The Cook County herald. [volume] (Grand Marais, Minn.) 1893-1909, 1899-02-04
I NECK BREAKING ROYALTY.
steeple- Climbing Craze That Has Broken
t: Out In Vienna.

Craze That Has Broken
t Out In Vienna.
The Vienna correspondent of the
London Daily News, writing on Aug.
u, says: An extraordinary craze has
seized certain class Of Viennese pa
triots. Since the Tyrolese Pircher
more than ten years ago assembled
Saint Stephens steeple to fix black
and yellow flag at the top, the feat has
been repeated both there and at the
Votive church. Matters, however,
reached their climax last night, when
no fewer than five such attempts were
made in honor of the emperor's jubilee
birthday tomorrow. About nine man
heavily laden came to the St. Stephens S
tower with two boys carrying ladder.
With the help of this he mounted to
the roof of the vestry, when the boys
and ladder disappeared. He then took
his boots off, and put them in bag on
his back. He carried, moreover, two
large flag staffs, with the flags rolled
them, and laurel wreath tied on his
back. With all these impediments he
climbed the outside of the belfry, and
reached the gallery OF the f1reman's
tchroom: nfortunately for his
plan he had been noticed, and the po7
lice were quickly informed. The fire.
men on the tower were instructed by
telephone to stop him, and when he
reached the gallery hands were
stretcheds out to catch him. He was
taken down the stairs and given up to
the police. The crowd made him the
hero of the moment, applauded him,
and wished to know his name. He is
a plumber named Rinker. At the
same time the two Gothic towers of
the Votive church were being well
watched, an anonymous letter having
informed the police that the rope dan
Ger Prybil, who brought down the last
flag placed on the tower by an un-
known hand, intended burning fire.
works on the eve of the emperor's
birthday on rope slung frop the
top of the towers. At II, two men
with ropes and bags approached. The
police stopped them, and declared that
the neck-breaking experiment could
not be allowed The men were the
rope dancer and his brother, who loud
ly protested. About the same hour a
young woman, tall and strong, with
flagstaff twice as tall as herself, was
found climbing up the side Of the
church. When she was questioned
she answered that she merely meant to
climb to the roof and fasten the flag
between the two belfries so that every
body could see it. She expected that
if the emperor was told that a woman
had put it there, he would want to see
her, and he would then be anxious to
grant her wish. This was to get her
grandfather admitted as one of the 12
old men at the next annual feet-wash-
ing at the Burg Palace on the Thurs
day before Easter. While the police
were discussing these matters, with the
adventurous parties, another man, the
fifth climber, quietly approached the
other side of the church, which was un-
guarded, and with a black and yellow
flag bearing the imperial eagles, climb
ed the eastern tower to within fifty feet
of the top, fixed his flag, and quietly
came down again. But he had been
noticed by some one. He was stopped
when he came down and made to report
himself at a neighboring police station.
He is a young workman, aged 18, nam
ed Schrieber.