The interior journal. [volume] (Stanford, Ky.) 1872-1881, 1874-01-23

I
The Brnswicker Of last week says |:
1--WE had seen 20 many notices Of big
hogs in our exchanges, that We were
really glad when Mr.. Cannon came in
yesterday and told us about his big hog.
We have never had any reason to ques-
tion Mr.. Gammon's veracity, but he was
little excited, and we fear he exagger-
ated just triAe on this occasion. Not
wishing to put too great a strain on the
credulity Of our readers, we give only
such portions of Mr.. G.s statement as
have about them the greatest air Of
plausibility. The hog was of a peculiar
breed, known as the watty Hog. When
he began to fatten it, he built q pen in
the corner Of an eighty acre confeld;
then he put a couple Of teams to work
gathering corn and emptying it into the
pen. As the hog fattencd from day 10
day the pen had to be enlarged. The
process continued until the last load was
gathered, when it was found that there
were just eighty acres of hog to show
where the corn went. Then it was de-
termined to butcher the ponderous beast.
But this was no easy job. The neighbors
came over and fired shot and slugs into
the mass Of fat and bristles, but, aside
from grunt or two, the hog exhibited
no emotion. 1t was finally decided to
tunnel through him, and spades and
picks were brought into requisition and
large force put to work. After two
weeks the tunnelling party got half way
through, but considering this process too
slow and laborieus, they conclued to
blow the hog up. So they got three
kegs of powder and can of nitro glyc-
crime and stacked them up in the centre
Of the hog, where the tunnel ended, and
laid train of powder from the pile out
some hundred yards, into the timber,
and touched it of. There was terrible
explosion, the air grew dark, and all
that day and far into the night it rained
grease and bristles over a section
of country about six miles square.
All the trees dripped lard, it filed up
the creeks and covered up the ground.
In some places it was eight or ten feet
deep, and as several persons are missing
in the neighborhood, it is feared they
have been covered up and sufocated
under the deluge. In this recital Mr..
G.. interlarded his remark, with some
emphatic expressions that proved that he
was in deep earnest. As soon as he re-
covered from the shock, Mr.. Cannon
proceeded to the scene of the late confu-
sion, expecting, Of course, to find the
hog dead. He found that the whole Of
one side had been blown out-just half
the hog distributed over the country.
He went up to the remaining half, not
dreaming that there was any life in it.
Without thought Of danger he reached
down to take hold of the left ear, when
he discovered that the hog was dead.
He then set about removing the remain
ing bristles, but after breaking three log
chains and nearly pulling three yoke Of
oxen to death, he gave it up. He has
allowed sixteen families to make excava-
tions in that side of pork, and move in
for the winter. He did think of starting
a sausage factory. but no one ever could
sausage hog as that-it is so fat. He
has concluded to have canal dug from
his place to the river-some two miles
distant-and then when Spring opens,
will cut the hog into chunks aLaut the
size of steamboat, and float them down
to st. Louis.
Brethren, let us pray.