The copper country evening news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 18??-1907, 1897-11-24
HIS SUMMER HOME.
eucHANNoN LODGED oNIRoN ARCH.
eS OF THE EADS BRIDGE.

For Four Months He Slept UP There on
a Piank-Hs Wore Coil of Rope
Around His Body-was Only Disturb d
Once.
Ever since the beginning OF the warm
weather man has made his home high up
among the many trusses and cross beams
of the Eads bridge in st Louis He was
q squatter, and no one knew of his secret
abode until the other day. when he him
self disclosed its whereabouts to the people
of the river front
The name of the man who chose this
queer place for a home is George Buchan.
non. He is in appearance an ordinary
river roustabout and ekes out precarious
existence, as do many of his followers, by
loading and unloading the packets as they
depart and arrive at the levee. He is not
a popular man among the roustabouts and
has always been regarded by them as a sort
of mystery.
He is reticent and OF gloomy DISPOSE.
tion and absolutely refuses TO Join in their
drunken revels, and this probably accounts
for his appropriately.
The mystery in regard TO Buchannon
was increased early in the summer by his
appearance one morning with coil Of
small rope about 80 feet in length wound
about his body Ever since then he has
worn the rope. never being seen without
it. So constantly has he worn il that the
matter has long since ceased to excite COM
ment among the people of the river front
Another mysterious thing in regard to
Buchannon was that no one knew where
hn eli IIa nj hn
early in the morning and was still there
when darkness scattered the roustabouts
to their various sleeping places among the
lumber piles and in the doorways.
The mystery of his sleeping place was
recently revealed as was also his reason
for wearing the rope about his body A
few afternoons ago in full view of the as
sembled roustabouts Buchannon walked
to point under the big bridge between
the west pier and the water and there did
a strange thing. He unwound the rope
from his body, and, gathering it up in a
loose coil in his hand threw one end of it
in the direction of the ironwork of the
bridge. The end of the rope was thrown
deity over one of the iron girders and
came swinging back TO the thrower. Then
hand over hand with the agility of a sailor
he climbed the rope to the top and, grasp
ing the girder, swung himself up among
the ironwork, after which he pulled the
rope up after him.
The unusual proceeding attracted a
crowd and all wondered what the man
was doing They soon found out, for
Buchannon quickly lowered small bun
die of clothing with the rope, then threw
down a plank, which he took from across
some of the iron braces, placed the rope in
position again and came sliding to the
ground. AS he reached the ground one Of
the roustabouts asked him what he was
doing. Buchannon answered briefly :
Breaking up housekeeping. I've been
sleeping up there all summer. He then
picked up his bundle and hurried up the
levee. A short time later he was content
eddy sitting on lumber pile watching the
river.
When questioned as to when and why
he had taken up his abode in such a
strange place, he said that when the warm
weather came he cast about for good
place to sleep during the summer. While
standing under the bridge one day he
thought that place up among the net
work of iron would answer his purpose.
For many years he had been a sailor, and
with the aid of a rope it was very easy for
him to reach his bedroom. The rope he
says he purchased with money he earned
by helping TO unload steamboat. He
says he was disturbed but once during
the entire summer, and that was when
painters were at work on the bridge For
about week he was compelled to lower
the plank which formed his bed each
morning and raise it again at night
During the day, he says, he kept it hidden
under the gangplank of one of the wharf
boats The nights were getting so cold
now, he said, that he decided TO abandon
his home for the winter SO he broke up
housekeeping by throwing down the plank
and taking away his little bundle of cloth
ing, all his earthly possessions. st. Louis
Republic.