New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1891-09-20
THE Iron GATES"
THE DANUBE RAPIDS-A BARRIER BEI"EEN
WESTERN AND EASTERN EUROPE SOON 10
BE OVERTHROW BY MODERN SCIENCE

THE DANUBE RAPIDS-A BARRIER BETWEEN
WESTERN AND EASTERN EUROPE SOON TO
BE OVERTHROW BY MODERN SCIENCE.
pooont cobIo dispatcbes from Europe to the effect
that Russia wants her naval cadets to learn INC
NAVIGATION Of the Danube, have caused many notices
TO be published about the famous obstruction III tau
river the Iron Gates,' name that Is souletlhles
spelled I'm the singular, when there are IN iact ior VI
the gates They form what is called the KhSsura'
sixty miles long, and comprising several passages
the small iron gate" the basin Of Mlianoyacz inc
nlcuresoue gorge or canon OF Kazan and the great
iron gatc7
In its issue of October 30, 1880, The Tribune gave
a brief account of the efforts made at that tine ny
the engineers 10 open navigation through those o"
Gatcs.n At that point the Blue Danube, winch i"s
a width OF 800 yards at Buda-Pesth and OF 2OOo nj
semlin and Belgrade, is only 175 yards wlde' ana
rms with great velocity between ellis winch are oOo
wards high at some places, while the depth OF the
river suddenly increases from twenty yards, ABOVE te
~Gates to eighty yards Immediately below inc poilO
nj which they begin The whole length OF Ue oo-
trr,ctons is about sixty miles, from AlbeG to sip,
below Orsova. The Danube, on It's course OF aOouO
LOO miles from the Black Forest to the Black sea'
flows ouetlv except at the Iron Gates" Where inc
rivor had 70 force its way through and along Tie
mountains Of Bohemia, the llaurusck, tlc A'uc N''-
pathans and the heights of the Leltha' Lake INC
Rhine and still more than the Rhine, the Danube -
n t'"''''ip
Austro-InmgarIan, Slav, Rumanian and bulgarian
countries.
fno Revue Franchise published in Paris for the
last eighteen years, and an authority III REGARD 10
ouestions relative TO European colonies ana eApl'rE
ous furnishes I'm its number OF september the IaV-SU
particulars full Of interest, concerning inc history anu
the actual condition of the Iron Gates IL Tei9rS
~ the work undertaken By the Romans OF puuHs
a capseway along the exceedingly narrow banks Ok
the Danube at that stage of its course. Upon rOcN
above the GOspOdjlnVr, or Women's Whirlpool '0
IN be seen stone tablets stating that, IN the year
"a A. D. the Attn and 9Th Roman leglohs DuliV, Oh
tn icbt hank OF the river the road the remains OF
which are vet visible AT another point on the same
hank Is the famous "Troian'S Table, erected at the
time NJ the Daciau War, 101 A. D.. the inscription
ON which Stone relates that this road begun unocr
TiberIus was finished by Nervas son. At the TOP Vi
the table Roman eagle and dophins are sculptured III
the stone . L.,
The ancients considered the Danube cataracts I'M
nossable The Revue Franchise" sketches brleiy AL
the attempts which have been made to suDdue inc
river at its most dangerous point. As carly as Tue
latter mart of the eighteenth century engineers HHo
the Austrian Captain Lautercr proposed pans 10 'h"V
effect But nothing practical was done at t'aV tio'
In 1894 tie gigantic project was taken up u"uer
the patronage OF Count stefan SLechcnyl- ue sFe''
Hungariano-and q short canal was dug across uo
rocky bottom Of DOike. But political occurrences ana
/
reu,aincd nj standstl until the question was t1Reh
nm nv the Congress OF Paris after the Cnmean war
The congress decreed the free navigation Of the Danube
nm March 80 1856 and the London congress Vi 100
recognized the right OF the Powers whose territory
horlered on that river TO raise custom house taxes,
destined 10 cover the expense Of improvements at
| the cataracts In the same year and upon the in
citation Of the Danube Steamer Company, an American
engineer Mr. MacAlpm, made an inspection OF the
mart Of the river which TO be opened to European
| trade But his plans were not executed OhV
three wears later in 1874, Turkey and Austro Hungary
| ,grecd 10 send mixed commission 10 study the
problem of the "lron Gates
The R;ssoTurldsh prevented the starting Of the
work, but the Berlin Congress took it up again, and
stimulated on july g. 1873, that the regularzing OF
the Iron Gates shall be intrusted to AustroHungay
some wears were spent in preparatory studies OF the
,,Ddcrtong: and also in waiting until the fnan, lal
crisis I'm Austro Hungary should pass away Finally
| In IsS0 the Hungarian Minister Of Public WORKS,
! Gobriel Daross organized at Orsoya the technical
bHr~an for the enterprise, and in september OF that
wear work was begun in earnest The contractors arc
! TO complete II in 1879