Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly volume 11.djvu/66

 6o Frederick V. Holman eluding the Wallowa Valley, were the habitat of the Lower Nez Perce Indians, at the time of the beginning of the noted war with them, which began in June, 1877, and ended in October of the same year. Their Chief was the famous Indian known as Chief Joseph. To be certain of the meaning or origin of the name, I wrote to A. C. Smith, now living at Enterprise, in Wallowa County. For may years he lived with the Indians, in that vicinity, and speaks one or more of the tribal languages. He kindly wrote me saying that he had learned from the Umatilla and the Nez Perce Indians that the Wallowa River was named by the fact that, many generations ago, the Nez Perce Indians placed the first fish trap in that river, and the salmon failed, from some cause unknown to them, to go into the trap and, after leaving the trap set in the river until time to go into their winter quarters, they arrived at a superstitious notion that some charm had intervened to prevent the fish from going in. And so, when they went away, they left the trap standing in the river, to be destroyed by the floods, al- though in other rivers it had been their constant practice to haul the most valuable timbers out of the river for use the next summer and to save them from destruction from the next spring's floods. Thereafter the river was always called by them by the name "fish trap," an Indian word for which is Wallowa. Wallowa County is now bounded: on the north by the State of Washington; on the east by the Snake River; the boundary between the States of Oregon and Idaho; on the south by Baker County; and on the west by Union County. Its county seat is Enterprise. Malheur County. Malheur County was created February 17, 1887, by the State Legislature. (General Laws of 1887, P a §" e x 38). It comprises what was the southern and middle portions of Baker County. It is the southeastern county of Oregon.