Despite its inviting splendor, Coeur d’Alene was home to violent conflict and lascivious mischief in its earliest years. Newspapers echo accounts of desperate gamblers, prostitutes and prospectors who did everything they could to secure their own future—at all costs. Town druggist Mr. Salis Smith concocted medicine composed of 50 percent alcohol mixed with cocaine or opium for the despondent. Characters like Bootleg Mary or murderous Fatty Carroll, notorious for employing shallow graves, populate dark tales of hushed murders, illegal gambling and corrupt politics. From bloody mining disputes to outlaw train robberies, author Deborah Cuyle recounts the sordid, salacious and sinful sides of Lake City’s past.
Author of Kidding Around Portland, Oregon; Cannon Beach, Oregon; Haunted Snohomish; Ghosts of Leavenworth and the Cascade Foothills; Haunted Everett; and Ghosts of Coeur d’Alene and the Silver Valley, Deborah Cuyle’s passions include local history, animals, museums, hiking and horseback riding. She and her husband are currently remodeling a haunted house in Wallace, Idaho.