The Clearwater Story: A History of the Clearwater National Forest

In the middle of September, 1893, three young men who had been planning a hunting trip for at least two years assembled in Spokane. They were William P. Carlin, the 27 year-old son of Brig. Gen. Carlin of Vancouver; A.L.A. Himmelwright, 28, an engineer; and John Harvey Pierce, 30, Carlin's brother-in-law from White Plains, New York. Carlin was considered the head of the party and had made some advance inquiries about hunting places and conditions.

They decided that it was too late to hunt for mountain sheep, but Carlin had talked to a guide, Martin C. Spencer, about a hunting trip into the back country of the Clearwater. Carlin had also made arrangements for George Colegate, 52, from Post Falls, Idaho, to go along as cook. Spencer at first objected to a man as old as Colegate going, but since he had cooked for Carlin before and Carlin insisted, Spencer finally consented. Of course, it should have been up to the guide, who knew the hazards of the journey, to make all decisions concerning the safety of the party.

In Spokane they assembled an outfit of ten horses, guns, cameras, three dogs, and what appeared to be ample food supplies. This they shipped by railroad to Kendrick, Idaho, which was the nearest railroad depot to the Clearwater country in 1893.

They left Kendrick on September 18. At Weippe they purchased a sack of potatoes from Patrick Gaffney, who was concerned about their safety and warned them they should get out of the hills at the first signs of winter.

The party went through Weippe on September 20 and camped that night at Browns Creek where due to rain they camped in a cabin. The next day it was raining hard so they remained at Brown Creek. There they caught a string of 53 trout and killed four ruffed grouse. In the afternoon they were visited by a rancher. In a story of the trip Himmelwright published in 1895, he pokes fun at this rancher, but apparently he was a real mountaineer. He told them "I reckon you'll have a hard time in the snow, so late in the fall." He also said to them "It's a pretty tough trip for tenderfeet. Do you fellers all think you can stand the trip?" Likely he had his eyes on Colegate's gray hair and was, in his way, hinting that he should not go. The party resented his remarks and disregarded the warning, but gave him a mess of trout.

On September 22 they started over the Lolo Trail. They camped at Snowy Summit in about eight inches of snow. This should have been a warning to them that winter was close at hand.

On September 26 they descended to the Lochsa River by the old trail, which has been partially replaced by the road to Jerry Johnson Lookout. When they reached the Lochsa, Colegate was exhausted and his feet and legs were swollen, but he insisted he would be all right with a day or two of rest.

The party was surprised to find four men camped on the river. Jerry Johnson, a prospector, and his partner Ben Keebey were building a cabin and planning to stay all winter. The other two were hunters who had killed one elk and were preparing to leave for Missoula, which they did the next day. Jerry Johnson advised the party to make their stay short because of possible snow, but they thought Johnson wanted the hunting for himself.

The party considered Jerry Johnson something of a grouch. I talked with people who knew Jerry, after he was too old to prospect, and they say he was actually a rather jovial man. Apparently he was a little roiled at the Carlin party for not taking his advice. He could foresee the danger ahead and certainly wasn't going to do anything that would prolong their stay.

The hunt, if it could be called that, started the next day. It consisted of sneaking up to the licks at what are now called Jerry Johnson and Colgate Warm Springs and shooting at game there. They did not go out into the woods to hunt. They shot two elk, but their shooting was poor. It required five or six gut shots before they could bring an animal down. They wounded a grizzly but, luckily, it did not charge. The weather was miserable; it rained every day.

As it continued to rain, Spencer warned them they might get snowed in, but no one took his warning seriously. The cook, Colegate, continued to get worse. On questioning him, they learned that he had extreme difficulty in urinating. He had used a catheter for some time but neglected to bring it along. He was relieved of his work but there was no feeling that it was urgent to get him to a doctor. The Carlin Party should have left before this, but they could be forgiven for staying a few days. But when the guide said they were in danger they should have heeded his warning. Then it is almost unbelievable that any group of men could be so indifferent to the suffering of one of their party. Surely these men must have known that Colegate was in serious condition and should have been rushed to a hospital.

On October 2 Colegate was in bad condition and Spencer, their guide, urged that the party get out immediately. Pierce agreed with Spencer, but the others had not had enough hunting, and they hoped for better weather.

It continued to rain and by October 6, Colegate's legs had swollen to nearly twice their normal size and he was barely able to move about without assistance. Spencer continued to urge the party to move out, but they would not go.

On October 10 six inches of snow fell in their camp and more in the mountains. They then decided to move, but ran into three feet of snow on the ridge above camp. They were trapped! The trail had been silently, softly and firmly closed by coming winter!

The party now took stock of its situation. They had food supplies for eight days. Colegate was unable to walk, there was no possibility of getting over the Lolo Trail with horses, and to travel it afoot pulling Colegate on a sled was equally useless to try. The only way out was down river and that was not going to be easy, for Spencer informed them that the river ran through a very steep canyon.

They finally purchased Keeley's share of the food supplies and hired him to build rafts to take them down river. However, while Keeley and Spencer finished the cabin, which took four days, the other members of the party continued to hunt. They killed two cow elk and a bull with the usual number of gut shots. They had plenty of meat, but all they took of the bull was the hide and horns.

When the cabin was completed, Spencer and Keeley started on the rafts and had them ready to go by October 30, but they did not get underway until November 3. They then started but made only one mile when the larger raft tipped over in a rapid. They saved their food but all, including Colegate, were thoroughly soaked in water.

They took some of the stuff, including the precious antlers, back to Jerry Johnson the next day. It rained hard and Colegate was much worse.

On November 5 they started on and passed Indian Post Office Creek about noon after considerable difficulty and camped on the first flat below Weir Creek, near the mouth of Ginger Creek. Here they noticed that the dogs kept sniffing the air as if game were near. Had they but known it, there were elk at the spring.

On November 6 the battle with the river continued. They made little progress and camped on an island near the mouth of Ashpile Creek. They stayed there the next day to dry out and explore the country ahead.

On November 7 Mr. Wright of Missoula sounded the alarm. He was an experienced guide, a friend of Spencer, and knew what was happening in the mountains. This prompted Brig. General Carlin to organize relief parties. One party was to go in from Missoula and another from the west. The rescue parties moved quickly, considering the transportation of the time. A rescue party under guidance of Wright left Missoula on November 10 and another reached Weippe on November 13.

In the days that followed, Wright penetrated from the east as far as where the old trail climbed the ridge toward Rocky Point. Here he ran into four feet of snow and was forced to turn back. At the same time Lieutenants Elliott and Overton went to Weippe, where they consulted the Gaffney family. Pat Gaffney had been in the Pierce and Weippe localities since the gold rush to Pierce in the sixties. John Gaffney, one of his sons, was born near Pierce in 1868 and was raised in that locality. They were real woodsmen and mountaineers.

The Gaffneys told them that to cross the Lolo Trail was next to impossible, but although it would be rough going, it might be possible to go up the Lochsa River. Furthermore, they reasoned that if the Carlin party was on its way out, it would of necessity, come down the Lochsa River. To follow his advice the party split. One party, with John Gaffney as guide, was to take the Lolo Trail, while Elliott and his crew, with Winn as guide, was to go to Kamiah and up river. The next day, November 14, Elliott set out for Kamiah and Overton took the Lolo Trail.

Overtons' party reached Snowy Summit, where they found snow so deep that they could make only about one half mile a day. They made little progress and were still fighting snow when they received word that the Carlin party was found. Now let us return to the Carlin party itself.

On November 9 Carlin and his crew camped on the south side of the River near Holly Creek. During the next three days they scouted the river below and found it impassible. They then decided that it would be necessary to walk out. Since they could not take Colegate, they would abandon him.

November 13. It took them until 1 P.M. to cross the river, which they accomplished by falling a large pine tree. In the afternoon they crossed Bald Mountain Creek and camped a half mile below. According to Himmulwright, Colegate was so far gone that he apparently did not realize what was happening, but he was alive and they left him without food or a gun.

November 14. They made about five miles and camped near Nooseeum Creek.

November 15. This day they passed Boulder Creek about noon and camped at the present Lochsa Work Center. Boulder Creek was named before 1893.

November 16. It was necessary to fall a tree across Fish Creek for a footlog. They called it Wild Creek. They camped at the upper end of the dreaded Black Canyon. In his diary Carlin stated "The view did not impress me so much with its grandeur as with the undefinable dread weiriness. It immediately associated itself in my mind with death." They tried fishing but the fish were so large they broke their hooks. They did succeed in landing three fish.

November 17. A determined assault was made on the canyon but they made only two and a half miles. At their campsite they found a copy of last summer's Spokane Review, which gave them courage.

November 18. They climbed up and down cliffs all day. They made one and a half miles and camped a few yards east of Tumble Creek, about 1500 feeet above the river. They killed one grouse and had a difficult night. They left a gun here. So far as I know it has never been found.

November 19. The end of the Black Canyon was reached about 4 P.M. and they camped near the mouth of Tick Creek.

November 20. The last of their food was eaten for breakfast and they set out. They were growing weak and stumbled and fell a great deal but made progress and camped at Apgar Creek. They caught a one pound fish for supper.

1909 photo of George Colegate's grave. The grave is located a few feet below the present route of U.S. Highway 12 just east of Colegate Warm Springs.

November 21. They went fishing and caught three fish for breakfast. Started on at 11 A.M. and made one mile, when they came to a fishing hole at the mouth of Canyon Creek. They camped here and caught six large trout which gave them a good supper.

November 22. Fishing failed to produce any food and they started out without any breakfast. They met Elliott's rescue party, who were starting to portage the Hellgate Rapids, a particularly bad rapid at the mouth of Hellgate Creek.

Elliott wanted to go after Colegate, but after learning how far it was, Colegate's condition, and the impassible state of the river above them, decided his efforts would be in vain. He dispatched a messenger to inform the other rescue parties and the outside world that the Carlin party was found. He then took the party by raft to Ahsahka and by horse to Kendrick, where they ate Thanksgiving Day dinner on November 30.

When the Carlin party reached safety, the news first caused a wave of rejoicing. But when it became known that they had abandoned Colegate without food or a gun, the public turned on them in blazing anger. Every paper in the West criticized the party for violating the woodsman's creed that all must stick together regardless of circumstances. Charges and denials flew between Spencer, Keeley, and the Carlins. The truth could not be determined.

The Carlins paid Mrs. Colegate $25. The people of Post Falls held a meeting and collected money for the support of Colegate's widow and seven children. Since Colegate was a Mason, that organization came to their assistance.

In February 1894, Colegate's son, Charles, and three other men went up river in an attempt to find Colegate. They claimed to have gone up river 65 miles, which would have put them to about Indian Grave Creek and well above where Colegate and the raft were abandoned. They found no trace of Colegate nor did they find the raft. A tree, which they had set afire, at one of their camps, fell and broke on man's collar bone. The others helped him down stream to Pete King's place.

The next spring Carlin hired Spencer and two other men to search for Colegate. They brought out the hunting trophies but did not find Colegate. At the camp where he was abandoned they found evidence that Colegate had not left camp and that the site had been flooded by high water in the spring runoff.

In midsummer, Lieutenant Elliott and party went into the Lochsa and travelled downstream to where Colegate was abandoned. They carefully searched below this point and eight miles further down found some of the bones, clothes and small possessions of Colegate. Elliott packed the remains up to Colgate Warm Springs and buried them. He placed some stones on the grave and set a post on which was burned "George Colegate". The grave is now marked by a Forest Service marker and is now a few feet below Highway 12 and just east of Colgate Warm Springs.