Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1885-12-05
SOUTHERN OREGON.
EARLY TIMES = KIRBYVILLE =
GRANTS PASS-MINING.
deserted Ipdustries-OId-Tim and
New Mining Siskiyou Noun
tains-Peculiar People-Etc.
Correspondence of the RECORD UsIoN.l
KIRBYvILLE, josephine county, Or,
November 10, 1885.

of my trip to Oregon by the coast and
Crescent City route, and will now give you
a few items regarding southern Oregon. /
wrote you in my last letter that l arrived
at Uncle Jacks" pretty well used up.
After a weeks good rest began to look
about. Uncle Jack" as everyone here
calls A. ]. Henderson, is one of the old
timers, having located here in 1855. and
took hand in the Indian war of Sc, being
burned out Of house and home. Uncle
Jack, hearing that the Indians were about
to make an attack, decided to defend and
protect his home, while the other settlers
left their homes and took refuge some six
miles off in Lighthouse, which they had
strengthened by digging a trench and
standing up large logs on end. This fort
proved safe refuge for the settlers but
Uncle Jack, after keeping off the red
devils for three days, his wife melting
up everything that would make bullets,
his ammunition giving out, he finally sue
ceeded in escaping TO the fort, when the
Indians burned his house barn and crops.
At this time General Smith was encamped
on Rogue river with a small force of regu-
lars The Indians surrounded him, Smith
throwing up intrenchments, digging rife
pits, ETC., but the Indians were out in great
force, and as seon as a soldier showed his
head above the works he was picked off by
THE INDIAN RIFLE
General Smith would have been captured,
and all massacred, had not volunteers come
up from Ellensburg, at the mouth OF Rogue
river, and attacked the Indians in such
force that they were obliged to retire The
Ellensburg volunteers then came on to Kir-
byyille and assisted the settlers in driving
the Indians from the country A treaty
was soon after formed, and the Indians
placed on reservations, and quiet again
reigned. Kirbyville is, and has been, the
county seat of Josephine county ever
since the county was settled and
the county set off from Jackson county
This sleepy little town. like SO many other
old mining camps, is situated on the Hi
noiS river, a tributary of Rogue river.
Years ago, during the prosperous mining
days, Kirby was lively place; but now it
is very dead, there being but fifteen or
twenty families. There are two hotels, two
stores, blacksmith shop, and two saloons,
or was, but one closed up few DAYS since.
have said that Kirbyville has been the
county seat for many years, but will be so
no more, for at the last election the county
seat was voted to be changed to Grants
Pass, new town on the California and
Oregon Railroad. The people here, like
the town, are half asleep, or they might
have kept the county seat here. But they
thought it had been here so long, there was
no danger of its ever being moved But
they awoke one day to find it had been
moved. If they had bestirred themselves
and built decent Court house to meet in,
instead of the old, dilapidated barn of a
thing they now have, they would have
kept the county seat. The
GRANTS PASS
People have got the county seat, and still
they are not happy, for they are now at
war with each other regarding the location
of the building. Sol Abrams and a Mr..
Bourne, two moneyed men of the " Pass"
both want the building on their ground.
Abrams lives in part of the town called
" Jerusalem" and Bourne in the part
called Jericho" Jerusalem and Jericho
having fought long and well, and it being
a drawn battle, the District Judge has taken
the matter under advisement and will soon
settle it. The last session of Court was
held here few days since, and the little
village presented quite lively appearance,
people coming in from different parts of
the county, and there were so many law
yers, jurors and witnesses that the two
hotels were filed to their utmost CAPACITY.
and many had to seek quarters with private
families. There were several cases dis
posed of, the most interesting being three
divorce cases, q Chinaman's case of robbing
the got three years., an indict-
ment for an assault with attempt to Kill
(shot man in the Leg, and another
the case of man who branded
a steer belonging to another party.
The lawyers, the jurors, the witnesses and
the people have all gone home and the
little town of Kirby has gone to sleep
again. But they were wide awake here
once-years ago. The Illinois river has
been one of the rich streams of the coun-
try. Samuel Sawyer, formerly of this place,
later of Oakland, California, and recently
deceased, once did a large mercantile bust
ness here. 1t is said that Mr.. SAWYER has
exchanged coin for
MORE THAN 4 MILLION
In gold dust. The miners used to bring
the dust in by the mule load | know your
readers will say am away off; :" but did
they know the hundreds of streams and
gulcheS coming from the Siskiyous and
tributaries of the Illinois, they would not
think this statement an exaggeration The
two main tributaries Of the Illinois are the
Sucker and Althouse. These streams find
their source away up in the Siskiyous. and
have been mined from one end to the
other, with wonderful success. AT one
place ON the left hand fork of the Aithouse.
some 20 miles above here, pieces have been
taken out varying from color" to nuggets
weighing seventeen pounds. So your read
ers can, by mere mental calculation. see
That man would not have to work very
long to get mule load Years ago these
streams were thiekly settled, and hundreds
n cabins were built upon them or in the
gulches near, and today, III riding up the
streams and going through the mountains,
Fou can see evidences of q once prosperous
mining camp. But most of them are de-
serted now, although one occasionally
comes across cabin that is inhabited. A
few days since, taking trip into the Siski-
yous, almost up to the line that separates
Oregon from California, / found night
and began to look out for
quarters for myself and mule, and had
the good fortune to find a cabin inhabited
by two old miners. When l say s. old
miners" | mean it, for these men told me
they had lived there t,0snty sesen years
Dey nave DeeH TlCl ana poor nan q dozen
times, and are now worse off than ever. ]
found these gentlemen intelligent and well
posted in the affairs of the outside world,
and well they might be, for after a good
supper of Goldfish and potatoes with drawn
butter gravy, hot biscuit and batter and
good cup of coffee, we took our pipes and,
sitting in front of big fire in a broad fire.
place, we talked of the Sharon Hill case,
the gift of Mrs Croker of her Art Gallery
Mexican news, etc. My surprise at their
and being so well posted in
outside matters, soon vanished as they laid
before me late leading newspapers from
East and West. These men have almost
themselves, hunting for a
quartz mine for the last six years for about
that time pieces of quartz and gold were
found in the "diggins' below, that sold to
the lapidaries for $500. But fear the poor
fellows will never find it, for, if / am any
Judge of the clay of the land, they are
working in the wrong direction. Like all
the old miners of early days in California
and other lands, the early miners here did