The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1910-08-11
TODAY IN HISTORY
Wonderful Engineering Feat.
THURSDAY, AUGUST II. 1910.


Henry II. Gorringe. the naval officer,
who accomplished the wonderful eDgi-
neering feat Of transporting the Egyp-
tian, Opelisk. which now stands in Cen
tral park. from its far-away home in
Indies, on August IL, 1S4l.
About 1900 years before the Christian
era Thothmes ILL.,, ruler OF Egypt, erected
at uellopolis great stone shaft Gov
cred with hieroglyphic characters. This
remarkable pillar. about 10 feet high. re-
manned where IL WAS first reared until
70 b c., when IL was removed to Alex
andrla. For nineteen hundred years It
stood In that Egyptian city. and then. In
1879. at the opening of the Suez canal.
estlng relic OF a civilization buried in
the dust OF so many centuries to the
United States,
This was but one OF a number'of these
peculiar rectangular columns which seem
10 have been erected to record the honors
or triumphs Of the monarchs. A num-
Der OF them have been presented to
Rome and other cities, the two largest.
the height of which was $50 feet, hav-
ing been removed 10 Rome by Augustus.
Thothmes erected two OF these ODE
known as Cleopatra Needles" The
one In London. which stands on the
Thames cmbankment. was presented to
the British government in 1S20: but was
not taken to London until 1877.
When the khedive presented the obe
lisk TO the United States. the total ex
pense OF Its removal was paid by VIII
liam IL. Vanderbilt, The work of trans
erection on the same PEDESTAL upon
which It had stood In Egypt. was di-
rectcd in all It's details by Commander
Gorringe
He was a brilliant officer who had
enlisted at the beginning of the Civn
war In the service OF the United States
as sailor, and by the end OF the great
conflict had risen. through successive
promotions for gallantry, to the rank
OF acting volunteer lieutenant About
three years later he was promoted to
lieutenant commander, at the age OF 21.
Gorringe had come from the British
West Indies to the United States at an
early age and entered the merchant
marine service.
When he was engaged to get the great
stone shaft from its place in Alexandria
to Central park in New York, he first
| employed 100 Arabs TO assist in the work
of preparing the obelIsk for transporta :
ton. and In less than three weeks 1880
! cubic yards Of earth had beeh removed
from around the pedestal.
Commander Gorringe himself devised
certain simple and original machinery
by which the monolith was taken from
its pedestal and made ready To be car
ried 70 an iron steamer, the Dessoug,
which was owned by the Egyptian gov
| ernment. and was purchased for more
than $25 900 by the Americans.
Through an aperture made FOR the
hea the OF oPfsN tSs vssse wa @
Gorringe constructed the mechanism by
which the huge shaft was confined in
| place for the journey.
About the middle OF July. 1880, the obe-
lisk arrived in New York, and in Jan
uary, 1881, it was erected In Central
park Tc carry it from the dock where
| ii was landed iron tracks had TO be laid
and cannon balls used in the work.
| Commander Gorrlnge did not long sur
vlve his great exploit, but before he
died. at the age of A, he published a
History of Egyptian Obelisks.' He had
resigned from the navy because Of fric-
matters. and engaged actively In form
| ing the American Shipbuildine company
| In alightIng from a railroad tr9in he
received an injury from which he never
| recovered His friends erected over his
| grave at Sparslll on the Hudson, a monu-
ment which is an exact copy. on re-
duced scale, OF the obelisk he trans
porIed from Egypt.