Daily independent. [volume] (Elko, Nev.) 188?-1915, 1912-03-13
SHIPPING CATTLE Il IN HAWAII

j. +. Cundell, writing from
Kamuela, Haw aii. to the American
Hereford Journal, says of the
methods that prevail in the islands
for shipping cattle:
Shipping cattle in Hawaii is
quite different from shipping cat
tie in the states. We don't have
20 wait for the cars here and the
stock trains do not get snow
bound, in q wssh-out or otherwise
delayed. for the railroads do not
handle the cattle here very much.
Most of the cattle are slaughtered
in Honolulu and they are shipped
by boat to Honolulu and loaded on
the cars and taken five or six miles
I O the slaughter pens. ... ..
Most of the ranches that 20
down to the beach have their own
shipping ports. Two or three days
before the boat is to call for the
cattle, the fat ones are rounded up
and got ready to drive to the
beach, pretty much the same as the
beef is gathered in the states and
driven to the railroad station.
But the loading is not done the
same here nor is it done so quickly.
1t is quite a curiosity to see
them for the first time. The cattle
are driven in a small pen of three
sides and open towards the water
and by this the boat is pulled up as
close as she can get, which is in
most instances is about twenty
yards from the shore, is anc hored
there, her life boat lowered and q
tow line taken ashore. A life
boat is anchored or made fast to
the tow line part way back to the
ship and where the water is about
ten feet deep. Then the shipping
horses are brough into play,
horses that are trained to work
and ridden by native cowboys.
They usually have at least two of
these shipping horses ard they
work alternately. One goes into
the water and gets his horse tenn
pered to the situation. Then he
goes into the pen and ropes a steer
or cow fastens the rope to the
saddle horn and works it to the
edge of the pen, where the dogs
are put to work, if there are any
d ogs about and most ranch men
have them on purpose for helping
Then the cowboy puts his spurs
to the horse and goes plunging
into the water and the bullock in
his terror to get away from the
dogs, and the fact that he is helped
on by the rope, goes plunging nto
the water right behind the horse.
Before he knows what has hap.
pened he is off his feet and swim.
ming, as is also the horse. When
he end of the rope is thrown to
the sailors in the life boat and
they get tho end of the rope, it is
released from the saddle and the
horse is turned toward the shore,
while the bullock is pulled along
side the life boat. his nose pulled
up out of the water and made fast
to the boat. 1t is then towed
alongside the ship by the donkey
engine on board, the cattle all swim
ming, Another boat takes it's
place while the second boat is busy
transferring its cattle to the ship
by means Of a sling being put
about the bullock's body and
hoisted on board by the same
donkey engine, distance of
several feet, where the bullock is
made fast to the rail by tieing
1t by the horns. They are in like
manner Eoisted ashore at Honolulu.
Some Of boats that carry cattle
can accommodate as many as rs or
80 head on deck besides the
regular cargo in The hold. They
charge SIS per head regardless of
size for ITO miles or whatever
distance it may he from the shi p.