The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1902-08-31

Il
| strains of the wind and weather. demanded
| the attention of n skilled mechanic. Bar
| rvs viSi!ant eye was forever on the look
| out for loose or rusty bolts, and these once
found, he would swing on slender line
| from some knob Of projection and effect
| the necessary repairs. A very speck against
| the dull gray of the dome. he would accom-
! plish his work unperceived by the thou
| sands OF pedestrians passing in the streets
below.
Barry was the man who. during the peace
jubilee and the q. a. R. encampment
strung the thousands OF incandescent lamps
from the top OF the tower TO the corners
of the roof, and it was he who was fore
most in the pyrotechnical display from the
tower. heralding in the Twentieth Century.
During the Export Exposition he raised
a 20-fOot pole from the circular opening in
the crown of PENIS hat and climbed to
the top. This placed him at height of 800
feet 81 inches from the sidewalk an alti-
tude exceeded by only one man in. this
city, that man an employe of the iron COM
pany which raised the statue to the top of
the tower. He succeeded in placing a Co
foot pole IN the hat and climbed to the top.
Adventures in Midair.
Barrys whole life was continuous story
OF thrilling midair adventure each day be-
ing chapter replete with peril. But what
would have meant certain destruction to
another man was mere child's play to him.
He knew every piece of metal in the su-
perstructure. Penn's statue was an open
book which he read inside and out. Not a
button or a fold with which he. was not
familiar and which he did not carefully
scrutinize day after day.
The immense clock dials also came under
Barry's supervision. In fair weather and
In foul he went regularly on a tour of in
spection every week, ascending from the
coping outside OF the clocks to the narrow
ledge " dai
Immediately below the dials. When the
heavy plates Of glass in the dial became
loosened from their sockets though this
was not often. he would descend on line
from above and hang like human spider
across the timepiece's giant face.
But Barry's thrilling feat-one which
made the blood freeze in the veins of the
person witnessing it-was his circuit OF the
upper dome. Near the top OF the tower
about 500 feet from the ground-are eight
circular windows. They measure fully feet
In diameter, but from the street they look
scarcely a foot wide. Under these windows.
running around the outside of the tower at
this point, is a ledge, curving abruptly
downward at its edges and affording a
footing Of barely inches. This perilous
pathway is interrupted at eight different
points by the ribs of metal which give to
the dome its octagonal shape.
Walked ON Narrow Strip.
Barry. laughing at the idea of danger,
made the circuit OF this treacherous path
way for the benefit of a newspaper man.
walking foot over foot and clinging to the
sides of the structure with the fiat palms
narrow that no ordinary man would have
attempted, II at a greater height than six |
or seven feet from the ground. Barry made
hght OF II at 800. with the depth of the City |
chasn.
And yet the man who could achieve feats |
Wlfhnnt n he Vic
tim of a comparatively insignificant fall. |
For two weeks Barry had been superin !
work. which braces the towers interior.
rom the very top the work had progressed
downward to the cantilever floor. a distance
)t 81 rect above the clock floor. The can
ilever floor consists of steel beams, no
focring being put down at this point Bar
y was working a few feet above this floor.
he stood on plank supported near the
,nds by two projecting pieces of wood, |
<nown to mechanics as three by four
Sedged In between the metal work. and the
2-inch-wide plank which Barry stood
ay across their projecting. ends; Whether
he plank slipped from these boards or
whether Barry. forgetting himself mo
nentarily; stepped to the end of the PLANK
md tipped 1t up will never be known. For
ythe. one of the three other men with him
leard slight rumble and looked around
ust N time to see Barry and the plank
TeSeiipitated .Si a into the black depths below.
upport with grip of iron as he leaned
ar out to watch the fated man in his
escent. My God. HI is gone
His Fatal Fall.
All three men saw him strike the floor
elow the clocks. Barry fell II feet and hit
steel BEAM crushing all the ribs of one
ide ana turning over like 4 pinwheeI in
Is downward flight. Two-thirds OF the way
own he came in contact with a narrow |
ircular bar, which snapped his legs and
gain sent him spinning around and !
round 4 second later he reached the
oor. a bruised and bleeding mass.
Only the week previous Barry had bought
Panama hat at a bargain figure He |
ontinued to wear the straw hat purchased
arlier in the season. telling his friends that ,
e would save the Panama until next sum
ler. But of the many pathetic Incidents |
Ihich surrounded his sudden DEATH the
purchase of a home from the {
honey he had been saving all his life Is :
De saddest.
Barry was a sailor in his earlier days.
nd afterwards shiprieger. He acquired
ne sobriquet of "Steeple-Jack'' from his
any daring feats of climbing His special
was later climbing high poles End
Gather vanes for the purpose of rcanins
p flag halyards or gliding the ornaments
their tops. But his most perilJus work
as done on the City Hall tower. over
-ery square foot. of which ne climbed !
18th nerve and daring possessed by very
w men He was liked by all as clever
orkman and good companion
n