Cape Breton's Magazine

I wouldn't mind going at it now* If I had something to go into, I wouldn't mind it at all if I was at it now. I wouldn't want one of them like we had then, sailing vessels. All sails, no power. And you had to drift around and drive around and take the good with the bad • and some times it'd be blowing and snowing, thick fog and so on and so forth • the way the weather moves, eh? But after Prohibition you could go and buy the stuff ashore and you had no worries. You're not going to come out in a boat, take a chance the cutter was going to catch you going ashore. (But it was cheaper rum?) Oh, yes, and better rura. Oh, yes, yes, yes. That was good rura. That was eatin' and drinkin'. Three-X Black Diamond from Demerara • almost dark like mo? lasses, some of it. That strong, you know. And you wouldn't be sick afterward. Oh, no. But Liquor Control came in. It was finished. After that I was going across on the coal boats. Sydney or something* Wherever you could get a ship. There wasn't much in it. I liked the rura running. There was a lot of fun in it* I was caxight once, yeah. We shouldn't have been. Because we were i'ay outside the limits. We were taken in Gaspe. I was on the Mary F. Hines then. Just with Demerara. There wasn't very much left aboard anyhow • 5,000 gallons, something like that. I just forget exactly. They came aboard and said there was a new law. They said there was no limit in the Gulf. They got the skipper to corae aboard the cutter and they kept him aboard. Then he said he had orders to put a line on her and tow her in. Took her to Gaspe. But there was a limit in the Gulf. And we got the vessel back a- gain. In the courts. You didn't care if a cutter come up alongside of you if you're outside the limits. It wasn't the cutter's fault. It was just their orders to come out and see what you were doing. And they might catch sorae fellow going to shore with a load of booze. They wouldn't touch that boat when it was alongside loading • you could load if you wanted to, outside the limit • but it was up to you to be going faster than the cutter was going. They catch you, well that was it. They'd tow you in. See what you had aboard. Search you* Yeah, I knew Milton MacKenzie* He wouldn't come aboard if you were outside the limits* That's where the fight would be* He had more sense. But the Americans, the American cutters • they'd fool around too much. They'd keep by you. They'd stay and chase and chase and chase you. And when you'd leave • you'd get tired of them laying on you, you know • some would chase you right back to St. Pierre. Then at St. Pierre you'd go down in a harbour* Well, they couldn't go in there and try to search you. Then you'd have to go all the way back again, you see? Because you had that cargo you were going to try to get clear of in a certain place. Well you'd have to go back to meet your boats, eh? (And if you got caught?) Oh, sometimes you could do sorae time. Sometimes they'd get clear but they Alton Langille: "George! $9*981 for such a small bag of groceries*" George: "Would you like a bigger bag?* GEORGE'S DAIRY / BADDECK Casitle Court 3RE??!taurant and Minstrel Lounge FULLY LISCENCED 9 AM to 12 PM Cape Breton Shopping Plaza CAEB BRETON'S MAGA2INB/4 INGONISH Deervale Cottages Phone 285-0073 CAPE BRETONfe OWN FURNITUBE SHOWROOMS Tables Chairs Recliners Sofas Beds Stereos Televisions Carpets Ranges Refrigerators Washers Sj'dney (H • U??B Bay New Waterford Port Hastings Schwartz