The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-11-18
Big GAME REGION OF OREGON.
GOOD SPORT IN THE UPPER
KLAMATH DISTRICT.
Two Varieties Of Deer. Elk, Bear and COu-
gars I'm the Woods Lake and Brook
Fishing or the Very Best Terri
tory q Government Forest Preserve.

tory a Government Forest Preserve.
OF all the game lands in the Far West
no section has been so little tried by sports
men as the Upper Klamath Lake region in
southern Oregon. Big game shooting is
yearly becoming rarer in California, but
that,segment Of the Pacific coast mountain
spine between Mount Shasta in northern
California M Mount Hood in southern Ore
gon, a wilderness practically untouched
because OF its Incorporation in the Govern
ment forest preserve, seems TO have been
overlooked by forest lovers.
One reason for it's wildness is that il is
of the beaten track Of railway thorough
fares. Taking the Southern Pacific from
Portland, Oregon, or San Francisco, one
rides to the little town Of Ashland, Oregon,
just over the summit Of the Siskiyou range
Ashland is about midway between the two
points Of departure.
At this point a stage carries the sports
nan east, over the crest OF the Cascades,
to Upper Klamath. lying in a great basin
just below the divide Of the range. Or
one may take teams at Ashland and makea
journey by slower stages upalong the banks
Of the Rogue River to Pelican, the stage
llAu Oh hioiihNis ~ 40 AIby hAlC Oih
Ashland to Pelican. and the stage makes the
rough journey in twelve hours. Most OF
the ride is under the heavy boughs OF thick
set Oregon pine and fir.
Pelican is nothing more than a post office.
and the postal department is behind the
rough desk OF the rude log hotel or passen-
ger station. The place can be made the
base Of operations for trips through the
whole countryside. Horses for packing
can be procured here and supplies if one has
come unbu-lened over the stage route from
Ashland. The game country lies at the door
of the log house.
Here on the mountains girding the head
OF the lake great burns" or brush patches
miles in extent which hide the scars Of
ancient forest fires give cover for the deer.
Berry patches invite the black and CHINA
mon bear. U to the north. where the noun
tains give way for a space to lower hills and
open valleys. there are elk. lack at the
base Of bald Pitt Mountain. where the wilder
ness is supreme. the painters" or California
cougars scream at night.
Here answers 10 the fy the Dolly Warden
and the cutthroat, the speckled trout, a
peculiarly gaIny fish which seems TO make
its habitat in no other place than the tribu-
taries Of klamath.
The deer are stalked only. If a CITY
hunter should venture into this country
with hounds he would find his dogs mys-
t~eriously poisoned before he left the lodge
at Pelican. 1t is against the ethics OF the
mountain men of Klamath to sit on a trail
and slaughter a puck in fight from dogs.
There are two kinds of deer that use. "
a. tha pootrptafpaara ay alooD tho IN anaJa
slopes in southern ~Oregon-the little Cali
fornia variety, incredibly swift, and the
mule tail deer, larger by many pounds and
aver more wary than his smaller brother.
The mule tail is rarer than the California
deer. He is found higher up IN the slopes
Of the mountains, almost at the point where
the timber gives way to bald granite.
The bears are plentiful. and it ia customary
to hunt them with dogs. The bear dog of the
Oregon mountain men Ia of a strange and
various breed. lie may be a mongrel of no
pride Of ancestry or a collie OF shadowy
pedigree; usually he is just a plain ornery
yaller dog, who has the wisdom to run in
and map without being caught and whose
voice is in the basso register. Dick Silver,
who lives UP on Crystal Creek near the head
Of the lake, has a cross between a sheep dog
and a wolf, whose sagacity and attainments
as n bar dog are known all over klamath
county.
There are no grizzly bears in the Cascades.
They are found in the SiSkiyou range on the
border Of California INC in the coast noun
tains OF southern Oregon. The black bear
that inha bills the Klamath region grows to
rema rkable size, far larger than the black
hear OF the Eastern and Middle Western
States. The State Of Oregon pays a bounty
on his scalp, because Of his ~depredations on
the sheep and cattle.
The California ION are numerous enough
To induce nervousness at night and make
IL comfortable to be in camp by shutdown,
but one may hun. for days and never get a
tawny fash OF one snesking through the
brush.
For the fisherman the opportunities are
OF never ending fascination. The lake aud
stream are both at hand. The streams