Highland recorder. (Monterey, Highland County, Va.) 1877-1972, 1900-05-18


but after that he doesn't even bother
to think of the chance of his falling.
OF course he's safer for getting into
that steady state of mind, but once in
while he's walked up out of it. I've
been eighteen years going up aloft,
and in all that time never had what
you'd call thrilling experience ex-
cept once"
Peter Graves is a Chicago man, now
engaged in structural iron work,
building great steel frames for the
huge sky-scrapers to be found in the
heart of the city. He has painted
the spires of many, of the churches
of Chicago, gilded high perched
crosses and balls, scaled lofty Chin
neys, and with all that preserved a
we'll balanced mind and most Oh eer-
full disposition.
Probably his entire working life has
been one narrow avoidance of death,
but these quick escapes are hardly
noticed by such man; he considers
them not worth relating, and it is
most difficult to draw him out as to
what he has gone through. Still
Graves did tell me the story of his
effort to place lightning-rod upon
the crest of the chimney of the Chi
cago Roofing Company at Riverdale,
in the suburbs of the city. That, as
he put it, "was Just little out of the
ordinary, and gave something to think
about for a while" This is how he
told of the experience-his wife be-
ing in the room at the time:
You know where the roofing works
are? Yes, just along the tracks of
the Northwestern road, with stack
in the rear that rises good ninety or
one hundred feet. The work On the
chimney was done, and the masons
were ready to quit when some one de-
cided that there ought to be light
ning-rod on top of it; for high CHM
neys are often struck-but I guess not
oftener than house.
The bricklayers, when they quit, left
pulley fixed into the top of the chin
ney, with a rope running through it
right down to the ground. They took
their scaffolding down, but they left
the pulley, because there was chance
that they might have to 60 back, and
the pulley and rope came in handy for
my job of putting up the lightning-rod.
L was painting the spire of church
on the west side of the city, when
fellow came over to tell me that they
wanted me to put that lightning-rod
up. I said I'd go out the next day.
Well, going out to Riverdale was like
a jaunt into the country, and so took
my wife along, thinking to give her
sight of the fields and some real green
grass. Mary-that's my wife-was to
enjoy herself with the scenery while I
was up lacking that lightning-rod on.
But women are queer. No? Well,
I'll take it back then, Mary Anyway,
when we got out there, and I was
going up, Mary just sat down, and for
got all about the pretty scenery she
had come out to look at, and kept her
eyes on me.
Before started up, I got a rope
connection on my lightningrod stuff,
and I put what we call sling seat on
to therope which was running through
the chimney pulley. This seat is made
of rope, and 1 was to sit in it while l
did my work. got into this sling,
and then some workmen hauled at the
other end of the rope, and with my
feet set against the side of the Chin
ney, I went up right to the top IN next
to no time.
1t was blazing hot day in the mid.
die of August; air still, no wind blow
ing, and the bricks so warm there was
q queer smell from them. The work
men, after they had pulled me to the
top, tied their end of the rope to a
stake OF pole, and went away about
their business, calculating they'd hear
me holler when / was ready to come
down. They knew I had to stop every
few feet on my way down to fix the
lightning -rod conductor with catches
into the mortar between the bricks.
1t was so hot at the top that / hur-
ried to fix place for the lightning
rod. AS pulled myself over the top
of the chimney to do this, with one
leg inside Of il and one leg outside. |