Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-06-16
FLOOD IN OREGON
Witness Tells of Awful Scenes
at Heppner.
TERRIBLE TORRENT
WAVE CARRIED GREAT TREES ON
ITS CREST.
Wall of Water Poured Down Creek Bed
From Mountain Side With
Irresistible Force.

ner, whose residence is on d dpoNo
Heppner, was an witness of the HOOD
disaster yesterday. In company with Frank
Spaulding, he left Heppner about 1880
o'clock Sunday night on horseback.
"On Sunday afternoon said Mr.. McAtee,
there had been severe rainstorm, ac-
companied with much wind and lightning
I was standing in front of the house ana
noticed that cloud of remarkable density
approached the top of the hill on the east
side of the canyon. l turned for moment
when a roar caused me to look again at
the hill. l saw a wall of water, the height
of which would be afraid to gauge, rush
ing down the mountain, carrying immense
trees and timbers on it's crest and tearing
the very rocks from their foundations.
Houses Torn Away.
1.-THE terrific storm struck the upper part
Of the town first. The residence of Thomas
Howard was the first to fall, and his en-
tire family was drowned In the Krug
home, also, every person was drowned, as
was the case in the Hale and Sailing resi-
dences All of these houses were about
four or five blocks above the business CEN
ter. The house of Abram Hamsick was
entirely demolished. The Palace Hotel was
the first building to stem the tide and all
the guests were saved, but the houses be-
low tnat structure were DlOWn out lntO tne
street, overturned and wrecked. The resi-
dence of G. A. Rhea carried away and
the entire family consisting Of wife and
three daughters, and Miss Adkins, cousin,
We're lost.
Mr. Rhea himself was absent in Portland
attending the Masonic convention. c. E.
Redfeld. whose residence was completely
destroyed was also absent with Mr.. Rhea,
and his wife and baby were drowned.
"a. G. Giegers house was carried away
and Mr. C,ieper drowned His family
is in the east
George Conser's house was reached next,
but the family succeeded in saving their
lives by rushing to the upper stories, the
house being carried down the creek three
quarters of a mile. Rescuers found that
the house had been cut in two, and Mr..
Conser was standing in water up to his
neck. holding his wife upon the roof and
keeping her from slipping with his out
stretched arms DR.. McSwords and ]. Ayres,
who were living in the same residence,
were drowned.
Clung to the Roof.
oscar Miners house was next demolished
and Mrs Miner drowned The rest of the
family succeeded in saving their lives by
clnging to the roof. All of the Wells fam
lily but two were lost, and the house was
carried away With the Wells residence
went the house of George Swaggert Mr..
Swaggert's two married daughters were
drowned, with their five children. The Nal
lory house was carried $50 yards, and was
found lodged against n store, and Mr.. NAL
lory, crippled old man, was found safe,
holding a baby. James Matlock's house
was next. Mr.. Matlock was drowned, but
his family was saved DR.. Higgs' house
also went.
Greatest Loss of Life.
Here one child was drowned, but the rest
of the family escaped. Mrs Elder was
drowned in her residence. The house of
Mr. Boyd and of Mr.. Walton were also de-
stroyed and both families lost
Mr.. Barton succeeded in saving all per-
sons in his residence, although they were
badly bruised. The house itself was washed
away.
Perhaps the greatest loss of life occurred
at the Heppner Hotel. This house, which
was run under the management of Jones &
Ashbaugh, was carried away. 1t is sup
posed that there were about fifty 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 house of Benjamin Patterson Mr..
Dunn and Mr. Noble were entirely demol-
shed and all persons in these three families
drowned. were the families of James
Jones and Henry Blair. The barn of DR..
Swineburn and the big livery stable OF
White & Meadows We're entirely destroyed.
f. J. Farnsworth and Philip Cohn were also
drowned.
The entire residence portion Of Heppner
was destroyed, but the business houses,
being on higher ground and being generally
built of brick and stone, were not SO badly
damaged. The school house and court
house, which stand on a side hill were
saved, but two churches, the Methodist and
Presbyterian, were completely wrecked
Piles Of Driftwood.
Around the depot the rising water left
great heaps of driftwood piled higher than
ba nf he Sta nd fba
parties were forced to demolish these pyra-
mids of timber in order to extricate the
corpses which were tangled in the brush.
Undoubtedly many of the drowned bodies
were carried by the rushing waters down
the valley.
Gangs of men are at work clearing away
the piles of debris, rocks and timbers which
lie piled in heaps in the streets and taking
out the corpses which are thus concealed
About 100 persons have already been
buried in Heppners graveyard. Owing to
the entire absence of proper facilities for
caring for the dead the victims of the flood
were for the most part inferred in common
crates
List Of the Dead.
lone, Oregon, June 16.-The names of
1S9 persons whose bodies have been recov-
cred, or who are missing and believed to
be dead as a result of the Heppner flood
have been obtained.
In addition the bodies of seven Chinese.
three japanese and twenty-one strangers
and babies, names unknown go to swell the
list. More than one hundred people remain
to be accounted for.
More Flood Scares.
VANCOUVER. B. c., June 16.-The grad
ual rise in the Fraser river still continues
and the lowlands in several districts are
under water. break in the Pitt river dixie
resulted in the submerging of several hun
dred acres of land. There are fifty farmers
living on Nacoman Island. and a steamer
was sent up from New Westminster today
to take off the people and cattle. So far
there has been but one drowning.
SPOKANE, Wash, June 16.-A dispatch
to the Spokesman Review from Echo Ore,
quotes N. I. Tooker of Portland who wit
messed the Heppner disaster. as follows:
From the time the flood came until it
went into the regular channel of the creek