The Cheyenne daily leader. [volume] (Cheyenne, Wyo.) 1870-1884, 1881-05-22
THE oBELIsEs STORY.


I'LL UDhLt5ke SluhI,
New York Tlmes.
Lieut. Commander Gorringe. who has
successfully brought the obelisk from
its A~lexandrian home 10 our CentraI
Park, told the story Of this Egyptian
monument before the New York Asso.
citation for the Advancement OF Science
and Art. in the Brick Church. Mt Fifth
avenue and Thirty-seyenth street. re
Gently. Thirty-fiye centuries hay.
passed, he said, since the obelisk wal
severed from its natural surrounding.
by the hand of man and wrought into
its present form. On the banks Of the
Nile. about 600 miles from the sea, j.
an immense mass Of granite, known a,
syenite. noted for its freedom from
cracks. veins. or foreign substances.
and the beautiful polish of which il 10
susceptible. An obelisk now standing
Mt Heliopolis, five miles from Cairo.
taken from this quarry. ms erected
more than 1000 years ago; and 1000
years ago u priest qlarried from this
place. and transported 600 miles n shaft
weighing $50 tons. which WAS so highly
polished that the polish still remains.
With all the science Of our own day il
would tax the most skillful workmcn I ,
reproduce the figures ont upon that
shaft. and then give the surface such ,
lasting polish.
Son the base of the obclisk of Hat, 3.
son." continued the speaker. ..it Is re-
corded that only seven months elapsed
from the time she gave the order 10
quarry the stone to the date of its final
completion. 10 me. this record means
that the ancient Egyptians were pos
sessed of mechanical appliances supr-
rlor to those in use at the present day.
BY taking time enough. and employing
men enough. there Is hardly n limit 10
the weight that can be moved, but in
the creation, transportation. and cree
ton of an obclisk, the number of mon
is limited to comparatively q few, and |
am quite sure that there is no man liy-
ing who would undertake in seven
months, Mt the penalty of his life, 70
quarry, transport 600 miles, erect, carve,
and polish a shaft 120 feet long, weigh.
ing $50 tons, such as that of Queen Hat.
o at Karnak. l dwell on this fact so
that you may realize That in spite of tho
wonderful progress made in the mo-
chanical arts in this country we are.
pei haps, only on tho very threshold Of
the knowledge possessed by the ancient
Egyptians thirty-five centuries ago. In
my opinion, an obelisk is simply the
representation of the creative power; II
was unquestionably designed to stand
before a temple; the proportions be-
tween its height and that Of the wall or
pylon against which it was seen project
ed. were invariably such that from every
point of view the pyramidion Of the ODE
lisk was seen above the top of the tenn
pie. Obelisks were always erected 10
pairs; unfortunately, we have but ono,
and it is not reasonable to expect that
we can get another one from Egypt; 10
fact, | have good ground for assuring
you that there is not the least hope Of
our getting another Egyptian obelish
unless we can buy one from the Euro
pean residents Of Egypt. But / can soc
no cas- for not having another ohe-
lisk. cut Il Of the beautiful red granite
Of Connecticut, and erected on a neigh
boring knoll, OF which there could be
cut a brief historical record.r
He had been requested, the speaker
said, to write q detailed history of the
obelisk for publication in a school book.
but had declined. He then gave an e.
tended account of the hieroglyphics.
which have before been fully described.
and gave some facts about Thothmes
ILL.,, Rameses, Thebes, Memphis, and
Lucius Verus. '1hothmes was enabled
to conquer Asia and exact tribute from
the most powerful Asiatic Kingdoma
He built new temples and restored 9th.
ers that had been destroyed by the Ash
attic conquerors. Among tho latter was
the Temple of On at Heliopolis. Before
that temple he erected q pair Of obe-
lisks, of which ours is one. ! have q
model of that temple. which is MS inter.
esting rs the obelisk itself. 1t Is the
oldest model or plan in existence. Il
was found at Heliopolis by an eminent
German arch@ologist, who sold It 70 .
Californian, who sold his collection NJ
auction in this city. where II was pur.
chased for $50. dnrng my absence 10
Egypt. know OF the existence of TIL
exceptionally interesting object, and 9.
my return home promptly purchased it,
Rameses built q ship canal from IT,.
Mediterranean TO the Red Sea thirty
two centuries beiJre NJ. de Lesseps WA
born. This canal lasted for more tina,
n thousand years, so it must be consiL
Sicu SuSSeSS. lTacts OI IL are Sull tt
be seen. Z
There are good reasons for believ
ing that the exodus took place in til
latter part Of the reign Of Rameses ii.
and that his were the hosts that wcr,
swallowed up in the Red Sea while ii
pursuit of the fugitive ~Israelites. TIL,
Biblical record does not state that til
Pharaoh was drowned, and had he beer
drowned it certainly would have bee
stated. Kings in those days, as in these
did not lead the van or their armies
From an Egyptian standpoint there wa,
nothing more remarkable in the hig.f
of the Israelitcs than there would be L"
day in the sudden departure from on
of our Indian Agencies Of a discomfort
ed tribe, led by some ambitious CHIEF
1t would be a matter of considerable im
portance to the Indians, but of re
interest to the inhabitants of the sea:
board. There is nothing startling /
the fact that the Israelites crossed dr.
shod while the Egyptians were drowned.
A combination Of low spring tides, vii 4
winds from certain directions, cause
the waters Of MANY ~estuaries, and nota.