Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1910-11-18
HORSE SWAPPING.
In tile Good Old Days It Was Sport,
Not Commercialism.

In tile Good Old Days It Was Sport,
Not Commerciaiisnn.
| Il have been reading that David
Harum story" said the ancient livery
man when his cronies were comforta-
bly, seated in his little Office. "A friend
told me that story was the last word
on horse trading, but the man who
wrote 1t didn't understand the spirit Of
the game at all. David Harum would
have been skinned out of his teeth IL
he had blown into any western town in
the palmy days Of horse trading twen-
ty-five or thirty years ago.
Il tell you, my friends, all the dead
game sports are asleep with their faith
ers. Nobody is willing to take a chance
nowadays. II man buys a cigar he
wants bill Of sale with 1t. The 9TH
er day a cheap skate pestered me q
whole afternoon talking about buying
horse. He tried out all the nags in the
barn and finally decided that the glass
eyed bay would suit him. And he ac-
tually wanted written guarantee that
the horse was sound! A written guar
antee! No, gentlemen, am not jok-
Ing. That baldheaded travesty on a
man actually asked for such a docu-
ment. I regarded 1t as an insult, and
after I had rebuked him they had to
pour four buckets of water over him
before he recovered.
I'm the good old days horse trading
was a game, not commercial transac-
tion. II man wasn't willing to take
the chances when he went trading he
was advised to try some other line Of
business. Many and many a time I
had the harpoon administered to me.
One day Major Charlie Slaughter drove
to my barn.
"T have quite neat package of
horsefesh here said the major, and I
have a sort Of presentiment that he
can travel few lines when the wind
is blowing in the right direction
His horse was a handsome roam, q
regular peacock for style, with his
head away up in the air so you'd need
stepladder to see II he had star
on his forehead. And the way he hit
the road was a sin. Talk about gated
horses That roam handled his legs as
though he had taken sparring lessons.
Now, my weak point in the horse bus
iness Is that when want a certain
nag the worst way can't conceal the
fact. just can't sleep or eat my vic
tuals until that horse is in my barn
with new halter on him. The major
was wise as to my weakness.
Its no use, Jake says the major.
This hoss isn't on my swapping list.
and I'd be 9 chump to let him co."
well, Of course I got the roam all
right. The major was just blufflng.
And I gave him the biggest trade you
ever heard of-gave him matched
team and several bills for that gan
Cling roam. And when I took the roam
to the water trough for drink found
that he couldn't lower his head. He
had to carry 1t about ten feet in the
air all the time, owing to some injury
in his neck. He had to eat his faxed
rice off shelf and drink from gar
den hose, and a man needed an aero
plane to put bride on him.
Did raise fuss with the major?
What sort of skate do you take me
for? Next time I met him told him
I liked the roam better than any horse
ever say. He isn't always roofing
in the ground like pig said I, and
If you had told me about his patent
dirigible neck I'd have given you SO
more We were sports in those days.
"One time the veterinary surgeon
told me about a fine trotting horse In
a town some distance away which had
been deprived Of its tail by a surgical
operation. I went and looked at the
horse. He was a perfect beauty and
could trot like an avalanche. But he
had just a stump Of tall, and the
owner was ashamed to drive him, so
bought the critter for a song. I went
to a lot Of trouble having tail made
for him. It was beautiful, flowing
tail, a credit to the hairdresser's art.
1t was fixed to slip over the horses
stub tail and was then fastened to the
crupper Of the harness, and a man
needed good eyes to see that it wasn't
the real thing.
1.-The major had poor eyes, and when
took him for a drive behind that
black trotter he simply had to be tied
down to the seat he was so excited.
He said he'd always wanted horse
with a tail like that. He had my own
weakness. He couldn't pretend indif-
ference when he wanted thing the
worst way, and he wanted that horse
so bad that his hair was falling out.
After a great deal of deliberation is
sued my ultimatum.
"Tll give you the horse, harness and
buggy just as they stand said I, for
your sorrel three-year- r-olds and $780,
Either of the sorrels was worth herd
of horses like that black.
Its a trade cried the major.
Next morning the major came
around to my barn all smiles. Every
since I was a child and quit playing
with a rattle, says he, I have wanted
a horse with a detachable tail-a tail
that man could take off and use as
chin whiskers at masked ball. I just
called to pay you another so cents, so
that when I meet you after this you
can't say I took advantage of you in
our trade yesterday"
"Oh, there were real sports in those
days."-Walt Mason in Chicago News.
Thomas Jennings was convicted In
Chicago last Saturday Of the murder