The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1863-11-13
PORK PACKING.

Pork PACKING.
Keokuk has long and Justly been termed
the "porkopolis' Of Iowa, aud well has
she deserved the reputation, for in no
city throughout the State, or in any city
west of Chicago, has the business been
carried on to such an extent as in keo-
kuk, and no city has greater facilities and
advantages for pork packing and being
the hog market for the great country west
of the Mississippi than we have here
There were between one hundred and fifty
thousand and two hundred thousand hogs
packed here last year, and none of our
large packing houses were filled to their
utmost capacity; bat since then they
have all enlarged their establishments, so
that their facilities are almost double what
they were last year, and they can now
pack over two hundred thousand hogs
without difficulty. We have four i'm
nense packing houses now under full
blast, belonging to Goldman i Co, Cleg-
horn d Alexander, Patterson IL Timber
man and Batty 81 Hamill, each of
which have the facilities for killing and
packing twelve hundred hogs per day
Besides the houses mentioned, there is
another under the process of erection,
and of which We gave description short
time since, belonging to Messrs. Gonna
bic & Snyth. tits built entirely of stone.
and when finished will be the largest pork
house in the West.
We have visited these several establish
ments this week and obtained the figures
both Of their capacity and the number
they have already packed this season,
which commenced some two weeks ago
Our first visit was at the large house of
Messrs. Goldman & Co., where they were
just finishing slaughtering fine lot of
six hundred head, which were bought in
Hancock Co, Ill., We were shown around
this house by Mr.. Goldman, who, by the
way, is very killing fellow. They have
here facilities for slsughtering and pack
ing over twenty-five thousand hogs in a
season and have already killed twenty
FIVE hundred. There we're some forty
hands at work in the different departments,
which, however, is not full set. They
have four large steam tanks for trying
lard in this building, and two boilers to
furnish the steam. Every thing here is
done neatly and systematically, and is all
under the immediate supervision of our
friend Goldman, who has had large ex.
periencc in the business.
Crossing the street, and a little to the
right, we entered the mammoth estab-
lishment of Messrs. Cleghorn d Alexan-
der, which is the largest packing house
in the city and one of the best regulated.
They have already packed five thousand
hogs, and have facilities for killing and
packing between thirty and forty thous-
and. They were just receiving a lot OF
nine hundred by the keokuk and Fort
Des Mones Railroad, and which averaged
three hundred pounds. Here they were
working nearly sixty hands, and killing
thousand per day. They also have foul
immense tanks, which were under full
head of steam, and making noise some
what resembling distant thunder. It il
astonishing how quick porker in his
"fnnersent luviness," as Josh Billings
says, is transferred from the pen to the
barrel.
After surveying this establishment, we
passed down-a little to the left-to the
house Of Messrs. Patterson & Timbermau
which is situated nearer the river than
either Of the other two. This house i,
but little smaller than that of Messrs
Cleghorn & Alexander, having receive,
large additions during the past summer
and has nearly the same capacity. 1t i
also in better situation for shipping thai
either of the others, as it is adjoining tn
railroad, and they have built large leve
into the river, so that boats can land yer,
near the building, thus saving an i'm
mense quantity Of hauling. There wer
fifty hands at work here, and they .hav
already killed forty-eight hundred head
We were guided around by Col. Patter'
son, who is one of the Oldest packers ii
the city. There is but three iron tank