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Show LIVES LOST i People Swept Away in a Flood. Tvlany Houses Also Destroyed and Carried Away by Wall of Water. Disaster Occurs at'Mitchell, :0r ion Monday, but People Warned , of Coining. , , . ' FOSSIL", Or., July 12i .Meager particulars par-ticulars of .a cloudburst accompanied by loss of life and great damage to property "which occurred near Mitchell, in Wheeler county, last" night. Two 'llyea rerc lest TDothune. a. woman aged 00 years, and Martin' Smith, aged 91 years, being swept away In the Hood and drowiied. They were too old to assist themselves to a place of safety, and were beyond the rescue of stroncer people. In all twenty-eight housea In Mitchell wero destroyed, and in addition several large barns, one containing thirty horses, were'.swept away. Bridge and Mill creeks unite sevaral hundred yards above Mitchell, and tho converging of the rushing waters, created cre-ated a wall of water twonty feet high, which swept down toward the, town In a mhd rush, sweeping everything before be-fore It. Fighting its way through' the residential portion of the town, it swept more than a score of houses from Its path, and passed on to the lowlands beyond. Though the warning of the tlpod'H coming was brief, the Inhabitants, Inhabi-tants, were aroused to their danger in suflicient time for most of them to reach high land out of harm's way from the !flood. Thc future ma.y reveal tho loss of several lives. The Hood, fortunately, fortu-nately, swept down on the town at a time when many of the. people were in the' business section, otherwlso the loss of life would have been much greater. Remarkable Bains. During the past week or ,1-ten days Eastern Oregon has been thc scone of many cloudbursts and rains of unusual character., Farms have-been flooded In several sections and great, damage has resulted. "Wheat and fruit crops have been entirely or partially destroyed de-stroyed and In the lowlands alfalfa crops have been ruined. The cattle enmities have boon particularly par-ticularly unfortunato in this ' regard and stockmen report a condition of affairs af-fairs which gives cause for some anxiety, anxi-ety, especially If the phenomena continues. con-tinues. But on the other hand cattle will be greatly benefitted by, the rains in some sections where feed on the ranges had become short owing to the unusually dry summer. |
