The sun., 1881-01-23
ON ITS OWN BASE ONCE MORE
THE LATEST or THE ALEXdNDRIIN
OBELIsk's YICISSITUDES.

The Egyptian obelisk hung horizontally |
yesterday morning over its foundation In Cen-
tral Park In double frame like steamboats, !
walking beam. 1t pointed east and wcst. The |
frames were made OF steel bars. and rested on |
masonry built up on the north and south sides
OF the pedestal. Tho obelisk. which Ia sixty- |
nine feet two inches long. and which weighs
2l9x tons. was claspcd with iron near the mid
de- and from the sides OF this iron clasp OK
tended trunnions. eighteen inches In diameter.
resting In sockets on the steel frames. These
trunnioDs were greaaed to allow the obelisk to
swing into q perpendicular position between
the frames with a vertical movement like the
telescope in a surveyors level. This apparatus
is the Same that was made in New Jersey. and
carried to Egypt to aid In lowering the obelisk
to the ground.
Lieutenant Commander Henry Fl. Gorrlnge
arrived at tho hiliock on which the obelisk
rested at 10 o'clock. His first command was
that the snow and ice should be cleaned of Of
a large platform on which invited spectators
were to stand. A few OF them had already ar
rived. although It was not until noon that tho
big stone was to be turned into an upright
position In preparation for lowering II Into Its
permanent resting place Among those who
arrived half an hour later was Mrs. Gorrnge
the mother OF the Lieuten ant Commander. She
took refuge from the cold In the neighboring
Metropolitan Museum Of Art. At II o'clock a
OF nm Intervening derrick having been pointed
directly at the camera. so that it should hlde as
Little OF the stone as possible. AZ ~ Ddep noS
mHnd OF Lieutenan Com mander ": H. Whiting.
The marines. In light-blue uniforms, we're
sacrs pp IN Z, DARK blue formed line on the west.
There were now from 900 to- 6.0O0 persons
gathered. in spite OF cloudy sky and the un-
At one minute after 10 o'clock the tackling
and the oSSsk Fs% Sss persons 70 noeeS
shs ssRt R%oSSSnsnt Ss1 s.s sSsos satisfy
ical eye and ear Of Lien nsnan' would WORK
we're startled into a smOthered cry OF are"
large Ssd Sess Used hesyy upDo mb5s sSs
obeisk Seiore 1T had been lowered to the
steel framework fell in pieces to the ground
ment had been an accident TO them. however.
arm Of a derrick was seen eraspine in triumph
large timber which swung about in the air:
S
arch from Ehs6 ERiISn6s 6s key IsyssS1e
was @ up; ana i. sun fs% SS, moved into , iIstis
his gaze hxed on the stone. and wondered why
two or three workmen were, yet lounging idly
n he ID s pS 81
This was believed to be the signal to set the
o6elisk M moyipa and very few spared time to
T6s fact was that de- fscto Secretary Of State
| William N; Eyaris and de facto Secretary. OF the
Grace. When. they had been conducted to
places at the front OF the platform it was 12S
down from the obelisf S Ths sun Tofs had S' asain
| buried itself in clouds:
| der (prriDpa Rh0Ok n whita hand erphiaf IA
fore him. In an instant the heavy rope began
obelisk down. and as the rope ran out, that end
began to rise and the largs end to settle. Tho
was at an angle o, forty ave degrees. and some
stopped until another photograph could be
taken. Lieut. Commander Gorringe made a
Now 90 on with your photograph" he
and in less than half minute the p6otoerapSsr
Lieutenant Commander GorrinGe again waved
| his handkerchief, and again the obelisk began
to turn. As the base, approached nearer and
nearer to the pedestal. the motion was slower
lar. Then they burst into a shout OF applause
three small blocks that had served as wedges to
| hold an iron band In ts place at the top OF the
stone fell out aud the cOnIrhctoF act who stood be,
to scramble out OF the way. The obeiisk was
not yet perpendicular. but Lieut. Commander
two do facto Secretar los. As hs did so the
drums rolled and the band again sounded it's
%r hSsls
his hand to him in congratulation. and then
The ceremonies were over. Many persons
pressed forwHrd to songTatufo
VII had dropped--that Is, II Gorringe and
midocsan. we never should have been forgiven.
| People never would have forgiven us for TAX ing
it from one continent and not putting it on
Hs added. with mock seriousness:
| From the time 1t started from Alexandria
until It arrived in New York never slept a
A few minutes aiterward Mr.. Evarts and Mr..
been salnted BY the marines and sailors as they
passed them. The latter then marched away.
aSoa S. S SSosE ON Fsb at %Se
time 1t is supposed that Lieut.; -Commander
Gorringe will announce who Il is that furnished
the money for its transportation.
Tho monument. when II assumed an upright
position, was suspended in a, sort Of skeleton
the iron band around its middle SR' except @ that
from this heavy band there descenled iron rods
bottom. where the stone had been chipped, or
worm worn away so that itcpryed inward and afforded
the obeisk rested but IN tho middle of 81 each lnS OF
the rods was. a turnbuckle. by unscrewing
which, the rods could bs lengthened. In this
way the mo- %m2noth Nv was to be gradpqly lowered
to be completed yesterday IL possible.
Among the spectato RS were Lieut. Grimes,
commander of the Powhatan; Capt Luce q. 8.
~; Can't. Gherardi. U. 8. N; Frank Price and
Lieut.. Seaton Schroeder. who have bsen Lieu
tent stsnali to WiCGpmmander GorEinges assistants; Cor
Wales. and Olffe William Henry Hurlbert
william A.. Patton. Montgomery Schuyler, David
Patton. and John Gilmer Speed. There were
also many prominent Masons present.
The story OF the obeisk 10 that 1t was erected
before the Temple OF the Sun in Heliopolis by
ThOthmes III, about $500 years ago: that Il
was subsequently removed to Alexandria
where II was suffered to lie on the ground until
| Is. Q. 23 when 1t was erected before the Palace
ot the Caesars. with its sister obelisK now in
England by an architect named Pontius. In
the lapse Of years the Palace Of the C@saTa
Ramleh. near the Rameh Railway station
About the time the suez Canal was completed
William Henry Hurlbert, who was then In
Egypt persuaded Ismail Pasha, the Khedlve
To- present tho obelisk to the United States
When When nt last. citizen Of the United States was
the sister o6eisk to England offsred 'pe te
tranApOrt IL for f7h 0OO buf ha on