The Salt Lake herald-Republican. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1909-1918, 1910-04-17
SWAPPING HORSES
A RARE ART
Old Time Sports Who Could
Give David Harum
Pointers.

Chicago April 16. II have been
reading that David Harum story. -
said the ancient lveryman, when
his eronies were comfortably seated in his
little Office. "A friend told me that story
was the last word on horse trading, but
the man who wrote it didn't understand
the spirit of the game at all. David
Harum would have been skinned out OF
his teeth If he had blown into any west
ern town in the palmy days of horse trad
ing, . or 80 years ago.
tell you, my friends, all the dead
game sports are asleep with their fathers.
Nobody is willing to take a chance now.
adays. II man buys a cigar he vents a
oiu OF sale with it. The other day a
cheap skate pestersd me q whole after
noon talking about buying a horse. He
trIed out all the nags in the barn, and
Ilhally decided that the glass-eyed BAY
would suit him. And he actually wanted
written guaranty that the horse was
sound! A written guaranty. No, gen
tlemen, am not joking. That baId-head-
co traVesty on man actually asked for
Sucn document. l regarded it as an in
SUIT and after had rebuked him they
nad 10 pour four buckets of water over
MN before he regained consciousness
In the good old days horse trading was
game not commercial transaction. If
man wasn't willing 70 take the chances
when he went trading he was advised to
Try some other line of business. Many
ana many time ] had the harpoon ad-
mlnlstered TO me. One day Major Charlie
slaughter drove to my barn and invited
me to take drink with him.
nave quite neat package of horse
flesh here said the major, and have a
sort Of presentment that he can travel a
lines nd ic -,
right direction
HIS horse was q handsome roam. a reg
ular peacock for style, with his head
away up In the air so you'd need a step
iaoder 10 see II he had a star on his fore
mead. And the way he hit the road was
a sin. Talk about gated horses. That
roam handled his legs as though he mad
taken sparring lessons. Now, my weak
point in the horse business is that when
want certain nag the worst way /
or eat my victuals until that horse is in
my barn, with a new halter on MIN. The
major was wise to my weakness.
It's no use, Jake says the major
This Ihls boss isn't on my swapping list
and I'd be a chump to let him 60
well, of course, 1 got the roam all
right. The major was just bluffing And
gave him the biggest trade you ever
heard of. Gave him matched team and
otNtAdl DlilS lOl ildl EGnSlllS roam. And
when took the roam to the water trough
for drink I found that he couldn't lower
his head. He had to carry II about 30
feet in the air all the time, owing to some
injury to his neck. He had to eat his
flaked rice off q shelf and drink from a
garden hose. and a man needed an aero
plane to put a bride on him.
Did / raise a fuss with the majo >
What sort of a skate do you take me for?
Next time I saw him told him that l
liked the roam better than any horse |
ever saw He isn't always roofing in the
ground like a pig says /, and if you had
told me about his patent dirigible neck I'd
have given you so more We were
sports in those days
Zone time the veterinary surgeon told
me about fine trotting horse in town
some distance away which had been de-
prived of its tail by a surgical Operation.
went and looked at the horse He was
a perfect beauty and could trot like nm
avalanche. But lie had just stump Of a
tail, and the owner was ashamed to drive
him, so / bought the critter for a song.
l went 10 lot OF trouble of having A tail
made for him. It was a beautiful flow
ing tail. a credit to the hairdressers 81
II was liked to slip over the horses sinh
tail and was then fastened to the crupper
OF the harness, and a man needed rood
eyes 10 see that II wasn't the real thing.
The major had poor eyes. and when
took him for drive behind that hlac,
trotter he simply had to be tied down RI
the seat, he was so excited He said he'd
always wanted a horse with a tail IiIxe
that. He had my own weakness He
couldn't pretend indifference when he
wanted a thing the worst way, ard he
wanted that horse so bad that his hair
was falling out. After a great deal of de-
liberation l issued my ultimatum.
I'll give you the horse harness and
buggy Just as they stand said l. FOR
your sorrel three-year-otds and 500
Either of the sorFels was worth a herd OF
horses like the black.
''Oh. there were real sports in those
days