The Tipton advertiser. [volume] (Tipton, Cedar Co., Iowa) 1856-1962, 1877-06-07

The Town u 0ohsnoems.
The tcenes In the lovely bay and in
the narrow Kigxag streets of the little
town are bustling and full Of life. The
bay Il dotted with ships and koats OF
many kinds. anchored In the shadow
of the rock. On the qaays Of the town
you recognize the reason of the saying
that Gibraltar Is an epitome of the
three continents. Here. besides En-
pIish and Scottish soldiers, who are
met on every hand i'm the vicinity Of
| the rock. are to be seen swarthy and
handsome Moors from opposite Bar
barry. with their snow-white turbans,
flowing robes, bare leather-colored
legs, and loose slippers down at the
heel: Jews from over the strait, in
gandy embroidered costumes, with
broad varicolored sashcs wound about
their waists. and baggy white trousers:
Spanish smugglers, in tight-fitting
coats and breechcs, fastened down the
sides with silver buttons; pretty dark
eyed women of Genoa, arrayed in scar
let eloaks and hoods, the latter trim
med with broad black velvet: Spanish
beauties. with long lashes and Ian
gushing eyes, wearing their sweeping
black lace wells and graceful mantil-
! las; and race of acclimated English,
bronzed and semi-Spanish in feature.
the natives of Gibraltar, upon whom
the Spanish have bestowed the rather
uneomplimentary epithet, Rock
Scorpions" Cut into the sea stretch
the various ''moles," the most conspic-
uous being the old and new moles,
while at the northern end of the town
rise the towers, battlements, and crum-
bling walls of the old Moorish castle
an imposing relic of the days of Mos
lem ascendency. In the distance,
among the hills and groves, peeps out
the ancient little town of San Rogue
"a curious place, and well worthy
visit. Every where about as well as
on the rock, you are reminded of the
fact that Gibralter is, first Of all, for
tress. Soldiers and guards, deploying,
lounging or on post, present them
selves at every turn; high up on the
cliff diminished figures Of sentinels
are seen passing to and fro: in the
pleasure gardens the most noticeable
persons are the officers, stroliing and
taking their ease; the tattoo Of drums,
the roar of cannon at stated hours, the
opening and closing of the great gates
that separate the fortress from the
town. all impress one with the militia
ry importance of the place. Still more
marked appears the military character
OF the rock, as you glance up toward
the beetling cliffs, and see, yawning
from the innumerable portfolios, and
above long ranges of hattlements. and
from many an embrasure and turret,
the cannon which guard the entrance
10 the Mediterranean: and a.. curious
to behold the marvels of the fortress in
their details, you cross the draw
bridge. 90 under the low arched gate
ways, pass the parade and Alameda.
/ ascend the irregular streets which
creep in steps up the sides of the crags
leave behind the quaint old Moorish
/ castle. and al last find yourself literal
ly entering the rock through an iron
gateway. The first glance reveals thu
immense labor- which have been un
dertaken to perfect by art the defense
with which nature has endowed Glib
raltar. One sees before him series o
galleries. tunnels and excavations
conducting apparently into blank o
Cimmsrian darkness. Here, far above
the beach. are dug out long tunnels a
the very edge of the headlong cliff
and as you pass along them, guided b,
the light of torches, you observe port
holes at intervals of fifteen or twenty
feet, with brass ordnance peeping out
menaeingly from every one. Ascen d.
ing constantly, you find that there II
tier after tier Of these tunnels. There,
if necessity should arise, the gunner'
might stand and pour their deadly fire
upon feet or cohort, perfectly shielded
by the massive and solid rock, which
no missile, however destructive, could
more than feebly indent. The Wind
sor Galleries, which are excavations
wholly within the rock, form con-
tinuous subterranean passage OF two
thousand feet in length. twelve feet
high, and twelve feet wide, and this
passage aseends by the same zigzag
course which is seen in the great roads
that wind over the Alps, till il gives
an outlet near the mmit.-GEoRGE
NJ. TowLE, in Harper's Magazine for
| yune