The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1884-12-19
Hog Killing at the Union Stock Yards Of
Chicago,


The ordinary methods Of slaughter
ing cattle and hogs by farmers and
small butchers is familiar enough to
every one who has ever seen or known
anything of country or village life. In
New England in the olden time when
farmer had a "beef critter" or two or
three hogs to kill, it was considered
the best part of a days work with two
or three Of the neighbors to help. But
in these modern days Of general and
scientific progress the advance in the
methods and in the celerity of slaugh-
tering animals for food is fully as great
as in any other department of business.
1t would naturally be expected that in
a place like the Union stock yards
where the business of killing and pre-
pairing meat for market has been re-
duced to science, that the most i'm
proved and humane methods as well as
the quickest time of slaughtering would
be found. And such is the actual fact
Let us enter one of the large packing
houses down there in imagination and
see how they do it.
In slaughtering hogs, the animals
are driven up an inclined plane, which
is n covered vladuct, from the yards
below to the top floor OF the packing
house where they are wanted As they
come up into a small pen man stands
! in their midst with a chain, having
spring clasp at the.end. This is sprung
upon one of the animals hind legs in n
iffy, a small stationary engine is start
ed and before the animal knows it he
is swinging in the air and squealing
vigorously. The upper end Of the
chain is attached to pulley which
runs overhead on an iron railway, aud
carries the animal along toward the
scalding vat
On the way TO the vat he passes the
sticker, who with one lunge of long,
sharp knife, end his life. Allowed to
bleed a few seconds, he is dropped from
the chain directly into the scalding vat,
whirled over few times, and then
lifted by hidden machinery at the bot
tom of the vat up to a moving belt on
the surface of long bench, which car
ries him toward the scraping machine.
The principle and mechanism of this
machine is almost identical with that
os a eorn-sheller. Revolving wheels,
with flexible scrapers on their outer
edge, are so placed and punched as to
hit the surface of the hog on all sides
at the same time. The animal enters
the machine snout first, passes rapidly
along and energies as cleanly scraped
of bristles as he could be if the work
had been done slowly by hand. A
few men with knives finish the parts
not completely denuded of their cover
ing, and at the same time cut off the
head, which is dissected in twink
ling.
He Is then attached to another pull
ley overhead, running on an iron track
and passed along over the bench to
another skilled workman who, with
about three strokes of knife disem-
bowels the animal and hand over the
, inward contents to separate gang OF
workmen for cleansing. a stream of
water from hose pipe plays upon the
i, animal few seconds and then he is
run off on the elevated railroad to ward
the cooling-room At this point the
, work of killing and dressing is done,
! and the time of the whole process is a
: little less than four minutes on an av-
9 erage sach day and week and month.
- The two men who are the most skilled
and who receive the highest wages fol
+ their important but disagreeable work
are the sticker and Eisenhower. Very
+ rarely do either of these workmen mis-:
1 their aim or stroke. But it requires &
cool head and steady hand to do that
\ work quickly and well at the same
q time.
a steady procession of swinging
y hogs, dead or dying is kept passing
through the room, suspended from the
elevated railway, from morn till night
and no blockade of freight is allowa
u bic. Not moment is lost, not par
d ticle Of strength is wasted. There i,
no heavy lifting of dead carcasses from
Il the beginning TO the end OF
the process. Machinery takes the plact
. of human labor wherever it is possible
{ and the work of nimble fingers au(
sharp knives rapidly completes the job
u !! 1t is q process which inhicts the leas
!. amount of pain and suffering upon tn
II animal to be slaughtered, and on
which never fails to impress the be
! ! holder with an enduring sense of as
=, tonishment. In a word, it is scien
Il tifc slaughteriug nnder the most ia
vorable conditions, and with all pos
- BILE adjuucts and applian ces.- Chicog