Idaho County free press. [volume] (Grangeville, Idaho Territory) 1886-current, 1898-12-30
The IDAHO COUNTY FREE PRESS,
GRANGEVILLE IDAHO.
FRIDAY, +: DECEMBER 80 1885,
PERlLSO FTHE MOUNTAINS
James Lynch Frozen to Death
In Dixie District.

James Lynch Frozen to Deatf
in Dixie District.
Dixie, Idaho, Dec. 20, 1898.
This community was greatl,
shocked last Saturday evening
when it was reported that the
body of James Lynch was fount
about seven miles southeast Of
Dixie, he having been frozen te
death the night of the 18th. II
happened in this wise: he and T.
5. Rackliff had moved down be-
low the Comstock mill on Rhett
creek, to do some work on claim
belonging to DR.. Bibby, of Grange.
vile; after being there for about
10 days, Mr.. Lynch last Tuesday
took the gun and told Rackliff he
would 60 over to the breaks of Sal
mon river and kill a deer, and
that he may be gone three days, as
if he did not get one handy to
camp he would go down to the
river and get Campbell the hun
ter to kill one for him. So on
his non-arrival Wednesday Mr..
Rackliff thought that he had gone
to Salmon, SO he came to town af-
ter his mail and it being cold he
did not get back to camp until
Friday night. Mr.. Lynch not
having returned then Rackliff
started Saturday morning to the
river to see if anything had hap
pened, never thinking but that
Lynch had done as he said he
would, follow Campbell's trail, a
trail that he ought to be very ia
miliar with as he had worked on
the river last winter at that point,
aud in fact had been down the
trail three weeks before. Rackliff
not knowing the way, concluded
to follow Lynch's tracks. Lynch
had followed Campbell's trail for
about one-half mile when, for
some reason, he turned off to the
left and took up over a very steep
mountain to the divide that runs
parallel with Salmon for about 3
miles; he followed this divide up
and over onto the head of creek
that runs down to Salmon Just
above the place that he said he
was going to; when he crossed the
creek he turned to the north di-
rectly from the Salmon, and came
back onto the head of Rabbit
creek, which he had crossed d.
rectly after leaving camp. BY
this time he evidently became be-
wiidered as he began to wander
around first one way, then the
other, but kept going down hill;
the country is mass of fallen
dead timber and green underbrush.
When Rackliff found that he had
turned down this way then he fear
ed the worst. Finally Lynch left
the level country and took down
the canyon, coming within Ia of
q mile of where Rackliff was then
at work, when he turned from
camp again toward Salmon, but
still in the gulch bottom in the
brush, when it became dark, from
the way he seemed to tumble
about, and must have also been
pretty cold, as it was below zero
that night; at any rate, he sat
down on the end of a log and evil
IDENTIFY sat there for some time, but
made no effort to build a fire,
which he could have done, as he
had plenty of matches and a big
hunting knife, and plenty of dry
wood all about. While sitting
down he probably chilled and evil
IDENTIFY realizing that that would
not do he began to go down the
gulch again; he went over big
bunch of mountain alder, which
must have been quite a task in the
dark, and when through that he
Immediately ran into small white
tir tree, and there stopped. He
jammed his gun down into the
snow to the ground, threw his hat
to one side about six feet, and
either lay down or had fallen
down backwards, and Strengthened
out with both feet together, arms
to side and hands on body, and
there he was found in that condi-
tion. He evidently realized the
end and had prepared for it; he
had only gone about 100 feet from
where he sat down on the log
Rackliff found the body about 3
p. m. Saturday, and he
must have persisted sometime
Tuesday night. Ten of the Com
stocks crew went out Sunday and
brought the body ON tobogan to
the mill; from there the Comstock
team brought him to town where
q coffin and grave had been pre-
pared. Thus there has been . fu-
neral in Dixie, the first in the his
tory of the district. Deceased was
about 63 years of age. He had a
ranch on Craigs mountain in Nez
Perce county, near Westlake. and
owned y IL interest with Crist.
Molloy in several claims in this