Evening journal. [volume] (Wilmington, Del.) 1888-1932, 1888-08-07
IN TIE PACKING HOUSE.
LAST HOURS OF A HOGS LIFE IN
EAST CAMBRIDGE.

Porcine Executions That Take Place
Daily in One of the Suburbs of Boston.
Bloodshed in tho Hot Water-The SHAY
ing Machine.
pig may so into the pork packing house
in East Cambridge pig, but when he goes
out he is numerously referred to as hams,
pork sides, pigs feet, hogs heads,sparc ribs,
picked tongues and shoulders, lard, bristles,
fertilizer, hair and hogs grease and lard oil.
Recently, in company with one of the en-
ployes Of the concern, the writer spent several
hours in examining the various buildings. A
long, low structure at the extreme northeast
corner of the enclosure, about which high
fence extends to protect it from the worh
outside is the hog house where new arrivals
are kept before the slaughter. A car load of
sleek looking porzers, that might be called
the aristocracy Of the swine population Of
the west, We're just beginning to settle down
for few hours of solid comfort when asmau
boy and a man came huriedly along. and
shouting to them, the entire drove were in a
minute upon their feet. They saw a means
Of exit that had purposly been left open, and
through it they passed, unconscious of the
terrible fate awaiting'them on the other side
of the long, narrow bridge into which they
were entering. And what long, dark
bridge it isl You have seen covered railroad
bridges up in the country that are like it.
Through occasional cracks in the walls the
sunlight streamed in, and there in babel of
sounds could be seen a line Of hogs packed
closer than sleighs on the Milldam in Janu-
airy. They were crowding, pushing each
other towards the little opening so far ahead
which marked the end of the bridge, and
pretty soon they had al passed through it.
not into the sunlight which seemed to be
awaiting them, but into a triangular pen
where the rumble of machinery came to their
ears, and occasionally the dying wall of one
of their kind whose wind had been cut by
the lord high executioner.
The porkers were closer together than sar-
dimes in a box, and restless as cells They
tried to walk on top Of each other, rubbed
! against the trousers Of the men among them,
and then some would try to climb the wooden
wall and escape. As it was no less than six
feet high, they could do little more than
stand on their hind legs. This was an excel
lent opportunity for the swine herd He had
been for several minutes watching a wire
rope that hung from pulley some twenty
feet above the pen. Then it was lowered
toward him, and we knew the end was inn
minent.
If I were to describe the scene after the
newspaper style of9an execution, 1 would
say:
1908 o'clock-Pig Sly, the largest and most
intellectual appearing victim, is now being
seized by the hind legs. The left is clasped
by band of steel, which fastens like q hand
cuff.
10:03sl-He is suddenly drawn high in the
air, and is swinging to and fro like the PEN
duium of a grandfathers clock. A pro
longed squeal in the key of high C reverber-
ates through the death chamber. The rope
begins suddenly to pull him along towards
the executioner.
/ 1904 o'clock-The executioner has just let
! fly a mouthful of tobacco juice. The victim
for n second hangs silent before him The
awfulness Of the situation is evidently numb
ing his mind, for no sound escapes him.
Courage such as his in the last moment Of
life seems more than human. The execu-
toner raises his knife. He holds it as Edwin
Booth does his rapier in a stage duel A
second its trusty blade glitters in the electric
light, and then it is buried in the victims
apoplectic neck. He twists like a screw
driver, and then the killer pulls forth his
weapon, while the life blood starts IN a Grim
son stream like muddy Cochituate through a
half open faucet. In an instant commissions
seize the dying porler. His flesh twists and
the muscles become distorted. The agonies
are intense, and then the reaction of death
begins, the cords relax and on towards the
bathing tub be goes, dead as a doornai.
Ten seconds after the pig becomes pork he
is shot down into hot water bath. Ye who
have thought life's end was coming in the
| Of hot oil
heart always Don't kick about hot water
until you have seen the bubbling, seething
caldron in a killing room. The hog is
always supposed to be dead when this stage
is reached, but it sometimes happens that he
is not, and in the few brief moments before
final darkness blinds his mind how thoughts
of past wrongs and misdeeds must come from
their graves to hound him The tub in
which he is dropped is a long one, and after
being rolled over several times until the
bristles are ready to drop out of their own
accord he is pulled up ON board, and in q
twinkling two men have removed his bristles
and he goes on his way rejoicing. Hooked
like a fish under the chin, the rope to which
he is suspended carries him through shower
bath, and then the shaving machine i:
reached can say truthfully that would
rather take my chances in going through
that machine than to repeat the experience
Of being shaved by some BARRIERS know who
claim to be first class worBmen.
But you want to know something about
this machine Suppose, then, you see The
head Of barrel removed, and in its place
imagine there are arranged upon springs
dozen or more knife blades, so that when NJ
pressure is broughtupon them from the undei
side they remain so close together that yot
could not drop a kitten down between them
Then imagine that pigs nose comes int
sight 1t gently slides up, pushing back TIN
scrapers, which in turn do their duty anl
leave his snout hairless and white as q baby
face. On he comes, and further back tn
blades are pushed. His neck comes through
then his body, and finally, when he has beei
all scraped, as he is by one passage through
the knives resume their original position,
stream Of water dashes over theni, and tn
hair is wished down through passage int
, repository below.
on goes the porker until he reaches a tabl
where four men are employed, two on eac
side, in removing such hairs as have escape
the automatic barber behind. Before 70
can say Jack Robinson he has resumed hi
Journey and is landed on bench, where hi
Intervals are removed and several Shove
baths given. Then, when all is over and
| is looking as pure and clean as pork can lool
|, he is given the only roller coaster ride pi
4 was ever known to take. The course froi
I the end Of the finishing room to the coolin