The river press. [volume] (Fort Benton, Mont.) 1880-current, 1908-05-13
CLIMBING A CHIMNEY
The Way the SteepIejack Does
His Dangerous Work.
HIS APPARATUS IS SIMPLE.

A Couple Of 6o's'n's Chairs, a Trio Of
1 Shaped Iron Pegs, a Heavy Ham,
mer and a 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 Irvine tucked in the
pocket Of his coat, safely astride the
coping Of the big brewery chimney
which its bulk Of brickwork per-
haps 300 feet above surrounding roofs
or on the apex Of the steeple of a
church, his arm around the weather
vane's vibrating pole. and you have
the means by which ropes. ladders,
s~cafolding 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 a day when this was not
infrequently accomplished by what al
first sight might appear the some
what frivolous method Of kitefying. \
kite having a 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 a matter Of time and pa
thence to pass a rope yer and haul up
a man. But the method had obvious
disadvantages. To draw the tail line
successfully across a chimney top,
still more across the pointed spire Of
a church, often took more than n or
be a fair wind blowing at the time
and a large open space available close
by in which to raise the kite-this last
condition one not often found about
the chimney stacks or steeples Of a
town. Another system was that of
ladders built upward from the steeple's
base, exceedingly cumbrous and, in
the opinion Of many modern steeple-
jacks, highly dangerous.
The man who on this morning stands
beside us at the foot of a great shaft Of
brickwork towering skyward from the
very center Of a famous northern town
will fly no kite, nor does a 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 a rope is passed, forming
a loop by which the chair may bang.
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 a
second peg two Of three feet above the
first. On this the second chair Is hung.
The upright arm at a right angle to the
peg precludes all danger Of the rope
slipping off. Nor do the chairs hang
close against the shaft. for strips of
wood projecting from each end insure
a space in which the climbers legs are
free to 20 Now, stepping up into
the second chair the steeplejack drives
the last of his three pegs. Above him
Is a peg. below another one, on which
hangs a chair. Leaning aside and
down, he lifts this chair and hangs II
above him on the topmost peg; leans
down and with a twist Of his fork
headed hammer wrenches out the peg
This is less dangerous or difficult than
might at first be supposed, for the pegs
are never driven deeply in, having but
the s~teeplejack's light weight to bear
and that only for a few minutes at @
time, while should the hammer or q
peg slip from his hand it is easily re-
covered by means Of the ball Of Irvine
in his coat pocket and the watche,
below.
Such is the systematic mere me
chanical repetition Of the movements
just described-which has carried hin
safely to the top Of many q giant stack
Arrived at the summit Of the chimney
he will find holdfasts built into the ma
sonry-sometimes a massive bar Of
chain is stretched across the shaft-te
which a rope and pulley blocks can be
made fast. This done, he can descend
and reascend at will, %scaffolding can be
slung and inspection and repairs be
carried out.
At the Bargain Counter.
"That sharp tongued Miss Redpepl
has been saying some mighty NEAR
things about you and your Wife"
o.