Los Angeles herald., 1910-08-27
ASSOCIATED Press)


SPOKANE, Wash, Aug. 26.--Forest
Ranger Joseph B. Hahn, who is be-
lieved by Supervisor Weigle and Head
Ranger Debbitt to have perished with
fifteen men in the mountains at the
headwaters of the st. Joe river Idaho,
had a large force at the beginning of
his expedition, but sent seventy men
out because of lack of provisions.
Chief Forester F. A. Silcox, of Mis-
soula, who arrived at Wallace today,
still hopes that Hahn will be saved.
He has sent Forester Haines to find
Hahn. Haines took three rangers and
went ahead, and a pack train of twen-
ty horses and a trail cutting crew will
follow.
Ranger Louis Fitting and party of
thirty-four men who went into the
Upper Clearwater by way of Lost
Horse pass, have not been heard from
since the big fire of Saturday and Sun
day, and rescue parties are searching
for them.
Supervisor Fem reported today that
conditions on the Clearwater and Sal
mon rivers dT6 IuuC1 D0LL6Ts
LOSS OF TIMBER APPALLING
'It is impossible" said Forester Sill
cox today, ito give any estimate of
the area of the timber burned or it's
value. Not until after the rains come
can we make an estimate. We know,
however, that 1O0,OO0,OOO feet on the
Lolo recently sold at $3.50 per LOCO, Is
wiped out entailing q loss of $450,000,
and counting $40 per 1000 feet for
wages for cutting into lumber, the loss
to the community on this one tract
alone is $1,450OOO.
1.-THE loss on another 1O0,000000 feet
on Big creek just sold and then de-
stroyed, is $1,4OO,O0O. Some saving Of
dead timber can be made, but COM
paratively little.'
Hahn is the only college man re-
ported dead thus far. Guards Stewart
and Robinson, identified at Avery, were
men of the regular establishment, but
nearly all of the dead were emergency
men, sent out by employment agen-
cies in the cities.
Stories told by survivors indicate
if the employees had been under disci-
pline and had obeyed orders, the loss
of life would have been much less.
One ranger kept his men from stam-
pedng by threatening them with q
rifle.
Near Avery, twenty uleu NdlllSo "
flee for their lives, started down the
mountain till they found a clearing,
went into camp and perished.
On Setter creek, the twenty-four men
who died had been warned to leave, but
they were comfortable in camp and
declined to move.
The forest service did not employ the
thirteen men killed at the Big fork OF
the Coeur d'Alene, and these men
should be taken from the list of the
service dead.
LIST OF VICTIMS INCREASES
On the other hand. Ranger Lee
Hollingshead, in the st. Joe district,
lost eighteen men, not fourteen as at
first reported A homeseeker at st.
Joe today described the death Of
twelve men, mostly foreigners on Big
creek. These were probably not
forestry employees.
On the north side of the st. Joe river
the area burned over is fifteen miles
wide and thirty miles long. On the
south side of the river the fires are
very serious and extensive.
Eighteen fire fighters who served
under Forest Ranger Hollingshead are
buried at Pittsman's cabin, in the st.
Joe district. All that identifies the
men is a roughly penciled card bearing
the inscription, Eighteen men buried
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