The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1899-02-15
THE WALLED CITY.
Tho ror,iffcations OF Old Manila.


The FOrtifcatiOns OF Old MAMMA.
Manila Correspondent Scientific American.
Perhaps the first and most abiding impres.
sion upon entering old M"nila IL that Oh the
strange com minging OF the old and the new.
Asone approaches the massive wallis ana oelore
a near enough View can be Obtained 10 ulstln
guish the strangely assorteu aftliery s. .ua,
points threatening over parapet or throuSn
emUrasure, Che lmpr ession Is altogether pi =
tureeque and romantic. One copJures up tue
days Of douoet and hose, hauoerK ano Nal
berd and half expects 10 hud the uoughty
Spaniards of the age OF Philip and "sooa
Queen Bess," keeping guard upon tne oroau
Stretch of The ramparts, or dolpg sentlnel
duty At the entrance gates. for tnose nl9S WI
. ing walls have looked out upon river anu paS
tor thrice. ODe hundred years, ana IN Tue az
when they were being laboriously construct.
ed the monks OF the eastern hemisnere were
yet busy putting the hnishlng toucnes u tus
Glorious calhedrals OF the old world. ana
Yipht well did they build these ola Walls
OF Manila; Tor II Is certain ina. nasonl!
which stoOd up SO we'll against the lerriuc in-
pacL Of our nineteenth century proJectiies
must have beeu more than impreguaoie H.
gainsL the feeble assaults OF medieval arlllleis.
On q near approach, however, the pIeas.nH p.n
Illusion Is dispelled for the sight OF modern
high powered weapons from The famous
Krupp factory. and The wicked CLEAN oi
machine and rapid-hre guns, orlng one ruueiy
back from the romance OF neoleval Times 10
the stern realities ui oar nineteenth century
civilization. hr ,h.
Pasig River. Tne Old town IL entrely S o,, sur
sonndeu by d wall Of masonry which ls every
where from 20 to 25 feet In height anu OF
extraordinary thickness, vary 10 Lact,
from 80 70 l0J ieet. On Lhe side Oh tne tOWn
facing the bay the wall extends parallel WIN
the shore for nearly a mile. AT the mouth OF
the Pasig River IL turns sharply lnshore, ioi.
lowing the course OF the river ior apout nail
mile. It then turns and swings pacR 10
Inc ualI la L..
Ihis intervening section between the river
and the bay being In the form OF semi
noctagon, and serving TO protect the town from
attack by land The whole circuis nt.as OF tne wall
Entrance to the town IL hao througn
series OF massive and extremely interesting
Old gates, some OF which are are sbii hnisInS
chinery. They are eight In numeer, ana
while they have general similarity, each
has its own points OF interest Tor Inc antlqua-
of,he walls runs the Metelle-a boulevard Of
considerable note. Leading out 10 the
.Metelle are Two gates, Puerta Portigo, located
near the river, and close down 10 tne great ar
senal now occupied by our troops. ana Puerta
HSta. Lucia, farther 10 the west. These gates
both Gate back TO the middle OF Tue last
century, and both have drawbridges anu
mpasslpg moats. ,,,s
Spanish barracks, is PuerLa Real and iartheT
toward the Pasig Is Puerta del Parian, Ihese
Two gates are almost facsimiies OF eacn otneI.
Each has outer gales and outer moats and ior'
!. titications While both OF them date back TO
early In the eighteenth century, tney nave
been remodeed and rededlcated at much
more recent dale. The Del parlan Sate con
E tains some hne sculpture aud bears the date
ofl7s3, while the Puerla Real WAS remodelea
and dedicated anew Three years earlier. botn
strucLurers trout on the Cascaca Aquada, the
fine highway which skirts the fortihcations
from the river " the bay. Beyond The Puenta
de Espana this highway Is known as The
Avenue de Ia MagelIances, aud ~ runs parai-
lei with the Pasig TO u point where Inc walls
extend 70 the waters edge.
The walls Of the Old city are 10 perfect con
ditiun, despite tneir great age. They are, per-
haps, The stronger ON Lhe bay slde, anu There
the guns are LuicKly planted. Overlooking
tne on trance TO the Pasig the old walls are al.
so very formidable, and on the iand SIDE tnere
are many outer walls and defenses. Iney are
constructed OF solid masonry. and, unless
they should be torn down, tney Will undonot-
edly remain for centuries TO come. The
ancient uoa.s, gates, and drawbridges, The
parapets, ramp parts, and gabionades the
por cnllises aud other cunstructlons known
10 The military engineer OF the days OF Alve
aud Cortez, may be studied here in their full
completeness.
Within the old walls Is succession OF
magazines and PRISONS. Here ID located the
prison OF the famous inquisiuon. That horror
oi horrors, the Dark Hose oi Manila, wneie
thousands OF nufurtunates have met thelI
doom, Or have b en- confined only 10 0e leu
pIaudlpg thousands: Out beyond the walls on
The bloody La Lnnella
On inc walls of olu Manila there are guns OF
Iall ages, patterns, and ca!loers, from the ola
sixtsen nj 10 century brass gun to the modern
machine and rapid-tIe gun. In front OF the
walls and covering the bay are the great
Krupp guns, which could have done cunrlder-
able damage 10 our neet al tne tlme OF tne
bonn bard III ent Of The city, out which all along
maintained u discreet silence. These great
guns are iour III numuer, ana oack on lhe
walls below the Paerta Sta. Lucia. are Two
more Of the same type but OF q smaller
caIiber. Every gate ot the Old city was
protected py guns Of a modern pattern, a.slst-
ed by others 0f a doubtful age. Along the bay
there are dZens Of m.ZZie leaders of all
shapes and sizes, and The RIVER was command
ed by strong batteries. Many Of The modern
guns have been dismounted and are now
stored away In The great arsenal but the olo
euus still poke their noses from the walls and
Iry 10 look dangerous. They are indeed an
Interesting study, aud here one can get al
idea OF the great advances along the llns OIL
ARTILLERY made during the last three centuries
and close TO the point Is most interesting
place. Here are extensive magazines 10
which are stored hundred OF tons OF powder
and Z cal quantities OF munltions o, war ioI
A. must be remembered that the Spanish
garrison OF Manila were In no DANGER OIL an ex
haustion OF military sIores one sees dis
mounted guns oy the dozens ana many tnous
and stands OF small arms. Que of The most
Interesting things 10 be seen here Is q nooern
machine gun, the invention OF Spanish
artillery officer, which was constructed IN iht
arsenal shops. II was used TO pump projec
tiles into our lines at Malate, and II proved d
model OF Its kind. Our experts are now
studying Its mechanism, which involves some
novel ideas, and result, we may have d
new terror OF warfare. Long lines OF projsc
tiles line the yards Of the arsenal. Our artls
ans are now at work here turning out sup
plies Tor our army and navy. Old Manils
itself Is q curious old place built on strictly
Asiatic plan. Besides the Qualifications anG
churches and public buildings, which form
the principal part OF the old city, there ar,
Queer Asiatic houses. with the upper stories
projecting out over the narrow streets, Ihe
latter, be IT. said, are 80 narrow that they
would not make decent alleys In an Amerl
can city. While new Manila, just across iht
Pasig. is making rapid strides IN adopting
our american ways. the parent city. Whlct
has stood sentinel so long between the Pasii
and the bay, has seen no change. II is stl
the same curious. sleepy old town. and 1t bids
fair TO remain the same for centuries to come