The following stories are taken from the History of Boundary County, Idaho published by the Boundary County Historical Society in 1987.

**At about 1942-45, they had a peat fire for years and years and years. It would burn underground in different parts of the ground. There were places where the water didn't destroy it. There was fire burning down near the bottom of the trees near the edge of the dike and it went right up the mountain and destroyed it. The peat fire finally had a chance to get out by getting to the tree roots. We knew it was coming one Sunday morning because all the neighbors came and helped us get our things out of the way. They took our things to the different neighbors; the cows went to one neighbor, the chickens went to another; and the household furniture went here and there. The Forest Service gave us some tents. We called it "Refugee Camp #1." It was out on the dike up by Porthill. There was a call went out and everybody helped.
by Irene Parshall

**Margie's (Chauncey Guthrie's wife) father worked on the dikes when the Canadians were going to build the new dike at Porthill along Smith Creek. When they got over to the mountains, he and an exsurveyor climbed up another mountain where the dike was supposed to connect to the mountain and they found a snag that had been burned. The snag stuck up there and there was a big hollow in the top of it. it was a big cedar and they found from marks on that cedar where the water before had been higher than the 1894 water. That was the reason they never finished that dike.
by Chauncey Guthrie

**The Indians told Billie Houston where the ore was in the mountains. He needed money for goods and tools to go to look for it. He contacted Spence Smith for a grub stake. When he located the ore, he and Spence went up through Priest Lake country and staked the mine. They built a small cabin; Billie was to stay there and work the mine, and Spence started out. Billie got to thinking, "Spence won't make it," as he got lost very easily. Billie started out. Sure enough! Spence was lost. Billie found where he had crossed over his snow shoe tracks. When he found him he was nearly all in. He had been snow shoeing all day and night as he figured he was lost. Billie found tracks of a cougar that had been following Spence all night waiting for him to fall.

The next spring they went back to the mine and proved up their claim, and did the assessment work. Later, A.K.Klockman got interested in the mine and he bought Spence Smith's share for $10,000. Billie Houston didn't want money as all he wanted to do was trap and hunt, so Mr. Klockman gave him a place to live and furnished him with everything he needed for the rest of his life. Billie cut his foot and gangrene set in, and he died in 1928. He had been a wonderful friend to all the kids in the neighborhood.
by Vonnie Smith

Note: this mine became known as the Contental Mine and operated until 1929.

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This page updated 02-20-2004