The Tipton advertiser. [volume] (Tipton, Cedar Co., Iowa) 1856-1962, 1872-07-04

2.
pounding upon thousands Of anvils
but with no more real noise than an,
dozen blscksmiths, in any day OF tn
week, might be backed to make |
they gave their shoulders to the work
Tink, tink, tink, louder still as 20,
approach the town Of the Thousand
fires Of nail makers, but never risini
to the grandeur OF the echoes o
Shefiield or Birmingham. The streeti
are narrow, but not unc.ean. The
dwellings and shops are small, but moi
ili-arrangei or untidy. BY the side Of
each house is a smithy. each contain
Ing from two to five stalls" OF
hearths" as they are called, render
ing the streets SO light during the
evening as to make the gas lamps su.
perfluous. Whole families work in
these smithies. l have heard English
gentlefolk speak with horror Of the
drudgery to which women in Ger.
many and France are often compelled
They are farm laborers, street sweep.
ers, scavengers and hOd carriers.
These good people seemed never to
have heard Of tho female blacksmiths
OF Staffordshire. There il not q one
hundredth part Of them here at Lye.
Waste, and yet this contains q thou
sand at least. You may count them
any night the year round, for there il
not the least shyness in the matter.
They intersperse these smithies with
almost every house along whole
streets, their fronts wide open, their
bellows pulling, their fires aglow, and
their occupants-men, women and
children-hard hammering on the
forges. II you like to stand" q can
of beer, you may enter and have q
chat but idle only on your part.
Time Is too precious when woman,
stripped like man from wrist to
shoulder, must face q forge, and bend
over an anvil fourteen hours day be-
fore shilling can be earned.
IT Is not uncommon to find mother
and her three strapping daughters,
the last each Of manageable age,
stripped to their stays. and with ker-
chiefs over their shoulders, welding
hammers, tugging ut bellows, and
working away with q will amongst the
banging aud roaring and ark-fying,
all the while singin. merrily rs iarks,
IL not so melodiously. Children, too
the same or like those met in the
crowd on Saturday evening. The
70 is they and their elders carried were
nail rods and here they are, the little
Vulcans, sweating over anvils set ur
according to their stature, and WELD
ing puny sledges, nll engaged in MAX
ing brads. Pale little Wretches, the
most Of them, the freight portrayine
with cruel fidelity their haggard, un.
childish faces, each one wistfui aud
anxious with the conci0usness that
bread to eat must drst be earned. II
was cruel enough to see women with
barred arms and naked breasts stand.
ing In the smithy ashes, shaping thu
Iron with heavy blows OF huge ham
mers but " we- i~Asssssly sssose pain
ful to watch these tiny brad makers
with wisp of rag around their heads
to keep the baby growth Of hair out Of
their eyes, Strengthening their small
backs and spitting on their palms be.
fore they grasped their hammer to
make the most Of the "heat." The
hearths" are the property Of the
landlord, aud are rented out, together
with the bellows, ut four pence (eighl
cents a week. The tools and anvili
belong to the operatives. There were
in some Of the smithies " treadle
hammers connected with the anvils
ingenious enough. but cruelty hard fol
woman's work. As with other black
smithing, there must be two hammer
used on piece Of red hot iron q large
one to beat and small one to polish
In the treadle-hammer operation III.
former Is hung above the anvil at thu
proper hight and connected with tlIt
treadle below. There was an old wo
man in one of the smithies making
nails in this single-handed fashion IL
q manner that would have been redic
ulous but for the knowledge of how
her old legs must have been taxed
She would bring heat" from thu
furnace, clap it on the anvil, with he
left hand maneuver the rod, and will
her right hand WELD the small ham
mer, all the while working the treadls
with her foot. She seemed . part 0
the machinery. AS the big hamme
interchanged blows with the hamme
In her hand, her grizzled head KEEP
time to the clumping strokes as ]
head and hands aud foot were moves
by some invisible power.
It ia an uncertain and sorry lif
these female blacksmiths lead. In
deed, all the nail makers of this dis
trict work to great disadvantage
They purchase their iron Of the land
lord, himself q nail-master, and sci
him their nails. He Is under no con
tract to buy, even at the market price
unless II suits him. II there happen
TO be glut In the market, the maker
must hoard their nails or part wit
them at . sacrifice.
Again, the nails must weigh I
count" For instance, q woman
making clasp nails that should weig
six pounds to the twelve hundred
For making twelve hundred nails
each one be II remembered to be fash
ioned, finished, and nlpped of the ba
she would receive, II all went vel
the handsome sum OF one shillin
twenty-five cents), but they have "
to be weighed 10 count. The landlor
takes promiscuous handful from III
bulk, and places them In the seal
Noting their weight he proceeds
count them, and unless they tall
fffty to the half pound, o penny ls d
Quoted from the shilling earned.
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