The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1910-02-12
STEEPLEJACK Ks
PLAY With DEATH.
Experts Climb Steel Beam Over
Bank Building to Unfurl
American Flag.
CROWDS WATCH FROM BELOW
Great Bronze Eagle First Nailed
on Highest Point on
Flagstaff.
CROWDS WATCH FROM BELOW

For nearly an hour yesterday, just
before the blizzard took the city in
its grasp, hundreds of people in Main
Street craned their necks until the
muscles ached, watching three reck-
less steeplejacks place OH the first
corner-post of the American Bank
Building, ten stories from the side
walk, United States flag, which flies
now from steel pole surmounted by
huge bronze eagle IT was not at
all necessary that this ceremony,
which appeared to those below like
casting dice with fate" should have
been performed, except that struc-
tural iron workers look upon it as Il
kind of sacred rite which brings good
luck and drives away the hoodoo.
So yesterday as soon as the first tenth
story ~" beam was made fast, Charles
Croft, II. V. Griffin and II. l.. Stone
volunteered to do the Job, which was
accomplished quickly and without the
slightest mishap.
Climb Bcnm with Flag.
To the men who watch from the
street the rivcters connecting steel
Orders on the lower floors look like
pygmies. but when they saw the three
men shin up the beam. which sway
ed perceptbly In the wind, 1t seemed
little short of suicide.
The "Roughnecss," as they delight to
call themselves, did not care. and UNI
der the direction of Assistant Foreman
A. L. Albright, climbed the beam like
country boy would go after a birds
nest. threw the Stars and Stripes free
to the wintry breeze, and returned to
nr1- Jsa1a y,
they had done nothing to excite the
street car dodgers below.
Croft was the first to start MP, guild.
Ing the eagle with his arm. The other
two followed, pushing the staff inch
by inch as they slowly assembled the
slender steel post many feet above the
present building. Finally the first man
reached the very top, and perchins
| himself on space certainly not NOR,
| than six inches square, dashed the
| staff securely. while his friends few
| feet below showed it up as far as they
could. 1t took but a short while t,
| make it fast. and then the flag, which
! had been furled around its staff, wa!
| cut loose.
| Derrick Men Always Race.
! The men paused n moment to lool
| at the result of their handiwork. an,
1 -
which. though nine stories from tn
! ground and about three inches wide
they walked until the wooden platform
was reached. The whole thing wa
done with as much nonchalancc as TIL
ordinary citizen would show in walk
ing to his Office in tho morning. On
timid person. who watched the perform
ance with bated breath, said after h
/ had seen the men back to safety: "
had rather try to do tho Peary stun
and nail the flag TO the North Pole"
Foreman Albright smiled when h
talked about it last night. "Why, tina
was easy for those fellows he sait
They have worked all over the Unite
States and have been very much farths
. from the ground than that. You ough
. to sec them on some big jobs, wher
4 there are two or three derricks work
ing, each one under a. different fore
man, who drives his men to the lirl
to get up the first piece of steel g
that his gang can hang out the flag
This is comparatively small jot
there being only one derrick, and con
scquently no contest between III
gangs
Mr.. Albright worked on the origina
building, and was the first to reach tn
top of what was then the highes
structure in town.
IL