Daily Richmond Whig. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1865-1869, 1865-06-16
PIG KILLING IN CHICAGO.

The Loadon Times, il reviewing A Short
American Tramp in the Fall o. 1864" by the
editor Of Lie in Normandy thus describes tie
manner in which pigs are killed at Chicago
They kill pigs by steam al Chicago. The talk
ing engines deliver their noisy freight a ware
houses II Is found best not 10 pack hogs and
heeye5 together Ia railway travelling, as they
have 70 be sifted and separated. the hogs go
into s0uare wards aud there they are lett wit Out
food for twenty four hours. Now there ale free
ana iudep .ndent pigs, and they do not take kind.
liz 10 Their captivity. Some go 10 sleep and try
10 be quiet but most OF them spend their last
hours IN blt,fg each other ylciOusly. One, with
ont any apparent cause. takes the nearest neigu-
Dor by the hind .eg and grunts savage defiance.
The neghbOF generally accepting, gives battle.
The CHAMPIONS clash their Jaws and smite their
armed cheeks, howing and screaming aud fosm.
iur. til one is yauquished, and then he charges
over TIE lazy sleepers, aud each down-ir5dden
hog bowls. The victor grOWls content iOr time,
but the battle breaks out anew az unexpected
places, aud the end Of the prairie hogs IS not
pace. Oae spotted brute In particular seemed
10 be furious or rayenOus, and bent upon eating
somebody, for he kept charging open.mOutked at
distant dreaming hcgs, tramphng on everybody,
and biting viciOusly AZ ears, tails and legs, aud
everything thai came in its way. But the hour
of execution was at hand. IL was the first daY
of some new machinery, and il took time TO gent
into gear. On the upper story u the building
were the eXecutiOners. They were tall, well
grown men, chiefly Germans probably used 10
-ausages az home. They were dressed for their
work 10 sailors water-pro0f., leggings and ffOczs,
and each was armed with some deadly weapon
ana q steel. To while away the time, while they
chatted pleasantly, they whetted their knives and
lelt the edge and as they felt they smiled. AT one
end of the building was large tough IA which
o steam 3ips heated water 10 the scIldng point.
TIE grand invocation, which YVES TO work Tor the
iirst time that day was a great iron claw, which
dirued under water and rose again, like an iron
hand with five fingers. 10 was meant 10 hook
ont tho pigs, which were quauellng down stains
in the Zen. Below this iron hand vas a long
sloping table aud at the foot of il was a gibbet,
with hooks and turntables, wheels and rails,
for ssuu,ing split pigs across the raiters.-
When steam power had been applied TO
the wrist of the iron hand, n signal was given,
and the spectators scrambled out OF the way. up
the raiters and anywhere. Outside door was
oIenel in the long pen below, and certain mum.
Der were driven into passage and up an nciited
plane. where they stood quarrellng q the very
last The top door was opened and two small
pens were Tiled with the COmbat8nts. Their bat
Ties were nearly done. A sweet-smihng, rosy,
dandy new hand, youth in new yellow leggings,
and armed with u hammer, stepped in among
them. and dead silence followed hun. A hutch,
like n rat.trap, rose up, a fat body slid down by
way Of rollers and pumped into the tub, and u
second followed-plump, and so on. The two
scalders now stirred the pot, and finally plshed
pig into the iron hand. II turned its wrist and
emg.iad the haldiul on the table. Another fol-
lowed, and yet another. and the stream Of pork
once set sgOing, flowed on. Out Of the pia RE
the pigs drove at railway speed into the hog pen.
Out Oi the pen they walked up stairs quanes0me
live pigs, aud fifty were dad, scalded, scraped,
cleaned spht bacon, and hang IN rows ready for
sailing, within an hour. Within a few days they
would be food for our soldiers and sinews of war.
Alter the first few bitches the whole machine
worked ike q clock. Wishing 10 retain the
power OF eating beef, says the author Of the
book no more Chicago lions OF this kind were
yisittl.