<<
1863
1865
1867
>>
July
Captain Franklin Sprague and 20 men are assigned the task of
clearing timber and the building of an army supply road from Ft.
Klamath to Jacksonville, via Annie Creek Canyon and Union Creek.
August 23
Two army hunters from Ft. Klamath, John Corbell and Francis
Smith accidentally stumble up Crater Lake.
August 20
Captain F. B. Sprague writes a letter to the Oregon Sentinel, in
Jacksonville. FT. KLAMATH, Ogn.: It will probably be interesting
to the traveling and freighting public to know that the new
wagon road, connecting Ft. Klamath with the Rogue River and John
Day wagon road, is nearly completed and will be by the 23rd, be
ready for teams. Six miles further is White Horse Creek or
Soldiers Camp--plenty of water, but no grass near the
camp. Within two miles is Castle Camp, which is within half a
mile of the summit. At this camp there is plenty of grass and
water: the water is, however rather hard to obtain, being in a
deep ravine. One mile from Castle Camp just at the foot of the
mountain, on the Klamath side, and about one hundred yards to
the left of the road, is a fine spring and an elegant camp in
every respect. This we named, “Canyon Spring Camp.” Within four
miles, Spring Creek is crossed on a bridge, and within half a
mile of the bridge, close to the road on the left, is a good
spring of water and plenty of grass. Leaving this camp, the road
approaches and follows down the banks of Anne Creek, s tributary
of Wood River, and along which the traveler will see some of
Nature’s most beautiful works. The camp last mentioned is called
Dead Wood. Within six miles from Dead Wood is Cold Run Camp,
with water a few yards up the ravine, but not much grass.
The distance from Rogue River to the summit of mountain is
estimated at sixteen miles, and from the summit to Ft. Klamath
at twenty miles, making thirty-six miles. From Jacksonville to
the intersection of the Klamath road, the distance measured is
sixty-two miles, making the whole distance from Jacksonville to
the Fort, ninety-eight miles, only six miles further than by Mt.
McLaughlin. From Rogue River to within one hundred yards from
the summit of the mountain, the road rises with a gradual
elevation of probably ten inches to the rod, with but few rises.
The summit is reached by a grade to greater than the hill back
of Jacksonville on the Applegate road. The decline on the
Klamath side is so gentle that in the dark a man could scarcely
tell whether he was going up hill or down. The new road will be
a “hard road to travel” for a while, as the ground is very soft,
and much of the way the road is cut through dense thickets of
small pines. And of course the stumps will be in the way for a
some time. There are, however, but a few large stumps in the
road and no rocks at all. The soil is pumice stone, and when
beaten down will become hard, making a road equal to a
macadamized one.
Two miles and a half, in a northeastern direction, from the
summit of the mountain is Oregon’s famous lake, about which
there is much difference of opinion as there is about “that
darkey”. I have not visited the lake yet, but several of my men
have, and they vary in their opinions of the distance to the
water. One thinks it is not more than two or three hundred feet,
while other say it must be six or seven hundred; one thinks the
water easily accessible, and another that it cannot be
reached. I shall visit it this week and blaze a trail to it from
the summit, and give you my impressions of its depth, etc. I
have heard of no name being given it except “Hole in the
Ground.” It should have a name commensurate with its merits as a
curiosity.
Respectfully yours, F.B. Sprague
August 24
Lt. O.A. Stern, Capt. Sprague and party “reached the bluff
overlooking the lake on the west or southwest side, about 9:00
in the morning of a clear day, and for the first time feasted
our eyes upon what we then pronounced the most beautiful and
majestic body of water we had ever beheld.” Stearns and Peyton
Ford become the first white men to reach the shores of the
lake. A pistol shot by Stearns brings down Sprague and civilian
Coats. Capt. Sprague suggests the name of “Lake
Majesty.” Phantom Ship is discovered by Captain Sprague.
August
The Oregon Sentinel of Jacksonville reports the visit a week or
so earlier of a party of citizens to the “Great Sunken Lake” in
the Cascade Mountains. It was reported that “no living man ever
has, and probably never will be able to reach the water’s
edge.” These visitors fired a rifle several times into the water
in an attempt to ascertain the distance from the rim to the
water, but evidently did little other exploring. Their group was
probably composed of some of the visiting citizens from
Jacksonville who had gone out to inspect the progress of the new
Forth Klamath-Jacksonville wagon road and to view the lake.
September 3
A party of eleven men from Jacksonville, guided by James D. Fay
arrived on the west side of the Lake during a hunting trip to
Diamond Peak. Here Fay , Herman Helms and Sgt. Orson Stearn find
a gentler slope enabling their decent to the water, where they
inscribe their names and the date on a nearby rock. Intrigued by
the topography of Wizard Island, they resolve to return and
bring a boat with which they could reach the island and explore
its slopes.
Pole Bridge Creek named when it was hastily bridged by soldiers
using Lodge Pole Pine.
Previous to 1865, supplies for Fort Klamath were carried by pack
train from Jacksonville, down into Northern California, then
north to the fort. Capt.. Sprague was responsible for cutting a
road through from Ft. Klamath to Jacksonville, but his crew did
no grading. He simply cut the way for wagons, leaving stumps and
stones that would pass under the axles. Not one cent was spent
on it in the meantime, and in 1886, 21 years later, the
Cleetwood party went over it with an expedition bound for Crater
Lake and carrying among other things, the Cleetwood, for
sounding, on a wagon. (Steel)
October 9
Annie Gains, for whom Annie Spring and Annie Creek are named,
climbs down to Crater Lake. Miss Gaines, sister-in-law to Major
W. F. Rinehart, Fort Klamath commander, was the first white
woman to reach the waters of the lake. Mrs. O.T. Brown, who was
greater in age, lost the race by a few feet to the 19 year-old
girl. (Brown Springs?) The name “Annie” was incorrectly changed
to “Anna” soon after the Park was established, and was changed
back to “Annie” during the 1930’s. Regardless of the weather or
the season, Annie Springs’ flow remains constant, and the
temperature of its water is always 35 degrees F. This is the
coldest spring in the Park. The Indians called the spring
“PALALX”
<<
1863
1865
1867
>>
