|
 Georgian mill owners cared about profits and not about the lives of their
workers and the Mule Scavenger probably had the worst job in the mill.
They were child apprentices, as young as eight, often from the local
workhouse. They got board, lodgings and pocket money to crawl around under the
'mules' (weaving machines) and collect fluff and cotton.
The mills were hot, humid and very noisy and Mule Scavengers worked 12-14
hours at a time with no proper meal breaks.
Concentration was everything as they
had to move with the rhythm of the 'mule'. One slip and they could lose a
finger, a hand or even their life as they were crushed in the heavy machinery. |
