Another disinterested party whispers in the buyer’s ear that the horse will be sold at auction. Sure enough, the animal is led to the auction stables, and care is taken that the buyer sees it passing.
The auctioneer and ringman are posted, and they wait for the sucker. The horseman starts the animal at pretty near his value. The bidding is rapid. The sucker gets in, and under excitement bids two or three times. Perhaps one of the regular eastern shippers bids once, but as a rule, the sucker, the auctioneer, and the scalper are the only bidders. The latter can usually tell when the victim has made his last bid, and the horse is knocked down to him at a good profit, which is divided between those concerned.
Sometimes the auctioneer is fooled by the sucker refusing to bid again. In such a case the scalper kicks out of his last bid and the horse is sold to the sucker at his previous bid.
A Horse That Was Right There.
A New Hampshire horse dealer was “burned” by trading for a horse that would work anywhere and pull strongly except when he came to the foot of a hill; there he would balk and refuse to pull a pound. After he had kept the horse about a month a stranger came along and was “taken in.” The horse looked well and a trade was made for another horse and considerable “boot.” The buyer asked the dealer if the horse was a good worker and was told, “You bet! He will work any place you put him and when you come to the foot of a hill I tell you he’s right there!”
So the buyer discovered, and on complaining bitterly to the dealer was reminded of his honesty and candor in stating that at the foot of a hill he would always be right there. No doubt he paid more particular attention to the plausible talk of the dealer the next time he had occasion to “dicker” for a “hoss.”
An Honest “Hoss” Dealer.
There lived in Michigan a shrewd old horse dealer who gave folks due warning to beware when he donned his selling clothes. He used to say: “When I say, ‘Hoss’,—look out! I’m a-goin’ to trade. But when it’s ‘Horse,’—nawthin’ doin’! Ye’re perfectly safe.”
It is related that this character had a balky horse put on him by brother dealers in a neighboring town; but a few days later he got even, and with the same “hoss.” The former owners failed to recognize the beast, for in the interim it had been clipped, roached, docked and bishoped, besides receiving a few artistic spots of dye, and having had “tug marks” and “collar galls” manufactured by skilful shaving at the right places. In his new fix he looked a young, handsome, hard-working animal, but when the deal was made and the new owners hitched him up, they realized at once that both they and the horse were “stuck.”