Okolona messenger. (Okolona, Miss.) 1900-current, 1908-01-29
LOVES ALL BIRDS.
sTEEPLEJAcK's STRONG STRAIN
or sENTlMENTALITN.
Never Too High Or Too Busy to % q
Kind Act Tor His Feathered
Friends-ThInks They
Like Him.


Big Jack Norton, the steeplejack.
was busily daubing away on the huge
16O-foot smokestack OF the Union sta
ton power house, says the Indianap-
oils News. He sat suspended In
small chair, which was swinging from
the top Of the stock supported by two
three-quarter-inch ropes. The crowd
In the street car below was rubber
ing" up at the daring steeplejack and
stack painter.
While the crowd watched 1t saw
Norton quit his work and begin draw
ing himself nearer to top OF the stack.
Then he put forth his hand and
grasped something, the crowd did not
know what. After a moment or two
the people in the street saw the
steeplejack begin lowering himself
back to earth.
Down, down he came, slowly and
deliberately. Several of the watchers
ran over to the power house to have
a closer view of the daredevil and to
try to satisfy their curiosity as to
why he came down from his lofty
perch when the morning was not half
worn away.
Norton reached the ground safely
and swung himself free from his chair.
Those gathered near saw him put his
hand in the pocket Of his jacket, and,
to their amazement, bring forth lit
tie sparrow.
There you are, you poor little fef-
low" he said to the bird, giving no
heed to the crowd around him. Near
ly frozen to death, aren't you? Well,
I've got a good warm coat pocket in
here in the power house and you can
get in there and go to sleep"
With that tenderly spoken comfort
to halffrozen sparrow, the common
ried into the. power house and found
his coat. Into one of the pockets the
suffering sparrow was deposited. Then
Norton went to his lunch basket and
found, among his other monday
viands, a bread sandwich. One of
the slices of bread was broken into
crumbs and dropped into the pocket
containing the sparrow.
Nov, Mr.. Sparrow, you stay there
and fill up and get warm" he said as
parting comfort to the bird. when
you get all Strengthened out again I'll
turn you loose" Norton then turned
to a negro ash hauler and said: "Gim-
me boost on the ropes, will you,
John? I've got to get back up to the
top of that stack and get busy. had
to come down with the bird. Poor lit.
tie devil! He was up on the fange Of
the stack and was almost frozen to
death. You fellows don't make enough
smoke come out of that stack to keep
a bird warm. That's one thing I've
got against smoke consumers"
did you come all the way down
from the top Of that stack just to save
sparrow" a bystander asked.
tits cinch," answered the steeple-
jack. Il always do it. l always have
and always will. When a bird gets
into trouble I'm never too busy nor
too high up to give it helping hand.
My wife laughs at me and says I'm
sentimental. If that's what it is, well,
We'll just let 1t go at that"
The steeplejack then went on to
tell stories of experiences he has had
with birds while he was working at
lofty heights. Pigeons, sparrows and
every other species of bird that scars
to Jack Norton's workshop-steeples
and smokestacks-fin a friend in
him. Time and again he has found
them crippled, just as he found the
sparrow on the fange of the stack.
The birds are his only companions
away up there and he frankly admits
that he is fool enough to believe they
feel pretty kindly toward him." Nor
ton says that he never harmed a bird
In all the years Of his life and that he
would come down a stack or steeple
any day to do friendly turn for one
of his feathered friends.