The Vancouver independent. (Vancouver, W.T. [Wash.]) 1875-1910, 1877-08-16
The Rock of Gibraltar.

| The ROCK or G1DralCar.
The whole height of the north front of
the rock (about 1 ,450 feet is seen; and it
looks so grand and so strong that we do
not wonder that the Spaniards do not
like its being out of their hands. AS we
re-entered the town we passed through
the market place, which lies between the
outer and the inner gates, near the
landing place. The market is sup
piled from Tangiers in Africa, Algeciras
and San Rogue in Spain. We saw on
the stalls beef, mutton and kid; fish
mullet, sardines, soles, crabs and oysters;
truit-oranges, lemons, dates; and veg
etables-potatoes, artichokes, tomatoes,
onions, lettuces, celery. Everybody goes
to market. We saw the officers wives
driving away in their little pony car
riages, taking their marketings along
with them. We went to see the famous
galleries cut out in the rock, and to
mount to the signal station on the centra!
peak of the rock.
Walking was out of the question, so
the guide got donkeys, each with
species of little chair on its back, and
man to lead it. Through narrow streets,
or lanes, as they are called, we mounted
up to the northern part of the town,
passing through the old Moorish wall
into the part of the rock called the Cas-
tie. Here the permission to visit the
galleries was shown, and soldier came
for our guide. Then we mounted (still
on the donkeys) through the long tun-
nels which are called the galleries, cut
in the solid rocks. At very short inter-
walls there were openings, like small,
hOllowed-Out rooms, with holes for WIN
dows. But on the floor of each little
room stood a cannon, the mouth Of which
pointed out through the window.like
opening. All round on the floor were
heaps of shells and balls. The whole of
the galleries look over the isthmus, or the
sea close to it, and so face Spain. The
cannon are quite modern, and work is al
ways going on strengthening the FORTH
cations, making new openings, etc. The
soldier who was with us said that the
smoke blew back into the galleries when
the guns were fired, and filled the gal
leries so that the men could hardly see.
The largest of the galleries that we saw
is great chamber called St. Georges
Hall, and here were five cannon pointing
in different directions. Under this hall
is another like it called CORVALLIS Hall,
to which long staircase, that we did not
descend, led down. After we had passed
through the galleries, the last of which
we walked through, we again mounted
our donkeys, and once moe climbed the
hillside, past various stations and out
looks, till we came to the little platform
on which the signal station is built. Here
is a small house where the signal man
lives with his wife and family. The
pavement of the platform covers tank
filled with rain-water. On the platform
stand the two guns, from one of which
the morning and evening guns are fired.
There is also the signal staff, and the little
shed where the telegraph is worked. A
small water trough has been made, from
which the monkeys-the only ones in
Europe-drink.
A book has been kept since 1856,
showing the numbers OF the monkeys
seen, and what they were doing at the
time of the observation. There were
only four to be seen at the time when the
book was begun to be kept; now there
are about twenty-one. Sometimes for
days together they are not seen. When
we paid our visit they had not been seen
since the visit Of the Prince of Wales to
Gibraltar; the soldiers thought the firing
of the cannon and the illuminations had
frightened them too much. There are
many caves and holes in the rock where
they can take shelter; they only come
out when they want water. On the rock,
near the signal station, there is also an
eagles nest, where for some time past
pair of eagles have, year by year, reared
their young ones. The eaglets go; the
old ones stay. We looked through the
telescope and saw the nest.