Muscatine journal. [volume] (Bloomington, Iowa) 1849-185?, 1853-06-17
Terrible Achievement.

IL
remarkable for its spire, the loftiest Of
ST. Petersburg.
An anec1ote connected with this
church, and not known, believe, out
Of Russia, is too remarkable to be omit
ted. The spire, which rises
-"lofty, and light, and small"
and probably is represented in the en-.
craving as fading away almost into a
point in the sky, is. in reality, termina.
ted by globe Of considerable dimen'
sions, on which an angel stands. sup
porting a large cross. This angel, less
respected by the weather than perhaps
his holy character deserved, fell into
dis,epair aud some suspicious were en-
tertained that he designed revisitng
uninvoked, the surface Of the ear,h.-
The affair caused same uneaslness and
the government became seriously per-
picked. To raise scaffolding to such
a hight wonld cost more money than
all the angels out of heaven were worth
and i'm meditation fruitless on those
circumstances without being able TO
resolve how to act, considerable time
was suffered to elapse.
Among the crowed Of gazers below,
who daily turned their eyes and their
thoughts towards the angel, was mJick,
called Telouchkine. This man was
roofer OF houses, "a slater, as he would
be called in countries where slates are
used,) and his speculations by degrees
assumed more practical character than
the simple wonders and conjectures Of
shc rest OF the crowd. The spire was
entirely covered with sheets Of gilded
COPPER, and presented 10 the eyea sur
face as smooth as if i, had been one mass
eof Furnished gold. But Telochkine knew
that the sheets Of copper were not even,
uniformly closed upon each other; aud,
above all, there were large nails used to
ius,en ,hem, which projected from the
sides Of the spire.
Having medi.ated upon these circum
stances till his mind was made up, the
mijick wen, TO the government and Of
tered 10 repair the angel. without scat
folding, and without ass stance, on con-
di,ion oil being reasonably paid for the
time expended in the labor. The offer
was accepted; for il was made In Russia
and by u Russian.
Un the day fixed for the adventure,
Telouchkine, provided with nothing more
ahan u coil vi ropes, asrended the spire
in The interior 10 The window. Here he
looked at the concourse OF people be-
low, aud then up at the 4 gittering 'nee-
die" as II is cal ed. lapering fur above
his head. But his heart did not fail
tam; aud stepping gravely out upon
Inc wihdow, he set about his task.
lie cut d portion OF the cord in the
tom Of fwo large s.rrups. with loop
a, each end. The upper loops he
fastened on Two OF the projecting nails
above his head. aad placed his teet in
The o, hers. Then digging the fingers
Of one hand into the in,erslices OF The
sheets Of copper, he ruised upon his
s,ir,ups in ,he other hand. so as 10 make
j. catch 10 q nail higher up. The same
operatiun he performed in beh all OF the
other leg, aud SO on alternately. And
thus he climbed, nail by nail. stirrup by
s,irrup, till his startling post was dis
ringuishable from the golden surface and
the spire had dwindled, and d@indled,
in his embrace, till he could clasp II
all around. :.
So far. so we'll. But he now reached
the ball-a globe Of between nine and
ten feet in circumference. The angel,
,ne object Of the visit, was above TINS
ball. and concealed from view by Its
smooth, round and gli,lering expanse.-
Only fancy him at that moment, turning
up his grave eyes. and grave beard a, an
object that seemed TO defy the daring
and ingenuity OF man.
But Telouchkine was not dismayed.
lie was prepared for the difficulty; and
the means by which he essayed 10 sur
mount il, exhibited the same prodiglous
SIMPLICITY as the rest Of the feat.
Suspenling himself in his stirrups. he
.sirded tho needle with cord, the ends
OF which he fastened around his waist;
and SO supported, he leaned gradually
back. ill the soles Of his feet were plan.
ted agains the sprie. In this position
be threw, by a strong effort. coil oil
cord over the ball: SO coolly and accu-
Istely was the aim taken. that at the
drst Trial it fell inthe required direction,
and he saw the end hang on the oppo-
site side.
To draw himself up in his original
position, TO fasten firmly around the globe,
with the assistance Of his auxiliary, 10
climb to the summit. were now an easy
part Of the task; and in few minutes
,more Telouchkine stood by the side o.:
she angel. and listened to the shout that
burst like sudden thunder from the con.
course beow, yet came TO his ear only
like faint and hollow murmur.
The cord, which he had an opportunity
OF fastening properly, enabled him to de-
scend with comparative facility; and the
next day he carried up with him ladder
OF ropes. by means of which he found it
easy to effect the necessary repairs.
The Mormons of Utah about to cultivate oysters,
Holsters aud crabs in the Salt Lake. II the water
should prove too salt they design to construct suices
tole OF the salt water and let in the fresh.