Montpelier examiner. [volume] (Montpelier, Idaho) 1895-1937, 1910-09-02
DEATH LIST NOT
YET COMPLETED
STORIES THAT CAME FROM FIRE
REGIONS WERE NOT EXAG-
GERATED.
Forestry Officials Say They Do Not
Know How Many Lives Have Been
Lost. But List Is Long
One.

Spokane, Wash.-The death list as
o result of the fearful forest fires in
Montana and Idaho has not yet been
completed, and it Is not known def
nitely how many lives were lost. In
fact, it may never be known how
great was the toll exacted by the fire
demon. Persons returning from the
burned country say that there has been
no exaggeration in the newspaper re.
ports of the loss of life and destruc,
ton of property.
The forest service is unable to check
many are missing.
On Saturday afternoon, August 20
there were $50 forestry men in the
field. There was record of their
names when they were engaged, but
some Of the timekeepers have been
burned to death and with them the
lists of employees Wages are due the
men, and II they don't call for them it
will be assumed that the men are
dead.
Forestry officials who don't wish
TO be quoted directly say they don't
know how many men have been lost;
that when the rangers go out to cut
trails and survey the losses of timber
they will find many skeletons. The
lost men were nearly all laborers
picked up by the employment agencies
Of Spokane and Missoula.
None of the graduates of the Yale
forestry school was killed or injured
The eight men killed in the Bullion
mine and the thirteen killed on the
Big Fork of the Occur d'Alene were
forest service employees, though not
included in the lists of the district
officers at Missoula.
While Supervisor Weigle at Wallace
was gathering information concerning
his missing rangers, he received re
ports Of others than forest men killed
and the list Of these totalled more
than 100.
These reports were unofficial ant
unverifed, but the agree with tale.
brought to Spokane by refugees.
1t was reported to Wallace that {
number Of Japanese employees of the
Milwaukee railroad were killed, anC
that numerous settlers, loggers anC
miners persisted. When the mining
and logging companies check up theil
payrolis they will find many employ
ees missing it is believed. The lanG
office Is in touch with the settlers anC
will be able to give list of those
who have vanished.
The dead bodies where fire hal
swept directly over them, seem to b.
burned to charcoal. Fingers, ears ant
even arms drop of when the bodie
were touched, and 1t Is best to bur.
them where found. The men suffo
Gated in tunnels are recognizable an,
some of those roasted in creek bed
are not carbonized.
An entirely new government surve
of the Occur d'Alene country must b
made. The old boundaries were fixe
by landmark trees that have been re
moved, and the settlers have no wa
Of exactly locating their land.
OF the fifty injured men In Wallac
hospitals, all will bear scars or othe
marks to the grave. Those who II
hailed smoke are suffering from lun
trouble. Half the patients sustaine
broken legs or arms. Many have pit
fully scared faces. The number of II
iured in the whole fire country run
into hundreds. and, while all are sal
20 be recovering from their injuries
in most cases they will all be disfil
ured.