There was a long line of hogs, with squeals and life-blood ebbing away together until at last each started again, and vanished with a splash into a huge vat of boiling water. Neither squeals of hogs nor tears of visitors made any difference to them one by one they hooked up the hogs, and one by one with a swift stroke they slit their throats.
Meantime, heedless of all these things, the men upon the floor were going about their work. It was too much for some of the visitors-the men would look at each other, laughing nervously, and the women would stand with hands clenched, and the blood rushing to their faces, and the tears starting in their eyes. There were high squeals and low squeals, grunts, and wails of agony there would come a momentary lull, and then a fresh outburst, louder than ever, surging up to a deafening climax.
The uproar was appalling, perilous to the ear-drums one feared there was too much sound for the room to hold-that the walls must give way or the ceiling crack. And meantime another was swung up, and then another, and another, until there was a double line of them, each dangling by a foot and kicking in frenzy-and squealing. The shriek was followed by another, louder and yet more agonizing-for once started upon that journey, the hog never came back at the top of the wheel he was shunted off upon a trolley and went sailing down the room. At the same instant the ear was assailed by a most terrifying shriek the visitors started in alarm, the women turned pale and shrank back. So, as the wheel turned, a hog was suddenly jerked off his feet and borne aloft. “They had chains which they fastened about the leg of the nearest hog, and the other end of the chain they hooked into one of the rings upon the wheel.
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