The Nevada Democrat., 1862-01-25
The Flood In Oregon-Loss of Life.

A Corvallis (Oregon) paper has the an
nexed account of the loss of life aud de-
structiOn of property, caused by foods in
the Willamette. which occurred about the
first of January:
The little town Of Orleans, opposite to
this place, mostly owned by MIR. Isaac Moore
the owner of the Corvallis ferry, has been
entirely ruined. Mr. Moore's large ware
house and ferryhouse have been carried off.
The warehouse, by chance, only contained
a few bushels of wheat and barley, the
wheat having been shipped day or two
before the rise commenced. A large iron
safe was carried off in the ferryhouse. John
G. Summers house was carried away. He
estimates his loss at over $1,000. All the
families, some eight or ten in number, re-
siding in Orleans were carried over to this
town early on Monday. Most of them saved
nothing more than the clothes they had on.
There was from five to ten feet of water
round the houses all day Monday and Tues
day.
In this immediate vicinity the deaths as
far as heard from, amount to five. A Mr..
Garner, q saloon keeper of this town, was
drowned by the upsetting of boat while
attempting to save Other's lives. And Mr..
Abel George, whose family lived upon an is-
land about four miles above this town, lost
his four children by the upsetting of skiff,
while attempting to get to place Of safety.
On Monday morning Mr.. George started for
place of safety with his family in a skifr.
While attempting to land near the place of
Mr.. Haptenstall, south of this city, the boat
was carried into boiling eddy, opposite a
high bluff and siding to the current imme-
diately filed and upset, precipitating father,
mother and four children into the boiling
torrent. The little boy, Abel b. George,
was lying in the bottom of the boat, wrap
ped in some clothes hastily thrown in, when
the boat swamped, and was Immediately
carried down with il and seen no more. His
less fortunate sisters and parents caught the
brambles of an Overhanging alder tree.
which were the means OF saving the parents
but all the children were lost The little
babe, Sarah e., perished in the mothers
arms. Mr.. George, by some means, reached
his wife, and worked her up farther on the
alder limb, tied her wrist to it with a belt
which he had round him. In this condition
she staid, in deep water, sometimes under
it, and sometimes over it, for nearly three
quarters of an hour, when she was, taken Off
by Mr.. j. 9. Alexander and Mr.. Green j.
Smith. But the most heart rending part of
the tragedy was occasOned by the position
of the two little grls-Mary Jane, aged up
wards OF twelve years, and Anne e., aged
ten. They caught to the limbs of the alders
some distance further down the current
than the mother, and clinging for life to
their frail support for nearly half an hour,
ihofr 20 pit,p 10 Re 0hI 10
listen to the heart-rending cries of their
dear little ones for help to save them, with
out being able to render particle of asss-
tance.
The wharf of Messrs. Masters & Hull, at
Portland, was lifted from its fastenngs and
carried off. OF the damages at Oregon City
the Portland Advertiser, of the 9th inst
says:
Mr.. Ingalls,, who arrived in this city last
night direct from Oregon City Informs Us
is immense. When he left yesterday, the
ried away together with the Foundry. The
break-water belonging to the transportation
Company had also been washed away. The
Oregon City House has succnmbed and
aoated away, together with all its contents.
Seven houses at Linn City have been car
ried off, and some five or six others from the
Clackmas Bottom. The mills that were
washed away contained some 5000 sacks of
-four.
The streams east of the Cascade noun
tsins have also been higher than ever before
known, and considerable damage has been
done on Des Chutes river.