Page:Oregon Geographic Names, third edition.djvu/57



tom in the extreme southwest part of the county and flows into the Willamette River. It was named for Joseph Bashaw who was born in France in 1820 and settled on the land October 1, 1851. The Land Office plat of this township indicates the spelling Bashan, but this is an error as the original application for the donation land claim is made out Bashaw.

BASIN, Grant County. Butler Basin is a prominent expansion of the John Day Canyon just north of Picture Gorge and is notable for being the site of some of the most remarkable of the John Day fossil beds, A post office with the name Basin was established in this area on July 10, 1907, with William B. Bales postmaster. The office was closed out to Dayville in April, 1916. It was about seven miles south of Kimberly.

BASKETT SLOUGH, Polk County. This slough originates in the intermittent Boyle Lakes about two miles northwest of Rickreall. It flows eastward several miles and joins Mud Slough. It was named for George J. Baskett who was born in Kentucky in 1817 and who settled on a donation land claim near this slough in October, 1850. Baskett spelled his name with two "t's" as indicated and this style of name for this geographic feature has been officially adopted by the USBGN.

BASTENDORFF BEACH, Coos County. Bastendorff Beach is on the west part of Coos Head, south of the entrance to Coos Bay. It bears the name of a local family. The spelling Bastendorff appears in signatures to deeds in the files of the Oregon State Highway Commission. Bates, Grant County. This post office is in the east part of the county near Austin. It was named for Paul C. Bates, an insurance man of Portland. Bates was instrumental in negotiating the purchase of timber lands by the Oregon Lumber Company, and when that company began operations, it suggested the name of Bates for the post office. Paul C. Bates was born in Massachusetts in 1874 and came to Portland in 1896. He died in Portland February 4, 1943. For obituary, see the Oregonian, February 6, 1943. For biography, see Carey's History of Oregon, volume III, page 20.

BATES BUTTE, Deschutes County. Bates Butte is west of Deschutes River and north of Fall River. It received its name from George Bates, a homesteader who settled nearby.

BATTERSON, Tillamook County. The railroad station Batterson on Nehalem River about six miles east of Mohler bears the name of S. M. Batterson, a local landowner. See under the heading ANGLERSVALE.

BATTLE Ax, Marion County. This mountain is in the eastern end of the county on the western slopes of the Cascade Range, and has an elevation of 5547 feet. There are two stories as to how it received its name. One is to the effect that it is sharp and has the appearance of a battle ax, while the other is that it was named by an old woodsman of the North Santiam Valley for a brand of chewing tobacco which was popular in the '90s, and which he used liberally while exploring in the neighborhood of the mountain.

BATTLE Bar, Curry County. On April 27, 1856, there took place one of those indecisive skirmishes that characterized the Rogue River Indian War of 1855-56. This fight lasted all day. The Oregon volunteers were on the north side of Rogue River about a mile west of what is now the east boundary of Curry County. The Indians, men, women and children were on a bar on the south bank of the river, now called Battle Bar, in section 17, township 33 south, range 9 west. Neither side was able to cross the river, so the combatants spent the time taking pot shots. See Walling's History of Southern Oregon, pages 266-68.