Fort Worth weekly gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1890-11-06
HOG AND HOMINY.
The Packing House Company
Keeps a Promise Made.
A Public Exhibition OF bog Killing at
the Packing House Yesterday
Afternoon.
Ten Hogs in Twelve Minutes, and Texas Will
now Make Her Own Bacon-How 1t was
Done by Experienced Men.
From Sundays Daily.

From Sundays Daily.
The Fort Worth packing company
came to the scratch yesterday and kept
the promise made months ago to kill
hogs and begin the work of curing Texas
bacon on November |, 1890. The i'm
mense packing house plant is not quite
complete. a few finishing touches re-
manning to be put on; but for the pur-
pose of killing hogs it is complete enough
and yesterday afternoon at 4:3O
O'Clock the promise made was
kept, and new era was in
augssste1gBrt Worth. Early in the
Hly1E6h THE GAZETTE was notified that
q trial killing would be made, and re-
porter was sent TO the packing house TO
note the proceedings.
Quite a number of citizens were on
hand, and q little after o 'clock Presi-
dent NJ. q. Ellis, accompanied by Col.
John r. Hoxie, the founder of this
great establishment; VicePresident A.
T. Byers, f. B. Harold, one of the
directors, and others arrived. This was
the signal for operations to begin. The
black smoke had been pouring from the
tall stacks all the afternoon; the water
in the scalding tubs had long been
heated mp to the proper temperature,
and ten sleek looking Birkshire hogs
were in the pen ready TO give up their
lives for the good Of the country.
Superintendent George NJ. Barnum
was here, there and everywhere get
ting his men in position, (all of them
were experienced hands, and when the
time to Kill came, he stepped up to Mr.
F.B. Harold and said that the honor
of sticking the first hog killed in Texas
packing house had been reserved for
him, and keen bladed butcher knife
was put in his hands. A rubber apron
which reached from neck to belt was
next placed on Mr.. Harold and he was
ready for work.
At a given signal man in the pen
caught hog with a hook by the hind
leg, and before he had time 10 squeal he
was hoisted over the heads of all present
to the iron rail that runs throughout the
building, and hurried along It to where
MIR. Harold stood. The chain was low
cred which brought the suspended hog
down to the proper level, and the next
instant Mr.. Harold had plunged the
knife into nis throat, striking the heart
as an old hand could. The hog was next
dumped into the scalding tub, then lifted
by an iron grab to the cleaning board 4,
where two scrapers took him in hand and
fn Jess time tan it takes to tell
the tale had every Vestlge of hair
off of him. The hog was next
passed to two other scrapers who
gave the finishing outside touches, and
he was then passed to two men who
again hoisted him to the rail and spread
| him on to the gutter.
Harry Ray, who in three licks gutted
| and took every entral from the carcass
passing the entrals to man behind him,
| who stripped them in short order. From
| Roy the carcass was passed to Jack
| Hughes, who stripped from ii in les:
| than half minute all the leaf lard ano
| other fat, and then it was passed on to
| the splitter, who separated the carcass
| into two parts with an immense cleaver
almost IN an instant, ana then passed II
on TO the next man, who severed thu
head from the body. The process was car
ried no farther on this occasion, the di-
vided carcasses being left hanging as thel
| were The ten hogs in the pen all wen
lthsrGSh the same process, and at tn
of twelve minutes from tn
time the first ore was stuck by Mr. f
b. Harold the last one had reached th'
the eud of the rail and was ready for th'
smoke house. Ten hogs killed, soalded
scraped Quilted 1.-The leaf lard taken from
| them, their carcasses split and thei
| hands taken off was the record mad
Yesterday. This is sample of what viii
| be done when the work starts up Il
earnest. Superintendent Barnum has
full force of experienced men, ana h
handles them like an experienced gen
eral.
As souvenir of this trial killing Col
John r. Hoxie, the man who starte
this great industry in Fort Worth
claimed the bladder of the first no
killed, blew it up, as he used to when
bov himself, and took it home with him
giving THE GAZETTE reporter the privil
eye of cutting off the tail of the sam
hog, which he did, and will keep as Ion
as it can be kept.
It was observed by all present that tn
immense machinery of this great plan
worked like charm. There was not
h tch anywhere, and il moved as II
had been in operation. This Ia due to tn
fact that this packing house was bui
I'm Ter the immediate supervision OF Mr.
John Thomas, the architect, who has n
superior in the United States in his lin
If business. He has made specially {
packing-house building, and il no IN
stance has he done better work than
has on this one. The trial yesterday wa
u feather in his cap, and the manner
which everything went off showed that
terintendent George NJ. Barnum tt
Packing House company had got ii
right man.
On account of the ou-arrival of tn
ammonia pipes it will be few days be
fore regular slaughtering begins, bu
when il does THE GAZETTE will have NOR
10 say on the subject, and will give
more comprehensivewrite-u of the im-
mense plant its capacity and what it wi
| do for Texas.