American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1878-03-16
The Tricks of a Horse Trader.

were taking about the tricks of traders
the other day, when an old farmer, from
near McGonagle's Station, spoke up and
said:
"Now, for instance, there's that boy
Dave o. mine He's the consatedest
Teller in Riley Township, to be tradin'
hoses all the time, an every time he
gifts skinned a little deeper'n t'other
time. I've blowed him up about it no
eend O. times, an his mother has argyed
with him till her jaws ached so she's
had to tie 'em up in a wet towel, fore
she could git wink o. sleep, an that's
all the good it'd do. Like as not he'd
come home the next night with an old
spawned, broken-down critter, with a
skin too tender to hold chop-feed, an
too poor to own a shadder. | finally
swore to cut him out of the will alto
gether if he ever made another boss
trade agin' my consent. That toned
him down for a couple o. days, an then
he went to swappin' dogs, an afore a
week we had the oneriest, ugliest,
sneakiest, consarnedest set o. pizen-eyed
whelps a howlin' an fghtin' around
the house an barn ever sot eyes on.
The hired gal got bit by two of 'em,
both ears of pet Durham calf was
chawed close off, the clothes-line was
riddled, an three o the whelps tackled
me and got away with one coat-tail, an
the best part of a breaches leg, an that
riled me up soft 1 bolted into
the house an brought -. out
three shot guns, an scattered
enough dog meat around them
lprimises to start a soap factory. This
raised all the dander there was in Dave,
an he said he didn't want to live if he
/ couldn't trade somethin' or other, an
vowed to goodness he'd leave home and
/ go right out to Idaho, an marry full
blooded Injun squaw if wouldn't let
him trade for lovely iron-gray boss that
/ Tom Billiard, up near Oxford, had Just
/ got hold of. [ was dead-set agin it,
an told him so; but he laid down all
the fine pints oathe boss, -an,made ;em
stand out so bright, that it looked to me
like Robin the poor not to make the
! trade, when a boss like that could be got
/ for our ole sorre1 Tom an ten dollars to
/ bootLfor Tom was risinn twelve year
old, an no count except for common
! pillow boss. Dave said the iron-gray was
a smooth trotter, an had made somethin'
of record at the Hamilton fair He
was as gentle as an oyster, an would be
just the thing for family buggy boss,
an, might by six months trainin' be
brought down to somethin' fancy, took
to, the city an sold for enough to buy
good common team an a carriage. The
way Dave pictured it out, it all looked
! as smooth as velvet, an so L told him to
60 ahead an make the trade; but it
would a been dog-gone sight more to
my credit if I'd went an banged my
stupid ole brains out agin the cider
press.
81, g :" Well, the next evenin' just before
shutdown we saw Dave comm up the
pike leadin' the old fraud, an we all
had to go out an take look at him.
He walked like man with hot lead
poured in his jints, and wheezed and
ploWed just. awful. Off a little ways,
though, he was nice lookin' boss. He
was in middlin' good condition-not
too fat, nor yit too poor. His skin was
slick an smooth, and full O. nice little
dapp1ed spots, scattered around permits
Gus, an givin' look of considerable
style; Dave said when he fust got him,
he clHnb into the saddle an sot of on
a purity fair trot, but in goin' down the
fin Of hill ho. fA 10
half way to the bottom, an when he
finally got him on his pins again
which he couldn't do without right
smart o. hard work-it was all the ami
NAL could do to walk. Dave said he
s'posed the fall had stove him up, but
he'd be all right again in day or two,
as soon as he got him doctored up bit
In gittin' him through the gate he jam
med This head agin' the post an knock
ed out a glass eye. The best part of
his name and tail come out in combin'
lt-for as soon as Dave saw he was
stuck he wanted to keep him lookin'
slick till he could soak some other
feller-an' the fust time he put |
curry-comb on him over two-thirds o. |
the dappled spots came off, an left the
sorriest-lookin', whitewash gray, streak
ed with dirty yaller, you ever saw. He
got lamer and lamer every day, an we
sunk not less ten dollars doctorin' an
experimental on him, for was as anx-
ious to keep him alive till we could swap
him as Dave was. The fourth mornin'
after he was put into the stable Dave
come in an said he was down an
couldn't get up. The other boys an
me went out to the barn an found him
sittin' there on-his legs eatin' some oats
out of half busheL We tried every
way to git him up, but couldn't do it till
we sent over to Mike Weaver's an got
his block an tackle.~After a good deal
o. hard tuggin' we managed to get him
up on his feet, an found he could walk
about fust-rate. Well, we had dead
loads o. trouble with him that way.
Every time he'd git down nothin; short
o. ropes and scientific principles could
hist him up again. We let him alone
for about week, but he kept just the
move a-peg towards
helpin' himself up. Then we fetched
out the tackle again, put him on his
pins, geared him up, put him in the
-eam, and commenced haulin' stone with
lim. He worked .tip-top and ca
Ill we put before him. We fixed up
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