Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly vol. 26.djvu/420

 Gowan, a pioneer resident who was a great admirer of the Scottish poet. Elevation 4816 feet.

, Wheeler County. Burnt Ranch is a post office on the south bank of the John Day River at the extreme western edge of Wheeler County. The name was applied in 1862. The ranch was on the old military road from The Dalles to Canyon City. The buildings were burned during an Indian uprising and from that time on the place was known by its present name. The original Burnt Ranch was near the mouth of Muddy Creek, but the post office moves about, depending upon the home of the postmaster, and in October, 1925, is several miles to the west near the mouth of Cherry Creek.

, Baker County. Burnt River is an important stream rising in the Blue Mountains and draining the southern part of the county. It joins Snake River east of Huntington. Exact information about its name is not available, and there are two theories about the matter, one being that Burnt River was so called because of the burned timber along its banks and the other because of the burned looking rocks, especially along the lower reaches. As far as the writer knows, the first mention of Burnt River is in the Peter Skene Ogden journals for Saturday, February 4, 1826, on page 352 of the Oregon Historical Society Quarterly, volume X. T. C. Elliott, the authority on Ogden, is of the opinion that the name came from the burned woods, because the fur-traders reached the upper parts of the stream first where the burned looking rocks are not so much in evidence. During the times in question the stream was frequently mentioned as the Rivier Brule, by the French Canadians. It is of course evident that the traders named the stream, and that pioneers proceeding along the lower part of the river 25 years later had nothing to do with it, though they doubtless thought the name was appropriate because of the dry character of the country they traversed. Mr.