Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1921-04-28

You have seen a fly climb a
straight wall. That's born in him.
But how do these human flies and
spiders manage? You have noticed
them. Dressed in a white suit and
tennis shoes, the climber starts at
works up to the top with thousands
waiting below the thought that he
may rot reach the top.
How is it done? How do these
brothers of the fly and the spider
climb the outside wall of tall
building?
One of them-Bnl Strother. a
southern boy-was in Atlanta recent
ly to climb any building handy. The
question was asked him-the secret
of how the human flies and spiders
are able to crawl UP the smooth
face Of a building, to heights many
stories above the pavement.
Here is his answer.
ct is a question of knowing how
to control the nerves and muscles of
the body" he began. 1T is very
arithmetic problem. AS long as he
thinks he can't do it, he can't. Power
is deadened by his negative thought.
When I climb, the first thing. | do
is to concentrate every. thought on
climbing--that 1 am going to climb
that building-and at the same time
l center my mind on relaxing my
body. People sometimes wonder
why I stand a few minutes at the
bottom of a building before start
ing up, I am concentrating on the
climb, and getting my nerves and
muscles under the control of my
mind. I tense my body and, then,
as I start to climb, 1 relax. This
relaxation causes my body to lose
about so per cent of it's weight DID
you ever try putting your Wrlst
against the wall and pressing until
will find that when you drop your
arm to your side, it will rise up Of
itself. In fact, you can't keep 1t
from coming up, and 1t will feel al
most as light as air. This is the
principle 1 use in climbing. 1 find
light, sensitive feeling. Sometimes
my fingers get so sensitive they
bleed
IT began climbing about ten years
ago, when 1 was kid of twelve
That was in Statonburg, N. c.
still remember how scared and eX-
cited the people were when they saw
me up on the church roof. 1 didn't
think Of becoming a buildfng-climber
then. however. That didn't occur to
me until [ went into the advertising
business, and was manager of an ad-
vertising cnneern In PetersburS' va
I had to get up new advertising Tea
lures and sensational things then
that would bring the people out. AT
that time the thought came to me
that the climbing stunts [ used TIC
do when a boy would draw the
crowds I had a frame building sew
eral stories high put up in, the back
yard, and 1 spent several months
| training. Then I went out and tried
| the stunt professionally. That was
! four years ago in Kinston, N. c. ]
! tackled six-story building, and II
was hard climbing. 1t was adVertls,
ed about a week, and thousands OF
| people came to see it [ DECIDED ,then
I would make climbing my 1op' ..
His climbs have included the state
capitol dome in Atlanta and in Co
Iumbia, S. c.; the Woolworth build
| ING in New York-the tallest build
ing in the world-the forty-seyen-
story Singer building; the McAlp1n
| hotel which is tWenty-seven stories
| and the Flatiron building in New
York-this last while he was bind
"Tve had several falls" he went
on. 'The first was in Bryson Guy
| N. c., when I was giving an eXhibl-
ton for the Red Cross. The BUILDING
was six stories with a dome. W ,a's
| climbed to the top. I was standing
| on my head on a chair BALANCED on
the knob of the dome. Suddenly the
rungs of the chair broke, throwing
me off the dome head foremost.
made a turn in the air and landed
on the roof on my feet. 1 rolled of
the roof and landed on the lawn.
got up and bowed to the crowd and
every body thought it was part OF