[MUSIC] Just as we saw the use of verse in black folklore in the toast in the dozens, we also see verses used in the auction by Ray Lum. As he's selling a horse or a mule, he may inject a verse like, speak now or forever hold your peace, she's leaving us now forever and eternity. Or arrest that man, he paid too little for that horse. He injects with verses and phrases often from the Bible. A sense of humor, a sense of verbal skill. That makes the buyer feel like they've enjoyed the trade, and they are even happier to have the animal they just bought at the highest bid. >> How old do you, would you guess I was? Just guess it, just not giving a date. >> You don't have a week, you know. They're going to hang you, they don't take that long to hang you. [CROSSTALK]. >> [LAUGH] How about you tell me how old you are? >> I'm 81, 81 I'll be 82 by my next birthday. >> Well. >> That's right. That's right. If you need any saddlebags, I've got them. This is to put your money in or your pistol or your whatever you want to put in there. See, you put in there whatever you want to, and I've got em in different colors to match the set. >> In the case of Ray Lum, we see one of the greatest traders who ever lived. And the key to his success, was often his storytelling, which people loved to hear. As much as his auctioneering. People would wander by his little shop and just hang out to hear his stories. And they would eventually buy a saddle, bridle and enjoy a good tale as part of the trade. Let's hear a great story from one of the greatest traders who ever walked the earth. Ray Lum. >> There wasn't too many automobiles around. Cotton was about a dollar a pound at that time. Money was easy to get and people loved horses, they wanted horses, sorry, I was an auctioneer. I went to Memphis and I went to Forth Worth and bought an almost a train load of horses, and I carried them to Clarksdale. And I was laying back in the caboose and all the way riding along hey $50, 55, $60, 65, $70, $75, $80, 82 [INAUDIBLE] And sold off to [INAUDIBLE] $100 bill. [SOUND] So any how I kept that up. Just laid back there selling. I never, so this little old red headed conductor on the train says, Hey what are you doing? I said I'm selling them horses, the horses up next to the engine you know. They haul all the horses next to the engine. So I said I'm selling them horses when I get to Clarksdale. Once it just taken them this, sell another one for me there! All right. [SOUND] So I would go ahead and sell you know, I'm going to do it any how and practice it you know. So when I got Clarksdale, I unloaded my horses, there hadn't been an auction in Clarksdale and that was around about the 1918 and that was during the war you know, the war was in full blast at that time. The government about several, bought 100, I guess they bought 50,000 horses. And these were rejects. And they would just, just vaccinated them again so there's no contagious disease. Those horses wouldn't pick up a nail. They'd never even sneeze. They'd never cough. First thing I know I went to get the hand bill and bill an auction for Saturday. Got in there about, Wednesday. When Saturday come, I just move the wagon outside, got up in the wagon, got the box, the stick. Went up the back, got a teller to keep, collect the sale. It went cleared away that I didn't own the horse. I had the all in my pocket all in the back.
