The Savannah morning news., 1901-07-26
HE BEAT DAVID HARUM.
south Carolina Mans Tale Mt a
Horse Exchange.

From the Kansas City Journal.
You don't have any fun swappin'
and selln' horses up here" remarked
a South Carolinian the other day in
a downtown horse exchange.
I'VE don't, eh?" was the response.
why, you folks down there never sell
a mare for $33. 00O--like the one that was
handed over just now. And $4,000 Is
cheap here"
ITS not the money that makes the
sport" answered the other. Did you
ever know a man to buy a plug for
$3.50? Well, ! did. And did you ever
know the man to sell the same plug
for 1915? No? Nearly SO profit! Think
of it! When folks get to chargin these
fancy prices, as you do here, then all
the fun's out of it, Give me my old
market town for real good sport in the
horse tradin' business.
Let me tell you about deal l made
last year. 1 wouldn't have missed that
deal for all your $1,000 FLIES. No, sir!
l had a sorrel mare, a big, numbering
old thing. She'd been a good horse in
her day. but that was some eighteen
years ago, and when last fall came
round she'd been fallin' away for two
or three seasons, till she was badly
off. reckon she was bout the worse
horse in the country, but somehow
she'd been about the farm so long that
hated to swap her off. However, seein
she was liable to die any day, my wife
and / concluded it was best, and, as
L was always rather much on a swap,
l didn't have any doubt but what
'twould turn out o. X.
You know, we farmers have to ride
a long way to get to market town
down South. Well, / wanted to take
the old mare to town for swappin', but
| knew 'twould half finish her up to
walk there, seem 1t was some twenty
miles off. She hadn't been out of The
stable for a long bit, and, to tell the
truth, she was hardly able to get her
fore feet over the log at the bottom or
the stall door. Such bein' so, l reck-
oned I'd lead her to town pretty slow
a day ahead of time, so she'd look
kind o. fresh when time came to swap.
THE night before market day-it was
Saturday we went to town generally
| got on another horse and rode in,
Ieadin' the old mare by the halter. We
didn't get out of walk, but she was
clean winded when we reached the edge
of town. l gave her lot of oats, out
of a bag I'd brought, to bolster her
up Then / tied her and the other nag
to a tree, and the three of us slept till
mornin' after which we started into
town Just as though we'd come straight
from home.
Now, the very first man / met was
a fellow from my neighborhood. We
said how'd ye-do to each other, and he
looked at the nags.
"'Geei' he said, I didn't know that
old thing could travel to town and keep
goin' so good
Get on said 1. She's as good as
she was ten years ago
HE seemed nightly surprised We
rode to the main street and stopped at
the grocery store, and pretty soon
horse swappin' began. One fellow said
he'd take my mare for an old COW he
had at home: another lowed he'd give
a COW and a bird dog together for her;
another said he'd go one better ana
make II two bird dogs Everybody
seemed TO want my mare, but l said
couldn't part with her.
She's worth at least $12' said to
'em. and she would be worth $15 put
age takes down prices on horses.
Toward evenin though. / took up
an offer. A fellow named Smith-a
cheeky youngster that thought nobody
could teach him things about swap
pin plugs-said he'd give me COW,
a big sow. and eight little pigs for the
mare. It's a co. l said, and he took
off the sorrel, leadin her by the hal
ter"
The group OF listeners In the horse
exchange laughed heartily at the Car
ollnians story, thinking It finished, as
he paused for breath.
That's a bull yarn" said his friend.
Hold on It's not finished yet" re-
piled the Carolinian. mot finished by
a long shot You wait minute. Well.
the youngster took the mare home.
When he got there-I heard afterward
she was pretty near gone up. reck-
on he said nice things about me. But
he couldn't go back on the swap. Half
the farmers in the county had heard or
the bargain, so he just had to cough
up that cow and the big SOW and the
eight little pigs. He was so mad that
he didn't bring 'em over to my place
himself, but sent a niger with EN-.
II was the Niger that told me how
mad Smith was. He said Smith was
ravin' all over-mad enough TO crew up
ten-penny nails and not feel EN-. lie
didn't say. though. that the cow-a
fine lookin' beast-was goin' TO die in
two hours and he didn't say the SOW
and the pigs were goin' TO die either.
ut wasn't long after the niger left
that the COW fell on the ground and
rolled over and moaned. Then she died.
Before the day was gone the SOW was
dead, too. and all Of the pigs-except
one. by the way. l never did UNDER
stand why that last pig didn't go out.
lie must have had a cast-iron stom-
ach."
what was the matter with all Of
them7" asked an old habitue OF the
exchange.
Now. didn't tell you how you folks
up here didn't know anything about
horse HNappin'f' answered the south
Carollnlan what was the matter
with emf Why. Smith had poisoned
the whole bunch--to set even. I knew
n when 4 saw EN- dyin'. AZ soon