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About The Oregon daily journal. (Portland, Or.) 1902-1972 | View Entire Issue (June 16, 1903)
. , .v . ............ , fil,-VT,WlSWHM 5 ! WHERE ROLLS- THE OREGON Titlt ink i y : VOL. IT. . KO. 84. ' T PORTLAND, OREGON, TUESDAY EVENING, vJUJE 10, 1903. PRICE FIVE CENTS. " -9 .;f : -jfiKfcV WHERE ROLLS. Srf.V !K . ' :: Iv: . .4. ' ; . --JniiS 'V. .. -I, 5- . : V . ' ' ' ' - I .... I . , . . . I , BOE)IESSlILES . RESCUERS FIND ... frf H SkHHMv iJm ' l HMMM4v ' ' B vBmi ' THE HEPPNER DISASTER RELIEF TRAIN REACHES,THE VALLEY AND RENDERS HELP Journal-; Correspondents .Give' Graphic Descriptions of Effort of Railroad Peo ple and Others to Assist Helpless. Z Revised List of Those Who Lost Their Lives in the Cloudburst and Partial C,List of the Property . Damaged . (By John E. .Lftthrop.) - . ' HEPPNER, June !. Thl city ! a heap of ruin., . Twlited tree trunk tlnt which are piled masses oftrreckafe mark the residence districts. Boat distorted bodies of. the tered throughout this wreckage ar the bruise and dead. The death list will number about 800., r ' " The advancing flood swept down the main streets sweeping all before It Buildings collapsed like houses of cards, and were broken to kindling i wood while their inmates, overwhelmed by the sudden catastrophe, could be seen fighting tor their lives In the mad rush of w.aters, while . .many .persons on ' higher ground stood by helpless to save them.. ". - ' The scene of desolation and ruin is Indescribable. . . Wreckage and mud Is over all, while the air la heavy with the smell. of preservative chemicals.. The . homeless are being cared for. In the courthouse, schoolhouse and. In' the rest dences of those whose homes did not stand in the. line of devastation. The courageous workers of the town are receiving the bodies in Roberta Hall, and euttmg away their clothing with sharp Shears they waiK' ihe 'niud from the bruised and battered dead and when they are' Identified they are placed In hastily constructed rough board- boxes nd hurried out to the gra'veyard, where a body of cltlsena are serving aa a burial squad.' V -i Efghty-thre were Identified and burled yesterdaV. Here and there the search ers observe a bit of color In th wreckage and pulling away surrounding deb ris thy discover a child; or a mud-stained bit of linen marks where , a body has lodged in the drift When one of th.fl 'recovered bodies happens to ,be the child of 'one of the searchers the -sight, Is sad and pathetic beyond descrip Cofllna are In evidence,.' and.expce wagons are being driven rapidly up, .' containing the dead as thef are recovered. Skinner Fork, Stevenson's Can yon and Balm Fork all empty into Willow Creek. Three froarlng . , torrents poured down' these three streams to form the white wall of water that caused the destruction, desolation and ruin. , ; v - .:'.':: .-.'. il-V: Hinton Creek furniahtd a 10-foot flood to Join in the work of destruction.. . One of the incidents that stand out is the heroism of Lestef Matlock, who, with Bruoe Kelly, rode down the valley warning the ranchers and the resldenta of. Lexington and lone of the approaching destruction. Lexington wss badly wrecked, but lone escaped Injury, A,';."-;, "'v' '".. George Conser and wife,, with Dr. McSword and John Ayers, were at Conser'a . home. , Beel'ng the" approaching flood Mrs. Conser begged them all to seek safety upstairs. , Dn McSword and John Ayers ran from the house, Mr. Ayers to try to save his family. Both were swept awayNand drowned. Mr. Conser and wife narrowly escaped drowning. Their house was swept down stream a quarter of a mile and lodged along the bank, allowing Mr. and Mrs.' Conser to escape. Some remarkable' escapes are reported. . Robert Hynd and W. W. Lipsett, after floating down on some drift two miles, were struck with floating wreckage, Mr. Lipsett being drowned while Mr. Hynd escaped with some injur ies. Llxsle Matlock was swept down and Anally lodged in the drift and' es- taped. : One vouna ladv enuirht a hnrin'i lull and wai 1 rawed ashore hv the ntntr. jt' nnc animal. without. Identification. ;v " ' - Aldh is pouring in from outaJd points, a. i The wreckage 1s"Befng 'burrieif after having been searched for "bodies. ' DESTRUCTION ANDjlr ' DEATH EVERYWHERE y '". -HiHi ii K' - f lONE, Or., June 16. As a town of homes Lexington U gone, thirteen families are without shelter except that provided by the public schoolhouse where they have taken up their abode since the flood of last Sunday niht. The monetary . loss . Is comparatively nothing ' when" the home , ties are so suddenly severed. Whi the- torrent came down Willow Crek, it left the main channel and. passed through the .center of the town sweeping everything in its path; Pretty homes were ruined In tho twinkle of an eye and orchards which I hacUtakeh years of labor to get; to per I ffnon iwere ,rooted .Out Just as rapidly. I iuja timely warning of young Matlock tjpsaved many lives but even then thera z. were many close calls.'- : Fences seem to f , suffer less than buildings, driftwood of ; every description lodged against the fences and in a few seconds trash was pjled four and five feet high, , , . . ; earealnr for the Bead. ' Gver since the waters subsided, par ties have been searching for the dead. In eyry corner' under buildings and on i tops of piles of trash ' Corpses were found yesterday. Twelve bodiea were : discovered In the yards' of Lexington. These were at once shipped to Heppner via farmer's wagons and there Identified and burled. ' ' ' ' Fifty men are at work this morninir 'breaking away the piles of trash expect ing at any moment to come across tho ' body. of., some unfortunate who went, down : In 'the flood.- Yesterday morn ing the body of an elderly lady, the wlfa of ex-Judge Kelthly, was found. In An drew Ralney'a field two .miles ' below Lexington. . Mrs. Kelthly was lri Hepp. ner ; when--the flotKl came -Aa'HeppnerJ Is nine miles from Lexington; It can readily; be seen what force the water must have had to carry a body that dl- ' tance. tAVhen the body of water leaped across' the banks of the creek it struck 'the Methodist Church with .'full'- fore and Swept it' from Its foundations, land ing It In a' pll 6f ,ktndllng wood two blocka away against the Congregational Church, . . The parsonage' which stood across tho Street and was a structure one and half stories high with a- wing, was turned half way around and the rear end crushed. : The loss to the' church and parsonage, will be $2,000. Follow ing are losses in Lexington and adjoin 1ing-tM-,townslte,-.----r . Xosms Sustained. W.;; B. McAUister. $1,000; Denman Pecks, $700r property being a total wreck;' C -C Boone loses everything, valued at $1,000; Congregational Church damage, $360; Joseph McMtllen, home and bearing ortslialfd' gone, $2,500 ; Thomas Nichols, same, $1,000; B. M. Booher. one oi me preiiiesc collages ana. nnest orchards In Lexington, i$ 1,600; W.: J. Davla, orchard and garden ruined. $2,000; R. A. Nichols; $800; James Brown. $600;. E. R. Beach, $600; & E. Notson, $200; W. E. Leach, $600; Mrs. Benge, $200; W- B. Mucker, $1,000; J. S. Boothby, $1,600, across . the creek; ,Mra. C. P. Barnett orchard damaged. $1,000; E. A. Pointer, fence and garden. $250; J. M. White, livery stable. $600; Mrs. K' A. Berjmer, orchard and home. $1,200; Mrs. Penland, owner of the , principal por tion of the townsite and several orchards up the creek, will lose $8,000; J. 8, B an yone, the miller, will sustain a damage to the extent of $600, While-some of these figures seem small It means every-' thing -to the ' poor unfortunates. Their all is gone. In many cases not even the soil Is left In fit condition to cultivate. Rocks are' embedded in the slime, which Covers the land to the depth of It to 29 Inches. ' , - ' retails Reported. The only deaths that have been-' re ported near Lexington, are those of C. 8. Farmer, whose body was recovered last night and ' Mrs. A. W. Frsy, whose re mains had npt been recovered np1 to I o'clock this morning. K. M. White, who has gone over the wrecked district 'from Lexington to 'Heppner,.aays it will take 1.000 men' two weeks to clear out the drifts and carefully : search them for dead bodies. . . ' - , , .. Damage to the Q. R 4 . does not THE LATEST REVISED . LIST OF THE DEAD ATREa WILLIAM. AMDREW8. B. . . ASKBAUGH, MOSES, child. ASIIBAUOH, MRS. ED. and children, ADAMS, MRS. AYRES. J. L. AYRE8, T. W. . ANDREWS, MRS. C. L. and children. ATRES. MRS. WM. JR. and children. ' - A BRA M SICK. -MRS. and daughter. ADKINS. MRS"." and daughter. BEAKI.ER, MR, " BAS'KS. MR. - ' BOTLUS, ALICB. ' BBARD. WALTER ' , BEARD, WILBUR and family, BUIOOS. EUNICE.' BOYD,' MRS. OUT and three chlldrea BANKS. MR. and MRS. BOTD, MRS. O. O. and three child ren. . BURO. MRS. PAD. CARR. baby of J. K. Carr. - CHURCH, MRS. -MARION. COOLiCYj WILLIAM. CHRISMAN. ; CURTIS. MR8. ADA and child.- ITOUOIiAR. MRS., grandson and son. DAWSON. PERCY. DAWSON, MR. and MRS. and four children. DAVIS, MRS. N. ; DAWSON. WILLIAM and wife. EKTES. MRS. LLOYD. ESLIE. MRS. WM. and daughter. . FRENCH. FLORENCE. FLOREIN. MRS. NORA. FISHER. of 8pray. , FRISIX5W, BERTHA. GEIGER. -A. C. . GENTRY. B. GITRDANE. MRS. GUNN. MR. and MRS." A. M. HANLEY, . HARRY, wife, mother and one child. " , i - HAMILTON. MRS.. DAVE and two daughter. HAINES. MRS. BEACH. , HAINES. HAZEL. HARRIS. J. J. HART. R. C and wife. II ANBY. HARRY and wife. . HOWARD. NELLIE HYND, MRS. ROBERT and two children. HARRMAN. FRANK, wife and father. J ofLonar Creek. HAM8ICK, -A. A. and entire family; he died today of injuries. ' HOWARD, . TOM. wife and three diugrhters. HOWARD. E R. UOCKET, T. L nd two children. JONES, MANDY. JONES. PEARL and six" children. , JENKINS.' CHAS., entire family. JAMES, B.. wife and daaghter. JONES, JAMES, wife and two daugh ters."' ICERNAN. J. M. and wife. , ' KRUG. FRED, wife and four children. NEITLY. MRS., and four children. KEIT11LEY, MRS. J. G., and grand son. - ' KEITHLEY, MAUP. . , KELLY. - i- v ." lit.. KENTZLEYTGEORGE, and wife. Trntr kdci t coat IP ' . ! LIPSIT. MR. and MRS., and child. LONG. MR. and MRS. .T. H., and four children. LOONEY. PRESS. MATLOCK. JAMES. MATLOCK, MRS. THOMAS. McBRIDE, SAMUEL, wife and four children. i . McSWORD. pR. P. B. , . Mcdowell, zedda. MACLARY. child of Charles, of Pen- dleton. MORGAN, MR. and MRS; ROBERT, and child. , v MORGAN. MRS. SAMUEL. OX LEY., FRED, t T , PADBERG. MRS. PETERSON, ANDREW, of HUlsboro. PETERSON. W. A. RHEA. MRS. C. A., and daughter, REDFIELD. MR& C. 75. - REDFIELD,' BLANCHE.. ' ROBERTS. OR A. r ' 'w - ROBERTS. J. J.4 wife, and son. ROOD. MRS. EDWARD, and baby. SHEA. MRS. LUM. BALING,' W. L., and wife, , STEER. JOHN, of Portland, i 8WAGGART, family . of Georg'e, ' two daughters and four grandchildren. , STOLTER.? entire family. 1 , ,".. 'A ' ''ti;.f5rt'; i $ 1 'I .' 4 tl T. 1". T rr 1. w . y - . , . ' 1 V- I- .. '. : V y t fl'( ' ! , ' ; . V.-i . y; u THEY FEARED ANOTHER DISASTER 5 kii -, v1?- i inn miii is.Po ever half an hour last alsrht o a lirlar soali la the town of lone.. A fearfol electrlo and rain storm oe ever tae vu- laga at 30 aal tba lahabitants nan, women aad enuaren too to tbs hlUs, fearlBg a repetition of Sunday aigbt'a catastrophe. It seemed that all the peat-up fury had broken loose and death was stalking- on every "14roar, Ave and six streaks of terrific lightning flashed la the heavaas at once, water la torrents fell on unprotected women and ohUdren, while the flary fluid played a tattoo on the hlghpeaks of basalt to the north, south and east. Every gully was a rushing torrent within a few seconds. The streets of the town were covered with water and within a few Inches -of the marks of the awful flood of Sunday night. Of the BOO people who maka np the population of the town, over half of them were huddled together to the O. B. ft . warehotua and many fell Into the slumber which nature demanded. 2 r. ( " J 3 E ' ' "r-.C;,4 r'.. .V;'' V",r? -k - ' Vv- -mil m ' V S M ." . I I J '!i - . I . .. ' . ii 1 . A-, ir? rrn ' -'j- . . V ' . . a ,1 ! ' .'I . 11 if J b ii. 1 I four 't1 . H .'vyrL3V vvA,. t-i J- vX. .Tt !i -'JH ' . four : ' -r-.fi UArrtW,-jK'iW,. i 1. w al-l-l j J: 'j 5' vi m IN THE SEETHING FLOOD. L ; . . , ; -. ' . - t . ' i ,,. ' ,' ,.' , . - ,,.'i i i 1 i 1 1 f i i r' .7 . i . .' , 1 . ' t" .. . ' i : l' WILLI8,' JAMES,. and two children. WELL8.iA. S. - ' wells,' harry, wells, george. - wells,1 mrs. Clyde. . , woodward. mrs. j. WILLIS.1 MRS. ELIZA, and daughter. WILLIS. FRED. WRIGHT. GROVER. , WELLS, ABB. and wife. . WALTON, ; W:, wife and daughter. WYLAND, STEWART. THREE JAPANESE. , . ,. i SEVEN CHINESE. , ' vnldentlfled. ' BABY AND THREE BOYS. : . begin; until within three miles j of Lex ington, but from there on the roadbed will have to be. rebuilt and :bridgea re conetfuct.ed." From Lexington, south the grade is washed away for several hun dred yards,' and will require many weeks Superintendent O Brien took to repair, 8TATOR, MRS. LAK and seven child-1 out a crew iot 400" men this ' morning and D. . - GEORGE wife i fen. STURGIS. K Ttinnvrnv . child. ' . ' " , VAUGHAN, DR. and MRS. B. P, and began vetting the road tn shape for tem porary use.'. Nqr mails are being moved In either direction on the Heppner track, except by private parties. ... JONE, June IS. Every team in-the country la in use this afternoon taking friends or hauling supplies, to Heppner.; It la rumored here -that; supplies are, not needed aa "badly as are i coffins. . As soon as a body Is 'Identified a rough lumber coffin was used as a receptacle and was placed away ; until ( later, lone shows deep mourning today. Many friends out e)de are so anxious that, with only one wire,' which' is crowded under press nows,. all messages have to take their regular coui-se, . The next nearest clear line Is. 28 miles from here. There is no communication, with Heppner except by messenger. . The saloons have all been elosed here out of respect for the dead. The, telephone line ". to Portland is out of order. There are rid trains running. with the exception of construction trains to Lexington. ' - DESTRUCTION AND " DEATH EVERYWHERE ur-r ;. y i v-'i- , ' (By Horace Di,Jones.v ; iIONE,; June 3:30 a., m. The seo-i ond, morning after the flood la dawning with, every resident of this quiet Village sound asleep; death does, not gnll for vigil here, . No maimed are suffering, for the cloudburst which swept down Wil low Creek from Heppner to the Columbia River secured no victims in lone. Tho frightened people took to the hills .be fore the flood reached' here at 1:10 Mon day morning, and that lives were not ldBt here , was due to tho bravery and forethought of Leslie Matlock,, who rode ahead of the rushing waters and" gave warning In time for all to take to the hills. What that rfde inuct have been is best told by Charles Levin, .an eye witness "from Heppner, who nald: ; "I saw a wall of water 10 feet. high and 30 feet wide coming down through the canyon. ran Jo the Palace Hotel to gtout of the way. I taw Leslie Matlock 'on '; horse start a'ti breaik neck speed down the, creek,' shouting as hewent..' He -gained on ,tha water' as It spread on the level country. . As fast as bis horse could carry him ho gave warn trig all along they line. - Ills effort atone saved hundreds of lives at Lexington and : a score or mora at lone. " ' " v; The Soaring Torrent. , "Behind Matlock came.' .ha roaring torrent, overflowing the little creek and sweeping everything before It. Poplar v trees which had withstood the storms of ages, were carried onward, like straw ; la a sweeping stream.?. Houses; barns', and haystacks -were lntermlngi-'d with' human, bodies: cattle and horse rolled and tumbled about In th .rushing cur- . rentV erv inhabitant of ; Lexington hurried to a plaon of safety wh'ti lit flood reached there, v The, people of lone knew , fu,ly an -hour beft'M; Hut ;dth threatened1 them and tlrey' took, to the hills, " All night many remained thre and shivered in the cold and ral.-i. not daring tit venture-Into the streets, which ;Wr full of water running like a mlllracei , Trie people of lone are loud In their , (Contliiuud aa Second !'.)
