Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Benton County, Or.) 1900-1909, 1903-06-19

| alarmed until it was too late Houses
were surrounded by raging torrents,
which sucked every thing movable in
to their twisting eddies and escapeswas
impossible.
Many people slept in the courthouse
last night, and any place they can
make a bed.
Many people are arriving at Hepp-
ner. Ihere are no beds, and visitors
will be compelled to rough II whi1e
| they stay. Provisions are not needed
put rather help to bury their dead and
| clear away the debris. The absence of
Ice or embalming fluids has necessitat
ed the hurried burial of many bodies.
which would otherwise have been pre-
served for the arrival of relatives.
ihree live babies have been found
whose parents are lost, and Identified
ton has so far been impossible.
FAMILIES are broken to pieces. the
rather alone remains, or wife or son
or daughter, and little children left
orphans.
Elias Connor, a stockraiser of lone.
returned from Heppner at 2 o'clock
TINS morning. He left the scene of the
disaster at o'clock, and brings the
latest news from the scene.
1T is now known" said Mr.. Conner
that at least 275 or 800 people were
drowned. One hundred and fifteen
corpses have been hastily buried in
wooden boxes and some were merely
wrapped in blankets. There were still
several wagon loads of dead on their
way to the cemetery when / left.
Heppner itself has now been pretty
Well searched, except in piles of de-
orls, where it is thought that numbers
OF bodies will be found.
Between lone and Heppner," said
Mr. Conner, there are great piles of
deDrls, but the flood passed so quick
ly that the roads have not been seri-
ously damaged. The railroad track.
however, from Lexington on is badly
torn up. It looks strage to see the
neavy steel rails bent and twisted like
oorkscrews, and the heavy timbers
spl1ntered like matchwood In Hepp-
ner itself the flood swept a clean path
mile long, and one or two blocks
VIDE through the town, following gen
orally the course of Willow Creek.
The people of Heppner seem demoraI-
lied by the calamity, and men who
nave lost their wives, children and
their all, go dry-eyed to the work of
assistance Of Others"
The town of Heppner, the principal
sufferer from the flood is 1877 miles
from Portland and As miles from the
Columbia River. 1t contains a popu-
lat1on of, approximately, 14OO, and is
the county seat of Morrow County. It
Is located in the valley of Willow
Creek, a considerable stream, which
flows north into the Columbia. The
valley of Willow Greek varies in width
from one-half mile to a mile and is
bounded on either side by precipitious
mountains which render sudden fresh
cts not uncommon, although at ordin-
ary seasons the stream is easily ford
ed at almost any point. At Heppner,
Willow Creek is joined by Hinton's
Fork, which enters at the north end
Of the town. Seme 20 years ago a
cloudburst occurred on Hinton's Fork
and wall of water 80 feet in height
rolled down the mountain sides into
Willow Creek At that time the town
was built principally on the south
side of a high backbone extending
from near the mouth of the Fork back
to the mountains. There was little
damage to the town and no lives were
lost. OF recent years, however, the
town has grown considerably and a
large portion of it is on the north side
Of this natural dyke and along the
banks of the two streams, directly in
the path of the flood.
NoIIH oI leppucF ulAe Niles lS Iue
town of Lexington, containing a popu-
lation of three or four hundred, and
nine miles further is lone, which has
eight to nine hundred people. Accord
ing to the latest information, both of
these places were destroyed.
A branch of the o. r. & N. follows
Willow Creek south from the main line
at Heppner Junction to it's terminus
at Heppner. Officials of the company
have received advices that their track
is washed away between Douglas and
Heppner, a distance of 80 miles.