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190 LUBOML
Moyshe was of middle height with a red face
and a short, square-cut beard. In the winter he
wore a short fur jacket belted with a piece of rope,
a fur cap (kutshme), and a pair of winter boots
made of felt called valinkes.
The market-fair took place in Libivne on
Mondays, while on Wednesdays it was held in
the neighboring town of Masheve. Of course
Moyshe did most of his business during the fairs.
The trading in horses had an interesting procedure.
First of all, the prospective buyer looked
in the horse's mouth to see whether it had healthy
teeth. Its age could be established from its teeth.
Then the man would place a hand on the horse's
neck, while probing with the other hand to see
whether the horse had shortness of breath. Then
the ceremony of making the horse walk would
begina man led the horse by the rein, while a
second man would follow with a whip, driving it.
The manner in which the horse ran would often
clinch the sale.
Despite all this running around at fairs and
working like a horse all week long, Moyshe was
a poor man; his brothers also. He could not even
enjoy rest on the Sabbath. He could not sleep
because his "little horses" would sing to him all
Sabbath long, so that he should not, God forbid,
be lonesome.
Man and Beast
Where Itche and his family got their nickname of
"Driker" is a mystery. But because no one in
Libivne could be without a nickname, therefore
his family was called the Drikers (printers).
There were two Jews in Libiyne who were
real printers and who had their own printing
presses. One was Yankl Sfard, and the other was
Huberman. But Itche and his brothers had quite a
different profession.
Itche possessed a horse and wagon. We say
horse and wagon, but it only resembled a horse.
Mendele's nag (Mendele Mocher Sforim, the
"grandfather" of Yiddish literature, who wrote Di
Klatshe, "The Nag") was a prince of a horse
compared to Itche's "horse." He would harness it
in the morning, take it to the market, and leave it
in the middle of the marketplace. He did not have
to tie it upthe carcass thanked God when no
one disturbed it!
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A horse and a small wagon.
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Its true color could be seen only on its belly
and on its legs, since the hide had shed its hair
from the back and its sides from past whippings.
The harness consisted of rags so as not to cause
any sores on the neck. And the reins were made
of knotted ropes tied together. The metal "hoops"
on the wheels were as if pasted on with sugarwater,
so that the cart would hop on the cobbleroad
making a noise that could be heard for miles.
:7)
" P.' fr
Bentze "Driker," with bedding on his shoulders, on the
way to jail for not having bridled his horse properly.
The horse went wild.
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