The Worthington advance., 1881-02-03


the process of shedding, until the man
was finally reached: At last Mr..
Stephens stood forth in his physical
entity, ready for business. Mr.. Lin
coin, giving Governor Seward one of
his comical looks, and pointing to the
discarded coat, said: "Well, I never
saw as much shuck sor as little a
nubbin in all my ife.''
An Old Horse Dealers talk.
1T is my opinion" said Mr.. Bishop,
the well.known Bulls head dealer,
who has been for forty years in the
business, that there are no horses in
this country to be compared with those
that come from Maine. don't mean
mind you, that noting good comes
from anywhere else, for that isn't so;
but the Eastern horse wears better
than any i have seen. Being blOcky
in build, he has something to run on.
while the long-legged, thin bodied.
thin.headed animal that comes from
elsewhere starts of well, and makes
dash, but he's ikesn comet-that' the
end of him. The Maine horse holds
his own, and keeps getting better and
better all the time, and is good to the
last. I'd rather have just the tail of a
Maine horse than whole horse from
anywhere else. That old fellow of
mine out there in the wagon is one of
them. drive him for a common.
Bring him out in the stable any day,
and he'll make his sixteen miles an
hour right here in this city. Nobody
can pass him. He's rs gentle as kit.
ten; a woman can drive him. Snap
whip within an inch of his ear, and it
wont startle him. You might throw
a pack of lighted fire. crackers under
him, and he wouldn't move a peg. I
never tie him anywhere. I can stand
here and tell him to 60, he won't bulge
an inch; but the minute / get into the
wagon, and take those lines in my
hands. and give him the word, he's off
like flash.
"'What do l do with the horses
l buy = Well, I bring them down
here, trim them nicely. clean them of,
and feed them up, and when they re
in good shape, sell them. They are
just like country girls in one respect.
The girls are nice as they can be on
the farms. but after the city milliner
or dress. maker fixes them up, you
would not know them. So with
horses, when they are dressed little
1t makes great difference in them. 1t
cost s to do it, though, and sometimes
we don't get the money back. Last
trip made bought horse for 1926,
and after all expense had been put on
him, l had to sell him for $3.50. But 1
averaged it with another that l sold it
for four times what he cost me. There
are good many risks in the business.
n horse may sicken before YOU get
him TO market, and either die or be
used up. One l bought the other day
for $3.50 took pneumonia, and l would
be glad to sell him now for $50.
'Tricks!' There isn't any end of
them. If YOU want to buy a horse,
don't believe your own brother. Take
no mans word for it. Your eve is
your market. Don't buy horse in har.
ness. Unhitch him, and take everything
off but the halter, and lead him around.
II he has a corn, or is stiff, or has
any other failing, you can see it. Let
him so by himself a little ways, and if
he slaves right into any thing, you may
know he's stone-blind. No matter
how clear and bright his eyes are, he
can't see any more than bat. Back
him up, too. Some horses show their
weaknesses and tricks that way when
they don in any another.
BE as smart as you can, and you'll
get caught sometimes. Even an ex.
pert gets stuck. Il horse may look
ever 50 nice, and go 4 mile minute,
and yet have fits, for instance. There
ism live man could tell it till some-
thing happens. Or he may have a
weak back. Give him the whip, and
off he goes a mile or two; then, all of a
sudden, he sits ri ght down in the road
After rest he gets up and starts
again, but he soon sits down for good,
and nothing but derrick could raise
him. There are sharpers in New York
who make a business of such horses,
After the sale, they have their agents
slyly follow the bvyer, and when the
final breakdown comes, they step up,
and after expressing their sympathy
for him, buy the horse back again for
a mere song, only to sell him again at
fancy figure to the next greenhorn
who may come. Even a horse with
the heaves may be doctored up so you
| can't tell him. They feed him on wet
grain for a while, and then when they
show him off, drive him so snlartly
| that you can't see that there's any,
thing wrong.
''Do y0n know what a dummy is!
You don't! Well Ill tell you. He S
horse that don't know anything. His
brain is gone wrong. \ dark stall and
overfeeding have ruined his digestion,
and that has affected his brain. Drive
him out a ways and pretty soon he'll
jerk his head around and pull right
on one line. You can't hold him: its
of 10 use to try. The first thing, you
know he's dumped you in ditch, or
smashed you against lamp post. Tie
him in the stable, and he'll back up
till he brakes every rope or strap
you put on him. Stretch 4 rope across
the end of the stall SO he can't back
out. and he'll climb up the wall.
Maybe you don't believe it, but it's SO.
II have seen one go clear up stairs,
and once l saw one 60 out of second.
rtory window. and another walked off
a dock into the river. Watch him
when he's eating, and you'll often see
him go to sleep with the feed in his
mouth. He doesn't know any better;
he's just \ fool. bought one of these
idiots when I was a beginner in the
business. He broke everything in the
stable, and then went up the wall like
lunatic. Afterward one of the boys
that groomed him for the man / bought
him of admitted that the animal was
Just l-c.<-tIc bit dumb. I can tell one
now the minute set eyes on him.
lie steps ~nconemo1,ly high. In most
cases, when you see horses do that, be
sure he's dummy.
'What do we do with horses we
get stuck on!' Send them to the auc-
tion, where buyerys take all the risks.
NO reputable dealer ever sells a bad
one any other way. It doesn't pay to
do it.
II could talk all day about these
things, onl yy0ur paper is full now. l