The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1890-12-10
FIGHTING ON A HIGH TOWER.
Two Workmcn Battling Desperately On
Hundred Feet from, tI,a C,,.o,,.,i

Two WOr%mcn Battling Desperately One
Hundred Feet from the Ground
Two men fighting in midair. This
was the terrible scene enacted on n
massive iron tower being erected by the
water works company. The tower had
reached the height of 80 feet, and
two gangs Of riveters were at work with
their heaters and their holders on
The latter work on the inside of the
to"er, white the men who hammer tbe
rivets to a head work on the frail sc9f
fold on the outside. To the b2holder
who stands on the solid earth this out
side scatIold seems to be us thin, us
frail and as delicate us q spiders web
There it winds around the tall black
iron tower, frail below and dwindIing
away in the upward distance into moth
ingneas. Ninety feet from the ground
and on this frail scafTold two riveters
were working, and from some unac-
countablc cause became involved in an
alteration.
Bessemer steel is hard, but it is not
harder than the hearts of infatuated
men. Iron rivets, awaiting the touch
OF the hammer, are hot but thcy are
not hotter tlian the innalned passions
of the sons of Adam. The rivetors in
question came with the water works
company from Syracuse. N. Y. One
was Miquc, the other Denniec. Each
man swung a seven pound hammer
Mique made 4 lnislicl and struck Den
nice on the hand Maddencd with the
sudden pain Dennice became at once
a demon, and swung his hammer full
.ald fair at the head of Miqne. Had
the iron head of the hammer crushed
in those locks Il mangled and lifalags
and half headless corpse would have
toppled down to the solid earth, ninety
feet below. Miqle, however threw
up bis hammer in a defensive way and
parted the blow. Again the hammer
of Dennicc swungand again it was par
RED, but as it's head caroined on the
steel head Of Mique's defensive hammer
it shot Off on ~ tangent like giancinc
arrow that strikes tree, and knocked
away one of the supports of the seat
fold
There was s;nloning, cracking
sound is tho f2a.! upright vas knocked
away from the braces, and down went
the ends Of two planks comprising enc
section of the scafold. 1Iiquo, who
had been retrea,.ng from before the
fierce advances Of Dennice, was on a
firm footing, bet Dennice was compel
led to make a giant spring to save him
scif. In the terror OF the moment he
lc2pHd almost to the worry shoulders of
the atIriGhtod Mique and knocked him
down backward, falling on top Of him.
The force of the conclusion was such
that both mon rolled to the edge of the
scal4old, and over went Dennica.
lns.inctivaly and in the desperation
of the moment he caught one heel in
the upright Immediately behind him
and threw his left arm around the neck
Of Aiilue There he hung on tie edge
of the scaf1old, suspended Icy only one
heel and wrist, while below him-near
ly q hundred feet below-was row of
iron pipes and plates Of steel To fall
was to be dashed to pieces.
70 fail on the pipes was to break
arms and legs and back. To fal on
the curved and uptuned edges Of the
plates was to be cut into huge and
ghastly slices.
The mans hand trcmblcd. aud lis
hammer dropped from his nerve!ess
grasp. 1t went swiftly downward. hit
a projection in the scatTo!d. bounded
off, and striking a IS inch Pipe broke
it in two Is cleyerly and US Ilccnly
as if it had been split with knife. |
The hand swung over and graspcd |
Miquc around the loins with an awful
tenacity, and there the men STRUGGLED !
on the awful verge of the scallold. |
Dennice had almost managed to swing |
his weight on the sc#-oll when biique's |
hickory shirt ipped, and back the man
went into space, this time losing the
purchase of lis heel ana swinging clean
over SO that lie held himself only by |
one arm and hung Suspended upright |
in the air.
Mique managed to thrust the toes Of
his left foot between two narrow blanks
!a2t made The scafrold. and thus &c.
qnircd leverage. Throwing over the
other shoulder by strong and almost
miraculous moyemen: lie swung the
suspended body of Dennice back to the
platform and dashed his face against
the tower. Iho"e they lay, motionlcss
and still, and when their companions .
reached thc:n they found that both
he'd tainted dead away. The awful
ducl had lasted less than forty seconds,
bat there is none on record that can
compete with it.
Ten minutes later Dennicc and M,que
were hammering away as menily as
before. Peoria Herald.