Butte semi-weekly miner. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1886-1890, 1889-08-10

The Deer Lodge Races Proving Very Sue
cessful-A Test Medium Entertains
a Select Party News of q Local Char
acter Carefully Compiled and Com
densed.
Although the timber fires to the west Of
here have been raging for fully three weeks,
nothing definite concerning them seems to
be known, in Butte at least. Yesterday q
MINER reporter VAS fortunate enough to
get "a stand" on F.. r. Miles, who, with
John Carroll. OF the Jerry Creek Flume
company, left Butte Monday evening for
the purpose OF ascertaining the exact loca-
ton and extent OF the fires. They spent
Monday night al the fume company's
store in Norton gulch, and Tuesday morn
ing left on horseback and vent due west
across the mountains. The trip was made
in the interest OF the company, which has
10000 cords OF wood piled up in the ter
ritory tributary to its fuming operations.
From the store they went to the top OF
the divide between Jerry creek and German
gulch, thence to the head OF American
gulch. a tributary OF French gulch, on the
. Dig l1OI6s 1utu uOWu uucIAChA SuiCu tbuu
aero 8 French gulch to Big creek. Fire
was discovered between Seymour and La
march creeks, a distance OF about 40 miles
from Butte in an air line. The fire started
on Fish Trap creek i'll a lamp OF tie cut
tiers working for the Northern Pacific, and
crossed at the head of Fish Trap to La
march creek where it burnt a dam belong
ing to the Big Hole Lumber company,
causing a damage OF about $500. On the
same stream a rancher named Frylo, also
lost every thing he possessed by the fire, it
destroying his house, barn. wagons, hay
and provisions besides $500 in cash which
was in the house. From there the fire
travelled i'll a northeasterly direction to-
wards the head of the Mill Greek Flume
company's field of operations, on Big
creek. This company has a crew out fight
Jag the FIRE by pack burning and is doing
good work towards checking its further
progress.
A faint idea of the immense amount OF
damage the fire is causing can be formed
when it ia stated that it is now raging in a
section OF country so thickly timbeIed that
Mr.. Miles was able to cut $1,000 ties on a
square mile OF it, and then left enough tim
Der so that so cords OF wood could be cut
to the acre.
) Another loser by the fire was Calvert, a
rancher at the mouth OF Fish Trap, who
lost six head Of horses. besides almost
everything else he owDed in the world.
A second fire, which also had it's origin in
a tie.camp, began on the opposite side OF
the mouth OF Fish Trap, and has traversed
south and east over a strip rs miles in ex-
tent to the Big Hole on the east below Twin
Crossings and across Wise river.
A third fire. which was started near the
main road by a camping party on Triangle
gulck, a short distance above Dewey's
Flat. has burnt across Vipond park and is
threatening the timber on Quartz hill, to
the great injury OF the mines in that dis
trict. Besides these three great fires almost
the entire country on the North Fork of
the Big Hole is also in a blaze with the fire
rapidly spreading towards the Bitter Root
range.
The only relief to be looked for lies in
heavy rains and should these not occur the
fires will continue to burn until the material
feeding them is exhausted. Such a pros
pect, to say the least, is one horrible to
contemplate, az the loss to the entire west
would be simply beyond computation and
would be n from which it would never
recover. Already the value of timber de.
stroyed runs into the millions and the loss
is daily growing greater.