Lawrence democrat. (Lawrenceburg, Tenn.) 1884-1925, 1890-07-25

OF work to build them up; but 1t IL |
quite a simple matter once one knows |
how itisdone. In the first place, an ordi.
nary ladder twenty or thirty feet long
ia placed against the side OF the building
which has to be assembled, Re it chimney,
steeple, or spire. A man mounts this
to the greatest height at which he can
conveniently work, AND drives into the |
brickwsrk an iron pin, which is called
dog" 1t is tipped with steel, so as to
give 1t greater penetrating power, is
from half an inch to an Ia oh in diameter,
and has ring at the end, which pro-
trudes after it has been driven home.
The greatest care must be taken to
make sure that the dog" is thoroughly
firm, and the workman tests it in every
way he can before leaving it,
When the first ''dog" is fast, running
block is attached to it, through which
strong rope is passed. One end of this
rope is tied to the middle of fifty or
sixty foot ladder, and the latter is
pulled up into such a position that it is
almost fiat against the building, with
greater part of its lengtn below than
above the dog" This ing ladder is
then used for the fixing of second
dog" to which block and line are at.
tached in the same manner as was the
case with the first. The next process is
to pull The ladder into such position
that half-a-dozen or so of its rungs are
left underneath the lowest dog" and
to lash it tightly to the pair that are
fixed, using it as a means of fastening
a third.
SO the work goes on until the long
string of ladders stretch all the way ur
the building, or, at all events, far
enough to enable man to work
at the spot which needs attention.
The ladders are so arranged with the
help of pieces of wood that they stand
about seven or eight inches away from
the brickwork; this allows man
ascending them to make sure of good
grip, and leaves plenty of room for his
feet. Any one with fairly strong
head could go up one of these ladder
ways without being made to feel in the
least uncomfortable.
The time that is occupied in getting
the ladders into position of course de.
: ponds chiefly upon the height of the
building. Sometimes they may be run
up in day, while at other times three
or four days will be spent over the bust
ness. If there are any loopholes in the
building at intervals, as is often the
case, the work is of course simplified {
very great deal for unless these are
very far apart, there is no need to use
, dogs at all; all that is necessary is t.
= get some short, stout poles, fasten then
, in such manner that they project thu
: right distance, and lash the ladders OF
, to them. A great deal of time is saved
, when the construction of the building
, gives such help as this, for it is tn,
, proper securing of the dogs" that occu
, pies the time.
a Sometimes steeple-jacks have to ge
= up building of such a sort that the,
q can not drive any thing into it; or per
r haps they may be engaged upon tn
n spire of some church or cathedral whicl
the peo pie in charge of think will b
q injured by that kind of thing. Whel
q there is any thing like this in the wa
O of running up ladders, scafiolding ha
q to be built, sometimes right round tn
: whole spire, sometimes up one side G
: it; that makes the job much longer, q
# course.
n Accidents do not occur so often as on
o would think. Men must be steady &c
q steeple- lacking, and no one is likely
q go in for the work unless he feels conf
Il dence in his nerve. Most steeple-jack
20 lose their heads after time. A ma
4 may be constantly employed as
h steeple jack for fifteen or twenty year
&c and never all that time feel as thong
A. he had any nerves, when suddenly or
g. day he will go all wrong; and thong
the fit may pass off, it is sure to con
r. on again, and man is wise if he leave
10 the business as soon as he gets a war;
10 ing of this kind.
h 1t is not to be wondered at that tin
Of comes when a steeple- Jacks head turr
m as he looks down from height OF pc
haps two or three hundred feet, wit
at nothing but a flimsy ladder betwee
as himself and the ground, which seen
to such long way off. 1t often harper
IL that men are seized with desire to Lei
te down from the top of tall chimney, b,
ne such an awful fatality very seldom a
ne tually occurs.
,g Though every steeple-jack has MAJ
lie stories of narrow escapes to relate, Il
n number of accidents among them is SUI
lg prisingly few considering the pcrilo
hit character of their work. If it we're n
~ for the truth of the adage that "famt
or iarity breeds contempt" the misha
would be far less frequent than they al
ut When the causes that have led to an a
IN cident come to be investiga ted, it is {
.e- most invariably found that the vioti
ks owes his fall to some carelessness eth
he on his own part or on that of his fello
nv workmen. Unavoidable accidents
he course occur in This as in all other ca
as ings, but provided that due attention
De- paid to the observance of proper preca
Or tions, they should be very few and
re between. Journal.
ON
ne Origin of Gold Dust Deposits.