The Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Or.) 1862-1899, 1880-04-23
IMPROVING YAouIHA BAY.


IMPROVING YAQUIHA BAY.
TIE San Francisco Chronicle of th.
18th has the following special from
| Washington:
| The secretary Of war. in response to th'
senate resolution of the 18th ultimo, calling
for data respecting the entrance to Yaquin,
bay, Oregon, transmitted to the senate q let
ter from Gen. Wright, chief of engineers, sub
mitting copy of a letter from Lieut.. Col G
| s. Stewart senior member of the board o
engineers of the Pacific coast, and also re
port of George w. Wood upon the survey o
the bay, dated Nov. %, 1879. From an ex
animation of these it is found that a bar OBJ
structs the entrance which is not fixed in po
wide limit. Col. Stewart states that thu
material of which it is composed shifts bscl
and forth under varying forces which ac
upon it. It's outflow from the bay is not sui
fcient to keep the entrance free from sand.
SO as to enable vessel to carry in it at low
water more than nil feet. He concludes by
adding that an artificial channel, excavated
| from deep water inside to deep water outside
would not, in the opinion of the board OF en-
| gineers, with the data before it, remove
permanently the distractions to the en-
trance.
The above extract we find in Tues
days Oregomiaa, without note OF
comment. While we are willing te
grant that the statements of Col
Stewart will have weight, and may
for the present, delay an appropria.
tion tor the improvement of Yaqnina
bay, yet it is consoling to KNOW that
Col. Stewards statements do not
coincide with the surveys of Lieut..
Chase and Capt. Wood, and the &C.
tual "soundings" of hosts of practi-
cal seamen.
Col. Stewart could not, of his own
personal observation, state that the
distractions to the entrance of va
quina are "NoT FIXED in position,
but rapidly movable within a rather
wide limit" Himself and party
were landed at Cape Foulweather,
four miles north of Yaquina Bay ;
took carriage and was driven to
Newport; went up the bay a few
miles, and returned to Foulweather,
same afternoon. This is al the op-
portunity Col. Stewart had for OBJ
serving the oBsTRUCTIONS to Yaquina
Bay.
Soon after this official visit to va
quina Mr.. R. A. Habersham was or
dered to make survey of the Alsea
bay and entrance, some Is miles to
the south of Yaquina. Here was
found a ENJOYABLE OBSTRUCTION"
shifting sands; and Col. Stewart,
without any intention O naistatenae'at,
has, undoubtedly, got the two places
confused in his mind, and the state
ment he makes above, should apply
to ALsEA, and not Yaquina.
As a POSITIVE and unanswerable
proof that the obstructions to va
quin. bay ARE NOT MOVABLE or shift
ing," it is only necessary to state, as
a fact, that the ranges and beacons
erected by Lieut.. Chase, in 1868,
were found by Capt. Wood, in 1879,
to be correct, remain unchanged,
and have been used by mariners all
that time. We assert, upon the au
thority of both Chase and Wood,
and without fear of successful con-
tradiction, that the INSTRUCTIONS to
Yaquina bay are soft, shelly rock,
easily removed. II is sunken reef
or ledge of rock. one hundred and
fifty yards across from deep water
outside to deep water inside. The
only sand that is, or could possibly
remain, upon this obstruction is found
in holes or pockets in the rock.
Of course no statement of Col.
Stewart, or any one else, will change
the FACTS in the case, or make one
inch more or less water on the reef.
All we desire is fair play and official
If Yaquina Bay is not
all we claim for it, we will give it up.
But we have not been striking In the
dark, or guessing at this matter for
the past fifteen years. We know
we affirm, and Capt. Woods
survey, when published, will forever
close the mouth of all croakers, and
enemies to Yaquina Bay. Facts are
stubborn things.