Charlevoix county herald., 1907-09-28
PLAYS WITH DEATH
FEARFUL RISKS TAKEN BY
"STEEPLE' JACK"
No Height from the Ground Too
Great for Him to Attain in the
Pursuit of His Hazardous
Occupation.

If, in the pursuit of your lifes vo-
cation, you had seen five men drop
from your side at dizzy height to
terrible death below, would you con-
tinue in that vocation? If you did
persist in it, would you have sufficient
confidence in yourself to retain your
nerve" under all circumstances for
thirty-fve years?
That has been brief part of the
many exciting experiences in the life
of H. F. ("Risky') Evans, "Steeple
Jack"
Risky Evans is a type of the dare
devils that are growing scarcer each
year The inventions of modern
times have eliminated much of the
necessity for risk which was run in
necessary climbing of steeples and
high buildings in the earlier days. He
himself has been one of the foremost
in making the business of those who
must work at high attitudes as safe
and easy as if they had solid ground
beneath their feet But still, every
once in a while Risky" finds it nee
essary to go to great height to car
ry up a rope on which to swing a
scaffold, or to attach block and pull
ley that his men, less versed in the
art Of climbing, may perform their du-
ties with safety.
There are plenty of men who work
at great heights as nonchalantly as
does the average person on the
ground. Carpenters, masons and 9TH
er builders must have the same con-
tempt for the dizziness that affects
the average person who looks down
from a great height. But even the
work Of such men as these pales be-
fore the accomplishments of the few
left in the country of the caliber of
Risky" Evans.
On wager he once climbed at
night, without ropes, ladders, or any
other paraphernalia, the steeple of
st. .Joseph's church, in Cincinnati,
stood erect on the topmost part of the
cross surrounding the steeple, set
fire to two newspapers he had carried
with him in his pocket, and dropped
them blazing on either side of the
steeple, to prove to the man with
whom he had made the wager that
he was at the top of the steeple The
wager was for $50, and the time allot-
ted him to accomplish the feat was
half an hour
He is the same man who, a few
years ago, slid twice daily from the
roof garden of the Masonic Temple
at Chicago down rope the entire
twenty stories to the ground, attract
ing at each performance crowds that
congested the streets, making them
impossible.
He is one of the men who are often
seen painting flagpoles many feet
above the tops Of the highest of down.
town skyscrapers. He has climbed
practically every steeple of any prom
inence in Chicago, but he considers
Chicago steeples nothing, for in New
York he has gone with only the aid
of his hands, shoulders and toes, to
the top of old Trinity, height of
1926 feet.
Risky" Evans first real expert
ence at any great height from the
earth was in the early '7Os. He was
q IVY WIN lONeu oil SOrLS OF aQVen-
lures. A balloonist of then national
reputation came to the city which was
"Riskys" home. He needed someone
to go with the balloon, in which he
was taking up several passengers, to
go down the rope on which was fast
ened the anchor to make it fast when
a landing was made. This was to
"Risky's" liking. He took the lob.
When the professor" wanted to land
Risky" was hoisted over the side of
the car. Down the swinging rope he
slid, legs gripped tight around it. hand
over hand.
When | got to the end of the rome
and sat down a-straddle of the anchor
l felt pretty good" Evans said in tell
Ing the story "Then I began to
watch for tree TOP to grab the an
Choir In. We went through one or
two, and I had my clothes torn into
shreds and got all scratched I'D. But
| hung on, and finally got the anchor
around limb, signaled to the pro,
fessor," and the landing was made"