Carolina, to which two latter States Kentucky and Tennessee belonged
when the thirteen original States first formed themselves into a
Union. But that mathematical line has offered no peculiar
advantages to population. No great towns cluster there, and no
strong social interests would be dissevered should Kentucky throw in
her lot with the North, and Tennessee with the South; but Kentucky
owns a quarter of a million of slaves, and those slaves must either
be emancipated or removed before such a junction can be firmly
settled.

The great business of Cincinnati is hog killing now, as it used to
be in the old days of which I have so often heard. It seems to be
an established fact, that in this portion of the world the porcine
genus are all hogs. One never hears of a pig. With us a trade in
hogs and pigs is subject to some little contumely. There is a
feeling, which has perhaps never been expressed in words, but which
certainly exists, that these animals are not so honorable in their
bearings as sheep and oxen. It is a prejudice which by no means
exists in Cincinnati. There hog killing and salting and packing is
very honorable, and the great men in the trade are the merchant
princes of the city. I went to see the performance, feeling it to
be a duty to inspect everywhere that which I found to be of most
importance; but I will not describe it. There were a crowd of men
operating, and I was told that the point of honor was to "put
through" a hog a minute. It must be understood that the animal
enters upon the ceremony alive, and comes out in that cleanly,
disemboweled guise in which it may sometimes be seen hanging up
previous to the operation of the pork butcher's knife. To one
special man was appointed a performance which seemed to be specially
disagreeable, so that he appeared despicable in my eyes; but when on