The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1904-07-14

| HtIic way OuC on the grassy plains,
connected with the slaughtering yard
by a stockade- bordered lane. The cattle
are driven into these corrals, fifty at a
time, and supplied with water but nc
food. Skirting the lane is a narrow
platform about the height of the ami
mails horns, leading down to smaller
paddock, surrounded by a similar ele-
waited pathway, with bridge over the
opening into the gallon, which is furth-
er closed by movable beam. Below the
bridge is a low, square iron truck on a
tramway which runs into another
galpOn, branching into two parallel
lines so that one truck may pass anoth-
er. This is what happens: A villianous-
looking guacho, who evidently finds
pleasure in his work, mounts the stock
AIDE and takes unerring aim at the
biggest and most powerful OK. One
end of the laSso is attached to a WINCH
turned by steam, which hauls the as
tonished beast, slipping and stumbling
and pushing aside the other animals
in his way, till his head touches the
| fatal beam upon which stands meta
dor, or killer, who holds short, broad
bladed, sharp pointed knife. With one
blow of this weapon, delivered close
behind the horns, he sewers the spinal
cord, and the huge victim drops like
lump Of lead, without struggle, upon
the iron truck in waiting. The lasSo is
then disengaged, and the truck, pro-
PEELED by three men, is pushed into an
adjoining shed, where there are hun
dred men, silent but busy as bees. skin
ing and cutting up carcasses. Follow
ing the truck, you observe that one side
of the great shed is lined with poles for
hanging meat upon, and the other side
is occupied by fiat, slightly elevated,
dead cattle are laid. 1t reminds one of
the marble slab at the morgue, and the
sight Of the long building, splashed
with blood from end to end, the pave
ments running rivers of clotted blood,
and fifty corpses being dismembered at
once by half-naked, blood bespattered
men, spois ones appetite for meat for
many and many day.
Contining your attention to one
special carcass, you see it hauled ON to
the ne-paved platform by means of
a lasso attached to horse, and placed
in position for the skinner. The latter
individual-a wild Uruguayan, spatter-
ed with gore from top to toe like an
Aztec priest at sacrifce-begins oper-
ations by cutting the animals throat,
letting loose another river of blood, so
hot that 1T seems to steam as it seeks
the gutter, and emitting sickening
odor of freshness. The hide is then
torn off with marvellous rapidity, and
horrible to relate-the great carcass
moves and struggles and faint below
is heard. No doubt the severance of
the spinal cord has rendered the poor
beast dead to all sense of feeling, but
muscular action remains. However,
in less time than it takes to tell it, he
is divided into hundred pieces, and
with lightning-like rapldity the parts
are salted and carried off in different
directions. While yet warm and quiz
erlng, every particle of meat is cut
from the bones, hung upon the poles
that line the other side of the building,
and the skin put to soak in a bath of
BRINE. The minutest scrap is pre-
served and utilized in some shape
even to the entrails, hoofs. horns and
skull. The bones are ground into pow
der and mixed with what remains of
the meat after the juice has been taken
out for the Extract" and, together
with the blood and hide-trimmings-
are made into a fertilizer for the soil.
which is said to be better than guano.
To return to our skinner: his knife
is sharp as a razor and he uses it with
incredible sWiftness and dexterity 1t
requires just eight minutes to skin an
OK and cut it into hundred pieces
and we are informed that it can be
done in five minutes. A SINNERS
salary is fifteen cents the carcass; but
if in any animal he makes the smallest
hole he forfeits payment for the ami
NAL. Forty animals is an average
days work, though the more expert
skin fifty and upwards. The men are
not allowed to talk during working
hours, the strictest order is preserved
and everything is kept as clean as the
CORY business will allow. Soon as it is
cool, the meat on the poles is cleared
of every particle of fat and put to stew
in large, oblong caldrons, in which the
water is kept below the boiling point,
for it is a popularity of the mixture
that it contains no matter not soluble
in cold water. A thin soup is thus OBJ
tanned, which is carefully skinned and
strained, SO that the smallest trace of
grease is removed Then the soup is
subjected to series of evaporations.
growing thicker and thicker, till it
finally acquires about the color and
consistency of sorghum, and when