The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1903-07-26
SCARES HIGH UP IN THE AIR.
QUEER FEELING THAT COMES
OVER A STEEPLEJACK.
II Doesn't Occur when He Is In Danger,
but Comes From Crushing Sense OF
Loneliness on q Church
Spire That Cured One OF These Attacks.

He climbs steeples and ventures out on
rickety cOrnices and up tremulous Chin
neys for living, and to look at him you
would not think he had a nerve in his body.
He is slender, big-eyed, ox-eyed, one might
say, so calm and placid are his organs of
vision. He is slow of movement and de-
liberate in his speech, and he speaks of
his narrow escapes with the manner of a
third person.
But he admits, at the same time, that he
sometimes gets scared while high in the
air. Oddly enough, those periods of
fright never come at critical moments.
When he needs his lf-possession he always
has it.
Now and then he feels without warning
a crushing sense of his loneliness. He
looks down from his swinging seat at the
pygmy people below, and an awful dread
steals slowly into him
He dips his paint brush into the pot and
goes to work on the steeple's sides with
renewed ardor. With zeal that increases
until 1t becomes something like frenzy he
plies his brush. while the paint spatters
his working clothes and covers his hands
and face.
Az ldSL Jne ItelluR DtCOHlpS 100 StrOnX
and he drops the brush and let's il dange
from the cord attached to his wrist. He
now tries shouting to relieve the nerve
tension. He halloos at the top Of his voice
sometimes; he sings and declaims- but
no one hears, unless it be his helper far
down below, who has grown to understand
these seizures.
The helper knows that the climber does
not want to come down unless he gives
certain signals. He knows. too, that to
loosen the tackle and start the climber
down at such period would be dangerous.
The man on the spire can let himself down
if he wishes; sometimes he alone can re-
lease himself.
SO the man below watches and waits.
Once in while he climbs up the spire as
far as he can get in a hurry and then talks
reassuringly to the man above.
They have odd conversations, too, at
such times They discuss matters rs fer
, removed from the business at hand az
possible. On one occasion 1t will he what
they had for breakfast that morning and
what they would like for supper. Again
il will lie Stout the prec0city OF one or
another Of their children.
They will drift from topic to topic. until
the man at the top sings out; "All right,
BiIl Then the mrn Et the bottom climbs
down to his work and the other, with his
mental poise restored, gathers up the
cord holding his paint brush ind goes back
to his painting.
last week, though" sid this steeplejack
IL had a bed one, the worst l ever exper-
fenced.
There YVES a pretty lively wind II
wpsn't nothing down on the ground. but up
where was, Just lelow the big gilt Lsll on
p Newark church spire, il was pretty Lother-
some. II ives all the time trying to whirl
me ground and around the spire
"You see. the spre wasn't more than
FIVE or six feet in circumference up where
I IVES. The paint IVES nearly worn off !,
End EctuPlly the winds hfd sort Of Scared
the spire in circles. belts like, from the con-
stent wbirling ground end around.
"lhe wind pushed me and joGgled mo