Highland recorder. (Monterey, Highland County, Va.) 1877-1972, 1910-09-16
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3EEKLY LETTEka
By Our SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
CLARENCE K. EDwORDS, Who
WILL FURNISH Us INTER
EsTING ARTICLES OF THE

"back In the states, L was much
interested by a story in the back OF
my spelling book which told of a
certain bakery in Yreka which had
sign that read the same backward
and forward. The sign was "YRE-
KA BAKERY" After many years
it has been my pleasure to visit
Yreka, and, naturally, the first
thing | thought of was that bakery
sign. 1t must not be taken as an
example of California enterprise
when | tell of my disappointment.
asked the hotel clerk where the
bakery was that had the sign read
ing the same both ways, and he re-
piled that the man who now own
ed the bakery took the sign down
because it attracted too much at
tention.
Notwithstanding this apparent
evidence of nonprogressiveness Yre-
ka, and for that matter the entire
county of Siskiyou, shows enter
prise and strong tendency to devel-
opment. For many years this
county has been known because of
its wonderful pockets of gold. Gold
mining in Siskiyou county differs
from the general run of gold min
ing. in that instead of large and
continuous veins bearing the pre-
cious metal being found, nearly all
of the vast amount of gold that has
come from this county has been
found in rich pockets in the hills.
The result is that here is the stamp
ing ground of a large number of that
class of miners known as 'gophers, "
or pocket miners. ;" Z
A pocket miner is a prospector
who has gone from the regulation
tpath of discovery because at some
time in his career he has found a
rich pocket or has had a friend who
has found one. This quick road to
wealth appeals to the general run
of prospectors, and from that day
until they find their eternal rest
they 90 about the hills, turning
over rocks, looking under the roots
of fallen trees, and looking into all
sorts of unlikely places in hopes of
finding another pocket of the yell
low metal. More than one hundr-
ed millions of dollars worth of gold
is said to have been taken out of
J such pockets in Siskiyou and Trini-
ty counties, and scarcely a week
, passes without some new find be-
ing reported.
But Siskiyou county is now be-
coming known as having other val
ues, and as one travels along the
railroad through the county his
ewes eencounter ambitious signs
, erected by the commercial organi-
cations, telling that it is a. great
live stock county, and also that it
! is a great fruit county. So far as
scenery is concerned | know of no
part of California that can excel it
for softness of beauty and wonder
, full outline of hilfand mountain.
From the time one enters the
E State of California, up in the tim
Der covered tops of the Siskiyou
E mountains, until he passes through
the county near the headwaters of
the Sacramento river, there is a
succession of marvellous scenic beau
: ty spots, eliminating at Shasta
springs, which impresses the travel
er with it's peculiar outpouring OF
water from the whole hillside. The
Sacramento river has it's origin in
the eternal SHOWS which crown Mt.
Shasta, and this mountain bears
almost the same relation to Cali
fornia as does the famous Fujiyama
of Japan to that nation. 1t is a
mountain which rises sheer fourteen
thousand feet from plain that is
almost at sea level. 1t runs to a
pointed cone which is always white
with snow, while it's sides present
varying forms of verdure from the
semi-tropical to that of the arctic
regions. This magnificent noun
tain is in sight to the travellers on
the train for almost an entire day,
and one never tires in watching its
changing shadows and high lights.
But there is something in these
mountains of Siskiyou that appeals
beside the industrial and scenic
features. This is the great sports
mans resort of the State, and here
may be found every class of game
that hides in all themountain chains
of the West. From the giant griz-
zIy bear down to the beautiful tree
squirrel, one may find almost any
thing in the way of game. Hun
dreds of clear, cold mountain
streams dash down to join in max
ling the Sacramento river, and these
streams abound with the finest
trout that ever responded to fly.
The scenery, climate and abundance
of game make this part of Californ-
la one of the most favored camping
resorts, and all through the sum-
mer one finds tents along the
streams, where men, women and
children make merry and breathe
lin health and strength during every