The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1910-08-12
MARVELLOUS CLIMBING FEAT.
Smith, the Mechanical SteeDIejnck,
Fooled Them All and Cashed Bet.

aAAs the mechanical cNeepAeJnckS
Fooled Them All ana Cashed Bet.
From the Charleston News and Courier.
Here's problem for the frst-reader
class. Given one smokestack, sixty feet
IN height, bare OF all means Of foothold,
with the exception OF two circular
clamped bands at heights of twenty and
forty feet from the ground how would
you climb 10 the top in twenty-five min
utes, provided the teacher was going to
give the first successful solver s.?
This is the problem that confronted
constructors at the Stone Phosphate
works one day this week. A great stack.
some sixty feet high and two feet IN
diameter. had been recently erected. The
work OF riveting the plates in position
and getting the stack In shape entailed
considerable time. and the erection Of a
great amount Of scaffolding. After the
scaffold had been removed It was found
necessary to construct a ladder of steel
rungs up the side Of the great tube
And the scanold had been removed!
What to do?
And here is where Smith, the rigger,
made his little bow. A ''rigger' is a sort
Of mechanical steeplejack, whose bust
ness It Is TO scale the high places that
the ordinary workman cannot reach by
ordinary means. So. enter Smith.
That" remarked Smith. the rigger,
who happened to be on the spot. is
easy"
Here one OF the crowd Of Iaborers who
were standing around making eyes at
the top of the stack. let out an incredu-
lous "ha. ha."
The rigger turned around: Il can get
to the top" vouchsafted Smith, "in twen-
ty-fve minutes"
The laughter became more general.
Now, remember that you would have.
perhaps, laughed a little yourself II a
man had said that he could shin up the
side OF a sixty-foot smokestack. with a
surface as bare as your han6. except
where two band joints projected where
the joints were clamped. But the laugh
decided the rigger.
IN bet any Of the bunch $ that can
90 Up there in twenty-five minutes" said
Smith.
For a minute the air was green with
$ bills. The rigger covered one OF them
with a greasy bill. produced from the
pocket OF his Overalls. an Official time
keeper was appointed, and the circus
commenced.
The apparatus employed consisted OF
one twenty-fOOt pole, attached 10 which
was a hook with a block and fall. one
short piece Of rope that was wrapped
around the rigger's waist, and another
hook fastened 10 the latter piece OF rope.
The rigger reached up twenty feet with
his lath and caught the hook Of his pull
ley on the edge Of the first iron band A
series Of healthy pulls and he was TWEEN
" feet Up the side Of the stack. The
mex. move was 70 attach the hook OF his
waist-rope to the band. Here the riEger
hung suspended. his life attached 10 a
metal hook and piece OF old rope, The
next step in the proceedings duplicated
the former. The lath went UP again. the
hook caught, and the rigger jerked him
self up after il. Here he hung again,
forty feet above the ground. a fly against
the side Of the big cylinder. Once more
the lath went skyward and once more
the crowd saw the rope, now not more
than a thread, catch, and the rigger hang
by his frsil support Then the man went
slOyward in little Jerks that finally
brought his figure out in relief against
the skyline on the rim Of the stack.
The rigger waved his hand down. The
crowd breathed a sigh Of relief. How
Iong?" asked the bettor.
The timekeeper locked at his watch,
Seventeen minutes" he said.
But the rigger did not hear him. He
was lowering g rope FOR the material
with which TO start operations on that
steel ladder.