Barre evening telegram. (Barre, Vt.) 1898-19??, 1901-08-27
A RAZORBACK HUNT.
ROUNDING UP THE HOGS IS LIVELY
AND EXCITING WORK.

The Experience Of One Raneher
Who. Instead of Doing His Butch
ering Out In the Hills, Attempted
, to Drive His Hogs to Market.
While 1t Is generally accounted that
the sheep and AngOra goat furnish
most of the revenues to the rancher il
the broken and wooded country south
of the Staked plains aud west of the
Colorado river, 1t is nevertheless fact
that the razorback hog contributes
full share. Probably there is no coun-
try anywhere better adapted to tbe,
production Of cheap pork. The hills
are covered with cedar and great va
riety Of scrub oak trees, and the caH-
yons and river valleys are, heavily
wooded with pecan and Spanish wal
nut, SO that there is always an album
dance of excellent mast, and it pigms
be mentioned that the cedar berries are
considered equal to corn in lard pro-
ducing qualities.
With this sort of feed. which is al
ways abundant, the expense of care
and feeding is removed, the animals
simply running at large over the coun-
try, so that the only outlay required
Is that of the first cost of few head
for start. Running loose in this way
they are not subject to the diseases
common to the hog in the sly or feed
lot, and. being excellent fighters, they
Told their own with the wolves and
other wild animals which prey on the
sheep and goats. Thus they multiply
very rapidly.
In order to get the benefit of the in
crease In his stock, however, 1t 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 a given section to turn ont
together with their dogs and prac.
tically "round up the range.
Compared with one Of these 'hog
hunts" cattle "round up" is a quiet
and commonplace affair. On the rnorn-
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 his squeals bring back the rest Of
the bunch to his aid. AS soon as the
pig is free the sows form circle
around the pigs, from which they now
and then dash out at their tormeDtors
and all the while grunting like the rat
ting Of hundred old wagons. By the
time the uproar has reached its full
height the hunters ride up and hiss the
dogs on to seize the sows. When one
is caught, two men 60 to the assistance
of the dog one with a club to beat of
the other hogs, the other with bit Of
rope to tie the one seized. When all
Of them have thus been put ouy Of
the way Of fighting, the pigs ale
caught and marked. Then the SOW;
are given their liberty, and the dass
start out on new trail. When it hap
pens that there are hogs belonging To
several different men, the pigs are sinh
ply divided.
While the work Of marking" is more
like sport than labor 1t is not less ex-
citing than that Of getting the hogs
ready for market, for as It Is imposaa-
bic to drive them any dtstance-even to
the corrals at the ranches-it is neces-
sary simply to butcher them out In the
hills.
So along in the early part OF tire
winter, after the new mast has fallen
and the hogs are as fat as they VIE
get the ranchers load their wagons
with salt, grub. kettles and lard cans,
take their dogs and Winchesters ard
strike out for the hills. They make
camp near some spring or water hole
and then begin the work Of killing"
which includes 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 ur
1t is taken to the nearest ranch anE
left there until the killing" season *
over; then it is loaded again and
freghted to the nearest railroad pojn:,
where it Is sold at the market price.
1t is said that only one man in tina.
country ever tried driving his hogs to
market That was Uncle" Ben PEP
per, who lives few miles above Juxc.
ton City. on the South Llano river
He had. he supposed, about 800 head q.
fat hogs and the idea Of that "killina'
worried him. So he hired all the mrr
in the country, got all the dogs in kim
bic and Edwards counties and "roun1
ed up" all the hogs to be found. Ii
was. Of course, impossible to keep the
herd together. and as 1t scattered Ben
ordered his men to separate little
and keep moving toward Kerrville.
AT noon on the fourth day the line
was within af mile Of the Guada-
loupe river, the men were half 1nih
apart and e"ery dog worn out. Then
Ben decided that he would like 10
know how many hogs he had. as after
passing the Guadalupe it would s,e
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
4 o o;roIa u,oc oo,nn1ato1 nd bn cIiy,,b.