The Jungle for history

"Bubbly Creek" was the name given to the Chicago River.

The packers had wanted a bridge at Ashland Avenue, but they had not been able to get it till they had seen Scully; and it was the same with “Bubbly Creek,” which the city had threatened to make the packers cover over, till Scully had come to their aid. “Bubbly Creek” is an arm of the Chicago River, and forms the southern boundary of the yards: all the drainage of the square mile of packing houses empties into it, so that it is really a great open sewer a hundred or two feet wide. One long arm of it is blind, and the filth stays there forever and a day. The grease and chemicals that are poured into it undergo all sorts of strange transformations, which are the cause of its name; it is constantly in motion, as if huge fish were feeding in it, or great leviathans disporting themselves in its depths. Bubbles of carbonic acid gas will rise to the surface and burst, and make rings two or three feet wide. Here and there the grease and filth have caked solid, and the creek looks like a bed of lava; chickens walk about on it, feeding, and many times an unwary stranger has started to stroll across, and vanished temporarily. The packers used to leave the creek that way, till every now and then the surface would catch on fire and burn furiously, and the fire department would have to come and put it out. Once, however, an ingenious stranger came and started to gather this filth in scows, to make lard out of; then the packers took the cue, and got out an injunction to stop him, and afterward gathered it themselves. The banks of “Bubbly Creek” are plastered thick with hairs, and this also the packers gather and clean.

Please ask your questions separately.

Chicago River

According to Sinclair, what was the “special disease” of those who worked in the “chilling rooms”? What was the “time limit a man could work in the chilling rooms”?

4. Speculate as to why men might have continued working in the packing houses under such conditions. Why do you think they didn't seek'other employment, or seek to unionize at this point?

Next, look at the second excerpt. How does Sinclair describe how “rejectedsausage from Europe” would be used?

How does Sinclair describe how "sausage from Europe" would be used?

Speculate why men might have continued to work in the packinghouseses under such conditions

Speculate as to why men might have continued working in the packing houses under such conditions. Why do you think they didn't seek'other employment, or seek to unionize at this point?

Speculate as to why men might have countinued working in the packing houses under such conditions. Why do you think think they didn't seek other employment, or seek to unionize at this point.