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"Owyhee"
The huge mountain range southeast of Boise (and visible from the city) has the strange name "oh-why-he." Many people think it must be a Native American word. They couldn't be more wrong.
In the 1800s, people from all over the world came to Idaho, initially for fur trading, and later in search of gold and silver. This included a group from, of all places, Hawaii. Unfortunately, three of these Hawaiians went into the mountains in hope of finding gold or silver and were never seen again.
The mountains were named "Owyhee," the pronunciation used at that time for what we now call "Hawaii," in honor of those lost men.
By the way, the mining town of Silver City is still in existence in the Owyhee. But it's only accessible in summer. Venture there in winter and you may never be seen again.
Tags: mountain range people places hawaiians pronunciation mining existence