The daily gazette., 1877-10-27
TOWING THE OBELISK.
How Cleopatra's Needle woS ConUoyed
Through the Mediterranean.

HoU Cteopdtra's Needle DdS ConCoyed
Through the Mediterranean.
From the London Daily Ne,oS. j.
Screw Steamer Olga, nearing Algiers,
Oct. 2.-Our voyage hitherto has been
successful, though slow, and the Oleopa-
ira behaves splendidly-seems light as a
cork, rising to every wave, but pitching
tremendously. 1 have counted as many
as seventeen times minute that her nose
has been under water, and then ten or
twelve feet above it; but in the worst
weather she doesn't show sign of roll
ling. Tie drum on the bow acts as
splendid break-water and takes all the
force of a head sea from the front Of the
CABIN.
. We are towing her now with nearly the
full length Of the wire rope out, AMI she
steers first rate. We had some trouble
at first in calm weather with the shorter
cable, when she "yawed" about terribly,
but they frightened up the steering chains,
and with more rope she now follows
straight in ourwak ke. She offers much more
resistance u the sea then l anticipated, /,
and think would have been better with
sharper bow and stern. She drives the
water off her bows even in fine weather
in m ASS OF foam, and her stern is all in
broken water. With favorable wind she
carries sail, but 1t does not appear to help
her much. he maximum speed that we
have made Is a little o-er six knots with
favorable wind, whicL two knots or
two and one-half less than the Olga's
usual speed when heavily loaded, but a
head wind brings us down below five at
once. .oH -l8# lti y
We have had but one casualty. On the
3lst ult Carter signalled, "Stop; want as
| sistance,' and it was soon evident that
the tow line had parted from the Gle
opatra and hung down over our stern. 1t
| took some time to haul in the wire rope
| by purchase tackle aud steam winch I
first and then by hand. When the end
| e me up we found the thimble on the
| emil of the tow line was gone and the eye
broke through. We turned the rope
] eud tor eud, ~ as to give the other end
| TO Carter. This was not done much be-
| forr midnight, when we made up to the
Cleopatra and, as the night was very
dark and somewhat stormy, told Garter
| We must wait for daylig ht; 80 lay to aud
dodyad about until s a. IN, when we pas.
sed him the other end of the wire rope
and fastened il on with an auchor shackle
to the bridle chain, made fast at one end
| to the clamp on the sternpoSt, ana the
other passed round the drum.
|, This gave uS the first opportunity o1
| spraKing TO Carter since we started. he
reported the ship all right aud water
tight, tiki ngs all right; the upper bolts o.
chain sneavss, crab winch, &C., had
leaked y little at first, and given some
trouble, but they had stopped all Will
cerment. 1 thought Garter looked care
worn; he must have terribly anxious
time, aud Is constantly on deck, as hi'
boatswain is laid up with congestion o
the liver. He can get no rest DAY o.
night, and wonder how any one cal
sleep in such as.rocking horse," pitching
almost constantly fifteen times minute
We should reach Gibraltar on the 6tl
inst, and even if we have fine weathe
can't calculate on reaching Falmouth i
lass thau nine or ten days,so we may hop
to drop anchor there, "Inshallah," an
time between the 10Th and Doth instan