The Red Cloud chief., 1888-07-13
MONEY IN OLD BONES.
Men Who Make Fortunes Out Of
the Refuse in Meat
How Horns. Eoofs, Zones and Every Por'
ton of Slaughtered Beef Are Utilized
"A Nuinbe Of Industries Pc
culi2r to Chicago.

Sc
ton Of Slaughtered Eeef Are Utilized
"A Number Of Industries Pc
culiar to Chicago.
OF all the products tina. come into Chi
cago market beef is the most esectUally
utilized. says the Chicago Mla. From the
time a beef leaves the pasture until its
steaks are served by some fashionable
caterer. It has passed drought several
thousand hands. and has contributed either
disectly o. indirectly TO several hundred
distinct and separate Industries.
In no city in the world IS the principle Of
the division Ct labor more str:singly exem-
piled than ii Chicago, with her manifold
Industries dependent on the traffic in beef.
One would naturally suppose that beef was
so Plentiful and cheap il a central market
Ike Chicago that no enc would rlink of
making e special business of utilizing what
IN many cities is c:5. away as refuse. But
the very fact that Chicago is so great i
beef market renders it possible for almost
every ounce Of beef 10 be put TO some prac-
teal Use.
There has grown up n this city within
the past ten years the iarces: bone and tai
low industries il this country. These in
cEstr.es have not only served TO build Up
inmense private fortunes. but. as an officer
Of the Board OF Health said recently, they
have been Of untold value 20 Chicago in a
sanitary point of view.
This may seem at first thought a curious
statement But the explanation is simple.
A bone and tallow factory is not q desirable
nei.hbo1. as every one knows who has
over had the misfortune 20 live within
seeming distance Of such IN establishment
and yet the odor is neither so unpleasant
nor nearly so unwholesoMe is many other
eXha,a,ions from the Stock Yards. The
bone n tallow factory serves as q con-
verient repository and crematory OF the
CtG from the butcher shops. In q city like
Chicago there must necessarily be at every
large butcher shop q large amount of good
meat remaining over each day unsold To
remove this meat to some suburban dump
ing-plsce would entail considerable expense
OF the butcher, and ne would il many in
stances, be tempted to let economic consid-
erations take preference over regard for
public health. The dealer In bones buys Oh
the butcher whatever is worth paying for
in the way Of bones, horns. hOofs. hide. tai
low, meat, and hauls it away, and often gets
for the mere hauling away meat that would
soon become = nuisance TO the butcher, but
which can be turned to some practical &C
count at the tallow factory. All Of the lead
ipg butchers Of Chicago have now come to
depend on the bone and tailow dealers to
relieve them Of what they can not dispose
Of 70 their regular customers.
To facilitate in ascertainIn2 the price Of
the commodity it is usual for the butcher to
sort il For instance, he puts all the kidney
euet il ono barrel. the flank tallow in
another, the soupbones in another, and the
meat in another. These are all
sorted in the order Of value. II the bucher
falls to do the sorting himself, he is obliged
to sell for q lower price, IS the work Of
sorting after the stun is once mixed is both
difficult and unpleasant and frequently
costs more than it is really worth. The
bone and tallow dealer sends OFT his wag-
ons every day to different parts Of the city
TO buy up the butchers refuse. Each wag-
on has . regular route and makes regular
trips AT stated intervals. The loads are
brought into the factory and distributed to
appropriate places. AL Of the tallow is put
into . vast caldron n rendered int the
form in which it is found in commerce.
There are a number Of steps in the refining
process, but they vary according to the
purity Of the article when it comes into the
factor. The bones form . curious collec-
ton, and suggest at once the prophets
vision in the Old Testament. Here are the
bieached skulls Of oxe with yawring jaws,
grinn;ng teeth and empty sockets. They
seem almost to speak from out their grim
receptacle some legend Of the Humane So
ciety. Occasionally a huge skull happens
10 have q pair Of cress-bones near Il. and
suggests the ghoulish emblem Of the
deaths head.
The bones are Of all sizes and ages.
There are the dry bones that have lain
bleaching for months on the prairie and
have been gathered by some economic
farmer AID shipped to Chicago for a few
cents more than paid the freight. Then
there are tbs juicy soup-bones fresh from
the butcher-shop. But these must go
through many transformations before they
are ready for the market. First they are
cooked and the grease ell extracted. This
grease is converted into lLbricating oils.
The bones are next put TO soak il q
tank with water running constantly in and
or i they are c!eaned When all
greasy Impurities are removed the bones
are laid out 10 Dig and are ready to join
company with their con-elers of the plains.
They ere dropped INTO ! gigantic hopper and
ID Z coarse hour or dust 1Gc Hil
grir6s with a hungry greed and rarely re-
ceiveS Z ;louthtul TOO dficul; for its pavver
of n-asticatioa. Tho bone Gus, is weighed.
baggod. so-le6 and shipped to al paris Of
the country where ferti.zing material is
needed. Oce Cf TIE nCstvCiugb.c prUdusts
Of re Establishment is &c. This IS made
OF the h2afs Of cattle. There is = secret
process il is manufacture thai is always
CAREFUL guarded and Is known 10 only one
man. Il, l. enc OF those peculiar trade Sc
cret tLGt no patent RICH. would properly
IN this IL resembles the secret Of
making porcelain. possessed only by the
(SaxCayD porco.AIn potters. The
hoofs are subjected TO some process by
which they are turned into liquid. This
comes OFT resembling in color and
New Orleans molasses. II is
run Into cooling pans. where il becomes par
italy solid Then i: is cut into cakes like
gingerbread. and allowed To harden. and is
then broken into small pieces and placed in
barrels ready TO be shipped.
The horns furnish il themselves material
for two OF three different industries. The
curving horns OF Texas cattle are
into house ornaments. The horns are
also used for making ornamental chairs and
Dchcr pieces Of furniture. q taste for which
become of Late years exceedingly wide