Page:Oregon Geographic Names, third edition.djvu/449

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shows the name in still another style, Montsylvania. The compiler of these notes has been unable to reconcile these discrepancies.

MOUNT TABOR, Multnomah County. Mount Tabor was named by Plympton Kelly, son of Clinton Kelly, pioneer resident of Portland. He had been reading Napoleon and His Marshals, by Joel T. Headley, and was impressed among other things by the battle fought by the French against the Moslems on the Plain of Esdraelon not far from the base of Mount Tabor in Palestine. He therefore named the hill near his home Mount Tabor for the mount in the Holy Land. It was first planned to call Mount Tabor in Oregon Mount Zion. See OPA Transactions, 1887, page 60. Mount Tabor post office was in operation many years.

MOUNT TALAPUS, Multnomah County. This peak is between the headwaters of Tanner Creek and north branches of Bull Run River. It bears the Indian name for coyote, or barking wolf of the plains. The coyote was a sort of deity or supernatural being in Indian mythology. Chinook jargon, Talapus; Chinook Indian, Italipas; Yakima Indian, Telipa. This peak was once called Shellrock Mountain, but the USBGN was prevailed upon to change the name because there were more than enough Shellrocks already. See under COYOTE CREEK. Mount THIELSEN, Douglas and Klamath counties. This mountain is one of the most remarkable in the state because of a great pinnacle or spire that forms its summit. Its elevation is 9173 feet. In early days it was known as the Big Cowhorn in contradistinction to Little Cowhorn farther north, now called Cowhorn. It is also said to have been called Diamond Peak, but the compiler has seen no written evidence of this. About 1872 it was named Mount Thielsen by John A. Hurlburt of Portland, in honor of Hans Thielsen, prominent pioneer railroad engineer and builder. For references to Thielsen, see Scott's History of the Oregon Country. For information about the mountain, see article by Ira A. Williams in Mazama, December, 1921. The Indian name of the mountain was His-chok-wol-as. See also under CASCADE RANGE.

MOUNT VERNON, Grant County. This post office was established May 14, 1877, with Wm. J. Gray postmaster. The community was named for a prominent rocky eminence just north of the town. The compiler has been unable to learn who named the butte Mount Vernon or when it was done.

MOUNT WASHINGTON, Deschutes and Linn counties. In elevation, Mount Washington may be counted as one of the lesser peaks of the Cascade Range, but its unusual appearance and the fact that it is excessively difficult to climb make it an important mountain. It has an elevation of 7802 feet. It doubtless received its name because of the proximity of Mount Jefferson, but who applied the name, and when, is apparently unknown. It was of course named for George Washington, It was not mentioned by any early explorers, or shown on early maps. The top part of Mount Washington is a rocky spire that defied all attempts at climbing until August 26, 1923, when six boys from Bend managed to reach the summit. For particulars of Mount Washington, and attempts to climb it, see Mazama for 1922 and 1923.

MOUNT WILSON, Clackamas and Washington counties. This mountain, elevation 5595 feet, is an important lookout station on the summit of the Cascade Range. It was named for Bruce Wilson of Portland, when he was supervisor of forest areas in the northern part of the Cascade Range in Oregon. Older maps show the mountain as Tamarack Mounreaks -1.76