The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1882-11-03
UP ALOFT.
A Chat with 10 Weston, the steeple-
Climber.
A Curious Accident Which Taught
Him Lesson.
Cincinnati Enquirer.

Cincinnati Enquirer.
%The longer you live the more You find
out" remarked Mr.. 10 Weston, the steeple
climber, to couple Of newspaper men lately;
Il had an accident recently which taught me
something"
what was it?" was the simultaneous in
quiry:
ut was curious one You see, was on top
Of St Paul's spire, on Spring street We had
rugged ropes to remove the planks of the scat
folding. The way we do that is to fasten block
to a-post or tree on the other side of the street.
and another to the steeple, and splice the
ends Of the ropes together to make an endless
rope Of it If you fasten to it anything
you want to send below, the weight of the load
takes it down. had tied the last plank to The
rope, and it was going down. I wore hand
derchief tied loosely around my throat The
wind blew out an end of it, and it caught on
the removing rope and wrapped around it I
was Immediately caught up, first the handker-
chief and then my beard passing into the
clock Now, if had an assistant in the street
below he would have noticed the plank stop
when was caught that way, and, as he could
not see anything wrong above, he would have
pulled on the rope. ThenI should have been
choked to death by my handkerchief, and my
beard and part of my face would have been
torn off. Persons in the street below would
have noticed, perhaps, that I was very quiet,
but they would not have suspected that was
hanging by the neck VIVA
@That pull stretched me eighteen inches. AS
soon as 1 realized the trouble reached below,
and taking hold of rope pulled back on it
until my handkerchief came out the sheeve,
and l dropped onto the hooks below. I could
barely touch them with my feet"
"Do you mean to say that you had nothing
but hooks to stand on?"
eyes, the hooks of the scaffold. You see, we
had sent all the planks below 1 called to
Frenchy, who was on the other side of the
steeple, and when he came round told him
Of the accident and told him how it occurred
Neither of US will wear handkerchiefs around
our necks again when we are about such
jobs"
@How high we're your"
1--WE were about 220 feet above the street
You ought to go up with me. We can see all
over Mount Auburn into Kentucky for miles,
and have beautiful view of the city. Come,
go up with me when you have time"
"No thank you" E
"There will be no danger. You will be as
secure as on the ground, for we have plenty of
ropes =. ......,.
observed one Of the newspaper men. at
seemed awful ticklish to me, but 10 stepped
around like q cat 1t made me sick to % him
standing and stepping around on top of that
cross, whore there was just space to turn
around You see, the crosses and other things
on top Of the stepples wabble 80. They are
perfectly safe, and can't give way, but they
shake so that man feels that he will tumble
off every minute"
"They are safe enough walking if man is
neither afraid nor reckless" observed Mr..
Weston.
"It's only question of time when you will
get killed, Jo," said Jobs comforter. @You
ought not to expect anything else."
Il suppose So But might stay down be-
low and be hit by a falling brick and killed
I've got to die, anyhow"
"You can't get your life insured, can your"
inquired one OF the newspaper men.
Not in the regular companies. l have some
Masonic insurance"
"What is the highest you have ever
cimbed?" asked bystander.
"Three hundred feet During the centen-
NAL was engaged to place streamer on the
top of St. Paul's church, on Fourth street I
got mast up there about fifteen feet long,
fastened it on the big hand and flag to it 1
had truck on top of the pole and 1 climbed
up to that and stuck q fishing-pole in the
truck, and stood on the top of the mast was
then 300 feet above the pavement of Fourth
street."
"But how could you steady yourself at such
q height on 80 small supports" asked shud-
dering bystander.
"By means of the fishing pole you can steady
yourself anywhere you can stand at all if YOU
can only put your hand on something tolerably
steady, Even if you only touch your finger
to pole, or something of that sort it will
help you"
"Do you only work in Cincinnati?"
SNo | am sent for from different parts of
the country around here Parties wanting
work done on chimney-stacks often send for
me. The way we have OF ascending tall Chin
neys would interest YOU" addressing the
reporter. I'VE put up aladder and go up to
the top, whore / fasten it by rope passed
around the chimney. In tying the rope
l leave q loop in it for the bottom of the
next ladder. BY this time my assistant has
brought another ladder up, which / pass
through the loop until the bottom rests firm
on tho next ladder. Then walk up that lad
der, with the help of another rope passed
around the chimney. No matter if the ladder
leans away over from the chimney or to either
side, you must not touch it As lift my right
foot to the next rung / lift my right hand,
working the rope up. Then the left hand and
foot, depending for steadiness all the time on
the rope. When / reach the top of the ladder
draw it close to the wall by pulling on the
rope, and tie it there. By working the rope up
Abakf 10 Vi Al,o,, 4, Al. II
on the opposite side of the chimney you are
enabled to throw the weight of each ladder on
the chimney, and any weight on the ladder is a
strain on the chimney, not on the ladder be-
low"
Have you gone up any tall chimneys that
wayY" s#Es 87ttE
Eyes, many Invent up on Proctor 4 Gam
ble's chimney, for instance That is 200 feet
high. Sometimes so up to put iron bands
on cracking chimneys, or to put stone copings
on. Il is easy to rig up soaffold when you
have the ladders up"
"Don't you have trouble about getting as
Sistants? l should think few men would have
the nerve to work so high" said one news
paper man.
SThey get used to it in time. At first they
can hardly move for fear, but in the course of
time they grow Indifferent to danger"
Il have heard old sailors say that it is not
the luhber, but the old seaman who has grown
careless, that is killed by falling from the
masthead or the yards, observed the other
newspaper man. s IL
perhaps that is SO. Our men, when they
are new to the work, never fall They hold
on mighty tight The only trouble we have
with them is about the TOOLS They are apt to
lay them on projecting cornices, or other such
tempting places, where rope sometimes
catches heavy bar and sends it down into the
street If one of those tools struck a man be-
low it would so clean through him Why, one
man dropped heavy chisel with blade two
inches broad from the cathedral spire one day.
1t struck two heavy joists which were lying
below, and the blade passed through both tim.
bers. Where woulda man have been if he
had stood below"
The reporter could not guess.
"Good-by," said the intrepid climber. Sic
me know when you are ready to climb
steeple with me-"
"Don'you keep any job waiting for me, the
reporter called after him.
Camden Post: Man wants but little her,