The Corvallis times. (Corvallis, Or.) 1888-1909, 1903-06-24

hurrylng rapidly up the steep hills
on either side of the main street of
the town.
"The fire bells rang, but other
wise there was an almost death1ess
silence until the sound of the wa
ters was heard. Soon after the
usually dry bed of the creek, rum
ming parallel with Main street, was
filled with water constantly increas-
ing in force. Fences, woodsheds
and other small buildings were car
ried rapidly down the stream. Near
ly all the horses and cattle in town
had been turned into the street,
but some livestock, not thus releas-
ed, were drowned.
''The canyon is very narrow at
Arlington and had the volume of
water been as great as that at Hepp-
ner almost the entire town would
have been swept away"
MANY FROZEN BODIES.
The apparent stoicism of the sur
vivors who have lost relatives is
astonishing, the only explanation
being that the situation is not yet
realized. Realization will come
when the thousands of helpers leave
town and the remaining population
finds the streets deserted. Many
women said today they were afraid
to stay here when the people were
left alone with their dead. Men
talked with dry eyes of wives and
children killed. Many say they do
not know what has happened.
While the bodies found yester-
day and today were in horrible con-
dition, many were frozen stiff when
brought into the hot sun, a phe-
nomenon rendered possible by their
covering of hail. Great banks of
hail still lie in the drifts with bod
les, or parts of bodies, enclosed.
Corpses not thus situated are so bad
that workmen dislike to handle
them. Where people were rolled
before a wall of hail during the
flood, they are stripped and their
flesh is whipped into shreds.
A pitiful scene was witnessed
last evening in the morgue, when
mother and her babe lay side by
side, having been found together in
a drift two miles below town, from
which six bodies had already been
taken. with more to come. The
woman was Mrs. George Kinsley.
There are many children still to
find.
No more laborers are needed, as
ali that can be fed are here.
Mayor Frank Gillian and Sher-
iff E. M. Shut have issued to all
persons not working orwith bust.
ness to transact to leave town as
soon as possible. No attempt is
being made to save boards or tim
bert is a question of getting the
ruins out of sight.
Inquiries are coming from points
as remote as Georgia for missing
relatives supposed to have been 10
The presence Of numer-
Gus trunks whose contents show
the owners were strangers, seems
to indicate that the death list will
be considerably larger than antici-
pated. t~
MRS. WILLIS STORY.
Mrs. Willis lies dangerously hurt
in a room at the Palace Hotel. She
said:
"Jim and / and the children were
sitting around the supper table
Sunday night. Baby was in his
beside me. Outside, it |
was raining so hard that it seemed |
The whole air was filled with fog.
We live onsthe creek bank and Jim
that we 60 over to moth
sr's. We started. Before we got
through the garden fance, the wa
ter was coming down and Jim said:
Why, the town is moving II
looked up and all the houses a mile
south seemed to be starting toward
us. We made a rush for higher
ground, and as the water got around
my 8-year-old boys ankles he
stopped and pulled back; otherwise
we all would have been saved.
"Jim rushed forward and pitch
I'd the baby on to the bank. The
BOY I was holding broke away and |
.an back home. Jim turned back |
Ind was carried off. I seized the
second boy and held on to the iron
If a railroad car near by on the
rack. I saw thes: water swing
around and carry the house and
he oldest boy down the creek.
Then big timber struck the boy I
Continued on Fourth Pags.