Northern Wisconsin advertiser. [volume] (Wabeno, Wis.) 1898-1925, 1900-01-18

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 celebrating the
completion of the barn. The Fruit
vale hook and ladder company finally
turned out and rescued Mr.. Leeper.
While this incident doomed the in
dustrious citizen as a public enter
tainer, it was but a feeble show COM
pared with his windmill adventure
yesterday afternoon. The mill buzZes
above a tank at the top of forty
foot skeleton tower in the back yard,
pumping water for Mr.. Leeper's
pigeons and other live stock.
Il think the bearings need oil, said
Boots. With the wind in this direction
the fan is right over the tank where
can climb up and oil the places"
Crawling up the tower frame with
his oil can, Mr.. Leeper got astride of
the fan, or tail, of the windmill He
was busy oiling when the breeze shift
ed six points and swung him clear off
the tank roof. The wind also freshened
and the lubricant in the journals in
duced the mill to brace up and spin at
the rate of thirty knots an hour.
"Help!" shrieked Mr.. Leeper, but the
rafting machinery drowned his voice
The wind shifted again until the di-
rectior 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 the ground. This
was a condition of deadly peril, even
for man who had marooned himself
on a barn. Mr.. Leeper's hair and
whiskers curled with terror. There
was nothing to do but cling to the up
per edge of the fan, and this he did
so fondly that his finger nails made
scars in the paint. The mill grew
fractions and bucked like wild west
broncho.
IF l only had my spurs on" walled
the dizzy man, cor even gunny sack
for saddle, might hold out till the
breeze shifts again.
Meanwhile his cries had attracted
the family and crowd of neighbors,
some of whom wanted to bet on the
finish.
Throw her out of gear and stop the
mill" 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, then" howled Mr.
Leeper
The ladder was useless, for the fan
swayed too much to offer a resting
place for the 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 made verbal will, dropping the
words down between jolts, praying al
ternately and saying things in a whis-
per to the fiery, untamed windmill
At last the wind died away and with
the aid of ropes the men hauled the
fan around to where the exhausted
performer could tumble off to the tank
whence they lowered him gently down
and rubbed his joints with witch
hazel.
Alsinus Gustavus Leeper was some
what lame and tired last night, but he
is soothed by the reflection that he is
the greatest bareback rider Fruitvale
has ever produced.
h &c sAL
the barn." said Boots. You see, had
a better seat there and the wind didn't
bother me. Two or three times l
came near being blown off the fan and
the way it bucked loosened some of my
teeth. Talk about riding a man on
a rail! I'll bet the sharpest rail ever
split feels like upholstered plush COM
pared to the edge of my windmill fan"
San Francisco examiner.