Omaha daily bee., 1903-05-17

told me that their bodies were largely made
of horse flesh.
He asked me to sample a bit of the meat
and l did so. 1t tasted like tough deer.
with a slight gamey flavor. 1 don't like 1t,
but that may be owing to prejudice, or it
may be that the bite 1 took was from an old
street car plug, tougher than ordinary.
1 have visited several of the horse sIaugh-
ter houses. The first one was like n bi0
barnyard surrounded by low stables and
fenced in at one side wits Ions buildings of
red brick. At the right of the gate stood n
group of butchers, their shirt sleeves rolled
up above their elbows and their bare.
brawny arms covered with blood. Each
butcher had a leather apron. well shattered
and looked altogether rattle repulsive than
otherwise. ] had a permit to see the estab-
lishment, and in addition gave a small fee
to one of these men. so that everything was
thrown open TO me.
Inc first room we entered contained the
horses that had been killed that morning
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, a white horse was being skinned.
and an inspector was going over the vari-
Gus cuts of those hung from the rafters and
stamping them.
Leaving this room I was taken to an
other where they were killing. AS 7
watched them a magnificent black carriage
horse was brought in, worth, 1 was told.
100 marks or $25. 1t was not more than
8 years old, and a month or so ago his
value was perhaps $500. He had slipned
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 sort
beautiful eyes as he came in, and 1t almost
slckened me to think of his death. 1t was
anecting to watch him as the butchers
dragged him on his three legs across the
yard, and 1t seemed a sacrilege when they
clipped his name and forelock with a pair
or sheep shears preparatory to his killing.
anu more IKE murder than anything else
when the deadly blow was struck.
AS the horse neared the door he seemed
to realize his approaching end. He smelled
the blood upon the floor. His sensitive nos
trils 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
iorehead bare. Then one of the butchers
pulled down his handsome head and an.
other 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 tho
beast dropped to the floor. The blood
poured from his ~nOstrls, his eyes shone
with pain for n second, and then became
glazed. He was dead. At the same time
a second butcher drove n knife into his
heart, and the life-blood came forth I'm
great streams, being caught in pans and
saved. A little later the horse was turned
over on its back and dressed for the mar
kets.
AS ! watched the butchers 1 noticed that
every bit OF the horse was saved. The
blood is used for making buttons. 1t is
evaporated and the residue pressed into
shape. The albumen In II is sold to photo-
graph establishments and som parts of Il
are used for fertilizers. The horseskins
bring about 50 apiece. They are tanned
and made into sole leather. The tail goes
with the skin. but the name and fetlocks
are cut OF and sold as hair, bringing about
20 cents a pound.
The bones and hoofs Of each horse are
worth about so cents. They are used for
making fertilizers, being ground up and
disposed OF at so much per ton. The old
shoes are taken of and shipped out to
China. where they bring a big price, the
Chinese using them for making razors and
other tools in which a fine grade of iron Is
needed. FRANK G. CARPENTER.