, 1870-05-14
TEE GREATEST BARBECUE ON
RECORD,
Three Thousand BroiIed HEo3*

i. From kh6 [k5ctHEdN E7l4HTcr, .Vdy IL
: The fire which broke out yesterday morning
IN the hog-pena attached to the distillery Of
j. W. Gan i Co proves to bo quito serious
as announced in the brief account in yester-
aay y morning q Enqutrer.
me pens IN question were situated on the
western naoE OF Mill Creek, just north 0ffsi1th
street bridge, in the Twenty-fzst wara- They
were very extensive, covering several acres,
and were built upon piles to protect tho stock
from high water, were roootel in, and were Of
contained 1 200 hogs, owned By Nests. Fort.
SadIer 4 Co, and y. T. Bailey, Esq, which
were in PROCESS Of fattening on the refuse OF
the adjacent distillery-
On Wednesday morning, ut about i l1axter Of
o'clock, an alarm Of fre MSS turned in from
lowed, in about twenty minutes, By an alarm
from bog 162, Mill Creek and Front, the former
having bean turned IN by H. H. lockwood, on
watch IN the Fire Tower, and the LITTER by
parties from tho sicanisy Of The eontlag1ation
hurried to the spot Indicated by that signal.
and then. discovering the fire to be bavond
reach, in the mud, returned to their houses,
tha i.Twos" alone thunde1ng down Sixth
street, and, crossing ths th hsadss TIL , xiihin
it was found impossible to do elective service
water being scarce} and the pens inaccessible
in direct line), although an extra reel"
and the outside men from the ''Gnt's house
Hef8 on 1A0Q 70 II IQE WOKE
Our reportar's first view Of the coni1agra-
ton HnB from the corner of Gest street and
the crock, from which the loud and terri1ed
gunting Of Thousands Of hogs could be dis
tinctly heard: While hurting down Sixth
streetf md thence % s5oss the bridge, the
length conveyed the ruth that largo number
OF brutea were pafishing in agony. The scene,
After arriving upon tho ground, he describes
Is one Of unmi1ed srande1r-the great
columns Of flame. now fed By the grease from
living fuel In some Of the pens, shooting up
ward thousands Of faat, and thence rolling OF
eastward in dense U1asses of black smoke.
The outcry OF the frightened droyes, as they
crowded one top Of the other into the corners
OF the pens remotest from the fire, until its
rapid approach first scorched and then con-
sumed them awed the spectators, who stood
looking helplessI5 On, even mora than the fiery
spectacle Meanwhile every effort was being
1nnde by those familiar with the pens and By
the firemen to save at 1east q portion OF tae
parent ut gIanee, being hopeleealy cut OH,
by the flames having originated [undoubted1y
from incendiazisu,, It is said at the entrances
On the west, and sweeping, with the wind, to
the eastern ends, which were Immediately on
the creek, we're on high piles and at-
forded no egress- Had the wind been in
any other direction more hogs wouli haze
been saved, but it would have oeen At the ax-
penEe Of surrounding property, which would
certainly hare been destroyed, 50 fercelJ did
the flames leap out to 1eewa1d As it was, but
q little over thousand OF the animals weTe
gotten out IN all, and during the fire, which
continued to rage for nearly two hours, over
three thousand were literally btoled aliTe- No
such barbecue is on record, We believe, tho
nearest parallel case being tho experience OF
the Swineherd Ho-ti, of whom We have an ac-
count from the beloved author OF The Essays
Of E7ia- Ho-ti- it will be remembered, lived
in the days when INV meat WIS couA1dered
LII t. p.
posseasinn his herd Of Chinese pigs Bobo,
his lubberly boy, given 70 playing with ire,
accidentally set on fire his fathers cottage,
and in the flames perished the pigs; Let
Lamb tell what followed: while he Was
thinking what he should say to his father, and
vtinginE his hands over the smoking remnants
of those nndme1y sufferers, an olor assailod
his nostr1s unlike any scent which he had be-
fore experienced What could it proceed
from? Not from the burnt cottage-hs had
eemble TINT Of any known herb, weed, or
dowar- A premonitory moistaninS at the same
timeovetdowed his netherlip. He next stopped
down to feel tha pie, II there were any Signs OF
Life in it. he burnt his fngsrs, aaa 70 cool
them he applied them in his BOBBY fashion to
his mouth. Some Of the crumbs Of the
scorched skin had come away with his
scorched fingers, and for tho first time in his
life lin the world y life, indeed, for before him
no man bad known IL be tastel-eraesltng!
not bum him much NOW, still be licked his
fingers from sort of habit. The truth at
length broke into his slow understanding
that It Was the pig that smel1ed 80, and tile
pig tasted go delicious: and, surrenderlnS
himself up to the newborn plsasure- he fell
to tearing up whole handfulls Of the scorched
skin, with the flesh next to t."
So Bobo went on, in spite OF the beating
which his father, who had surprised him at his
work. administered to him. until the whole
pig was gone. for sthe tickling sensation
which he experienced in his lover regions had
rendered him quite callous to any inron-
yeniences he might feel in those remote QUAR-
ters wheEeon the blows fell
So were the delights Of roast pork discog-
cred, and for period thereafter, we are SOL
| eruply assured. it became the fashion to haV0
pi94pens IN the immediate vicinity Of house.
| holds. and to commit arson periodically IN
osIler to prepare q barbecue. until at length
prepared without the burning out Of dwelling
EouseB-
Now, il the incendiary who fred the NIL
Greek pens was descendant of Bobo, and
aimed to fx himself up dainty dish at slight
cost, he sadly missed his mark, for q Western
hog does not cook so nicely whole. bristles and
alls as *'Chinese pig" and the flames Of
Wednesday morning wers tribe more fierce
than the fires produced by lhe burning Of the
fral tenements OF that elder day. In fact,
nothing renamed yesterday noon OF tho 3.0o0
| potkeEs but huge mass OF burning flesh
and bones, ,frum which there roaa stencil any
thing but apped1ng-
! S75, 5,000, with an insurance Of 5,000, distrl-
| buted in policies as follows Farmers, $1,000 !;
FiremenFs, 1000 Eureka, 32,500 Commes-
cia1, 42.5O0 : Western, IS, ,000-
j. ". GaM i Co.'s loss On pens will reach
$4,000, on which they had no insurance.