The Republican journal., 1901-03-21

aoii uead from exhaustion on the way.
mus the well of Ronda' acquired such
fearful reputation during the Moorish
wars that many defeated Spaniards
committed suicide rather than be con-
demed to carry water up its dreary stair
case. hetrlbution came at last, however,
ana the victims, driven to death in it's
oaVeInous recesses, were avenged-for
II was through "La Nina de Taio that
CHOSEN detachment of the Castilian
army, in 14s5, surprised the ..Laurelled
oaseie OF the Moors, impregnable to
ofoinary assault-not only by its natural
posltlon, but from the strength of it's
Notifications.
At the bottom of the gorge it is al
ways twilight, being only twenty or
thlrty feet wide to perhaps $50 at top.
The foaming torrent sends wind and
spray whistling through the dark de-
, ME with a deafening noise that COM
pletely browns the human voice Gazing
upward, the bridges at the top look as
II suspended in the air, and the people
on Them like notes in the sunshine.
| F1g-trees cling to the sides of the
preclpices as if growing out of the
living rock, and at one point midway an
lvy-covered castle stands upon a mar
row ledge that apparently can be reach
ed only by balloon. Looking closely we
saw some moving specks beside the
castle, which proved to be a flock of
goats - probably strayed from some
careless shepherd, who dared not scale
the heights to recover them.
The magnificent citadel of Ronda,
which once covered as much ground as
the Alhambra, has now only one tower
ana few feet of wall left standing.
The tower is of extraordinary height and
solldlty, and contains intact the guard
room and sentry boxes of the Moorish
soldiery. From it's summit the view is
one of unparalleled grandeur. l have
seen many famous views-from various
points in the Andes; from the castle of
Chapultepec overlooking the valley of
| Mexico; from Corcovada above the BAY
OF Rio de Janeiro,-but never anything
to compare with this. Far above, the
sharp peaks of the Sierra rise range
upon range, their ridges heaped to-
gether in wild confusion like the pillows
of mighty ocean suddenly turned to
stone. Below lies the city, with its
concentric walls-outworks of three ma
tions; Roman, Saracen and Spaniard, so
distinct in blood and religion; it's mas
sive houses enclosed and barred like so
many seraglios, and it's lovely alameda,
fragrant with roses and myrtles, orange
and oleander trees, though overhanging
cliff whence is a sheer descent of al
most thousand feet to the valley
/ The very heart of the town is pierced
by the frightful chasm, its walls scared
and scanned by the action of the ele-
ments, and its mysterious depths, to
which the sun never penetrateS, be-
lieved to be haunted by ghosts of the
Wretched captives who perished there
in the merciless crusade of the Fif-
teenth century. Beyond the city spreads
the green and smiling Vega. through
which the Guadalevin, ("deep stream
no longer a roaring torrent-black as
StyX-having escaped from the Tajo,
glides TRANQUILITY over its marble bed
amid wheat-felds, gardens and groves
of lemon, citron and olives, cherries
and peaches. The primitive mills which
line the river for miles had been grind
ing almost continuously for nine hun
dred years, while their builders have
been long, long forgotten. Think what
period! Nations have risen and fallen,
a new world has been discovered and
come into greater prominence than the
old-and still. like ''the mills of the
gods,' those ponderous wheels go round,
furnishing food for passing generations.
| Scattered over the adjacent valley are
numerous threshing floors - circular
platforms, slightly raised above the
ground, from forty to eighty feet in di-
ameter-upon which wheat is threshed
by means of the hillo, kind of drag,
furnished with spikes, and drawn by
horses driven at gallop. The grain is
cleared of chaff by being tossed into
the air from broad, shallow baskets-an
extremely laborious method, but ad-
hered to everywhere in Spain, because
of the ignorant prejudice existing
against modern machinery
From the gateway of the Alhambra
street leads past the bull-ring, (the
most popular institution in Ronda), to
the newest bridge which spans the Tajo
at its narrowest point But tins mod
ern'' structure was built in 1851. 1t
consists of one impressive arch of no
feet; and the architect celebrated it's
completion by accidentally falling from
the parapet and being dashed to pieces
in the chasm below.
Descending by San Pedro street, you
reach the Casa del Rey Moro,'' built in
the year 1O42 by ALMotadced, who is
said to have drank his wine out of