<PAGE> PAGE 1
000 B000000 12/31/1998
000 C000000 908836
000 D000000 N
000 E000000 NF
000 F000000 Y
000 G000000 N
000 H000000 N
000 I000000 6.1
000 J000000 U
001 A000000 COLUMBIA HIGH YIELD FUND, INC.
001 B000000 811-7834
001 C000000 5032223600
002 A000000 1301 S.W. FIFTH AVENUE
002 B000000 PORTLAND
002 C000000 OR
002 D010000 97201
003 000000 N
004 000000 N
005 000000 N
006 000000 N
007 A000000 N
007 B000000 0
013 A000001 PRICEWATERHOUSECOOPERS LLP
013 B010001 PORTLAND
013 B020001 OR
013 B030001 97201
014 A000001 FLEET ENTERPRISE, INC.
014 B000001 8-35188
014 A000002 FIS SECURITIES, INC.
014 B000002 8-44986
014 A000003 QUICK & REILLY
014 B000003 8-17986
022 A000001 SALOMON BROTHERS INC
022 B000001 133082694
022 C000001 10650
022 D000001 6138
022 A000002 LEHMAN BROTHERS
022 B000002 132518466
022 C000002 3487
022 D000002 4352
022 A000003 BT ALEX BROWN
022 B000003 134941247
022 C000003 5029
022 D000003 2016
022 A000004 BEAR STEARNS & CO INC
022 B000004 133299429
022 C000004 3778
022 D000004 2634
022 A000005 GOLDMAN SACHS
022 B000005 135108880
022 C000005 3113
<PAGE> PAGE 2
022 D000005 2430
022 A000006 MERRILL LYNCH PIERCE FENNER
022 B000006 135674085
022 C000006 3835
022 D000006 1351
022 A000007 MORGAN STANLEY
022 B000007 132655998
022 C000007 2685
022 D000007 979
022 A000008 CHASE SECURITIES
022 B000008 132633612
022 C000008 3042
022 D000008 0
022 A000009 BANK OF BOSTON
022 B000009 042472499
022 C000009 0
022 D000009 2486
022 A000010 PRUDENTIAL-BACHE
022 B000010 222347336
022 C000010 1487
022 D000010 960
023 C000000 52134
023 D000000 28911
024 000000 N
028 A010000 3104
028 A020000 285
028 A030000 0
028 A040000 2832
028 B010000 3430
028 B020000 283
028 B030000 0
028 B040000 6373
028 C010000 5814
028 C020000 261
028 C030000 0
028 C040000 2016
028 D010000 4711
028 D020000 271
028 D030000 0
028 D040000 6976
028 E010000 8250
028 E020000 284
028 E030000 0
028 E040000 1842
028 F010000 4519
028 F020000 513
028 F030000 0
028 F040000 3482
028 G010000 29828
028 G020000 1897
028 G030000 0
<PAGE> PAGE 3
028 G040000 23521
028 H000000 0
029 000000 N
030 A000000 0
030 B000000 0.00
030 C000000 0.00
055 A000000 N
055 B000000 Y
056 000000 N
057 000000 N
062 A000000 Y
062 B000000 0.0
062 C000000 0.0
062 D000000 7.2
062 E000000 0.0
062 F000000 0.0
062 G000000 0.0
062 H000000 0.0
062 I000000 0.0
062 J000000 0.0
062 K000000 0.0
062 L000000 0.0
062 M000000 0.0
062 N000000 0.0
062 O000000 0.0
062 P000000 89.6
062 Q000000 0.0
062 R000000 3.2
063 A000000 0
063 B000000 4.8
064 A000000 N
064 B000000 N
066 A000000 N
067 000000 N
068 A000000 N
068 B000000 N
069 000000 N
070 A010000 Y
070 A020000 Y
070 B010000 N
070 B020000 N
070 C010000 Y
070 C020000 N
070 D010000 Y
070 D020000 N
070 E010000 Y
070 E020000 N
070 F010000 Y
070 F020000 N
070 G010000 Y
070 G020000 N
<PAGE> PAGE 4
070 H010000 N
070 H020000 N
070 I010000 N
070 I020000 N
070 J010000 Y
070 J020000 N
070 K010000 Y
070 K020000 N
070 L010000 Y
070 L020000 N
070 M010000 Y
070 M020000 N
070 N010000 Y
070 N020000 N
070 O010000 Y
070 O020000 N
070 P010000 Y
070 P020000 N
070 Q010000 N
070 Q020000 N
070 R010000 N
070 R020000 N
071 A000000 52134
071 B000000 35137
071 C000000 44356
071 D000000 79
072 A000000 12
072 B000000 4166
072 C000000 0
072 D000000 0
072 E000000 0
072 F000000 292
072 G000000 0
072 H000000 43
072 I000000 56
072 J000000 6
072 K000000 8
072 L000000 8
072 M000000 1
072 N000000 27
072 O000000 0
072 P000000 0
072 Q000000 0
072 R000000 19
072 S000000 2
072 T000000 0
072 U000000 0
072 V000000 0
072 W000000 7
072 X000000 469
072 Y000000 0
<PAGE> PAGE 5
072 Z000000 3697
072AA000000 767
072BB000000 489
072CC010000 0
072CC020000 968
072DD010000 3697
072DD020000 0
072EE000000 290
073 A010000 0.7594
073 A020000 0.0000
073 B000000 0.0500
073 C000000 0.0000
074 A000000 0
074 B000000 4165
074 C000000 0
074 D000000 51522
074 E000000 0
074 F000000 0
074 G000000 0
074 H000000 0
074 I000000 0
074 J000000 1044
074 K000000 0
074 L000000 0
074 M000000 1429
074 N000000 58160
074 O000000 0
074 P000000 29
074 Q000000 0
074 R010000 0
074 R020000 0
074 R030000 0
074 R040000 607
074 S000000 0
074 T000000 57524
074 U010000 5844
074 U020000 0
074 V010000 9.84
074 V020000 0.00
074 W000000 0.0000
074 X000000 2719
074 Y000000 0
075 A000000 0
075 B000000 49151
076 000000 0.00
077 A000000 Y
077 B000000 Y
077 Q010000 Y
078 000000 N
080 A000000 ICI MUTUAL INSURANCE CO.
080 C000000 15000
<PAGE> PAGE 6
081 A000000 Y
081 B000000 15
082 A000000 Y
082 B000000 100
083 A000000 N
083 B000000 0
084 A000000 N
084 B000000 0
085 A000000 N
085 B000000 N
SIGNATURE J. JERRY INSKEEP, JR.
TITLE PRESIDENT
<TABLE> <S> <C>
<ARTICLE> 6
<LEGEND>
THIS SCHEDULE CONTAINS SUMMARY FINANCIAL INFORMATION EXTRACTED FROM THE
AUDITED ANNUAL REPORT OF THE COLUMBIA FUNDS DATED DECEMBER 31, 1998, AND
THE AUDITED ANNUAL REPORT OF THE COLUMBIA FUNDS DATED DECEMBER 31, 1997,
AND IS QUALIFIED IN ITS ENTIRETY BY REFERENCE TO SUCH FINANCIAL STATEMENTS.
</LEGEND>
<CIK> 0000908836
<NAME> COLUMBIA HIGH YIELD FUND, INC.
<S> <C>
<PERIOD-TYPE> YEAR
<FISCAL-YEAR-END> DEC-31-1998
<PERIOD-START> JAN-01-1998
<PERIOD-END> DEC-31-1998
<INVESTMENTS-AT-COST> 51,359,035
<INVESTMENTS-AT-VALUE> 51,521,675
<RECEIVABLES> 2,472,802
<ASSETS-OTHER> 0
<OTHER-ITEMS-ASSETS> 4,165,505
<TOTAL-ASSETS> 58,159,982
<PAYABLE-FOR-SECURITIES> 0
<SENIOR-LONG-TERM-DEBT> 0
<OTHER-ITEMS-LIABILITIES> 636,149
<TOTAL-LIABILITIES> 636,149
<SENIOR-EQUITY> 0
<PAID-IN-CAPITAL-COMMON> 57,342,731
<SHARES-COMMON-STOCK> 5,844,221
<SHARES-COMMON-PRIOR> 3,913,232
<ACCUMULATED-NII-CURRENT> 0
<OVERDISTRIBUTION-NII> 0
<ACCUMULATED-NET-GAINS> 18,462
<OVERDISTRIBUTION-GAINS> 0
<ACCUM-APPREC-OR-DEPREC> 162,640
<NET-ASSETS> 57,523,833
<DIVIDEND-INCOME> 0
<INTEREST-INCOME> 4,165,777
<OTHER-INCOME> 0
<EXPENSES-NET> 468,748
<NET-INVESTMENT-INCOME> 3,697,029
<REALIZED-GAINS-CURRENT> 277,970
<APPREC-INCREASE-CURRENT> (968,024)
<NET-CHANGE-FROM-OPS> 3,006,975
<EQUALIZATION> 0
<DISTRIBUTIONS-OF-INCOME> 0
<DISTRIBUTIONS-OF-GAINS> 3,697,029
<DISTRIBUTIONS-OTHER> 290,221
<NUMBER-OF-SHARES-SOLD> 5,050,748
<NUMBER-OF-SHARES-REDEEMED> 3,469,996
<SHARES-REINVESTED> 350,237
<NET-CHANGE-IN-ASSETS> 18,245,424
<ACCUMULATED-NII-PRIOR> 0
<ACCUMULATED-GAINS-PRIOR> 30,713
<OVERDISTRIB-NII-PRIOR> 0
<OVERDIST-NET-GAINS-PRIOR> 0
<GROSS-ADVISORY-FEES> 292,249
<INTEREST-EXPENSE> 0
<GROSS-EXPENSE> 468,748
<AVERAGE-NET-ASSETS> 49,150,704
<PER-SHARE-NAV-BEGIN> 10.04
<PER-SHARE-NII> .76
<PER-SHARE-GAIN-APPREC> (0.15)
<PER-SHARE-DIVIDEND> .76
<PER-SHARE-DISTRIBUTIONS> .05
<RETURNS-OF-CAPITAL> 0
<PER-SHARE-NAV-END> 9.84
<EXPENSE-RATIO> .95
<AVG-DEBT-OUTSTANDING> 0
<AVG-DEBT-PER-SHARE> 0
</TABLE>
REPORT OF INDEPENDENT ACCOUNTANTS
February 12, 1999
To the Shareholders and Board of Directors of
Columbia High Yield Fund, Inc.:
In planning and performing our audit of the
financial statements of Columbia High Yield Fund,
Inc. for the year ended December 31, 1998, we
considered its internal control, including control
activities for safeguarding securities, in order
to determine our auditing procedures for the
purpose of expressing our opinion on the financial
statements and to comply with the requirements of
Form N-SAR, not to provide assurance on internal
control.
The management of Columbia High Yield Fund, Inc.
is responsible for establishing and maintaining
internal control. In fulfilling this
responsibility, estimates and judgments by
management are required to assess the expected
benefits and related costs of controls.
Generally, controls that are relevant to an audit
pertain to the entity's objective of preparing
financial statements for external purposes that
are fairly presented in conformity with generally
accepted accounting principles. Those controls
include the safeguarding of assets against
unauthorized acquisition, use or disposition.
Because of inherent limitations in internal
control, error or fraud may occur and not be
detected. Also, projection of any evaluation of
internal control to future periods is subject to
the risk that it may become inadequate because of
changes in conditions or that the effectiveness of
the design and operation may deteriorate.
Our consideration of internal control would not
necessarily disclose all matters in internal
control that might be material weaknesses under
standards established by the American Institute of
Certified Public Accountants. A material weakness
is a condition in which the design or operation of
one or more of the internal control components
does not reduce to a relatively low level the risk
that misstatements caused by error or fraud in
amounts that would be material in relation to the
financial statements being audited may occur and
not be detected within a timely period by
employees in the normal course of performing their
assigned functions. However, we noted no matters
involving internal control and its operation,
including controls for safeguarding securities,
that we consider to be material weaknesses as
defined above as of December 31, 1998.
This report is intended solely for the information
and use of management, the Board of Directors of
Columbia High Yield Fund, Inc., and the Securities
and Exchange Commission.
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP