The Olneyville times. (Olneyville [Providence, R.I.]) 1887-1917, 1900-04-06

~ lures in his own inimitable
! ~ style, as the programmes
say, the people Of Fruityale,
Cal, may ak Alsinus Gustayu'
Leeper to give regular performances.
He is 80 original in his method ol
mixing up with trouble.
Not long ago Mr. Leeper, alias
"Boots," built himself a tall barn that
was the pride Of Fruityale. The
builder also shingled the structure al
odd times, climbing 10 work by means
Of ladder inside the walls. On the
day he completed the job, Mr.. Leeper
thoughtlessly nailed shingles over the
opening above the ladder, thus shut
ting off all means Of escape. Mr..
Leeper yelled for help, but his folks
were away from home and the neigh.
bors thought he was celebra ting the
completion OF the barn. The Fruit.
vale Hook and Ladder Company fin.
ally turned out and res cued Mr..
Leeper.
While this incident doomed the in.
dustrious citizen as a public enter
tainer, it was but feeble show com
pared with his windmill adventure
yesterday afternoon. The mill buzzes
above a tank at the top Of n forty foot
skeleton tower in the back yard,
pumping water for Mr.. Leeper's 3
pigeons and other live stock.
81 think the bearings need oil, "
said Boots. "With the wind in this
direction the fan is right over the tank
where I can climb up and oil the
places"
Crawling mp the tower frame with
his oil can, Mr.. Leepor got astride OF
the fan or tail, OF the windmill. He
was busy oiling when the breeze
shifted six points and swung him
clear OF the tank roof. The wind also
freshened aud the lubricant in the
Journals induced the mill TO brace up
and spin at the rate of thirty knots an
hour.
"Helpl" shrieked Mr.. Leeper; but
the rafting machinery drowned his
voice.
The wind shifted again until the
direction Of the fan from the time the
oiler mounted it was entirely reversed.
Instead of riding above the tank, Mr..
Leeper bucked and wriggled and
swayed in midair on the razor backed
fan, forty feet from tho ground. This
was condition Of deadly peril, even
for man who had marooned himself
on barn Mr.. Leepers hair and
whiskers curled with terror. There
was nothing to do but cling to the
upper edge of the fan, and this he aid
30 fondly that his finger nails made
scars in the paint. The mill grew
fractions and bucked like a Wild West
broncho.
"If / only had my spurs on, waIled
the dizzy man, "or even n gunny-sack
for saddle, might hold on till the
breeze shifts again.
Meanwhile his cries had attracted
the family and crowd of neighbors,
some of whom waptcl to bet on the
finish.
Throw her out OF gear and stop the
mill, 4" the daring rider beloved from
his bounding perch.
They tried it, but his weight on the
fan prevented the gear from working
Get a ladder, them" howled Mr.
Leeper.
The ladder was useless, for the fan
swayed too much TO offer n resting
place for tho upper end Two hours
or more did Mr.. Leeper ride his wild
race against time, waiting for the
| breeze TO subside or haul TO another
quarter He madea verbal will, drop
ping the words down between joits,
praying alternately and saying things
in whisper to tho fiery, untamed
windmill.
At last the wind died away, and with
/ the aid of ropos the men hauled the
| fan around TO where the exhausted
performer could tumble off to the tank
from whence they lowered him gently
down and rubbed his joints with witch
! hazel.
Alsinus Gustsvus Leeper was some
what lame and tired after his adven-
ture, but he is soothed by the reflec-
ton that he is the greatest bareback
rider Fruitvale has ever produced.
"This was n worse Job than riding
the barn." said Boots. You see, i
had better seat there, aud the wind
didn't bother me. Two or three times
/ came near being blown off the fan.
aud the way il bucked loosened some
| of my teeth. Talk about riding a
man on rail- I'll bet the sharpest
rail ever split feels like upholstered
plush compared to the edge of my
windmill fan.