Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly volume 13.djvu/242

 234 J. NEILSON BARRY River a short distance below the present city of Boise. It was on this river that Reed, Dorion and others were subse- quently massacred by Indians, of which an account is given in Chapter 51, and the river was in consequence called Reed's River in the early days. Although the Astorians suffered greatly for lack of water on their way from the Snake to the Boise River, yet it was fortunate that they took this route, as it enabled them to procure some horses, without which many would probably have subsequently per- ished in the Snake River canyon. Following the Boise River along the route, in later days, of the "Old Oregon Trail," toward Malheur Butte, subsequently a well known landmark, they reached the Snake near where Fort Boise stood in after years. Turning northward, they followed along the present route of the Oregon Short Line down along the Snake, crossing the Payette and Weiser Rivers near the present towns with those same names. Little realizing that there was a nat- ural route used by the Indians between this point and the Co- lumbia, they continued down the Snake and entered the canyon November 27th. Traveling then became excessively arduous, but they still continued onward until December 5th, when they had probably reached near the present line dividing Washington and Adams Counties, Idaho. (Chapter 34.) The detachment under Ramsay Crooks left "Caldron Linn," Milner, Idaho, November 9th and, following along the left or south side of the Snake River, through Twin Falls and Owyhee Counties, Idaho, they entered what is now Malheur County, Oregon. Continuing northward along the Snake River, they passed near where Huntington, Baker County, is now situated, and then followed along the present line of the Northwestern Railroad to probably a short distance beyond Homestead, Baker County, Oregon, where they were forced to turn back and re- trace their steps. While ascending back up the river they came, December 6th, to a point opposite to where Mr. Hunt was on the Idaho side. When he had learned through Mr. Crooks of the impassable nature of the canyon, his party also turned back and retraced their steps southward up the river. (Chap- ter 35.)