
accessible by Sprague lilted
RiT R- H.anMdu-ur ' CT tffect of ,lw fa" has been to
on its south slope which was the; form the deoresson-Hee.! nn
In
northeast
Mountain
abode for Indians during ancient 1
times.
Much of the land bordering the
northeast end of the lake is owned
by the remaining members of the
Klamath Indian Tribe and the
Tulana Farms Inc. The latlerl.i,,, Ior hous,
na uiie 10 aoout 13,000
while
than 2.000 acres.
Railroad Stop
thitoquin (population: 945 Alti-I
tude: 4.145;. established in ihe ,
SWAMPLANDS FORM WATERFOWL REFUGE A viita near Rocky Point offers a
view of the marshy Upper Klamath National Wildlife Refuge and the deeper waters of
Klamath Lake beyond. Highway 236 skirts the weit side of the lake, connecting with
Highway 62 at Fort Klamath.
tne northeast and shoaling to the
west-in which the lake lies.
A short distance from Modoc
Point at the base of a steep hill
is Barkley Springs, the site of
Hagclstein Park, equipped with
trailers, nirnie
acres! Iahl ...:.u
tne tribe possesses more olrtri.i ..,i,. j
,ICM, miu tire on v
public boat launching site on tha
west side of Klamath Lake.
Several miles south of the
IQMm a ....it I . I .l I1 '.iwnirt. llHlllfU IOr inB
1920s as a railroad stop alonE the Aiimm. 1 .i
of L Wh.m n u' MS' ban at one U M" '"minating
1 1 T ?nI '!Vralion,. The name is said to
waterTt ,h. , '' " l from
waters n he county. Algonquin and goma.
iic .. uiirtuiMiii niier, wntcn; -rne pum
ir-kiiis 11s now in me northern ; ci ni.
part of the county, drains the vast
Hills, near Algoma
have been carved by
sepia-toned waters of the Klam- nnrk " i " u ' C T TJ
i, T """""" ' v.u..u.n.-ron, along the west has
it joins the ice, transparent cur- niis
n-nij 01 apnng creek. ii, . , j .1. 1 a
Tk. 1 . Dipping east under Ihe lavJ
1 ne waters trom Ihe tun iniirc. ... .
of thf.
es flow side by side in the same
which forms the upper part of the
channel, refusing to mix.
ft
rose h.gher than 29 below. , II h4'Z& ,. .Lr ' ' ZiP .
One and a half mile, nxi tk. .Jm(T JltT f ,1" A v'j '-.( a. . 1
fj , . .W. - . I distaiK-e beyond the establishment I h 'ytl fS- '1 v f: " ' AVj i : -? ' ' V'- "
' ' A, 'N J-r- ' Odessa Cafe, a grocery. J.ip - " . '" 11 i
' S rjr l-Vf? ' -f3 nd a service station. T 7 'llj' i V
- r ' S--'? .Cs last Place tourist, may obtain re- -' - ''7 t -V M - f .T''
v' ?J VefV ;T Ireshments and gasoline belore lJrX'rjii- I : "' ' .''' t". 'r ,M t ' . T".
-":VT. V-,:-.;..VV ""ving in Fort Klamath, on the 5XV:VpW I , V, ' , Vfe, (ty'V .
, vt, -ir-'Tf"'" ' !trth side of the lake about 25 ';fiV 'j, ' I ,-,A 1 -' TL '
" 'w I Two miles past Odessa is Roikv ikv.f ?, ' ' S ' -.'t . S" '
- ' ,VAV - Point Junctton. located near the ILllU klA2ii-J'. ' vVT .
hi lit arts mnm finat tUinleiaii-aifl
Htththeltwi. f K...I. ...u:'i. ....I j 1
rid , k ' sW in lak' thai existeB
.2 T hR i R f ""Jlbefor. the lava was erupted.
ibank and the brownish marsh t. , 1 1 .u .. 1
. (:,,: . , , , Tcn miles farther south 3
water filling the east part of the vi ,u t- n ,,. 1. j
I river bed 1 Mamalh I-alls, the beginning and
About a mile north of Chiloquin. . ff' Z fT
the Williamson become, on ? co- ,h 1 ,0ur ,hroush ,h!
,- . I Sprague River counlrv.
ASPHALT RIBBON RIMS LAKE FRONT Escellent two-lane aiph.lt highway me. ihase of the T(4nahak Ski
andert alonq the wait shore of Upper Klamath Lake providing access to Lake of tha 'Bowl. The road to the lett ascends! STEEP HILLS DIP SLOPES INTO KLAMATH LAKE A lew r.nq, of Kill, spawn with
Woods and Rocky Point. Funds hav been allocated for improvement of the road Lake of the Woods while tliej slides of leva rock, form their bate in the bed of Uoper Klamath Lake, near Modoc
which will one day be the principal route to Wed'ord from Klamath Falls. other road continues around the' Point. The latter landmark is the low lying ttrip of land at the bottom of the latt hill.
llll in. "' I III
IN YOUR
'1 KITCHEN
1 Only faiMtt
j Q with Orafttf
J Crtfidg!
I e 1 flPt
4? th . rn u I
rArnnUt. e.l.Mi.r, n( et.
Signs md colon, many
with matching fabrics, tiitjk
Sec Ihem now! ''
OPEN A
CHARGE
ACCOUNT!
j I TmSHtRwrn WiuiAMS Co.
TU 4-7704
U29 EAST MAIN