Morning journal and courier., 1882-09-22
St. Louis Pompier Bremen.
Some Clever Feats in Climbing by AgtIs Fellows With Curious Ladders.
 IFrom the Cincinnati Commercial

Fellows With Curious Ladders.
 From the Cincinnati CommerciaLl
 After reviewing the engines drawn up in line along the Eighth street parks, the fire chiefs yesterday morning went to the elbow of the canal, the place appointed for the tests of engine appliances, extension ladders and ife-saving inventions Committees hav- ing been appointed to the various exhibitions, everything was set to work at the same time. Out of the windows of one building were
 flung rope ladders to the fourth story win dow of Haydocks carriage works was at- tached canvas tube fire escape, down which several men jumped one after the other. Across the canal the celebrated Pompier corps, of St. Louis, was at work, the men
 with their twelve footed ladders skinning up and down the face of six story building like so many cats. The ladders in construc
 tion are simplicity itself. single pole of hickory, with lungs projecting from either side, is surmounted by hook of Norway iron, bent at 8 long right angle and supplied
 on the under side with serrated teeth. The ladder can thus be readily hooked through
 windows of great depth. In the drill yester- day one of the corps, with his ladder, got grip on the second story window. and run ming rapidly up seated himself in the open ing, pulled the ladder up after him, reached up to the next window, where he got another grip, and in 8 jiffy was one story higher, and so on up to the very roof. The descent was still more rapid. The drill was then made by four men, directed by the voice of the captain, who on occasion of fires uses shrill whistle to convey his signals. Each fireman wore broad belt of canvas and leather, de- pending from the front of which by strong strap large wrought iron snap hook, so that on mounting to the top of the ladder the fireman could snap bis hook around one of the standards and be thus secure from all possibility of falling, and at the same time have his hands free for holding hose or as SiS Stfn fror, hn xpfrI serves another purpose. Making rope fast on the inside of the window, he can, after taking two or three turns with the rope around the upper rim of the snap hook, ob- tain sufficient friction to enable him not only to let himself down. but to take one two men with him, if they are strong enough to hold on. Chris Hoell, captain of the corps, lowered himself in this way yesterday from the fifth story, and as he came past the third floor window another man caught on, so to speak, and came down with him.
 At the word of command one of the lad ders was hooked over the window sill. Alt another command man ran lightly up. stopping near the top. At another command his hook was snapped around the standard, and he stood on the rungs, his waist on lev el with the sill and his hands free Instantly another ladder was handed to him by fireman
 No. ?, and raising it quickly he hooked it on the sill of the third story window above him. At another command he unlocked his belt, stepped on the second ladder, and ran up to
 the third story, fireman No. meanwhile
 mounting to the second story Both men now hooked themselves to their respective
 ladders, and third ladder was quickly passed up by fireman No. 3. No. reached up with
 this and hooked it on the sill of the fourth story window, and then, at word mounted again, No. 2 following to the third story and No. following to the second. A fourth lad der was passed up by fireman No 4, and No. 0Hl1 fp* *ho nf Ina ctn Again he mounted, No. 3 following to the fourth story, No. 8 to the third and No to
 the second. In another second each man had
 entered the window of the floor at which he had arrived. The elevation of each ladder occupied about fifteen seconds, and in com paratively no time there 8 man on every floor of the building, fully prepared to lower anyone that might be in danger there.
 A command brought all the men out on the ladders again and the descent began. Fire
 man No. at once ran down to the ground
 and the other three came down one story
 each No. then unlocked the top ladder.
 passed it down to No. 3, who passed it be- low, and then all moved down another story, when the operation was repeated till the last
 man was down, which was just three and one
 half minutes from the time of starting up
 Meanwhile fireman No. had seized the first
 ladder that came down, hooked it to another
 window, mounted, and by the time he was
 ready Mo- 3 was handing him the second lad
 der which had come down. This he mount
 ed, No. following to the second story, and
 they had arrived at that point when No.
 reached the ground from the other trip, so
 that, in reality, the men had gone up to the
 fifth floor, occupied every floor. descended again and mounted to the third story in an
 other part of the building in three and one
 half minutes. Oblique climbing was also shown. Reach ng the se~ond story window,
 the fireman hooked his ladder in the window
 overhead and to the right. Taking q firm sill on which he had been standing the swing carrying him beyond the vertical and then
 back to position when the climb was easy. This skill was necessary, the captain said, in cases where the window directly above the ladder was so full of flame or smoke as to render it's passage out of the question. It was brilliant performance all the way through, even Captain Shaw being led into the unguarde2 acknowledgment that it was the most masterly drill with ladders he had ever beheld