St. Charles City Republican intelligencer. [volume] (St. Charles City [Charles City], Iowa) 1857-1861, 1859-12-29

nincant fort, and useless CHARGE
The Spaniards never knew the value
OF this mass OF granite until its loss,
which now so wounds their national
pride. The Bourbons north of the
Pyrenees, aware of the Importance
its possession gave to England, were
necessarily urging their poor kinsme n
tools to pluck out this thorn in their
path. The famous siege by France
and Spain lasted four years and.
when their combined attempt to de.
prive England OF 1t failed, the Com.e
dArmis, who commanded the besieg.
ing forces. returned to France, and
with this sorry jest sought to conceal
his disgrace, La batterie lie plus eff.
fective fut ma batterie de cuisine"
Gibraltar's Importance as a depot
for coal has increased since steam
navigation and its Notifications have
been strengthened in due ratio with
its increasing Importance. Sir John
Jones was sent out in 1910, and un-
der his direction tremendous bastions
have been made at Europa Point,
Ragged staff, and near the Almeda ;
while heavier guns have been mount
ed on the mole and elsewhere. The
garrison is one of the strictest in the
world; Everything is on the alert,
the gates gre shut ut sunset, and not
opened until sunrise, and after mid
night civilians are obliged to carry a
lantern. No foreigner can reside on
the Rock without some consul or
householder becoming his surety and
responsible for his conduct. Permits
are granted by the police Magis-
trates for ten, fifteen, or twenty days.
Military officers have, however, the
privilege of introducing a stranger
for thirty days.
The town of Gibraltar is situated on
a shelving ledge to the west of the
rcck As one approaches, the defences
are multiplied the causeway is car
ried over a marsh called 1.-The Inun-
dation," which can be instantly laid
under water; every bastion is defend
ed by another ready-shotted gun
stands out from each embrasurc, preg-
nant with death. At every turn a
well-appointed well-fed sentinel indi-
Gates watchfulness which defies sur
prise. The inhabitants may be esti-
mated at 10000, exclusive Of militia
ry. In the daytime the town looks
more peopled than it really is, from
the number of sailors on shore and
Spaniards who 60 out at gun-fire
The differences of nations and cos
tunes are very curious; it is motley
masquerade, held in this halfway
house between Europe, Asia, and
Africa, where every man appears in
I t..,i2-rrSen o..se, ""S -=c-c----Tt ~ =
lang uagc. Civilization and barba
rism mingles. Offoreigners the Jews,
who are. always out of doors, are the
drtiest, the Moors the cleanest and
best behaved, the Ronda smuggler the
most picturesque. The houses, the
rent Of which are very high. are built
on principle Of paltry, stuffy vulgar
ity, with a Genoese exterior all is
brick, and plaster, and woodwork,
cribbcd and confined, and filled with,
curtains and carpets, which only serve
to breed vcrmin and fever in this semi.
African hot-bcd.
Gibraltar is depot for English
goods, especially cottons, which ar.
smuggled into Spain along the whole
coast of Cadiz to Benidorme, to the
great benefit of the Spanish authori-
ties, placed nominally to prevent what
they really encourage. The south of
Spain is thus supplied with as much
Of our wares as it is enabled to pur-