The Louisiana Democrat., 1890-06-25
UENRYL. BlOSSlT, Business Manager.

US though 1t would be difficult piece
of work to build them up; but it is
quite o simple matter once one knows
how it done. In the first place, an ordi-
nary ladder twenty or thirty feet long
Is placed against the side of the building
which has to be assembled, be it chimney,
steeple, or spire. A man mounts this
to the greatest height at which he can
conveniently work, and drives into the
brlckwork 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 inch 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
tlrm, and the workman tests 1t 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 position that it is
almost fiat against the building, with
greater part of its length below than
above the dog" This long 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 runes are
left underneath the lowest "dog," and
to lash it tightly to the pair that are
fixed, using it as means of fastening
third.
So the work goes on until the long
string of ladders stretch all the way up
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 a 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-
| pends 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 busi-
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 to
get some short, stout poles fasten them
in such manner that they project the
right distance, and lash the ladders on
to them. A great deal of time is saved
when the construction of the building
gives such help as this, for it is the
proper securing of the dogs" that occu-
pies the time.
Sometimes steeple-jacks have to get
up building of such sort that they
can not drive any thing into it; or per-
haps they may be engaged upon the
spire of some church or cathedral which
the peo pie in charge of think will be
injured by that kind of thing. When
there is any thing like this in the way
of running up ladders, scaffolding has
to be built, sometimes right round the
whole spire, sometimes up one side of
it; that makes the job much longer, of
course.
Accidents do not occur so often as one
would think. Men must be steady for
ple-jacking, and no one is likely to
60 in for the work unless he feels conf
dence in his nerve. Most steeple-jacks
lose their heads after time. A man
may be constantly employed as
steeple-jack for fifteen or twenty years,
and never all that time feel as though
he had any nerves, when suddenly one
day he will 60 all wrong; and though
the fit may pass off, it is sure to come
on again, and man is wise if he leaves
the business as soon as he gets warn
ing of this kind.
It's not to be wondered at that time
comes when steeple-iack's head turns
as he looks down from a height of per-
haps two or three hundred feet, with
nothing but a flimsy ladder between
himself and the ground, which seems
such long way off. 1t often happens
that men are seized with desire to leap
down from the top of a tall chimney, but
such an awful fatality very seldom ac-
tually occurs.
Though every steeple-jack has many
stories of narrow escapes to relate, the
number of accidents among them is sur
prisingly few considering the perilous
character of their work. If it were not
for the truth of the adage that "famil-
iarity breeds contempt" the mishaps
would be far less frequent than they are.
When the causes that have led to an ac-
cident come to be investiga ted, it is al
most invariably found that the victim
owes his fall to some carelessness either
on his own part or on that of his fellow
workmen. Unavoidable accidents Of
course occur in this as in all other call
ings, but provided that due attention is
paid to the observance of proper precau-
tions, they should be very few and far
between. chambers Journal.
Origin of Gold Dust Deposits.
The origin of the gold dust in alluvial
drifts has long been puzzle to mining
authorities. While it is plain that some
of the grains of gold were deposited by
the same process as the other detritus, it