The daily morning journal and courier., 1907-12-14
YORKSHIRE CLIFF-CLINsER Perilous Occupation of a Gath erer of Sea- Bird
 Eggs. VERY HARD DAILY BREAD But Daily Bread Must Be Had if It Gan Be
 Got.
VERY HARD DAILY BREAD

Those of us who are comfortably situated do not often think of the men in the world who continually risk their lives in the pursuit of their daily bread But there are a great many such people, and so accustomed are they to face peril every day that they think nothing of it.
 Here is just one example of such men, William Wilkinson, cliff climber, of Bempton, Yorkshire. From Filey in Yorkshire, with its glorious stretch of sands, the coast line quickly rises un- til for a stretch of nine miles, right up to and around Flambro Head 1 there is no beach, no sands, nothing but the sheer white-faced cliffs. rising ! abruptly from few small rocks, which the sea never ceases to wash and which break up the restless waves until they skirt the browning cliffs like a frill of fine white lace.
 At Bempton the range of cliffs reach their greatest height, being about 400 feet from base to brow and such foot hold as can be secured on the jagged rocks below has only been desecrated by the feet of one man, although their grim armor has witnessed the death struggle of many gallant ships, as is evidenced by sundry scraps of wreck age which can be seen from the cliffs 1 above bobbing every now and then from the restless sea, whose girdling belt of craggy cliffs must have been a 1 heart-breaking sight for the stranded seamen
 Plugging this natural sea wall is a little beaten path, on which few in- deed would care to walk, for in places 1t is but six inches from the edge, with a sheer drop of hundreds of feet; hence the greater part of the cliffs are left to nature and William Will l5inson.
 The whole face of the chalky walls is a wonderful sight, studded every where with sea birds, chiefly guillemot and klttiwake, but with a mixture of putin and razorbill, and prominent and mischievous jackdaws and car rion crow, while along the sandy slopes which in places run down from the land above scores of seampering rabbits can be met with.
 The cliff climbers are let down tho face of these cliffs to gather the eggs of the sea fowl which they bring to the surface in great quantities, finding a ready market for them at twopence a time among the visitors, or selling them for eating purposes in places around Occasionally they make haul of extraordinary eggs marked in queer forms and with unusual colors, and these "sports" fetch quite litt pile of shillings each from egg cellec- tors.
 Wilkinson is the king of climbers, for although there are two or three other gangs engaged in the egg-gath- ering they are less skillful and daring, and reap only modicum of the harv- est that falls to the lot of the king and his three helpmates.
 In person William is a hairy, pow erful man, just turning iron gray, with arms which call forth murmur of admiration and which are the result of over twenty years of cliff climbing He wears an old helmet to protect his head in some degree from falling pieces of rock which may be dislodged by the rope on which he is suspended.
 The whole equipment consists of stout web harness which is tightly strapped around the body of the climber and passes around each thigh; to this rope of 400 feet in length is attached there is also another rope.
 When the climber is duly harnessed one of his mates seats himself on the ground, placing his feet in deep holes cut in the earth on the top of the cliff. This man is also harnessed with leather belt some three inches in thickness, in which a groove Is cut, and when all is ready he takes the main rope in one hand, passes it in the groove in the leather belt around his body, holding it again with the other hand. Another of the gang proceeds to drive a long iron stake into the ground and attach a hand rope to 1t. The descent is begun, and the climb CT takes a stake, on the head of which runs a pulley wheel, and hives 1t into the cliff at a convenient spot, and 1 over this wheel the main rope is paid out as the climber goes farther and farther down, steadying himself and assisting his mates with his sturdy 1 arms on the hand rope.
 There is a system understood by the gang by which Wilkinson can signal his desires to those above, directing them to lower or pull him up or to give him greater length of hand rope, as required.
 It is the boast of the men on the cliff that they can feel exactly what ttheir mate is doing, and by the action
 of the rope could tell enc when he is
 gathering the spoil and when he is
 resting on a ledge or swinging under some overhanging projection hundreds
 of feet below.
 Wilkinson is absolutely fearless and
 to watch him dangling like spider on
 the face of the cliff is enough to raise
 the hair of any ordinary man. Look al
 the great drop to the waiting rocks De-
 low and think what would happen to