WEEKLY,
UNION. Kstab. July. 1S7
.(Ceisolidated Feb., 1839.
CORVAUilS, BENTOH COUNTY, OREGON, FRIDAY, JUNE 19, 1903.
VOL. XXXX. NO. 26..
GAZETTE, Katsfe. !., !
EVENTS OF THE DAY
GATHERED FROM ALL PARTS OF THE
TWO HEMISPHERES.
Comprehensive Review of the Import
ant Happenings of the Past Week,
Presented In Condensed Form, Most
Likely to Prove Interesting to Our
Many Readers.
TheHungarianpremier baa resigned
and ajjew cabinet will, be formed.
The new ruler of FServia ia shorn of
all power and isklngin name only.
Warrants have been iesued for the ar
rest of two more persons involved in
the postal f rands.
Rioting attending street rar strike
at Dubuque, Iowa, has resulted in the
militia being calledout.
Pronrnent members of the National
Live Stock Association will try to have
Secretary Hitchccck ousted.
A naval demonstration is being held
at Che Foo, China, by Japanese and
British fleets. A few American ships
are also present.
The Michigan forest fires will cause
inestimable damage unless rain soon
falls.
The Russian war minister, General
Korupatin, is being extensively feted
at Tokia.
A disastrous fire in a Newcastle,
Penn.,coal mine'was started by the ex
plosion of gasoline.
The Chicago union waiters on strike
partially acnowledge a defeat, and many
are returning to work.
The International Pressmen's Con
vention opened at Cincinnati with 300
delegates in attendance.
By tryingto fill a coal oil stove while
it was burning, a Brooklyn boy and his
sister met withfatal injuries. -
The Laundryworers' union, of Chica
go, by a referendumjvote, just taken,
has decidedagainst another strike.
The strike on the New York subway
has been abandoned and 20,000 miners
-will apply for work unconditionally.
The rumor that President Clowry, of
the Weswn Union telegraph com
pany, is to resign is without founda
tion. - A balloon with four aeronauts was
carried out to sea from Marseilles,
France. Thej fatejof the men is not
known.
The bricklayers' strike in Omaha,
which tied up building operations for
four months, came to an end by the
union giving in.
Accused of "attempting to extort
money from employes in a Newark, N.
" J., hat factory, David Bichman has
been fined f 999.99 by the Hatmakers'
union.
Armed with rifles and shotguns, the
farmers and summer residents of Mount
Kisco and Newcastle, N. Y. are looking
for the incendiary now infesting those
parts. -
The native chiefs of Samoa desirous
of being present at the St. Louis expo
sition, have sent petitions to President
Roosevelt to help American Samoans to
be represented.
Chicago waiters' are losing ground in
their strike.
" Sir Thomas Lipton's fleet has arrived
at Sandy Hook.
An American citizen was killed by
Turks at Odessa.
Bulgarians are deserting many cities
in terror of Turks.
Cutting of a levy at St. Louis al
most caused a lynching.
Burglars secured $8,000 worth of dia
monds in a New York hotel.
Five people were burned to death in
a New York apartment house fire.
A report that the pope was dead
caused intense excitement in Rome.
Two more bodies have been found at
Topeka. This makes a total of seven
browned.
The powers will demand the punish
ment of the assassins of the king and
queen of Servia.
The civil service commission finds
that politics enter too much in the ap
pointments to the ' postal service at
Washington. The rolls have been
found to be packed at the behest of po
liticians, and the service greatly dam
aged. An insane man attempted to assass-
nate Emperor Francis Joseph.
Russia's activity in Manchuria is
overtaxing the patience of Japan.
A move was made to create a republic
of Servia, but it was promptly smoth
ered.
The coming congress will be strongly
urged to make a reciprocity treaty with
Canada. .
Arrival of troops caused striking
Arizona miners to make peace with
their employers.
Major W. H. Gibbon, who is said to
ave fired the first shot of the Civil war
upon Fort Sumter, is dead.
The presidential elections in Santo
Domingo have been set lor June su,
Foot and mouth disease prevails
among Bheep just brought to Liverpool
from Buenos Ayres.
The Standard Oil Company has been
forced out of Roumania by opposition
of the government.
The monks expelled from France wil
come to Kentucky and endeavor to es
tablish a monastry.
A CITY OF DEATH.
Qrlm Days of Sorrow In Heppner Death
Roll Is 300.
Heppner, June 17, via. Lexington.
Houses crushed and telescoped be
vond recognition, buildings twisted
from their foundations, deposited
streets or on alien property, one-
fourth, or one-half, or one mile away;
household goods strewn in every di
rection In reeking mud: trees two
feet in diameter uprooted and woven
In impeded drift into all kinds of
awful fantastic shapes, bodies of men
and horses and cattle and pigs all
cast in indiscriminate ruin such is
Heppner of today.
All persons say that the crest . of
the flood was upon the town within
three or four minutes after the dan
ger was perceived. Most of the people
were in their houses. The day being
Sunday, the hour being dinner time,
and a heavy rain falling, an
caused them to pen themselves with
in doors. Most of the dwellings were
near the bank of the stream. The
people were therefore caught like rats
in a trap, and so sudden was
warning that comparatively
the
few
. The
creek
could reach places of safety.
whole row of houses next the
was swept away, spectators ui me
calamity describe the structures as
rt i . xW-k
falling like card houses. The dwellings
were tossed about like bobbins, and
most of them fell completely to
pieces. The town had perhaps over
250 houses, nearly 200 of which were
demolished. The whole business part
of town would have been swept away
had not the Palace hotel, a heavy
brick structure, diverted the current.
Houses on brick foundations rareo
better than others because the nood
could not so easily wash under them.
Identification of the dead has been
easy.
Most of the bodies snow tne effects
of drowning rather than of vital in
jury, tnougn an or tnem are more or
less bruised. Only a few or tnose
who escaped the flood were severely
injured.
An army of men and horses is sitt
ing great wastes of debris. Three
hundred bodies have been found and
there are men who say the worK is
only half begun. An army of women
take charge of the bodies as they are
borne out of the wreckage by tne
straining arms of men. An arm, a
leg, a toe, a finger, a lock of hair, a
tuft of clothing these are harbingers
of horror beneath the mud. Babies
and little children lie there buried,
with many a gash or bruise on their
tender bodies. Forms of women fre
quently come to light bereft of all
clothing save where a corset snieias
them from the gaze of anxious search
ers. Clothing of men is less frequent
ly torn away: The bodies' are borne
to Roberts hall to be washed and
dressed by women, to be shrouded in
coarse white cloth, and to be laid in
rough wood boxes. There is no time
for ceremony. It's tne grim reanty
of death. And women who would
faint at scenes one-thousandth part as
awful obey the mandate of necessity
without a flinch. The floor swims
with the half diluted mud that drips
from the victims, but the living pat
ter through it or sweep it out when
it gets too deep. The rough boxes go
to the cemeteries, not singly in
hearses, but many at a time, piled
high in wagons.
COAL OPERATORS GIVE IN.
Conciliation Board Muddle Is Ended, and
There Will Be No Strike.
Scranton. Pa., June 18. There will
be no strike in the antffracite region
growing out of the refusal of the op
erators to recognize tne creaenuais
of District Presidents Nichols, Fahey
and Detery, elected by the joint exec
utive board of the United Minework
ers as the miners' representatives on
the board of conciliation.
The convention of the United Mine-
workers today elected the three pres
idents by districts as their represent
atives, and the operators, througn
President Baer, of the Reading Com
pany, announced that this action was
satisfactory. There was a burst of
loud and long applause when Presi
dent Mitchell announced that the op
erators, through President Baer, of
the Reading Company, had authorized
the statement that the action of the
convention was satisfactory.
The convention elected President
Mitchell as the legal representative of
the miners at the head of the concil
iation board. The operators are unan
imously agreed on the acceptance of
the selected miners representatives.
Strike Brings Troops Again.
Denver, June 18. Acting on advi"es
from Washington. General Baldwin,
commanding the Department of the
Colorado, United States Army, today
sent orders for one troop of the Third
Cavalry to proceed with all histe
from Fort Apache, Arizona, to Mor-
enci. Yesterday is was believed tnat
the spirit of the strike was broken,
and Colonel Lebo, commanding the
Fourteenth Cavalry at Morenci, was
ordered to return his command to
Fort Grant and Huachuca, but devel
opments have shown the advisability
of keeping Federal troops on tne spot,
Philippine Act Under Consideration.
Washington, June 18. Secretary
Root has decided that nothing fur
ther shall be done regarding the pro
posed opium act of the Philippine
Commission until it shall have tiad
the most careful attention m Wash
ington. The commission has been In
formed by cable and the opium mil
which passed its second reading, will
remain in its present condition until
the Secretary of War reaches a 'on
elusion. The bill prohibits the sale to
and use of opium by all persons ex
cept Chinese.
Crowded Bridge Falls.
Eau Claire, Wis., June 18. A long
section of the Madison street bridge
approach went down under the weigrf
of a crowd of people tonight. Six per
sona were seriously injured, and 25
or 30 others were less seriously in
jured. The accident occurred during
an illumination., of the street carnival
booths along the-main streets of the
city; '
HAPPENINGS HERE IN OREGON
'v.- "4
LANE LOQQERS WANT RAIN.
Millions of Feet of Logs In the Small
Streams.
Loggers in Lane County are having
more difficulty this season than usual
trying to get logs down the mountain
streams. The spring has been so dry
that millions of feet of logs that were
cut on the streams tributary to the
McKenzie and the Willamette during
the winter have hung up and cannot
be driven out in the usual way. Us
ually in the month of April there are
rains that raise these creeks so that
the loss can be driven out, but this
year there have been no rains of con
sequence and the streams have not
had since February sufficient water to
run logs.
On Lost Creek, Winberry, Big and
Little Fall Creeks, the Booth-Kelly
Company has .millions of feet of logs
that they are badly in need of at the
Springfield mill. ; For weeks they
kept men ready and had the logs in
the creek, intending that the moment
the water was sufficient they would
start them to deeper water. But the
rains that were hoped for did not
come.
Finally giving up hope of running
the logs in the usual way, they began
constructing dams to aid the work by
artificial means. Thousands of dol
lars were expended in building flood
dams in these small streams. These
have been of some assistance, and the
logs are being slowly worked down to
wards the river, but it is a slow and
expensive process. As yet it has been
impossible to supply the big mill at
Springfield with sufficient logs to keep
the saws at work.
The logging business is very im
portant in this county, and greater
this year than ever before. There
are at the present time no less "than
35,000,000 feet of logs in the water to
supply the various mills in the coun
ty. The Booth-Kelly Company alone
has 23,000,000 feet afloat, while others
have no less than 12,000,000 feet.
The mills all have greater difficulty
getting logs than they have getting
orders.
Official Count.
The official canvass of the vote for
congressman at the eleciton in the First
district on June 1, 1903, shows the
following result :
-i i
a M
COUNTIES
as b:
(-1
c
Si
ft p
as
?3
2
s3
Kb
3
Benton..
679
1258
525
129
1,227
1,326
665
270
154
1,572
168
1,213
1,597
668
126
691
874
Clackamas..
S3
1,02-fl
292
Coos
103
11
188
Curry
Douglas
Jackson
Josephine
Klamath
Lake
Lane
Lincoln
Linn
2
2221
59
80
31
1,726
1,146
492
171
93
8
20
5
117
5
1
1,887
416
142
74
286
l,81ffl 18ffl
Marion
Polk
18a
1,7b zU9
97
48
67
69
60
Tillamook
4761
Washington.
Yamhill
ioa
172
1,074 lOffl
W28 134
Totals
1449
15,31319001
13,04!
Marlon County Wool Pool Sold.
The wool pool of the Marion Coun
ty Woolgrowers' Association was sold
to the highest bidder 'in Salem, and
was bought by A. R. Jacobs, repre
senting the Oregon City Woolen Mills.
There were upwards or 100,000
pounds of" wool in the pool, and the
price paid was 16 cents per pound for
the coarse grade and 16 cents for
the medium and finer grades. The de
livery of the wool began at once
through the warehouse of W. M.
Brown & Co., of this city. This is the
highest price, by 1 cent per pound,
that was ever received by the Marion
County woolgrowers.
Balsley-Elkhorn Power Plant.
The machinery for Baisley-Elkhorn
power plant is most an at uaser
City and the work of installing it is
being rushed as fast as possible. A
pipeline over a mile long win convey
the water from Rock. Creek to the
power plant site some distance below
the mouth of the tunnel, on the Baker
City side of the mountain, where a
number of Pelton water wheels, will
be used to generate electric power
for the stamp mill and the air com
pressers for driving the power drills
in the mine and tunnel.
Copper Property Sold.
Lon Simmons and William Myers
have : sold their copper property on
Bis Creek. Eastern Oregon, consist
ing of eight claims, to a syndicate
financed bv Indiana capitalists for
$75,000. This deal has been pending
for some time, but was nnany ciosea.
It is understood that the new owners
will begin the work of developing the
property at once. A considerable
sum of money is to be expended for
surface improvements.
Incendiaries Set Fire.
Fire destroyed the residence, barn
and blacksmith shop of the Warner
Valley Stock Company in Warner
Valley one day last week, all the
household goods and a large stock 01
supplies were lost. It was undoubt
edly of incendiary origin, as two sad
dles and all the horses were taken out
of the barn. The parties who did it
are under suspicion, and will likely
be apprehended. . ' .
Trouble in Lake County.
A report comes from Lakeview that
sauatters on land of the Warner Val
ley Stock Company have burned the
Buildings on the ranch 40 miles east
of that place. The squatters refuse
to be dispossessed and state that they
will resist, by force of arms, the or
der of the court awarding the land to
the Warner Valley Stock Company.
President Lee Is Re-Elected.
At the annual meeting of the board
of trustees of Albany College, Presi
dent Wallace Howe Lee, who has been
connected with the college for many
years, was unanimously re-elecfed
president of the institution. It is
largely due to his management that
Albany College has attained its pres
ent high degree of efficiency.
1RRIQATION AT KALAMATH.
Dredger Machinery Arrives for Dredg
ing the Canal.
The machinery. for the dredger of
the Little Klamath Ditch Company is
being put in place on a new boat,
38x68 feet, and will be ready for oper
ation in Lower Klamath Lake in
three weeks. The machinery weighs
100,000 pounds, and 25 teams were re
quired to haul it from the railroad to
the lake last week
The first work of the. dredger will
be to dig a cut, four miles long, 30
feet wide and four feet deep, from the
lake to the head pf the company's
ditch, thus assuring an abundance of
water at all times of the year. Hith
erto White Lake has been depended
on for supply, butt has been insuffic
ient to accommodate the demand for
irrigation during the dry weather of
midsummer. The cut from the . lake
will cost $9000. As soon as that work is
finished, reclaiming' of land around
Lower Klamath Lake will be under
taken. It is estimated that there are
50,000 acres contiguous to that body
of water, capable of reclamation by
the use of the dredger.
. . t
Coming Events.
-V
Annual meeting of Pioneers, Sons
and Daughters, Portland, June 17.
Western Oregon 'Division, Oregon
State Teachers' Association, Port
land, June 24-29. 1
Christian camp Ineeting, Turner,
June 19-28.
Sixth annual re-unibn of Lane Coun
ty veterans, Eugene, June 16-18.
CarnivalsGrants Pass, June 17-20;
Ashland, June 15-20; I Roseburg, June
22-27; Cottage Groe, June 24-27;
Salem, June 29-July 4;- Albany, June
29-July 4.
Ninth annual regatta, Astoria, Au
gust 19-21. '
Willamette Valley Chautauqua,
Gladstone, July 14-26.1
Encampment of the! Grand Army of
the Republic, Portland, June 24-27.
First Oregon Cavalry and First
Oregon Infantry re-union, Portland,
June 27. 1
Another Contract Finished.
Major W. C. Langfitt has completed
an inspection at the Cascade Locks,
where the contract pf H. W. Taylor
had just been finished. This contract
included the riprapping ot the north
wall of the upper lock, 'at .a cost of
$26,000, which has taken about six
months to carry out. - A-large number
of 'stone cutters and MaboTers"were
employed. These locks, which have
cost the government $3,750,000, are
not yet finished, and an appropriation
of $150,000 . will be necessary before
the final details will have been at
tended to.- At the present stage of the
water the locks are out of commis
sion and boats will have to wait on
each side until the freshet is over.
Improvements at the Penitentiary.
Governor Chamberlain has decided
to haye an addition built on the
south end of the dining room and
kitchen at the penitentiary for the
purpose of providing a place to con
duct executions. The addition will
be constructed of brick, and will be
two stories high. The improvement
will be made as outlined some time
ago by Superintendent James. Work
will soon be commenced on the con
struction of a sewer to connect the
prison with the new state sewer built
a year ago to ' a point west of the
asylum. This will give the prison
better drainage. ,
Rainier Wants to Build Road.
The Rainier City Council has ap
propriated $800, providing a like
amount should be raised among pri
vate citizens, for the purpose of open
ing the road from Rainier to Oak
Creek, on the Nehalem.
Second Dividend Declared.
Receiver Claud Gatch has declared
a second dividend of 10 per cent on
claims against the defunct bank of
Gilbert Bros, Salem. The cash, on
hand amounts to $10,900.
PORTLAND MARKETS.
Wheat Walla Walla, 7074c; val
ley, 77c. .
Barley Feed, $20.00 per ton; brew
ing, $21.
Flour Best grades, $3.95 4.30;
graham, $3.453.85.
Millstuffs Bran, $23 per ton;-middlings,
$27; shorts, $23; chop, $18.
Oats No. 1 white, $1.10 1.15;
gray, $1.05 per cental.
Hay Timothy, $2021; clover,
nominal; cheat, $1516 per ton.
Potatoes Best Burpanks, 50 75c
per sack ; ordinary, 3545c per cental,
growers' prices; Merced sweets, $3
3.50 per cental.
Poultry Chickens, mixed,. ll12c;
young, 13 14c; hens, 12c; turkeys,
live, 1617c; dressed, 20922c; ducka,
$7.007.50 per dozen; geese, $6.00
6.50.
Cheese Full cream, twins, 154
16c; Young America, 1515c; fact
ory prices, llc less.
Butter Fancy creamery, 2026c
per pound; extras, '22c; dairy, 20
22c; store, 16c18.
Eggs 17 20c per dozen.
Hops Choice, 1820c per pound.
Wool Valley,12 J17c:Eastern Or
egon, 814e; mohair, 3537c.
Beef Gross, cows, 34c, per
pound; steere, 55jc; dressed, 8Kc.
v Veal 7K8c. , ' - '
Mntton Gross, $3.50 per pound;
dressed, 66c.
' Lambs Gross, 4c per pound;
dreeesd, 7Hs- '
, Hogs Gross, 66 He per pound ;
dressed, 7se. -
CHINA STILL HOLD1NQ OUT.
Russian Demands in Manchuria Have Not
Yet Been (Iran ted.
Tokio, June 16. The MainichI pub
lishes a dispatch giving the alleged
history of the'Manchurlan secret tre
aty on the authority of a Minister who
said that China had refused to com
ply with the Russian demands, and
that Planchou, acting Russian Minist-
er, had wired to Europe that China had
nt
accepted. After the powers protested.
China sent another refusal to Russia,
whose government paid no attention.
The Russians have not withdrawn
their demands, which presumably are
still lying on the table of the Chinese
Foreign Minister.
The Minister states that the secret
treaty will probably be signed private
ly, and it is Imperative that Japan
should protest and assist China in re
sisting the Russian demands.
The Asahi's Tien-Tsin correspond
ent, under date of May 21, says Russia
has assembled 7000 troops at Liaoyan,
with a view to carrying out maneu
vers on a large scale in that quarter in
a few days.
The Corean government on May 23
instructed the Governor of Wiju'to ar
rest Coreans who have sold their land
and houses either to Russians or Chi
nese, and warned him that he will be
held responsible for the execution of
this order.
Press reports of the
the Diet now sitting show that the
government has encountered some dif
ficulty in supplying the recent de
mands for information of a consider
able section of the members in regard
to Russian action in Manchuria. The
main auestion of Russian d emnnda la
awaiting the arrival of M. Lessar, Rus
sian iviinisier to i'eKin, from St. Pet
ersburg. The Chinese riota in TCwanirci Pmv.
ince have developed in violence, and it
is unomciany reported that the French
Consul at Tonking has represented to
the Pekin Government that imlsso
the insurgents are suppressed French
troops will be sent across the frontier
A. 1 1 i 1 . .
10 queii me aisturbance.
IMPORTANT LAND RULING.
When Land Is Non-Mineral Even Though
It Contains Minerals.
Washington, June 14. In a recent
contest arising in the State of Wash
ington, the Secretary of the Interior
holds that when the field notes and
surveyor's returns make no notation
whatever, of minerals in public lands
that have -been, 'surveyed; such lands
are considered and treated as given a
non-mineral classification by the sur
veyor. Furthe, that lands classified as
non-mineral at the time of the Govern
ment survey are of the class of lands
subject to selection in lieu of lands
relinquished within forest reserves,
and the character of the lands so class
ified and selected will not be investi
gated on a protest presented after the
survey and selection, and alleging the
present mineral character of the lands.
The importance of this decision is
manifest. In the case at issue the
Northern Pacific Railway Company
relinquished a tract in the Rainier
Forest Reserve and selected in lieu
thereof a tract of equal area in Mon
tana. One year after the filing of this
lieu selection a coal declaratory state
ment was offered by an individual for
the tract selected, and was rejected
because of the prior selection by the
railroad company. Investigation of
the records disclosed the fact that
while adjoining lands had been re
ported by the surveyors as containing
coal deposits, no such reference
was .made to the tract in controversy.
Therefore, the Secretary held the land
to be classified as non-mineral. - The
man filing the coal declaratory state
ment went so far as to allege
that the land he sought would
produce coal in commercial quan
tities. His allegations, however, were
overruled, as the prior selection
by the railroad company could not be
affected by a filing made one year
later. Hence the lieu selection was
approved, notwithstanding the appar
ent mineral character of the , lands.
Had the lands been originally classi
fied as coal lands, the railroad selec
tion would have been rejected.
Civil Commissioner Is Appointed.
Washington, Jume 16. Alvord Coo-
ley, -of Westchester, N. Y., has been
appointed Civil Commissioner by Pres
ident Roosevelt to succeed James R
Garfield, appointed Commissioner of
Corporation. Senator Piatt, of New
York, took lunch with the President
today, remaining at the White House
until nearly 3 o'clock. After his con
ference with the President he an-
nounced Mr. Cooley's appointment.
He did not indicate that Mr. Cooley
was his selection for the place. In
deed, it is said that the appointment
was decided on some time ago.
Finds a Prehistoric City.
Chicago. June 16. A dispatch to the
Inter-Ocean from the City of Mexico
says : "The ruins of a large city have
been discovered in a remote part of the
State of Puebla. by Francisco Rodri
guez,-an archaeologist, who has just
made a report of his find to the gov
ernment authorities here. The city
contains large pyramids and exten
sive fortifications. It is situated In
the midst of a dense forest, and a
large amount of excavation will be
necessary to learn its true extent and
importance.
'' Consul Nearly Assassinated.
Havana, June 16. While the Italian
Consul here. Viagio Tornielli, was
seated in his ofnee yesterday after
noon, a young Italian sailor enetred
and inquired whether he was the Con
sul. On receiving, an affirmative re
ply, he whipped out a revolver and
fired. The bullet grazed the Consul's
head. The sailor was overpowered
and arrested. He gave the name of
Pietro Alliney.
FATAL FLOOD
Eastern Oregon Cloud
burst Kills Many.
NO WARNING GIVEN
HEPPNER RECEIVES THE FULL FORCE
OF THE DELUGE.
lone and Lexington Suffer Less Death
List Will Reach Fully 300 Safety Lay
Only In Flight Dead Are Burled In
Hastily Constructed Coffins Absence
of Qouhls Notable.. . ,
lone, Or., June 16. A cloud which
burst on the hills a mile south of Hepp
ner at about 5:30 o'clock Sunday after
noon let loose a hungry flood of water,
which swept down the hillside in a
wall 30 feet high and 200 yards wide.
Reaching the bottom of the canyon,
the liquid avalanche reared its mighty
front over the doomed town, and car
ried to destruction nearly every build
ing and human being that lay in its
path, leaving a waste of desolation to
mark its trail. The destroying torrent
raced down the narow gorge of Willow
Creek, inundating as it reached them
the settlements of Lexington, lone and
Douglas, but lessening in fury and in
volume as the thirsty alkali soil of the
valley drank up the water like a
sponge. Behind it lay nearly 300
dead, drowned like rats in a trap. The
suddenness of the catastrophe gave
the victims no warning, overwhelming
them for the main part as they sat
within their homes.
Immediately after the fatal flood
had wiped the maJor portion of Hep
pner out of existence, swift couriers
on horseback sped to warn the resi
dents of the valley toward the Colum
bia of the coming peril. Leslie Mat
lock, son of an ex-sheriff of Morrow
County, rode a wild ride for 18 miles
ahead of the raging waters. His horse
dropped dead, but he secured another,
and again another, covering the 65
miles to Arlington in seven hours. To
this Paul Revere of Oregon is undoubt
edly due the fact that the ranchers of
the Willow Creek country below Hep
pner lost so little stockTand property.
The Palace Hotel was the first build
ing to stem the tide, and all the guests
were saved; but houses below the Pa
lace Hotel were thrown out info the
street, overturned and wrecked.
Perhaps the greatest loss occurred
at the Heppner Hotel. This house,
which was run under the management
of Jones & Asbaugh, was carried
away. It is supposed that there were
about 50 guests in this hotel, all of
whom are reported to be lost. The
proprietors themselves were saved,
but their families are among the dead.
The entire residence portion of Hep
pner was destroyed, but the business
houses, being on higher ground, and
being generally built of brick and
stone, were not so badly damaged.
The schoolhouse and courthouse,
which stand on a sidehill, were saved,
but two churches, the Methodist and
Presbyterian, were completely wreck
ed. Around the depot the receding
flood left great heaps of driftwood
piled as high and higher than the roof
and the rescuing parties were forced
to demolish these pyramids of timber
in order to extricate the corpses
which were tangled in the brush. Un
doubtedly many of the drowned bod
ies were carried by the rushing waters
down the valley. It is reported that
three bodies were found near Lexing
ton, nine miles below Heppner, but
there were no fatalities in Lexington.
No systematic effort has been made to
find the dead, who are undoubtedly
strewn along the canyon. Every avail
able .man from a radius of 65 miles
has been pressed into service at Hep
pner itself. Gangs of men are at
work clearing away the piles of debris,
rocks and timber, which lie piled in
Heppner's streets, and taking out the
corpses which are thus concealed.
About 100 persons have been buried
in Heppner's graveyard today. Owing
to the entire absence of proper facili
ties for caring for the dead, the vic
tims of the flood were, for the most
part, interred in common crates. The
ghouls who are usually found, like hur
man vultures, rifling the pockets of
the dead in such great disasters as the
one which has stricken Heppner, are
inthis case, fortunately absent, and
the vigilance committees and patrols
which were so necessary at Johnstown
and Galveston floods, seem to be un
necessary in Oregon.
A relief train sent from The Dalles
reached lone last night and will pro
ceed to Heppner as soon as possible.
A wrecking train, with gangs of men
to repair both the tracks and telegraph
wires left last night. It is expectea
that communication with Lexington,
17 miles from Heppner, will be restor
ed early this morning.
Court street, at Heppner, on the
bank of the stream, Is swept clean as
a eravel bar from end to end. Not
even the foundations of a long line of
beautiful residences are left.
Everv business house, except the ho
tel. Fair store and Odd jrenow s ouna
ine. along the side of the street on
which the bank stands are wrecks. A
large building Is jammed into the drug
store and several otner structures are
in the middle of the same street. Resi
dences are turned over or torn to piec
es. Mud, slime and misery are every
where. The water was 15 feet high in. Hep
pner's streets and rose over the new
courthouse wall. It came down Palm
TTnric. ehleflv. but was a torrent on all
hillsides. Enormous piles of rock and
gravel have been washed down the
canyon five miles tip on Butter creek.
The flood came almost instantly and
lnnted one hour. The people thought
it was only a repetition of the cloud
burst a few days ago, and were not
alarmed until it was too late. Houses
were surounded by raging torrents,
which sucked every thing movable in
to their twisting eddies and escape?was
impossible. ,
Many people slept in the courthouse
last night, and any place they can
make a bed.
Many people are arriving at Hepp
neJ; There are no beds, and visitors
will be compelled to rough it while
they 8tav. Provision j ova - j-j
but rather help to bury their dead and
clear away the debris. The absence of
ice or embalming fluids haa nas.if.
ed the hurried burial bf many bodies.
wuuiu omerwise nave been pre
served for the arrival of relatives.'
Three live hahiea hniu r j
whose parents are lost, and identifica-
uuu bo iar Deen impossible
Families are hrnlren tn nnnn
- . , . vw iiO, cuts
latner alone remains nr a if
or daughter, and little children left
orphans.
Ellas Connor, a atnoV-raiay f t
returned from Hnnnor at- 9
this morning. He left the scene of the
disaster at 6 o'clock, and brings the
latest news from the scene.
It is now known," said Mr. Conner,
that at least 27K nr snn
drowned. One hundred and fifteen
corpses have been hnattiv hu-i
wooden boxes and some were merely
nmyijcu iu uiannets. Tnere were still
several waeon load a of-
Way to tho romotoriT Tv.nn t i-ju.
- - - j .ucu x 1C1L.
Heppner itself has now been pretty
wnueu, except in piles of de
bris, where it la thnmrht tyat v.
of bodies will be found.
Between lone and Heppner," said
Mr. Conner, "there are great piles of
debris, but the flood passed so quick
ly that th road a hair a. nnf Hon.
- irecu sell
ously damaged. The railroad track,
however, from Lexington on is badly
torn up. It looks strage to see the
heavy Bteel rails bent and twisted like
corkscrews, and the heavy timbers
splintered like matchwood. In Hepp
ner itself the flood swept a clean path
a mile long, and one or two blocks
wide through the town, following gen
erally the course of Willow Creek.
The people of Hnnn
ized by the calamity, and men who .
uave lost tneir wives, children and
their all, go dry-eyed to the work of
assistance of others."
The town Of Hennner tha nrtn(nil
sufferer from the flood is 197 .miles
from Portland and 45 miles from the
Columbia River. It
Iation of, approximately, 1400, and is
me county seat or Morrow County. It
is located in the valley of -Willow
Creek, a con aid P.rahli otraatn tuViiI.
flows north into the ColumBia. The
valley of Willow Creek varies in width
Hum one-Dan mne to a mile and is
bounded On either tsid hv nrsninitinno
mountains which render sudden fresh
ets not uncommon, although at ordin
ary seasons the stream is easily ford
ed ai almost any point. At Heppner,
Willow Creek is Joined by Hinton's
Fork, which enters at the 'north end"
Of "the town. ,? Sftnrto" 9.d 'voava " ob-n o
cloudburst occurred on Hinton's Fork
and a wan or water 30 feet in height
rolled down the mountain sides into
WillOW Creek At that time tha rvar
was built principally on the south
siae or a nign oacEDone extending
from near the mouth of the Fork back
to the mnimtalnH 'Them via HMia
damage to the town and no lives were
1 J. f A A. .
lUBu kjl recent years, nowever, tne
town has grown considerably and a
lare" nnrtlrm of it la nn tha nnrth cldo
of this natural dyke and along the
banks or tne two streams, directly In
the path of the flood.
North of Hennnr nino milpa la the
town of Lexington, containing a popu
lation 01 tnree or rour nundred, ana
nina mllpa furthor la Tnna Mih haa
eight to nine hundred people. Accord
ing to tne latest mrormation, ootn 01
these places were destroyed.
A hfonnh nt th " T? Br TT fnllvura
Willow Creek (south from the main line
at Heppner Junction to its terminus
at Heppner. Officials of the company
lioira vanauaA oHvipoa fhaf- fhoir tranlr
is washed away between Douglas and
Heppner, a distance or 30 mnes.
ACTION ON CANAL TREATY URGED.
President Gives Colombia to Understand
That Dallying Must Cease.
Washington, June 16. The Presi
dent today sent for William Nelson
Cromwell, attorney for the Panama
Canal Company, to confer with him
on the canal situation. Mr. Cromwell
spent half an hour with the President
in the forenoon, and the conference
was resumed by appointment at 3
P. M.
It is understood that the President
is .much concerned over the canal out
look. The Administration is not in
the least disposed to be impatient
with Colombia, and is willing to allow
the Bogota government a reasenable
time to execute its obligations to the
United States. At the same time, the
Washington authorities regard these
obligations as more binding than
those of an ordinary treaty, and cannot
admit the right of the Colombian gov
ernment to recede from them. If not
carried out by ratification of the canal
treaty, which comes before the Colom
bian Congress at Its meeting this
month, the United States hopes Col
ombia will find some other means of
executing its obligations to this coun
try as regards the Panama Canal. Mr.
Cromwell declined to see callers arter
his conference with the President.
United States May Object.
PelMn. June 17. It is expected that
the United States will object to the
transfer of the negotiations for the
American and Japanese commercial
treaties from Shanghai to this city, as
it ia imnnonihlp for the American Com
mission to come to Pekin. An edict
ordering the transfer has now oeen
issued without consulting either the
United States or Japan, which omis
sion is considered discourteous to the
two powers concerned, ine Japanese
negotiations have been suspended and
are at a deadlock.
Route to Crow's Nest Pass.
Butte, Mont., June 17. Official word
has been recived in this city to the
effect that the cut-off. from Columbia
Palla or Kalispel. on the Great North
ern, to Jocko, on the Northern Pacific,
is to be built at once, worn win De
commenced within 60 days. The new
line will open up the richest country
in the state of Mbntaria and furnish
a direct route from the Crow's Nest
coal fields to the Butte and Anaconda
mines and smelters.