Hopkinsville Kentuckian. [volume] (Hopkinsville, Ky.) 1889-1918, 1897-03-05

of high Importance for as much as .
week before the last sad rites ar,
performed by the man with The
butcher knife He has planned j
all out as to whom he is going to in
vito TO help him initiate and kick che
bladder and to especial favorites h'
has promised that he will intercedC
with his father and secure for then
the privilege Of scraping some Of the
hair oil the scaldol boly On the
day before the butchcring which is
usually set for a Saturday, he loses
his mini IN the schoolroom and
gives iliotic answ ers to questions IN
geography, and whispers TO his
chiefest comrade that they will take
the tail and roast it.
On the evening before the day set
for the execution he carries swill
out to the condemned, and leaning
over the edge of the sty wonders if
the pig understands that sentence
has been pronounced and that judy
ment has been decrced, with no
board Of pard ons to interfere. With
sad surprise he notes that
the beast consumes its ration with
Just as much avidity as though its
life were to be everlasting, and he
feels sorry and gloomy about the way
the unfortunate is going to be dis
appointed by having long, slim
butther knife intruded into its inter
nal economy Heremarks with much
solemnity that this is the last pail OF
swill he will ever carry to that par
ticular hog, and goes sadly away,
but in ten minutes is playing shiny
and yelling joyously, just as though
there were no such thing as murder
in the world
The next morning he is up brigh
and early, and, emitting breakfast in
his hungerless excitement, he
harrics cut into the hack lot and
helps his father and big brother and
the two neighbors to prepare the
stage for the last act of the hogs
drama. They have dug shallow
hole in the ground, and adjoining it
have erected platform by placing
a barn door upon two carpenter
horses, and a barrel is so adjusted
as to be held in an inclined positi on,
its bottom resting in the hole and
it's top opening at the platform. A
big kettle hanging over fire near
by contains many gallons of hot
water, and all is ready.
Seven boys are looking into the
yard from the fence.
Henry Baker, the colored man
who is the chief pig-killer of the viii
lage, climbs over into the pig sly
with a butcher knife in his hand
The boy calculates mentally: ''In
ten minutes more the hog will be
dead, and it seems some kind o.
solemn phenomenon to think so
Henry Baker has no sentiment con-
corning his duty, however, and afte
a few minutes of ''whooting" Their,
comes heavy thudding sound, ant
the boy knows the AK which ha
been handed into the pen by hi
brother William has found it
destiny. There is a wild sound o
high-noted squealing; then gurgle
then renewed squealing. The aN
has been reinforced by the Ions
blade of the butcher knife. Henry
Baker appears once again at the
edge of the pen, with one hant
bloody. The boys all crowd up il
interested horror and peer over into
the chamber of death. There is 9
squeaiing and a laundering and G
! laundering and a squealing, and by
and by the squeals grow weaker and
there is less force to the lunging oil
the animal, Then, with q final
plunge, the hog lies at length and
cannot move any more and the
piercing tones drift into noise be-
tween a groan and a purr. And
after a time there is neither life non
noise.
The knock down the side of the
pen and all hands fall to and drag
the body out and haul it over to the
raised platform, There is a debate
as to which end shall go in first, anC
that being settled in favor of Henry
Bakers prejudice, the hot water i!
poured into the barrel, and, with ;
warning to all to look out, the boy
father and Henry Baker tug tn,
remains" into the barrel and slosl
it around there and finally drag i
out, and they begin to scrape OF
the hair. 1t is a delicate job to &c
the skin. entirely clean without cut
ting it with the dull knives used
but it is finally accomplished an,
the last hard Work-that Of hanging
the hog up in tree "by its heels
is performed, and in few minute
owing to Henry Bakers dizziness
the wide awning front OF the sub