The Wallace miner. [volume] (Wallace, Idaho) 1907-current, 1919-07-17
CAPTAIN A. P. HORTON
An H0N0RED PIONEER
WORLD WAS MADE BETTER BY
HIS EVENTFUL AND ADVEN-
TUROUS LIFE.

1t is no exaggeration to say that in
the death Of Captain A. p. Horton,
every man, woman and child in the
Coeur dAlene district who was privi-
legged to know him experienced the
pang of real sorrow and a feeling of
personal loss. There were few men
more widely known throughout this
district He was one of those sturdy,
brave and adventurous pioneers who
We're attracted by the discovery of
gold on Prichard creek in 1888 Not
all who Joined the stampede We're men
of that type, but the record of those
days and the subsequent history of
Shoshone county bears witness that in
the motley thrOng that gathered at
Eagle there were many who possessed
those sterling qualities of manhood
which have ever characterized the
pioneers Of the west. Captain Horton
was one of these. The Occur dAlene
gold rush was not the first that he
Joined. He went to the Black Hills
when hostile Indians beset the path
of the plainsman and prOspector, and
! it was while in charge Of a wagon
train on this ventursome journey that
he earned the title Of captain In
1877 reports reached Deadwood. the
booming camp in the Black Hills, that
gold had been found on the Big Horn
river in Montana, and this was enough
to start a mad rush to the scene.
Howes Saved His Life.
1t was on this expedition that Cap
tain Horton and H. E. Howes met and
formed a friendship which lasted
throughout the years and which was
based on more than the ordinary COM
radship Of the trail. Captain Horton
has often told the story of how Mr..
Howes saved his life on that expedi-
tion to the Big Horn. Briefly 1t was
that he had been stricken with noun
tain fever and being unable to pro-
ceed further had dropped out unob-
served and had fallen by the wayside
to die. Mr.. Howes had also dropped
out some distance back to get a deer
to provide supper for the outfit which
vas soon to go into camp. Coming up
with his game he found Captain Hor-
ton lying beside the trail with rag
ing fever delirous, helpless and wait
| ing to die. In his rational moments
! he urged Mr.. Howes to go on and
leave him as nothing could be done to
relieve him. The deer was dropped
! from the horse and Mr. Howes lifted
Captain Horton bodily into the saddle
and held him there until he reached
camp, some two miles away where he
was given every care possible under
the conditions. In four or five days
he was able to travel and was soon
the life Of the expedition, as he had
been before Captain Horton and Mr.
Howes never met after the Big Horn
expedition until 1885, when the latter
located at, what is now Wallace and
Captain Horton walked over from
Murray to meet him and renew the
friendship which continued up to the
day of his death.
His Best Legacy.
From the time Captain Horton ar
rived in the Coeur d'Alenes he gave
his attention exclusively to mining and
prospecting in the gold belt and later
in the lead d-silver section on the south
side. At times he was engaged m 9TH
er lines, but this was merely as a
means to further his mining interests.
He located the Nellie, near Osburn,
and retained his interest in that prop
erty I'D to his death. He derived
considerable profit from ore shipments
from the Nellie, and received substan-
tial payments from parties taking the
property under bond. But the legacy
he left can not be measured in ma
terial wealth. He was one who en-
joyed life and his greatest happiness
was in bringing JOY to others. His
generosity was unbounded, and in
prosperity or adversely, in sickness or
health, his fund of humor was unfail
ling. The world is better through his
life, and his memory will be cherished
by his hosts OF friends who will ever
recall his loyalty. his inimitable wit,
his kindly help and his willingness to
labor and sacrifice for the common