, 1864-07-04
THE NORTH BRANCH,
lts Filthy Csndltla-A Peep At the DistiIlerie7
and Cow Sheds--sWiU and Swlll Milk.
The csws Feealng-Bess and
their Csmpositlo1-How
to Remedy the EVIL
.-Ds II EoH,

The Chicago river is curious Institution; It
paradox nc live BY 1t, and 1t will Jet be th
death ofus. 1nttmately Identified a. 1t is With th
commercial existence Of chicago, IN Its presen
condition it perils that existence. On its sulkac
are rome the rich freights Of q million argosies
IN Its bosom lie the secds Of di.oase and death Il
those who flourish on the traffic of1ts surface. I
1s the very antipodes Of the city; mouonese
fragment except "a stirred up By ths sesls Of pass
essentials Of our g1eauess; 1t mly be that the an
tttests is demanded in tue na1ure Of things. Bu
we fail to zee It. Motion - life, and we woulc
death stiffness Of The Chicago liver, Witch hing;
fhe morbid accumulations Of years in its embrace
We are not OF those who Wisn TO see the rIye1
dittillertcs which deck its banks They are the
ltle blood Of our trade; but for them the Chicago
Of today might stil! be trading post, and the u
dian's w.gwam be not unfzeqnent object within
the present city ltmits. Bat We 10 claim that theRe
establishments ehould be placed under proper re-
sTietions as to ccan1iness aud The disposal Of thel
of1a1 We're there an ordinary current in the r,Ser,
ne flth would epeeailJ be washed away Into the
lake; but even In thxt case we question tbs righ1
Of those people to make OF the r1yey 4 common
eewer. But there ia no-currenr except during The
periods Of autumn and fprine, OF attcr a eumm-l
rain; at all other times the 5lth emptted into il
lies there nnmoyed, settling to the bottom, slowly
rottin. and ever and unon rising to the surace ns
stirred mp BY passing vessel ita Y1ainous stencil
Injecting the air for miles around.
Our iFsaes Of Sunday and Monday last contained
| falnt, and BY no means oyerlsawn statement oi
some Of the phenomena presented In and along the
| north branch. We propose to coufine oueetses to
that subject In this article, not becanee the south
| branch is ircapab!e OF improvement, but because
efforts at amendment are there IN progress, aud
have been for year past while In the other branch
no attempt Hosthy of The name has yet been made,
| and tho evil Is gradually increasing No one can
have any but remote idea OF the extent OF the
.evn without personal inspection. Let us look In
On one Of the four dis1tlerles which produce this
nd aQa fhQ txAv In
conducted.
4 diatilery--as - well kno.n-ts place where
| Whieky is made. 4 Chicago dissillery will use up
ing out about eight thousand gallons Of k6wiuee
| Or an average IL four gallons to tne bnkhel. A
each bushel Of grain. This sw,l Is the Wort amer Ct
the spirit has been eraporated and as it Leaves The
tub In nothing else Than warm maah Of ground
The 1iyer In the condition Of swlll, it would be
great nuleance, though conparatively innocuous,
hf ss se Il ae net T. t.
| bushel Of sWill and miIch COW arc equivalents.
One Of the indispensable adjuncta Of the distilery
etand in long rowr, to the number OF TWO to three
| thousand. at their heads runs trough, al their
tails drain, and all ia ready tor thslpurpose Of
| beef, ding, and pars eTyetal water. The long
! rows Of posts 70 which those animals are m3ofed
do not lose their victim till she is almost ready to
"to saTa the craJthee'e 'iie." 4 pipe rom the
dist1llerJ conveys tho lukewarm swill to the
trough down which 1t runs under the noses OF the
e. se1 aSPsd e y s a M
river. Thla IL almost all that the poor creatures
have to .nbslet on; little hay is fed to them ut
lew tie me q entess
geon, their reesh begin TO rot under the intlneucs
q the heated swill, and they are thenceforth IN
s9sns sassS q sse sni H. hsy sn can ,:s
| Is Il once @ their food % snd "S4 thsir
poison. Other changes, not less marked, follow:
he tongue becomes diseased the tall rota Of, ths
ulus, snd the whols fraue becomes discussed, glv-
tng the desh that peculiar appearance which IL 80
ainieut 10 describe b. 6at 80 essy t9 femsmbsr "
Ramp!e Of this oil their tables The animals are
MIXED .arly, and give forth an abundant sup.
ply-ench a. itls, Five Or aix weeks Of this hle
supplied BY another healthy animal, who is put
hnues. The supply Of SWIM is ineesssnt, Ind tie
extent of the disgusting process Is limited only by
the sbility to procure and dispose Of cows, and
take csfe u Of them IN the stallf.
But Our purpose ts not to speak Of this phase Of
the business, except Is It Is tncdenta. to the thy
condition ot the river. We hare Already st2ted
;houssn to tsshtya1e hundred cow cows n IN these sMs
EAlls Among the Tour distlleries there are not
Les thsn nine thousand head Of cattle all located
tbey @ e fhnS %nIsa y IT, runs all inc
total smount of aith Is selT httie-if 1t ah-iess
port1tn Of lie sViil il unused, aud goes directly
to The rtvu undimtnIshed in quantlty except By The
corporation Of some ofita aqueons particles. Th,t
e Rsnase q so minus f. les{
daily increase In their own weight the arno1nt
turned Into the aoieeafa pnte country milk, Lost
By Preparation from th eir eareases and By ,s!ap-
compensated for by the wear and tear OF the
sheds, the grinding Of the boards into dust, and
y e mulch a o 5 tie hay nh n
thousand bushels Of abomlnatlon poured ioto The
to The -four distilclies On its bsnks, Or rom Tie
dlstilerles themselves. Eleven thousand cubic
feet Of the most etfnkux stut that It Is possible
ded al1ng the length and breadth Of our city. W CON-
noiso1ae ,odcnslvsnessi, /. Only ihlak veil of It's
ore day the people Of this c,:Y will permit suan IN
insoIe1aPe Sst pn,sanes to e1st smoGG shs
they run 1t into reseryof1E.'' Yes they do, ana
very pretty NETS they have made ;here; the remc-
f. Il thopsand times wo1so than the disease:
thto cay If your cheeks do not tingle with shame
a. tse !mpndente OF the men who eau staua no be-
tora t,sdh hi9h Heaven and eay 10 sonpaini nal
titact, "Iho1 c1nst not say did IT," Stc the
acres @ acres Of Gods fair earth sulIed and cor
ruped a5 the cosettutc Of slimy pu1rfAciion. Look
th f in the o 1nd
tbenoet sillainors fumes. Look In on that mass
and watch The dies in numbers great as ever came
p to Dsna
thst pool. Watsh hen, i yoa can, ior f4E
moot, and az you gaze drink IN with Tour nost1s
the fallnees q s1omanc grandeer which Rises 50
Rientl'q,ly n @ t6e5s po n9t be afraid Of Il; loa
of atr you annff within tue precincts Of Chicaco;
!ou OILY take The concentra:ed esee ice, the
1ssa1e ts,Sta 9ow Is It not fitting reminder Of the
Jayaf u It not wonderful that there should be such
Immunity TO those who enutr the melting air, and
iase te IN With each Inspiration their nsdcqn Of
mosphere for miles around. and at times
sendsr tEayel on tho Milwaukee, and
q Of ''e'ds Ss s,ensa ss't 1 @p1sse Sn
satisfied yourself to the nature and conpositioR
OF the mase. ard become somewhat accustomed to
supply and decrement. We haye not measured %
them, but nc do not think fity acres an unfair es-
innate Of The eastace covered bY The mnch bogs at
nSe icet IN depth, through the whole extent. They
tn5 ipse i & ~ &eanks q the Hser being separa
sT see .fp a1y Sg aTa,' winch
e!oWIy petcuatcs. In one case this bog lies along
TIE bank, forming strip Of one-e,ghth OF a miIs
fin1ength fn3g IN anothsr It 5nts out Into the river
channel !or the psseage Of vessels: IN thi.dit
forms deep bayou: one end Of which debouches
into the liyer, The .distlllers do not empty
b. they ~ Nv worse They run run it IN Into 1ss tbss;
boGs, where 1t lies for while, rotting and seeth-
Ing with insect and reptile life. then moves gradu.
any down towards ne river. The e1halations |
the air tor full month before the solid pest actu-
AZ. lDds ite way INTO the river These bogs are |
diled to tie br1m. AZ fast as bushei of the new
6fYenh snFn
u rms out to make room for 1t, and the thing ID
made to communicate directly Viii a tbs tas rIver
We're this done. It would fnd Its way INTO the |
!nEe before 1t ts decomposed; as it H. large por.
pos and lie remainder Is Ike most s aeadiy Of 81
poise ens-tottipg animal matter.
e need not prnlong the description. IT'S sick |
not noW yisited BY a pestilcnce. What is tho
remedyt It l. simple, but radical. Let us 60 to
Tie root Of the n lnatter and abolish the
work there II they viii be decent about it. but let
The city, 10 add to their proats. The cow % sbeds d.
mutt be removed. Ifcows must be fed on swiil,
let them be taken ont into the country where the
remove that sili, but ths thing Is fsasiie enough
q bog ca5s were constructed to rnn on the rail-
roads. This. however, 3s NOT the business OF the
public: We hare no wieh to dictate processes:
III that We have to demand is that the nuisance be
discontinued at any cost II they do not want
TO feed COVE with the swill, it |
ean easily be 1nn of into the lake through tie
ara,Ds. Then The perpetrauon Of the nuisance be-
Ing stopped. those bogs should be iredged ont,
and that at the expense OF those who made them. |
the city and tdose who have laid the 1lth there
have made money enough to DO able to pay for its
removal even II they had not they should be for
ed to do 1T. We fine poor iaborer who BUFFERS
3mAll accumulation Of garbage near his door, and
make him remove 1t. We have in these boEs
,reater 1oaEs Of corruption than Wo11d accumulate