CROSSING THE DANGEROUS BARS ON THE OREGON COAST

Of all the motor-driven vessels of the Pacific, it is doubtful if any have to take the hazards of weather and brave the same perils of the deep as the gas schooners of the Oregon coast. There is no railroad reaching the Oregon coast from Astoria and yet this country is rich in resources and the coast is dotted with thriving little cities.

These ports are situated on small bays at the mouths of streams flowing directly into the ocean, and outside of each bay is a bad bar where the rollers of the Pacific tumble and break eternally. In a storm the force of the curling combers and the menace of the shallow sandspits on either side make the entrance to the harbors almost impassable. Along such a coast, and almost the sole means of communication of the coast towns with Astoria, Portland and the rest of the world, the little gas schooners like the Tillamook ply winter and summer carrying passengers and freight despite bars and weather.

The accompanying picture gives only a small impression of what these boats contend with in passing in and out over the bars. At the time the view was taken, the weather was fair and only a small sea was rolling in from the outside. In stormier times the combers tower high up over boat the size of the Tillamook.

Tillamook runs out of Portland, calling at Newport, Tillamook, Siuslaw, Umpqua, Coos Bay, Bandon, etc. She is owned by S. Elmore & Co. of Astoria, who have four boats in this trade, giving these ports at the present time a five-day service, which is the best they have ever had. Tillamook is powered by twin 140 hp. Frisco Standard engines, and is one of the staunchest boats in the trade. The photograph was furnished us through the courtesy of Albert J. Furney, first assistant engineer on the vessel. It was taken from the jetty at Bandon.