The Corvallis times. (Corvallis, Or.) 1888-1909, 1902-09-20

the rails and hammered it half way
down with rock for the purpose
of seeing it fattened by the train
He said that he did not think il
would throw the train from the
tracks.
Barger is too young to be prose-
cuted for train wrecking.
The engineer of the train will die
of his injuries.
| New York, Sept. 16.-The Kron
Prinz Wilhelm broke the Western
transatlantic record, arriving here
this morning after voyage from
Cherbourg of BOAT miles, in five
days II hours and 81 minutes.
The record was previously held by
the Deutschland, which was 26
minutes longer.
Astoria, Or, Sept. 16.-There is
more urgent need at the present
time than ever before for work on
the improvement of the mouth of
the Columbia, for never since the
great waterway has been used by
shipping has the bar been in worse
condition than it is now. So say
all the pilots whose business it is
to guide vessels into and out of the
Columbia. Where four years ago,
according to government surveys,
there was % feet Of water at mean
low tide, only 90 feet, can be found
now, and the conditions, in place
Of improving, are apparently grow
ing worse, and during the past year
the water has shoaled fully two
feet.
A year ago there we're two dis
tinct channels, one leading to the
northward, with % feet of water at
its shallowest point, and the other
leading southwark, with nearly the
same amount of water, and much
shorter distance across the shoals.
But now there are virtually no
channels. A bench of sand three.
fourths of mile in width, and of
about even depth, has formed clear
across the mouth of the river, some
three miles beyond the end of the
jetty, and at no place on 1t is a
depth of more than 20 feet to be
/ found.
The menace which this condition
is to shipping is illustrated by the
experience of the German steam
ship Elba, which was taken out by
Pilot Gunderson on September 5,
drawing "a feet of water. There
was an S.7 tide, and the bar was
smooth, but the steamship touched
the bottom three times while cross
ing.
The British steamship Polam-
hall, which draws 24.6 feet when
loaded, left out today to complete
her cargo at Tacoma, becauseit was
not considered safe 10 take her a.
cross the bar when loaded to more
/ than % feet.
Pilot A. E. Cam, in discussing
the matter this evening said:
Something should be done, and
Immediately, to relieve the condi-
tions at the mouth of the river,
temporarily at least Last year the
bar began to shoal during the
storms of December, and if it does
the same this year, with the large
number Of loaded vessels en- route
to this port, the delays to shipping
will be worse than ever. A chan
nel could readily be dredged out
/ pending the completion Of the jet
lies, and I hope the government
will take hold of the matter at
once"
| Victoria, B. c., Sept. 16.-Japan-
ese papers received by the EN- press
of India report the capture of two
sea serpents off the coast of Japan
by fishermen. One was male and
measured 48 feet, and the other
was a female, measuring 80 feet.
They had horns two feet six inches
long aid ears about two feet. The
male had become entangled in the
lnets Of the fishermen, and as they
were hauling it to shore the monster
came to the surface and beloved.
Finally finding that they could not
take the serpent shoreward in the
nets, the fishermen got firearms
from the schooners and shot the
beasts. As the male turned over
in its death agony, the female came
to the surface and lashed the water
in her fury. She was also killed,
and the remains of both were tax
en- ashore and thence to Osaka,
where they were exhibited. It is
| the opinion of scientists that the
tserpents, being disturbed by seis-
mic disturbances, abandoned the
deep water for the shallow water.
Fresh vetch seed at Zierolfs.
Just received. fresh Saratoga chins,