Martin V FIELD

                   Martin Field came to Libby placers in 1887, and has remained here since. He was  a member of the Christian Church and a Mason.  His wife and four daughters survive him.  The daughters are Mrs. D. E. Sears, of Crestwell Oregon, Mrs. J. F. Beezly of Mission Washington, and Mrs. G. R. Blackwell of Libby.  The two latter attended the funeral as did his son-in-law George R. Blackwell, his wife and his grandson G. M. Blackwell.  Remarks delivered by Mr. Samuel B. Pratt at the church convey the general impression of the esteem in which the deceased was held by his fellow man who knew him.
Mr. Field, who was the oldest son of William Durrett Field and Eliza Schmahorn, moved to Libby, Montana in 1887.  It is thought he had a stroke, heart attack or fell into the irrigation water and drowned, while irrigating potatoes at the age of 90 years.  He was given a Masonic Burial.
The story of how Martin Field, G.R. Blackwell, Sr. and others made their way to Libby Creek.
Martin Field and G. R. Blackwell, Sr., Mr Field's son-in-law started for Libby Creek, Montana on March 15, 1887.  They went from Murray, Idaho to Tompson Falls with a freight team.  Stayed there two days before continuing to Noxon by train.   It was raining when they arrived and they stayed six days at a place owned by Dock Smith.  Hank had a good canoe and they went down Clark's Fork River three miles to the mouth of Bull River.  Bull River was bank full and they camped on the other side of the river.  They walked to the mouth of the river even though the snow was 3 feet deep in places.  They did find a man's tracks who had been walking down River.
Later, a tent was found where the man whose tracks were going down river,
was camped.  There was some bedding, a Winchester rifle and buttons where there had been a fire on the outside of the tent.  It looked as though a man had been burned in the fire.  A member of the party named the creek Dead Man Creek but in later years A. C. and John Ross found some quartz crystal along the river and named it Lightning Creek, which it is still called.
After four days the weather cleared and the snow had frozen enough so snow shoes were not necessary and the group started for the foot of the range.  Those present were Jim Rouse, Hank Letterman, Jim Freeman, Ben Henninger and myself (G. R. Blackwell, Sr.)  It started to rain before they reached the summit and the snow softened.  They camped under some spruce.  The weather cleared that night and the next day they started for the summit.  They arrived about 11 but the snow had drifted and they found the decent perilous.   The weather became cloudy and it started to rain, causing the group to camp by the main Granite Creek for two days. After going down through some foot hills they came across an unknown creek.  They found a tree they could climb and they could see a glacier which they called Blackwell's Glacier and they were able to see Kootenai river and the mouth of Libby Creek.  They were way north of were they wanted to go, about 30 miles north.
On there way back to the camp on Bull Lake where Mr. Field was to wait they discovered that Mr. Field had left camp.  A note from Martin Field was nailed to a tree and it said  You were to be gone 10 days and it has been 19 days.  We fear that something has happened.  We will go to the out side and if we can't hear anything about you we will return with a posse and hunt for you.  That was dated the morning of the day they arrived in back in camp.  They got to there canoe that they had cached from the Indians in the brush about 200 yards from the creek.  The group hurried as fast a possible to try to overtake Mr. Field's before they left Noxon for Thompson Falls.  They telegraphed ahead and ask the hotel manager to ask every stranger his name and he did find Martin Field and relayed the message that the group was alright.  Two days later they returned to Murray, ID.