The Honolulu republican. [volume] (Honolulu, T.H.) 1900-1902, 1900-11-06

How Cattle are Shipped from Other
Islands 10 Honolulu.

To the Editor of The Republican:
Sir.--It was with good deal OF satis-
faction that / read an article in your
paper recently denouncing the treatrnen,
of sheep shipped to the Honolulu market
from The other islands Such treatment
canno, be too severely condemned
The manner Of handling cattle in these
islands is shame and disgrace Lately
1 va MY lot to witness the cattle load
ing at kawaihoe, ON Hawaii, and / will
say without reserve that it was the most
cruel operation | ever witnessed. | ques-
toned ihe men who had charge and thus
secured very fair idea of the loading
from beginning to end.
The cattle are first driven fifreen or
twenty miles across a hot, dusty coun-
rs. Tired, hot and thirsty, they ara i'm
mediately penned up without a drop OF
water Sometimes the kinau is late. In
former times. when the kinau was run
ming under her old schedule this meant q
wait Of a night. the cattlemen refusing 10
load in the dark. All this time the poor
beasts are suffering untold agonies from
thirst. | know for fact that no water
is given them. for all the water used in
hawaihoe is brought from Waimea
iiore than fifteen miles away
The loading itself is extremely cruel.
y surf boat is roved from the steamer
which is anchored about a quarter Of a
mile of shore. The surf boat takes its
station about forty yards from the pen.
where the water is about six feet deep.
\ beast is then lassoed and pulled out of
the pen. In case il is stubborn or in any
way troublesome, a vaquero on horseback
X ready at any moment TO either break
the tail by twisting IL or to wrap the
end Of the tail about the pommel of the
anal into the water. Once in the water.
the man with the lasso drags it out TO the
boat. where he tosses the line to the
waiting natives. who. after hauling the
beast close to the boat, tie it to the side
with its head high out Of the water SO
the process goes on until the boat has re
ceived ten of the wretched animals. when
L starts for the steamer
At the steamer the worst part of the
operation begins. A girth is slipped
about the belly of the struggling animal
and il is hoisted high in the air, being
deposited on the wet, slippery deck. A
waiting native Immediately drags it TO
the side of the vessel, where it is tied up
with as shoyt a rope as possible.
The belly girth is often put on in
siip-shod manner sometimes slipping up
TO the head and almost choking the ami
NAL to death. Then sometimes it slips
off entirely and the animal is given drop
OF eight or ten feet
On the steamer they are packed in as
solid as can be managed. Sometimes they
drop from utter exhaustion, but natiyee
are always on guard to pull them rp
again. 80 that they will not he tra-splcd
10 death. This is done by more tail
breaking or any other cruel device which
suggests itself 10 Hawaiian.
Even on board the steamer they are
given no water, and the last three days
Of Oheir life are spent in suffering and
torture
Often in the process Of loading a horn
is broken of, hut nothing is done TO allay |
he suffering Of the animal
One of the tirst Of the old Hawaiian |
'ustcms that need Americaniring is this
manner of cattle loading. Such cruel sai |
'arhsruus treatment Of dumb animals
'annot so on forever, and am sure the
American people in this territory will
Don stop IL
A HILOITE-
Hilo. Nov. .. 1900.