The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1898-01-14
Fight WITH EAGLES.
A PAINTERS EXPERIENCE ON THE
FACE OF A PREClPICE.

An Artist Undertakes TickIish Job In the
Adirondacks-Bald Eagles Seriously OBJ
jected to the Placing of Medicine Adver-
tfsement on the Front of Their Home.
Frank L. Van Ness. who is now por-
trait FAINTER III this city, once had All I'M
usual experience. Mir. Van Ness says he
is not likely to forget the first and only
sign lie ever painted, for it was while
putting n patent medicine advertisement
on the face of precipicc i'll the Adirondack
mountains that he made n too intimate nc
quaintance with colony of American
eagles.
My adventure in the Adirondacks oc-
Cured several years ago. said MIR. Van
Ness, but l remember it just as well as
if it were only yesterday. l had gone to
kCcnc Center, u little town in the noun
tains of western New York, with q friend
to do some Skctching from nature. Some
of the mountain scenery there is very fine,
and we wanted to take advantage of it
during the warm vacation months. There
was then no railroad at kccne Center, but
a stageCoach line ran from the town to
Westport on the banks of Lake Champaign,
about 30 miles away. So we had an ideal
location. One day there came to the little
hotel where we were stopping the agent
of % well known patent medicine COM
pany. He was accompanied by two sign
painters and we were informed that these
Two men were going to paint sign on tho
ace of II precipico about 800 feet high,
which was located about half way between
acene Center and Westport. The preci-
picc was high in the mountains and in
Jlain view of the stagecoach line, which
wound around lower down and almost
two miles away.
THE medicine people werc sharp enough
TO know that if they could have sign
painted on that stone wall in letters large
enough to DC read from stagecoachcs pass
ing by it would be great card for them.
50 two painters were brought out to do
the job. The agent took them out to the
precipice. They took one glance down the
$40 feet of perpendicular rock and abso-
lutely refused to go down the face of the
mountain to paint the advertisement.
The medicine man came back to the hotel
berating the men and wishing he could
find somebody who would tackle the job.
told him would do it if lie could make
sufficient induccment.
THE agent offered me $500, and we each
posted forfeit Of $50. The two painters
who declined to make the descent agreed
to handle the ropes in letting me down,
md as soon as l was ready we made our
way to the precipice. l looked over tho
,dge, and I'll acknowledge the prospect
looked pretty scary. About POO or 300 feet
down there were projecting lodges, and
here and there on the lodges bald eagles
had their nests. And they wore good big
eagles too-none of your owl size.
The men tied strong ropes to the spruce
trees growing at the top of the precipice,
and the other ends OF the ropes We're tied to
! big basket, into which l climbed with
my bucket OF paint. Then they dropped
the basket over tho cliff and let me slowly
Town until l was about 1875 feet from the
top which had calculated was about the
point where ! wanted to begin painting.
| hadn't calculated on having much trou
dc with tho eagles, but to be on the safe
side had taken club and revolver with
me In the basket. Well, the first day tell
you those bald old fellows made it mighty
not for me. My basket hadn't any more
than stopped III its descent when the birds
set up u terrible racket far down below
me. They scrceched and screamed as if
they were holding terrible Indignation
meeting. / watched them for a minute or
two, but Us they didn't appear to be tgur-
ing on committing assault and battery l
dipped tho big whitewash brush was
using into the paint and started to work.
minute or two later l thought l heard n
swish In tho mir, and looking up l saw n
big eagle that looked about the size of
m ostrich swooping down on me. He
was so close that l didn't have time to
grab either my club or revolver. l made
\ pass mt him with my big brush Us no
came down. hit him kind of glanc
ing lick, and think got little paint In
his eye or in his mouth, for he sat down
on n ledge for minute and made queer
motions with his head as if he were try
ing to get the paint out of his eye or
mouth.
Then another eagle came to his assist
nncc, and the two began gyrating around
in lily nsighborhood in IA manner that
didn't like. l dropped my paint brush
and went to hunting SO to speak. l shot
at them n time or two, but didn't seem to
do much damage. Again one of them flew
above me, and, folding his wings to his
sides, came down with swoop. If he in
tended to hit me Squarcly his aim WASH
any better than mine shot ut him and
my hat off as he shot past me. Then the
other one came at me with n scream of
rage. But, rs good luck would have it,
blazcd away with my revolver and hit
him, and he few back wounded to the
family below None of the eagles came
very close after that, but kept up an in
termittcnt firing to let them know that l
proposed to hold the fort. 1t was the time
of year when the young eagles were in the
nests and the old ones probably feared that
| had come to rob them. They either
learned that my mission was peaceHble or
else l scared them out, fer they did not
bother me at all after the first day.
Even without further molcstation from
the eagles l had Il pretty big job on my
hands. The men had to pull me up and
down quite distance, for made the sign
letters % feet high. Each letter, Us u
whole, was Il feet wide and the lines Of
the letters 81 in width. BY ropes an
chored far away from the point from which
the basket was suspended the men pulled
me i'll the direction l had to travel along
the face of the precipice to continue the
painting. The rock on which l was paint
Ing was dark gray, SO l painted the
sign pure white, and it took three half
barrels of paint to finish the job. 1t took
me 20 days to complete my undertaking.
The sign cold easily be read from the
stage road, but the letters appeared from
there to be only an inch and half in
height. The period at the end of the nd.
vertisement made as big as the head of
q large barrel. but from the road 1t looked
about the size of the head of match.
Passengers on the stagccoaches would fire.
quently bet on the height of the letters,
but few ever guessed them anywhere near
their actual height. That was my first,
last and only sign. "-Chicago Chronicle.
The Knife of n Decade.
The most remarkable knife in the world
is that in the curiosity room of q firm of
cutters in Sheffield. 1t has l, $50 blades,
and ten blades are added every ten years.
Philadelphia Inquirer
Slow at Seeing.
Fog-FendersOn is good enough fcl-
low, but he is terribly slow at seeing
joke.
Bass-Is he?