Page:Oregon Geographic Names, third edition.djvu/490

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summit could be reached. The next day he named Camp Creek. Palmer settled in the Willamette Valley and was one of the founders of Dayton, Yamhill County, He became superintendent of Indian affairs for Oregon in 1853, and in 1854 was probably a member of the first party that claimed to have climbed Mount Hood to the top. He was president of the Columbia River Road Company that opened a toll road from Sandy River to the Cascades in 1863. It operated ferries at Sandy River and at Dog (Hood) River. He occupied important political positions, and was once a candidate for governor. He died at Dayton June 9, 1881. Palmer Peak was at one time called Cub Peak, a name without significance. Palmer Creek in Yamhill County, was also named for Joel Palmer. Palos, Linn County. Palos post office was established March 4, 1856, and was closed October 30, 1857. Samuel G. Thompson was the first postmaster. The compiler does not know why this pioneer post office was named with the Spanish word meaning sticks or stones and sometimes timbers, but he has come to the conclusion that Thompson was a student of history and was familiar with the name of the port near the southwest corner of Spain from which Columbus sailed on Friday, August 3, 1492, on his eventful first voyage of discovery. The Spanish place-name Palos was doubtless the origin of the name of the Linn County post office.

PALOUSE CREEK, Coos County. How this stream tributary to Haynes Inlet on the north part of Coos Bay got the name of Palouse River in eastern Washington is a problem that the writer has been unable to solve. Lewis and Clark called the stream in Washington Drewyers River after a member of the expedition, and referred to the Indians as Palloatpallah. Canadian members of the Astor party in 1812 used the name Pavion for the river and Pallata palla for the tribe. David Douglas called the tribe Pelusb pa. For other forms of the name, see Handbook of American Indians, volume II, page 195. Palouse is the style now used in referring to a large area of rolling country and to other geographic features in eastern Washington. The French word pelouse is used to describe terrain covered with fine grasses, a characteristic of the Palouse country before it was cultivated. Whether the name Palouse came from the French-Canadian trappers or from the Indians, or both, is a matter of conjecture.

PAMELIA CREEK, Linn County. Pamelia Creek, at the southwestern base of Mount Jefferson, was named for Pamelia Ann Berry, a girl cook in the Marion County road locating party described by John Minto in

OHQ, volume IV, page 249. Minto named the stream in 1879, and gave as his reason, the unfailing cheerfulness of Miss Berry. It may be added that the wording of the article is ambiguous, and Miss Berry may have been with the party that opened the trail to Black Butte in 1879. Pamelia Lake was named for the creek, probably by Judge John B. Waldo.

PANKY SPRING, Klamath County. Panky Spring and Panky Lake are west of Gerber Reservoir and cast of Bonanza. They were named for the family of Lewis Panky, ranchers in the vicinity.

PANSY MOUNTAIN, Marion County. This mountain is in the extreme north part of the county, north of Detroit. It was named for the Pansy Blossom copper mine, which was operated by Joe Davis and