The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1901-10-07

GOWN upon tnelr village, crushing lHell
houses like egg-shells and killing
scores of people; but such is the te-
nacity of their class that the survivors
go on as before, needing such acct
dents as little as they would q siege
and the thunders of guns above them.
More than all else, the narrow strait,
dividing the two continents, interests
you, with a stately procession of the
trade argosies of the world always
coming and going upon it. So long as
England holds Gibraltar, the trade of
the Orient is peacefully open-not only
to Great Britain, but to every civilized
nation, Nothing more beautiful and
picturesque can be imagined than the
birds-eye view of Gibraltar harbor
/ -ue ouIdHII qua 10 II!Ns 4seqSIq eul VI
from the heights above. Every manner
of craft that floats is crowded in the
| bay, from leviathan men-of war to la
teen-sailed feluccas. Just opposite the
So called pinnacle" which marks the
western horn of its srescent, the Old
Mole, or breakwater, extends eleven
| hundred feet into the bay About mid
way between the Pinnacle and Europa
Point, a new Mole has been lately
pushed a thousand feet into the sea
Here is safe anchorage for every battle
ship and merchant vessel owned by
Britain, and any day you may see
among them several hundred craft
floating the flags of all nations.
Though all is peaceful enough on top
of Gibraltar heights, where compare
lively few cannon are placed and pref
| ty little foot and donl1ey-paths wind
down to shaded roadways and the
town, far, far below, you are yet pro-
| foundry impressed with the prepara-
| lions for war, so evident on every side.
| The whole great rock is honey combed
| with miles Of galleries in which cannon
are mounted, and its base is completely
girdled with cannon. From top to bot
tom of the tremendous hill cannon
thrust their iron threats through bas-
lions and outWorks. Hundreds Of them
are behind portfolios cut in the solid
rock in hewn chambers beneath the
mountain, tier on tier while other
chambers are eXhaustless magazines of
powder, shot and shell. Every crag and
precipice is literally peppered with
cannon, from submerged batteries to
the topmost peak. At every angle out
of the mountain of stone can be poured
more awful destruction than ever is
sued from the craters of Aetna or We
suvius. Again and again, during the
two centuries that England has held
Gibraltar, it has been stormed and be-
sieged. but so far without avail.
Whether it could Withstand twentieth
century ornaments remains to be test
ed. Land batteries. fleets and IRON
clads could render the spot a perfect
hell for those imprisoned on the rock
On the other hand no labor and ex-
pense have been spared to bring its de-
fenses up to the highest pitch of mod
ern excellence. Engineers are always
at work adding new Notifications and
the latest tricks in the science of kill
ing, while gunners are constantly prac-
ticng their deadly art and weapons of
greater caliber succeed others seeming
ly invincible. But in case of siege the
greatest danger would not lie in the adj
versary's strength. During the long
years of peace large native popula-
ton has grown up on Gibraltar, and
unless they could be quickly deported,
starvation would compel surrender.
The Saracens were first to recognize
the value of this rock as strategic
point Long, long before the Phoeni-
clans, trading here, named it Alube,
and as Roman province it was known
only as a Pillar of Hercules which
marked the boundaries of the civilized
world, all to the westward being mys-
terry and darkness. The Goths succeed
ed the Romans in its possession; and
they We're followed by the fiery Mos
lens, under Tarek Ibn Zeyad, the one
eyed chief of Tangiers, who was as
brave as blood thirsty. He landed
here on the last day of April, in the
year Ill. 1t was in his honor that the
rock was named Gebel-al- Tarek (1ill of
Tarek)," since corrupted to Gibraltar
Then for seven hundred years it was
fought for by Moor and Spaniard, now
claimed by one nation, now by the 9TH
er; and since the cross of st. George
first waved above it Gin 1000. it has
cost England lives and treasure enough
to people and enrich kingdom.
Coming down from the signal tower,
you must visit LA Silleta," the little
chair, sheltered hollow in the rock,
overhanging Catalan bay, in which it
is said the Queen of Spain took her seat
when the great siege was going on.
She rashly vowed to every saint in the
calendar that she would never leave
the spot until the British flag was low
cred on the heights of Gibraltar. After
the siege was abandoned she still sat
there, held by her vow, though almost |
starving, until the British commander, |
hearing Of her plight, gallently low
cred his flag-just long enough to ena-
BILE her to descend
You should also pay visit to the |
tower and castle which is |
said to be the very oldest Moorish re |
main" in Spain, having been built |
over one thousand six hun |
dred years ago. 1t is almost entire in
It's massive strength, though honey
rombed by innumerable cannon balls
Its tower de Omenaje, erected by Abu-
81 Hajez, in the year 725, bears the
scars of thousand honorable wounds
inflicted during wars and sieges. But
it vet serves we'll for a powder maya
zine; while modern barracks and Off
,ers' quarters surrounded by gardens
ablaze with color, fill the area within
he ancient castle walls.
There are many interesting jaunts to
,e made from Gibraltar either on foot,
n the saddle, or in one of the linen-cur-
aimed phaeton cabs. Some of the
,leasantest LITTLE villages of Spain lie |