The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1891-08-23

Is kicked with the heavy nail-incrusted
soies OF the boots worn by the boss cattle
man ana his assistant boss cattlenen. The
stiHs are ordered 10 do it. Some of them.
however, are humane enough to refuse to
obey these brutal orders. and get fhi.
punching and kicking method of eT1forcing
ooedlence applied to their own cases.
saw many cattle treated in this manner
on board the ship. The sides of the beast
were oeiabored with stones and repeatedly
punched with forks until they were bloody.
1hey were beaten in the face with hatch
ets. 10 make sick cattle get mp the
a0pacco trick was resorted 10 several times.
ms consists OF pulling the lid Of the eve
BACK against the forehead and splitting
Tobacco juice into the eye of the beast.
ihe nose, another tender spot, is also
operated upon. Forks are jaboed
and twisted with a stick lever
until the excruciating agony forces the
brute TO make the effort required of him.
and get on his feet. During this beating
with hatchets. the horns of the beasts are
oiten broken and shattered into splinters.
three builocks died on the voyage that
had been treated in this cruel manner.
The BOP builocks shipped were fat and
sleek looking when driven aboard at Phil
adelphia. When they were unloaded from
the ship at Deptford they were thin and
emaeiated. dirty. and rough-coated, and
Handling cattle in this manner must be
very injurious to the quality of their meat.
Une OF the dead cattle was cut open by the
boss cattleman, and found TO be rotten,
WITHIN few minutes after the life had
left it.
The cattle Jared badly, but the '.stifIs"
Jared little better. We found the very first
day that we were expected to do nearly all
the work, and the most ordinary facilities
Tor ITS performance were denied us. We
were obliged to clean alleys and pens with
our bare hands, and even warm water was
refused as to remove from our hands the
stains OF cattle dung, etc. after our DAVIS
work was finished. A bucket of sea water
mad, OF course, little effect on our skins,
save TO render more acute the pain of the
broken blisters
The food was bad. We had usually for
breakfast kind of hash, made mostly
with potatoes, a few rotten onions and
shreds of beef, which often stank. The tea
was OF the weakest. Dinner was the most
paiatab!e meal we got-boiled beef and po-
tatoes. We were given enough butterine
at a time to serve our mess for several
meals, but having no clean dry place TO
Keep the supplies they got so dirty that
they were useless. A small loaf of sour
bread was given each man daily but it was
gone by supper time and we had to fall
back on hard tack" too hard to eat with
any satisfaction. The boss" cattlemen
messed in the cabin. Throughout the
voyage no notice was taken of Us or Of our
treatment by the captain or ships officers.
The work was very hard and sometimes
1t was impossible for green hand to do
what he was ordered 10 do while a heavy
| sea was rolling. 1t was almost impossible
| for landsman under such circumstances
| TO safely carry sack of corn weighing 150
| pounds along the fore and aft bridge, but
no excuses were accepted for a slip. We
had to crawl over and dive under the I'M
happy cattle IN the performance of our
| work, twisting their tails, prodding them
| with pitchforks, and beating them into po-
sition. The slightest remonstrance en-
| tailed on us similar punishment to that
| the poor brutes suffered. One unfortunate
man of less than average strength was pro-
| vided with truck TO remove some for
| age one day. he not being able to carry it
as Others did. On one of his trips from
| the hold the ship gave an unusually abrupt
| plunge. The man lost his balance, the
| truck was jerked from his hands and
rolled over the hatch. nearly falling on the
| ships carpenter, who was working below.
| One of the cattlemen caught hold of the
'stiff," shouting: II told you the - was
unlucky. He'll kill somebody yet Let's
! chuck the - overheard" And | think
he would have tried TO do it if an officer
had not cried to him, with laugh, TO let
him alone.
Another time sub-boss struck at a stiff
with fork for accidentally rolling bale
of hay over his foot and followed the at
tack up, chasing the man along the deck.
The stiff sought the protection of the chief
boss. "Oh, don't, don't come to me; take
care of yourself" said the boss. The man
went to the officer then on the bridge.
You'd better go and do your work my
man." was all the officer said. There was
no redress at all for the brutality of our
superors.
The voyage took sixteen days-sixteen
days OF acute misery for US, working a
free passage-sixteen days of utter torture
for the unhappy cattle. We were not
forced on the trip, although circumstances
made il necessary. The cattle, poor brutes,
were more helpless than we. For them,
whenever / think or talk of that voyage,
my warmest indignation against their
masters and owners it aroused each one we
threw overheard / looked on as the
victim of murderous brutality; every ounce
of flesh they lost, every drop of blood that
ran from their wounds, | have no doubt is
charged against the last account their ty-
rants shall have to settle. | was ragged,
unwashed, foul myself. when | left that
ship behind, an object for disgust and
pity, but these poor, scrawny, ill-kempt
brutes, whose wholesome flesh was discol-
ored and rotting on their yet living bones
no amount of soap and water would help
them. / hope speedily to see the day when
this horrible mode of shipping dumb ami
mails Is dispensed with.
did not, of course, get the promised
sovereign, and was not foolish enough
TO ask for it. The boss cattiemen got from
"a 10 f6 apiece, and return ticket.
| made point of speaking 10 the two
runaway lads when we went into public
house ashore for some bread and cheese
and beer.
"Have Won had enough of ito" asked
them. Wont you go back homer
The elder boy turned sulkily away. Il
amt going TO weaken now" he muttared.
The younger, BERTHE. hesitated and be-
gan 10 sob. Poor little wretch, he had
been homesick all the way.
"Will you go home, Bertie2 The consul
will send you"
Yes" sobbed BERTHE, and home l be-
lieve he is. The other lad went, l pre-
sumo to the devil