Feliciana sentinel. [volume] (St. Francisville, La.) 1877-1892, 1892-01-16

W on the tops of
high places or on the frail-looking
scaffolds often insecurely erected on
new buildings shiver runs through
me, for it calls to mind an adventure ]
once had which nearly caused my
death.
So awful is the remembrance to me
that not for all the gold in the world
would mount one of their long lad
dcrs and stand, as have seen them do
on merely the two-foot top ledge of
lofty brick wall and gaze coolly down
on the hard pavcmcnts, n hundred or
more feet below.
AS for going up in balloon. the very
thought makes me feel faint and sends
a chill down my backbone.
also avoid looking from the higher
windows in the immense sky-scraping
structures now rapidly filling our
cities. for the fascination then have to
Jump out and down is too strong to
trifie with.
Even the birds soaring high in the
air make me feel uncomfortable, and
the circus with its trapeze performers
is barred from my list of pleasures.
All this came about because /, when
n boy, venturcd elm bing feat which,
as have said. wcll-nigh put an early
end to my existence.
/ was, maybe, n dozen years old at
the time, as agile as wild monkey,
and too thoughtless to know what
danger meant.
a large church was in course of cree
tion near our house. and its very tall
wooden steeple was being topped with
huge ball surnountcd with a cross
The carpenter work was all done
~, T-1 1,ff To ha
painters. to finish and to gild the ball
and cross.
AS far as the belfrcy in the steeple
the scaffolding went; then narrow
Stats ma led across one of the octagon
sides formed Il sort of ladder to reach
its highest point, the Stats growing
smaller as they rose. until. coming to
the ball. they changed to rude,
rounded arrangement following the
shape of the ball and under and over it
to the cross.
we boys found this daily growing
church i fine play ground. and after
school used to congregate there to
watch the worlsmen, particularly when
they were risking their lives and look
ing no bigger than dwarfs upon the
steeple. =
1t was, indeed circus to us, and the
SlpnG OF Iue IucH way, way up oi CuS
cross thrilled us with queer delight
One holiday, when the men were not
working, we were there as usual, gaz-
ing upward and eagerly discussing the
matter until one of US proposed seeing
how hard or how easy it was by
climbing up ourselves.
None but boys, of course, would
think of, let alone attempt. such n
hazardous feat, and SO. after a few
s'dares," up the scaffolding and long
outside ladder to the roof we started, l
leading the rest
We all safely gained the edge of the
sloping roof and sat there awhile to re-
connoitre. The steeple didn't lock so
high as from the street, and there was
a ladder lying on the roof to where the
tower began.
On that we crawled one after an
other and then stopped again to get
our breath before tn, next mount.
Some of the lads now began to be a
little scared at the prospect before
them. and in spite of the more daring
ones ridiculc and loud assertions that
we wouldn't fall they wisely concluded
to 90 no further for the present and
then carefully picked their way back
TO the roofs edge and thence down to
the street, from where they stood in a
group watching with frightened faces
the four of us who remained
= Getting up to the top Of the shaky
SINGLE plank scaffolding at the steeple's
base was an easy matter, and when
we got there we waved our hats and
spaylv shouted to our comrades below
and laughed at their replies for us to
come down.
While doing that a piece of board