The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-09-12

from it to within shooting distance OF
Seattle and Tacoma. This station is at
Esquimalt, very near the city Of Vic
toria, on Vancouver island. It is con-
nected with Victoria by an electric
railroad. The character of the island
is mountainous, and the mountains
come down to the water so that they
form here a shelter from the Storms
and make the harbor al excellent ore.
This fort practically controls the
Straits of Fuca and the entrance TO
Puget sound. 1t is 80 near our coast
that the morning and evening guns
may be heard in the American town OF
Port Townsend, across the way. Gen'
Miles. who was stationed for long
time on the Pacific, says thai in TWEEN
ty-four hours the British fleet al hs-
olimaIt could take absolute possession
of Puget sound and destroy its cities
and towns. The fort thus to a certain
extent controls the two great trunk
railroads which pass through the
northern part of the United States ana
have their termini at Seattle and Ia
coma. / refer to the Northern Paclnc
and the Great Northern. The dry DOCKS
OF both Halifax and Esquimat are
large enough for the biggest battle
ships. The dock at EsQuimalt is cunt
of stone and is said to be one OF the
finest in the world.
DEFENsEs OF ST. LAWRENCE
Here at Quebec you see something
of the defenses which Canada has teen
constructing within recent years. ohe
has dredged the st. Lawrence so that
the biggest ocean steamers can &c 10
Montreal. and she has built SUCH
set of canals that small steamers can
pet clear TO the head of Lake superior.
The dredging of the st. Lawrence mas
made Montreal the chief seaport OF
Canada. and Quebec is now more than
aver purely city of defense. The city
ias been called the Gibraltar of Amer
Ca. 1t is as sleepy as Alexandra, va,
I'D were it not for the firing of the
rms on the many forts about 1t morn
tg and evening and the tramp1hg
low and then of company OF soldiers
through it's rocky streets, you might
lmost imagine it a city Of the dead. 1t
las about $4,000 people, and is, il any
hing. falling off in population. The
own is built on a great bluff, winch
Uses almost vertically $50 feet from the
St. Lawrence river, which at this point
is less than a mile wide. This bluff
is rocky. and from it's SIDES, in salllng
along the ST. Lawrence, you can see
the mouths Of cannon frownlng down
upon YOU. Upon the highest part of
the bluff there is q great fort, known
as the citadel This has immense walls
of stone upon the top of which are
many cannon. The fort includes about
forty-tWo acres, filled with barracks
and magazines. Back of the fort, some
distance away, are the plains OF Abra-
ham. where the French and British
fought in 1883 The English troops
landed from the British fleet under the
cover of darkness, scaled the cliffs, and,
under Gen. Wolfe, formed their lines of
battle. Wolfe died on the field, and
Montcalm, the French general, was
lnortally wounded. 1t was by this fight
that the English finally gor possession
of Quebec. 1t was about fifteen years
later that Benedict Arnold and the
American troops fought the British
here and were defeated.
INSIDE THE NOTIFICATIONS
I visited the fort this morning, climb
ing up the steps which lead from the
Duffertn terrace to it. NV camera
mitted. and under the guard of a
soldier I was shown over the fort.
The most of the guns are old ones,
though am told that there are several
seven and eight-inch modern guns
among them. There are dozens of NOR
tars. with piles Of cannon balls lying
beside them, and l walked over the
ground below which were stored the
magazines Of the fertilization. From
the edge of the battlement on the
other side of the river 1 could see three
other forts, which have cost I am
told, $25, 900, 900, and in the sides OF
the hill below me 1 saw the black holes
behind which were cannon. The SOL
der who took me over the fort was a
thorough Englishman and a thorough
beggar. He told me, in response to my
question as to how he liked the life
of a. soldier, that it depended upon
how he was treated from time to time.
Said he: you see, only get 80 cents
day for my pay, but visitors some