Evening capital. (Annapolis, Md.) 1884-1910, 1884-08-18
IN THE SKY.
rY,e life of n SteepIe-CItmber-N Mar
row Escapes from Death.

at his boarding house. II am steeple-
~l;n,her and 80 far as / know, the only
man IN the country who relies solely upon
this trade for a living. There was
another man who did the same work,
and the narrator sighed but, poor
fellow. he fell from the tower OF the new
structure of the Old South church, IN
Roston. and died aftera few gaspS on the
pavement. lie was clever workman,
full Of original ideas and great in a sud
den emergency His name was Watson
Bill Watson. ! was his helper for two
wears He was the coolest man ever
knew. We were regilding a cross on the
SHIRE of Catholic churchin st. Louis.
II was q small Job, and he mad taken II
rs a snap and intended to finish 1t, OIL
hand. in an afternoon. He was not as
careful with his lines as he should nave
been We assembled TO the highest WIN
dow in the spire and he put PAIR oil
climbers on his feet (such as the telegraph
line men use) and went up a narrow ridge
Of board to which the lightning-rod was
made fast. The ball was sixty feet
above and in less than five
minutes he had line around the
cross and was dashed to 1T. He stood
nearly two hundred feet from the ground.
Contrary 10 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 pro-
dressed. These | sent him in small
tin bucket or basket, as the case might be,
| which he drew up by means of small
cord fastened to his waist. lie had Just
received a roll of foil (for he had shellac
that dried very quickly in the SUM
when he said in perfectly natural
! tone:
'''Catch me, Morry.
can instant later / had him In my
arms. He clutched the window sill and
sprang into the landing, All he said
was. Course that rope. | had 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
! foreseen what was about to occur-all In
/ five seconds My catching him saved
| him from a hundred and fifty feet of a
! fall, but after eating bite of luncheon
he was back again ana finished the job
just as if nothing had happened"
GLOW did you enter on this lifeg' was
.ked
81 Joined the army year before the
war closed. ! wasn't a hero and only
took part in two battles. was very
young-only eighteen-and was TERRIBLY
scared, | frankly confess. When came
home resumed work Is house painter.
had served part of an apprenticeship
| and was as competent as most journey
men, ] soon acquired a reputation for
being able to work with rapidity upon
high scatfolding. The out window
and ladder work was play to me. | did
not have any accidents, never have felt
light headed, and the consequence was
that / was soon making double wages on
all the dangerous jobs that came in the
way Of the firm for which ] worked
J This was in Buffalo. / was born in Ba-
tavia. n Y
One day ] was sent to Rochester,
with six other painters, to assist in finish
ing the interior of new theatre that
1 had to be done on very short notice
There | met Watson. He was doing the
frescoing on the inside of the dome
! We struck up an acquaintance. The
consequence was that ] engaged to 90
with him as his helper The time
| WoIhtu Will u1lIl ConulJltIcu my euuCd-
ton as tower climber. / left him to
go into business for myself. / took the
West and he retained the East. We
parted as friends and I'm glad we did,
for | never saw him again"
"What kind of a steeple do you re-
gard the most dangerous to scale?''
"a slate covered spire,n was the
prompt reply. There are many reasons
why it is dangerous-rea reasons that would
not occur to you. To enumerate a
couple: The edge of broken slate is
often as sharp as knife and will cut the
best Manila rope like soap when the
strain of a mans body is on it. In put.
ting on the states a peculiarly finished
nail, with beaten head, is often used
! Where there is broken slate these nails
are liable to work up, and they will nick
a rope IN such way that you will never
know it until you feel an ominous set
Ting OF the slender perch upon which
! you swing. That sensation is calculated
to cause any mans hair to raise
Do you select your own ropes and fix
all your own scaffolding?"
Indeed, | do, was the reply. ~
carry all my tackle with me and am very
particular who handles it. Ihave com
partment in my trunk in which | always
carry about 400 feet OF line. The best
rope Tor this purpose is made of English
hemp
DO you examine the lines often?''
Always after they have been used
and before go up on them. You would
] orCE i 4 -