Year: 1877

1 w &AASs 4aeN$fN N@A~N u. Z
In floating tho obelisk novel plan


was used which would doubtless have


surprised the ancient engineers who


originally brought it to Alexandra.


The stone, is inclosed in an iron cy lin


der with ends shaped like wedges,


which was built around it as it lay on


the shore. Sixty, tons of iron was


used in its construction. 1t took
about two months to inclose the
monolith. The inclesingi cylinder is
92 feet long and has a diameter of Is
feet. Planks were arranged and


fastened around the box, and after all
was ready the whole was rolled down


to the sea with the aid Of ropes fast


ened on winehes in vessels in the wa
ter, while other ropes on winches on


the shore kept it from rolling to rap


idly. At first it was struggle as to
which should be set in motion by this


apparatus-the vessel or the obelisk.
The obelisk got entirely the better
of the strain, SO that the boat, instead
of pulling the stone down to the shore,
was itself borne towards the land. 1t
was only when steam-tugs were sub
stituted and put under full headway


that the enormous mass was finally
made to move. When, after two


days of labor, the obelisk reached


the sea, the cylinder filled with wa
ter because of leak, and powerful
pump failed to empty the air spaces.
Divers were employed, who found
that a stone had broken large hole
insthe cylinder and was wedged in it
SO tightly that it could not be re-
moved under the water. The cylin-
der was turned over, the injury re-
paired, and soon this remarkable boat,
with its still more wonderful contents,
was floating safely in the Mediterran-
can.


''From the position," says Engin-
eering of the 2lst of September,
"where the obelisk had remained dur
ing twenty centuries to the dry-dock
in tie harbor is distance of about
eight miles by sea, and considerable
proportion of this length lies outside
the new breakwater, where the rollers
of the Mediterranean tumble in with
no inconsiderable force. 1t will be
interesting to all students of naval |
architecture to learn how the cylin-
drical ship behaved under these cir
cumstances. On the day of the pass
age the sea was high for the time of
year, and thick waves, impelled by !
the northerly wind, rolled on parallel
to the breakwater, sending columns of
spray high into the air. The two
tugs in charge of the Needle rolled
continuously, sponsors under, making
it possible to stand on the bridge |
without clinging to the rail, whilst,
the needle ship came along gradually !
after them, with some forty or fifty |
Arabs and Maltese sitting unconcern-
edly on the plain cylindrical top, |
with nothing to save them if the ship |
made roll-which she never once |
did, SO far as could be determined by |
the senses of those on board her or |
the tug, so that the skipper generally |
had his wheels going opposite ways,
either to coax along the Needle or to
get out of her way when she charged. |
Captain Clark was buster perhaps |
than he had ever been before in tow
ing craft, but the Arab pilot of |
course sat crosslegged on the paddle
box smoking cigarettes and looking
dreamily ahead, as if he had done
nothing since his childhood than sit
in tug and Needles round to Alex
andria harbor."