Bradford reporter. [volume] (Towanda, Pa.) 1844-1884, 1866-05-03
A GREAT SLAUGHTER HOUSE.

Il A correspondent of the Providence Jour-
nal, writing from Montevideo, gives crap,
hic description of the great slaughter house
for cattle. We quote:
The Saladera is truly feature of this
country. Let me give you picture of the
largest in South America. 1t is that of Sir
LIE Fonde, across the cove, or inner harbor,
from Montevideo. The surgeon of the Uni
ted States steamer Susquehanna and your
correspondent visited it one morning before
breakfast, by way of getting up an appe-
tite. Well mounted and spurred, we star
ted from the Hotel Oriental at sunrise, and,
after pretty morning ride of five miles, we
approached the establishment
The strong odor from the tallow boilers
and the bone kilns signifed our approach,
while yet almost league away. Over the
plain before us, as we rounded the head of
the cove, we saw an enclosure, perhaps of
thirty acres, in which were broad, low,
black-looking roofs, covering large area,
in the centre of which stood tall brick
chimney, from which rolled the foul black
smoke of the bone kilns We found the
cattle pen on the side next US in our ap-
proach. The pen is a circular area of two
or three acres, surrounded by fence about
nine feet high, very strongly built. From
its gate on the side next us two great fen
ces opened into the plain, like very jaws of
death, as they are, the distance between
them constantly widening as they extend
from the pen.
Opposite this gate is another, which
opens into lane or passage about one
hundred feet long, and fifteen feet wide at
the head and eight at the foot. Into this
the cattle are driven in lots of fifty, more or
less at once. At the further end of this is
the slaughter-house, a building several
hundred feet in length and about forty feet
wide, sloping toward either side from a
railway track in the ce tire, running the
entire length on either side. On the outer
border Of the slopes is deep gutter for
carrying off the blood. The floor of the
lane above referred to is of plank, and the
ground has sufficient fall from the pen to
the slaughter-house to give an elevation Of
about two feet to this floor at its lower end.
Into this, and forming a part of it, a truck
fits, upon which the slaughtered OK is car
ried to such dresser along the route as may
have dispatched his last
On the outside of the passage of death,
as shall call the lane above described, ,and
fitting against the fence, is platform about
five feet high and four feet wide, running
its entire length. Upon this stands the ma
tador with his lasso, the other end of which
runs through pulley, and to it are attached
two horses, harnessed side by side, each
with rider, whose beat is at right angles
to the passage of death at it's lower end,
and on the same side with the PLATFORM
The matador throws the lasso, catching by
I hI-t no +Yrp
mails, as the case may be. He sings out,
" ESta bien !" which means /" it is well, ," or
" all right" and away gallop the horses,
snatchng the cattle from one end oi the
lane to the other, and bringing them up on
the track with their heads against sliding
bar, all in jiffy.
The same man who lassoes them thrusts
his ugly knife into the top of the head just
back of the horn, striking the point Of juno
ton between the spinal column and the
brain Again he sings I" Esta 6ien," the
horses turn about the bar slips aside, the
car runs away, the cattle are dumped off,
and it is back again, "while you would be
saying Jack Robinson" But meanwhile
the matador has lassoed a couple more and
it is quite race between the Car and the
victims for the fatal end of the passage of
death. One matador was killing, while we
looked on, an average of five a minute.
We proceeded thence to the slaughter
house, WHICH is open at the sides, We had
no idea of the destructive capacity of sim
gle butcher knife The bullock is turned
with its head toward the gutter his throat
is cut, and, ere he is done kicking, has lost
half his hide. One man alone takes the en-
tire hide off, the entrails out, and cuts the
meat off the bones in fifteen minutes; some
even do it in ten minutes.
Boys carry everything away. He stirs
not from the spot Another bullock drops
down at the right in place of the one just
despatched, and mysteriously slips out Of
his hide and disappears iu like manner
The hide of his predecessor has meanwhile
been hurried away to a succession of baths
in three different vats, and bounded away
with two skips and jump into hugh bed
of salt with it's fellows, where it sleeps a
little season undisturbed, and from which
it rides out to get the benefit of fresh air
and sunshine, after which, in stack with
thousands of others, it goes into the market
where they are sold by the cord.
Meanwhile the meat of the bullock of
which it was part and parcel has quilted its
bones in two long, lean slabs, gone through
a like process of bathing and sleeping in a
salt bed, or series of salt beds rather, af-
ter which it comes forth, is shaken and is
spread layer upon layer until stack is
built about twenty-five feet wide, fifty feet
long, and fifteen high. In this state the
whole stack is subjected to an immense
hydraulic press, by which the entire stock
is pressed into less than half its previous
bulk. Thence it is hung out to dry. This
is done on two rallied fences about seven
feet high, six feet distant from each other.
with the rail about two feet apart
The sides of beef are hung across those
rails closely beside each other, where they
too spend some days in the fresh air and
sunshine before they are offered for sale
They are then restacked and sold by the
cord likewise We saw many such stacks
and several acres of these sides, drying as
above described. This is the well-knowr
jerked beef, and from this place and Buenos
. Ayres the Brazil, Havana and Mediterra
, mean markets are supplied. Some of it is
cured with coarse salt and some of it with
: fine Liverpool salt, and some of it is fat ant
L. A 1 /. i l. L