COAST OF OREGON AND CALIFORNIA. 



from it. When in the Clatsop Channel;, steer up for Young's Point, 

 keeping in from 5 to 6 fathoms water. The sandbanks on either 

 side of this channel are bold ; keep the shore of Young's Point close 

 aboard, and when abreast of Astoria, anchor, and moor with an ebb 

 and flood anchor. 



Should it be determined to make use of the Clatsop Channel, 

 the same directions are to be observed for passing the North Spit, 

 but when the Leading-in Cliff opens, instead of hauling up for Cape 

 Disappointment, steer direct for the Clatsop village on Point Adams, 

 which leads in the fair channel way. The breakers on each side will 

 be visible. Keep in the middle, and steer directly for Young's Point. 



Entering the Columbia River should never be attempted when the 

 passage between the North and South Spits is not well defined. It is 

 equally dangerous whether it be concealed by the breakers all 

 the way across, or so smooth as not to show any ripple or break. 

 Oftentimes the wind fails or becomes light in the channel between 

 the North and South Spits, especially when it does not exceed a 

 moderate breeze, and this is a position wherein a vessel is subjected 

 to a strong tide and heavy swell. The best time both to enter and 

 depart, is after half-ebb or before quarter-flood ; the tide then flows 

 through the channels and is confined to them. It is always 

 dangerous to drop an anchor in the channel, between the cape and 

 the end of the North Spit ; it should only be done in case of absolute 

 necessity, and not a moment ought to be lost when it is possible to 

 lift it, to proceed in or out. The sea-breeze or westerly winds blow 

 at times very fresh. A hazy bank in the western horizon is a sure 

 indication of a breeze from the west. When waiting in Baker's 

 Bay for a favorable time to get to sea, the state of the bar may be 

 judged of by its appearance from the top of the cape, and the surf 

 beating on the cape is also a good guide. 



There was little doubt in my mind, but that the North and South 

 Spits were undergoing constant changes at the time of our survey. 

 In the memory of many persons whom I met, Cape Disappointment 

 has been worn away some hundred feet by the tide which flows at 

 its base. The Middle Sands, which lie within the two spits, are 

 subject to still greater changes. During our stay there, a large part 

 of what was a dry sand-island, part of the Middle Sands, and 2 feet 

 above the highest tide, was washed aw T ay. On the western edge of it 

 there are usually heavy breakers. 



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