Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly vol. 26.djvu/487

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OREGON GEOGRAPHIC NAMES
421

ocean, where the stream flowed south, and formed a long narrow body of water known as Necoxie Lake. From Necoxie Lake to Cullaby Lake, Necoxie Creek now flows in a direction opposite to its original flow, and drains into Cullaby Lake. South of Necoxie Lake, the other portion of Necoxie Creek still flows into Necanicum River estuary. In recent times extensive cranberry culture has been developed around the shores of Cullaby Lake. Its elevation is near sea level.

Silas B. Smith is authority for the statement that the Indian name for this lake was Ya-se-ya-ma-na-la-tslas-tie. See Oregon Historical Society Quarterly, volume I, page 322. It was later named for Cullaby, a well-known Indian character on Clatsop Plains. Cullaby had a peculiar light complexion, and was the son of the Indian whom Lewis and Clark saw on the last day of the year 1805, and whom they described as "freckled with long duskey red hair, about 25 years of age, and must certainly be half white at least."

Cultus Lake, Deschutes County. Cultus is a Chinook jargon word, quite expressive, meaning bad or wholly worthless. It is used in many places in the northwest, generally because of the lack of one or more of the pioneer traveler's greatest needs, "wood, water or grass." Cultus Creek generally meant that the water was unfit for use. Cultus Prairie meant that the horse feed was poor. The word found its way into the jargon from the Chinook Indian word kaltas.

In addition to Cultus Lake in Deschutes County, there is also a Little Cultus Lake and Cultus Mountain. The latter was doubtless named for the lakes. Cultus has been spelled in many ways including Kultus, Cultas and Cultis, but the U. S. Geographic Board has adopted the form Cultus.

Culver, Jefferson County. In the latter part of 1900 at a dinner party of old settlers living in the Haystack