What problems or dangers would Uncle
Cyrus face as a bolt cutter?
Problems and Dangers experienced by bolt
cutters:
Bolt
cutters worked long hours doing hard physical labor. A typical working
day for a bolt cutter would be 10 hours. After all that work, he was only paid
between $1.00 and $2.00 for the day.
Once in a while, when the brakes on the tramcars failed,
there were serious accidents and horses as well as people were hurt or killed.
A
bolt cutter also ran the risk of cutting himself with his saw, or smashing a
finger or hand with his mallet if his aim was a little off.
When it was dry and hot in the woods, there was always the risk of another forest fire.
Dangers faced by
other shingle mill workers:
Shingle
mill workers ran the risk of losing their fingers, hands, and arms, when they
operated saws and other machinery.
Shingle
mill workers also got lung diseases from breathing sawdust. Shingle mills were always in danger of fire,
because the sawdust piles were disposed of by burning them. The fire would
always be smoldering, and a breeze could soon fan it into a blaze. By the time
the fire might be noticed, it could have already done a lot of damage.
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