Silver Creek

“ Every nook and corner of his mind was filled by one idea, which presented itself in a hundred different shapes; that idea was Margaret.
The Overland Mail came into Silver Creek once a month, pretty regularly, with letters and papers from home; and if you had seen the post-office on the day the four-horse coach brought the mails, you never would have forgotten the sight. Crowds stood around the doors and windows of the wooden building, for up to the present time every building in Silver Creek township was either drill, calico, or wood. ”

“ Old-timers generally favor this version. A post office with the name Silver Creek was established in Marion County November 16, 1854, with E. M. Waite postmaster. The compiler has not been able to get its location, but it was doubtless not far from the present site of Silverton. Silver CREEK Falls, Marion County. These falls are about fifteen miles southeast of Silverton, in Silver Creek Falls State Park. They constitute one of the important scenic attractions of Oregon and in ordinary times are visited by large numbers of sightseers. ”

“ We are at the golden end of the world, in Australia, at Silver Creek, twelve months ago a wilderness, now a busy and thriving township. Within this brief space, an infant in the history of cities has grown into what promises to become a strong and healthy man. ”

“ They were poor young men when they stopped their covered wagons on the banks of a stream called Silver Creek, and began to look around for better country. They made a few short rides around the valley and mountains, but they came back and finally settled and called the settlement Silverton, and finally people stopped there and took corner lots without crowding. These men were great workers and knew the art of saving. They bought the first crop of calves in their neighborhood and kept them until they grew up, and then sold them for big prices. ”

“ The site of the mining camp in the Silver Bow Basin is even more picturesque, and the trail from Juneau leads straight up the mountain side, then down to a second valley, and along the wild cañon of Gold Creek and into the basin of the Silver Bow. All the way it leads through dense forests and luxuriant bottom land, where the immense pine-trees, the thickets of ferns and devil’s club, and the rank undergrowth of bushes and grasses, continually excite one’s wonder. ”

“ It was then that Lone Tree closed in on Carter with invitations to drink and requests for verification of a theory that the northern settlement was spreading itself on educational lines. "She's a right smart-looking girl," said the store-keeper, its principal exponent, "and Silver Creek is surely going to turn out some scholars." ”

“ At this point Rock Creek joins the Siletz itself, which here is a wide and rushing stream, and divides the valley along its entire length into two unequal parts. The hills fall back on either side of you and lose their broken forms, becoming long slopes, draped thickly with the heavy brake-fern. Here and there stand the houses of the Indians, each with its grain- and hay-fields; while of cattle of all ages, and little groups of ponies, there is no lack.
Except in one or two instances, the houses are log-cabins, and you miss the staring white paint so common in this country. ”

“ Sometimes Treefall started to shout, but Corte struck his fist through the sleeping-bag cover, and the muffled yells subsided into grunts of pain. Then the woodsman would travel on again. Having reached the foot of the mountain, he began to cross the ridges beyond, taking the easiest routes. Dawn found him still stumbling along, with the owner of the Silver Lake preserve strapped to his back. ”

“ When Ruth arrived at Silver Ranch that afternoon she found that the ranchman’s niece and the other girls had planned an outing for the following day into the hills West of the range over which Mr. Hicks’ cattle fed. It was to be a picnic jaunt, the object being mainly to view the wonderful “natural bridge” in a small cañon, some thirty miles from the ranch.
A sixty-mile drive within twenty-four hours seemed a big undertaking in the minds of the Eastern young folk; but Jane Ann said that the ponies and mules could stand it. ”

“ At Four Lakes is a junction with a paved road: Right from the junction the road zigzags through a bunch-grass and farming area, occasionally spotted with clumps of bull pine. Orchards here, once fairly productive, are now far from prosperous-looking. Slightly to the left of the road is SILVER LAKE BUTTE, partly wooded at its base, nearly bald at the summit. SILVER LAKE, 3.4 m., once offered excellent bass, perch, and crappie fishing. ”

“ It was to give Jane Ann pleasure, and because of the kindness of Ruth and her friends to his niece, that Mr. Bill Hicks had arranged this trip West for the entire party, on a visit to Silver Ranch. But the old gentleman did not want their introduction to the ranch to be a tragedy. And with the herd of half-wild cattle ahead, and Old Trouble-Maker thundering along the trail behind the motor car, it did look as though the introduction of the visitors to the ranch was bound to be a strenuous one. ”

“ Sunday, July 30th.—We rested somewhat late upon Saturday morning to make up for the fatigues of the journey from Weber's Creek. On surveying the country we found ourselves in a perfect solitude. Not an Indian, far less a white man, was to be seen. The fertile valley of the Bear River—with its luxuriant grass, in which nestled coveys of the Californian quail—seemed almost untrodden by human foot, and sloped in great beauty between the ridges of rocky hills and peaks of granite, with dark ravines and canones between, which hemmed it in. ”

“ Henceforth our path lay through pleasant places; shady trees, long grass, and frequent pools of water in the shingly beds of the creeks made a welcome change after the awful desolation of the desert. Indications of white men were now constantly met with—marked trees, old camps, and horse-tracks. Striking north from the Mary, over plains of spinifex and grass, passing many queer, fort-like hills, we reached the Margaret River, a noble creek, even when dry as we saw it. ”

“ Silver Bow Basin is a place to delight an æsthetic miner with in the way of landscape, and any one with a soul in him would surely appreciate that little round valley sunk deep in the heart of great mountains, with snow-caps on every horizon line, a glacier slipping from a great ravine, and waterfalls tumbling noisily down the slopes. ”

“ The packers had wanted a bridge at Ashland Avenue, but they had not been able to get it till they had seen Scully; and it was the same with “Bubbly Creek,” which the city had threatened to make the packers cover over, till Scully had come to their aid. “Bubbly Creek” is an arm of the Chicago River, and forms the southern boundary of the yards: all the drainage of the square mile of packing houses empties into it, so that it is really a great open sewer a hundred or two feet wide. One long arm of it is blind, and the filth stays there forever and a day. ”

“ September 6.—The ana-branch camped on last night being found to run parallel to the course of the river, received the name of Parallel Creek. Its average width is about 150 yards, well watered, and full of melaleucas and fallen timber. The country on its north bank down to its junction with the river 20 miles from the junction of Warroul Creek, is broken into ridges of quartz and sand-stone, stony, and poorly grassed. ”

“ It was a curious, gloomy sort of patch, nearly half-a-mile up the creek from the camp, and further in towards the mountains. Just at this spot the banks of the creek were high, there was an unusual blackness about the soil, and it gave out a faint but unrecognizable odor, that, in the bright mountain air, was quite pleasant. For several hundred yards the ground of this flat was rankly spongy, with an oozy surface. Then, beyond, lay a black greasy-looking marsh, and further on again the hills rose abruptly with the facets of auriferous-looking soil, such as the prospector loves to contemplate. ”

“ The road here—the only especially creditable piece of engineering on the route—descends the mighty hillside in long, swinging loops and with only moderate grades. It offers many wonderful panoramas of giant crags and towering pinnacles; at times great cliffs rise far above it and again sheer precipices fall away at its side. This wonderful vale of beauty and grandeur goes by the very unpoetical title of Fish Creek Canyon, which again reminds us how unfortunate the pioneers often were in their nomenclature. ”

“ Black Creek, on whose wooded bank the Stopping-House stands, is a deep black stream which makes its way leisurely across the prairie between steep banks. Here and there throughout its length are little shallow stretches which show a golden braid down the centre like any peaceful meadow brook where children may with safety float their little boats, but Black Creek, with its precipitous holes, is no safe companion for any living creature that has not webbed toes or a guardian angel. ”

“ Sixteen miles travel over this beautiful plain brings the emigrant to Indian Creek, the banks of which usually serve for a place of encampment. The prairie offers the best pasturage for cattle; but constant watching is necessary to keep them from straying away and returning to the settlements. From Indian Creek, the emigrants proceed across the prairie, along the Santa Fe trail, for about fifteen miles, and then leave it, turning off to the right hand. ”

“ For soon the picnic and excursion crowds will be coming to Silver Lake, and I’ll be so busy attending to the boats, the soda-water and the ice-cream, that I won’t have any time to fish.”
As I have told you, Uncle Ben was to be in charge of Mr. Martin’s dock at the lake, and the old sailor was to have a man and a boy to help him. The man had come, but the boy had not yet been hired. Mr. Martin spent many days at Sunnyside Bungalow, at Silver Lake, as he had some one he could leave in charge of his store at Cresco. ”

“ Sometimes, the water being too low for steamers above Silver Springs, visitors are deprived of a great pleasure in not seeing this portion of the country, barges and slow coaches being the only medium of communication. However, this inconvenience will soon be overcome by a contemplated railroad. Large portions of the country in this locality are yet open to homestead settlers, where all good people will receive a hearty welcome.
As we leave the river and springs, the scenery changes from trees and foliage to fertile prairies and long marsh-grass, which sways in the breeze like troubled waves. ”

“ In the afternoon on many days of the summer which I spent at the Sunk Creek Ranch I would go shooting, or ride up toward the entrance of the canyon and watch the men working on the irrigation ditches. Pleasant systems of water running in channels were being led through the soil, and there was a sound of rippling here and there among the yellow grain; the green thick alfalfa grass waved almost, it seemed, of its own accord, for the wind never blew ”

“ Notwithstanding the vaunted refining influences of towns, purity of all kinds--pure hearts, pure streams, pure snow--must here be exposed to terrible trials. City Creek, coming from its high glacial fountains, enters the streets of this Mormon Zion pure as an angel, but how does it leave it? Even roses and lilies in gardens most loved are tainted with a thousand impurities as soon as they unfold. ”

“ We rested for a short time, and then travelled down the Beaver until opposite Short Nose Creek, when we crossed the divide and camped on that stream. Two days later we pushed on to Cedar Creek, and then crossed over to Prairie Dog Creek. We had travelled only at night, hiding away all day in the brush that lined the creeks, and keeping a sharp lookout for Indians. So far, we had seen no Indian signs, and began to despair of finding any, when one morning, just as we were preparing for breakfast, I heard several shots fired, apparently four or five miles up the creek. ”

“ Crossing several deep ravines, which are very difficult of passage in rainy weather, the emigrants arrive on the banks of the Werkarusa Creek. This is another favorite place of encampment, groves of trees being on each side of it. From this creek, the route is over the high-rolling prairie, upon a smooth and hard trail. The want of water is the only annoyance that is experienced by the travellers, and a long day's journey is necessary to bring them to the nearest creek—a branch of the Kansas River. The banks of the creek are steep, and considerable toil is requisite to cross it. ”

“ In the far distance, at the open end of the valley, the eye is arrested by turret-shaped buttes, showing the bizarre formation and variegated strata characteristic of the “Bad Lands.” The stream is known as Dog Creek, and along its banks lie the winter villages of a considerable section of the Sioux and Cheyenne tribes. ”

“ The forest trees are loftier and denser, but the surface soil is not so richly grassed. The road emerges on to a rich bottom of considerable extent, and the hill to the left extends upwards in such a gentle slope as to diminish the appearance of its height. Within a mile and a half of Golden Point the tents begin to peer through the trees. The Black Hill rises precipitously on the right from a creek that washes its base, and through its thick forest covering the road is visible down which the carriers are conveying their earth. ”

“ We again follow a beautiful mountain stream, Spring Creek, through Sheridan and down to Hill City. Along the road we find some real rock cliffs running up several hundred feet and we can here see the plan of the rock layers, thrown in, tilted on edge, the formation which is general throughout the Black Hills. At Sheridan there is a good looking tourist camp, including cabins. ”