Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1874-03-10
Letter from TIE xas.
Correspondence Of the Baltimore American

correspondence ol Tue Daitiuotc tameIlCdp.I ]
FULTON, TEXAS Feb. 26.--The ''Norther'
has completely blown itself out, 10 Texas
parauce; the wind has shifted to the southeast,
and we again have mild aud pleasant Spring
weather, lust suitable for our contemplated
rambe over the prairies among the great rauch-
as of the stock k-raisers of Texas. In the mean
time, | am taking note of the cattle business
here and at Rockport, the great shipping aud
slaughtering poiuts for the superabuudance
roaming on the plains. Having heard OF the
old womans simile Of its ''rauiDg cats aud
dogs" Que might suppose that cattle had been
substituted in this part uf the world.
There are located at Fulton three large beef
packing establishments, capable of ughterpg
six hundred head of bceves daily and this is
about their average when 10 full operation.
When the weather is sufficiently cold during
the Winter mouth, to cool the meat, they sat
and pack IT, but when too warm to get nd Of
the animal heat the slaug ghering still goes on.
The animal is Knocked down, the skin cut
around with knife and horse is hltched to
the edge Of the hide and in minute it is
whipped uff aud the whole carcass thrown into
an lmwensc steam cauldron. Her. it is boiled
down to a seething mass, and all the fat skim
med off, This is poured into hogsheads and
prepared Tor shipment The residue, consisting
of bones aud flesh, is then thrown out. There
Is in each of these establishments large num-
Der Of steam watts, each Of which will contain
the carcasses of three d zen cattle, and the
work of filling, skinimiog and removing the
''hash" is constantly going on, until each of
the three has received and boiled up its two
hundred animals per day.
These packeries are situated north of the
town of Fulton, where the southeast wind pre-
vail,ug most OF the year blows the stcuch away
from the dwellings, The shore of the bay at
this point rises twenty or thirty feet above the
water, aud affords excellent sites for this pur
pose. The cattle pens adjoining the slaughter
houses are on the top of the bluff on level
with the tops of the rendering tanks, the tai
low-roon,s being upon the lower level. plen-
,u supply of pure water is obtained trom
shallow wells at the base of the bluff A sub
san,ial wharf, with railway track upon 1t,
delivers the product of the packeries to the
steamships of the Morgan line, plying from
here TO New Orleans, and to schooners sailing
to Northern ports. The largest portion Of tie
cattle slaughtered at Fulton are slaughtered
merely for their hides and tallow. Fiue fat
becves are here worth only three cents per
pound net, producing such meat as would sell
at from twenty to thirty cents 10 the Baltimore
market.
Adjoining each of these establishments are
what is called "hash piles, being the bones
and debris of the cattle as taken from the watts
after the taIlow has all been extracted from the
carcasses. They each cover about an acre OF
ground, and loom up at the close OF the season
about twenty feet high. 1t is a strong-smell-
ing aud CHASTITY spectacle, testooned with piles
Of horns and skull bones. A vast amouot OF
human food is here wasted, which might and
will be conveyed to the North when the inte-
ror water communication, mentioned IN my
last letter, is avaed OF. The sea voyage is tco
great to carry these cattle beyond New Orleans
or Havana but they could be carried in steam
ers ON these interior water channels, aud daily
fed and watered Oh the boats. Of the last
cargo seui to New Orleans, seventy died on
the passage during storm upon the Gult.
As necessary accompaniment to these
Saughterng establishments Messrs. q. NJ.
Holden, of Fultou in connection with Carpeu-
ter, Sharpless & Graham, Of Philadelphia have
erected an extensive mill driven by seventy
horse engine, to make use Of these hash piles
for agricultural purposes. They purchase all
the hash and carry it to their pulveriZlng
mill After drying he resdum of bones and
meat, it is ground TO fine powder, producing
a tertiziug material bu, little inferior to Peru
Wan guano. This is packed in strong canvass
sacks, containing POO pounds each aud shipped
by schooners TO Philadelphia. Ii smells very
much like guauo, aud it there is any virtue III
bones, blood and animal matter, 1t ought to be
very superior fertilizer. There is enough
material for grinding piled up here to keep
this nlIl runniug, night and day, for a twelve
month The hash is too abundant to induce
any TEN ptatlon to give anything but the pure
article and as [ witnessed the operation L can
vouch for its geuuineneSs-that is to say, that
it is all pulverized bone, flesh and blood. The
grinding 10 this establishment is done by the
mill of Messrs. Deumead 4 Son, Of Baltimore.
The majority of the working men in these cat
tc >laug ghtering establishments are Mexcans,
who are located with their families 10 little cot
tagcs aloug the bay shore. So also most OF the
hcrdsmcn at the ranches arc Mexlcans, ana
m,uy ut the servants iu the families OF the well
to do citizens are Mexcans They are not
NJ can womeu who thus make themselves use,
iul but Mexican men who become household
dIudges A Mexican seldom allows his wife
or daughter to work, letehim be ever so poor,
AID to ask one of them to come for day to
a,sls, in the washing and ironing is re-
garded as an insult. lady recently
asked the wife of her Mexican servant to
come to hire with her as cook, when the lndlg
naur response was, MADAM may cook for me,
bur can never cook for madam. The men
have the reputation of good and steady. Work
e1s, and are, by no means, the talthess crea-
lures that they have the reputation OF being.
When they give their word they are strict III
the performance of the duty promised-tnat Is
Osay ifyou entrust one of them with bag OF
gold to be delivered to John Smith at a ranch
one hundred miles distant, the gold is certain
be delivered according to contract, and a re-
eyelpt for it obtained from john Smith. This,
however, in some cases, does not prevent the
xlcan messenger from either stealing or eou-
owing ut the telouious abstraction Of 1t from
The aforesaid Smith. However, as a general
thing, they are regarded as honest and trust
worthy, aud good workers.
There is the usual trouble 10 every house
hod 10 Texas on the question Of "help," and
halt the time the wife and daughters are CON-
PEELED to do their own work There are very
lew colored people here, and when they will
y'OoSeut to go out to cook or do house work they