In the slaughter-houses of Europe, where there are laws, they fit over the head of the animal a leather cap having a nail in it; then, provided the knocker has only skill enough to hit the nail with a big mallet, he cannot fail to kill the animal. But they never stopped for things like that in the yards— the knockers would lean over the pens and slap away at the creatures with a pointed hammer, and if they did not kill at the first blow, they had only to try again. So now and then you might see one banging away for a full minute, with the steer plunging and bellowing in agony and terror.
