The Shasta courier., 1869-07-10
From Shasta to Fort Crook.
Fort Crook, Juue Goth. 1869

'"0 e'un'iJ III Soheral, route to travel In
getting here, accommodations afforded, &c.
Leaving Shasta, your correspondent, after
pleasant drive of four hours over a fine
road, reached the fourishing village of Mill
vile, which presents every appearance of
thrift and posperity. New houses are being
erected, and a church is in course of con-
struction-the corner stone of which wos
laid on the 24th by that time e-honored Order,
the Masonic Fraternity. Mllville can boast
of good School House, and we have no
hesitation in pronouncing it one of the best
ventilated and best arranged school build
ings in the northern part of the stare; this
speaks well for the enterprise of the people
of Millville and vicinity ''By their works
ye shall know them" The weary traveller
will find rest with T. j. Simpson, who will
come as near giving square meal as any
one. And should the traveller require any
thing in the Dry Goods or Grocery line. let
them 60 to Anklin or Tanquary's, unless it
should be young lady traveller, then visit
John Wheatly, who is gallant enough to g-
more the presence of all others, when trading
with young lady.
After leaving Millvile, we Travelled up
Oak Run, passing number of fine farms,
Including the Hunts, Penland's and Will
kinson's where all were busy gathering,
their hay, apparently hurrying to get
through, in order to harvest their grain,
which was already tinged with that golden
hue which beauties the harvest field. What
can be more beautiful than nice even fields
of golden grain Further on we come to
Messrs. Phillips & Holcomb's, where one is
made to feel at home by getting good meals,
nice beds, and seeing the tired animals
properly cared for. Resuming eur journey,
five miles over a mountain brings US to North
Cow Creek, beautiful stream, which rushes
rapidly along, apparently in haste to get
down to irrigate the finest orchards and vine
| yards in the county -Woodman's and Hill
dretb's. Ten miles from Cow Greek is Mont
gomery, another dashing mountain stream.
on the bank of which resides James Smith.
who is ever ready to administer to the wants
or amusement of the wayfaring, by furnish
ing plenty of that which is palatable, in the
shape of foe speckled trout or telling good
stories, all of which are true. Oh, no Jim
| Proceeding fom Smiths, we soon began to
| ascend a mountain; however, the task was
not very difficult, as the ascent is gradual.
requiring a distance of eight miles to be
travelled to attain an altitude three thousand
feet greater than Montgomery Creek and five
thousand feet above the level of the sea, as
per topographic engineers report. The
next stream we come to is IIatchet Creek.
another of those clear cold, mountain rills,
which dashes along as though impatient to
reach Pitt River, and thence on to the warm
and more sluggish Sacramento. When we
put a cup of this clear, cool water to our lips,
we thought of the contrast between it and
that Of tie Sacramento. Second thought
was on the power of association. This
sparkling water was to loose its good name
and praise the moment it mingled with the
Sdcramento-the good to be thus obscured by
the bad. Then, friendly reader, keep well
in mind the Importance Of good associations.
Eight miles from Hatchet Creek, through
fine timber, and we arrive at Berney Valley.
SO called in memory of pioneer by that
name, who was killed here by the Indians in
1858. This Valley is six miles long by two
in width, and the land is very rich, pro
ducing grain and vegetables in great abund
ance. Two miles travel and we arrive at
Cayton's, who is renowned for his hospital
ity, and has fine and we'll improved farm.
where were a few days previous. Here
it is early spring, everything fresh and
grecn-only forty miles away grain was
ready for the sickle. A few miles south of
this place is Berney mountain, peak which
can be seen from almost any part of the up
per Sacramento Valley as to the altitude of
the peak we are not informed, but it is so
great that its north side is covered with per-
petual snow.
Ten miles further, over as fine road as
one could desire, and we arrive at the Sink
of Berney Creek. Here quite a large stream
suddenly disappears and is lost to sight for
about one mile, passing through a subter-
ranean passage, when it reappears and rip
Piles along slowly for about mile, apparent
ly reluctant to arrive at the great leap, the
Berney Creek Falls. the grandest scene of
the journey. Above the Falls. the canon
through which the stream passes. is about 40
feet deep-below, fully $50 feet, thus
leaving 140 feet of almost perpendicular
falls. When we stepped up to the
brink of the canon and looked down nearly
two hundred feet, at the scene presented, we
must admit we were overcome with amaze.
ment. Carried away with the sublimity of
the scene, we finally suggested to our travel
ing companions that we go down and obtain
view from below. One companion protest
ed, declaring it would be impossible to re-
turn. but finally acquiesced, and down we
went, slipping and leaping from rock to
rock, and hanging on to the bushes which
grew from out the creviees, until we found
ourselves at the bottom of the canon; and
when we turned facing the south, and raised