The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1897-10-20
DEATH TRAPS.
IDNHO'S POT HOLES DREADED BY
MAN AND BEAST.
Wonderful Natural Formations Like
Inverted Tunnels Which Iawn for
the Unwary.

the story of a hunter who saw sever
al of herd of cattle plunge into some
of them and go bawling and kicking
down to terrible death. These pot
holes do not cover any great area, but
they are sufficient in number to rem
der travel across the section exceed
ingly dangerous. while to the stock
men they constitute a constant source
of loss.
For many years the existence OF
these pot holes has been known, but
as the years have rolled on they have
not apparently increased nor dimin-
ished in size or number, but stand
there ready to receive in their Shiny
embrace any object, animate or mani
mate that may be so unfortunate as
to pass that way.
The substance with which these
are filled is of the consistency of NOR
tar, and the summer heat forms ov-
err the surface thin crust, the ap-
pearance as compared with the sur
rounding ground being sufficient TO
deceive the man unacuuainted with
the dangers that Turk ON every hand
or the animal that may rush across
the mesa.
The pot holes are from six to twen-
ty-tive feet deep, as near as can be as
certained. and are from four to ten
feet across at the exposed surface. but
they appear to enlarge as they go on
down, being like inverted tunnels. All
around these pot holes are fringes of
underground. and this fact has saw
ed many a man from terrible death.
Those who are acquainted with the
circumstances avoid the section as
! they would the fumes of hades. eX-
cept when compelled to 90 upon tne
mesa to "hurrah" out stock. and ali
strangers are warned to keep off the
bare spots"
| In the rainy season when the ac-
| ton of the water wears away the lit
/ tie crust the odor that arises from
/ the holes causes persons who inhalc
/ them to become deadly sick, giving
rise to the belief that the holes are
/ filled with matter as poisonous as the
condensed breath of a million swamp
reptiles. Hunters who have broken
through and had their shoes covered
with the nasty slime found that in
the course of an hour the leather be-
came rotted.
\ feature that attracts many to the
section is that birds abound there,
making it a splendid shooting ground,
but the Nimrods are all familiar with
the location of the holes, and none of
them have ever come to more grief
than slipping in to their shoe tops in
moments of abstraction while waiting
for q shot.
Ex-Governor MCDANIEL tells a story
of how the poisonous pot holes are
supposed to have claimed several vie
Tins in the early days. The Govern
or with a party was mining in the
Horse Shoe Bend country. and came
down to the Payette valley to a
point where Emmett now stands, af
ter some vegetables. the governor
having put in a garden to which he
afterwards gave his attention. to the
exclusion of the mining claims as a
more certain means of piling up
supply of the yellow metal. During
that time the Indians. while not on
the warpath, had been giving the
miners and stockmen no little trouble.
and when the Governor and his par
! ty arrived on the Payette they found
| a number of COWBOYS greatly excited
over the impromptu burial. as sup
posed. of several Indians in which are
now familiarly called pot holes.
The cowboys had chased small
/ band of Indians away from their lit
! tie camp a couple of days before,
| threatening to shoot them if they did
not thereafter keep their distance.
The Indians, it appeared, secured re-
Inducements in the Boise valley, and
returned determined to give the cow
boys taste of high life. They APP
peared on the side of the mesa OPP
posite where the cowboys were en-
camped. and just before daybreak
sneaked out through the underbrush
to give the stockmen Il surprise parry
that they would not soon forget. just
before they reached the point where
the pot holes are located they started
on a jump for the camp whoopng like
a troop of fends. The cowboys at
once jumped for their guns, but be-
fore the redskins had advanced 200
Yards a most astounding scene was
presented One of the foremost In
dams was seen to pitch from his an
imal. and the horse itself was seen
Laundering on the ground. Several
other Indians went down in rapid
succession with their horses and 9th
ers tumbing over them. This had the
effect of stopping the ravage laden
expedition. There was scramble to
assist the Iallen TeuS, anu lhth NV
majority of the Indians wheeled
about and struck off in the direction
from which they had come as though
the devil and all his legons were after
them.
The cowboys made an examination
and found several horses mired in the
pot holes. Some We're only partial
~ in, and these they managed to pull
out, while others were so far gone tho
cowsboys shot them and left then
to sink in the deadly mire. The COW
boys saw no Indians in the holes, but
as the number they saw running away
on foot did not correspond with tn,
number of horses, they came to the
, conclusion that some of the reds n
least had been pitched head first int
the pot holes, going under before the
stockmen could reach the scene.
Those who believe chronic diarrhoei
to be incurable should read what Mr.
p. f. Grisham of Cars Mills, La, ha
to say on this subject, viz: 81 have
IL