The Caldwell tribune. [volume] (Caldwell, Idaho Territory [Idaho]) 1883-1928, 1910-09-02
GREAT IDAHO
FORREST fires

walk into Wallace over the Placer
creek trail, a party of Wallace men
and others arrived in the city last
night under the leadership of Will
liam Sites.
Those with Sites were Rolly |
Woolley, Fred Woolley, Charles
Kirkendall, C. A. Smith, Otto Kott-
key. nephew of Ranger Kottkey OF
Avery, Stephen Lathy. brother-in-
law of Ranger Kottkey, Oscar
Haupt, son of Adolph Haupt of Wal
lace. and two Italian section men.
Most of the men had been pros
Meeting at the Silica Gold & Copper
property. They were driven from
the Silica about 10 o'clock Saturday
night and went to Avery, returning
to the Silica Sunday. They went tt
Forest Ranger Kottkey's home for
the noon meal Sunday and were
driven in haste from there half
mile up the Milwaukee railroad
track to a railroad water tunnel
near one of the trestles.
The water tunnel was 500 feet
long and about 5x7 feet in the clear.
1t was open at both ends. In this
tunnel the party lay for three hours
Sunday afternoon, their faces buried
in the mud much of the time.
Sunday evening they went to Kyle
and spent the night Id a section
house and returned Monday to the
claims. Yesterday they came to
Wallace.
"For two solid hours we lay on
our stomachs with our faces in the
mud" said Sites last night in telling
of the experiences of the party. I'VE
were in the tunnel three hours, from
2 o'clock Sunday afternoon to 5
o'clock. II the tunnel hadn't been
open we might have been goners for
I believe the draft saved US. The
Italian section men would have lost
their lives if it hadn't been for our
taking them with US to the tunnel.
For that matter it was a mere
chance that any of us were saved
We were sleeping Saturday night al
the Silica when the fire came on us
J 1t was travelling then at rate o.
not less than 40 miles an hour. i
| was about 10 o'clock Saturday nigh
) that awoke and got up, going II
. the door to see how things looked
} saw the fire right at hand. / yell
ed to the men, For Gods sake, ge
e out of here We grabbed few o
d our clothes and ran.
eve went to Avery that nigh
Y and stayed all night. Sunday tn
5 wind seemed quiet and we returne
: to the Silica. We found things i
S horrible shape there. All the tim
IS Der had been burned OF the claims
n causing a damage of about $4,000
i There was not dozen trees In 1
e square miles that will live. Ther
IS is not enough live timber left on tt
Silica to furnish two sets of timbt
for the tunnel. The buildings al
,e all gone with the exception of Il
new cabin, built of green timbe
which was only scorched. The 10
u from buildings and tools is abo'
is $1,000.
lie 1--WE went to Kottkey's rang
st cabin for the noon meal. While '
OF were eating 1t became SO dark '
n had to light lamp to see by. So'
we saw the fire was coming rig
- through there and we all lit out
the track. About a half-mile
the track we came to this water tn
mel. We went in there. The smo
become so bad that we nearly sun
Gated from the gas and we lay t.
hours on our faces in the mud.
1.-The fire cleaned up everything
q Kottkey's and we only left there
time. Kottkey lost his house a
furniture. He was not at hoI
N Sunday, being engaged in fire figl
ing near Missoula.
II We "C1O upAO W AOeFO SAO ~
3 mel about o'clock In the afterno
and we went to Kyle, staying
night In the section house. Mond
morning we went back to the clail
again.
Tuesday we walked over throu
the burned district to Wallace,
distance of Is miles, coming do
Placer Creek. Things certainly 10
tough along Placer. Ae we realia
what the damage had been and IL
many had lost their lives, we W.
so happy we sang. l want to
congratulated on getting out OF Il
alive.
ION the way down Placer ere
we met Roy Geary and Geol
- AoA haon sank nHVA