Daily Kennebec journal., 1905-12-18
RISK LIVES FOR EGGS.
Daring Climbers Scale Almost Inae-
cessible Cliffs for Slight gain.

1T is terrible, terrible.' exclaimed one
Frenchman; "Magnificent!' cried another,
while a third turned away his eyes with,
'Ah, l cannot bear to look" as the men,
bers of tn e international ornith3loglcai
congress. standing at the foot of the tow
ering cliffs near Marlborough Head.
watched William Winkinson. prince OF
climbers. as he dangled at the end of a
dzzily swaying rope 100 feet and more
above their heads in search of the eggs OF
gulllemot and kittiwake
And indeed, the spectacle of one of
these reckless egg hunters, suspended at
a siddy height from 1rail rope p ar ana ID
face of a cliff more tnaE 100 yards high
over the hungry teeth of the rocks that
fringe the cliffs base. is sufficient to turn
a strong head and send Il shiver of appre-
hension through the least emotional OF
onlookrrs. But to the climber himself il
is his days work, which inspires no more
fear in him than if he We're driving 4
plow or raking hay. Generation after
generation his fcrefathers have reaped
the harvest of sea birds eggs-it runs in
the blood" and he laughs at the very
suggestion Of danger IN what is perhaps
the most risky calling by which man
earns his daily bread.
1t is on the frowning cliff of East
at his best. There are three sire tches of
cllftS-at EemptOn. Specton and Buckton
-leased by different gangs of "climmers.
and here, year after year. the harvest OF
ts~S,S, vi lC,SCi Dili stIIt Slilltillol' puAlil
and kittiwake and many another sea
bird is rgaped; and so plentiful is the
crop that it is said. William Wilkinson in
twenty Years has taken no fcwer than
5W.No eggs from the cliffs with his owA
hands.
And how DO they work. these daring
explorers of the grim Yorkshire cliffs
who risk their lives so light hedrtedly fer
Their methods cannot be better described
than in the words OF Mr.. Clark. 4 we'll
known Yorkshire naturalist. ana himself
an expert amateur cliff climber
This climber wears round his waist 4
stout leather strap. to which are attached
two pieces of webbing passing round the
Thighs from back to front. TO this ar"
fastened two iron cyelets through which
the rope is knotted 1t is thus impossible
to fall out. even should the wearcr be-
com" insensiblc. Before making Il de-
scent an iron crowhar is driven into the
top of the cliff and q second rope fast
encd to ii, the end of which hangs loosely
down the cliff. This is called the guide
rope, and is used by the climber to assist
him i'll controlling his movements. and TO
enable him to facilitate his return to terra
frma.
'ln passing over the cliff edge the
climber walks backward down the steep
slope, which in most cases precedes the
perpendicular portion of the cliff. and ut
the extreme angle drives small steel
pulley with a spike attached into the
earth or II crack in the rock. Over this
he lays the rope which is attached to his
body, and, boldly leaning his full weight
upon it places his feet upon the rock and
practically walks backward down the
face of the cliff. Whilst descending the
climber is held by one man only, who sits
on the cliff top with his feet firmly plant
cd in two holes dug for the purpose. This
man wears round his waist "a broad belt
Of strong padded leather. round which is
passed the rope, so that the weight falls
upon his loinS.'
Certainly the process thus clearly de-
scribed seems simple enough. but II needs
no great stretch of fancy to picture ths.
backward over the brink Of cliff as high
as the cross of st. Pauls to the rugged
rocks below. and who. swinging at the
end of a rope. while hundreds of angry
his head, can calmly proceed from dizzy
ledge to ledge. filling his baskets with
the spoil of eggs.
The spectacle Of the "climmer' at work
at an exciting moment is thus graphically
described by an Onlooker. "The crags-
men. whirling his staff thrice among the
sshricking birds that circled round his
bead head Plant planted d., the 1 end of it AGAINST the
lie swung at the end of his rope like a
pendulum sweeping giddily back and
forth through the air. gaining force at
touched the platform in his forward
swing, and the very blood chilled in my
body as watched him At last, with a
heave and a supple bend. he swung onto
the edge and Strengthened himself with a
jerk. The platform yielded rich toll"
Naturally accidents-fatal accidents
happen to the most expert and careful Of
these egg hunters. but fortunately they
are rare. More frequent however, are
their escapes in thrilling circumstances.
In one case through the slipping of n
sheepshank locp: the rope which support
cd the climber broke. ard to his horror
he saw that he was hanging by a single
strand. At any moment the strand might
break. and swift and horrible death
ensue hut. with marvellous self-posses-
sion and daring, the man. risking ali on
the venture swung himself off into SPACE
toward the guide rope. Once. twice he
failed to reach It. The third time he
clutched it. and as he did so the single
strand that held him from the laws nf
death snapped. A few minutes later he
had climbed the guide rope hand over
hand into safety.-Tt-Bits.