nd here,
but only gold being profitably mined, on account of the inaccessibility of this portion of Oregon previous to the opening of
railroad transportation. For the same reason, and owing also
to the shifting nature of the population, agriculture has been
neglected. Yet this is a lovely country, of grand mountains
and quiet, fertile valleys lying between grassy slopes, with oak
groves like old orchards dotting their sides, and open woods of
the noble sugar-pine, where the balmy air is laden with the
perfume of sweet violets, with abundant wild fruits, and flowers
in every sheltered nook. “ It is,” said a lady to me, “ a paradise
of beauty, where, if one had one’s friends, life would be wholly
delightful.” Yet it is one of the most sparsely-settled portions
of the State, and its whole taxable property is valued at little
over one million dollars. Kirbyville, founded in 1852 by one
Kirby, a prospector, was formerly the county-seat, but Grant’s
Pass has superseded it. Besides this, there are eight or ten
other mining-camps, the whole population of which is not more
than three thousand.
About thirty miles south of Grant’s Pass, in the Siskiyou Mountains, are the recently discovered Josephine County Caves. Elijah Davidson, of Williams Creek, was the discoverer, having followed a bear to its lair in the lower of the two caves. They are situated on the steep side of a mountain, and the last ten miles of the thirty are over a narrow trail.
The entrance to either is about eight feet wide, and high enough to admit a man standing upright. From the entrance of the upper cave the floor inclines somewhat, and it soon becomes necessary to descend by a ladder to a passage averaging eight feet in diameter either way, but having many projections and contractions in its course. The first chamber entered has a height of ten feet, and its walls and roof are brilliant with stalactites. The passage from chamber to chamber is often extremely difficult. Pools of water are met with ; and many passages remain unexplored, days being required to transverse all that are seen to exist.
The lower cave has no stalactite formations, but is filled with immense rocks piled one upon another, requiring long ladders to surmount. A stream of cold, clear water flows from it, and also a stream of cold air.
