In One Ear: Around town

Published 6:00 am Thursday, January 22, 2026

Tidbits from The Daily Astorian, Jan. 21, 1881:

• Muddy water from the Columbia River extends to sea for a distance of over 20 miles.

Note: Although the South Jetty construction started in 1885, it didn’t affect the bar’s water flow until 1889. 

• (The) Tillamook Rock … fog siren arrived in Portland from New York last week … It will be taken by the Schubrick to the rock, and permanently erected.

Note: Installation of the foghorn completed the more than 500-day lighthouse construction ordeal. The lamp was officially lit Jan. 21, 1881, too late to help the Lupatia, which ran aground nearby in early January; the only survivor was the ship’s dog. 

• Capt. Hooper of the revenue cutter Thomas Corwin, who made an unsuccessful effort last year to discover the whereabouts of the Jeannette, expects shortly to be dispatched in the same direction on the second expedition.

Note: The USS Jeannette and its commander, George W. De Long, disappeared while on an arctic expedition that began in 1879. The ship was eventually crushed by ice.

The crew escaped, but eight died sailing to the Siberian coast in small cutters; and 12 died in Siberia of cold and starvation, including De Long. The two sent to bring help survived because they found a village. The wreckage of the Jeannette was not discovered until 1884. 

• Mr. McCormick’s (Oregon and Washington) Almanac for 1881 is at the city bookstore, Charles Stevens & Son.

Note: S. J. McCormick’s almanacs were incredibly detailed, and covered a wide range of everyday and esoteric topics. Annual versions are here: bit.ly/McCAlmanac.

• Mayor Thompson, of Portland, advocates large and continued appropriations, for the benefit of Portland, by digging a ship canal to that place from Astoria.

Note: Clearly, this rather intriguing idea didn’t fly.