New Ulm weekly review., 1879-10-22
Women as BIacksmiths.

A CORRESPONDENT of the Pail Mall
Gazette writing from Rowley Regis-a
Lancashire village-thus describes one
district:
l came here to inquire for myself
how much it would cost to deliver one
hundred tons of coal month by the
Rowley Colliery Company at two or
three given localities within a distance
of ten miles; and, having satisfied my
self on that point, much to my pleas
ure, I continued my walk from the
coalpit up through the fields to Row.
ley old church. came to a place
called Bell End, which is apparently a
new part of the old village. Through
small window / observed a female
head bobbing up and down; soon I
heard the sound of a hammer; and,
never having seen any rivet-making
done by human hands, I threaded my
way through some brick passages until
1 came to the little smithy where
"Alice" was at work. This was the
name by which her father called her
whom met on my way, and to whom
I am indebted for the following re-
markable piece of knowledge. Alice,
may say, was young wife engaged in
blowing bellows, heating pieces OF iron
in a "gleed" forge, and producing
rivets from an anvil at the rate of
three thousand day. For this manu-
al labor Alice, her father proceeded to
tell me in her presence, gets from the
warehouse Is. 3D., out of which shehas
to pay for wear and tear of tools Id,
carriage Id, and like sum for gleeds,
a kind of small coke made expressly
for nail and rivet forges. On Monday
she does her washing, on Saturday her
cleaning up, so that she only works at
rivets four days in the week, and her
gross earnings, therefore, amount to
4s. Sd. for forging twelve thousand riv-
cts. have said nothing of rent which
Alice would pay, and which might
amount to Is. a week. She was a Sc
date young woman, well spoken, with
very fair hair and low, sweet voice.
John Price (Alice's father) then, at my
request, took me to see his neighbors,
Edward and Phyllis Tromans, who
lived and worked at making nails close
by. Phyllis is handsome woman,
with beautiful white teeth and abpn-
dance of flesh, which Rubens mighthave
painted, it is so plentiful and rosy.
This woman was forging large nails,
and the manner in which she made a
nail with point and a head an inch
and a half in circumference fly off a
piece of hot iron was marvellous to be-
hold. She works from eight o'clock
in the morning until nine at night, and
in four days viii forge fifty.four pound
weight of clout nails, for which she
will receive the wondrous price of s.. j
3d.. out Of which she has to pay Sd, for
gleeds and I'd. for tools. Her husband
works "as hard as he can drive from
six o'clock in the morning until eleven
at night; and his week 8 wages amount
to 12s., from which 10d. for gleeds and
I'D. for tools will have to be deducted
TO say nothing of rent. Edward Tro-
mans was only forty-three years old,
but looked much nearer seventy. Two
other young women were hammering
away at rivets in company with Phy1-
lis; and never as long as live shall 1
forget that little black smithy. Ionce
travelled many miles to see $ Vulcan's
Forge by Velasquez; but there was
in that famous picture no figure equal
to that Of Phyllis Tromans, and shall
remember Phyllis to the day Of my
death. That such q woman should be
shaving in SCOT blowing bellows, now
with her left, and then welding q ham
mer with her right hand - forging clout
nails for twelve hours q day, in order
to earn less than 4Od. IN 8 week, is al
that ] would never have
believed ass being possible in England
4 had not seen it.