Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1895-03-01
. ARMouR,s pEcoY STEER DEAD.
Famous Bunko Animal Of chicagos stock
yard Meets His Victims Fate.

Famous Bunko Animal of Chicagos stock
yard Meets His Victims Fate.
Dick, the bunko steer at Phil Ar
mour's yards, got too lazy for his job
and was led to the slaughtering pen,
Just like the animals he had decoyed to
death before. The deceitful old beast is
dressed beef now.
Dick was a big, fat brown steer that
had winning ways and cold, treacher-
GUS heart. Many and many are the con-
fiding country yearlings and heifers
Dick has led up to the butchers stun
ming steel hammer. Probably there new
er was beef "critter" that had so wide
celebrity as Dick. That was the name
they gave the steer that lured the other
cattle up to the killing beds in Armour's.
Every visitor who went to see how the
packing houses work had to have look
at this steer Foreign princes and pretty
summer girls have marveled at the skill
and diplomacy with which he steered
the unsuspicious range cattle to the
place Of death. Dicks picture has been
printed in the newspapers many time,
and columns have been written about
the beasts crafty tricks. Dick was just
as much one of the sights Of the town
as the Masonic temple or the Lake Shore
drive or Policeman Steve Rowan.
This is the way the creature got its
notoriety: When the long horns from
Texas and the short horns from Missouri
come into the stockyards and are un-
loaded, they are naturally exasperated
over their rough trip and are full Of
suspicion The result is they are rebel
lious, especially in the matter Of going
into chutes. Now, unless steer goes
into one of the chutes in the packing
house it cannot have it's throat cut, and
throat cutting is the aim and object Of
his coming to Chicago. Soft is necessa-
ry to have a decoy steer, a crafty old
beast, that can get the confidence Of the
rural beasts and lure them on to death
and destruction.
Many years ago Dick arrived at the
yards. and being beast OF more than
usually sagacious appearance was pick
ed out for the work Dick was carefully
trained in the art Of walking up a chute
at the head Of a bunch Of cattle and
then quietly lodging to one side, leav-
ing the bunch to walk on to the place
where the hammers swing After years
Of practice the big steer had grown ex-
pert at his treacherous work. Dick
would saunter down into pen full OF
new and unsophisticated cattle and
scrape an acquaintance with two or
three of them. Then the wicked brute
would begin to look wise and talk
knowingly about the raoy sights to be
seen in the big white house over be-
yond the fence When Dick offered to
lead the way, there was a grand STAN
pede to follow. Up the gangway went
Dick, and after him clattered the green
horns. But just before the bunch got a
sight Of the big butchers waiting inside
Dick would unostentatiously shy off
through a side passage and leave his
victims to transact business with Mr..
Armour's men.
So Dick grew famous. But, like many
other famous characters, he grew pulled
up with pride, got lazy and began to
"lay down" OH the job. 1t got to be so
easy, this thing of leading wide eyed
country cattle mp into the chute, that
Dick didn't seem to care whether he
worked for his feed or not. Mr.. Armour
grew displeased with his apathy. he
does not like to have his employees loaf
on their jobs. So orders were issued
concerning Dick. One day last week the
wise old rogue was leading the usual
bunch up the gangway, but when he
got TO the usual jumping of place there
was none there. Dick had to go along
with the herd. In a short time he had
been converted into dressed beef Now
that Dick has suffered the same fate as
his thousands of dupes his work all de-
wolves on his former partner, known to
the butchers as Phil.-San Francisco
Examiner.