Buchanan County bulletin. [volume] (Independence, Iowa) 1869-1891, 1871-06-02
The Chicago Stock Yards.
er to the New York Evening Post.

Chicago is a city in which the
houses have no cellars; the streets
run under the river, and when Il
family "moves" it not uncommonly
takes its house with it; place
where the streets have been raised
and the houses were compelled to
follow them up into the air. The
fremont House, one of the largest
hotels, built of brick and stone, was
raised, l believe, eight feet. Chica-
go draws its water supply from the
lake and sends it's sewerage into
the same lake, 1t has a narrow,
foul and sluggish river for its only
harbor, and yet is great com
mercial port. 1t is built on a prai-
ric, but two or three feet above
Lake Michigan; and, to conclude,
1t has as ugly Court House as
New York; more fine and costly
stores than any city l know of on
this continent except New York and
Boston; and the greatest and most
completely arranged stock yard i'll
the world. .,e7+vss
The 'Union Stock Yards" as this
establishment is called, is an exam
pie OF the thoroughness with which
these Western men do what comes
in their way. 1t lies half an hour
by rail from the center of the city,
contains 345 acres Of land, and has
a capacity for 81 900 head of cattle,
$4,000 hogs, and $4,000 sheep, and
stalls for $50 horses-in all for 49,
$50 animals. When all the ground is
covered with pens it win accom-
modate 100000 head of cattle.
There are now 100 acres of pens for
cattle, all foored with three-inch
planks, besides great area in which
the cattle stand on the ground. |
do not know what effect the follow
ing figures will have upon your
mind, but they will give you at
least some notion of the work which
has been done here, and most of
which was accomplished in six
months. There are 35 miles of UNI
der drainage, not very thorough,
should think, for the ground is very
fiat; 10 miles of streets and alleys,
oil paved with wood; miles of
water tire ughs; 10 miles Of feed
troughs; $500 gates; $500 open
pens, heavily fenced in with double
plank, nailed to stout and frequent
posts; 800. covered pens for hogs
and sheep; 100000 feet of lum-
Der were used on these structures,
and 100000 pounds Of nails; II
miles of railroad track, with 60
switches and frogs, connect every |
railroad which runs into Chicago |
with the stock yards by special
track
The water is supplied with arte-
sian wells, dug, one to the depth of
1882 feet, and another to the depth
of 100 feet. These send water in
to tanks IS feet high, whence it is
distributed into all the sheds and |
pens, there being hydrant in each
of these. The water can be shut off
from any or all divisions at pleas
ure, and to guard against loss by fire,
fourteen fire plugs are distributed
over the grounds, and 1000 feet Of
three-inch hose is at hand.
But the strangest story to me was
to find this stock yard a complete
little world of itself. 1t has, of
course, a large resident populations;
from one hundred and seventy-fve
to two hundred men are constantly
employed by the company, who
take charge Of the animals as they
are unloaded from the cars, which
run into the streets between the
pens. To accommodate its own
servants numerous cottages have
been built; but to accommodate the
drovers, and the buyers and sellers,
4 large hotel, substantially built of
brick, and complete in every detail
Of hotel, is found on the ground.
Nor is that all-there is roomy
exchange, for the transaction of
business, with Post Office, and tel
egraph lines to all parts of the
country; a bank, and, of course, this
being in the United States-a news
paper, the Chicago San, published
daily, so it asserts, at the "Union
Stock Yards" and the organ of the
dealers in cattle, hogs and sheep.
To complete this inventory there is
Town Hall for public meetings, a
church well attended, a Sunday
School, and an excellent day school.
This company, as l said before,
receives and cares for all the ami
mails sent. 1t has thus received,
penned, fed, watered and taken ac-
count of Al 900 hogs, 5000 cattle
and 1000 sheep in a single day, and +
without the least hitch or delay;
and last Thursday it received 5,si3
head Of beeves and cows, the largest
number of cattle ever brought in in ,
a single day. Hay barns and corn :
bins are scattered all over the
grounds. | was surprised to hear
that the manure collected here was
for some time drug upon the hands
Of the company; of late they begin
to find some demand for it, but even
yet large part Of it is drawn out
and corded up on the open prairie.
The whole enterprise has cost,
SO far, sl,675,ooO. If Englishmen
had controlled it, it would have
cost FIVE times as much. IF New
York had built it, it would have been
before this, l suppose, in the hands
of the ring. Being here it is, | am
told, economically conducted; and
certainly it is model for the com
plctcncss and simplicity Of every
detail; and for the manner in which,
by it's hotel, bank, exchange or
salesroom, post office and telegraph,
loss of time is prevented and sccur-
ity insured.
Extensive slaughter houses, (which
do not belong to the company, how
ever, are placed near the yards
The animals looked comfortable and
happy, and with plenty Of good hay
and abundance of sweet water, they
well might be. Hithcr come cattle
dealers and buyers from all parts of
the Eastern States, and for their
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