The Montgomery advertiser., 1903-05-17

having horse steak passed of upon you as venison or beef.
 In a Horse Meat Shop. One of the shops which visited in the poorer quarters of Berlin had steaks. roasts and soup bones nicely dressed and ready for sale. The meat was black where exposed to the air, but red when fresh cut.
 Upon the walls hung horses sides half cut up, and on hooks from the ceiling hung horses hams smoked and dried. On one wall were long strings of little sausages. black as ink, speckled with bits of white fat. Each string weighed pound, and the bare-armed butcher be- hind the counter told me that 1t was made of ground horse flesh, and sold for l2 cents a pound He said a good loin roast cost cents and the best steak 10 and 12 cents. He showed me a pile of Hamburger horse steak at lower price, and also some yellow horse fat, which he says the poorest classes use as cook ing butter. He says that horse fat is as good as goose grease to cure a cold. and that horse oil is excellent for rheu- l matism.
 How Horse Tastes. This mans family was at dinner when CdHcus upOii my dShAAA6 il AAS aNe' horse meat himself he took me into his dining room, where his wife and children were devouring plates of soup made from horse bones The children looked healthy and he told me that their bodies were largely made of horse flesh.
 He asked me to sample a bit of the meat, and did so. It tasted like tough deer. with slight gamey flavor. I don't like 1t. but that may be owing to preju- dice, or it may be that the bite I took was from an old street car plug, tougher than ordinary.
 In the Horse Slaughter Houses. I have visited several of the horse slaughtering houses. The first one was like big barnyard surrounded ty low stables and fenced in at one side with long buildings of red brick. At the right of the gate stood a group of butchers, their shirt sleeves rolled up above their elbows, and their bare. brawny arms GOV cred with blood. Each butcher had a leather apron, well spattered and looked altogether rather repuIslve than other wise. I had a permit to see the estab- lishment, and in addition gave a small fee to one of these men, so that every thing was thrown open to me.
 The first room we entered contained the horses that had been killed that morn ing There were several score of them hung like beeves from the rafters, with their heads downward. A splendid bay horse which had just been killed was being dressed on the floor, white horse was being skinned. and an inspector was going over the various cuts of those hung from the rafters and stamping them.
 Killing Horse.
 Leaving this room was taken to an- other where they were killing. As I watched them a magnificent black car riage horse was brought in, worth. was told, 100 marks. or $25. It was not more than six years old and month or so ago his value was perhaps $500 He had slipped on the smooth streets a few days before. and had so injured himself that he would be lame for life.
 The horse looked at me through his soft. beautiful eyes as he came in. and 1t al- most sickened me to think of his death. It was affecting to watch him as the butchers dragged him on his three legs across the yard. and 1t seemed sacri- lege when they clipped his mane and fore lock with a pair of sheep shears prepara- tory to his killing. and more like murder than anything else when the deadly blow was struck.
 As the horse neared the door he seemed to realize his approaching end He smell ed the blood upon the floor. His sensitive nostrils quivered and he hung back. With a brutal blow from his club the butcher drove him on, and he finally stood there, with his legs quivering and trembling all over Now an apron of leather a foot square was hung over his eyes. leaving his forehead bare. Then one of the butch CTS pulled down his handsome head and another raised the sledge, the hammer of which was as big around as your wrist. and struck the blinded steed full in the forehead. There was a crash. and the beast dropped to the floor. The blood poured from his nostrils. his eyes shone with pain for a second. and then became glazed. He was dead. At the same time a second butcher drove a knife into his heart, and the life-blood came forth in great streams. being caught fin pans and saved. A little later the horse was turned over on its back and dressed for the mar kets.
 As I watched the butchers noticed that every bit of the horse was saved. The