The Louisiana Democrat., 1890-06-25
; STEEPLE-J
Their Methods Of Scaling Seem
ingly Impossible Heights.

Their Methods of Scaling Seem
ingly Impossible Heights.
There are many curious trades and
professions, but few moro so than that
of steeple-jack, man whose business
it is to ascend to places which apparent
ly nothing but bird could hope to
reach, and when there TO do all kinds of
work, A spice OF danger is held to lend
charm to an occupation. If this ia
really so, the work of steeple-jack
must be one of the most attractive in
existence, for of daryrer it has no lack.
The most usual job these adventur-
GUS men ure called upon to do is the re-
pairing OF chimney shafts. Chimney
jacks" would really be better name for
them than "Steeple-iacks;" but pre-
sumably the business began before the
great chimneys one sees about nova
1ays were known. Very often they
manage to get to the top of chimney
by the help OF kite; not an ordinary
schoolboy's kite, but one measuring
eight or ten feet by six or eight, and
made of the strongest canvas. Such
kite weighs from thirty to forty pounds,
and costs the best part of three pounds
without counting the line it carries,
which may be a thousand yards
in length. From each of the four
corners of the kite, lines run, and
they are joined about twelve feet
or so away from 1t. After an
interval about twice as great, the
rdown-all" joins the main line. The
'down-all" is made of thinner rope than
the principal cord, and need not be
above hundred yards long. Its use
becomes apparent when the steeple-
jacks assistants manage to make the
kite sail over the chimney's mouth, for
the Instant this happens the man who
is handling the ''down-all" gives jerk,
which has the result of making the
kite fall over, so that the main line
lies across the top of the chimney The
monster kite is manipulated in just the
same way as boy manages his com par
lively small one. OF course the direc-
ton it takes is not left to chance; if
this were so, it would as a rule be
long time before the line lay over the
chimney's mouth. The men in charge
Of the cord become by constant practice
very clever at steering the great
Kite, and provided that the wind helps
them, guide it in such manner that
1t seems as though it were endowed with
reasoning powers, and were as anxious
as any Of them to bring the Job to IA
vorable termination with the least pos
sible delay.
once the cord occupies the desired po-
sltion, 1t is of course an easy matter to
attach strong ropes to the original line
and fix up blocks and gear, by which
cnains are drawn up over the mouth of
the chimney, and finally cage from
which man can work.
AS may easily be believed, a great
aeal depends upon the man who has
mold OF the ''down-all." If he fails to
make his jerk at the right moment, all
ne succeeds in doing is to bring the kite
uoWn with run, when there is the
oother OF carrying it back from the
place at which it started and making
another try. Only steady, reliable
man IS given the charge of the down
All u the trouble involved in working
'ne Kite until it trails the line right
over the shaft is far too great for any
rlsks to be run when it is in the proper
position.
Inc Kite is generally started about
.oar OF live hundred yards away from
'he chimney, and once it is off, all de-
psnas upon the wind. Steeple-iacks
u IKE nice fresh steady breeze; the
s.saainess ,.sa, is the great point, for any
NIUE variation in it means that the
s"te'ui guiding of the kite so far has
Seeh oil no use, and that it must all be-
s,h over again. If the wind is as favor
ao.e as possible (and steeple-jacks are
aps 70 aver that it isn't often so when
.aey nave work in handy, lucky gang
=. VI assistants may get the whole thing
o,s St IN an hour or SO; but then, on the
a'ner nand, they may be three or four
saSs ~ trying in vain to coax the line over
sa, sne chimney. Not even the captain of a
.ailued h..d sailing vessel longs for steady
daS eoAe more than a master steeple- lack
svss ios wnen he has chimney-re pairing
!, ,,o on and half dozen men to nav ali |
,a ,ue sime that is being lost. He does not !
.. .sh' too much wind for his work: a |
~ tsous breeze makes such big kites as |
wi. vi uses quite unmanageable; light !
.s snia isn't strong enough to carry one of
saolu ~ and a wind which chops and
snanges about is the one that is
ns nvlsl OF all. When one of the last
js.ne eu KIND is blowing, it is best to
daas se ene Kite alone and get out the lad |
vhaa leaders :, are what steeple-iacks use
s.o .aen, 1t is question of repairing a |
Mpie' Mp' a spire or round chimney
is ~. shimneys are built square, and it
roras vi square chimneys that the kite
have . in'o use. Many of our readers
M nse =, probably seen string of ladders
sa,,! ~ sae side of spire, and have won.
pnnr nv no" 'hey were arranged, straight
ssVR On of an,