Wichita daily eagle., 1884-09-06
STEEpLE-CLIMBING.
An Occupation Which L. Fraught
with Hidden Dangers.
Narrow Escapes from Death-Where
Danger Lurks-Fiends who Cut
the Llfe-Line-Wages Re-
celved.
Philadelphia Times.1

1 have been in this perilous business ever
'ince the war" said Morris Rogers, at his
boarding house the other evening. Il am q
,teeple-climber and, so far as know, the
only man in the country who relies solely
Ipon this trade for a living. There was an
,ther man who did the same work, and the
narrator sighed-"but, poor fellow, he fell
rom the tower of the new structure of
he Old South ch uich. in Boston, and died
after few gasps on the pavement. He was
clever work man, full Of original ideas and
great in a sudden emergency. His name
was Watson-Bill Watson was his helper
Tor two years He was the coolest man l
ever knew. We were regilding cross on
the spire Of Catholic church in st. Louis
1t was small job and he had taken it as q
snap and intended to finish it, off hand, in
in one afternoon. He was not as careful with
his lines as he should have been. We as
cended 20 the highest window in the spire
and he put pair Of climbers ON his feet such
as the telegra line-men use) and went up q
narrow ridge Of board to which the lightning
rod was made fast.
HIGH IN THE AIR.
TIE ball was sixty feet above, and in less
thar five minutes he had a line around the
cross and was lashed to it. He stood nearly
200 feet from the ground. Contrary
to his usual custom he began at the
base of the cross. He worked around rapidly,
calling down to me, below, for more foil or
more shellac as he progressed. These sent
him in a small tin bucket, as the case might
be, which he drew up by means Of a small
cord fastened to his waist. He had just re-
fo;I la baI oha llo hat
Tried very quickly in the sum when he said,
in perfectly natural tone:
Catch me, MorIy.'
"An instant later had him i'm my arms.
He clutched the window sill and sprang into
the landing All he said was, Curse that
rope. have been afraid Of it for some time
His line had parted where it came in contact
with the sharp edge Of the cap Of the steeple.
He had felt the first strand part, had real
lied fully what had happened and had fore
seen what was about to occur-all in five
seconds. My catching him saved him from
a hundred and eighty feet of fall, but after
eating bite of luncheon he was back again
and finished the job just as if nothing had
happened
WHERE DANGER LURKs.
What kind Of a steeple do you regard the
most dangerous to scale"
"A slate-covered spire." was the prompt re-
ply. There are many reasons why it is
dangerous-reasons that would not occur
to YOU To enumerate couple: The edge
Of u broken slate i, often as sharp rs a knife,
and will cut the best MANILA rope like soap
when the strain Of mans body is on it. In
putting on the states Q peculiarly finished
....f =.
Where there is n broken slate these nails are
liable 10 work up and they will nick roE.
in such a way that you will never know
il until you feel an ominous settling
Of the slender perch upon which
you swing. That sensation is calculated
10 cause any mans h air to raise"
"Do you select your own ropes and fix all
your own scaffoldings!'
"Indocd, do" was the reply. Il carry all
my tackle with me and am very particular
who han Hes it. | have u compartment in my
trunk in which | always carry about 400 fee
of line. Tie best rope for this purpose il
made Of English hemp"
THE ROPE FIENDs.
ado you examine the lines often.'
always after they have been used and be-
orc 4 10 vi liltln- Ou Wculu udTulv CrGulD
{, but there are men vile enough to cut
feline so that it will break and kill the man
Who trusts himself on it. 1t is terrible
o make a discovery of that kind
t unnerves man more than an
ccident up in the air. Did l ever have
t happen to me. Yes, once, in Chicago
But l don't like to talk about it, for week
ater saw the man who 'cored' my line fall
backwards out of the fourth story window. |
can hear the dull crash of his crushed skull |
nd broken bones yet 1t was terrible"
"You speak of 'coring' line; what do you |
nean!"
"Why, this" and the speaker drew piece |
{ rope from his pocket. Then he opened a |
harp pocllet-knife, and partly untwisting the |
ole cut the inside of the three strands nearly |
through. When the rope was retwisted the |
uts were not discernible To the eye or to the |
ouch The harmless looking bit Of line be- |
anne an internal machine
How do you detect a spot like that!' |
sked the reporter who had already lost the |
lace and sought it in vain in a piece Of rope |
artlly three feet long.
1t i; severe test of skill was Mr. |
togers' answer "Bnt it comes partly, l |
or. Take 400 feet of linz, pass it rapidly |
hrough my hand thus and the motion was
by the steeple-climber with the |
II rope in his hands. Each
athom of line that passes through my hands
felt on every side. Then place my right |
DOT on the line and tighten it with my right
and, so, as am reaching out with my left
Or another stretch of rope. 1t is something
Ike the angler feeling the fish at his bait. I
an feel that tie line is weak. Then locate
ne spot with my hands and eyes. If neces-
ary l untwist the rope in places, thus
PRICES FOR RISK.
"What are youI ternisf'
Il generally work by the job, now. You
Y, | have had SO much experience that |
IN size up a bit Of work pretty accurately.
hen, too, know two-thirds of the towers
nd steeples in the United States and | can
enerally give quotation by mail get
letter saying: we want the spire of our
iurch repainted and the ball rcgilt The
ceple will need two coats of paint. know
he height and circumference of the spire, the
ze of the gold ball on top and the length
time it will take the first coat of
lint to dry. calculated the actual expense
II paint and leaf, the railroad fare and the
,st of board for the number Of days nee
ssary. Then ! add So a day for my wages
nj get total. | telegraph them: will
lint your steeple next week, as required,
r $500 of this sum $50 will represent
atcriais and helpers wages, the balance
y labor. am reasonably independent, for
have several orders for stecples Of churches,
q cornerstone of which have just been
id. | have only recently returned east
ON Cincinnati, where l had several inn
rtant jobs and one very narrow escape
ON death"