High above the street in many cities men are at work. Up and go as they spin their web of steel beams and girders. Few dare to do this work on hight steel. The Mohawk steelworkers are among the most famous of these men.
The forefathers of the Mohawk settled in Canada when it was still ruled by France. It seems that these Indians have always been surefooted. More than a hundred years ago an English traveler described their skill; “they will walk on the ridge of a barn or a house as unconcerned as if they were walking on the ground. They walk over deep brooks and creeks on the smallest of poles. ”
today these Indians walk on buildings rising high above the ground. They walk on bridges high above the water. One wrong step wold mean sudden death.
the mohawk began their high-in-the-sky life about ninety year ago. A crew of men stared to build a bridge over the St. Lawrence river near montreal. Most of the settlement had been sailors. Their skill had been gained at sea; they had climbed high above a ship is deck to work on the rigging.
The Mohawk lived on theCaughnawaga Indian. Reserve near the bridge. They watched the work. When they were warned of danger, they pretended they did not understand. After the crew had left for the day, the Mohawk climbed the shaky scaffolding. They swung back and forth amount the steel beams.
Then someone had an idea; why not hire the Indians as steelworkers? They had a rare sense of balance. They were surefooted. They were quick and fearless.
Several indian crews trained. They in turn taught others from the reservation. When the St. Lawrence bridge was finished, the indians moved on to other work. They have been on the move ever since.
These men know the chances they take in their world high above the ground. Their footing may be a shaky, swaying beam. It dangles hundreds of feet in the air. There are other dangers. Some come from the weather. Rain, snow, ice ,and sleet male the painted s teel slippery. Worst of all is the whip of the wind. Even a Mohawk cannot work when the wind blows hard.
There is a legend that remind each Mohawk of the danger. The story is know wherever steel goes up. This great chief had amazing eyesight and muscular reflexes, a veteran beam-and-girder man said. He never used a river can. He caught flying rivets with tongs. I've even heard he once caught a bird flying past.
Then one day it happened, he reached for a cable, and he'd had it, the storyteller went on. We all know now-if you have to reach for it, let it go.
Danger is always there in the high world of the Mohawk. But steelwork is their life. Many of them say they wouldn't do any thing else. The pay is great and the competition is nonexistent, says Tom Smallfox,a steelworker for twenty-five year. four of his sone work on high steel.
Many building that spear the sky today are the work of the Mohawk. They raised the Empire Sate Building in New York City. They have built colleges, factories, and sports stadiums. They have spun steel across rivers and mountain passes. Each structure reminds us of its builders' to the fearless men of the world of high steel.