Ladysmith news-budget. [volume] (Ladysmith, Rusk County, Wis.) 1907-1927, 1922-10-20
TO CHICAGO
WITH LIVE STOCK
Interesting Experience Had in
Making Trip With Carload
of Sheep.-Many Incon-
veniences EncOun-
tered

A trip from Ladysmith to Chicago
with carload of sheep was made
last week by the farm editor with a
view of studying the trip in order to
pass the facts along to the News-Bud-
get readers first-handed, and of course
to sell the sheep.
John Bordner and f. w. Abbiehl
each put in some sheep with few
from the Big Seven Ranch. The
start from Ladysmith was made on
the "scoot" at 200 p. NJ, Saturday
Oct z. We got as far as Owen by
o'clock where we had supper, and
then asked the depot agent when the
stock train would come. He, said that
it would be there in two hours and
time went on and at 2 o'clock the
next morning our train came in and
the engine cut off to get our car. We
went out to find the caboOse and start
ed to walk up the track. We went
north until we found a track going
west toward Chippewa Falls, where
the train came from. Knowing that
there must be a train out there some
where we walked another quarter Of
a mile and found a string of box cars.
We then walked a half mile to the
end of 20 or so car train and found
a dinky caboose with lights on. We
boarded it and in a half hour more
the train started and the train men
got on. These trains don't always
,4o
passes, as no tickets are sold and the
train crew gets no orders to stop eX-
cept where tickets are sold for their
train.
This "stock train proved to be
night local and we succeeded in get
ting into Stevens Point at II o'clock
Sunday where we unloaded the sheep
from an open rolling box car, into
small chute and closed stationary
box car to feed and water to comply
with the law made to prevent cruelty
to dumb animals. AS we had no
chance to see these sheep from Lady
smith to Stevens Point, as they were
near the engine, half mile from the
caboose, we found, on unloading, that
several sheep were deal and the rest
was overcrowded which is worse in
shipping than undertaking
We finally got the sheep reloaded,
after going to the depot and telling
the officials there what kind of treat
ment we had put up with, and started
Is W. 81 al Oh 1,~
evening. We were then on a stock
train of 70 or so cars and other ship
pers were there and passenger
coach was supplied for the cattle rus
tiers and sheep traders who accom-
panied their stock to market. We
arrived in Chicago at the stock yards
at o'clock Monday morning and
found that we had met run of a.
600 sheep, mostly western, and a big
supply of cattle and hogs
With this big run sheep did not low
er in price and our best lambs brought
$3.50, second grade lambs $1,000,
yearling wethers 5000, old wethers
$500, yearling eve, light one, $3.50,
old ewes, $500, Gull ewes $500, and
dinger lambs $500. The top of the
market was $14.50 and feeders were
paying that for light western lambs
The freight on this car was $43.S0
and with the other charges tackled on
along the line and at the yards to-
tailed $S133 besides the expenses of
the care-taker.
While a trip of this kind is a hard
one as caboose seats do not make very
good berths, yet one who has never
gone to Chicago with livestock can
not have the knowledge of this end
of the feeding the world, like one who
has made the trip.