southward into the estuary of Necanicum River. If the long sand ridges shift positions, the course of the stream may me interfered with still further. The name is derived from Neahcoxie, the Clatsop Indian name of the village at the mouth of the creek. The form Neacoxie has been adopted by the USBGN, and is in general use. George Gibbs, in Alphabetical Vocabulary of the Chinook Language, New York, 1863, says this name, which he spells Ni-a-kok-si, is said to refer to the small pine trees near the mouth of the stream. Neacoxie Lake is sometimes called Sunset Lake, but that is not the historic name. Sunset Lake is a style that "as resulted from real estate activity.
NEAHKAHNIE MOUNTAIN, Tillamook County. There has at times been some controversy about the meaning of the Indian name of this bold headland north of Nehalem River. Neahkahnie is a place of romance and mystery. Tales of buried treasure, marooned Spaniards, galleons laden with beeswax candles and suchlike, have drawn the attention of the white man for three-quarters of a century. Chunks of engraved wax and curious letters on half-buried stones have been all the more mysterious. Joseph H. Frost's diary of 1841 in OHQ, volume XXXV, page 242, says: "This mountain is called Ne-a-karny—after one of the deities of these natives, who, it is said by them, a long time since, while sitting on this mountain, turned into a stone, which stone, it is said, presents a colossal figure of Ne-akarny to this day. And in our passage over the mountain, which is a prairie on the side next the ocean, we discovered a stone which presented a figure of this kind." Silas B. Smith says in OHQ, volume I, page 321, that Ne-kah-ni meant the precipice overlooking the ocean, the abode of Ekahni, the supreme god. Lee and Frost in Ten Years in Oregon, 1844, page 343, give the Clatsop word Acarna, meaning chief deity. Mrs. Ed Gervais, a Nehalem Indian, is authority for the statement that the name Neahkahnie had its origin in the word used by the supposed Spanish wreck survivors when they saw elk on the side of the mountain, and exclaimed: "Carne," meaning meat. This is probably fanciful. Neahkahnie is one of a number of Indian names beginning with the prefix Ne-, which had to do with villages or places where certain tribes lived. These names include also Necanicum, Nehalem, Neskowin, Netarts, Nestucca and Neacoxie. John Gill informed the writer that a Clatsop Indian told him ne meant a place. Neahkahnie Mountain presents a bold front to the Pacific, and stands 1795 feet above the water, an imposing sight. The best collection of romances and facts about the place is in the book by S. J. Cotton, Stories of Nehalem. Thomas H. Rogers' Nehalem should be read by all interested in Neahkahnie. It contains an excellent picture of the glyphic rock. For additional references see under NEHALEM.
NEAL CREEK, Hood River County. Peter Neal ran a saw mill on what is now known as Neal Creek in the early '80s, and the stream was named for him. He built a dam near what was later the Wilson Fike farm, and the mill pond was a favorite fishing place.
NEAWANNA CREEK, Clatsop County. This stream flows into the estuary of Necanicum River just north of Seaside. In earlier days it was generally called Wahanna Creek, although some people called it Ohannah or Wahannah in the belief that it was named for a member of the family of R. W. Morrison, whose name was Hannah. This etymology always seemed dubious to the compiler, and was without substantial confirmation. The result of this variety of names was confusion. In 1930 Miss M.
