The silver star., 1897-07-22
HORSE TRADERS. TRICK.

Kansas City Dealer Learns Something
New In %. Louis.
II have been trading In the big horse
markets. like the one here In st. Louis.
a good many years, and It was only q
few days ago that found out
that the country horse trader san
give the city chap cards and spades
and then beat him at his own
game" said Frank Pomeroy, Of
Kansas City at the Lindell. "Your in
nocent farmer is not half 30 innocent
as he look or pretends. This conclu-
sion was forced on me while was at-
tending sale Of horses on County
Court day at one OF the best-known
county seat towns in Mississippi. had
gone there for the purpose Of buying Q
number Of horses Of certain quality for
customer In st. Louis. wanted good
looking. gentle stock between the ages
Of three and six years, broken to both
saddle and harness.
Twenty or m IRE animals that met
the requirements of age and looks were
trotted out before me, but none of them
did / buy because invariably when
expressed my satisfaction with one
something happened to make me dis
pleased with him. In each case was
assured by the owner when the animal
was first brought out for inspection
that he was gentle and easily managed.
but when applied the test found that
Just the contrary was true. When the
horses that pleased my fancy were
started out for canter in order that
might see their gait and style they
would begin to rear and pitch madly
and try to throw their riders.
thought. Of course. that the honest
farmer had tried to deceive me and
congratulated myself on having caught
him at his trick. The owners appeared
to be as badly surprised by the unex-
pected antics of the animals as l was,
but I. Of course. thought this was only
part Of their little game. Several of
them protested earnestly to me that
they could not understand why their
offerings were behaving SO badly, as
at home they were SO docile and tract
able that a child could ride or drive
them anywhere.
Il came back to st. Louis from that
sale ompty-handed. Not until yester-
day did learn the trick that had been
practiced on me to beat me out Of my
purchases. l met at the sales stables
across the river one OF the country
horse traders l had met at the coun-
ty seat sale. He laughed when he saw
me and coolly told OF how he had put
up a job on me when / was in his
town. He explained that the horses I
first selected and then refused to buy
were in reality as gentle as their own
-ers had represented them to be but
that he and his partner had discovered
chemical liquid which when poured
on any part of horses anatomy oov-
cred with hair in few seconds after
its application soaks into the hide
through the hair pores and causes such
Intense pain as would make the gem
tlest horse pitch and rear like . wild
pony when first saddled. These ras-
Gals found out that there was = de-
mand for the horses had selected and
concluded to beat me out Of them 10
they could buy them at lower figure
than had offered. They sneaked
around when the owners were not
looking and dropped this liquid ON each
OF my selections just In time for the
fluid to take effect on the animal At
critical time. threw up my hands
when this explanation was made and
took on my hat to the man who made
tt."-St. Louis Republic,