Port Astoria, 26th.—To-day embarkd on board ship for San Francisco bay, after having staid nearly two weeks at Astoria, waiting for the ship to be in readiness to leave. My stay at this place has given me an opportunity of learning something of this part of the country, the difficulty of navigating the river at this part of it, and the prices of some articles of produce, as sold here in these times of great excitement.
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Port Astoria is situated about 15 miles from the mouth of the Columbia river, on the south side of it. The place has not been improvd since its first establishment. There are only five or six houses in the place that have been built by the whites, excepting a storehouse or two built by the Hudson Bay Company. The country here and around Astoria, is rugged and unpleasant, heavily coverd with fir and hemlock, some of which is of giant size.
About 25 miles of the river from its mouth, is indented with bays by various names, making a width of from 7 to 10 or 12 miles.
At the mouth of the river, on the north, is Cape Disappointment.
Eight miles distant, on the opposite side, is Clatsap point, sometimes calld Point Adams.
Cape Disappointment, by its projection from the main land, forms a little cove, calld Baker’s bay. Here ships may lie in perfect safety.
On the south side, higher up, at the entrance of Young into the Lewis and Clark’s river, is Young’s bay.
At the mouth of the Columbia river, between Cape Disappointment and Clatsap point, is an extensive sand-bar, which renders an entrance to the river difficult, except by experiencd navigators of the river.
The first 15 or 20 miles of the entrance of the river, has a channel so crooked that almost every point of compass is traversd, which makes navigation by sail ships slow and dangerous. At every new point, ships are obligd oftentimes to stop several days and sometimes weeks for a change of wind. The only successful and speedy mode of traversing the river will ultimately be by steam vessels.