The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1890-09-24
FOUGHT IN MID AIR,
\ TERRIBLE SCENE ENACTED ON A
MASSIVE IRON TOWER.

Two Men Armed with Hammers Struggle
While Ninety Feet Above Ground-Ther
Climch and Roll on the ScaGold-Isoth
Men Faint Away From Exhaustion.
PEORIA, H.. Sept. l6.-Two men
lighting in mid air. This was the terri
HE sccne enacted a few days since on Il
massive iron tower being erected by the
water works company. The story of
the strange duel is thus described by
the Herald to-day: When completed
this tower will be l20 feet high. The
steel plates are five feet wide and ten
feet long, and the line Of rivets on the
main Joints which run horizontally,
and the upright seams, which connect
the plates end to end, call for a rivet
at every two inches. 1t therefore takes
715rivets to set asin9le course of plates:
The tower had reached the height OF
ninety feet and two gangs Of riveters
were at work with their heaters and
their holders-on. The latter
work on the inside Of the tower, while
the men who hammer the rivets to a
head work on the frail sca1fold on the
outside. TO the beholder who stand on
the solid earth this outside scaffold
seems to be as thin. as frail, and as
delicate as a spiders web. There it
winds around the tall, black iron tower,
frail below and dwindling away in the
upward distance into nothingness.
Ninety feet from the ground and on
this frail scatfold the other morning
two riveters were working, and from
some unaccountable cause became IN
volved in an alteration.
Bessemer steel is hard, but it is not
harder than the hearts OF lnturlated
men. Iron rivets, awaiting the touch
of the hammer, are hot, but they are
not hotter than the inflamed passions OF
the sons of Adam. The riveters in
question came with the water works
company from Syracuse, n. !. One
was NiQue, the other Dennice. Each
man swung a seven-pounds hammer.
Miuue made a miSlick and struck Den
nice on the hand. Maddened with the
sudden pain, Dcnnice became at once a
demon and swung his hammer full and
fair at the head of M!que. Had the
iron head of the hammer crushed IN
those locks a mangled and lifeless and
half-headless cropse would have top
pled down to the solid earth. ninety
feet below. Mique, however. threw up
his hammer in defensive way and par
ried the blow. Again the hammer OF
Dennice swung and again it was par
ried, but as its head carromed on the
steel head of Mique's defensive ham
mer it shot off on tangent, like q
slancing arrow strikes a tree, and
knocked away one Of the supports OF
the scahold. There was a sickenlnS
cracking sound as the frail upright
was knocked away from the braces
and down went the ends Of TWO plaDks
comprising one section Of the scrffold
Niaue, who bad been retreating from
| before the advances Of Dennice, was
on a firm footing, but Dennice was
compelled to make a glantspring to
save himself. In the terror Of the
moment he leapcd almost to the very
shoulders OF the atTrighted Mique and
knocked him down backward, falling
on TOD Of him. The force of the con
cussion was such that both men rolled
to the edge OF the scrffold and over
went Dennice.
Instinc:ively and in the desperation
of the moment he caught one heel lr
the upright Immediately behind him
and threw his left arm. around the neck
Of Mique. There he hung on the edge
of the scaffold, suspended by only oAe
heel and wrist. while below him-near
" hundred feet below-was row o!
iron pipes and plates of steel. 10 fal
was to be dashed to pieces. To fall or
the pipes was to break arms and legs
and back. TO fall on the curved anc
upturned edges Of the plates was tc
he cut into huge and ghastly slices.
The mans hand trembled and his
hammer dropped from his nerveless
grasp. 1t went swiftly downward, hi
a projection in the scaffolG, bounded
off. and, striking a fifteen inch pipe
broke it in two as cleverly and as keen
" as if it had been split with knife
| The hand swung over and graspeC
| Miuue around the loinS with an awfu
tenacity, and there the men struggled
on the awful verge of the scaifold ant
at that dizzy height. Dennice had al
most managed to swing his weight on
the scaffo,,d where Mique's hickory shirt
ripped and back the man went into
space, this time losing the purchase OF
his heel and swinging clear over sc
that he held himself only by one arm
and hung suspended upright in the
air. Mique managed to thrust the toes
Of his left foot between the two mar:
row planks that constituted the scaffold
and thus acquired leverage. Throw
ing over the other shoulder, by 2 strong
and almost miraculous movement, he
swung the suspended body of Dennlce
back to the platform and dashed his
face against the tower. There they
Law. motionless and still. and when
their companions reached them they
found that both had tainted dead away
The awful duel had lasted less than
forty seconds, but there is none on re-
cord that can compete with 1t.
Ten minutes later Dennlce and
Mique were hammering away at the
rivets as merrily as Of yore.
A Colo1ed Man for White Supremacy.
JACKSON Miss, Sept. 15.-Mr. Mont.
comery, the negro delegate, addressed
the convention to- day in support OF the
committee report and proved himself
\ ,& Nf hi