A Terrible Visitation

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Jul 1, 1903

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 29, No. 26.

A Terrible Visitation.

The town of Heppner, in western Oregon, was almost completely destroyed in the flood following a cloud-burst which occurred on June 14, bare mention of which was made last week. The flood came down the valley without warning, and the victims were caught, many of them while sitting at their evening meal. Everything in the path of the flood was reduced to kindling wood, and many of the buildings in the edge of the flood were wrecked where they stood. Human beings, animals, and the wreckage of homes and business houses were piled in a terrible mass along the course of the stream, and for days large bands of workmen have been busy in recovering the bodies of the victims. The first estimate placed the number of dead at 300, but this is evidently in excess of the real number. Latest reports state that 177 bodies have been recovered, and 35 are still missing. The most careful estimates now place the number of dead at 200. Relief funds were started at once, and thousands of dollars' worth of provisions and clothing, and several thousand dollars in money have been sent to the sufferers.