The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1897-08-27
Something Further About
Idaho'S Deadly Pot Holes.
HORSES AND CATTLE LOST
WAR PARTY OF INDIANS FELL
INTO THE BoTToMLEss PITS.
Holes Are Filled With Poisonous
Matter-Idaho Assessments Show
an Increase = Walkerville Man
Loses an Arm-Price of Anthra-
cite Coal Reduced In Colorado

Boise, Ida. Aug, 25.-Attention is
again called to the dangerous pot holes
of the Payette by the story of a hunter
who saw several of herd of cattle
plunge into some of them and go bawl-
ing and kicking down to a terrible
death. These pot holes do not cover
any great area, but they are sufficient
in number to render travel across the
section exceedingly dangerous, while
to stock men they constitute a con-
slant source of loss.
For many years existence of these
pot holes has been unknown, but as the
years have rolled on they have not
apparently increased or diminished in
size or number, but stand there ready
to receive in their Shiny embrace any
object, animate or inanimate, that may
be unfortunate enough to pass that
way.
The substance with which these holes
are filed is of the consistency of NOR
tar and the summer heat forms over
the surface a thin crust, the appear
ance, as compared with the surround
ing ground, being sufficient to deceive
the man unacquainted with the dan
gers that Turk on every hand or the
animal that may rush across the mesa.
The pot holes are from six to 20
feet in depth. as near as can be ascer-
tanned, and are from 4 to II feet
across at the exposed surface; but they
appear to enlarge as they go down.
being like inverted tunnels, so that one
might break through before treading
upon the surface. Around these pot
holes are fringes of underground, and
this fact has PROFESSIONALLY saved
many a man from a terrible death.
Those who are acquainted with the cir
cumstances avoid the section as they
would the fumes of hades, except when
compelled to go onto the mesa to "hur-
rah" out stock, and strangers are
warned to keep off the bare spots.
In the rainy season, when the action
of the water wears away the crust, the
odors that arise from the holes causes
persons who inhale them to turn
deathly 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 over with the nasty
slime have found that in the course of
an hour the leather has become rot
ten.
feature that attracts many to that
section is that birds abound there,
making it a splendid shooting ground;
but the nimrods are not familiar with
the location of the holes and none of
them have ever come to grief beyond
slipping in to their shoe tops in mo-
ments of abstraction while waiting for
a shot.
INDIANS SWALLOWED UP
Ex-Governor Mcconnell tells story
of how the poisonous pot holes are sup
posed to have claimed several victims
in the early days. The governor with
a party was mining in the Horse Shoe
Bend country and came down to the
Payette valley to a point near where
Emmett now stands after some veg
etableS, the governor having put in a
garden to which he afterwards gave his
attention to the exclusion of the min
ing claims as a more certain means OF
piling up a supply of yellow gold. Dur
ing that time the Indians, While not on
the war path, had been giving the min
erS and stock men no little trouble, ana
when the governor and his party ar
rived on the Payette they found num-
Der of cowboys greatly excited over the
impromptu burial, as supposed, OF sew
eral Indians in what are now familiar
ly called the pot holes.
The cowboys had chased a small band
of Indians away from their camp a
couple of days before, threatening to
shoot them down if they did not there
after keep their distance. The Indians
it appears, secured reinforcements in
the Boise valley and returned deter
mined to give the cowboys q taste OF
high life They appeared on the side
Of the mesa opposite the point where
the cowboys were encamped. and,
just before daybreak, sneaked out
through the underground to give the
stock men surprise party they would
not soon forget. Just before they
reached the point where the pot holes
are located, they started on the jump
for the camp, whooping like troop OF
fiends The COW boys at once Jumped
for the guns, but before the red skins
had advanced 200 yards a most astound-
ing spectacle was presented One OF
the foremost Indians was seen to pitch
from his horse and the animal itself
was seen houndering on the ground
Several other Indians went down in
rapid succession with their horses and
others tuqnbled over them. This had
the effect of stopping the revenge
laden expedition. There was scram-
BILE to assist the fallen reds and then
the majority of the Indians wheeled
about and struck off in the direction
from which they came as though the
devil and all his legions were after
them.
The COW boys made an examination
and found several horses mired in the
pot holes Some were only partially in
and these they managed to pull out,
while others were SO far gone that the
COW boys mercifully shot them and left
them to sink in the deadly mire. The
COW boys saw no Indians in the holes,
but as those they saw running away
on foot did not correspond to the mum
Der of swamped horses they came to
the conclusion that some of the reds
at least had been pitched head first
into the pot holes, going under before
the stock men could reach the scene.