The Corvallis times. (Corvallis, Or.) 1888-1909, 1903-06-24
THE HIEppNER HORROR
SWAN 200 YARDS WITH TWO LIT
IKE ONES ON HIS SHOULDER
IN THE BOILING TORRENT.
Agent Herman Stuck to His Instru-
ment to the Last moment
Striving to Save Other
Lives He Lost His Own
Heart Rending
Scenes.
A Fathers HERo1sM.

A FATHERS HERoIsM.
/ Heppner. Oregon, June 21.-
One of the most thrilling edven-
lures was that of Tom Shuler, who,
with his family. was carried down
the stream in his house for a mile
and a half. His wife and two chill.
dren stayed in the upper rooms.
Below the town the house was shot
across the current to the west side
where it lodged in the debris $50
yards from the canyon bank. Shu.
ler then took his two little ones on
his shoulder aad swan 200 yards
in the boiling torrent, contending
with obstructions. He landed the
1.-TWO children and then struck out
for the house, got his wife and re.
Escued her safely.
NONE COULD AID THEM.
TIE Mcbride family, which was
lost, went down in their house. The
daughters screamed and beckoned
from the windows to Louis Kinney,
who, with his family, ran in the
nick of time from their house to es-
cape the death-dealing tide. Kin.
ney watched the whole Mcbride
family perish. Most of the bodies
have been found.
Zedda Mcdowell, years old, ran
to tell her mother to save herself
when she herself was drifting to
death.
| Pendleton, June 16-At the cost
of his own life Station Agent Ker-
nan, of theO b. & NJ, saved the
lives of the people living along the
lower reaches of Willow Creek.
According to A. P. Bradbury, a
Portland travelling man, who came
in from Heppner last night, Ker-
nan stuck to his instrument to the
last moment sending the news of
the onrushing food to lone. When
he was finally assured that the op-
orator below was informed as to the
situation Mr.. Herman tried to save
himself, and his wife, but both were
drowned. 7 he railroad station is
on the banks of Willow Greek and
| is two stories high, and on the up
per floor are the living apartments
of the agent and his family. Sun
day afternoon when the food struck
Heppner Mr.. Herman, his wife,
children and Frank Hart were in
the station. Mr.. Hart immediate
| ly set about seeing to the safety of
the woman and children while Ker-
nan went to his key to warn lone
and Lexington of what he saw to
be impending doom.
While the roar of the food filled
the station Herman bent over his
instrument trying to raise Lexing-
ton and lone. His wife had taken
the children in the meantime to the
upper floor and would not leave un-
til her husband had accomplished
his duty. Hart stayed, too, unwill-
ing to abandon them to their fate.
While the family gathered in the
room above were peering out to see
the onrueh of the food Herman was
telling lone that Willow Greek was
bearing down upon the towns be-
low a dead wall of water. The
message was answered and with the
water to his waist Herman fought
his way out and found Hart ready
with the children to make an at.
tempt to reach higher ground.
The nearest way to safety SEEM
ed to be across the tracks and up on
a rise beyond. Hart went ahead
with the children and Herman took
his wife and started on his way. In
the darkness another wave of the
oncoming food overwhelmed them
and when Hart reached a place of
comparative security his calls were
unanswered and he was finally COM
PEELED to take the fatherless and
motherless children to another place
in the certainty that the gallant
agent and his wife were among the
dead.
TERROR AT ARLINGTON.
Miss Carrie o. Millspaugh re-
ports that the people of Arlington
were apprehensive of such disas-
ter as that which deselated Hepp-
ner during large part Of the day, |
Tuasdav