The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1902-12-01
HOW THE SAILORS
HANDLE CATTLE
interesting Scenes at the Live
Stock Wharf in
Honolulu.

ranches to Honolulu for slaughtering
should pay visit to the stock wharf
over at the other side of the harbor
when a steamer is alongside unloading,
for the work is the most interesting
and exciting of any performed in the
port.
These cattle are usually very wild,
and being handled high in the air with
ropes drawn tight about their bodies
does not tend to subdue them in any
particular. From the time they are
taken aboard a steamer until they are
discharged on land again, these ami
mails make a big fight at every oppor-
tunity. They would gore every man
who approached them if they were not
held in severe check, yet the natives
go among them feaFlessly.
Native and Japanese sailors and
longshoremen go to the cattle, grapple
with their horns, push their way in
barefooted and place ropes about
them, lodging kicks and angry thrusts,
and seldom meet with any mishap.
Island steamers frequently bring car
goes of cattle from the ranches to Ho-
nolulu, yet one of the largest cargoes
to arrive was that brought by the
steamer Helene from Kawaihae yester-
day morning. Early in the day the
steamer Noeau brought thirty-one head
of cattle from Napoopoo, and the gaso-
line schooner Eclipse also had cattle.
No arrangements have been made
that will enable the cattle to be driven
off the steamers over gangplanks, so
that dangerous method of handling
them with ropes, booms, and winches
is in vogue.
Hold fast to that stern line! Hi,
Japanee, tackle his bow. That's right.
Get your cradle under him. Now
heave away with that winch" The
s..stern line" is an animals tail, the
bow is his head and horns. And be-
fore you have time to count two gang
of Japanese and natives have got out
of the way and are watching wild
Hawaiian steer, horned and angry,
whizzing through the air, supported by
rope attached to a yard and con-
trolled by a winch. The steer kicks
and wiggles, but cannot escape from
the ropes that are slipped strongly
around its body. But the legs and
head are free and it uses them freely.
A moment, and the steer sets its
hind feet on the cattle wharf. Two
native rush in and, Selling the horns,
unslip the rope that is attached to
them and at the same time a native
boy attaches rope to the gear around
the animals body so that the gear
can be pulled off when the winch rope
is slackened. The steer plunges in all
directions, using horns and feet freely,
but the natives seem to be absolutely
fearless, and get out of every tight
corner without injury.
The Helene had both fore and after
decks filed with cattle. The cattle
were tied to the bulwarks. One gang
of men had charge of the work of put
ting gear around each animal in order
to use the winch in lifting it ashore.
In this party were natives and Japan
csc, and they seemed to vie with each
other in taking risks. Two men.
standing on the bulwarks, would seize
a wild steer by the horns and hold its
head while four or five got hold of the
same animals tail and held it, or tried
to hold it, while native or two eau
tiously got the rope around it's body
The steer would plunge backwards
| giving the men at the rail a hard tus.
| sic, with the barefooted men holding
| its tail being dragged about 1t would
| kick and it would lie down. 1t would
paw almost every inch of the deck
yet the barefooted cattlemen were I'M
injured. Meanwhile, the good ratureC
captain of the boat would once in
while take a hand in the holding O
a steers stern line. The captain il
a heavy man, ana ii was comical II
see him being jerked about the decl
by a big animal. And once in a while
an animal would be swung clear III
against the bridge and then far bacl
on top of other cattle and men, so tina
a general scramble had to follow. l
an animal got its head rope loose
rough house would ensue, for thcs
island steers are lively, their horns ar
long and sharp, and they know HOY
to use them very effectively. The
gore each other terribly and it i
miraculous how the natives escape be
ing struck.
When the steer is swung to tn
wharf the work of getting the gear 81
of him is very ticLyTiSh O4Iar an;