Cottonwood chronicle. [volume] (Cottonwood, Idaho) 1917-current, 1920-07-23
is DEATHS IN
NORTH IDAHO
MAJORITY DUE TO ACCI
DENTS-EIGHT IN ONE
FAMILY.


Sunday, the victims ranging
from mere babies to man Is
years of age. The majority of
the deaths were due to accidents.
One of the saddest took place
near Bonners Ferry when a
mother and 7 of her children, all
under Ia years of age were
burned to death. The father of
this family is being held under
suspicion. AT Coem d'Alene
three were killed in am aeroplane.
Mrs. Maude Howard, age
about 80 years, wife of Louis
Howard, a stockman, was drown
ed in the Big Salmon river, at
the Howard ranch, near the
mouth of Partridge creek, Sat-
urday afternoon,at 2 o'clock,
while attempting to rescue from
drowning her niece, Lucille How
ard, 10 years old. The little girl
was rescued.
Mrs. Howard was sitting with
her two small children on the
bank of the river, while her niece
was wading in shallow water.
Suddenly the child shrieked for
help. She had entered deep
water and, unable to swim, was
drowning. Mrs. Howard, leav-
ing her infant and other small
child on the bank of the river,
leaped into the stream to rescue
her niece.
Louis Howard, who was work
ing in field. about a quarter of
n mile from the river. heard the
child's screams, and rushed to
the rivers bank, from which he
observed the forms of two per-
sons in the water, neither of
whom he identified. One form
Law near the shore, while the
other was far out I'm the stream.
Mr.. Howard Immediately pro-
cured boat and rowed toward
the body furthest from the shore
He raised the form, and learned
it was his niece, Lucille, who was
unconscious. Placing the child
in the boat. he rowed toward
shore thinking he would remove
the other form from the water
while on his way to land. But
the form had disappeared.
Not until he reached shore
with the unconscious child, and
observed his own two babes on
the bank of the river, did Mr..
Howard realize it was his wife
who had drowned.
By artificial respiration, he re-
stored his niece to consciousness
and she told the story of how she
entered deep water, was unable
to get out, and called for help,
and of how her aunt, leaving her
small children, rushed from the
bank into the river in an effort
to rescue her.
The river was dragged for
several days following the tragic
death of Mrs. Howard, but the
body had not been recovered up
to Wednesday.
Mrs. Howard was a daughter
of Mr.. and Mrs. Henry Rowe, of
the Denver section. She had
been a lifelong resident of Ida
no county. She is survived by
her husband, two children. her
parents and several brothers and
sisters.
Eight Burn to Death.
A coroner'S jury at Bonners
Ferry, investigating the death
of Mrs. John Rousch and her
seven children Saturday brought
in a verdict that "the family was
burned to death under suspicious
circumstances" Mrs. Rousch
and the children, all of whom
were under IA years old, perish
ed in their home which burned
at 2 o'clock Saturday morning.
The husband and father is held
by the sheriff. Their home was
on a farm near Copeland, 90
miles north of Bonners Ferry.
Airplane Kills Three
In an airplane accident at
Occur d'Alene three men were
killed shortly before 2 p. m. Sun
dav. The dead are:
Gus Erickson. Bonners Ferry.
Peter Savage. Kellogg, Idaho.
Pilot Cleo Milton Miller, Pull
man, Wash.
The accident was witnessed by
more than 1000 SPECTATORS.
Erickson was killed instantly;