Northern Wisconsin advertiser. [volume] (Wabeno, Wis.) 1898-1925, 1901-07-25
A HALFWAY HOUSE.
Alden the Gibraltar of-the Orient--a
Valuable Possession.


Valuable Possession.
To some degree there is a re-
semblance between Alden and the far
famed Rock of Gibraltar It carries
with its possession none. OF the glory
won by the gallant fellows who wrest-
ed the pinnacle fortress from Spanish
sway and French aggression; its
previous history is uncertain and
petty. Nevertheless it was won by
the sword. and for years held by the
sword, and in many respects Alden,
perched on the fringe of the Indian
ocean is, indeed, as it has been called
"a Gibraltar of the Orient.
Under the dominion of the Bombay
presidency, it is a halfway house to
the east, an important strategical
position. In the long run from Suez
we may well feel gratified that this
coaling station is British property,
with strong Notifications to guard the
valuable supply of coal. Moreover,
another pleasing feature is that the
loyal and educated native is never
tired of telling you that Alden was the
first new possession Queen Victoria
acquired during her reign. The sue
cessful outcome of the negotiations
seems to have been largely due to the
efforts of Captain Haines, of the
Indian navy, who visited the place
repeatedly between 1920 and 1888.
Owing to an outrage committed on
the passengers and crew of a wrecke
bungalow an expedition was dis
patched from Bombay with Captain
Haines to obtain restitution. But it
required the persuasive arguments of
her majesty steamer Voltage. % guns,
and the Cruiser, 10 guns. and body
of european and native troops, 700
strong, to achieve the desired end.
There was brief fight. a rout of the
Arabs, followed by a treaty, which
brought new accession of territory
to the crown, but for nearly 20 years
afterward the place suffered from the
mosquito-like attacks of disappointed
potentates of the neighborhood. This
practically ends the eventful epoch in
the history of Alden, and later years
have recorded nothing more exciting
than steady commercial expansion,
which has been especially rapid since
the opening of the Suez canal
Previous to it's acquisition as an in
tegral portion of the British Empire
Alden was largely the pivot of a long
series of feuds and tribal wars be-
tween the petty Sultans and chieftains
of the surrounding country, while at
different periods it came under the
sway of the Abyssinians, Persians,
Turks and Egyptians. It's early
chronicles emerge with hating steps
from the uncertainty and glamor of
tradition. 1t does, however, appear to
have been bound up with the history
of Yemen. Alden is also mentioned as
one of the places where churches were
erected by a Christian embassy sent
by the Emperor Constantius about
A. d. 342.
For centuries the entire region was
the scene of bloodshed and violence,
and then came the time when, in the
days they were hardy explorers, the
Portuguese attacked the rocky fast
ness, but after stubborn struggle
were beaten off at the end of four days
with heavy slaughter. The English
and Dutch in turn visited the place
until at last it was woven into the
mighty fabric known to the world as
the British Empire.-London Tele-
graph.