The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1893-10-10
DAILY. 40 A YEAR
5 CENTS A COPY.
WEEKLY 81 % A YEAR.
WILD FEATS IN MID-AIR.
A Drunken Painter on a Telephone
Pole HOTrilieS a Crowd.

Climbing to the Top He Stands Up-
right on Its Point Bowling to the
Crowd Below-Sltding Down to the
Platform He Swings His Body
Through Space-A Lineman who
Went to His Rescue Forced to Fell
Him with His Hammer After a
Desperate Struggle for Life.
Atlanta, Ga, oct. Edward Tucker,
painter employed by the telephone
company in pain ting telephone poles, was
the principal actor in a scene that OUT
classes dime novel fiction this after
noon. The poles Tucker has been engaged
on are exactly ninhty feet from street to
top-giant timbers. When the
painter left his work at noon
to-day he visited neighboring
saloon and laid himself out to get on a
bowling drunk on short notice. He sue
ceeded beyond his expectations When
he returned to the big pole he was paint
ing he was completely off in his head, but
comparatively steady on his legs He
climbed the high pole with his usual ease
and reached the little circular platform
built ten feet from the top, where he had
left his paints and brushes.
THE PLATFORM.
This platform is less than five feet in
diameter, Just large enough to accommo-
date a man easily and can be gotten on to
only through a trap door IL has an iron
railing around it to guard against acci-
dents when the linemen are engaged in
their lofty work. Soon after Tucker as
cended people on the streets were hor-
rihed to see him sitting squarely on the
top Of the pole, his arms folded and care-
lessly viewing the city from his perch.
A crowd gathered rapidly. The reckless
mans fall was expected every moment,
but the gazing throng below only increas-
ed the mans recklessness.
STOOD ON THE TOP OF THE POLE.
While the crowd stood with bated
breath he drew himself up until his feet
were on top of the 90-fOot pole and then
as a murmur of horror went up, raised
himself to a standing position. How the
man kept his balance in his drunken con-
dition is a miracle. He stood on the pole,
which barely gave him foot room, for sew
eral moments and bowed to
the crowd below. Then slid
ing rocklessly down to the little
shelf ten feet below, he still further hor-
rified the spectators by swinging his body
back and forth through space, while he
held TO the shelf with his hands. Every
moment he was expected to be dashed to
pieces A gang Of linemen were sent out
from the telephone exchange to save him.
II was not known whether the man was
drunk or crazy
FIGHT FOR LIFE.
One Of the linemen ascended the pole
and finally gained the little platform. He
had scarcely gotten a foothold, however,
before the wild painter grappled with
him, and the spectators below, who now
numbered thousands, were more horritied
than ever to see the two engaged in
desperate struggle at the top of
the big pole. For few minutes
while the mad painter fought with
maniac's ferceness and the brave line
man struggled for his life, the spectators
turned sick at the sight. When the pain
ter was seen to fall over in the lineman's
arm, broad stream of blood gushing
from his head, sign Of relief went up to
applaud the lineman, who had succeeded
in landing blow with his hammer that
In all probability saved the lives Of both.
LOWERED TO THE STREET.
Before the painter regained conscious
ness other linemen came to the rescue
and he was bound and on the way to the
street below at the end of rope. He is
now in the hospital pretty badly hurt by
the lineman's hammer, but much better
off than If he had been left to dash him.
self to death from the top OF the big pole,
which would surely have been his fate
but for the lineman who risked his own
life In save him