The daily morning Astorian. [volume] (Astoria, Oregon) 1883-1899, 1888-09-02
THE BAR AT ST. HELENS.
Interview With Capt. jerks Of the United
States Engineer Corps.

An OregOniGn reporter found Capt
jerks of the government corps of engin
eers hard at work yesterday afternoon
with an assistant, upon plats of proiect
for the work on the st. Helens bar. Th,
captain has Just returned from the bar
where he has been engaged in measuring
the water and providing data for makinf
his plats.
He SAYS the condition of the bar il
much better than he anticipated, an(
that there is enough water there now t.
permit all vessels which are in the habi
of frequenting this port to enter will
safety.
fT found" he said, "the steamer Stat,
of California, which left Portland las
Tuesday night, lodged on the upper enc
of the bar, at quite distance from thu
best water. AS soon as saw her l asked
for the captain, and told him he was no
| in the usual channel. He replied that il
1 knew of better water he would like tc
know where it was, and that he would
like me to show his pilot also where il
| was.
"We got into my boat, and within a
ships length of the grounded steamer
cast a line, which showed the water al
that point to be twenty feet deep. The
State was lying in sand bottom, and can
be got away without any damage either
to the vessel or her cargo. A steamer
and lighter were both lying alongside OF
here, and were, 1 suppose engaged In
Tightening her"
eff the State had kept in the proper
channel she would have gone through III
safety, and 1 was able to convince the
captain of the fact"
| In making my survey l discovered a
new channel, which has been formed by
the action of the ietty. established a
new range at once, and it has been
adopted by all the pilots. In consequence
of my finding the new channel the fol
lowing official information has been is
| sued:
Notice is hereby given that the St
Helens bar range lights have been moved
down the river about one quarter of q
mile, to mark the channel across the bar
near the end of the jetty. The range is
E. N. E. 4 Z. By order of the lighthouse
board. U. SEBREE,
Inspector Thirteenth L. d. Dist.
81 do not think the pilot can be prop
erly blamed for the grounding of the
State, as they really have not the time to
look up the changes in the channels.
"When the Columbia came up the river
| Wednesday she passed the State. The
former is q much larger ship than the
latter, and draws more water, yet, being
| IN the proper course, she found no diff
Guilty whatever in passing the bar. In my
examination the shoalest water l found
was seventeen feet. To do all the sluic-
ing necessary it will not require more
than four days time.
"The tide guage reads now about four
feet above the lowest water, and when
the river becomes very low, the current
being naturally swifter, cuts out the
channel so rapidly that a fair depth of
water is maintained.
1.-The jetty is doing excellent service.
About 1900 feet of it is done and when
the remaining 1900 feet is built there
will be no such thing as a bar at st.
Helens.
"At Martins and Walkers islands |
found good water. All the distinctions
there are very light, being mere Jumps,
which any ship or sea going vessel would
knock right over. i am going down to
Swan island and Postoffice bar to make
examinations, At the former / expect
to find less water than L have yet seen
on the river. l understand there is con-
siderable difficulty experienced there.
When these bars are sluiced out the river
will be as clear as whistle to its mouth.
Operations will commence with the pro-
peller Watld Waltd as soon as the pro-
jects are completed and approved
OregOnian, I.