The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1894-07-11
In THE STEEL MILLS.
A WoRKMAN'S ACCOUNT OF HIS
FIRST DAY AT HOMESTEAD.


Awed by the Deafenlng Noise and Roaring
Flames and BIlstered by the Terrible
Hcat-The Fate of One Poor Man-Tossed
with Aching Bones at Night.
When | went to the superintendent
and asked for work, he said, what
can you do?''
Anything. | am large, strong, &C
tive and willing. / have been about
machinery all my life and want work
badly"
He touched button, and boy APP
peared "Show this man down to the
converting mill and ask Fred if he can
do anything for him. Good morning.
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 converting
mill The superintendent was found
and the word delivered. He glanced at
me q moment; then said, not unkindly.
"You look good and strong. Jump in
and help those fellows there on those
vessels. y
/ 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 / should
have liked to acknowledge.
Iseized sledgo lying near and jump
cd 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 8 feet in
diameter and about O 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. My 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 mo and
swiftly poured into the converter a
"heat' of iron. Then the blast was
turned on, and a 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 flame.
BY noon Twas 80 tired could hardly
stand, but / stuck 20 1t for all j 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, / was startled to see stream
of red fire run over the edge of the plat
form and strike In the midst Of some
workmen. As IL touched the wet ground
1t exploded with report like that of
cannon. The molten metal flew 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'LL 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 9 o'clock, 1t
seemed az IL 1t would have been utterly
impossible for me to live In that mill
another hour. dragged myself to my
room and went to bed ut once. AL that
night / tossed and turned my aching
bones, trying to get into some position
less painful than the last. / was tor
tured by q thousand grotesque fancies
and by the picture of the poor fellow
who was burned so badly. At last / got
into an uneasy browse, but I felt as IL
had not been asleep a minute when my
alarm clock announced to me that 1t
was 4:45, and that must get up to my
$40 breakfast. Oh, the misery Of that
rising and going to the MILL Every
bone and sinew seemed as IL made OF
redhot iron. and the joints as IL 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 and 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 l
stumbled along through mud and stones,
over boards and into holes, carrying IN
my hand my tin dinner bucket which
contained my midday meal.
On my first Sunday we refined the
converter. and 1t 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 1t stood at about 14O degrees
/ worked as hard as I could. but near
noon tainted, for the first time In my
life
My experience at Homestead was the
experience of the majority Of workmen
there. --"Homestead as Seen by One OF
Its Workmen" In MeClure's Magazine.
The resurrection plant. a native OF
South Africa, becomes dry and appar-
emily lifeless during drought, but opens