Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-04-07
orchestra seat view of the entire per.
formance and all housework in that par'
of the city was entirely suspended.
Display of Morning Gowns.

There was q grand display or morning
gowns. kimonos and housewraps. also
feather busters and curl papers, from the
housewives and near-housewives who
hung out the windows to the east OF the
steeple. and who could not see the fire
men. but who could see the elevated MT.
Brown as he whistled his tune.
There was one shrill-voiced person who
made little fun for the crowd by ask
ing a question at just the moment when
a perfect stiffness hung for second
over the entire situation:
Hey, what did that fellow go up on
the steeple for?" he bawled out.
ITO cut the grass; what do YOU think ?"
came back from thick-necked truckman
in red shirt. who was blocking traffic
and intending to see the thing out
During this time the fire laddies
swarming up the ladder to the west side
of the steeple had about made up their
minds that there was nothing doing In
that style of rescue, seeing that they
lacked a balloon, life net and ladder
exactly twice as long, and with a spiral
staircase effect besides.
Roof Offers Solution.
Therefore they tackled the roof Of st.
Mary's School, going up the fire escapes
of that institution. The roof is flat.
The men dragged up an extension ladder,
and by that time several very brave re-
porters and photographers. seeing that
there was absolutely no risk attached to
ii. made their way upward on the escape
and began bossing the job. until Philip
Nicholson. fire marshal, arrived on the
scene. The situation was now simple,
with the newspaper photographers on
hand. The fiat roof could be used to
handle the extension ladder very easily
Joe Farrell. a fireman of No. truck.
Jumped across the few feet of space sep
arating the school from the church.
There is slanting roof on the church
and a little foot rail runs around the
church to prevent any one Or anything
from sliding off into tine street below.
Farrell lay back against the slanting roof
while men on the fiat school top pushed
the ladder over to him. In this way the
the swinging steeplejack hung. taking
observation of all the rubber necks" in
the neighborhood
Slid Down the Rope.
Finally Farrell climbed the ladder
and Brown let down a little rope from
the tremendous height which held him
fast.
The firemen fastened Browns rope to
a thicker one. and together they arranged
cable down which Brown could slide
At first Brown stood up on his little
bosu un's chair. then he tied the firemen's S
rope to the chair took off his gloves and
started to slide down. 1t was little
matter of seventy feet to where the main
roof started. and hundred more to the
street.
Brown slid. Just as he was ten feet
above the waiting Farrell the rope slid
of the bos'un's chair. and down fell the
steeplejack. Fully five hundred women.
looking from upper stories. shrieked with
horror in unison. But Farrell was on the
job. He caught the falling steepejack
in his arms. and helped him over to ST.
Mary's roof, and after that 1t was easy
to get to the street.
When Brown came down some one
asked him if he was going to try 1t again
today.
A Little Too Nervous.
No." he replied with a grin; I'm a
little too nervous The fall at the
end gave me a little scare"
What do you think made you stick
there?"
MY rope got jammed in the pull
ley. I was not going to yell for help
until I had tried everything I knew
Of to get 1t loose. I was surprised
when the truck reached here"
Over the tip of the big gilt cross
there is a little rope, placed there by
the steeplejack in some manner.
there are ropes, and the pulley is fifty
feet above the place where Brown
stuck. He had never been up to the
cross. One of the brave reporters
asked him how he got the rope up
there in the first place. Brown smiled
a slow smile as he replied:
"It cost me seventy-five dollars to