Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1893-03-23

land OF the Seventeenth Century H.
as colonlzlng country she is seconl
only to England among the Euronon
powers. 1t is the country where thar
is the most popular education and laoa
corruption OF morals; where simnEc;t
and simple hospitality have descenda
from generation to generation lika
gentle heirloom.
So much that is romantic, poetical or,
suggestive for art and fiction has cIns
tered about the Zuyder Zee. Since tb
formation of this basin in the Thu.
teenth Century by the tremendous IN
undatlon that cost $4,000 lives and 40
stroyed millions of dollars worth
property, the cities along its coasts an,
it's people have known constant chanoo
There has been vast amount of mat
rial for tradition and legends horrowa,
from the history Of the old cities tho,M
have been destroyed, lands long sincS
devastated, and from the sudden rsino
of new cities, which in turn were raj
duced to poor villages. All sorts al
weird tales full Of fantastic horrors ara
still told on the shores OF the ZuvdegE
Zee.
Stavoren, the town on stills, was tho
oldest of the Frlslan cities. and Of ona
E
To-day it is an isolated village surround
ed by waste marshes and other imnpdi-
meuts to commerce. The sand bank
which clogs up the port is called Vrou.
wensand, or the Woman's Sand Bank
and the Hollanders have an explana,
ton, Of course, not only for the name
but for the presence Of the sand bank
itself. 1t is said that at, one time THEM
habitants became INDECENT through en-
cessive riches, the result ftheir extern
slVe commercial transactions. One rich
woman, a merchant, sent vessel 10
Dantzic for rich wares. Her order WAS
not understood, and the captain loaded
the ship with grain. This was too much
for the naughty woman, who ordered
the grain thown into the sea. The
Lord. it seems, had long deliberated as
to the best method of subduing the isl.
anders, and this furnished an occasion
for punishment. A great sand bank was
raised before the port where the grain
had been thrown overheard, and grad
ually the commerce was destroyed.
Holland has been likehed to fortress
with no It of engineers spread over
the country and controlled like an army,
continually watching over the internal
waters and keeping back the sea. The
work of strengthening and repairing
old dykes, building new ones and
throwing out sand banks is forever
going on. The land is always changing.
A map half dozen years ago would be
far from accurate now. The sea is con.
tinually washing away the land, retir-
ing from some portions and joining
islands to the mainland. Cities that
were once populous have been over
swept and almost washed away, and
islands are continually vanishing and
emerging.
The greatest engineering feat yet on
record was the draining Of the HARLEM
Lake in 1919. Only thirty-nine months
of labor we're required for this, and
Holland received q new province of
more than $4,000 acres of land. Three
gigantic steam engines were sufficient
for the work, one of which, the LEIGH
water-named IN honor Of the engineer
who planned the works. still in use
in times to turn the rain water into the
canal. The engines are kept in large
battlemented towers encircled by wiz
dows with pointed arches, from which
project eleven great arms, which, rising
and falling alternarely, put in motion rs
many pumps, each capable of raising
66 cubic meters of water. The reclaim
alton of the Zuyder Zee is much
greater enterprise, and it will take
third of century for its completion
NeaU York Tribune.