The daily morning journal and courier., 1901-03-16

indispensable for the transport of mer. chandise through the mountains of An l dalusia, and move fearlessly over paths
 where the less sure-footed mule will not venture. They are preceded by a
 trained leader, which wears a bell and
 seems to be conscious of the dignity of
 his position, for, if one of his compan-
 ions try to pass him, he is as quick with
 his heels in stinging kick aimed at the
 offenders ribs, as the mayoral is with
 his whip. Guided by the shrill cries of the drivers, the leader turns to the
 right, or the left, as directed; and on
 arriving as the gates of a town, halts
 the whole file until he has orders to
 proceed.
 Just before sunset we entered Ronda
 through a Moorish gateway flanked by
 two circular towers, and clattered up
 the main street with a grand parade
 amid a storm of curses delivered by the
 conductor and zagal, who had been
 saving their wind for an hour with
 view to this crownng effort How shall one describe the strangest and
 most picturesque city of Europe? It
 stands on a steep rock, encircled by the
 Guadlivin river, which foams and dashes through narrow gorge seven hundred feet below This stupendous rift of the mountains, which looks as if
 cut by the scimetar of Roldan to render
 impregnable the favorite stronghold of the Moors, is crossed by two bridges
 one over g century old the other of
 much greater antiquity. The town, 1 built on both sides of the chasm, is
 surrounded by triple walls and divided
 into three wards, each of which Is sepa-
 rately walled and constitutes small city in itself. Projecting over the rush.
 ing stream are several stone mills,
 erected during the dominion of the
 Moors, which, from the dizzy heights
 above look like childrens building
 blocks, and the men passing in and out
 with sacks of, grain and flour on their
 shoulders, seem scarce so gross as bee tles' The greatest curiosity of the Tajo, as the rent in the hills is called, is the gallery, or tunnel, known as La
 Nina del Moro cut down through the solid rock to the river, by Christian slaves, at the command of Ali Abou Melic. in the year 1342. The passage is five feet wide by seven high, and tra- verses the perpendicular precipice zig gag fashion. It is very steep and by | no means safe, the steps being rudely | hewn, slippery with moisture and often | indistinguishable, as light comes in | only at intervals through apertures | pierced in the rock on the river side. | But of course you must go down it, | whatever the risk. At the bottom is | large tank where the captives filled their water jars, and then bore them up | the weary ascent on their shoulders. Scroused at every step by their cruel masters half starved and otherwise brutally treated, many of them fell dead from exhaustion on the way such fearful reputation during the Moorish wars that many defeated Span iards committed suicide rather than be condemned to carry water up it's dreary staircase. Retribution came at last however, and the victims, driven to death in its cavernous recesses, were avenged, for it was through La Nina de Tajo' that a chosen detachment of the Castilan army, in 1485, surprised the 'Laurelled Castle" of the Moors, impregnable to ordinary assault-not only by its natural position, but from the strength of it's Notifications.
 At the bottom of the forge it is al- ways twilight. being only twenty or thirty feet wide, to perhaps one hum fred and fifty at the top. The foaming torrent sends wind and spray whistling through the dark defile with a deafen- ng noise that completely drowns the human voice. Gazing upward, the bridges at the top look as if suspended 1 n the air, and the people on them like notes in the sunshine. Fig trees cling 0 the sides of the precipices as If growing out of the living rock, and at me point midway an ivy-covered cas- le stands upon narrow ledge that ap- ,arently can be reached only by ball oon. Looking closely we saw some [ moving specks beside the castle, which | 'roved to be flock of goats-probab | trayed from some careless shepherd, pho dared not scale the heights to re- over them. The magnificent citadel of Ronda, - mich once covered as much ground as . he Alhambra, has now only one tower nd a few feet of wall left standing. he tower Is of extraordinary height V nd eolidity, and contains intact the e, uard-room and sentry boxes of the II Ioorish soldiery. From it's summit the ts few is one of unparalleled grandeur. ct ave seen many famous views from le arious points in the Andes, from the ~ astle of Chapultepec overlooking the = alley of Mexico, from Corcovada above m ne bay of Rio de Janeiro, but never NE nything to compare with this. Far bove, the sharp peaks of the Sierra ( se range upon range, their ridgee,l V capped together in wild confusion like ne pillows of mighty ocean suddenly I lrned to stone. Below lies the city, 'ith its concentric walls--outworks of lree nations, Roman, Saracen and paniard, so distinct in blood and reli- ion; its massive houses enclosed and arred like so many seraglios, and it's vely Alameda fragrant with roses and yrtles, orange and oleander trees, lough overhanging a cliff whence is a leer descent of almost a thousand feet the valley. The very heart of the wn is pierced by the frightful chasm, s walls scared and scanned by the ac- on of the clements and it's mysterious ,r spths, to which the sun never pene- ateS, believed to be haunted by ghosts