Wichita eagle., 1890-01-03
1sSMlfLAM
Daily eagle
THE DIKES OF HOLLAND.
WHAT AN AMERICAN TOURIST EX-
PERIENcED AMONG s THEM.

r6hiGiNCSO RMON0H ! ITEM.
A Break In the Middle of Night Announced
by the Firing Of 0annon-Men, Women
and Children Turning Out with Picks
and 6hovels.
Ny business once called me to little town
in the southern part Of Holland, which had
been a fortress, and parts Of its huge earthen
ramparts ars still standing. 1t is situated at
about one meter below the level of the sea ON
the bauizs Of q mighty river, which is formed
by tho Rhine and the Meuse, and whose wa
ters, broad and deep, flow at distance Of a
few hundred yards from the city gate. On
either side of the river large bikes protect the
land against foundations. To any one who
has seen them the story of school boy pre-
venting an humiliation by stopping hole in
dixie with his finger and holding it there
until be got assistance appears ridiculous.
These bikes are SO broad and massive that
they are used for highways In fact, in Hol-
land all the railways and many of the streets
are built on bikes, because the Land is low
and In many places so marshy that it cannot
bear heavy burdens without being strength
ened. The town was in was SO low that the
tops of the houses are but little higher than
the protecting dixie, and to person sailing
on the river hardly anything but the Chin
neys end steeples are visible
WHAT HE DREAMED
It had been busy day for me and a tire
some one. When night came it did not take
me long to fall asleep and a dreaming. !
thought 1 was returning 10 America, fsncied
myself, in the very last hour of the voyage,
standing upon the deck of the ocean steam
ship, among a number of fellow passengers
who were as eager as / to set foot ashore Of
the beloved home. We were entering the
dock; sailors ran TO and fro; a shower of COM
mands fell from the captains bridge, though
hardly audible through the noise Of the en-
CINE and the cries Of the passengers and Off
GERS There-booml What's that3 A cam
non shotf
Iawoke surprised. It was the same old
fashioned 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 running up and down, talk
ing and crying. "There must bee fire some
where!" I jumped out of bed and began
dressing, but had hardly done SO when the
church bells began ringing. Then, again a
cannon shot-another one, two, three.
rushed out Of the room, down the stairs
Meeting a waiter, asked him what had hap
pened 'Why, sir. don't you hear the guns9
The dixie is broken"-and away he ran. Com
ing down stairs, ! saw the street crowded
with people. Policemen ran up and down
beating little alarm gongs. The bells were
still ringing, while In the soldiers barracks
they were beating the drums. Officers were
busly dividing the people in groups Of 100
each, and providing them with spades,
sledgehammers. wheelbarrows, ropes and
chains. Each group, when counted and
armed, was marched Off to the river.
/ had hardly arrived in the street when an
officer put spade in my hand, and before /
knew it placed me in one of the groups.
felt uncomfortable, for | was lightly dressed
and did not know whether there was any
danger ahead But, then, the people around
me appeared to have no fear. A few, with
true Dutch calmness, were quietly smoking
their pipes, and many women, and even boys
and girls, were carrying spade OF ak as well
as any. Everything was done orderly and
with as little noise as possible. Soon our
group was ready; squad of soldiers took
the lead, and off we went. On the way
learned that rise of the water had weak
ened portion of the dixie, then in repair; it
had sunk little by little, giving way to the
constant pressure of the water, and at last
portion Of more than fifty yards had crum-
bled down
PICK AND SHOVEL BRIGADE.
Though there were women and children
among US, we kept up a fast pace. Soon we
reached the ramparts, where the water stood
already over a foot high They had, in the
nick of time, built temporary wall across
the city gate; it was but loosely made of
earth and few cross beams and the water,
which already covered the land between the
ramparts and the dixie, was pressed hard
against it.
The officers gave US no time to rest; pres
emily we stood on the broken part Of the dixie,
filing the CUP with earth and stones. Hap
PLY the water was calm, though a steady
breeze rather increased the possibility of a
large breakdown. We were in the water to
our very hips and a queer sight it was
Squads Of soldiers, nothing but their blue
jackets sticking out of the water, were work
ing in a matter of fact way
Groups Of laborers were digging n quietly
as il they were working on a dry farm in
stead of on the banks of an OVERLOOKING river |
Close to me young dandy, whom the alarm |
bells seemed to have called away from dane. |
ing party, stood with pickaI in his hand |
while the tails Of his dress suit were floating |
behind him, giving him the appearance of |
riding on the surface of the water Suddenly /
a load Of stones was thrown off the dixie |
Down they came with crash, making big |
wave which almost lifted me off my feet. |
When the water was quiet again nothing |
more was visible Of the dandy but his silk hat. |
Every now and then q relief party was or
dered into the water. while others climbed to |
the top of the dixie, cold and weary.
About an hour passed, when a cry was
raised, 1.-The studentsl The yacht club."
In an incredibly short time they had jumped
into the water. repaired the gaps and dug
little canals TO let tine water flow OFF the land
before the ramparts. AT daybreak the civil
ians returned home, and soon all had re-
suned their daily labors Such episodes are
of frequent occurrence, and in Holland eter-
nal vigilance is the price of n habitable home
Reversing the order of nature, which ordains
that the level of water shall be below that OF
the land, entails perpetual warfare agains,
the ocean by the sturdy Hollanders. Pitts
burg Bulletin.