Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1877-07-11
An English Village of Nail.Makers.

1t is always dingy and depressing in
these villages, which, in manufac-
turing sense feed the large Black
Country towns. Sulphurous fumes
faint the air, and irpart to it strange
1lavors that may be tasted on the lips
as the salt of the sea may be tasted
miles distant from the coastline. The
roads. which in dry weather resemble
nothing 50 much as caked boot black
ing, yield puddles and rivulets of ink
when it rains-Which hereabouts il
does with charitable frequency. There
is grit everywhere.
The operatives, with few eXcep-
tons. are women and children. Nor
are these daughters of Vulcan mere
make-belieye workers. There are
matronS -the mothers of the boys and
girls that swarm about the hearth and
forge (the youngest disporting with
"clinkers' for playthings amongst the
warm ashes and women old enough
to be grandmothers, with hair stunted
and gray. Young women, too-un-
married lasses, with colored handker-
chiefs bound round their heads, to keep
their cherished treSseS from smoke
and singeing, and with another ker-
chief III lieu of a bodice, bare-al med to
the muscular shoulder; and one and
all are cheerfully "hard at it." tug
ging the bellows, attending the forge
fire, or facing each other at the anvil,
hammer IN hand, and with the glow
ing metal between. Some of these
sooty AmaZons, by curious mechan-
zeal contriVance, work with two ham
merS at one and the same time; the
one, the heavier, being set going by
means of treadle, and the lighter
implement III the hand. They are
making nails Of all sizes, from the
smallest brad TO the siX-inch bolt
headed "spile."
1t is terribly hard work and very
badly paid. For instance, for making
what are called "No. 6 clasp which
weigh two hundred to the pound, the
pay is twopence pound-a shilling for
six pounds and if found to be as much
as an ounce overweight the work is
"tailed,' us it is called, to the extent
of a penny in the shilling. a woman
must work twelve or fourteen hours
a day at the forge to earn about Sl.15
a week; and not one in 1t hundred earns
as much as S2.25 by her own unaided
labor. But the inducement is that
child old enough to crack cherry-stones
with a hammer can assist at nail
making, and "eyery little helps to-
ward the mickle." Mere babies can
earn fifty cents week; and where
there are six or eight children of va
rious ages, the total earnings amount
to something considerable. The
houses are built for the purpose. To
each one is attached a "stalp' or
"hezrth," the separate rent of which
is fourpenCe week, a mite of place,
occupied chiefly with the hearth and
the bellows, and atfording SO little ell
b0W-room for the half-dOZen workers
within that it appears marvel they are
not scared all over the exposed part of
their bodies by the flying sparks and
redhot chips. They are what are
called free workers, being paid accord
ing to results.
Nails Of every shape and form APP
pear to be an article of commerce for
which the demand seldom slackens.
and it is impossible to produce too
many of them. The merchant of
whom the mailer buys his "rod"-the
more or less substantial iron wire
from which the goods are manufac-
tured-is always willing to receive
nails at the fixed price and in the case
Of industrious families, once a week
may be seen the edifying spectacle of
father and mother and a troop of
youngsters, ranging in age from five
to fifteen, walking in Indian file, and
each the bearer of a load Of rod iron.
thin and thick, to be made up during
the ensuing Week.-Iro1lHonger.