The Emporia news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1859-1881, 1867-11-22
THE GREAT STOCK YARDS OF
CHICAGO.

A correspondent of the Lawrence Jour
nal gives the following excellent deserip,
ton of the great Chicago Stock Yards:
Formerly. stock arriving at this mar
ket from the various roads centering here.
were 'corralled" 10 yards near the term
mi OF the respective roads, often miles
apart, there to wslow in the mud, and
thus scattering the market over a vast
field. Il seems to be d part of the poll
| cy OF Chicago TO organize and centraiize
Its vast powers. In looking over its di-
reetory one is struck with the number Of
4 its incorporated Companies and union of
capital and effort. Ii has tie most mag
nitieent Union Depot in America. II has
it's Chamber of Commerce. and otbsr
similar commercial and financial organiz.
atoms, and it has It's Union Stock Yard
Company organized with a capital of Que
million dollars at first. with lis hotel,
banking and exchange buildings, depots
and switches for every railroad coming
J into Chicago. Its race course aud sta.
/ Ties for the "nobe animal and all the
other parapheI MALTA and equipages for
making complete stock market. The
/ Company own two hundred acres about
! five miles south of the city, connected
Herewith by street railway cars, drawn
part way by horses and part way by
dummy" power. On approaching the
yards. dreaming of the favor of stables,
COW pens and pig sites, was struck by
the appea ancs upon the prairie panorama
before me. of magnificent SIX story
I nd - e AaVsv,
tern with its tower and smoke stacks,
verandas and promsnadss. The inquiry
struck me, how is such hotel supported
away up here on the prairie? On entering
| was more astonished to fad il with
marble floors; its culinary department and
rooms heated with steam, brilliantly light
ed with gas, and filled to oveIflJwing
with hurley men; some elegantly attired
with city store clothes, others wearing
the homespu1 gsrb of the country farm
er. This palace is called the Hough (pro
nounced Huff House. This is misno-
mer; it ought to have been called the
Hoof House to be in keeping with its
surroundings, but 1t was actually named
after the first president of the company,
now President of The Chamber of Com
meree, Col. Hough. From the fact that
its patrons are almost all of the male gen
der, liz Is wholly supported by stock
dealers) the idea of a Stag Hotel was
suggested. It's bill of fare, however, lie
good enough for princes. The yards
close TO the MOTEL now cover about one
hundred and flty~fve acres. They are
built of two inch plank, averaging in size
80 by so feet. to 200 by 500 feet. Near
ly every yard with plank floors, and l
judge about one fifth covered with roofs
with partitions eight feet high, planked
on boIhs sides aud on top, so that one can
walk about among bucks, bulls aud bears
without being 10 danger. These yards
are parceled off into divisions, blocks aud
lots, each numbered. Every railroad has
its division, feed and freight office,
scales, barns and other houses and ap-
Purtenances for complete establishment.
The disvisions are separated by streets,
| divided in the middle so as 10 permit
cattle to be driven either way, aud the
blocks are surrounded by all ys-lhe
streets as well as the alleys also be-
ing panked with gates aud locks at the
terminus of each block and to each lot.
There is a complete system CT drainage
for the whole, leading off into the river.
Strict rules are established, as to trans
iers OF stock, management of and con
duct in the yards, preventing fires, de-.
which are enforced by the stock yard po-
lice. The yards are each supplied with
trough and water in water pipes from
the reservoirs. These are three immense
tanks raised some fifty feet above the
ground, in the center OF the yard. sup
piled partly from an aTtesiaD well I,142
feet deep, and partly from The river, rails
ed by huge steam engine. The water
from the we'll seems pure and reasonably
cold. Apparatus for exiinguishing fires
have been provided and hose therefor.
The stock yard police form, &c o6fciO, the
fire company. l am informed that the
stock yard company had expended
50. $780, 600 up to the time they common
ced their bank and exchange building.
These buildings are located 10 the midst
OF the yRrds-are three story, brick.
with offices in the upper stories. arranged
like cattle yards, and the lower story con-
stitu.es the bank and adjoins large gen
eral room with desks arranged like stalls,
occupied by sleek, sharp, oily dealers,
VITO grow fat on tie talloW and lard of
others. Hide, hair aud talow have a
tendency to stick to the fingers of the in
habltants of this latitude.
This large room seems to have been
designed for the stock brokers "on
change" You have. Mr.. EIitor, been
present at the Chamber of Commerce,
aud at the Curb Stone adjoining and
witnessed the wall street.-The discussions,
banters and comparing of notes by the
"bulls and bears" of the city who deal
10 grain instead Of stocks. This exchange
building Of the stock yards is the Wall
street OF the packers, drovers, buyers,
sellers, swindiers. jockeys and dupes OF
The Chicago stock market. They traffic
in steers aud steeds instead of stock;
calves instead of cash; sheep instead OF
shares, aud bulls instead of bullion.
Many of the principal packers also have
cmees at and near the Chamber of Com
merce IN the city. At the Exchange, as
at the Curb Stone. one discovers that the
market OF Chicago, like time and the tide.
waits Tor no man. Many fortunes are
: made many high hopes blasted bv its
3 merciiess ebb and foW. The bank. too
seems in full blast, packing down il.
sailed pelts doubtless "A n no. IN 49,,