The Bon Homme County independent. [volume] (Tabor, S.D.) 1904-1913, 1908-04-16
~STEEpLEJAGk A
FRIEND or BIRDS
He Is Never Too High or Too
Busy to Dc a Kind Act to
a Bird in Distress.
From the indianapolis News.

ETOm the lHuloldpOAiS yANS"S'
Big Jack Norton, the steeplejack, vas
busily daubing away on the huge $50
foot smokestack of the Union station
power house. He sat suspended in a
small chair which was swinging from
the top of the stack supported by two
three quarter-inch ropes. The crowd
in the street far below was rubber
ing UP at the daring steeplejack and
stack painter. He carelessly swung
himself back and forth around the
stack, reaching down every few sec
onds to refill his brush from the two
buckets Of black paint that swung
from the chair in which he sat.
While the crow watched 1t saw Nor
ton quit his work and begin drawing
himself nearer the top OF the stack.
Then ne put forth his hand and grasped
something, the crowd did not know
what. After a moment or two the peo-
pie in the street saw the steepleJack
begin lowering himself back to earth.
Down, down he came, slowly n de-
liberately. Several of the watchers ran
over TO the power house to AVE a
closer view Of the dare devil n to try
to satisfy their curiosity as to why he
came own 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 a lit
tie sparrow.
There you are, you poor little fell
low" he said to the bird, giving nc
heed to the crowd around him. Nearly
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 q half frozen sparrow. the
est OF all birds, the steeplejack hur-
ried into the power house n 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,
q bread sandwich. One Of the slices OF
bread was broken into crumbs and
dropped into the pocket containing the
sparrow.
Now, Mr.. Sparrow, you stay there
n fill up and get warm" he said as
a parting comfort to the bird. when
o get all Strengthened out again I'll
turn you loose" Norton then turned
to a negro ash hauler and said:
Gimme a boost on the ropes, will you,
John? I've got to get back up to the
top of the stack and get busy. I had
to come down with the bird. Poor lit
tie devil! He was UP on the 1ange Of
the stack and was almost frozen to
deatn. 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 lust to
save a sparrow" a bystander asked.
IT'S a cinch," answered the steeple-
jack. II always do IT. I always have
and always will. When q bird gets in
to trouble I'm never too busy nor too
high up to give 1t a helping hand. NV
wife laughs at me and says I'm senti-
mental. II that's what 1t is, we'll. wen
just let It 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 n every
other species Of bird that scars to Jack
Norton's workshop, steeples and smoke
stacks, finds 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 us fool enough
to believe they feel pretty kindly to-
ward him" Norton says that he never
harmed a bird in all the years Of his
life n that he would come down a
stack or steeple any day to dc a friend
ly turn for one of his feathered friends.
Norton has been steeplejacking for
twenty-five years and has never met
with a serious accident, although his
stunts have sent thrills on excursions
up and down many a spine.