The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-02-09

and gave a sort of spring. throwing his
for his life.
After that he Just climbed astride of
the old steeple and sat there for fifteen
hours, while we were flying another kite
across him. You don't often hear of pluck
like that"
/ admitted that you do not, and put an
other question to him:
when you had hauled a man up in the
ordinary way, what would he do then?''
II 1t was steeple he would sit with
his legs round the cock until he had made
the pulley properly fast. Then he would
haul up four planks and build a foothold-
The rest is easy, once you have got your
man up there"
And is II as easy with these ladders?',
.,,, Far "a, e easier; l can get to the top of a
which looks like one piece, is really built
up OF short Snort lengths, each fifteen feet
a telescope; that is to say, the feet of one
ladder mt into sockets on the top of the
ladder below.
When 1 come to a chimney that must
climb, take one of these short ladders
and rear It straight against the side, but
about foot from the. shaft. My next
implement is a big iron hook which has a
sharp spike and is to be driven into a
brick of the chimney. The loop of this
no nook goes round one Of the rungs of the
LADDER, and when the spike is driven home
the whole thing is as firm as a rock.
In this way get my first ladder up:
anu When we nxed IL, run up, carrying
a second ladder in my hand The ends Of
this Mt into the sockets at the top of lad
der NO. l. A second staple driven into the
prlck work about the middle rung of the
ladder likes 1t like the first is fixed; and
after that it's just the same right away up
to the top.
Where the business is nasty is at the
projecting cornice. Some of these shafts
nave cornices which project two or three
feet; but have known them to stand out
as tar as seven feet, and it's no easy work
a. Qt hat h4rrI,A
make it secure.
"Of course, you want very Iong-shaft-
cd nook to hold the middle rung of 1t, and
you must tie the foot of it with ropes. Still
L never get onto my last ladder without
Dit OF a quake, and I'm always thank
1ul enough when I stand at last on the
work is done''
What does It feel like up there? Is
chimney worse to stand upon than a stee-
pier,
There's no comparing them. For one
thlng, your ledge on which you stand is
not much more than two feet wide and
you've got drop on both sides of you.
There's good deal of heat likely enough,
coming up the fiue of the shaft and add.
cd 10 that, the whole chimney rocks and
sways whenever the wind is high in a way
that would turn you sick.
I've known a tall shaft to swing near
~ foot either way in a gale. That doesn't
SOUND mucn but you stand up there while
the game is going on, and I'll bet my life
you say your prayers, If you have never
SAID tnem BEFORE
1 asked him if he, personally, had en-
Joyed any unusual experiences when run
WELL said he, II once had a very
narrow shave almost at the top of shaft
200 feet high. There was a strong gale
OF wind blowing, and just when / was
getting the last ladder into position a gust
Wrenched it clean out of my hands.
WHATS more, it blew me off the ladder
l was standing on, and l should have
gone right down the whole 200 feet If I
had not managed to clutch a rung and
hang on.
1T made me feel quite queer, can tell
you, to be hanging there by one hand and
unable for a long time to feel anything
with my feet. did get back after a bit,
and strange enough, wnen 1 was all
right, I found that l had still got hold
of the hammer l was working with. It's
use, suppose, for / never thought any
thing about the hammer while 1 was
hanging there, you may be sure
Then he continued, 81 remember be-
ing at the top of a church steeple in Bed
ford when a mate of mine came up drunk
and wanted to fight me. We were stand
ing on two planks about twenty-four
inches wide, and it gave me a turn, you
can think. But 1 gripped him by the
throat, and when 1 had done with him
there wasn't an ounce of fight left in
him."
How did he get down AGAIN."
"Oh, that was easy enough.I tied him
up to the cage and left him there until
he'd slept bit of it off,