Land Ho!

May 17, 1897
A beautiful sunny day with a gentle breeze blowing. We passed within a mile of Cape St. Vincent in Portugal about 6 a.m. It is the southwest extremity of Europe and is a bald rocky promontory surmounted with a light house. We saw whales spouting twice this forenoon. Two were within about 200 yards of the boat and we saw their big black backs repeatedly as they came up to blow. Our run was 355 miles.

We passed the Spanish cities of Cadiz and Conil and then Cape Trafalgar where Lord Admiral Nelson won England’s most glorious naval victory at the cost of his life. Opposite on the African shore looms up Cape Spartel. The strait of Gibraltar is about 10 or 15 miles wide, I should judge and both the European and African shores are plainly visible.

We passed the steamer Fulda of the same line as this boat, outward bound in the strait. Point Tazifa and the town of the same name came next on the Spanish side. On The African side were high mountains. We next came in sight of the rock of Gibraltar and swept up the bay of the same name which is two or three miles wide and twice as deep. One peculiarity of the strait was the rough and choppy water. Waves and cross seas in all directions although there was no wind and both the ocean and the Mediterranean were perfectly calm. This was caused by the waters from the Mediterranean meeting the Ocean water. Our first impression of Gibraltar was that it was not as lofty a rock as we had imagined. We also found that the steep face of the rock lies toward Spain, while the end towards the strait is a slope to the water’s edge. We anchored about 6:00 p.m. and were soon at the water port or dock, where we were each given a ticket enabling us to pass the sentries on our return. On the wharf was a mixture; swarthy Moors wearing a white gown reaching about to the knee – it looked like a nightshirt. I saw one stick his hand in his pants pocket so I guess they all wear white pants. They were all bare legged and wore a white cloth wound around their heads. Then there were swarthy Arabs, piratical looking Algerian. Turks, Spaniards and English soldiers of various uniforms – some the red coat, others Highlanders with short kilt and about six inches of bare leg at the knee. One walked the length of the business street, 8 or 10 blocks. It is about 25’ wide including the side walks, which are about 3’ wide and sometimes only a foot wide. The shops are not deep like ours, but usually only 10 to 15 feet deep. Soldiers were everywhere. Sentries with rifles on their shoulders marched here and there. The city of Gibraltar is surrounded by a wall both of land and sea and entrance can only be had by the gates, which are strictly guarded by the British soldiers. A license must be obtained to live there, which must be renewed every month. The Spanish line is on the narrow neck or flat connecting the rock with the mainland, and a customs guard is maintained to prevent smuggling. All kinds of devices are used to evade the guard, one was to have trained dogs carry the good across the line after dark. The bay was full of British transports for carrying troops. I counted 49. Some were just old hulks and apparently had laid there at anchor for years. We returned on board at 10 p.m. and had a lovely view for deck of the town in the light of the full moon, the lights of the town sparkling against the dark rock, half way up it’s steep side.

The boat left Gibraltar at 11 p.m. and as near as we could see in the bright moon light, the east side of the rock was more abrupt then the west. The night was lovely and we could see the African hills across the silvered waters.