Western Kansas world. [volume] (WaKeeney, Kan.) 1885-current, 1908-01-11

sTEEPLEJAck,s STRONG STRAIN
OF sENTlMENTALiTY.
Never Too High or Too Busy to Do a
Kind Act for His =Feathered
Friends-Thinks They
Like Him.

Big JACK Norton, the SteepleJack,
was busily daubing away on the huge
I50-foot smokestack of the Union sta
lion 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 it 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
back to earth.
Down, down he came, slowly and
deliberately. Several of the watchers
| ran over - 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.
|
hand in the pocket of his jacket, and,
% their amazement, bring forth lit
| lie sparrow.
| There you are, you poor little fell
.ow, he said to the bird, giving no
heed to the crowd around him. Near
~ frozen to death, aren't you? Well,
re got a good warm coat pocket in
here in the power house and you can
| 10 ell
With that tenderly spoken comfort
20 half-frozen sparrow, the common
est of all birds, the steeplejack hur-
ried into the power house and found
mis- 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.
Now, MIR. Sparrow, you stay there
and fill up and get warm he said as
a parting comfort to the bird. "Wher
you get all Strengthened out again II
turn you loose Norton then turned
to negro ash hauler and said: Gin
me a boost on the ropes, will you
John? I've got to get back up to the
top of that stack and get busy. l hat
to come down with the bird. Poor lit
tie DEVIL He was up on the fange o
the stack and was almost frozen t,
death. You fellows don't make enough
smoke come out of that stack to keel
a bird warm. That's one thing Fv'
got against smoke consumers"
| Did you come all the way dow
from the top of that stack just to saw
a sparrow" a bystander asked.
It's a cinch," answered the steeple
iack.~'I always do it. i always hav
and always will When a bird get
into trouble I'm never too busy no
too high up to give it a helping hand
My wife laughs at me and says II
sentimental. If that's what it is, vel
we'll just let it go at that"
The steeplejack then went on t
tell stories of experiences he has ha
with birds while he was working a
lofty heights. Pigeons, sparrows an
every other species of bird that soar
to Jack Norton's workshop-steeple
and smokestacks-find a friend i
; him. Time and again he has foun
them crippled, just as he found tn
, sparrow on the f1ange of the stacl
The birds are his only companion
away up there and he frankly admit
that he SIS fool enough to believe the
| feel pretty kindly toward him. No
| ton says that he never harmed a Dir
in all the years of his life and that b
, would come down a stack or steepl
any day to do friendly turn for on
of his feathered friends.