Rogue River courier. (Grants Pass, Or.) 19??-1918, 1916-04-17
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OREGON WEATHER
WILL THE ROGUE GO DRYs

WILL THE ROGUE GO DRY?
Down at the mouth OF the Rogue
where that stream pours its food in
to the briny deep, the people are be-
coming much perturbed for fear that
the Rogue is going dry. All Of the
irrigation projects. dredging and
placer mining operations. and devel-
opment along other lines based upon
the use Of water from the Rogue,
that have filed the people OF the up
per river districts with Joy and hope,
spell another story for the residents
of Gold Beach. Here is the way the
Gold Beach Reporter, under the cap
tion will the Rogue Go Dry?". sums
up the situation:
''0ld residents of this section will
remember the times in early days
when small trading schooners coming
into Rogue river could navigate to
Bagnell's ferry, four miles up Rogue
river, with permanent channels and
good water in the lower river. Later
the large amount of placer mining in
the Illinois river and along upper
Rogue river placed large amounts OF
gravel in the beds OF these streams
which the high waters of each sue
ceeding winter kept working further
and further down the streams until
when the big food of February. 1890,
had subsided nothing Of a permanent
channel was left in Rogue river from
the Illinois down to the mouth. Flats
and farms we're washed away, the
river, formerly confined in channels,
spread from hillside to hillside, leav-
ing bars Of gravel; even islands in
the lower river were washed away,
leaving only fields of gravel, which
shifted more or less with changing
winter floods. All the tailings of the
upper mines came down, and the
river bed has been filed, leaving only
gravel bars. small stretches OF deep
water, and steep RIFLES to confront
the navigators of today along the up
per river. This condition has been
especially apparent when the low
water of late summer made naviga-
tion Of the numerous rifles difficult.
The boatmen Of the river have ad-
justed themselves to the circum-
stances as well as possible, construct.
ing boats especially suitable to over
come the obstacles, and for years past
navigation by gasoline boats has
been steadily conducted for 40 miles
up, the mail to the mouth of the Hin
ois, 80 miles up, being regularly car
ried that way.
Two summers ago, however,
new difficulty confronted the boatmen
In the summer time. The river sud-
denly fell several inches, sometimes
nearly a foot, and would again swell,
only to go down again, keeping this
up each day. This was a puzzler for
while, but was soon traced to its
source-irrigation systems In the
Rogue river valley taking out the
water. Last summer this condition
was especially noticeable. and the
mail carrier had good occasion to
note the fluctuations. In the morn
ing the river was low, and continued
so until nearly noon, when 1t began
to raise, and by night II was fully
six inches higher than in the morn
ing. AS the worst rifles are In the
upper reaches OF the river, by the
time the mail carriers boat reached
them the water had raised sufficiently
to enable him to get over them, other
wise they would not have been navi-
gable. Indeed, on several occasions
he was obliged to tie up his boat sew
eral miles this side Of the Illinois
and take the mail through by other
means.
This summer the conditions prom
ise to be even more, severe on the
boatmen, owing to the fact that irri-
cation systems OF large size are con-
templated that will take most of the
water from Rogue river"
And then the fears OF the lower
river people are fed upon the stories
Of the plans for irrigation and for
dredging as recounted previously in