Two Lost Hunters Stayed Alive for Two Days Without Food or Fire Near Sullivan Lake
Fred Douglass and a companion wandered off the deer trail, soaked their matches, and survived by walking until they stumbled onto a miners' cabin at Happy Camp.
It is reported from Metaline that Fred Douglass and a companion named Hunzic nearly lost their lives while hunting in the neighborhood of Sullivan Lake last week. It appears that the men went out for a day's hunt and did not carry any more food than was necessary for that day. They wandered off the trail while after some deer and became lost. They were unable to find any cabin for two days. Their matches became wet and they could not start a fire, so they were compelled to keep moving most of the time in order to keep alive. At the end of two days they stumbled onto the cabin occupied by miners at Happy Camp. Douglass is said to have been nearly dead from cold and hunger when the couple reached the cabin, but is now reported to be out of danger.
“Their matches became wet and they could not start a fire, so they were compelled to keep moving most of the time in order to keep alive.”
Before GPS, cell service, and emergency beacons, a short hunting trip could turn fatal with a single wrong turn and a wet matchbook. The story echoes the risks still faced by hunters and hikers in the Selkirk and Pend Oreille backcountry—and the lifesaving difference a remote cabin or a stranger can make.
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