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Show Twenty-Three Perish in Panhandle, Many Unreported Spokane. Aug. 22 Twenty-three persons are known to have perished and between 7U and 100 are missing in the forest fires raging in the pan handle of Idaho in the Coeur d'Alenc district. They aro: J. G. Boyd of Wallace, auflocated by smoke. Mrs. Charles Smith and one-year-old baby, drowned in a well Into which they Jumped to avoid ames. Miss Amelia Ward, stenographer, sr.fl'ocated by stnoko. Twelve unidentified fire fighters in a crew of rangers burned or suffocated. suffo-cated. Six unidentified Ore fighters from a crew of rangers. The dead and injured were mostly fire fighters, and will number, it Is said, close to 200. Never In the history of Idaho have the fires reached such widespread proportions pro-portions or created such universal damage. Like a rapidly widening, Inflamed sore, the angry flames lick up virgin forest, homesteads, mine buildings and human lives. Homesteaders, wild animals an-imals and the fowls of thc-Ir, shoulder shoul-der one another In the common objective, objec-tive, the rush for safety. Women with suit cases filled with thousands of dollars' worth of valuables wore on bard the crowded Wallace train which reached Spokane last n'.ght. The stampede for safety has strained the facilities of the Oregon Railway & Navigation company. The trains are made up of day coaches and box cars, People from sick beds, cripples and other unfortunates are loaded on the trains to be takon to Harrison, Coeur d'Alenc and Spokane, and box cars. Peopio from sick beds, cripples and other unfortunatos aro loaded on tho trains to be taken to Harrison Coeur D'Alenc and Spokane. The smoke and heat are as dangerous danger-ous as the flames themselves. In every ev-ery lcinlty mauy are seeking the refuge re-fuge of the deepest tunnels in the mines to escape being smothered Sev-erul Sev-erul partlo3 In the mines havo been imprisoned by walls of flames which sweep over tho mouths of tho shafts. The tide of fire sweeps over mountain tops and Jumps gulches before the forty-mile gale which, without, ceasing. ceas-ing. Is entering upon its third day. The wind is tho greatest menace to the present dangerous situation. A seething furnace of flame stretches over a greater portion of the Idaho panhandle. Greatest damage and dancer dan-cer are In that populated districts of the Couer D'AIene. A strip many miles wido and stretching from the St. Joe rivor to Kellogg and Osborne to Wallace and Mullan and towns farther far-ther nasi Into Montana is regarded as very' darrgerous and threatening. The crowds aro hopelessly and those who aro not dead aro being cared for in the three Wallace hospitals. hos-pitals. Ranger Edward Gulaski who was working with a crew of 75 men ou the west fork of Placer creek reports that six men arc dead, five having been smothered while seeking refugo in tho War Eagle tunnel The remainder re-mainder were compelled to find safety safe-ty in the creek, where for nearly five hours, they stood with only their heads above water. Ranger Bel! reports 12 men dead from his crew. They were working on the Big creek, near St. Joe. Three others were burned blind and 12 hael broken lejs, caused by falling trees, j |