Belt Valley times. [volume] (Armington, Mont.) 1894-1977, 1923-12-13


hotel in the slower town" of Barker,
east Of Monarch, through fire which
caught from an overheated stove. The
family were living in the old hotel
and the two sons were sleeping in an
upstairs room. The father lost his
life going back to save his two boys
The Engler family formerly lived
near Stanford in Judith Basin county,
where the father engaged in farming.
Some time since they moved TO Barker
where Engler was employed as
miner in the Block P Mining company
mines at that place
The family consisted of 10 persons,
there being eight children. A daugh-
tet, Mrs, Farrell, lives at the Silver
Dyke mine, in addition to the chill
dren at home. The family moved into
the old John Lilly hotel, formerly also
postoffice in the Clover town." about
mile below the town of Hughesville.
The building was one of the first built
in that sesion and was two-story
frame anI dry as tinder
At Fclock Saturday morning, the
familyIsleeping in the lower story of
the building were awakened by flames
presumably from an oyerheated stove
The father and mother escaped with
three children who were in the same
part Of the building. Two of the chill
dren, boys of IL and nine years of age,
were sleeping in the upper story of
the old building, and had not escaped.
The father rushed back into the
flames to save the two boys who were
evidently sleeping through it all, or
perhaps overcome by smoke, but
failed to return, tn stairs crashing
into a seething mass of flames as he
reached them coming back, and the
father and two sons went down to
death together. There is no water ia
cilities for fire-fighting in Barker and
nothing could be done, it being some
time before help could be had for the
mother and children who had escaped.
The old building, known in the
early days as the John Lilly hotel, and
postoffice, was built 35 years ago by
the late John Lilly, one of the early
day pioneers and characters Of the
Neihart and Barker mining camps
When Barker was roaring mining
camp the John Lilly hotel was head
quarters for everything doing and if
the old building could speak it would
tell story of western ways and days
to make the present day hostelry gasp
with astonishment.
No old timer of Cascade county was
considered real pioneer until he had
spent at least one night in the John
Lilly hotel, and for polishing off
"tenderfoot," the hotel was guar
antee. In the heyday of Barker, the
building was loked upon as quite
magnificent structure and was known
IN every part of the state. But the
mines shut down, the low price of sill
yer being the impelling reason, the
mill quit working, the railroad tore
mp its IL miles of spur between Mon
arch and the mines, and one by one
the inhabitants moved away, leaving
at last only John Lilly, who now
sleeps with his fathers in the noun
tains he loved so well.
A few years since the late I. c.
Power and his associates opened the
Block mine again and have been do
ing development work steadily en-
loying about so men and freighting
the ore to Monarch by team, to be '
shipped to the Helena smelter.
The building was of little worth,
bat the family lost everything they
had except the night clothes they es- {
capped in. II
Lorraine Engler, daughter, is a
sophomore in the Great Falls high
school. She was told Of the death Of
hsr father and brothers shortly after
neon Saturday by Dewey Thorson,
stage driver, who hurried from Mon
arch to Great Falls. She is IL years
old and makes her home with Mr. and
Mrs.. j. A. Pischette, 1918 Third ave-
pue north :
When told Of the tragedy the little !
girl broke down completely.
"Ob. il doesn't seem possible" she I
exclaimed and told Of her little broth .
~rs--the only boys in family OF eight
children '
Those surviving besides Lorraine
xBd the mother arx Mrs.. Dan Farrell, '