Note 162 — JOURNAL OF TRAVELS OVER THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS (continued 3)

The Santiam River takes its name from the head chief (Sandeam) of the Kalapuya Indians, who dwelt upon its banks. April 16, 1851, the federal commissioners made a treaty with the Santiam branch of the tribe, whereby the latter ceded to the whites a large portion of their lands. Their number at this time was a hundred and fifty-five. Santiam River drains a considerable portion of Marion and Linn counties, its North Fork forming the boundary between the two. The road up this fork leads to Minto Pass; the South Fork formed the line for the Willamette and Cascade Military Road. Palmer's use of the term "Santa Anna" for this stream, in the two following paragraphs, would seem to indicate his ignorance of the Indian origin of the term, and an idea that it had been named for the Mexican general of that period.—Ed.