The Balky Hoss

The pleasant recollections if the ones that mostly last, But there’s sometimes other memories come a creepin’ from the past. How you lost your summer’s wages, on a horse you thought could run. How a big buck stood and watched you when you didn’t have a gun. Then one evening at a shindig, you thought you was doin’ fine Till some people come and told you you was gittin’ out of line. You rode ten miles to a dance once. When you got there you was sore. You had got your dates all tangled. It had been the night before. You have got some recollections of some gal that let you down, But remember when your hoss balked on the main street right in town. Yes, you had a sneaky feelin’ that you mebby wasn’t boss When he turned around and throwed his head across the other hoss. You would like to took a rifle and have downed him with some slugs. He was lookin’ at you pig eyed standin’ crosswise in the tugs. You hated the old critter till you wisht that he was dead. You would like to took a hammer and just knocked him in the head. Then the crowd all gathered round you fer to git in on the show. Every one of them could tell you what to do to make him go. There was some that said he’d ort to be jest tickled with a switch. Some said beat him with a stay chain, others said to git a twitch. Some said to git a jocky stick and that would help perhaps While others said to put one ear inside the head stall straps. Some said punch him in the belly. Others said pick up his feet. And one allowed he ort to have a little bite to eat. The tough guys said to choke him and to shut off all his wind. Or mebbyso to knock him down and let him up ag’in. One said that he could start him with some paper and a match. Or put a rope behind his knees and saw to make him stretch. Oh yes, there was a hundred things they wanted you to try. One was to take tobacker juice and squirt it in his eye. You tried to keep your temper. You was shakin’, you was pale. Every now and then some wise guy asked you if he was fer sale. But it wasn’t no use tryin’ and your temper got plum lost When some feller on the side walk yelled and asked how much he cost. And when you got to hatin’ every body in your heart, The hoss got tired waitin’, straightened out and made a start. It surely was a big relief to git out on the road. Got some cuss words off your stummick; eased your mind quite a load. You swore to God you’d never drive that hoss to town ag’in. You swapped him to another man. You thought he didn’t know. But he hadn’t any trouble gittin’ that old hoss to go. It sort of set you thinkin’ and the idee come to you, That there might be balky hosses, but there’s balky drivers too.