Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1903-07-03
FROM THE FLOOD LANDS
Telegrapher Describes Incident
Of Oregon Cloudburst.
HEPPNER A VERITABLE TRAP

Charies A. Taylor Says the Town
That Was Swept Away Lay In q
Pocket In the observation-disclosures
Flood Drove Rabbits Into Railroad
Cars, and Passengers Thus Secured
Food.
+. g. Hart, the telegraph operator
for the Oregon Railway and Nayiga-
tion company at Heppner, recently
wrote for the New York World and
sent by wire an account of tragic mo-
ment in the flood In which he had a
miraculous escape from death, taking
with him four children. James Ker-
nan, the station agent, and his wife,
whose daughter (Katie) Hart had with
him. would have escaped also had not
Herman stopped to call Portland in an
effort to inform the outside world that
Heppner was being overwhelmed with
waters. Here is the account from Mr.
Hart, dated Lexington, Ore:
II was working in the Oregon Rail-
way and Navigation company's office
at the time that the flood was coming
down upon us. l was writing a letter
to my parents, who live in Hilgad,
Ore. noticed that it was raining very
hard, and, in company with Mr.. Ker-
nan, the station agent. his wife and his
fifteen-year-old daughter, watched the
creek. We did not realize that it was
rising so fast until we heard a terrific
roar. Then l called the attention of
Mr.. and Mrs. Herman to the flood
which was coming, with the water roll
ing over and over, picking up and
crushing houses as though they were
eggshells. cried: My God! Isn't
that awful? Come let us run for the
hills!
81 took hold of the little daughters
hand and those of three other little
children that ran into the station be-
fore started. l rushed for the hills,
Mr.. Herman and his wife following
Only by the help of Divine Providence
did l succeed in getting the four chill
dren out on high ground, and as gain
ed the higher ground l turned to look
and see how the best friend l ever had
on earth was making it. The rapidly
rising waters had caught him and his
wife. and they were drowned before
my very eyes. Neither tongue nor pen
can describe the scene, and 1t seems be-
yond human minds to imagine the
sight"
Heppner, Ore, as described by
Charles A. Taylor, the playwright, was
a veritable trap for such food as the
one which recently brought death to
a large number of its population. Mr.
Taylor has several friends there, and
believes that many Of them were vic
Tins Of the cloudburst.
''The first time / went to Heppner,"
he said to anew York Evening Journal
reporter, "was in November, 1901. The
town was twenty-six miles from the
and tedious. The railroad ran along
Willow creek, which was strong
mountain stream In deep valley.
"My company was the first that had
been to Heppner in three years, and |
never saw people SO glad to see actors.
There was no room for us in the
small but well equipped hotel, but the
landlord turned out enough guests to
make us comfortable. We were
treated royalty on all sides and moth.
ing seemed too good for us.
"The very thought Of going to see
a play seemed to thrill them, and that
night the little opera house, which was
used for charitable entertainments al
most entirely, was packed to the doors.
The same thing was true the next
night, and Mr.. Crawford, proprietor Of
the hotel, told me that every man,
woman and child in the city who was
not i'll had seen the show.
1.-THE wealth of the town was re
markable There did not seem to be
any poor people there. They seemed
perfectly satisfied with one another and
were willing to let the world outside
progress without their aid. The hotel
was about the only building in town
that was up to date. The rest Of the
houses were built along the main
street, backing on the creek.
"The town was in pocket In the
mountains. On every side were high
hills sloping down to the houses and
being drained into the creek which
proved so much too small when the
cloudburst came on Sunday Gune 14).
The creek Is like raging torrent all
the time. 1t runs into the Columbia
river just above the falls and few
miles below Heppner."
Elliot G. Houston of the Denver
Record Stockman, had an uncomfort-
able experience in travelling through
the water belt of Kansas during the
recent floods on his way to his old
home at Louisville, KY, says the Den
YER Post. With fortyeight other pas
sengers he was water bound for SIX
days on a Missouri Pacific train four
miles from Bridgeport, Kan. 1t was
impossible either to move the train for
ward or to go Back, and in a short
time the food supply was exhausted
and the male passengers rustled eat
ables among the farmers of the neigh
borhood.
1--WE exhausted the food the first
day." said Mr.. Houston. "At the start
we were told that we could have but
two meals instead Of three meals a
day. Every semblance of food was
quickly gone, and then it became nee
essary for the male passengers to gel
g.. coo