Show prehistoric RIVER BEDS news glendale oregon in a recent article in the news I 1 spoke of parts of an ancient river channel which are extensively mined in southern oregon if space will permit I 1 would like to say some more regarding this particular river bed that it is a prehistoric channel cannot be doubted when one makes a study of the deposits it contains aside from the gold values it carries are many deposits not found in any other stream in western oregon or california at sterling foots creek and forty nine diggings west of phoenix remains of the mastodon ma are found A portion of the base of a tusk was taken from the sterling mine that is twelve inches in diameter and estimating its length from its natural taper it would have been eleven feet in length remains of the bos alephus or broad faced ox are found at numerous places along this channel and many varieties of peri carps are found at all points where it has been mined or otherwise examined in all cases they are of tropical fruits some very closely closely resembling the orange one specimen that came under my observation after being sawed in two showed a structure identical with that fruit leaves of palms and giant ferns are found along with these and as they all are productions of a tropical climate they make quite a sphere for speculation As this river flowed south it would seem that this country and north of here was very much warmer then than it now is but as tropical animal and vegetable remains are found as far north as alaska and siberia it is perfectly reasonable they should be found here the three cross ranges calapooia Cala rogue river and siskiyou you mountains are of more recent formation than the cascade ana coast ranges and prior to these upheavals this river had its source north of the calapooia Cala ranges as portions of its bed are found north of roseburg after these eruptions occurred immense lakes were formed between these cross ranges and their waters found outlets through the coast range to the ocean causing the umpqua rogue and klamath rivers rogue river valley bears great evidence ot this fact at many places petrified mollusks are found in abundance in some places 1400 feet above the level of the valley south of the near hornbrook the same evidence of an inland sea is found there being a large portion of the country covered by sandstone containing sea shells during the course of these eruptions some parts of this river bed were raised to higher elevations than others and in most cases these higher parts of it are as yet undiscovered but enough of this deposit is know nto exist to last the placers of douglas county for a hundred years A W SHEARER |