Rogue River courier. (Grants Pass, Or.) 1886-1927, 1904-08-18
On June 26 They Viewed for the
FIRST Time the Rogue
River Valley.

Some historians declare that South
ern Oregon was discovered when Sir
Francis Drake sailed into the mouth
of the Umpqua in the summer of 1878,
and put his Spanish pilot. Morera,
ashore and left him to find his way
back. $500 miles through an unknown
country, thickly populated with saw
ages to his hcme in Mexico. Strange
as il may seem, Morera accomplished
tnhis feat, as Spanish records latest.
Others say that Southern Oregon
was discovered in 1908 by Martin de
Aguilar, when he sailed his vessels
into the mouth of the "Tootootunas
River" since known as the Rogue.
Still others declare Southern Oregon
was not discovered until the region
was first entered, or rather. traversed
by party of trappers and hunters of
the Hudson Bay Company in 1925.
But the real discovery of Southern
Oregon was not until 1886 1t was
then Lindsay Applegate, the noted
explorer and pioneer led party of
men through that vast region of Ore
gon, marked on the maps then used as
unknown and unexplored territory.
This party of brave and danntless
men started from the Willamette Val
ley, journeyed southwark into the
Valley of tho Umpqaa, crossed the
Coast Mountains Divide. followed Cow
Greek Canyon, and came down into
the Rogue River Valley, journeying
on suotheast over the Cascades into
Klamath. A great portion of the
route followed and blazed by them
later became widely known as the
"Oregon Trail"
1t was this historic expedition that
marked the real discovery of Southern
Oregon. Sur Francis Drake may have
been the first white man to feast his
eyes on the pine.clad msgnifcence of
this country, but his was only the
casual glimpse of the seaman from
the deck of his ship, AID it accom-.
plished nothing; the same was true of
Aguilar, who entered the Rogue and,
like rakje, found only "a poor harbor
the mouth of the river that has Its
source in wild, mountainous coun-
try, populated with savages. "
The Hudson Bay Company. which
was SO we'll acquainted with the CO.
lumbia River country and the Will
lamette Valley, was in total ignorance
of the Southern Oregon region. A
party of this company ventured
southwark and crossed the Coast
Mountains in the early '4Os They re-
turned to Vancouver after long and
perilous journey and reported the
southern portion of Oregon to be
desert-like aud infested with fierce
and war-like savages.
This was the idea held of Southern
Oregon till Applegate and party passed
through and explored it in 1916. They
learned more of the Rogue River
Valley, and of Rogue or Rascal"
River than had ever been known be-
fore. They also discovered the zap
plegate River" the stream that was
later named in honor of the noted ex-
plorer.
From what information we could
gather from old pioneers. says Lind
say Applegate in his records of the
trip, 1--WE believed the Cascade Mount
aims to the south became very low or
terminated where the Klamath cut
that cham; and knowing that the
Blue Mountains lay east and west, we
concluded that there must be a belt Of
country extending east toward the
south pass Of the Rocky Mountains,
and where there might be no vast,
lofty ranges to cross. So in 1916, we
organized company to undertake its
exploration. The company was com
posed Of the following persons: Levi
Scott. John Scott. Henry Bogus, Lind.
say Applegate. Jesse Applegate, Ben
jamin Burch, John Owens. John Jones,
Robert Smith, Samuel Goodhue, Moses
Harris, David Goff, Benit Osborne,
William Sportsman and William Par
ker Each man was provided with
saddle horse and pack horse, making
30 animals.
"We started from what is now the
town of Dallas, and at the close Of the
first days journey, made camp at.the
mouth of Marys River. or what is
now the town Of Corvallis.
Then we moved on through the
grassy oak hills and narrow valleys to
the North Umpqua River. The cross
ing was a rough and dangerous one.
as the river bed was mass Of loose
rocks and, as We we're crossing, our
horses occasionally fell, giving the
riders severe ducking.
"On the morning of the 24th we left
camp early, and moved on about five
miles to the south branch Of the Ump.
qua, a considerable stream. probably 60
yards wide, coming from the eastward.
Travelling up that stream almost to
the place where the Indian trail crosses
the Umpqua Mountains, we camped
for the night opposite the historic
Umpqua Canyon.
"The next morning, June 25tb, we
entered the Umpqua (Cow Creek Can.
yon, following the stream that winds
through the rocky defile for four or
five miles, crossing the creek a great
many times As we advanced the
canyon became more and more OBJ
structed with brush and timber; the
little trail we were following turned
up the side Of the risge, where the