Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1890-09-09
4 Fight in MiG-Air

& Fight IN MlG-Ar
Pwo mea 69hjUg III mic->ir This was
the tsrribia scene enacted few days siaca
On massive iroa tower being erected by the
wa.sy wozts company, a! Peoria, Ill. When
coooiete6, lhis tower will be 12O fact high.
The steel plates are FIVE feet wide and ten
fest long, and tx 9 line OF rivets on the main
iointa. Ghici run horizontally, and the up
right SEAMS, y hi9h connect the plates enc
to eud, call for rivet at every tIo inches.
L, therefore, takEs 775 rivets to set single
course OF patep The tower had reached
the height OF ninety feet, and two gangs ol
rivee5s wsre ct work with their heaters and
lolde:s-oD. The latter work cD Tie inside
of the tower, while the men who hammer
the ,ivets 10 heao work on ffsil scatfold
on the outside To the behoider WHO stands
on the solid earth this outside sosff0ld seems
TO ba 81 thin, as frail, and SO delicate es
spi9er's web. There it winds around the
tall, black iron tower, frsil below end dwind-
Iing away In the upward distance into notG-
!ngnes9. Ninety feet fromi the ground,
anG on this frail scaffold, the other morning
TWO .iveters were working, and from some
unsccountable cause became involved in an
altsrcalion.
Bessemer steel is hard, out it is not harder
than the hearts of infuriated men, Iron
yiyets, awsitiug the touch of the hammer,
are not, but they moi. no ter than the in
famed passions of the some of Adam. The
!.Veters in question came with the water
sgciks company from Syracuse, n. Y. One
was Eiique, the other Danuioe. Each man
sguue seVen-pound hammer Miqus made
roisiick and struck Dennice on the band.
Msddened with the sudden pain, Dennice
BECAME at once demon and swung his
banner foil and fair at the head OF Mique.
Had the iron head of the hammer crushed
IL those locks Inangled and lifeless and
| hslEAeGdeas corpse would have topped
| doWu TO the solid earth, 80 feet below.
| Mique, however, threw up bis hammer in
| defensive way, and parried the blow. Again
the hammer of Dennice swung, end again it
wGs pe-.ie0, hut as its head ceromed on the
steel head Of MiQue's defensive hammer, it
| shot off 90 tanSs1t, like 9lancing arrow
| that strikes tree, and knocked away one of
he support5 of the soatfold. There was
sickanng, crscsing sound as the frail up
right was knocked away from the braces and
down went the ends Of two plenks compfis-
ing one eec ion cf the scaffold. Miqus, who
bad been retreating from bafore the fierce
advances of D4nnice, was on firm footing,
bus Dennice was compelled 10 make giant
spring to cave himself In the terror of the
moment be leaped almost 10 the very ehoul-
ders of the aftighted Miqua and knocked
him down backward faIliog On top of him.
The force Of the concussiOn WAS such that
both men rolled to the edge Of the scaGold,
aud over went Dennice.
| InstinctiVely, aud in the desperation of the
moment, he caught oGe heel in the upright
Immediately behiad him and threw mis- left
arm around the neck of Mique. There be
hung CO the edge Of the sCatfol3 suspended
BIZ only one heel AID wtiat, while below him
--peery hundred feet beow--Eas a row
OF iron pipes and plates OF steel. To fall
was to be dashed to pieces.
TO fsil on the pipes was to break arms and
legs and back. 20 fail en- the curved and
up,urned edges of the plates was 10 be cut
into huge and CHASTITY slices.
The mans hand trembled, and bis ham.
mer dropped from his neiyeless grasp. 1t
went swiftly downWe hit projection on
the scaffoId, bounded off, aDd, striking 3
| fifteen inch pipe, broke it in two as cleveriy
and as keeoly as If /. had been split with
knife. The baud swung over and graeped
Iiqae around the loins with an swfu tene-
City, --snd thers tins Gaau sirugg ed Oh the
awful 0>rse of the scaG Id, anc az that dZ-
| Zy heigh', DaDlice hsd q most mausged to
swing bis welgh' on he scslfo.d whea Mi
1ue's hirkory ehiFt ripped, and back the
man went into space, this time losing the
purchase OF bic heel. an sapgiug clear
over 30 that be held 1imselt only By one
arm, and buDg susrsndsd upfigh' in the cir.
Miqus managed 10 thrust the toes Of his
left foot between the t@o narTow pianks that
constituted toe scaffo.d, and thus acquired
a leverage TnroBiug over the other
shoulder, BY strong and almost mracul-
Gus movement, be Swung the suspended
body of D.Dn;co back 10 the platform and
dashed his face against tba tower. There
be lay motionicss and still, and when their
companions reached them they found that
both had fsinted deaG sway. Tho awful
duel had lasted less !haa forty seconds, but
there is nole o0 record that can compete
with il.
Ten minutes later Dennice and Mique
were hammeriDg at the five.s as msrrily as
Of vOre