Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1889-10-03
THE HOLLAND DIX rs.



writer in the Pittsburg Bulletin
says Ny business once called me to
little town in tine southern province of
Holland, which had been fortress, and
parts of its huge earthen ramparts aEs
still standing. 1t is situated at about
one meter below The level of the sea on
the banks of mighty river, which is
formed by the Rhine and the Mouse, and
whose waters, broad and deep, flow at
distance of few hundred yards from the
city gate. On either side OF the river
large dikes protect the land against inun-
| dations. To any one who has seen them
the story OF school boy preventing an
| humiliation by stopping hole in dixie
with his finger and holding it there until
he got assistance appears ridiculous.
These dikes are 30 broad and massive
that they are used for highways. In
fact, in Holland all the railways and
many of the streets are built on dikes,
because the land is low and in many
places so mRrshy that it cannot bear
heavy burdens without being strength
| ened. The town / was in is 80 low that
the tops Of the houses are but little
higher than the protecting dixie, and to
person sailing on the river hardly any
thing but the chimneys and steeples are
visible.
1t mad been busy day for me and a
tiresome one. When night came it did
not take me long to fall asleep and a.
dreaming. thought 1 was returning to
America, fancied myself, in the very last
hour of the voyage, standing upon the
deck of the ocean steamship, among
number Of fellow-passenge who were
as eager ss to set foot ashore of the be.
loved home. We were entering the dock;
sailors ran to and fro; o shower of COM
mands fell from the oaptain'a bridge,
though hardly audible through the noise
of the engine and the cries of passengers
and officers. There-bcom What's
that ? A cannon shot awoke sur
prised. II was the same old-fsshioned
bedroom, but the noise had heard in
my dream was not fancied. The whole
town was in an uproar. In the hotel,
too, heard the people RAINING up and
down, tslkirg and crying. 'rhsre
, must be fire somewherel" / jumped
, out of bed and began dressing, but had
hardly done SO when the church bells be-
gan ringing. Then, again a cannon shot
, another one, two, three. rushed out
, OF the room, down the stairs. Meeting q
waiter, / asked him what happened.
/ "Why sir, don't you hear the guns
! The dixie is broken, and away he ran.
Coming down stairs, / saw the street
crowded with people. Policemen ran up
I and down beating little alarm gongs.
( The bells were still ringing, while in the
soldiers barracks they were beating the
a drums. Officers were busily dividing
!. the people in groups of 100 each, and
s providing them with spades, sledge ham.
mers, wheelbarrowa, ropes and chains
| Each group, when counted and
= armed, was marched off to tn,
! river. had hardly arrived il
/ the street when an officer put spad,
Il IN my hand, and before knew it placed
/ me in one of the groups. 1 felt uncom
Portable, for was lightly dressed and
not know whether there was any DANCE
ahead. But, then, the people around M
appeared to have no fear. A few, will
a true Dutch calmness, were quietly smok
ing their pipes, and many women, an'
L even boys and girle were there carrying
8 spade or axe, as we'll as any. Everything
was done orderly with as little noise q
10 possible. Soon our group wes ready;
10 squad of soldiers took the lead, and oil
d we went. On the way learned that
q rise Of the water had weakened portion
= of the dixie, then in repair; it had sun
y little by little, giving way to the constan
pressure Of the water, and at last por
w ton of more than fifty yards had orum
III bled down.
G. Though there were women and childre
10 among us, we kept up fast pace. 500
we reached the ramparts, where the waite
e stood already over foot high. The
IL had, in the nick Of time, built ten
w porary wall across the city gate; it Wa
i. but loosely made Of earth and q few crol
o. beams, and the water, which alread
he covered the land between the rsmpar
IN and the dixie was pressing hard against j
Do The officers gave us no time to rest
presently we stood on the broken part
OF the dixie, filling the gap with earth an
az stones. Happily the water was cain
p though steady breeze rather increase
IN the possibility of large breakdown. v
D. were in the water to our very hips, and
queer sight 1t was. Squads of soldier
nothing but their blue jackets stickin
out of the water, wsre working in ms
ter-of-fact way. Groups of laborers wei
ch digging as quietly as if they were wor
ing on dry farm instead of on Il
,er banks Of an overlooking river. Close
~ ~ me young dandy, whom the alarm bel
ho seemed 10 have called away from dan
al ing party, stood with pickaxe in b
de nhuu, Wuiio tuo toii5 VI Lao ufo5o d
int were floating behind him, giving him d
at appearance of riding on the surface
~ the water. Suddenly load Of ston
NJ was thrown off the dyke. Down tn
IA came with crash, making a big wa
ia which almost lifted me of my fet
When the water was quiet again nothil
is more was visible of the dandy but
pm silk hat. Every now and then reli
ne party was ordered into the water, viii
ne others climbed to the top Of the dix
-, cold and weary.
he About an hour passed, when cry W
hts raised, 'sThe students The yacht club
Ich In an incredibly short time they b
Ids jumped into the water, repaired the ga
led and dug little canals to let the water Ok
lc- of the land before ths ramparts.
daybreak the civilians returned hon
and soon all had resumed their da
labors. such episodes are of freque
IN. occurrence, and in Holland eternal VII
an lance is the price of q habitable HON
an. Reversing the order OF nature, which {
ln- dams that the level of water shall
to below that OF the land, entails perpstu
m warfare a. ainst the ocean by the stur
81, Holianders.