Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-10-02

size as permanent park. and the Secre-
tary of the Interior has appointed a Gus
todian, who Is making a few roads and
trails for the benefit Of the public.
A concession has been granted to w. q.
Steel by the Secretary Of the Interior
for the erection Of hotel at the lake and
Mr. Steel tells me that he would have
commenced work last spring but for the
injunction. He proposes to erect two log
houses forty by sixty feet in size, one as
an office and lounging room and the other
as kitchen and dining room. They Will
be connected by wide covered passage,
| which will serve as a porch. These build
ings will be surrounded by rows of tents
| for lodging purposes, which can be taken
down in the fall and stored in the houses
| with their furniture during the winter
months
Snow Shortens Tourist Season.
The tourist season will be very short,
because the heavy snowfall will not per-
nit Of the transportation Of passer gers to
the lake until the middle or latter part OF
June, and the weather becomes very dis
agreeable the latter part OF September.
Mr. Steel thinks, however. that he can
| make people comfortable with the plar
described. His greatest difficulty, how
| ever, is In providing water supply
There are no springs or streams near the
rim of the lake, and the only way to OBJ
tain it Is TO set up a pump down In the
crater at the edge Of the lake, which is
the first thing to be done.
There are a good many visitors at pres
ent who are accommodated In tents, but
have to haul the drinking water several
miles.
There are four routes to Crater lake.
The Southern Pacific railroad has built a
branch from its main line far as kla-
math Falls on Upper Lake klamath.
where the United States reclamation serv-
ice is carrying out a grand scheme to re-
claim two hundred and fifty thousand
acres of land by a mixed system of drain
age and Irrigation, which will cost several
millions of dollars. 1t is draining large
area of swamp on the edge OF klamath
lake and distributing the water from that
| lake by canals over a wide plateau of
fertile soil The railway company In
tends to continue its track northward
from klamath Falls along the middle fork
of the Willamette river. and rejoin the
main lire at the town of Eugene. passing
within three or four miles Of Crater lake.
This new route will be fifty or sixty
miles shorter than the present trunk line
between Portland and San Francisco, and
when 1t is finished express trains Will be
sent that way.
Al present visitors 70 Crater lake go by
rail to klamath Falls. take a steamer
across Klamath lake to klamath Indian
agency, and from there go by wagon to
their destination.
1t is possible to go by wagon from Ash
land Trial or Medford. all stations upon
the Southern Pacific. and either route is
equally good. The MedfOrd people, how
ever. are determined to build boulevard
and run a lire of automobiles. which
ought to make the eighty-five miles very
comfortably in day.
Wonderful Caverns.
Crater lake is not the only great nat
ural wonder in this locality. There are
several scenic features within a short
distance from Ashland and the neighbor-
ing towns that are practically unknown to
| the world. but are quite as interesting as
those which thousands of Americans
every year cross the ocean to see. On
the boundary line between Oregon and
California, not far from the thriving city
of Ashland, are a group OF Wonderfui
caverns, in mountain of marble, which
are said to surpass Mammoth cave, Luray
caves ana otiirr ;,real cavernS as much as
the mountains of the coast ranges sur
pass those of Kentucky and Virginia.
These marble grottOes, for they are
more like grottOes than caves, are not
newly discovered. They have been known
ever since the first white settlers came
into this country, and We're first reported
by Elijah Davidson. hunter and trap
per, who trailed White-faceed bear into
them one DAY. Joaquin Murlefta. an
outlaw and cattle thief, hid his stolen
stock in the cave, and made them his
,
white man and a Chinaman were murder
ed there i'll the early seventies. and, in
deed il may be said that these great
wonders have always peen known, out
the little knowledge we have Of them has
filtered out through the dense oregon
! forests from hunters, prospectOrs and
adventures OF various degrees o. verac-
ity.
The caves are very difficult to reach:
there is. no road only a bride trail: they
are fifty miles from railroad track,
siXty-fve miles from hotel, and whoever
goes there must take a full camping out
fit and expect to rough it in genuine
frontier fashion for week or more. 1t
is possible to get All outfit at Ashland
Medford. Oh al any one of several
stations along the Southern Pacific rail
way, and several young men In the vi
cinity. who have made the trip annually
Tor several years, can be employed as
guides. The expense OF an expedition will,
of course. depend entirely upon the char
acter OF the outfit, but four or five pack
horses, a couple OF tents and provisions
Tor Il weeks stay need not cost a great
Geai o. money.
Dazzling Chambers in Marble Cliff.
joaquin Miller, The Poet of the Ser
ras,' mace the trip this summer, and
wrote an article about the caves for the
Sunset Megaz;ue OF San Francisco. I
!: tempted description and whiic his
Thalso.iles concerning tie scenery and
Tie wonderful beauty OF the caves are
az n :. Die. the reader is apt to wish that
he had given Us a little mere pract cal
II formation.
1t may &c gathered from kis article that
there arr 40 OF mere dazzling chambers
N Il alarjie cill.. one on top or the other,
>otnct.J.ts four O. five stories o. strata
and th&t cf.ly extern l!to the mountain
al Cr!,.'C 81 GIS Az c, Probably more tran
Eve !; 81 ".g!ii OK Ten MUS. Nobody
knoHS, rec: .isH t.cy lave not been eA-
rluIe;. s;G,cErCa Temple. =. Joaqu Il
Milei }as. >il.-t !cI:e. lie t:-rse,. hell he
iounc Is 80 lets: long ~ 10 teet NiGn
and 81 - 81 IN = iiS OF crystal
staIactil,'- ;.33.' ,.;.!-: o. all basJer.
Ii j. ~,,rTu,.E&., ar,. approached by
man c..,i.lir. o. .5-"er size, OF SINH
Tar i.gatei..ti NJ .tlU,tGs ana walls o.
;.tdce.riaaig,t beauty.
ST. Vi IL publishes i&t Of s2vSt.si
,iz.;aner to WINCH NJ gave Ian2e&. Ear
.astf, ares. hut the cavern snoit'c hf
explored and cnarted BY the geo!os-2a
survey and The caves should be declared
% pubic monument, and protected by the
Secretary of tic Interior. under the gen
eral law OF Congress.