was named for these Indians. There was for many years a Siletz Indian Agency in Oregon. For editorial on the closing of this agency, see the Oregonian, November 18, 1925. It is estimated there were 2000 Indians at Siletz Agency in 1867. The Siletz reservation is described in the Oregonian, May 22, 1862, by Philip Ritz. For description of the Siletz Indians in 1869, ibid., September 24, 1869, page 3. A writer in the Oregonian, February 2, 1877, page 3, identifies the word with the French celeste. This theory is controverted by James W. Nesmith (ibid., February 7, 1877, page 2). The town of Valsetz was named for the Valley & Siletz Railroad.
SILICA, Gilliam County. This station east of Arlington, was named by the railroad company because of the presence of so much sand.
SILK CREEK, Lane County. This stream flows into Coast Fork Willamette River at Cottage Grove, and according to Elbert Bede, was once known as Hazelton Creek. A letter by Frances E. Morss Baker in the Eugene Register, April 17, 1929, says that a miner named Turpin returned from California, where he had been forced to take part of his wages in merchandise, which included enough handsome silk to make a dress. A woman living on the stream liked the silk so much that she traded a cow for it and the name Silk Creek had its origin in this swap.
SILTCOOS LAKE, Douglas and Lane counties. Not much is known about the origin of this name, except, of course, that it is Indian. It is said to be the name of a local chief and also that it is an Indian family name. This version seems to be substantiated by an entry under Kuitsh, a small Yakonan tribe on the lower Umpqua River, in Handbook of American Indians, volume I, page 732, where the village Tsiakhaus is listed. The proximity of Coos Bay could easily produce a distortion in the name of the lake, although the Indians of the two regions were not related. The name was formerly spelled Tsiltcoos, but the USBGN adopted the shorter form. The lake is a fine body of water covering several square miles, and has an elevation of eight feet. Siltcoos River connects it with the Pacific Ocean. Siltcoos station and post office is at the northeast corner.
SILVER BUTTE, Curry County, Silver Butte is a small point close to the Oregon Coast Highway about two miles north of Port Orford. On June 1, 1946, Louis L. Knapp, of Port Orford, told the compiler an amusing story about the origin of the name, a story that was told him when he was a small boy. The butte was named in the very early days at a time when there was plenty of panning for gold on the black beach sands. Some enthusiast got the notion of starting a silver stampede to property that he owned or controlled. He melted up some small silver coins and poured the metal so that it would resemble silver grains. He used these to salt the property and then announced a discovery of silver bearing ground. Wise prospectors soon exposed the scheme, but the name Silver Butte has remained attached to the feature to this day.
SILVER CREEK, Harney County. Silver Creek heads in the northwest part of the county and flows southeast to Harney Lake. A little to the northwest of Harney Lake is Silver Lake, which at times receives water from Silver Creek. The compiler has not been able to get definite information about the origins of the names of these features, but is of the opinion that they are the result of mixed identity with Silvies River, an
