The Lee County journal. (Leesburg, Ga.) 1904-19??, 1907-05-03
a.
By ALERT ". TOLNAH.


shop of the bridgebuilders a dozen
men were fastening a steel span
From a furnace glowing in a dusky
corner a grimy Swede, with long
handled tongs. continually plucKeo
forth red-hot rivets. These ne hlrteu
in fiery twenty-foot parabolas 10 d
comrade, who deity caught them IN
a scoop, whence they were removed
by the rivet tender and inserted, an
glowing, in their respective holes, TO
be driven into place and shape.
1t was the scoop-man who toid me
this story that night in his home, AFTER
his days work was over.
"In July, 1896" said he, i was
working on steel-framed shy-scraper
IN one of our large coast cities. We
had reached the eighth story and as
the floors were somewhat more than
ten feet apart, the top beams were Weu
up in the air
Zone afternoon I was inside an ele-
vator we'll between the seventh and
eighth stories, fastening the guide to
the sheet-steel wall One of the 9th
er sides was also covered with steel
but the ether two were open. Charley
Hoff, Dutch Charley we called him,
was driving rivets outside the wall
while held the dolly to head up the
inner ends.
"This particular dolly was round
steel bar three feet long, weighing
about fifty pounds. From its top ran
a chain ending in a hook, which had
caught over the top Of the wall few
feet above, SO that the bar hung sus-
pended against the guide, and all I
had to do was to hold it against the
rivet ends as they came through.
"At half past eleven we reached a
set of holes six feet above the seventh
floor To get at these was obliged
to sit upon a board supported by two
tall wooden horses, standing on planks
laid across the shaft and forming
loose scaffolding. Through it's open
ings I could look down clear to the
basement, more than seventy feet be
low. Behind me, on the opposite side
of the shaft, were dashed short perpen-
dicular ladders, up and down which
the men were constantly passing, for
the elevator we'll was the main thor
oughfare Of the huge steel skeleton.
81 found that the holes would have
to be reamed out before they would
receive the riyets, so I told Dutch he
needn't drive any more till after din
ner. Meanwhile I went to work with
my reamer, and by twelve had nearly
finished.
"Noon struck. In less than a min
ute the ladders were covered with men
climbing down There were a lot of
twelve-o' clock fellows on the job, who
would rather leave bolt half-driyen
than work a second overtime. A gang
right over me had just put a heavy
steel header in place on the elge Of
steel header in place on the edge of
driven into one end, but the ether
was as yet unfastened. 1t would have
taken only few minutes at the most
to make everything secure: but at the
first stroke of the hour they dropped
their tools and hurried to dinner.
Il paid no especial attention to
them, for I was putting the finishing
turns on the last hole. BY the time
1t was done there was not another
man left on the building. I had been
sitting in the middle Of the board. fac
ing the wall about eighteen inches off.
Now l laid down my reamer. and
started to hitch myself along toward
one of the horses, so that might
descend
ga sudden strong hot wind swept
through the frame, making the loose
planks rattle Something grated above
my head I looked UP and for a mo
ment my blood stopped running. The
gust had struck the nicely balanced
header with just enough force to make
it totter Slowly its loose and swung
downward; then it lurched quickly,
and slid into the we'll!
CAS- it dropped it just cleared my
head. It SHARED through the middle
of the scaffolding as if the thick
planks were rotten paper. Down it
shot gaining momentum with every
foot, its lower end raking the oppo-
site wall clean of ladders.
Smash! Bang! Grind. All was
over in a few seconds. Dust rose. And
when the turmoil had subsided there
was I, sitting on my beard with sew
enty-fve feet of empty air between me
and the debris at the bottom of the
we'll