Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-09-09
At THE FOOT OF Peaks
Wonderful WaIIoWa Valley in
State of Oregon.
MINERALS IN THE G0RGES
Cluster of Thirty Curious Lakes on
Mountain Side.
WATER TOO COLD FOR FISH
Very Little Waste Land in Valley
and Site for Great City
Afforded.
BY WILLIAM z. CURTIS.

Special Correspondents OF The Star ana the
Chicago Record-Herald.
JOSEPH, Ore, August 81, 1909.
Wallowa valley is inclosed by noun
tains 10000 and 1900 feet high. which ac-
counts for the delightful climate. The
mountain slopes furnish good pastures
and in the gorges are supposed to be val
liable deposits Of copper, silver and gold,
but they have not been thoroughly ex-
plored. There are several promising
prospects. and Mr.. Galloway. an old Chi
cago reporter. who edits the, newspaper
at Enterprise. tells me that only a few
days ago $4,000 was deposited In the
bank at that town for the development
Of a copper property In the neighborhood.
The scenery is glorious. Hurricane
canyon, which separates two Of the prin-
cipal peaks Of the Powder mountains, Is
a narrow passage between perpendicular
walls through which Hurricane cree { has
bored its way. You can infer the charac-
ter of the stream by the name 1t bears.
This canyon Is almost unknown except to
a few adventuresome neighbors who have
gone up there for fishing and for curiOs-
ity. There is no reference to 1t in the
Biographies or gazetteers, and its name
does not appear in the railway folders. but
Mr.. McMurray of the Oregon Railroad
and Navigation Company, who publishes
the most beautiful advertising booklets
have ever seen. is going to send Lee
Moorehouse, the famous photographer of
petition to take pictures OF whatever he
can find in the way of scenery. There
is no road and they will have to follow
the river bottom.
Cluster of Lakes.
People tell of cluster of thirty lakes
on the mountain side near the canyon
which have curious features. One. called
Frozen lake, is covered with ice the whole
year around 1t is from two to three
feet thick in midwinter, but the summers
sun eats into it and melts 1t down to a
spongy crust, but it is always there. The
lake lies at an altitude of about 5000
feet, is two and a half miles long and
varies in width from half a mile to a mile
1t lies about twelve miles from the town
of Joseph, over very rough trail.
All of these lakes are uninhabited ex-
cept one. Their water is too cold for fish,
and they have lain idle and useless among
the rocks for ages. doing nothing but look
beautiful and reflect the graceful shapes
of the pine trees and the drifting clouds.
The only exception is Lake Wallowa,
which lies on the eastern side Of the
mountains at an altitude Of 4, 400 feet. be-
tween two high and almost level ridges
with a background of purple peaks. It
occupies the entrance of a heavily tim
bered canyon, receiving the. waters from
a wide area of melting SHOWS that come
from many springs which have cropped
out along it's banks. The lake is four
and q half miles long, an average of a
mile and half wide and 400 feet deep IN
several places where lead has been
dropped. People have been coming here
to camp for many years and have built
quite little village OF cabins and tents,
with a dancing pavilion. a store. q res
taurant and an ice cream 'parlor." One
shore Is girdled with roadway. and Mrs.
Maud Hamilton, an enterprising young
woman. carries the public back and forth
in gasoline launches.
Ideal Summer Resort.
Lake Wallowa would make an ideal
summer resort. and the Oregon Railroad
and Navigation Company is boosting" a
movement to build feature hotter like
Ell Tovar at the Grand Canyon of the
Colorado and Old Faithful Inn in the Yell
lowstone. There Is no mountain resort In
Oregon for invalids or pleasure seekers
that would be so agreeable or convenient
1t would be difficult to imagine a more at
tractive place.
The most interesting thing about the
lake is an unique fish. It has no name, SO
the natives call 1t the ''yank.' It will not
bite at any kind of bait and Is caught by
three hooks tied together at the end OF q
pole which the fisherman pushes along
slyly until he gets them in the right posi-
ton, then "yanks." That is the only way
they can be caught. and even then they
are never seen except in the fall. They
are supposed to spend the rest OF the year
in deep water, out OF sight.
A full-grown '.yank'' resembles a black
bass. having small backbone and firm
white flesh. II Is twelve or fifteen inches
long and will weigh from two to three
pounds. Agents of the fish commission
at Washington who were sent out here
to make an investigation reported that
the ''yank' isabsolutely unique and does
not appear elsewhere
Lake Source Of Irrigation.
The water of the lake has been used
for irrigation for a quarter of century.
The farmers organized years ago
and built a dam and canals to all parts
of the valley by their own labor and
capital. They have fall OF $50 feet, and
their supply will last until snow ceases
to fall and mountain springs run dry
The dam has raised the waters in the
lake about two feet and has covered a
sandy beach at the upper end, where the
campers have been in the habit OF bath
ing. None but cold-blooded people 60 in,
for the temperature is icy.
There Is an opportunity for generating
unlimited electrical power at the outlet
OF the lake, and a small plant, with a
capacity OF a few hundred horsepower,
has already been placed there to light
the town and run a -four mill. It can be
extended at a small expense at any time,
but there is no demand at present.
The valley stretches out and broadens
until 1t meets the mountains. many miles
away-a perfect site for a great city.
with natural drainage. abundant water,
fertile soil and room for millions OF peo-
pie. Just now the landscape, SO far as
q human eye can see, is glowing with
ripened grain, as IL some magician had
spread cloth of gold over all the earth,
and the mountain sides. as far up as the
timber line, are a russell brown, with q
luster like velvet which Is caused by the
mature bunch grass, the choicest Of fod-
der for fattening mutton and beef
There is very little waste land in the
valley Almost every acre Is planted to
grain and alfalfa, the most profitable
crops which are called for In unlimited
quantities from the mining regions of
crops from every meadow and then turn
In the hogs The ripened alfalfa is stacked
in enoronus piles by a derrick to wait for
winter prices.
The land was all taken up q generation
ago. and the way the Indians were crowd
ed out in 1S1I-7S by the "davance OF CIV
ilization" is one Of the most shameful
chapters in our history. Senator Hoar,
in a speech at a New England dinner In
New York, once said that when the pill
grim fathers landed at Plymouth Rock
they fell upon their knees and then fell.
upon the Indians. which very nearly de-
scribes the settlement Of this valley. But
the invaders were a moral and god
fearing people. and, aside from robbing
the Indians of their land. they have left
a good example for their posterity to
emulate Only the other day Mr.. McMur-
ray. general passenger agent OF the
oregon Railroad and Navixation Com.