The weekly clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1863-1882, 1873-10-09
COMBAT II MIn-AIR.
Deadly Struggle en- a Tigdt"RoPe.
Ome COmbafana Hurled 10
the Ground and I'm
stanGKy Killed.

Little did the tens of thousands of men,
women, and children who thronged the
public square of Agram, Croatia, an the
10Th of August, anticipated that they
were about to witness a spectacle such as
has, perhaps, never been seen before, "a
mortal struggle in mid-air. The occa-
sion of the gathering was a performance
on the tight-rope. The acrobats, Andreas
Kolter and Francis Pergowitch, were to
appear on the rope, which had been
stretched from a window in the fifth story
in the Court-House to a window in an
opposite house, distance of 200 feet
| The acrobats were to meet midway, and
| then to pass each other. When the clock
struck u, the acrobats emerged from
their respective windows dressed in tights,
and without balance poles. kolter walked
rather cautiously, while Pergowitch came
to meet him from the opposite direction,
with a nervous, quick step. At last they
met, and the suspense Of the crowd
underneath changed the next moment to
feeling of indescribable horror. Per
gowitch suddenly uttered an angry ex-
clamation, and dealt kolter a ter
rible blow on the head. Kolter staggered
and fell, but in so doing succeeded in
clutching the rope with one hand, while
with the other he grasped the left leg of his
assailant. Pergowitch now fell likewise, but
PISSED his right arm around the rope so thai
he hung upon it in comparative Sc
curity. And now began hte-and-death
struggle. Kolter, with his right hand
tried to drag Pergowitch from the rope,
while Pergowitch kicked Kolter with his
- r. al. L. = 4
ored to loosen his antagonists hold. No
one was able to interfere, and the result,
it was easy to foresee, must be the death
of one or both the acrobats. Many wo-
men tainted, while strong men wept like
children. What added to the general
despair was the appearance OF kolters
young wife at the open window, from
which her husband few moments before
had set out upon his fatal walk. Her |
piteous screams were heard above the |
din below, and, her appeals to Per-
gowitch to spare her husbands life would /,
have moved the heart of an Apache. |
The struggle in mid-air lasted perhaps a
minute, when Kolter suddenly uttered !
his last cry and lost his hold. He fell to
the ground, striking it violently and ex-
piring instantly. While the people |
gathered around the corpse of poor kol- !
ter, his murderer on the tight rope man
aged to get on his feet again. With a
dlabolical expression on his face he utter |
ed yell of triumph.
The Project Of Police ordered Pergo-
witch to surrender. In case he should |
not do SO within FIVE minutes he would |
be shot down like dog. Finally he |
raised himself to his feet and ran quickly |
to the courthouse window, where he sur
rendered, begging that he might be pro
tected from violence. There was great |
danger of his being executed by the peo-
pie, who loudly clamored that the muir
derer be given up to them; but the mil |
tary by a baYonet charge cleared the |
public square. Pergowitch being asked |
what caused him to perpetrate this crime,
said that there had been a grudge be /
tween him and kolter, ever since the |
latter had married young Rosita Sergan-
off, a Polish girl of rare beauty. Kol-
ter, in fit of jealousy, had told him he
knew one or the other of them must die |
on this account. Andreas Kolter was the /
youngest member of the distinguished /
family of acrobats by that name.