The state capital., 1891-12-26
CATTLE ON THE OCEAN.
gULLOCKS SHIPPED THOUSANDS OF
MILES ON LAND AND SEA.

and Feel the Approach of Danger.
It is only within the last few years that
the shipping of cattle from this country to
England has become such an enormous
and profitable enterprise. Before the busi-
ness became what it is steamship owners
often found it problem to find use for
their vessels. Now hundreds of steamships
have been converted into cattle carrying
ships, and large fleets leave this city and
Boston weekly with hundreds of head Of
cattle for the slaughter houses of London
and Liverpool.
Of late the business has not been so good
because of the weak market in England.
English dealers have combined against
their common foe and competitor, the
American cattle raiser. and have strained
the market until very little more money Is
to be made over there than on this side OF
the water. Then dealers here take many
risks when shipping cattle to the other
side. Besides the chance of an even greater
decline in the market, there is the risk of
the voyage across the ocean.
Scarcely day passes but one hears of
the loss overheard of hundreds of head Of
cattle from transatlantic steamships. This
is a dead loss to the raisers, who also lose
tie money paid by them to the shippers
and the money paid to the railroads for
transporting the cattle from the west
Beasts shipped from this city to Europe
are all bullocks. Men employed by the
owners in the west look after them all the
way from the plains to the stockyards on
the other side. Each man has the care of
thirty head of cattle. Much could be
written about these men, their trials, their
hardships, their desperate predicaments.
Wonderful stories they tell to any person
who will listen to them. They are all
hardy fellows and are mostly from the
west They work their way to New York
with the cattle, then across the ocean, back
to New York and across the continent to
the plains. They are always on the go,
never have any money and generally die
with their boots on.
GOING ABOARD.
Upon reaching Jersey City from the
west the cattle are taken from the close
cars into an immense boxlike pasture.
Here they are allowed to roam at will for
twenty four hours. This gives them exer-
else and a chance to breathe. They are
we'll watered, we'll fed and examined by a
specialist upon the diseases of cattle, who
weeds out the unhealthy ones.
After this first twenty four hours the
cattle are driven upon barges, but back
into the box cars or aboard railro ad floats
The floats are taken in tow by powerful
tugboats and towed down the Hudson into
the East river to the dock of the steamship
which is to carry them to England. The
floats are tied to the steamship with stout
ropes and then the work of transferring
the animals begins
Broad gang planks with high railings on
either side are set in place over the ships
side. These planks are ribbed" to keep
the cattle from slipping down.. Aboard
the steamer the cattle are driven to their
compartments These are large enough to
hold three and on some vessels four bull
locks abreast.
The cattle are carried on the spar, main
and steerage decks. A large steamship
| like those now used carries from LOCO to
| 1,5OO head. The compartments are just
| large enough to let the animals lie down
or roll about a little. The beasts are tied
| in these Immediately they are driven
aboard from the float A stout rope is put
about the animals horns, then passed
through hole in 3-inch board at the
head of the stall and knotted on the other
| side Fresh straw is put into the stalls
| every udy, anu CHO dHlIudlo olO "Oh AS>
and we'll watered during the voyage.
| SOME sEAsICK, OTHERS GOOD SAILORS.
"It is amusing" said the captain of one
of the vessels the other day, "to watch the
cattle during an ocean voyage. Like hui
man beings, some of them seem to enjoy
the trip and the salt air. Others appear tC
be timid and frightened. Some of them
| get deathly seasick, others are good sailors
4 tn no ahI To ant u
storm from afar, just as they do out on
the plains Their terrified bellowings dur
ing gale are enough to try the best OF
nerves. The animals seem to know when
the ship gets the worst of it in gale, and
to understand and appreciate its danger
and their own. l have never been on 6
wrecked cattle ship, but friends of mine
who have say that when they abandon the
ship the cattle set up terrible believing
Some break from their stalls, plunge intt
the ocean and follow the ships boats
swimming until they become exhausted.
despite contrary reports the cattle an
very well protected during the trip from
the elements Iron decks are raised ove
their bodies, but even these offer but LITTLE
resistance to the furious seas that Otter
sweep over the steamer, carrying decks
fittings and hundreds of head of cattl
overheard.
"Disease among the cattle while at SCI
is difficult to attend to. 1t is next to i'm
possible to separate the diseased from thu
healthy. The only thing to do is to shoe
down those afflicted. Pleuro-pneumoni'
kills off great many at sea.
JEALOUS ENGLISHMEN.
"It is ridiculous in the Englishmen t.
declare, however, that all American cattI
are diseased; that they have pleuro-pneu
monia and all the other diseases to whicl
cattle are subject. The American cattl
are just as healthy as, if not healthie
than, the English.
"When the cattle reach the other sid
they have but twenty-four hours to live
1t is the law that they must be slaughtere'
within that time after leaving the steamer
The English passed this law to keep tn.
shippers prices down, claiming that th
, shipped cattle all suffered with pleuro
pneumonia, and that if permitted to iv
longer than that time among the hom
animals they would spread this disease b.
contagion. So the American cattle are pu
on barges from the steamer, taken up t
, the slaughter houses and killed.
"Just at present there is not much none
in the business for the shippers. They ca
, only get fifty shillings head, but whe
you come to think about it that Is nearl
as much as steerage passengers have t
pay. You know it is openly charged b
some of the steamship lines that many @
their humber rivals bring passengers i
the steerage from Europe and take bac
cattle in the same quarters. New Yor
Z Recorder.
Science Aids Science.
:, One of the most wonderful things in tn
= study of sciences is the fact that the myt
. teries of one science are sometimes CON
a pletely or partly explained by knowledg
! | cleaned in some other department of study