The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1900-11-15
TENDING WILD CATTLE ATSEA
THE DANGEROUS AND UNHAPPY
WORK.
Men are Lured Into 1t by False Adver-
tisememts and are Tnhumnnly Treat

ed.
Some weeks ago a poor, half-starVet
lad presented himself at the American
embassy in London and told a story OF
extreme cruelty and inhuman treat
ment which he claimed to have expert
enced on board cattle ship sailing be-
tween New York and London, This
story resulted in the issuing of a warn
ing by the embassy to American pa
rents to keep their boys away from cat
tie ships. That there was some truth
in the boys allegations nobody who
has had any experience on a cattle ship
can doubt.
Four steamship lines out of New
York, two out of Boston, and one out OF
Philadelphia send an average of one
thousand head of cattle to European
ports each week. The cattle are con-
fined in pens on two decks of these
vessels Approximately one hundred
and fifty head compose each shipment.
Men must be taken along to feed and
look after the cattle on the voyage.
Formerly the cattle shippers supplied
the extra men to take care of the cattle,
paying them from eight to ten dollars
for the trip, These men are called
'stiffs." Because of the Incorporate
habits of the only class of men who
could be induced to ship, this detail Of
the business became such a nuisance
that the shippers decided to give 1t up.
In late years there has grown up in it's
place an arrangement with an agent at
the port Of shipment, who agrees to
furnish a quota of ''stiffs' for each
shipment. He is called a Stiff catch
err" According to this agreement, the
agent receives two dollars for each man
secured, and for each man short of the
number called for he pays the shippers
q fine of twenty-five dollars. Besides
receiving two dollars a man the stiff
catcher retains the privilege of swim
ding the unfortunates whose circum-
stances make travelling in such a man
ner necessary out of as much as he
can.
In order to secure his material the
stiff catcher" inserts advertisements,
chiefly in the western papers reading:
'Wanted-Men to work the passage to
Europe on cattle steamers; no steam
ship work" Unhappy is the lot of the
man who is lured by such an advertise
ment to cross the ocean in one of these
ships. Not only will he be defrauded
out Of all the money he can be induced
to give up, but the hardest and most
dangerous kind of work will be his, and
II he shrinks from it, or because of in
aptitude or unfamiliarity does it Ill,
abuse and brutality, both verbal and
physical, will be his portion. His du-
ties are to look. after the cattle in every
way and his foreman holds him re-
sponsible for any harm to Them wheth-
er the fault is his or not
The larger portion Of the men who
answer the stiff catchers" advertise
ment are the poorer class of Europeans
who desire to return tome in an eco
nomical way. Many of them cannot
the English language
These are the ones upon whom the
most abuse Is heaped and to whom the
most dangerous work is given. There
is reason in this for there is far less
danger of complaints being made by
these men, whose splritS have been
by early training and whose
lack Of knowledge of the language
makes it almost impossible for the
abuse to have any reactlonary effect.
Occasionally Young America selects
this method of crossing the ocean The
latter is usually treated better than the
frst-named class, for the reason men,
toned.
When the applicant presents himself
in answer to the advertisement the
stiff catcher paints the delights of
voyagtng in cattle ships in roseate
hues. According to him 1t is merely
sort of yachting excursion; no work to
speak of. good food and plenty of it;
fine sleeping accommodations; alto
gether a life of ease and plenty. Very
he explains that the eX-
IA men aren't really taken along to do
any work at all, but merely to fulfil in
terms, which require a certain
number of handlers for the cattle.
Next the agent tries to find out how
much money the prospective 'stff''
las II he succeeds, he demands about |
s per cent Of the amount TIL cattle
'oremen aboard the ship gets whatever !
'emains If he doesn't it's because he |
Doesn't know his business.
a WoTu ABOUT Ine foreman. from the |
moment the stiff steps aboard the ship |
he foreman is the arbiter of his desti-
~, as much his master as if he were a
lave. Indeed, believe that the cattle !
oremen as class are the direct de-
cendants of the Simon Legrees of |
slavery times. There may be cattle
bremen who have instincts of human
ty and decency, but I have never had
he good fortune to sail under one. All
he consideration l ever got from that
lass was value received for bride mon
Y promptly and literally paid down.
he nature of the business seems to kill
ut all kindly qualities. The cattle
brennan gets a small salary, which he
sually contrives to double by "squeez-
lg'' the unfortunate stiffs; if not, so
luch the worse for the stiffs.
Up to the moment of his boarding the
essel the new cattleman is well treat
d, because the stiff-catcher fears he
ill escape Commonly his introduce
ion to his duties and his foreman
ONES in the form Of torrent of pro-
anity and threats from that worthy,
1llowed by a knock-down blow if he
oesn't move smartly. This is the pro-
err and approved method Of impressing
stiff" His work is all cut out for
i'm, the most trying work of any that
e has to do. Ranch-bred steers ar.
OF blessed with particularly amiable
ispositions at best, and when they
a wa iI1St baap loadpd from, 1tob i,,tr, /