298 SWAPPING HORSES "AND HORSE JOCKEY TRICKS. 



taken by one of those terrible New England thunder storms, 

 and in this case the thunder was most terrific and the light- 

 ning almost incessant. The result was his horse became very- 

 nervous, and much excited, and tried to run ; and as he was 

 driving with one hand and carrying an umbrella in the other, 

 he dropped the umbrella in order to have both hands to man- 

 age the horse. The umbrella had a crooked handle, and this 

 crook caught somewhere either around the shaft or some other 

 place and drew along on the ground beside the horse, which 

 frightened him still more, and as he could not run he resorted 

 to the alternative of kicking. He only kicked once, but that 

 once was enough to frighten his owner to the extent of never 

 wishing to use him any more. Consequently he was ready to 

 " swap." 



Well, it so happened that a neighbor of his, and living on 

 a farm adjoining his, but on another road, had a very old black 

 horse which, on account of his age, he did not care to winter, 

 although he had been a good one and was about the size and 

 much the same build as the pair mentioned — he being a Cana- 

 dian, also. Well, the old black horse was . disposed of and his 

 place filled by a younger horse, and one day a stranger came 

 to the farmhouse of the gentleman owning the pair and driv- 

 ing a fine-looking black horse. He said that he had heard that 

 the proprietor of the place had a dangerous, vicious, and un- 

 ruly horse to dispose of, and that he wished to match a good 

 one of a black color. He had the goods with him to do it 

 with. 



After thoroughly trying the stranger's horse, both double 

 and single, it was decided that he was perfectly safe in all har- 

 ness, and there was no doubt that he was the horse wanted to 

 fill the place of that terrible runner and kicker. The stranger 

 asked $200 to boot, but finally the deal was consummated by 

 my neighbor giving the stranger his horse and a check for $150. 

 A short time after this trade a local horse jockey called on my 

 neighbor of the pair, saying that he had heard that a mate had 

 been obtained for his favorite horse, and being shown the new 



