Tales from the 1910 Fires

Excerpts from Mineral County Historical Society 1985 paper.

“Telephone messages from Taft at two o’clock this morning stated that the forest fires had crept down upon the town and that the Northern Pacific was taking residents of the famous camp down to Saltese. Two trainloads had left by two o’clock, at which time the fire had become so serious that it was thought that further wire communication would be impossible... The fire was burning close to the tracks and it was feared that traffic might possibly be seriously delayed.

“The trainload was made up principally of fire-fighters from along the “loop”... All of them carried rolls of blankets and some held in addition few belongings snatched as the rush for the train began. One man held in his arms a little Mack mongrel that whined pitifully with fright, and licked his mater’s hands as he was carried out to the street.

“All of the arrivals had stories of terrible experiences... they were dazed with fright and weary from overexertion and mumbled their stories with a peculiar monotone as though there were nothing to be surprised at or to wonder over...

“...Mrs. J.J. Dowling gave constant attention to her (telephone) line and grasps of the fire situation.... she remained at her post from early morning and was the last to leave at night. Through her reports of fire which started between St. Regis and Henderson, the railway company was enabled to get word to their train crew in time to have them turn their train and get back to St. Regis before having been cut off from escape...”

Missoulian correspondent W.G. Ferguson telephoned the newspaper with his eye witness report of the fire fighters in Saltese and other west end towns. He said: “After hours of the finest fire fighting I ever saw, Saltese is safe. Superintendent Fowler and his Northern Pacific men... did so well that there were no property losses in the little mountain town except the railway stockyards and six residences on the west end of the flat.”

“Up the steep mountain grade west of Saltese we went through an increasing volume of smoke and the air became laden with ashes and embers. At times the flames were so close as to seem dangerous, but the train pushed on and would have crossed the divide down to Mullan had it not been for a burned bridge... encountered at Borax. Further progress was impossible... so we dropped back down the mountain (where) we found Saltese in dire danger... The main canyon of the St. Regis (River) was aflame on both sides; it was stifling hot.. down Silver Creek to the south, and Packer Creek to the north, two other fires were coming at the rate of four miles an hour.

“Packer brigades were formed; men were sent out with shovels; the officers in command had their, men lined up with precision...

“In a few minutes the flames closed in; there was a roar as of a thousand cyclones... the crackling of flames... the dread glare... it was met by determined men... and the men won.”

“Joe Gareau and William Lacombe escaped from death by a small margin and arrived in Iron Mountain yesterday with four horses remaining out of a total of 50 which they were packing into the Clearwater.”

“We had about 50 people in Haugan,” said the last man to leave town, “and everyone got out. The fire struck at two o’clock in the afternoon and swept through by five.”

Russell B. Jones, laborer on bridge work gang for the Milwaukee, “was unable to take the first train out from East Portal where he was working, and was penned in by the terrible fire... He took refuge in a “coyote” hole on the hillside and from that vantage point lay half-suffocated until the fire swept past.

“The wind was blowing a fearful gate,” he said. “The fire swept along the mountain with a roar... from where I lay I could see nothing but a solid wall of flame as much as 50 feet in height... embers and burning bits of wood... flew like driving snow... Near me 12 tons of dynamite which we had buried on the hill went off. The fire burned within ten feet where I lay and the glare and heat were almost too great to describe. Finally the fire passed and with some other men I made my way to the railroad and safety.”

Trout Creek did not escape the flames, either, according to Frank D. Brown, a well-known pioneer who worked a claim in Windfall gulch, a tributary of Trout.

He rode into Missoula with a tale he feared no one’ would believe. He said: “I tell you the absolute truth, gentlemen, when I say that I have never in all my 45 years in Montana, seen anything to approach it.

From Pend d’Oreille Review—August 26, 1910

VICTIMS IN MONTANA

________

ANDREW BOURRETT OF THIS

CITY AND GEORGE STRONG OF PONDERAY LOSE LIVES.

_________

BODIES BROUGHT HERE TO BURY

_________

Young Men Were Working With Crew

of Fire Fighters in Trout Creek Country.

The charred remains of two young men, George Strong and Andrew G. Bourrett, were brought to this city Wednesday evening and taken to the Brower undertaking rooms. They were victims of forest fires in Montana. Strong’s mother, Mrs. Albert Haney, resides at Ponderay. Bourrett was a resident of this city and had been employed at one time at the Superior hotel. He left here last week stating that he intended going to Missoula and joined a squad of fire fighters there. Strong joined the forestry fire service at Thompson Falls.

The young men lost their lives fighting fire 14 miles inland from Trout Creek, in Swamp creek gulch. There were 15 in the party. As was the case at Cabinet the men were engaged in fighting one fire and were overtaken by another. They were fighting a fire from above and a fire started below them and swept up to them. Four of the party lost their heads and all four were burned. The others saved their lives by crouching close to the ground. The victims besides Strong and Bourrett were two men by the name of Williams and Feese, who joined the service at Thompson Falls.

A younger brother of Strong went to Trout Creek Monday, saying that he felt sure something had happened to his brother. When he got there he found his brother had been burned to death. He brought his brother’s remains and those of Bourrett to Sandpoint.

The death of Bourrett was particularly sad. He was only 26 years of age and was to have been married next month to Miss Anna Good of this city, who is prostrated with grief over the death of her fiance. Bourrett had two sisters living in Massachusetts and a cousin at Seattle but his father and mother have been dead for several years. One of the sisters, Mrs. E. P. Gillman, who resides at Springfield, Mass., was wired Wednesday of her brother’s death and sent word back to have the body buried here. The address of the other sister and the cousin of the deceased are unknown to Miss Good and her mother and they could not be communicated with.

These accountings are preserved and part of the public domain, U.S. Forest Service, 1910 Fires.