The Worthington advance., 1900-03-30

WILD HOG RoUND-Ups
staked Plaias of tie Sontkwesf Ala
0verFua ~ Many Raser-
oacks: -
While it il generally accounted that
the sheep and Angora goat furnish
most of the revenues to the ranchers in
the broken and wooded country south
of the Staked Plains and west Of tie
Colorado river, it is nevertheless . fact
that the razor-back hog contributes
full share. Probably there is no coun-
try anywhere better adapted to the
production of cheap pork. The hills are
covered with cedar and q great variety
of scrub-oak trees, and the canyons
and river valleys are heavily wooded
with pecan and Spanish walnut, so that
there is always an abundance Of excel
lent mast, and it; might be mentioned
that the cedar Berries are considered
equal to corn in lard producing quail
ties, says the Kansas City Journal.
With this sort of feed, which is al
ways abundant, the expense of care
and feeding is removed, the animals
simply roaming at large over the coun-
try, so that the only outlay required is
that of the first cost of a few head for u
start. Running loose in this way they
are not subject to the diseases common
to the hog in the sty or feed lot, and
being excellent fighters they hold their
own with the wolves and other wild an
imals which prey on the sheep and
goats. Thus they multiply very rap
idly.
In order to get the benefit of the in
crease in his stock, however, it is nee
essary for the rancher to get his mark
on the pigs. AS this, owing to the
roughness of the country and the wild
ness of the sows, is no small task, it is
generally the custom for all the hog
owners in given section to turn out
together, with their dogs, and prac-
tically ''round up" the range.
Compared with one of these ''hog
hunts" cattle ''round up is quiet
and commonplace affair. On the morn
ing appointed the dogs are turned
loose and started out on hog trail,
and the men ride after them just as on
wolf chase. As the pigs cannot hold
out very long one of them is soon
caught and the squeals bring back the
rest of the bunch to his aid. AS soon as
the pig is free the sows form cir
Gle around the pigs from which they
now and then dash out at their tor
mentors, and all the while grunting
like the rafting of hundred old wag-
ons. BY the time the uproar has
reached it's full height the hunters ride
up and hiss the dogs on to seize the
sows. When one is caught two men go
to the assistance of the dog, one with a
club to beat off the other hogs, the
other with a bit of rope to tie the one
seized. When all of them have thus
been put out of the way of fighting, the
pigs are caught and marked. Then
the sows are given their liberty and thk
dogs started out on new trail. When
it happens that there are hogs belong
ing to several different men the pigs
are simply divided.
While the work of marking" is more
like sport than labor, it is not less ex-
citing than that of getting the hogs
ready for market, for as it is impossi-
BILE to drive them any distance-event to
the corrals of the ranches-it is neces-
sary simply to butcher them out in the
hills.
So along in the early part of the win
ter, after the new mast has fallen and
the hogs are as fat as they will get, the
ranchers load their wagons with salt,
grub, kettles and lard cans, take their
dogs and Winchesters and strike out
for the hills. They make camp near
some spring or water hole and then be-
gin the work of ''killing," which in
cludes the rendering of the lard and
sailing of the meat. 1t is like great
hunt. Whenever a wagon load of lard
and meat has been put up it is taken to
the nearest ranch and left there until
the killing" season is over; then it is
loaded again and freighted to the near
est railroad point, where it is sold at
the market price.
1t is said that only one man in that
country ever tried driving his hogs to
market. That was "Uncle" Ben Pep
per, who lives few miles above juno
tion City, on the South Llano river. He
had, he supposed, about 300 head of fat
hogs, and the idea of that ''killing"
worried him. So he hired all the men
in the country, got all the dogs in Kim.
BILE and Edwards counties, and rounded
up oil the hogs to be found. It was, OF
course, impossible to keep the herd to-
gether, and as it scattered Ben ordered
his men to separate a little and keep
moving toward Kerrville.
At noon on the fourth day the line
was within half mile of the Guada-
loupe river, the men were half mile
apart and every dog worn out. Then
Ben decided that he would like toknow
how many hogs no had, as after passing
the Guadaloupe it would be impossible
to see them in the open again. So he
ordered the ends of the line to swing in
and close up toward the river. 1t was
nearly sunset when the circle was COM
pleted and he climbed into tall pecan
so as to get better view of the hogs
when they should come swarming out
into the river. He watched intently
until night was falling, and then he
saw lean old SOW emerge from the
bushes and 60 down to drink and q mo-
ment later the drivers began coming
ont He nearly fell out of the fraa Ha