The Evening critic., 1882-12-05
IN A HoG-PEN.
There's where Our Curious TRAY.
cler" was-But sbe WINS Not COn-
taminntcd, and She DiscOu rseth
Pleasantly on the Subject


huve nj last been to the Stockyards, and
have so much to toll scarcely know whcro TO
begin.
In the nfst place Mr.. Armour's section OF the
Enclosure alone covcrs, with It's buildings, It's
factories, Its "killing establishment" aud Its
manifold industries MtTteen acres. There are
tho slaughter-houses, the farmhouse, Ice.
are made Into n fertilizers a .lardroom, hog
house, storagc-house, cooporstore, stables,
gashouae, ongine-house, &c,
The slnughter.house Is unique In the world.
The French abattoir system Is OF course re-
cognized MS tho standard OF cleanliness and
dispatch In Transforming horned cattle Into
beef, but this hog.kllling establishment stands
alone, and beyond comparison.
Its expedients and contrvnnces are the re-
speed, and have boon 80 often technically
described that / shall refer TO them only In
their place as parts Of tho machinery. Tao
first step Is like Mrs. Randolph's celebrated
"Firet catch your'-hog and drive him up
the inclined plane 20 the top OF tho building.
As no walks along quietly and ruminatlvely-
for no one could accuse the hog Of being sud
den and vivaclous he Is abruptly seized by
the hind leg and swung alott. Tho block and
tackle that manages this movement runs on au
Incline, and the weight OF the hog bears him
down past the "stlckor," who thrusts long.
narrow blade Into tho yelling throat and,
striking against the door OF tho scaldlng-room
opens II, admitting the carcass into tho watts OF
boiling water, whore II Ia dropped before the
squeal is well out OF the throttle.
This sound by tho way is continuous and
horrible beyond MEASURE with It's accompani.
ment OF spouting blood and wrlthing bodies,
and IL 10 so trying that the great strong
"stckers" have to be relieved by relays every
few hours, for the smell of the blood, with
which they are literally drenched, 80 sickens
them that q falntness ensues that would delay
the work II the men did not have respite.
= The scaldlng watts are nearly as large as the
ornamental lakes at tho Soldiers Homo, and
above their steaming waters twist and churn
the legs, backs and shouts OF the hogs that
seem TO be struggling In death agony.
When they have soaked sufficiently, they
are hauled up the "Gambrol sticks" put in
the hind legs, and the carcasses rotated be.
tween the scraping machnes tho brlstles fall
like rain, and are carefully collected, for out
OF the spine bristlcs fine hoJse-halr cloth is
woven.
The bodies then pass -llterally--into the
hands Of the mon who finish tho scraplng.
Then follows the disembowelling process, aud
the inner and outer hog part company. The
first to be cleansed and utilized for sausage
skins, and the Inst to DO cleft In half aud
packed In the cooling-room. In summer the
winter the room is ola sufficiently low tom
porature TO do the business The cooling takes
between twenty.four and forty.eight hours,
and then comes tho dismemberng.
This has been reduced to u science, and the
men with the cfoavers are really graceful aud
:. picturesque. They have acquired a precision
~of aim and quckness Of movement that Is
automatic, and one stroke of their terrible
blades ia enough to accomplish any result.
ghey are ON the ground floor, ana when / say
that an average days killing In winter In
cludcs from 6000 TO $500 hogs, you may
form an idea OF the rapidity and dispatch with
which they work. The Industries to which
she Hog Lends Himself
are varied. AT the Stockyards they 20 by tho
namo Of 'hog-products," and consist of curing
Of sido meats, shoulders and hams by dry
sailing; also, by pickling and smoking. Tho
manufacture of blood aud refuse Into fertll
lzer, rendering fat into lard, refining lard,
cleaning tho casing for sausage, combing and
cleaning bristles, drying hair, making sau'
sage, canned goods and butterine.
The Sausage Room
Is the neatest and most pleasing to the eye OF
the casual spectator. The men all wear pale
pink blouses Just the color OF the meat The
tables are az clean as any housewife could
wish them to be, and the process of making
the sausage and casing 1t Is wonderfully tidy.
There is a machine, quite like a Calling gun,
into the hopper q which tho meat f. poured
NAL pieces. 1t is pressed out OF a small open
Ing, against which is held the cleansed In
testine casing. As soon as the required length
Is filled q thread is whipped around II aud an-
other link Is added to ''the family circle" The
sausages are made all sizes, from the modest
little pink,skinned hnEerlings' that seem to
Bologna, almost as long as nm.
The statistics of this portion OF tho yards
demons OF Samaria sigh for another chance to
distinguish themselves.
It has nlled me with such respect for the
|
to my tooth brush, End am convinced that the
reading OF "Weal and Woe" ought to be
"Squeal and Woe, for the world must be
flooded with hog to account for the disappear
ance of the thousands and thousands of pork
ers disposed OF In this wonderful place. Thoy
have received In one day as many as sixty.two
thousand hogs; and In one week two hundred
and twelve thousand. They killed one day not
long ago twelve thousand, loss a few hundreds,
and even In summer they average from three
to six thousand dAy. lookedin one room
COyerpI
was piled breast high with sides OF bacon.
All these figures are hard facts, dear CRITIC,
and not the emanntions of q fancy overheated
with swine. 1t was like the chargeof the
Light Brigade
Bacon to right OF them,
Bacon to left Of them,
Bacon In front OF them,
| clean scraped and sundored. 1t was a
| delirium OF pig, and sent mo into tho
tinshop amazed and stupid. This shop
and the ''Coopers Institute," near by, fur
nish all tho cans and barrels used, so the hog
| walks In at one gate and comes out In dozen
shapes AT the other, not having quilted the
inclosure. OF this entrance gate omitted to
| speak. 1t Is OF stone, solldly cut, and bearing
| on Its arch In bold bas.relief bulls head,
which Ia instinct with life and savagery.
On our way from the pork section We visited
little house near tho entrance, wherein arc
| collected the largest, most magnificent bulls
| have ever seen.
There are represented the Attorney, Ayr.
| shire, Durham and Jersey breeds, and there
| Is n Wild steer from British Columbia-an
| awful looking beast that for height, size aud
| nerce aspect might have come out OF the pre-
| historic ages. 1t was caught and subjected to
| as harsh n training process as that our In
| dams undergo, and the idon of Its owners Is to
| domesticato the breed. The animal stands
| nearly two feet higher Than the largest bull
| known In the Civilized stock market, Is of n
| dark liver color, and raises Its massive front
up to tho sky with Wild air OF freedom more
| impressive than anything have evor soon
| Its great brown eyes roll about from side to
| side, and horns as long as my arms rise curry
Ing sharply from tho curly mat on 1t, fore
| head.
| / am afraid OF horned beasts, so could moi
enter fully Into Dempsey's enthusiasm about
| his charges. Ho held open tho little carved
oak gates leading Into their stalls, and said
| "Walk In, miss; walk In. Just stroke theil
sides and SEQ how soft they are, aud they're
| that gentle"
Here words failed him; but stool still
whereupon, with look OF reproach that POSI-
lively haunts me, he said;
81 wouldn't have beloved any ono would
treat them so. Why, they are Just like m,
own children to me-"
The house referred to is built OF brick, kalso
mined inside and finished In oak throughout
| The air in It Is as sweet as June, tho only sen
sible smell being that OF the fresh hay, II
| which the cattle stand, and the clover, which
is tho chief OF their dict"
| l declined seeing anything more, for ou
charming Sara Jewett was to play that night
| we were going TO have u box party, and II wa
| already 4 O'Clock. But the next day was ap
| pointed for seeing the seattle part" OF TIL
yards, aud OF this shall write In my next.
| Apropos 10 theatricals and Washington stag
successes, shall be telling Pipers news II
mention Mr. Herndon Morsells triumph here
He has made an extremely favorable i'm
| preston, both IN musical and sOcial cIrclAa