The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1903-10-29
LOFTY HOME OF AN ARTIST
HOW HE HAS CURED HIM.
SELF

or Consumption by His Unique Mode
of Living Far Up From the Ground.
Springfield, Ohio, Sept. 26.-High up in
the top of giant white oak tree, sixty
seven feet above the ground, an artist,
oran Steinberger, was visited yesterday
by the Tribune correspondent. Mr..
Steinberger was formerly an instructor
in the art department at Wittenbers
college, who, fearing that he was VIC
tim of lung disease, adopted the move
method of living in the tree-tops to cure
himself.
His dwelling, which he calls Camp
Aloft and the Tree-top Studio, is situa-
ted in the top Of big tree in the farm
of Duncan Mcdonald, about nine miles
north of Springfield, ON the Urbana
pike. 1t consists of platform built
around three central branches of the
tree and extending outward for several
feet TO the nearby supporting limbs. On
the platform are built benches and seats
that can accommodate with ease twenty
| persons. To reach the tree-top home of
the artist the visitor must seat himself
in a swing attached to a long rope and
allow himself to be pulled upward by a
block and tackle arrangement.
Once on the platform, far above most
| of the surrounding trees, the visitor can
see for miles up and down the Mad Riv-
err valley, one of the most beautiful
stretches of natural scenery in this part
! ,nf fha IN In 1110ffnpr1a M
Steinberger has arranged benches and
tables, so that comfort is not lacking to
make the visit enjoyable. 1t is surpris-
ing how clear and pure the air is at the
height of the tree-top studio above the
| ground. The soft fragrance of the
woodland, untainted by dust, the gentle
! swaying of the tree when the wind
blows and the exhilaration caused by the
! strange surroundings, all unite in maxi
| ing the trip one of unusual pleasure.
| Mr.. Steinherger himself is most in
teresting man, and his description of life
as he sees it from his elevation and Of
his experiences in life is well worth go
ing nine miles to hear.
| Several years ago, according to his
story, his lungs became affected, and it
was necessary to get out of this climate
or die, so his physicians said. He went
| to Arkansas, but his health did not i'm
| prove, and he came back to his home
! almost resigned to die. During all this
{ time he worked faithfully at his chosen
| profession, and took Sundays for exer-
else in the hope Of gaining strength.
For while he tried working on wood
| pile every Sunday morning while the old
folks were at church, but the axe made
too much noise, and the neighbors began
to frown, so he quit choppirg wood and
! went into the timber patches to find
exercise. ....--.-..
! Here he began to climb trees, and he
found the exercise so beneficial that he
made it a regular practice. In the tree
! tops he made the discovery that the air
! was purer and more exhiIarating, SO the
/ idea came to him that he might do we'll
| to build house in the trees, and do his
work there, where the air felt so good.
His first attempt was made in the
woods on his fathers farm, but visitors
became so frequent that he removed to
his present quarters. s
| Steiuberger- claims that consumption
can be cured by living in. the tree-tops,
| as there is more oxygen there and the
air is free from all Impurities found on
! the ground. He says that in his own
case there is no doubt. He is we'll now,
and stronger than ever before in his life.
In his home in the white oak he re-
ceives few visitors, and as friends he
has the squirrels and tree mice. He
| would not even allow a spider that
| craWled across the platform to be
killed. He says that he loves nature
and the trees and his little companions,
\ and he will not see them hurt Last
! Saturday he had some trouble with a
| careless boy, who persisted in shooting
at a mark set up against his tree. The
bullet entered the body of the huge oak
and left hole in the tree and wound
in the feelings of the artist, to whom
the tree is real friend.
| One hundred and twenty-five feet in
the air above the platform Mr., Stein
| berger has suspended a flag, made out
of an old red blanket. Sewed on its
! sides are emblen1s which the artist
would have adopted as better ones than
those now used by this country. On one
side is a white eagle, the emblem of
purity and strength, looking upward to-
ward the star of hope, instead Of rest
ing easily and in contentment. On the
other side of the blanket flag is the
fieur-de-lis, a compliment to France for
the aid she gave to this country in Sc
curing it's freedom. Mr.. steinberger in
tends to live permanently in his tree
top home, to- do all his art work there,
and live in the health he now enjoys,
and, if possible, to induce others who
| are suffering from lung diseases, to, do
| likewise, and gain strength as he has
| New York Tribune.