Page:The History of Oregon Bancroft 1888.djvu/204

186 notably on Greenhorn Creek, Yreka, and Humbug Creek.

The Oregon miners were by this time satisfied that gold existed north of the Siskiyou range. Their explorations resulted in finding the metal on Big Bar of Rogue River, and in the cañon of Josephine Creek. Meanwhile the beautiful and richly grassed valley of Rogue River became the paradise of packers, who grazed their mules there, returning to Scottsburg or the Willamette for a fresh cargo. In February 1852 one Sykes who worked on the place of A. A. Skinner found gold on Jackson Creek, about on the west line of the present town of Jacksonville, and soon after two packers, Cluggage and Pool, occupying themselves with prospecting while their animals were feeding, discovered Rich Gulch, half a mile north of Sykes' discovery. The wealth of these mines led to an irruption from the California side of the Siskiyou, and Willow Springs five miles north of Jacksonville, Pleasant Creek, Applegate Creek, and many other localities became deservedly famous, yielding well for a number of years.

Every miner, settler, and trader in this remote interior region was anxious to hear from friends, home, and of the great commercial world without. As I have before said Thurston labored earnestly to show congress the necessity of better mail facilities for Oregon, the benefit intended to have been conferred