Page 16 - Travels with Johnny "Butch" MacDonald

ISSUE : Issue 36

Published by Ronald Caplan on 1984/6/1

and try to handle them and they just get excited and that's it, you know. I bought a cow in the country. I had a truckload of cows. And we were unloading them. And there was this cow and she was wild. And I was extra careful with her. I had a long rope on her, and I had the truck backed right up to the door, only a- bout 6 or 7 inches to spare. And I had an? other fellow with me. He was untying the cow. And instead of untying the cow and letting it go, he held onto the rope just as the cow's head was facing this little opening. And that's all that cow needed. She made the rest of the way for herself. And off she goes, up the street--up Town- send Street, Then she decided to go up Charlotte Street, I was after her. She de? cided to go up Charlotte against the traf? fic. And then there were kids gathering everywhere. Hollering, yelling, one thing and another. And this cow stopped right at the Tip Top Tailors. And she was looking in the window. She saw her own reflection in there, I was watching her, and I was ex? pecting to see her jump through the window. But no, she decided to go up Charlotte Street further. In her galloping through the streets, she sideswiped a car. At Town- send and Charlotte, she broke a railing go? ing up the steps. We were trying to corner her there. She just went to jump the rail? ing, and she only got half over it, and came down on it and broke it, So she went up the street, galloping around. Then she got onto George Street. Down near the cor? ner of George and Townsend, some fellow got ahold of the end of the rope, tied it to a post. And they had her anchored. We took her from there. Got ahold of the rope, gradually got her into the truck. But things always seem to work out. There always seems to be some way to catch them. They'11 get into a corner somewhere. But some of them, now, they can give you a hard time. You wrote a story one time a- bout an animal that got clear in Sydney. And it was me that caught her. This was off one of the lakeboats. Damn little things, wild as hell. I've had to butcher them on the truck. I was up West Bay Road one time, when a cow jiimped over the side of the truck, and broke her neck, right in the road. And I had to butcher her right there. Cut her throat, take the guts out of her, drag her up on the truck, head for home. (And would you do it all again?) If I had to work like I did, killing those lambs, no, I wouldn't do it, I wouldn't do it. Be? cause, I'm telling you, it was terrible. Day and night. Lambs, in all kinds of weather. You had to have them shipped at a certain day. They had to be shipped Tues? day. I'd leave here Monday at noon. You'd go around Monday and you'd collect up e- nough money to go and buy the load, you know. And then I'd start off for the coun? try. I wouldn't know where I was going to load them. Wouldn't know where I was going to get a carload. And I'd get up there. Well, I knew the country, I knew the peo? ple. Maybe this fellow couldn't catch them, maybe something else happened. And you'd keep going till you'd get a fellow with a bunch that, yes, he would have them. Well then, all right. The nearest station to that fellow, that's where you would load. So you'd go to the station and you'd order a car. Then you'd start this, going around and around, and you'd tell them, "Have them in tomorrow, have them in tomorrow"-- the handiest station. And it was always trouble. Maybe this one couldn't catch them: "Yes, I'll have them in. Look, they're down in the field, it'll only take a minute." The only minute is an hour, you know. And time is important. You'd start Monday. And you'd go around Monday night and make the contacts, you Museum of Cape Breton Heritage Northeast Margaree on Cabot Trail Inverness Co., Cape Breton, N. S. OPEN 9 TO 6 DAILY P.O. Box 1644 Sydport Industrial Park Sydney, Nova Scotia Canada BIP 6T7 Phone: (902) 564-5461 Telex: 019-35296 Contact: JOHN J. CAMPBELL Cape Breton Offshore Fabricators limited Steel fabricating plant. - Automatic "MIG" welding machines - Photo-cell profile burner - Overhead cranes - A large variety of machine shop equipment We do all types of light and heavy duty fabrication. Looking forward to doing work for offshore related industries. (16) 'X Capt Btmn 5Be6 Weleome To Tour Home A'wray From HomieS Our Bed and Breakfast program enables you to stay with Cape Breton families and experience the Island's famous hospitality first hand. Look for our welcoming signs all across the Island: in coastal fishing villages, in the scenic highlands, close to beaches, museums and shopping. We invite you to come and make new friends, explore special places, sleep soundly and enjoy home coddng. A list of Bed and Breakfast homes can be obtained at any Cape Breton Tourist Association Bureau. This project is supervised by the Cape Breton Development Corporation. More information can be obtained by writing: P. O. Box 1750, Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada BIP 6T7 Attention: Ray Peters. Cape Breton Bed and Breakfast WELCOME TO YOUR NEW HOME AWAY FROM HOME! ' A project of the Cape Breton Development Corporation

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