Smyrna times., 1908-03-25
CLIMBING A CHIMNEY
The Way the SteepIeiaCk Does
His Dangerous Work.
HIS APPARATUS is SIMPLE.

A Couple of 5o's'n's Chairs, a Trio of
Shaped Iron Pegs, a Heavy Ham
uner and Ball of Irvine Will Take |
Him In Safety to the Summit.
In the climbing and repair of chin
neys and steeples it is, as in so many |
Of the upward steps of life. undoubt- |
edly the first which counts, says the
New York Times. Once set your man,
with a ball of twine tucked in the
pocket of his coat. safely astride the
coping of the big brewery chimney
which rears its bulk of brickwOrk per
haps 300 feet above surrounding roofs
or on the apex of the steepe of a
church, his arm around the weather
vanes vibrating pole. and you have
the means by which ropes. ladders,
scaffOlding and all the necessary
structure for examination and repairs
may be brought into place. To get the
first man to the giddy summit-that is
the question.
There was u day when this was not
infrequently accomplished by what at
first sight might appear the some
what frivolous method of kitehying. y
kite having Il goodly length of string
attached to its tail was raised in the
usual manner and gradually coaxed
| over the steeple or chimney under
| treatment. then drawn down until the
| tail string lay across the top 1t was
! then merely matter of time and pa
tience to pass Il rope over and haul up
| D,,A H.
disadvantages. To draw the tail line
successfully across a chimney top,
still more across the pointed Spire of
a church. often took more than one or
two attempts. Moreover. there must
be Il fair wind blowing at the time
and large open space available close
by in which to raise the kite-ths last
condition one not often found about
the chimney stacks or steeples of
town. Another system was that of
ladders built upward from the steeple's
base, exceedingly cumbrOus and. in
the opinion of many modern steepIe-
jacks. highly dangerous.
The man who on this morning stands
beside us at the foot of great shaft Of
brickwOrk towering skyward from the
very center Of a famous northern town
will fly no kite, nor does Il wagon load
of sectional ladders wait his orders in
the yard. a small man. Sinewy and
lean faced, is he, and all the tackle that
he needs to take him safely to the cop
ing sixty yards above our heads has
travelled to the scene of action in his
pockets or his hands. On the ground
before him are two bO's'n's chairs.
or short planks, through holes at either
end Of which rope is passed. forming
loop by which the chair may hang
Beside them lie three L shaped iron
pegs or staples. The longer arm Of each
peg has a sharply pointed end and is
nearly a foot in length; the short arm
is but two or three inches long. The
handle of a heavy hammer peeps from
the pocket of our companions coat, and
that is ALL
Taking a staple In his hand, he drives
it into the chimney at a point breast
high above the ground. On this he
hangs a chair and, mounting, drives q
second peg two or three feet above the
first. On this the second chair is hung
The upright arm at right angle to the
peg precludes all danger of the rope
slipping off. Nor do the chairs hang
close against the shaft. for strips ot
wood projecting from each end insure
a space in which the climbers legs ART
free to move. Now, stepping up int
the second chair the steeplejack drive!
: the last of his three pegs. Above hin
is peg. below another one. on whicl
hangs a chair. Leaning aside anC
down. he lifts this chair and hangs i
above him on the tOpmOst peg; lean
down and with twist of his forl
headed hammer wrenches out the peg
This is less dangerous or difficult thai
might at first be supposed. for the peg
are never driven deeply in, having bu
the steeplejack's light weight to bear
and that only for few minutes at
time. while should the hammer or
peg slip from his hand it is easily re
covered by means of the ball of twin
in his goat pocket and the watche
below.
Such is the systematic mere me
chanical repetition of the movement
just described-wbich has carried hir
safely to the top of many giant stack
Arrived at the summit of the Gimme
he will find holdfasts built into the ma
sOnry-sOmetimes a massive bar @
chain is stretched across the shaft
which rope and pulley blocks can b
made fast This done. he can descen
and reascend at will, scaffOlding can
slung and inspection and repairs
ID carried out.