The herald., 1894-08-05
IN THE STEEL MILLS.
A WORkMAN'S ACCOUNT OF HIS
FIRST DAY AT HOMESTEAD.

With Aching Bones at Night.
When l went to the superintendent
snd asked for work, he said, "Wha
can you do?"
Anything. am large, strong, ac
tive and willing. / have been abou
machinery all my life and want worl
badly
He touched button, and boy ap
peared. "Show this man down to the
converting mill and ask Fred if be cal
do anything for him. Good morningr
he said, and my interview was over.
put on my new overalls and jumper
and followed my guide down through
the mills. We made our way through
piles of stock, raw material, rolls, etc,
and came at last to the huge convertine
mill. The superintendent was found
and the word delivered. He glanced al
me moment; then said, not unkindly
"You look good and strong. Jump in
and help those fellows there on those
vessels -
l hardly knew what he meant, but
through the smoke and steam | saw
some men beneath one of the vessels, or
converters, working with sledges and
bars to get the bottom off. The mill,
with its ponderous and massive cranes,
the immense vessels all covered with
black scale and SCOT, the flying sparks
the roaring flames, the lights coming
and going, the air filled with steam and
smoke, and, finally, the shrill and deaf
ening noise, awed, confused and even
disconnected me more than l should
have liked to acknowledge.
Iseized sledge lying near and jump
ed in. We at last got out the keys,
as they call the wedges which hold the
converter together, and by the help of
hydraulic ram took the bottom off,
This left white hot opening s feet in
diameter and about feet from the
ground, under which we must work. 1t
seemed to me as though the skin on my
neck and hands would burst with the
heat. Ny clothes even steamed and
smoked. How wished had been any
where under the sun-good old Sol
rather than under this fiendishly hot
sun hanging SO very near usl
When we had the new bottom on, we
went up to the platform above the con-
verters and drove the keys home more
securely and stopped any small hole
there might be with ball stuff"
A shrieking engine passed by me and
swiftly poured into the converter q
'heat" of iron. Then the blast was
turned on, and cloud of yellow and
saffron fame, mixed with sparks and
small particles Of metal, rushed out of
the mouth of the converter into the air.
One Of the men caught me by the arm
and pulled me away just in time to save
me from being seriously burned, for !
was not expecting the fame
By noon was so tired 1 could hardly
stand, but stuck to it for all was
worth. During the afternoon frequent
ly fell down because my knees were too
weak to hold me up My hands were
burned and blistered, and my new over
alls were filed with holes burned by
flying sparks. About o'clock in the
afternoon, while working under the
platform, I was startled to see q stream
of red fire run over the edge of the plat.
form and strike in the midst of some
workmen. AS it touched the wet ground
it exploded with report like that of a
cannon. The molten metal few in every
direction. Many workmen were burned
more or less severely, and in the case OF
one poor fellow-it makes me sick still
to think of it-the steel came down di-
rectly on the head and back. We got
him out of the steam and smoke and
carefully and tenderly cut his burned
clothing from him. As we placed him
on the stretcher the burned flesh drop
ped from his bones.
When was relieved at O'Clock, it
seemed as if it would have been utterly
impossible for me to live in that mill
another hour. I dragged myself to my
room and went to bed at once. All that
night tossed and turned my aching
bones, trying to get into some position
less painful than the last / was tor
tured by thousand grotesque fancies
and by the picture of the poor fellow
who was burned SO badly. At last got
into an uneasy browse, but felt as if /
had not been asleep a minute when my
alarm clock announced to me that it
was 4:45, and that must get up to my
5:10 breakfast. Oh, the misery Of that
rising and going to the MILL Every
bone and sinew seemed as if made of
redhot iron, and the joints as if rusted
together.
1t was dark, foggy morning, found,
when, having desperately got up enough
will power to dress, / tumbled out to
my boarding house. The Pittsburg
smoke ana fog are proverbial, but
really think that on that particular
morning one might have cut tangible
chunks out Of the black, wet air. The
board walks in Homestead are never in
repair, and on the way to the mills
stumbled along through mud and stones,
over boards and into holes, carrying in
hoy hand my tin dinner bucket, which
contained my midday meal
On my first Sunday we refined the
converter. and it became my duty to
stand up in the inverted vessel and
hand up the ball stuff and limestone
with which to refine it. The vessel had
been left to cool simply over night, and
suppose the temperature of the dry air
inside of it stood at about 40 degrees.
l worked as hard as I could. but near
noon tainted. for the first time in my
life
My experience at Homestead was the