The copper country evening news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 18??-1907, 1898-02-21
THE HEIlLESPONT.
.s TURKISH FoRrIFIcATIoNs or
''- THE pARoANeLLEs.

.nts and the Channel Moro Of .
-. ".,,.e.,on Than tho Forts-Not Dimouit
). Run by the Lattsr-Amu'ins h1psr'-
..o.. of Naval on,oers'
...,. NJ the Dardanelles Is, as many
Inc narrow and tortuous waterway
know a-sat length leading In from the
OF ~ Esean to the inland sea OF Mar
nor'n INT what many do not know Ii
mora .ha turkish Qualifications OF the OAR
tns' ' 'ns least, those OF any impor-
dape''O are situated in a single locality In
tanoo ,.,n,tv Of the squatty little Turkish
inc :, Chanak- Kalesi Tor the Pottery
town yb,ch lies on the Asiatic shore q
Cas'ioy 90 an from the mouth OF the strait.
Few n" tbsse batteries-a low lying forti-
Opeo, constructed of mud, or rather clay
nca,ioI 500 here and there with stono-is
waii', "A NJ Chanak- Kalesi itself. Another
sl'.ad about two miles further north
p'"th the same shore, while Immediately
eass :. tha strait from Chanak Kalesi other
a ciV,s have been reared on some
pa'' h,oher ground. None Of those de-
wnas "a especially formidable, as mod
icn' sSort,aoations 60, although 1t must be
Or s,,,ttsd that Inferior as they are In many
aun n.cts thew do mount SOME heavy krupp
r' ps ~ modern construction and undopbt-
s Snoyer while torpedoes, 1t Is said, have
wi, heen sunk In the channel. Every
lasv' and then the Turkish governments
Suwo a new gun and sets It up at the OAR
S Su, with a sublime confidence that
thereby the integrity OF tne empiro WAL 70
efectuslly secured ,, -.
Aha handling Of these great guns, although
ths Osmanli soldiers are brave wnen wei
ofscered. and 1t Is probable that In the
want OF actual hostilities the gunners
,rould soon be driven from these defenses,
and many of the guns themselves be dis
reunited Thy the skillful fire at long
ranOe of a feet lying just Inside the lower
strait) before the Osmanh garrison could
discharge more than few wild shots
18th their intricate, but poorly managed,
SaI,,stio apparatus. What really adds
more 10 the strength of these doorway de-
tarsss Of Turkey, SO to speak, than any
Qualities of the garrison In these forts Is
the swiftness Of the currents aid the tor
thong character of the ship channel OF the
nardanelles. Yet 1t Is not improbable
,hat once crippled by a fire at long range
a nsryy and resolute captain OF modern
battleship could run the gantlet OF the
MINER batteries before the bewildered gun
rsrs could adjust their artillery to the
warship's varying range or succeed In ac-
complishing more than smashing OF
some of the vessels upper works. Out OF
a Acct of half a dozen vessels endeavoring
N force the passage of the Dardanelles,
two would probably be disabled or would
helplessly ground In maneuvering, while
the balance would steam triumphantly
past Gallipoli, at the upper end OF the
Dardanelles, and thereafter have absolute
" free course directly to the Golden Horn
and that part of the pretty Bosporus
overlooked by the windows and modest
facades of the Yildiz palace. 1t Is said
that in the old days of three deckers an
American frlgate, whose right of entrance
had been challenged by the Turks, hove to
opposite Chanak (as the orientals familiar
" and almost affectionately term the pal
ace). fred salute and then under the
cover of the smoke this raised-for that
was before the days Of "smokeless pow.
der"-made boldly up the strait for the
sea of Marmora before the Turks could re-
cover from tn6 oI ihVohPooS
any forcible remonstrance.
Another American naval officer tells an
amusing story of an experience that befell
him when his ship was anchored of
Chanak awaiting the reception OF ''pra
tique" After some delay boat was OBJ
served putting off from shore in the direc
ton Of the United States corvet. AS the
boat came alongside a dirty Turkish Off
Ger stood up in the stern sheets, and
pointing with his thumb In the genera
direction Of Ccnsteptiocple, exclaimed
"Stamboua git'' The officer of the decl
did not understand the whole force OF th'
expression Ego to Constantinople), but
with the quick wit of Yankee he In
stinctiyely OWNED the significance of thu
git" Ian imperative from the Turkish
verb gitmek), which seemed to possess {
certain resemblance to Yankee slang, ant
Immediately gave orders TO get the anchor
aboard and bear away up the strait toward
Stamboul as fast as the slow American
tub could travel.
Outgoing-that Is, westward bound
vessels stop their engines abreast of a Turk
lsh guardship no bigger than North rive
tug, anchored about two miles above
Chanak- Kalesi, and there the permission
In documentary form which they had re
ceived authorizing the navigation Of TIT
turkish waters by them they deliver III
before steaming past Chanak out among
the Greek islands of the Egean. IL ,
Venturesome or ignorant merchant steam
CT on entering the strait presumes to pas
on beyond a certain point, a shot is flret
across her bow, and the cost of the powde
thus burned Ia collected scrunulousl,
rom the owners or agents of the vessel OIL
ner arrival at Stamboul, as oriental logi
iaiis to comprehend why poor Turke,
should pay for any foreign disregard Of he
ruies.-Army and Navy Journal.