Remarkable Escape From a Fearful Death.

Te Aroha News, Volume V, Issue 218, 3 September 1887, Page 8

Remarkable Escape From a Fearful Death.

Oxe of the noted characters of Cincinnati, the " feteeple- climber," died a phorfc timo since at his home, in that city. His name was Joseph Rodriguez Wesfcon, and for ncaily thirty years he has been climbingsteeples in the city. No point was too high and dizzy for him to reach and maintain his steady foothold Of late years he would undertake only those difficult feats that appalled others. It was his pardonable boast that he mVd go as high or higher than any • im\n. There are many stories of hi- .^i/ardous exploits in, that city. The most notable, probably,, was the draping of the cathedral spire on the night following Archbishop Purcell's death.° On the ground below were 3,000 or 4,000 people eagerly watching for a glance at the daring it an as the lightning flashes revealed him on the dizzy height. Western, when only 12 years of age, had placed the tip on the same steeple.. Another feat that was greatly talked about at the time was on the night of July 3,. 1876. Weston climbed the spire of the Presbyterian Church on Fourth-street, the tallest in the city, and nailed fast the stars and stripes, 285 feet from the ground. It was on this occasion that he had a* narrow escape. Weston had obtained from Miehie, the jeweller, a heavy gold chain* the !\ nks of which were all solid. His chain, when he was failing, held him for a brief moment, durino- which the climber succeeded in regaining his hold. Another time, while Wesfcon was removing the timbers from, the steeple of Sb. Xavier, which had been, burned, he was struck on the head by a falK in a- rock and slightly hurt. Weston had a horror of going beneath the surface of theearth, and would re\er descend into a collaror cistern. . Weston's. father was named Rodriguez, tv Spaniard, who died soon after his sons, birth. His widow afterwauls married a man named Weston, which name the- boy adopted. Young Weston's stepfather taught him to climb at an early age, and as he advanced in years, his many difficult) performances gave him a wide-spread reputation. He was 41 years of age when he died. His son, now only 12 years old, already bids fair to eiual his father m aerial exploits.

The cat population of Great Britain *s over 7,000,000; Probably 3,000,000 of these may be reckoned as females ; and xt may be taken for granted that almost 4,000,000 families of kittens annually enter the world. Thus the total production of kittens way 00 calculated as quite 9,000,000,