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Facsimile
Transcription
(picture)
THE PICTURE SHOWS AN INLAND NAVIGATION CO. BARGE ST(R)ANDED IN THE CELILO RAPIDS, GIVES AN IDEA OF THE DIFFICULT CHANNELS, THE SWIFT AND SHALLOW WATER, AND THE GENERAL TERRAIN WITH WHICH NAVIGATORS IN THIS VICINITY MUST COPY. THE BARGE HAD BROKEN LOOSE FROM ITS MOORINGS AND DRIFTED TO THIS PRECARIOUS POSITION. IT WAS FLOATED BY THE RELEASE OF A HEAD OF WATER FROM COULEE DAM WHICH TOOK 2 TO 3 DAYS TO REACH THE AREA. RESCUE WAS CONDUCTED BY CABLES BETWEEN MEN ON THE BARGE AND THE SHORE AS POWER BOATS WERE NOT ABLE TO ENTER THE RIVER AT THIS POINT. THE NAVIGATION CO. REALIZED CONSIDERABLE LOSS IN THIS PARTICULAR CASE ALTHOUGH INSTANCES OF THIS TYPE ARE NOT UNCOMMON IN RIVER TRAFFIC. THIS BARGE IS TYPICAL OF THOSE FOUND IN THE COLUMBIA RIVER AREA.
EXPERIMENTAL BUOYS
The area between Bonneville, Oregon, and The Dalles, Oregon, consisted of two deep water pools which were formed by the construction of the Bonneville Dam and was well lighted with numerous river bank lights. a meeting with vessel operators a few months before the war resulted in the unanimous approval of the lights as they were at that time. Requests were constantly made for installation of buoys but none were developed which could ride the swift current during freshets. Oil drum buoys were set out in the vicinity of Celilo and, at the conclusion of the war, were still the most effective buoy markings. The buoys had been painted white, with red or black band markings as the navigators had found it difficult to pick out the solid red or black buoys at night. The mariners urged the development of a surface riding buoy equipped with reflectors as reflectors could not be installed on the oil drums. The dependency of tugboat operators on these markings was evidenced in the fact that if the tender assigned to that area was unable to replace an
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