The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1900-02-21
MONEY IN WILD HOGS.
A Reund-Up OF Rszer-Bscks I'm the
soeshwest 10 an Exciting Event
(From the X nsas City Journai.)

seethwest fs an Exciting Event
(From the X nsss City Journai.)
while 10 IL generally accounted that the
sheep and Angors goat furnish most of
tn. revenues TO the ranohsr In the broken
and wooded country south Of the Staked
Plains and west OF the Colorado river, 10
hog contributes q full sesre. Probably
there Is no country anywhere better
adapted to the production of cheap pork.
The hills are covered with cedar and .
great variety OF sorub-oak tress, AMI the
canyons and river valleys are heavily
wooded with pecan and Spanish walnut,
SO that there IL always an abundance OF
excellent mast. and IL might be men,
toned that the cedar berries are con-
sidsred equal to corn In lard producing
qualities.
with his sort OF feed, which is always
abundant, the expense Of care and feed
ing is removed, the animals simply run
uing ct large over thu country, 30 that
the only outlay required IL that Of the
II
ming loose In this way they are not sub
ject to the diseases common to the hog In
the sty or feed lot, and being exosllsnt
fighters they hold their own with the
wolves and other wild animals which
prey on the sheep and goats. Thus they
multiply very rapidly.
In order 10 get the benefit of the In
L., d n
sary for the ranoher 10 get his mark on
the pigs. As this, owing to tbs rough
ness OF the country and the wildness Of
the sows, is NO small task. 10 10 sensrally
the custom for al, tbs hog owners In q
given section to turn out together, with
their dogs, and practically "round up"
the range.
Compared with one of these 'hog
h units" cattle "round up ie quiet
and commonplace affair. On the morn-
ing appointed the dogs are turned looss
and started cut on hog trail. and the
men rids after thsm just as on a wolf
chase. As the pigs cannot hold out very
long one of them Ia soon caught and his
squsals bring back the rest Of the bunch
to his aid. As soon as ths pig 10 free
the sows form q circle around tine pigs.
from which they now and then dash out
srunting like the rsttling Of Q hundred
old wagons. BY the time the uporar has
reached Its full height the hunters ride up
and hiss the dogs on to seize the sows.
When one 10 caught two men go to the
assistance Of the dog. one with a club to
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 the dogs started out on
new trail. When IL happens that there
axe hogs belonging to several different
While the work Of marking" 10 moro
like sport then labor it 10 not less excit-
ing than that of getting the hogs ready
for marker, for as 10 Is impossible TO
drive them any distance-even to the cor
rails Mt the ranohes-it is necessary 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 az they will get, the
ranohers load their WAGONS With sals,
grub, kettles and lard csns, take their
dogs and Wholesalers and strike out fer
the Mills. They make camp near sone
spring or water hole and then begin the
work of killing" which includes the
rendering Of the lara and sailing OF the
meat. Il IL like a great hunt. When
aver a wagon load of lard and meat has
been put mp tt IL taken to the nearest
ranch and left there until the "killing"
season 10 over; then 1t is loaded again
and freighted to the nearest railroad
point, where 1t Is sold ut the market
price.
Il Is said that only one man in that
country ever tried driving his hogs to
IN arket. That was "Unols" Ben Pepper,
who lives q few miles above junction
City, on the South Llano river. He had,
he supposed, about three hundred head
of fat hogs, sni the idea OF that skill
ling" worried hin. So he hired all the
men in the country, got all the dogs In
Kimble and Edwards counties, and
rounded mp all the hogs to lie fourd
1t vas, Of couree, impossible to keep the
herd together, and as it scattered Ben or
dered his men to separate u little and
keep moving toward kerryviile.
Al noon on the fourth day the line was
within half mils OF the Guadaloups
river. the men were half mile apart
and every dog worn ort Then Ben de-
cidsu that he would like to know how
Guadaloupe 10 would be Inn ossibls to ses
the ends Of the line to swing In and CLOSE
sat when the circle was completed. and
he alimped into q tall ocean 80 to get
4 letter view of the hcgs when they
should come swarming out into the river.
he watched intsntiy until night was
falling: then he saw q lean old SOW
emerge from the bushes and go DOWN to
drink, and moment later the drivers
began coming out He nearly fell out Of
tha eroa k4a has navar triad driving