The star. (Reynoldsville, Pa.) 1892-1946, 1910-10-13
HORSE SWAPPING
In the Good Old Days 1t Was
Sport. Not CommerciaIiSm.
A MAN TOOK A CHANCE THEM.

He Didn't Ask For Written Guar
antee That the Animal Was Sound,
and if He Get 3tu3k He Bided His
Time TO Pass Along the Prize.
Il have been reaiing that Envia
Harum story said The ancient liycN-
man when his cronies were comfoii h
bly, seated in his little office. "a frienl
told me that story was the last worl
ON horse trading, but the man who
wrote it didn't understand the spirit
OF the game at all. David IIalum
would have been skinned out of his
teeth If he had blown into any west
ern tow in the pnlmy days OF horse
trading twenty-five or thirty years ago.
Il tell you. my friends. all the de'l
game sports are asleep with their IA
Tiers. Nobody is willing TO take
chance nowadays. If Il man buys II
, cigar he wants a bill of sale with Il.
The other day Il cheap skate pestered
me whole afternoon talking about
buying a horse. He tried out all the
nags in the barn and finally decided
that the glass eyed bay would suit
him. And he actually wanted a writ
ten guarantee that the horse was
sound! A written guarantee! No, gen
tlemen, / am not joking. That bald
headed travesty on man actually
asked for such document. regarded
1t as an insult, and after had rebuked
him they had to pour four buckets of
water over him before he recovered
"In the good old days horse trading
was a game, not commercial transac-
tion. If a 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 time |
had the harpoon administered to me.
One day Major Charlie Slaughter
drove to my barn.
~ have quite neat package of
horseflesh here, said the major, and
have a sort Of presentiment that he
can travel few lines when the wind
Is blowing in the right direction
His horse was handsome roam, a
regular peacock for style, with his
head away up in the air so you'd need
a stepladder to see If he had a star
on his forehead. And the way he hit
the road was sin. Talk about gated |
horses! That roam handled his legs
as though he had taken sparring les
sons. Now, my weak point in the |
horse business is that when l want |
a certain nag the worst way I can't |
conceal the fact just can't sleep or |
eat my victuals until that horse is in |
my barn with new halter on him |
The major was wise to my weakness.
Its no use. Jake says the major.
This hoss isn't on my swapping list
Every roam hair on him just suits me.
and Id be chump to let him gO.'
"Weif, of course | got the roam all
right. The major was just blufing.
And gave him the biggest trade you
ever heard of-gave him matched
team and several bills for that gan
Cling roam. And when | took the roam
to the water trough for drink found
that le couldn't lower his head He
had to carry it about ten feet in the air
all the time. owing 70 some injury in
his neck. He had to eat his faxed rice
off IL shelf and drink from garden
hose. and Il man needed an aeroplane
to put br;'l,p on him.
did | raise fuss with the major:
What sort Of skate do you take me
for? Most lime l met him / told him
/ liked the roam better than any horse
l ever saw. He isn't always roofing
In the ground like pig said !. and
If you had told me about his patent
neck I'd have given you $40
more We were sports in those days.
Zone time the veterinary surgeon
told me about fine trotting horse in a
town some distance away which had
been deprived of its tail by surgical
operation. | went and looked at the
horse. He was a perfect beauty and
could trot like an avalanche But he
had just d stump of tail, and the
owner was ashamed to drive him, so
bought the critter for song. went
to lot of trouble having a tail made
for him. 1t was a beautiful. flowing
tail, a credit to the )hairdresser's art.
It was t'1ed to s'lJ oyer the horse"