Daily Yellowstone journal., 1891-02-06
FIGHTING ON A HIGH TOWER.
Two workmen Battling Desperately One
Hundred Feet from the Ground.

massive iron owe being erected by the
water works company. The tower had
reached the height Of 30 feet, end
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 scat
fold on the outside. To the beholdel
who stands on the solid earth this out
side 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 moth
ingness. Ninety feet from the groune
and on this frail scaffold w riveten
were working, and from some unac-
countable cause became involved in IN
alteration.
Bessemer steel is hard. but il is not
harder than the hearts Of Infatuated
men. Iron rivets, awaiting the touch
Of the hammer, are hot, but they are
not hotter than the infiamed passions
Of the sons of Adam. The ~riveters in
question came with the water works
company from Syracuse, y. Y. One
was Mique, the other Dennice. Each
man swung a seven pound hammer.
Mique made "A mislick and struck Den
nice OF the hand. Maddened with the
sudden pain Dennice became at once
a Demon, and swung his hammer full
and fair at the head Of Miquc. Had
the iron head Of the hammer crushed
In those locks a mangled and lfeless
and half headless corpse would have
toppled down 20 the solid earth, ninety
feet below. Mique, however. threw
up his hammer in a defensive way and
parted the blow. Again the hammer
Of Dennice swung and again it was par
ried, but a. It's head caromed on the
steel head Of Mique's defensive hammer
il shot of ON a tangent like a CHANGING
arrow that strikes "A tree, and knocked
away n Of the supports Of the scat
fold.
There was a ~sickening. cracking
sound a. the frail upright was knocked
away from the braces. and down went
the ends Of w planks comprising one
Section Of the scafTold. Mique, who
had been re~treating from before the
fierce advances Of Dennice, was on a
firm footing. but Dennice was compel
led to make a giant spring to save him
self. In the terror Of the moment he
leapcd almost to the very shoulders Of
the affrighted Mique and knocked him
| down backward. falling on top Of him.
The force Of the conclusion was such
that both men rolled To the edge Of the
scaffold, and over went Dennice.
Instinctively 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 Mique. There he hung on the edge
Of the scaffold, suspended by only one
heel and wrist, while below him-near-
ly a hundred feet below-was a row Of
iron pipes and plates OF steel. To fall
wa TO be dashed to pieces.
To fall on the pipes was 20 break
arms and lers and back. To fall on
the curved and uptuned edges Of the
plates was 20 be cut into huge and
CHASTITY slices.
The mans hand trembled. and his
hammer dropped from his nerveless
grasp. IL went swiftly downward, hit
a projection In the scaffold. bounded
of. and striking "a Is inch pipe broke
it in two as cleverly and as keenly
as IL it had been split with a knife.
The hand swung over and grasped
/ NJ. a..UwI 81. lnfna nth an nruNul
~tenacity. and there the men struggled
on the awful verge Of the scaffold
Dennice had almost managed to swing
his weight on the scaffold when Mique's
hickory shirt ripped. and back the man
went into space, this time losing the
purchase Of his heel and swinging clean
over 50 that he held himself only by
one arm and hung suspended upright
in the air.
Mique managed 20 thrust the toes of
his left foot between two narrow planks
that made the scaffOld, and thus ac-
quired a leverage. Throwing over the
other shoulder by a strong and almost
miraculous movement he swung the
suspended body Of Dennice back 10 the
platform and dashed his face against
the tower. There they lay, 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 record that can
compete with it.
Ten minutes later Dennice and Mique
we're hammering away as merrily al
before. Peoria Herald.
An Improved Waterproof Garment