Wichita eagle., 1888-05-17
IN 1 BIG STOCK YARD.
WHERE THERE is LOTS OF FUN
As WELL AS BUSINESS.

Playing the Wild Steer Joko-A Lesson
in yeilins-rransferring Stock from One
Pen to Another-Hospitas for Injured
Cattle.
There's lots Of fun as well as business about
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 a 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 a standard joke, the
use OF which is always indorsed. 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 way! Here comes wild steer!"
Funnys Yes, very, for the spectators. The
cry has been given by some one who is ''on."
away at the other end of the passage, and is
taken up by the crowd scattered along tbs
alley. They all know what it is, and though
the greene may be a friend or customer, they
rs readily join in the cry and sport. The
poor victim does not know what it 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 it very rapidly. He
plunges ahead by as long strides as possible,
and he is lucky il he does not go head first
into the mud.
The most interesting thing about stock
yard is the yell. The rich buyer or commits
sion man, as we'll 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-oaer" and ''sukie" used on the range or
farm yard, but when it comes TO the combi-
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 a long one something like this:
''W a-whoap-oa-oa-oap- 'ere!" 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 tho
sound. If he anticipates going into the busi-
ness, the "naayn 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. 1t runs:
Hi-i-i-yi-kieyiea- yea a-ea-hi-yi-yi-yi-yii ~
and carried out without limit, until its OBJ
ject is accomplished.
This yell may be made very musical, and
then it 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 it in notes than any one else could
it in letters
There's another sound which sounds like
an aucticneer repeating ''going goingong" so
rapidly that it soon becomes sound with
something hike ''g" 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 warble, 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 all 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
yell which may be attempted after
a few lessons. To produce it the lips must
be fixed just So Then comes:
"Brr-rr-r-r- -hawha ha-hal"
In producing the last part of this sound the
student will profit and progress more rapidly
in this work il he carefully studies the pecu-
liarities OF the heavy villains stage laugh in
a second class variety show. He will soon
discover the peculiarities which he may use,
and will then have little difficulty in sand
wiching it properly between some other
sounds. The last lessons must be taken with
the cid of an eight foot pole, weighing about
twenty pounds, with which the student Will
prod bag of sand if nothing more con-
venient answers, giving more emphasis with
each prod. After couple Of dozen prods the
voice will have toned down untn the last
sound is like the ending of the despairing cry
Of an emotional actress.
So far as the Stock Yards company is con-
,erned, it takes few risks in its responsible
ties. It stands good for the stock from the
time they leave ths car until they are loaded
IN again or are driven away by the buyer,
'peculator or butcher As soon as the stock
S loaded into the pen the gate is closed and
l-nI nd The bot "a
open from to 2 o'clock, during which time
The gates opening into the passageways are
Promptly at 2 o'clock the gates
ire all again locked, and TO get anything out
IF pen it would be necessary to lift it over,
/ rather difficult matter. Under this ar
such a thing as transferring stock
rom one pen to another, taking out choice
animal and substituting an inferior one, is
The stock is counted into the
pen, then into the scale house, and then out
again, and that reshipped counted again into
.he-cars. Every car and every bunch IS kept
separate.
But fe~ cattle or other animals are injured
n the yards, but for the benefit OF those fall
ng victims TO overcrowding or rough trav-
ling, hospitals are provided in each division.
70 these all injured animals are taken,
hough first sold to SPECTATORS In the hos
,itals the animals are given dry, sheltered |
,laces TO sleep, and good food to eat. and |
water to drink They become the care Of
he SPECTATORS then, and the profits OF the |
after depend upon their skill as veterinari- |
ms An animal with broken leg Is never |
AIKEN 70 the hospital; there must be ssne |
how for It's getting on its feet, and ii 1t don't |
10 this in q week or ten days the Job Is given !
ID as bad one and the animal shos- A |
,roken rib is the ordinary injury, If the ami |
nal is not so bruised and cramped that II can |
tand On its feet. If IL can't rest with Its |