Billy Chinook was a member of the Wasco

Wasco-Wishram

Wasco-Wishram are two closely related Chinook Indian tribes from the Columbia River in Oregon. Today the tribes are part of the Warm Springs Reservation in Oregon and Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation in Washington.-History:...

 Indian tribe. He acted as a guide for John C. Frémont

John C. Frémont

John Charles Frémont , was an American military officer, explorer, and the first candidate of the anti-slavery Republican Party for the office of President of the United States. During the 1840s, that era's penny press accorded Frémont the sobriquet The Pathfinder...

 in the region of Central Oregon

Central Oregon

Central Oregon is a geographic region in the U.S. state of Oregon and is traditionally considered to be made up of Deschutes, Jefferson, and Crook counties. Other definitions include larger areas, often encompassing areas to the north towards the Columbia River, eastward towards Burns, or south...

. In the summer 1866 Bill Chinook and over twenty other Indian scouts mostly made up of Wascos spotted a Paiute

Paiute

Paiute refers to three closely related groups of Native Americans — the Northern Paiute of California, Idaho, Nevada and Oregon; the Owens Valley Paiute of California and Nevada; and the Southern Paiute of Arizona, southeastern California and Nevada, and Utah.-Origin of name:The origin of...

 camp near Dry Creek, 13 miles south of Ochoco Creek

Ochoco Creek

Ochoco Creek is a tributary of the Crooked River in the U.S. state of Oregon. Part of the drainage basin of the Columbia River, it arises in the Ochoco National Forest in Wheeler County and flows generally southwest and west for most of its length through Crook County to slightly northwest of...

. Although Chinook had orders not to engage the Paiutes, because of an incident earlier where Chief Paulina

Chief Paulina

Chief Paulina was a Northern Paiute war leader.During the late 1850s and 1860s, Northern Paiute bands attacked both settler communities and Native American reservations in central and eastern Oregon, as well as the Klamath Basin. Chief Paulina became the most notorious war leader in those raids...

 ordered his braves to murder the Wasco Chief Queapama under the guise of parley on the Warm Springs Indian Reservation

Warm Springs Indian Reservation

The Warm Springs Indian Reservation consists of 1,019.385 sq mi in north central Oregon, in the United States, and is occupied and governed by the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs.-Tribes:...

, Chinook and his other outraged scouts could not resist avenging the death of their Chief. Waiting till dawn the next day Chinook led the raid and killed or captured all 32 Paiutes.

The Scout Party continued to track down Paulina near Lake Harney

Harney Lake

Harney Lake is a shallow alkali lake basin located in southeast Oregon, United States, approximately thirty miles south of the town of Burns. The lake lies within the boundary of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge and is the lowest point in the Blitzen Valley drainage.- History :The lake has been...

 on Steens Mountain

Steens Mountain

Steens Mountain is a large fault-block mountain in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Oregon. Located in Harney County, it stretches some and rises from an elevation of about above the Alvord Desert to its peak at...

. Paulina was able to retreat to a cave protected by boulders but Paulina's brother Wahveveh

Wahveveh

Chief Wahveveh, also spelled Wewawewa was a Northern Paiute warrior and half-brother of Chief Paulina.During the raids of the 1860s in Central Oregon, Wahveveh aided his brother in attacks on the Warm Springs Chief, Poustaminie. His tribe, the Tyghs were attacked by Wahveveh's band while they were...

 and two other braves were killed.

Lake Billy Chinook

The Confederated Tribes

Confederated Tribes

Confederated Tribes may refer to a number of associations of Indigenous peoples in the Northwestern United States and the West Coast of Canada:* Confederated Tribes of the Chehalis Reservation* Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation...

named a lake

Lake

A lake is a body of relatively still fresh or salt water of considerable size, localized in a basin, that is surrounded by land. Lakes are inland and not part of the ocean and therefore are distinct from lagoons, and are larger and deeper than ponds. Lakes can be contrasted with rivers or streams,...

 in honor of Billy Chinook because he guided Frémont in the area around the lake. The lake extends beyond the boundaries of The Cove Palisades State Park

The Cove Palisades State Park

The Cove Palisades State Park is a state park in eastern Jefferson County, Oregon, near Culver and Madras in the central part of the state, and is administered by the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department...

.