Semi-weekly independent. (Plymouth, Marshall County, Ind.) 1895-1897, 1895-12-18

guns of heavy caliber. The two largest
forts are at the narrOws. the one called
the \amazich battery nj kilid Bahar and
the other the Mcdiidieh little to the
nOrthward Of the town of Chanak Both
command the approach To the nai rows and
can deliver Il cross fire that woIld make
Il biz hole in any modern fleet.
The forts are not the chief reliance.
The Turk has taken to the torpedo in
way that will ast0nish his enemies. The
recent naval battles at the Yalu River
and Port Arthur show the terrible effect
Of .hc modern torpedo when Intelligent.
handled. The bottom of the Dardaneles
is lined with torpcdocs. and there are q
number of submarine mines. The tor
pedoes are arranged 10 be fired 10y cleo
tricity from shore. Nearly all these fort
resses along the Dar,lanclcs have been
built for many years. some for centuries.
They have been remodcled again and
again 10 keep pace with the modern prog
ress in warfare. The Dar,lanelles is the
HclIcspont or sea of IIellc of the ancicn -
1t directly connects the archipelago. an
arm of the Mcditerranean with the Sea
of Marmora. which is practically the inn
mense harbOr of COnstantinOplc 1t is
Very narrow and resembles rather Il river
at its mouth than vcritabe sea
DcfcTscs on the BosphOrus.
Coming to Constantinoulc from the
east. through the BoSphorCs from the
Black Sea- are heavy batteries on almost
every point on either side. At the two
Kovas, where the channel of tie Bospho-
rus narrows, there is Il formidable array
of Notifications. They are arranged for
a cross-firc, and five Of them are of recent
construction. These mount thirty heavy
Krupp guns each and are capable of sink
ing any war ship. The Turk has been
busiy terrifying his frontiers since his
last war with Russia. and he is now in q
better position TO fight than ever before
The old fOrtresScs OF Asia and Europe
stand on either shore of the RosphoruS,
about half way up, where the channel is
unusually narrow, and at Il point once
travelled by the celebrated bridge Of Da-
rius. The fort of Asia. Anadoli Iiissar,
rises on the lip Of ii pleasant riyulet,
which cmpties itself into the Bpsphorus
The fort of Europe, Roumeli. IIissari on
the opposite shore. is Of singular construc-
ton. The ground plan forms the charac-
tiers of the prophets name. by whom ira
dition says it was built in six days. by
permission of the Greek Emperor. This
fort possesses great strength, strategic
and defensive. 1t is well supplied with
wafer and the means Of storing provs-
ions.
The city of Constantinople itself occu-
pies triangular prOmonotory above the
Propontis. 1t has been strongly fortified
on all sides. including the side washed by
the sea and that which is the base of the
triangle and connects ii with the main
land. The walls extend twelve miles,
sweeping from sea To sea. running along
the whole length of the harbor and ter
plinating in the celebrated fortress of The
Seven Towers. At some points the foun-
dation of the walls is formed by huge
masses of rock. Il species of architecture
still To he traced in few of the most
ancient Grecian structures and formerly
termed CyclopaCan. In other ports par
ticularly on the side of MaImora. the
masonry commences regularly frcm the
edge of the water The most ancient por-
ton of the walls is necessarily that which
incioscs the ancient Byzaniium. now
known as the Seraglio Point, where the