The Arkansaw traveler., 1885-11-28

cured 70 me m new and suspicious light. In short, took the animal back, but I am convinced that the old gentle man is to this day under the impression that he was intentionally victimized.
 William" said to the negro stable man, who was crossing the yard as Jeff the house, "how in the world did this thing happen2"
 Y" Lerd, Marse James, just tell you. sah, it wur the biggest cuttin' up you ever did see. Msrse Robert, you know, had bin DO ~erfully put out kase the mar you sold him wur so dull to ride. We'll, as he wur just gwine to start off this morning to whar the hands is ditchin' down yon. der in the creek, and the mar was hitched up thar to the fence, he says, William says he, jes' step roun' to the workshop and see if you can't find that ar old spur had in the army. l don't believe can stand this thing no mo- if don't have no spur
 Well, sah, hunted up and fetched the spur. It wur oae of them ole timey' ones with spikes stickin' way out yonder. l brought the mar up to the do', and Marse Robert told me then to break him off switch. fetched the switch, and old marse he clomb up on the mars back.
 "'Now,' says he, 'you lazy brute, III make you go certin and sho',' and with that he dug the spur into the mar jes' as hard as he could drive, an fetched her Shack over the shoulders with the switch
 Great gorra'mighty, Marse James Never in the whole O yo' born days did see such a lip as that ar mar guy into the ar. She jes' tuck up her legs and hunched up her back, sah, an went zact- ly as if she'd bin fired out of shot gun. Ole marse! Good Lord, dunno hardly whar he did go to. seen him as he wur comin' down"
 "Oa, come, William, draw it mild."
 Fo' God, sab, l'se tellin' solemn truth he lit right on that cedar bush, an thar's the limb hangin' yet he broke of 1t. Ole marse, when he cum to, he be. gun cussin' you right away. swa'rin' you perspired agin his life. Ole Miss Sallie, she wur on the porch, too, rippin' and gwine on an hollerin' out it warn't DO horse at all, but diagonal monster or some sich thing as that.
 "' William,' says she, ride that mar reun' to the barn and don't let me ever set eyes on her agais.'
 "'All right, Miss Sallie,' says I, but tell you, Mar'se James, 1 didn't feel like no ri'lin' on that mar, no, sah. It would take heap O money to hire me to climb up on that hoss after what seen to day. didn't feel like maxim a die of it right away, and would as lief be down yer little longer, so just went up to the mar, who was lookin' as cum nin' as ever she could look, and led her roun' to the stable, and thar she is now. {"
 Well, fetch her out then, said l.: I'll ride her home. And that was the end of the business.
 Alter this irreiutable evidence of dev- iltry on the part of the mare, l confess to sensations on mounting her again that were not altogether pleasant-a sort of expeLtant tingling ran through my bones, and l grpped the saddle in manner that hitherto should have con sidered ridiculously superduous. Such precautions and such expectancy, how ever, were entirely thro wn away-neither then nor for weeks afterward, during which rode her daily, were the smallest symptoms of the mare being o;her than the dull, sleepy brute she had always shown herself in my hands. Self.con- ceit comes out nowhere, perhaps, SO strongly as in the matter of horse man. agement, and as spurred and whipped this apparently spiritless brute About the coun ", my contempt for old Mar'se Robert, for the negro ploughman, and tor Sam tor felt sure now that the lat- ter had been thrown at le ast twice) who had contrived by some unaccountable snism anae ement to convert such a lamb into lion, deepened. Alter a month had passed was once more an absolute skepnc on the matter. Sam was away out of reach even of letters. SO no conf dences from him came to arrest the security of mind into which 1 was fast reiapsing. was at this time more anx- ious than ever to get rid of the mysteri ous animal, but can honestly say that not one thought of its alleged misbehavior contributed to this desire. As the weather got warmer its sluggishness got, if possible, worse, and was greatly relieved one day to get message from horse-trader who lived about fifteen miles oil, to say that he had heard l had a horse to sell, and would come over to see her some day in the following week.
 Ia negotiations with friend, should have felt bound to mention the reported perform ances of such beast; but Tim Sanderson was entirely another matter He might safely be trusted to take care of himself in that questionable walk of life which he pursued with su ch repor.e success. With the mares frame, age, and appearance, looked confidently forward to seeing Tim ride of upon her, leaving behind him something as near quid pro quo tn money or horseh .sh as could be expected from a professional trader.
 Now, l am a light man, active and sound, or should probably not be here to tell the tale, but it was the day on which l was expecting Tim Sanderso, !, and little over amonth after had taken the mare back from old Mar'se R )bert, that was nding her down rather an m frPnuAntAd lane m yoe aen nro~s~x,x