Greene County herald. (Leakesville, Miss.) 1898-current, 1912-07-26
SIGHTSEEING IN CHICAGO CONTINUED.
(BY THE EDITOR.
Viewing The Hog Killing Room.

These pens are laid off in orderly
rows bounded by alleys like streets
through which they are driven first
from the cars to await their turn la
ter to be herded out from these pens
via these alleys to the killing beds,
We notice long elevated sheds bisect-
ing the pen area which are the
mounting ways through which sope
descend from the cars, or else are
driven into the slaughter houses.
Our train stops and we alight, de-
scend che station stairsteps to tie
street, enter the Armour & Co. build
ing and began tortous climb of sew
eral long flight of stairs, which at
last bring us painting to the entrance
of the pork killing-room, and we en-
ter just as the drive-boys with crack
lag whips are urging the innumer-
able drove of hogs into this room of
death from the other side. These
hogs are brought to the death cham
Der upon their own feet, being forced
bp the drivers up gradual incline
that serves in lieu of stairway.
They come granting and squealing,
twisting and squirming in their close
packed phalanx which marches or
trots onward toward where three or
four burlv negroes stand hooking one
end of chains round the legs of huge
hogs, the other end of which chain
is fastened onto peg on revolving
wheel which soon drags the doomed
animal off it's feet with head down
ward away to the men who stand
ready as these chains are showed off
the wheel and pass them with Mr..
Hog head down sliding on a moving
overhead runway. AS the hog
reaches the sticker, there is a CLEAN
of a knife as 1t sinks into piggy
throat making hole about like a
half dollar, severing the jugular vein
from which hole spouts out heavy
red jet downward to the floor which
has a depression in the pavement to
catch and wash away the blood, with
men standing by to mop into this
drain any blood thrown over its
lodges by the hog in his death squirm-
ing. The awful din of squealing
which we hear now will ring in our
ears so long as we live, for it's COM
bination of the frightened or discon-
tented drove urged onto death blend
ed into the death squeals from nigh
| ty hog lungs an their life blood CUR
giles away, which squeal-scream is
kept up by number always on the
way until they reach the scalding
watts where they are dropped into
hot water to have their hair removed
or softened for removal In entirety
later on by the expert scrapers who
take away what hairs is left on the
body after emerging from this steam
| ing fume where some men jog the
dead hogs along and others push the
hair off in mats with mop brushes.
The dead hogs are then pointed in to
place where a revolving arm some
thing ike a delivery arm of a news
paper press gently lifts them out OF
the water with it's long fingers which
form the cradle that as it turns over
rolls them out ON an inclined table or
shute down which as they tumble
like a barrel their heads are half Sc
vered from the bodies by one set of
men with keen bladed knifes, while
still another set make a slit length
wise in the throat. These gaping
wounds afford the u. S. government
inspectors to whose tables the car
cases have by now been brought
to pass judgment upon same. There
are some three or four of these men
experts at their business who peer
into the recesses OF these wounds
and determine whether the hog is
free from tubercular or trichina
germs. If alright be goes on. If
condemned a fateful < mark is
scratched on his shoulder before the
body moves onward in it's course.