The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1880-05-21
Cleopatra's Needle.


youngest in the world, is about to re-
celve from the Oldest Of Kingdoms the
gift OF a monument whose companion
was planted a couple of years since on
the banks of the Thames at London.
Think OF single stone which weighs
couple of hundred tons, and that would
tower up twice as high as most city
dwellings,, being foated across 5000
miles of ocean to us Surely man,
though dwarf himself in size, is cum
ming enough to move mountains, and to
master the waves of the sea.
This obelisk can tell us long and
wonderful story. Over fifteen centuries
before Jesus Christ was born, there
reigned in Egypt the great King Thoth-
mes, the third of that title. He was such
brave fighter that no other troops in
Africa or Asia could stand against him.
He even made the far-off King of Nine
veh pay him tribute of elephants, gi-
RATES., gold, silver and horses, which
latter animals the Egyptians had never
owned before. He was also a noted
hunter, and one painting shows him
busy in Strengthening 100 elephants.
Such exploits as these so puffed up
Thothmes with pride that he had his
name engraven in temple as 'The liv-
ing good god, lord of the upper and
lower world, the lord of diadems p
At his order, hundreds of men were
set to work to hew two obelisks out of
the hard granite rocks at Syene, in
Southern Egypt, near where the Nile
dashes through the cataracts. He was
resolved to preserve the memory of his
victories forever on the stones.
Think moment of the difficulty of
cutting out such o huge, four-faced
monolith Cor single stone) without q
breakage, and with such poor tools as
they had then.
Such feats are not ventured on in our
own days, as they are too delicate and
costly to undertake.
In the quarry, they used to mark out
the stone for the whole length required,
and then drive metal wedges into the
lines on three faces.
In this manner, after the patient labor
OF many months, the rocks was cut away
on all sides save one. The rough block
was finally separated by driving a num-
Der of wooden wedges at the same time
along it's entire length, in the holes pre-
viously cut for them and then these
wooden wedges were saturated with
water, SO as to split the stone by their
expansion.
The next step was to transport such a
massive block distance of 500 miles to
Heliopolis or On, the City of the Sun,
near the delta of the Nile. So the stone
was moved across inclined platforms to
raft, which had been brought to the
edge Of the quarry through canal, and
then it was foated down the Nile during
an inundation.
Some scholars believe that large
monoliths had to be conveyed all the
way by land, OH sledges and rollers
Such gigantic task must have occupied
several years.
On it's arrival in safety the granite
was carefully polished Next the fig
ures and inscriptions selected were skill
fully inscribed by the court sculptor. yet
slowly, on account of its extreme hard
ness. The base of the obelisk was then
set within groove in the pedestal, and
the entire monument was raised to the
perpendicular by building up ridge Of
earth beneath it.
Our special obelisk and its mate stood
as guardian deities before the grand en-
trance of the Temple of the Sun at On.
They were symbols of the rays of the
rising sun, as the pyramids to the west
ward were of the slanting OF setting rays.
In that idolatrous age they were even
worshiped as divine images, and obla-
tions were offered to them
These monuments may have been
standing at On when Joseph became
Vizier over Egypt; and married a
daughter of the Priest Of On. It is a
nearer certainty, however, that they
were in their place when Moses was
being cultured in all the learnings of the
Egyptians; and he may have often
looked upon their faces when student.
After the Romans had conquered
Egypt, centuries later, these two ODE
lisks were removed from On to the city
of Alexandria, on the coast They
were then set up before the new tenn
pie erected for the worship of Caesar of
Rome, the sovereign of the world.
AA1S 1IStp pC116u Ill Ull0 reign O1 01b10E
the Emperor Augustus or Tiberius, and
more than ], 800 years ago. It was also
shortly after the death of Cleopatra,
the last Queen Of Egypt, whose wicked
wiles ruined herself and her kingdom.
In after years, the Egyptians set
afoot q tradition that she had conveyed
these monoliths to their new station,
and SO it CHANGED the name of Cleo
patra's Needle was thought appropriate.
In the lapse of centuries, one Of these
obelisks fell PROSTATE, and this latter
is the monument which now adorns the
Thames embankment.
Cleopatra's needle has stood erect
throughout the entire period of the
Christian era, though part of it's base
has gradually worn away, and the col
umn has required to be kept in position
by inserting loose stones.
The inscriptions on the east and south
sides have also been defaced in part,
either by the action of the sea-breeze, the
rave Of tho c11n or tho Ctoo 1x1 IN, n. NV