The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1888-03-28
IN A BIG STOCK YARD.
WHERE THERE is LOTS OF FUN
AS WELL AS BUSINESS.

Playing the wild Steer Joke--A Lesson
in Yeiling-Trausferring Stock from One
Pen to Another-HospitaI for Injured
Cattle.
There's lots of fun as we'll as business about
a stock yard. The old hands, the buyers and
commission men, and also the stockmen who
come often enough to learn the ropes, enjoy
nothing better than joke on green visitor,
one with kid gloves and boots with patent
leather shine preferred, but the verdant with
flannel shirt and collar and his pantaloons in
his boot tops, If he be the only object at hand.
The jokes take various forms, often there are
new ones, but there is standard joke, the
use of which is always Endorsed. The victim
is walking down one Of the large passage
ways through which the cattle are driven
from pen TO pen, or TO the scale house. look
ing from side TO side TO see which way he
will turn or through which gateway he will
pass to come out where he wants to- Sud-
denly there is loud cry;
"Clear the wayl Here comes wild steerir
Funnyl Yes, very, for the spectators The
cry has been given by some one who is 'on.n
away at the other end of the passage, and is
taken up by the crowd scattered along the
alley. They all know what it is, and though
the greene may be friend or customer, they
as readily join in the cry and sport. The
poor victim does not know what 1t Is He
has probably seen, or may be experienced,
what it is to be tossed by a wild steer, and as
soon as he hears the dread cry he begins to
make way, and makes 1t very rapidly. He
plunges ahead by as long strides as possible,
ID k,s =
into the mud.
The most interesting thing about stock
yard is the yell. The rich buyer or commits
sion man, as well as the salaried agent or
speculator knows it--or rather them, for the
yell is as numerous almost as the people in
the yards. The farmer and small stock
grower knows the ''whoopeen or "whoa-oa-
oa-oaern and .'sukien used ON the range or
farm yard, but when 1t comes to the comhi
nations of letters and sounds used here they
are as much at sea as one of the gentlemen
using them would be in attempting TO con-
vey an intelligent idea of them on paper
The most familiar sound to the countryman
is long one something like this:
'Wha-whoap- oa-oa-oap-woap'erei and re-
peated as rapidly as possible, with occasional
variations as they suggest themselves.
This is not an exact reproduction, but it is
something near it, and if the student pa
tiently twists his vocal organs until he finds
the right contortion he may produce the
sound. If he anticipates going into the bust
ness, the may" will be changed to must,
for this driving sound seems TO be the Begin
ming point Of all-the one taught in the pri-
mary department A yell following it seems
easier, but It is not. IL runs
"Hi-i-i-yi-kieyiea-yea a-ea-hi-y i-yi-yi-yi p
and carried cut without limit, until its OBJ
ject Is accomplished
This yell may be made very musical, and
then 1t becomes something more than yell.
Those who are perfect in it run the scale up
and down, centerwise and every other wise
and professor of music could better then
express 1t in notes than any one else could
represent 1t in letters.
There's another sound which sounds like
an auctioneer repeating 'going goingong" so
rapidly that it soon becomes n sound with
something like ''gD as the first letter and he
winds up with an abrupt ''gone to John
Smith" who has almost forgotten that he
had bid.
Another musical spur to the live stocks
movements is built on the plan of Joe EN-
mett's MARBLE, which everybody who thinks
he's an Emmett tries to initiate. This is be-
coming slightly popular, but its commercial
value in its effect on the cattle has not yet
been definitely determined. These, with
many more yells, are oil told in the sales pens
and scale yards. In the unloading and ship
ping yards another style prevails, something
not SO sharp. Variety is the rule there, too
but as in the first case there is common
approved yell which may be attempted after
few lessons. To produce it the lips must
be fixed just so. Then comes:
"Brr-rr-r-r-haw-hnw-h o-ha-ha-hal"
In producing the last part OF this sound the
student VIII prom ana progress more rapidly
IN this work II he careruhy Studies the pecu-
liarities OF the heavy Villains stage laugh in
second class variety show. lilo viii soon
discover the peculiarlties which he may use,
and will then have little difficulty In sand
wiching II properly between some other
sounds. The last lessons must be taken with
| the aid of an eight foot pole, weighing about
twenty pounds, with which the student will
prod bag Of sand, II nothing more con.
venient answers, giving more emphasis with
each prod. After a couple of dozen prods tho
voice will have toned down until the last
sound is like the ending of the despairing cry
Of an emotional actress.
So far as the Stock Yards company Is con-
cerned, IL takes few risks In its responsible
ties. 1t stands good for the stock from tho
time they leave the car until they are loaded
| in again or are driven away by the buyer,
Spectator or butcher. AS soon as the stock
is loaded into the pen the gate is closed and
locked and the pen watched. The market is
| open from to o'clock, during which time
the gates opening into the passageways arc
unlocked. Promptly at o'clock the gates
are all again locked, and to get anything ou5
of pen it would be necessary to lift it over,
a rather difficult matter. Under this ar
rangement such a thing as transferring stock
from one pen to another, taking out choice
animal and substituting an inferior one, is
impossible. The stock is counted into the
again. ana etliO resn'pPeu couiiteu Heaii ineo
| the cars. EVERY car ana every Dui1cH Is hopU