On account of lack of education she was restricted
to manual labor, and she often chose hard work. At one time she
became a boiler-maker's apprentice, wielding a hammer and driving
in hot rivets. Here she was very popular and became local
secretary of the International Brotherhood of Boiler-makers. In
physical development she was now somewhat of an athlete. "She
could outrun any of her friends on a sprint; she could kick
higher, play baseball, and throw the ball overhand like a man,
and she was fond of football. As a wrestler she could throw most
of the club members." The physician who examined her for an
insurance policy remarked: "You are a fine specimen of physical
manhood, young fellow. Take good care of yourself." Finally, in a
moment of weakness, she admitted her sex and returned to the
garments of womanhood.
In London, in 1912, a servant-girl of 23 was charged in the Acton
Police Court with being "disorderly and masquerading," having
assumed man's clothes and living with another girl, taller and
more handsome than herself, as husband and wife.
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