from the east. Pioneer settlers in the Wallowa Valley found many bears along this stream. The wild animals were very destructive of cattle.
BEAR CREEK, Wallowa County. This stream heads near the OregonWashington state line and flows southeast into Grande Ronde River in township 6 north, range 43 east. In 1931 J. H. Horner told the compiler that the stream was named by a sheepherder employed by Judge Chester F. Miller of Dayton, Washington, who ran into nine bears all at one time, frolicking on its banks. This sounds like a record.
BEAR Flat, Wallowa County. Bear Flat is about on the line between township 1 north, ranges 48 and 49 east, on the ridge between Horse and Pumpkin creeks. It was named because Ben Johnson and Waldo Chase killed several bears there, among them two grizzlies. Charles and Guy Horner built the first cabin and corrals on this flat, according to information from J. H. Horner in 1931.
BEAR GULCH, Wallowa County. Bear Gulch is an important canyon in the east part of township 1 south, range 47 east, and empties into Little Sheep Creek. It was named by George A. Wilson who had a remarkable experience with a bear in this gulch. Wilson's dogs chased a bear, and the excited animal jumped on a pack horse. This was too much for patient nag, who bucked the bear off and then scattered the pack down the canyon. Wilson was a stock man with a place at the mouth of the gulch.
BEAR ISLAND, Benton County. This island in Willamette River, and Bear Chute just to the east, were named for Owen Bear, a nearby pioneer settler. The record of his donation land claim is in land office certificate 327.
BEARDSLEY Bar, Marion County. Beardsley Bar is on the east bank of Willamette River, about three miles northwest of Salem. It was named for W. W. Beardsley, who owned a farm near the bar.
BEATTY, Klamath County. Annie E. Taylor, postmistress at Beatty, reported in 1925 that this place was named for the Rev. J. L. Beatty, a missionary who lived in that section of the Klamath Indian Reservation. Beatty is on Sprague River, on the highway between Klamath Falls and Lakeview.
BEATYS BUTTE, Harney County. This prominent butte is in the southwest part of the county, and Beatys Springs are nearby. These features were named during Colonel C. S. Drew's Owyhee Reconnoissance with the 1st Oregon Cavalry in 1864, and serve to perpetuate the memory of Sergeant A. M. Beaty, who is especially mentioned in Drew's report for the zealous performance of his duties. The USC&GS gives the elevation of this butte as 7916 feet.
BEAVER, Tillamook County. It is not surprising that the name of the animal that exercised such influence in the history of the West should be attached to so many geographic features. There are three post offices in Oregon with Beaver as the dominant part of the name, and a score of creeks, mountains and buttes. The American beaver (Castor canadensis and its sub-species) occupied a wide field on this continent and existed in great numbers. Beavers are heavily built, and are covered with long, coarse hairs overlying the short, dense and silky underfur to which beaver skins owe their value. The abundance and high value of this fur had a great influence in the early exploration and development of North America. Beaver skins were the one ready product of the
