The Republican journal., 1900-12-06
MADAME YALE.
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fortunes, there are still surprising ex-
ports from Bilbao Of corn, fruits, oil,
flour, wines, cutlery, firearms, madder,
hquorice, cheStnutS ETC., besides the
minerals above mentioned. The indus
trial establishments include several ex-
tensive rope-walks, docks for building
and repairing merchant-vessels, iron
and steel foundries, anchor-forges, pot
terieS, tobacco factories, cotton factor
les where sail-cloth principally is made,
tanneries, paper-mills glass works, man
ufactories of hats, saddles, and the cut
lery and firearms for which this place
used to rank second only to Toledo.
~There are numerous converts and
monasteries, mostly in the old town
and now devoted to secular uses. The
public buildings are substantial but
too English in style to be architectually
interesting. Among the finest are the
Palace of the Deputacion Provincial,
the arsenal, hospital opera house,
nautical academy and college. There
is a bank of issue and discount, found
ed about forty years ago, and several
admirable schools supported by the
local board of trade for gratuitous in
struction in design. architecture, math-
ematics and languages. The JesultS are
a very numerous and important body
here as in all Northern Spain. and how
ever poor the country, their colleges
and numerous churches are well sup
ported. Bilbaos chief attractions are
its beautiful promenades and shaded
terraces and fine sea-ward views from
the neighboring hill tops. The Plaza
Nuevo is prettily areaded square, with
five fountains in it, trees, statuary and
tower-beds All around it the shop
fronts and staiI-cases are built of red
marble, with large white eyes, quarried
near the city. y fine tree.shaded prom
enade borders the river, and paseo leads
into paSeo for several miles, ascending
terrace by terrace, so that you may
prolong the walk to the distant ridge of
Monte Cabras.
The iron ores of Biscay, especially
along the west side of the river IbaiZa-
bal, first began to attract attention
about thirty years ago They are chief
ly red or bronze ore hematites, occur
ring in the mountain limestone and
worked in open quarries. Now the
Somorrostro district is exclusively work
ed by British iron masters from the
north of England, several short rail
ways and tramways have been laid in
Guiding that of the Goldames Mining
Company, who possess a solid cliff of
iron ore, mile long and 2SO feet high.
Their wire tramway is carried through
a tunnel, six hundred feet long, down
to POrtugalete, where quays and land
ing stages have been built at point
called Sesteo. The Landore Siamese
Steel Company own important hematite
mines, also connected with the river by
wire tramway, carrying baskets for
loading Going down the river, by
tramway, railway or steamer, you pass
the station of the railway that leads up
into the hills to the Orconera mines;
and few miles further on are exten-
sive irOn-Works of the Desierto, Viz
caya, Altoahonos and other mining
companies of -dislocating names.
The tramway ride is extremely pleas
ant on a sunny afternoon. Passing
along the Pasco de los Canos, so-called
because it forms the roof of the great
aqueduct, which conveys water to the
city; past the queer old church of San
Juan, and the little Plazuela de la Cruz,
whence long flight of steps lead to
the cemetery, over whose portal curl
GUS warning is inscribed; through the
handsome English suburb, Abba, with
it's fine houses and wide boulevards,
you come at last to the fir-planted sand
dunes, interspersed with sea side villas
of Bilbao merchants. The tramway
terminates at Las Arenas, near the
rivers mouth, where extensive bathing
establishments are crowded during
half the year. Not far from Arenas,
reached by carriage-road across the
sand-dunes, is the quaint old town of
Santinella del Mar-the ancient Con-
coma, renounced as the birth place of
Gil Bias. If you have time to make
the pilgrimage, you may enjoy (?) a
supper of garlic pudding, dried fish,