East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current, June 17, 1903, Image 1

East Oregonian : E.O., June 17, 1903, Image 1

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Newspaper Page Text1 jS fFyFNINBEDlTION DAILY EVEN I N B EDlTMfc tiFDAIL Eastern Oregon Weather I Kntr tonight nnd i Atirsility; I warmer Thursday, PENDLETON, UMATILLA COUNTY, OttEGOX, WKDXESDAY, .lUJfE 17, 1903. NO. 4772. HEPPHER . n.,nrnf Hnntapinus 16 IS 1(1 1 ib"1 " Lses From Polluted Air I Water, - r- A T MATLOCK AND DR. COLE. (I Railroad Track Has Been thed Away seeming it. Lied; Also Cooking Utensils and , who Will Work Preparations L to Punish Looters Severely. I lor W. G. Colo lus rotunwu Heppner, where ho wont in re ot the news of the disaster, nnd (he to been since inui wine b- In every way in nis rower Ctlile the suffoiing ami bettor Indillons at that place. doctor thinks that the list o Lad will not go over 200, ana that It will be even smaller that. He has only worns oi i (or the neoplo or Hint place, Lis that the fortltmlo displayed ImaUll times during the oalam Id since was remaikublo in tho be anil places them In tho front tor resourcefulness and citizen- Bridge Fell Down. the,ay over tho doctor and his Iwere caupht In heavy rains and Imevery unpleasant experiences. t? place William iunuocK nnu iriven across a high bridge lit went down, falling almost under the back wheels of the This forced Dr. Cole's party ve straight up the fnco of the lain for a long way to got 1 the gulch. accounts In tho papers of the rot the scenes at the city havo pen any too graphic, lor it pre- i picture of desolation that can ! realized by one having seen barns, fences, trees and I of all kinds strew the path of 1 and lino the valloy lor miles I the stream, while during tlio ljr bodies could he seen lying ma mere alone the wav and I and twisted with tho wreckage. In of Railway Track Gone. I rillroail Is n tntnl wrnnl.- tho laving been torn out for miles stretch. In somo places tho ins utterly wined out of exist land in Others wns Rlmnlu Hunt. I ike side for a mile or less, and Ml.).., ' imuieu over ino unovon lace tailey. The enmnanv ovnect f me une rebuilt into the town i urec days. F first day following tho disas- r'asnot much vs rim In tlin I't the city, cvoryono devoting I' w the task of finding those p "ear lo tliem. But soon I'u a system evolved in tho 1 n IDO work was pnrrlprl nn f-ure dispatch. One r tho inrirn V0s i . . . r ' an or tlio bodies wore H as fast ii tl, r i I ere there was a fovco of men t ;iu " .siting t0 care for Li ."oi""! were washed and ft and burled as fast ns iden "us was done for Mm rn Hint Mirt ltt- W4 amount to such numbers V? a'l for tlio further I . i'"ooiuie. eTAln'h0 movnl.of the Ur id ;l " work was carried llzm. T. : -uu "ioro. All of. InokX, wUh a wl: overt l" had lost lOVOll nnn In their grief and turned; la uJL anvon to spend' k. ""e town. fr.. .' .... Ill,- ltfilfi.Hl' 'of tho place, will not' to do. "iesterday n young man was seen to take a brooch from th corpse of a young lady, and a lynch ing nearly resulted from tho act, but it was discovered that tho lady was the sister of tho young man and that ho was only seeking a remembrance of tho dead. The town full r strangers, and such things are liable to occur where the peoplo are un known one to tho other. The men in chnrgc of tho work are stern and de termined and Western Justice will bo meted out to any one lawlessly In clined. The flood as It camo washed the first houses in its course away ami carried them on the orest of the wave down the vnlley. The houses would lodge In their flight nnd Jam, and this would dam back the water till it found volume enough to sweep the nectimulntcd mass on down tho stream. In this way tho flood reached higher than It otherwise would have done, and the loss was increased greatly. Houses bobbed about on tho flood like corks in a bucket. Danger of Sickness Occurring. Doctors are not needed nt the scene now, but unless the conditions of tho place are changed in the next few days disease and sickness nro liable to swoop tho town. Owing to tho1 wreck of tho city nnd to the large I number of dend, tho exposure nnd strain upon tho inhabitants, and tho I lack of customary food, and tho wet ground and vapor driven up by the hot sun, tho conditions nro favorable I to the breeding of sickness. HEPPNER III DAUESS, AND MOURNING IS EVERYWHERE Two Hundred and Fourteen Bodies RecoveredMany Are Missing and Debris Yet Covers Many Dead. Topography of the Country Has Been Modified by the Rush of Waters Trees Uprooted or Twisted Off, Huge Boulders Carried Long Distan cesRelief From Different Points in Umatilla County. OVER 200 BODIES FOUND. Heppner, June 17. Two hundred and fourteen bodies have been recovered. For 12 miles down Willow creek are plies of debris, all supposed to contain bodies. The principal efforts are centered on clearing the town, but small parties are working along the creek and discovering bodies every little while, REMARKABLE CIRCUMSTANCE. Not Bank Official Suicides Who Is Short In His Accounts. New Yorfl, Juno 17. Frank Dean, vice-president of the Seaboard Na tional Bank, shot and killed himself in the cellar of his home, this morn ing, after bidding his family goou-bye. insanity is supposed to bo the cause of tho deed, as Mr, Dean's accounts nre known to lie straight. Revolt In Arabia. Constantinople, Juno 17. There is another revolt in Arabia owing to heavy taxation. Osman Pasha, com mnndor at Medina has been wounded nnd imprisoned. The peoplo of Mec ca roso against tho local Itltz and im prisoned tho governor general and his staff. Fell Five Stories. New York, Juno 17. An elevator fell from tho fifth floor in a West Houston street building this morning injuring flvo, three seriously. Tho cable parted. r.vfipv . . ... Pn intl' V" naa lorgotton t.,:.:"rests u, tho u that . nuiui ib 1 w He work KM03t Needed. t that kind "? most needed in ho "othofn i iibh inai are .C.ln fccl the poo-' t-J MlUfl I in nmt.. , A bLWw-k.lard TROOPS PROTECT NEGROES ACCUSED OF MURDER. Large Number of Citizens Are Cor ralled In a Square by the Militia, While the Blacks Are Taken to Court. Maysvllle, Ky., June 17-The trial of three negroes licensed of the mur der of John Farrow, was today a big military event. Early tills morning tho town began to fill with farmers from the surrounding country. When tlio troops started to march from the jail to the courthouse, the excitement began. Shouts from lenders of the mob caused tho olllcers in behalf of tho prisoners to order the militiamen to llx bayonets. The troops then faced the crowd surrounding It, and held It In the square while another detach ment of militia and the sheriffs tool; the prisoners to court. The military then took charge of the courthouse, barred all entrances and placed can non In front. The town is wildly excited and all business Is suspended. Nothing but the uncompromising front of the guardsmen provouts a lynching. Tho prisoners were arraigned, sur rounded by soldlors, nnd then taken back to jail. Times Correspondent Captured. Algiers, June 17. Charles Harris, the famous correspondent of til" Lon don Times In Algeria, has been cap tured by mountnlneeiH. GRAIN MARKETS. Quotations Furnished by Coe Commis sion Company R. L, Boulter, Local Manager, 120 Court Street. Chicago, Juno 17. Opening. Close. July 7r. iujw Sopt ",H5 Corn - ' '.L '.L.t. July; Oats ,.,, July :! Minneapolis, Juno if- Opening. Close. July 452 Heppner. Juno 17. I havo wired re port of Heppner disaster from lone, however a few personal observations and Impressions may bo of interest. Our special left the Pcntuoton depot nt 11:30 a. m. Monday. At 12:30 we arrived at Echo. Tho teams tele graphed for in advanco were ready und an immediate start wns made. Those in the party wore William Matlock, H. b. Swaggart, John Endl cott, Dr. W. G. Cole, E. S. Podgett. J. A. Marston, Fred Crawford, Dan Bowman, John Stevenson, M. A. Un der, 12. P. Dodd, Mr. long, tho writer, and several others. Across the Desert. The heat shimmering on the drift ing sands, the sparse sagebrush, the jack rabbits and horned toads dart ing to shelter behind clumps of sago brush, tho monotonous sameness of the hills describes tho country be tween Echo and Heppner. An hour out lrom Echo wo encountered tho first evidence of the severity of the storm of tho preceding night. First Evidence of Storm. The land had been cut and gullied by the water, sagebrush being up rooted nnd winrows of sand formed. ols fttnnd In tlio depres sions, and the road was hub deep with water In places. William Matlock, who has traveled tho Heppner-Eclio road times innumerable smco the early sixties, said that never before had ho seen the water standing in such quantities on the Hat. Usually the thirsty alkali soil eager ly drinks up the water. So heavy had been tlio waterfall that the hillsides wero cut with ravines where the water had eaten its way to tlio low lands. Two or three hours out from Echo our five rigs pulled out of tho road to mako way for a single buggy drawn by a splendid span of blacks coming on the dead run. Their glis tening, sweat-stained flanks were flecked with foam. As long as they were in sight they kept up their killing pace. Wo wondered what message of llfo or death was urging on tho stem-faced driver. Monday's Storm. A few miles from Heppner the skies became dark and threatening. Tho lightening Hashed fitfully across the darkened sky and tho low rumble of thunder was heard. The electrical display increased till the lightening flashed blindlngly from three tu' four different points at the same time. Then came tho deluge. Tho rain seemed to como in sheets and by bucketsful. In five minutes the hillside ravines were bank ful1 of muddy water. Our progress was somewhat slow er than It would ordinarily be as oe casionol detours had to Uo made to get around washouts and places where the road had been destroyed by tlio storm. A few miles Iron; Hoppncf tho road lost all semblance of a road. We were in the wnke of tho cloudburst or the preceding evening. Path of the Waterspout. Hero tho road followed Hluton crook. Hinton eieek and every trib utary, swalo and gulch had been rag ing torrents. Wheie tho road had boon, huge plies of boulders nnd rocks hnd been deposited. Hocks weighing a thousand pounds had been carried down from tho hillsides above and left in tho roadway or tho alfalfa fields below. . . . ,,. , Somo of the alfalfa fields will be more vnluablo as rock quarries than as alfalfa fields now. In places tho fences were entirely washed away, Whllo In other places the barbed wire fences had withstood the flood and mud and silt had been deposited to the top strand of tho wire. Freaks of the Flood. One curious tiling to bo seen was ---- 1 i-' the inequality of the damage of the flood. Here a man's splendid nlfalfa field was cut In ravines or covered with a deposit of rocks and gravel, while possibly tho next field, not ly ing nt tho foot of a hill down which '.he waters would mndly tear would have n deposit of one or two lucnes or rich muddy bcdlment that will bo vorth hundieds of dollars In enrich ing the field. Much of tho standing nl falfa was either washed out entirely or lay prostrate in the mud. Roads Impassable. In many places we got out of the hacks and let the driver pick his way over the boulder-strewn rondwoy. Just this side of Ed Day's house wo overtook a young mnn hurrying for ward on foot to Heppner. He accept ed our offer of a ride toward the Ill-fated city. His anxiety to reach there was painful to witness. A cour ier hnd started the preceding night and by riding nil night and until 10 o'clock that morning, had notified him of the catastrophe' which hud overwhelmed tho city. Tlio young man's people were among those re ported mfsing. Horse Ridden to Exhaustion. "I rode my horse from Desolation Creek since 10 o'clock this morning." lie bald. "For CO miles I put him through ns hard as ho could stand it. He gave out a few miles bncf and I couldn't get a horse for love or money, so 1 had to come on foot." When we got there ho found Hint 3 of the dead had already been bur ied. Whether his people were among the number I did not learn. First Sight of Desolation. Driving to the edge of Willow creok wo caught our first glimpse of the desolation that hnd been wrought by the devouring waters, Where on my previous visit to heppner I had noticed block nfler block of beautiful and substantial res idences surrounded by well-kept lawns, nnd shade trees, thero was now to be seen a bare expanse swept clean of every semblance of a house. Hero and thero a twisted tree trunk or a lino of broken trees showed where the street had been. Houses on their sides, upturned houses, houses with their backs broken, lodged against a tree; houses In all sorts ot grotesque positions, wero to bo Been singly and in groups. We drove to where the bridge had been and a tnaa pointed to where wo could ford the creek. We drove up to where the ioof of the Telephone sta ble lay. Tho proprietor welcomed us. "Feed them all the loose hay you want to boys, It won't cost you a cent, so help yourselves. We are not selling things In Heppner now, "Last night I waded out from that stable in water higher than my waist carrying my llttlo grandson on my back. You sco how It Is boys. If it hadn't been for that pile of drift that turned the current and broke Its force I never would have gotten out. That big roof there Is Oeorgo Censer's house. George and his wife had u Farrow escape. 'Doc' McSword and Johnny Ayers were with them, hut they wero both drowned." Main Street a Chaos. Skirting piles of drift aud making detours through the mud to avoid the wreckage we made our way to the main street. Here wo found confusion worse confounded, Wooden buildings that had floated down the street had lodged and been left In tho middle of tho street or leaning against the buildings which on account of being built of brick or stone, had been ablo to withstand the flood. Mud and slime was over everything. An all pervasive odor of the cbarnel house pervaded the air. Tho smell of carbolic acid and other preserva- tives gave sickening evidence of the , wholesale destruction of llfo that had mine iihe ii umiv Ltifin urn "ii"' M..,u tho once' happy and prosperous llttlo city of Heppner. Families Torn Asunder. Men. who 24 hours; ago had had a wire and rnmlly and a beautiful homo, may be seen standing among tho ruins dry eyed from grief. Hero and there a mnn winks back the tears. Hero a trembling Up tells tlio story of n grief too deep for words. Before such nn overwhelming visitation one sees little grief of the noisy or dem onstrative Kind. One woman, with grief too deep fur tears, said to me: "Can you tell me whether they have found my hus band's body? Most of my relatives were drowned. It seems hard that I should have to live. . It I cuuld only havo gone with him." City In Darkness. The city is In darkness a dark ness too diep to be dissipated by the feeble gleams of tho lnmps and tal low candles that nro being used in lieu of electric lights. A misstep nt tho street crossing results in going Into the soft nnd slimy mud to one's ankles. Tho Palace hotel Is crowded with the homeless. Picking my way along ns best I could, T made my way I to tho morgue. On the street corners nnd stacked along the sidewalk nro hastily constructed oblong boes. A gilm reminder of tho chief occupa tion nt present the burial ot the dend. At the Marrjuc. In the hall of Hubert's hIoiio block Is tlio morgue. When 1 went tip I loiind Mrs. N. A. Kelly and Mrs. M. M. Cresswell busy with tho dead. They and the other bravo nnd cour ageous women of Heppner have made a noble response to the call upon them. Stretched the length of tho hall nre porcelain tubs. Across these tubs slats nro placed. As the bodies nre lecovered they nre brought here. Some look calm and peaceful. One little glti wns lying In a crude box, the light from a smoky lantern falling upon the satiny smoothness of bur bare white shoulders. It lit tip her clustered ringlets of golden hair till they looked like fine-spun gold. Her lips wero partially closed. Her expression had nothing of fright or pain, rnthcr it was one of utter pence and content. It did not seem possible Hint she was dead; rather It seemed that she slept. Death had dealt gently with her. lenviiig no signs of stress or . sorrow on her beautiful and Innocent CELEBRATE OR HELP HEPPNER (Concluded on page S.) TWENTY THOUSAND HOMELESS SITUATION DESPERATE YET AND MONEY NEEDED. Kansas City and Two Suburbs Are In Bad Shape Water Supply of Lat ter Cut Off and Relief Fund Ex hausted. Kansas City, Mo., June 17.- Four thousand families, aggregating not fewer than 20,000 p'-rsons, are home less In this city nnd subsisting on charily Thero Is left $O,O0O or tho roller fund, which Mayor Gilbert de clares Is one-fourth enough to allevi ate present miseries and the dlatress Hint is In sight. In Two Kansas Suburbs. In Armourdale. n city or 8,000 peo ple, only four streets nro passable, hundreds of inhabitable houses still blocking some or the mnlii thorough fares. Tlio strength, tlmo nnd finan cial resources of most of tho volun teer laborers nro exhausted and tho extremity that Invests tho entire com munity U very great. In Argentine, on the opposite of the Knw, there Is no water supply, tho wells being fouled and the water works entirely out of commission. They wero damaged almost beyond repair. Argentlno has 0,000 Inhabi tants. The rejlet fund especially In tended for this city Is exhausted. DAMAGES TO 8PAIN, What Would Have Happened Had She Gotten the Destroyers. Kdlnburg, Juno 17. Tho court zelou today upheld tho doclslou given by herd Kylacchys somo months ago that tho Clyde Hank Shipbuilding Company must pay $07,000 to the Spanish government for delay In tho llverlng the four torpedo destroyers ordered for the Spanish-American war. Spain, in the suit, claimed that the lack of these destroyers complete ly changed the history of the war. New Civil Service Commissioner, Washington, Juno 17. Henry Green of Duluth, has been appointed civil scrvlco commissioner to succeed James Garfield, who was recently mado chief of the bureau of corpora tions, a new bureau In tho depart ment of commerce. Question of Diversion of the Funds to Go to an Immedi ate Settlement SHALL THE FOURTH OF JULY MONEY BE SENT TO HEPPNER Tomorrow Evening at 7 O'clock All Subscribers to observance Fund Will Meet at Council Chamber Proposed to Reserve Only Enough to Pay the Expenses Already Ac crued. All of the subscribe to the Fourth of July fund nre requested to meet at the council chamber tomorrow even ing nt 7 o'clock ror tho consideration of tho qucstlqn as to whether or not It will be wise for the city to colo brute tlio Fourth In view of tho Hopp nor disaster. Tho meeting Is called by tho order of It. Alexander, tho president ot the Progress Club. A sentiment has been growing In tho city ror the last 21 hours nrtvorso to the celebration of the Fourth Thero are so many of those imminent In tlio celebration movement that have lost friends nnd relatives Hint it is thought best by most of tho prominent men Interested In tho movement to nlmmhm tho celuuratlon out of respect to their dend and ns a mark of respect to the sister city. Another pinn Is to turn all or tho surplus ot tho subscriptions left nftor the expenses already contracted havo been paid, over to tho town ot Hepp ner, Tor their use ns they may soo lit. This action will bo discussed at tho meeting tomorrow nnd somo dofl nite conclusion reached. Relief Train Wrecked. Arlington, Juno 17. Tho relluf train sent by Spokane to Heppner went through a delectlvo bridge nt 3 o'clock this morning, between Ilopp ner Junction and Douglas Station on tho O. It. & N. Four persons and two liursus are reported drowned. The trarn was loaded with supplies, loots and laborers for relief work t Hepp ner, and tho accident has blocked trnrtlc somewhat today. Part of tlio train passed safely over tho bridge, but the strnctiiro gnvo way with tho rear end of the train. That portion which crossed over, went on to Lex ington with Its mnch-needed cargo. IN CAMP AT CHEYENNE. Grand Army of the Republic of Wyom ing and Colorado, Cheyeiuio, Vyn June 17.- The an nual encuiiipment of th Grand Army Department or Colorado and Wyom ing, opened In this city today with a monster military pageant. Besides tho (I. A. It. veterans tlio purndo em braced ox-soldlers or tho Spnulsh American war, the Sons or Veterans aud United StntOB troops from Fort Itussull. Many dlgnlturles or the two states aro heio and tho city Is patrlotlcully docorntcd In honor ot tho visitor. Tonight emlnont speakers will ad dition tliw fRnipnro In IConfo halt and tomorrow the Grand Army anil tho nlhilatcd organizations will hold their business sessions. Spirited contexts aro on for department oIIIooh and also for tho next meeting plnco. Plots and Counterplots. London, Juno 17 - A dispatch from Constantinople reports that tlio sul tan has warned the mother of Milan, mm of the Into king of Milan of Her via, to guard her ion. It Is thought there may be a plot to murder young Milan, to completely char (ho title to tho Servian throne. Politician Suicides. Independence, Mo., June 17. David Wallaco, past grand muster of tho gruml lodge of Masons of .Missouri, and a democratic politician of nation al standing, once being deputy sur veyor of customs at Kansas City, sui cided nt his home today, using a re volver. The cuuso Is unknown. American Released By Pirates. Washington, June 17r-Consul Mc Wade, at Canton, cables tlio slate de partment today that the Amerlcau who a few days ago was captured und hold for ransom by pirates, has been rescued by tho gunboat Callao and re turned to Canton, - u uui Know what;