Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1886-08-28
A DEADLY OCCUPATION.
Girls who Sew Furs Victims t,
Arsenic Poisoning.

Girls Who Sew Furs Victims to
Arsenic, Poisoning.
or all the skilled labor that women do
probably the worst and most unhealthy
is that of the fur sewers, and few live to
work at it more than five or six years.
They go into a consumptive decline, lose
their sight or become victims to arsenical
poison.
The busy season with fur sewers is
during the summer and early fall, as the
garments that are to be sold the following
winter are made then, and as that also is
the season when moths are flying it is
necessary to keep the work room closed as
far as is possible to prevent any of those
dreaded insects from entering. In conse-
quence the air Is filled with minute
particles of fur, which keep up a
constant irritation of the lungs and
a desire to cough, which frequently
develops into pulmonary cousump-
tion in those predisposed that way. The
flying hairs also get into the eyes, and
there are few of the girls who work at
that trade long that do not have red and
sore eyes, though some of them attribute
that trouble to the presence OF the arsenic
which has oeen used to cure the skins.
The fur dealers will tell YOU that there is
no danger to the health in that business,
and that there are no poisOns used in the
preparation OF the pelts, but one glance
at the girls will disprove that, for nine
out of every ten will show unmistakahle
evidence Of poisoning in their pale faces
and pufed-Out eyelids. Every pelt has
to be cured with more or less arsenic, and
no amount OF subsequent shaking or dye
ing will remove it all. The girls receive
il into their system with every prick of
the needle aud every particle of dust they
innale. The very air is scented with Its
pungent, coppery odor.
Fur sewing is in itself no harder than
any other Kind OF sewing. The workers
are generally seated in low chairs, and
have the work in their laps and thus bend
directly over it. The stitch is an over and
over one, and is sewn with linen thread,
and then the seams are fiattened out by
means of a bone instrument, the wrong
side being irst dampened. The work is
tedious, as IL Is composed of hundreds of
small bits OF fur matched and sewn to-
gether, TO piece out lengths or alter
shapes. The sewing up of garment is
the easiest part of it. Sable, bear and fox.
marten, skunk and beaver, as well as
otter and sealskins, and also Siberian
squirrel, as we'll as some fNrs OF minor
value. all have the same characteristics
regarding the flying OF the loose hairs and
TEN. In some few establishments they
receive beaver skins as natural and
pluck out the long hairs, though that
work is not always done here. Sealskin
also has TO be treated in the same way,
aud the coarse long hairs are plucked out,
leaving the soft fur exposed. Some OF the
girls who work at the fur trade are set TO
making buttons for the sealskin sacques,
and as this work is comparatively easy
they are very poorly paid. Tney earn BY
steady work about 50 a week, If expert.
In some cases whole family Of girls will
be found working together. 1t takes
about year for girl to learn fur sewing,
though those who finish of garments
must OF necessity understand IL better
still. The pay ls fair for experts, for they
can earn up 20 $40 week but the work Is
not steady, and in the winter aud spring
they have idle months, so that the aver
age is at once reduced tO$5. When learn
ing girls usually get 81 week for the
first year, and 1t is very rare that one re-
ceiyes over So week inside OF three years,
and this then Is reduced nearly one-half
by the dull months.