The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1880-03-03
A HUGE PORKER.
Where Hog Guessing ia Made Both sci.
ence and An Art.
Over Eleven Hundred and Thirty-seven
Pounds That Could Not Stand Up Nor
Open Its Eyes, Yet Was
Wonderfully Astute.
New York SUM-


village of Copake, in the latter county, on
Tuesday last. There are two reasons why
this event has long been anticipated with in
tense interest by the farmers OF not only
Columbia, Duchess, Rensselaer,. Greene and
Ulster counties, but also by those in West
ern Massachusetts, and Connecticut, near
whose boundaries the village of Copake
snuggles down in the shadow OF the Berk.
shire hills. First, the hog was claimed to be
the largest hog in the State, and therefore in
the United States; and secondly, the hogs
butchery was to be accompanied by such
"hog-guessing' as Columbia county
lad never seen. When any out.
siders expect to beat the descend
ants of the old Knickerbockers of that
region in guessing how much q live hog
will weigh when killed and dressed for mar
ket, they usually go home at night with
pocketbooks for which they have no use
The old farmers have a way of multiplying
the length of the hog by his breadth, diyid-
ing the product by the glrth Just behind bis
fore legs and multiplying this result by the
number of pounds of lard that the hog will
weigh to the square foot" or OF using some
other ''cantrap," the secret of whose power
is known only TO themselves. They take
pride in telling about the traditional hog
guessings of their ancestors. On Long Island
hog guessing is pastime, but In the village
of Copake il is q serious business. All other
occupations are suspended In other places
| so cents is charged for guess and he who is
found to have guessed the nearest to the cor
rect weight of the hog is made its owner
| But this scheme to the farmers on the Hud.
son smacks OF money making. The owner
of the hog there has spent two or more years
in carefully nursing the animal to its utmost
! capabilities, and is too public spirited to
make any money out of his art To be sure,
| ne usually keeps hotel, and the guessers
see thst the public spirited landlord, who
| has laid in an extra supply OF beverages,
cooling and otherwise, is fully repaid for his
trouble. The hog is afterward disposed of
by the original owner as he pleases.
Fully SOC people were in COpake village
on Tuesday to ses the pride of the village
die. The normal population of Copake is
| from 80 to los souls. Whenever a wagon
load drove into the public square on which
| the hog resided, the occupants tumbled from
the vehicle and then FASTENED TO inspect the
hog. The next thing was to 'have come.
| thing" presumably for the purpose of slim
ulatiDg their Judgment. The more prudent
! and experienced farmers at this stage "made
their mark on the hog" as they express the
| action of deciding how much, in their judg
| ment, the porker would weigh. The young
and inexperienced took time to make up
| their minds and, as they also took frequent
occasion to consult the smiling barkeeper on
the all-absorbiDg question they grew more
ard moro undecided, until they bet wildly,
and in amounts beyond their previous IN
tention.
Meanwhile, man with dazzling watch
chain began about midday to sell pools. 1t
was manly Duchess county betting against
Columbia county. The counties sdjoin, snd
The same interest in hog guessing obtains in
zach. Columbia county bet that the animal
would weigh from 900 10 |, 100 pounds,
and Dutchess county from LOO to
1,140. Numerous private bets were
made. A "puchy box" as it is called
in tn At neighborheed, was established and
system of mutual pooling of bets. For 81
cents a ticket Is bought, and on it is written
the buyers Dame and tn figures which he
bets on. Then the 80 cents, with this card,
are slipped into the box as tickets are put
into ballot box. The nearest guess takes
the entire sum in the box.
The hogs reception of its visitors who
were continually coming and going coz
tinued from a. m. to L 20 p. NJ, when Con-
rad, known for his skill with the dagger,
stood over the animal with a blade gleam-
ing in his hand. The name Of the hog was
Columbia, and by that name it has been
known for two years. 1t was raised by John
Henry Astor, who lives three miles from
Copake. Columbia's father weighed $50
pounds, and its mother 922 pounds. and a
hog guessing was made up for each of them.
When MIR. Wesley Van de Bogart, who fat
ted Columbia, bought the hog, exactly on
September 20, 1878" as he gays, "Columbia
did not look as though it would ever pan
out for a big hog 1t looked like pig on
stilx-long, lean, big-boned and slab sided
but l saw points in IL, and bought 1t and
tended il carefully" Mr.. Van de Bogart did
his whole duty by 1t warm place was
made under an outbuilding, and new straw
was put under the animal every day. As II
grew fatter and fatter it ceased to walk
around in its pen. For nearly month be-
fore il met its violent deaih il could not
walk, nor could it be goaded TO get upon its
feet.
"Do you think I'm going to run the risk
OF having him break leg?" asked Mr.. Van
de Bogart, Indignantly, when requested to
poke il mp on to Its feet.
Columbia was so fat that the rolls of flesh
fell over his eyes, and for months he had
been as blind as Cupid. Yet il would allow
no one to feed him but Mr.. Van de Bogart.
He knew his masters step and voice.
Three times a day the owner took took to
Columbias front door big pailfuf of corn
meal. made into dough with fresh milk.
The hog, at the scent of food, propped IL
! self up little on its forelegs, while Mr.. Van
de Bogart fed him with a wooden spoon.
Columbia's appetite remained good, and
when any farmers boy attempted to fool
around the hogs head because IL was so I'M
wieldy, he found out his mistake. The hog
snorted, put his nose under the boy and
tossed him to q respectful distance. Once
his owner went away, and bis bar-keeper at
tempted to feed him. The hog refused.
Then the bar keeper returned to the house,
and donned an old suit belonging to Mr..
Van de B0gsrt. But Columbia shifted first
at the bar keepers clothes, and then at the
wooden spoon. Then he refused to eat and
persisted until midnight, when Mr.. Van de
Bogart fed him. Mr.. Van de Bogart Gays
that Columbia had as keen a sense of smell
as dog.
A brief description of Columbia is as fol-
lowe: Length, from between the ears to
root OF tail, seven feet; girth around the
body behind the fore legs eight feet and
a half inch; girth around the chops, five feet
nine inches. He was black and white and
of the Berkshire, Chester and Essex strains
mingled. As soon as he Was dead the body
was put on n sleigh by as many men as
| rat AT ~H Irau sr,f. he