The arrival of white settlersin the 19th century initiated a conflict between two totally dissimilar cultures. The Native Americans were "hunter-gatherers" with a viewof the land, the flora, and the fauna that could not have been more different from the views of the newcomers from the east. The Native Americans had no pratice of individual ownership of land or resources.Technologically advanced whites prevailed over a Native population decimated by disease. Armed conflict continued through the late 1870s, sometimes between Native Americans and military forces and sometimes between Native Americans and armed settlers. These latter conflicts often brought out the worst in the pariticipants on both sides. There are many stories of belligerent whites who massacred or lynched Native Americans and some stories of Native Americans retaliating against the caucasian setters. The most notorized of the Native Americans was Paulina, chief of a Paiute tribe. He was a skillful adversary, and his activies covered a large territory. In the summer of 1867, Paulina is accussed of raiding several ranches in the John Day country. He was pursued by J.N. Clark, Howard Maupin, and William Ragan. He was murdered while eating roasted ox. Bancroft says that Clark killed him, and Dorsey Griffin, who was raised in Harney County, has investigated and strongly supports this view, but in central Oregon it is generally believed that Maupin fired the shot . For additional information, see Maupin. Col. William Thompson of Alturas, California, published a book entitled Reminiscences of a Pioneer. He gives a graphic description of the activities of Paulina and confrims the generally accepted belief that Maupin killed him in Paulina Basin. Paulina Basin is near the juction of Trout Creek and Little Trout Creek north of Ashwood in the northeastern part of Jefferson County.

It was the opinion of the late Lewis A. McArthur that more than enough geographic features in Oregon were named for this well-known Native American. We have the town of Paulina, Paulina Mountians, Paulina Peak, Paulina Marsh, Paulina Creek, Paulina Prairie, and Paulina Lake. The Southern Pacific Company also had Paunina station in the early days of the Cascade Line. There may be honest differences of opinion about naming these features for the Oregon chief but, practically, confusion is the sure result of such a process, especially when the various features are not in the same locality but yet are not widely separated. For an account of Paulina and his activities, see Bancroft's History of Oregon, V. 2, pp. 504 et seq. The name is spelled in a variety of ways, but Paulina is generally accepted. Paulina post office was established on May 23, 1882, on Beaver Creek in the eastern part of Crook County. John F. Bowen was the first postmaster.