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Show ntmNLK ui^HsitK Page 7 There were 251 known dead. It was impossible to determine the number of missing, however, because many corpses were unrecognizable and a large number of visitors, perhaps as high as 50, lost their lives in the Heppner Hotel. Death lists included annotations such as "unknown man," "Little girl unknown," "20 Babies and Strangers not identified," "Jap," "Seven Chinese," and "Farmer." Another factor causing uncertainty as to the exact total of missing was the extreme difficulty in locating bodies swept downstream and in uncovering corpses buried under tons of debris. Searchers continued to find victims as late as two weeks after the flood struck. One corpse was discovered eleven miles downstream, north of Lexington, and according to speculation, some of the missing ended up in the Columbia River forty-five miles away. Debris was spread for twenty miles along a valley that had been prime farmland and orchards. Bits of clothing hung from barbed-wire fences. Bureaus, beds, stoves, trunks, farm implements, and children's toys cluttered the valley. Telegraph and phone lines washed away forcing Heppner to endure a virtual communications blackout after the flood. In addition, the U.S. Weather Bureau reported "the most unusual storm of its kind ever recorded in that section. Two distinct storms, one passing to the northwest and one to the southwest, have cut off all electric communications toward Heppner."8 First word of the calamity was sent to the rest of the world Monday morning from Echo 45 miles northeast after couriers arrived on horseback. In the days following the flood, orphans and homeless were sheltered in the homes of their more fortunate friends. The city courthouse, public school, and churches also opened their doors to the homeless. A few of the relief crews, eventually totalling 2500 men, brought their own tents |