Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1896-02-13
GEORGIA HORSE TRADERS
They Have Gala Time on the First
Tuesday of Each Month.


Tuesday of Each Month.
DID you ever attend a real first Tues
day hOrseswdpper convention and wade
around in the mud and listen to the
swagger and bluff INDUCED in by the
devotees Of the bone yard? Did YOU
ever stand around and listen to the
hilarious greeting to one another as
they ride, drive, lead, drag and God
only knows how they do get some of
the rips into town? Did you never
take survey of the limping, hating
cavalcade of four-for- penny stock,
of which you can never see one so bad
but that another is worse, all drawn
up on first Tuesdays to be snapped?
Then, dear reader, you can tolerate
brief pen picture of a real horse swap
pers' convention, where liquid stimuli
ants are required TO give CAB as well
as cheek to the trader. Judgment is
not so much required, as there is hard
" a bare possibility, of loss in any
transaction that may occur.
How'll you swap" cries one would
be trader with a limping jade with
both bow legs and knock knees, and
of such stock the more a man owns the
poorer he is.
Right" is the answer of another
trader with a sway backed, big-legged
shadow that couldn't chew a lump of
mush.
Come this way and swap for the
gray mare, just 8 years old none of
Them is older than 81 l want to trade
her for a horse"
And if such trade is made in three
minutes that same man is shouting a
proposition to trade that horse for a
mare or a mule.
Whips and spurs are in constant de-
mand to keep awake or induce stir
among the stacks of bones that YEARLY
drag about on exhibition, where every
apology is made for any defects that
may be apparent. The spavin-legged,
hobbling skeleton of horse, it is ex-
planned, fell through a bridge few
days previously and slightly injured
his limb, but of course will be all right
is tender-footed, if bare, and pricked
with nail, if shod, while some better
looking horse, dOctored up for the oc-
casion, but which in all probability is
not worth the club it would take to
knock him in the head, is represented
to be hopelessly afflicted with every
disease that horsefiesh is heir to. BY
rot +ha
of the horse is adroitly concealed, and
a "gO back as they call it, for cheat
ing, is estOpped, because the horse was
represented to have every conceivable
complaint, though his appearance did
not indicate it.
All sorts of jeers were thrown out
with the shooting banters that are
heard everywhere, such as, How'll
you swap that race horse for pint of
peanutS?" or How much boot will
you give between that stump sucker
and a bee course?" These sallies are
given spontaneously and received in
the same spirit. Horses are exchanged
for pocket knives, pistols, watches, sui
kles, dogs, anything. Last Tuesday
one Indu exchanged MS morse Tor
COW, and, saddling her up, he mounted
and rode around, bantering others for
a trade, with as much complaisance as
ever. And there is another wonderful
feature about this business. Every
boneyard trader, when his dozen trades
are made and his days work finished,
returns home at night to brag of what
he has made during the day, but the
most astute financier would be greatly
puzzled to figure out his profits. Amy
man. it would seem, could discover the
loss incident to and growing out of his
possessions. But this is brief account
of business on the bone yards of Car
rollton on each recurring first Tues
day.-Carrollton Times.