The copper country evening news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 18??-1907, 1897-11-20
THEY ALL EAT HORSE
KiLLlAN AND HIS FAMILY FEAST ON
EQUINE MEALS.

Claims That It Is Much More HeaIthfui
Than Beef II He Ate 1t Years Ago In
Switzerland - How He Again Used 1t
For Food.
Choice roast Of horse a Ia Suisse for
dinner and a sirloin of horse for supper
were the meat portion of the menu at
the home of Nj. p III. Killian of st.
Louis recently. He said that he and his
family will continue TO eat horse meat
as long as he can afford to purchase
horses suitable for the purpose. So far
as known Mr.. Killian is the only advo-
cate of hippophagy in St Louis, al
though both he and his wife claim that
there are many others, but that they
are not frank enough TO own up to it.
Mr.. Killian is % native of Switzer'
land and came to America about ten
years ago His trade is that of a butcher,
and he worked ut it for 3 years before
coming here. He says that in the coun-
try he came from horse meat is used as
extensively for food as beef is here. He
asserts that it is much more healthful
than beef and is used in his country
with great success in hospitals. Since
coming to America Mr. Killian says he
has not eaten horse meat until the other
day, although he has often longed for
il, He says that he used it so long for a
staple article of food that he prefers il
TO any other meat.
The Killian family consists of him
self, his wife and three children, the
oldest s years of age. Their comfortable
home and the appearance of the family
dispel at once the idea that the horse
meat was eaten as matter of necessity
Each member of the family is the pic
ture of health Mrs. Killian is model
Of the comedy Swiss housewife and does
not look any the worse for eating the
meat with which her husband says he
supplied his table.
In speaking of how he again com
menced using horse meat as food, aft
er abstaining from it for so long, Mr.
Killian tells the following story; About
a month ago he found himself out of
job and could find no other He was too
thrifty a man to sit calmly down and
see his small savings spent without any
thing coming i'll, so he cast about for
some means of picking up few stray
dollars to supply the family Harder until
he could find a permanent position. Be
ing butcher, he went among the slaugh-
ter houses of st. Louis and in his ram
bles found one that was unused. This
he rented for a small amount and start
ed in new business on his own hook.
1t is fact that there is on sale at the
horse and mule markets certain class
of animals which TO the dealers is known
as "glue stock" This is old horses
and mules, so Anticipated and decrepit
that they are unfit even to haul an ash
cart This "glue stock" is usually sold
to the proprietors of glue factories and
brings from 81 to So per head. Killian
knew of these sales and conceived the
idea of making money as a middleman
between the horse dealers and the man
ufacturers.
After having completed arrangements
with the glue manufacturers and rent
ing the slaughter house he went to the
mule and horse market and purchased a
couple of horses, which he took to the
slaughter house and killed. He skinned
the carcasses and sold the bodies at one
of the glue factories. The hides he sold
to a hide dealer, with whom he had
previously made arrangements. On his
investment he realized quite neat lit
tie profit and was so well satisfied with
the results that he has continued in the
business, and it is yielding him suffi-
cient sum to live comfortably.
While IN, tl,o boJiae 90 +l,n
horses he had killed he experienced the
desire to once more eat horse meat.
Having killed so many horses for food
in the old country, he was good judge
of the kind of an animal to be used for
that purpose, SO he looked about for a
horse to be used as food. He finally
found one which could be purchased
very cheaply on account of its age, but
which, he claims, was in "a perfectly
healthy condition. Before purchasing
the horse he informed an acquaintance
of his intentions and was told that he
would be arrested. To make matters
sure he applied for the permit to kill
and eat the horse and was refused He
was a disappointed man when he left
the city hall after the refusal for his
appetite for horse meat had returned,
and he now saw all chances of satisfy
ing it disappearing. However, he con-
suited a number of his friends and
learned that there was no law to pre-
vent him from eating what he wanted
to, so he purchased the horse and a por-
ton of it adorned his table recently.
Mr.. Killian said that he has treat
in store for the newspaper men of St.
Louis. AS soon as the weather gets
cooler, he said, he will get sleek, fat
horse, kill it and have feast, to which
all the scribes in the city will be invit-
ed.-St. Louis Republic.