I bought another little horse two years ago from Eldon MacLeod. 375 dollars. I took him down to the race here.... And he wins. And when the rugs was put up in the fall he was the second—best down there. He got another 35-dollar rug.

So, I was keeping him. An old fellow from up at Dundas was driving him, and he wanted to buy him all along, and I wouldn’t sell him. So, I thought he was taking the heaves. I sold him. I lost a hundred and some dollars on him. But I sold him. Jesus Christ, is he racing over on the other side and everywheres now? He just had took a virus or something.

Oh, I had a beautiful mare last winter. I made a bitch of it, though. I’ll tell you what I done. I had a little yella mare; wouldn’t ’a taken a thousand dollars for her. I bought her for 330 dollars. But the woman I bought her from wrote out a note. And I never read the damn note. And they made three trips here back for her this spring.

So the fella hit me two or three blows. I’ll tell you who he is.... He near killed me down at Charlie Morrison’s. He was trying to take the mare and I wouldn’t [let him]. So they made three or four trips after her. So I give her to them back. I got what I paid for her but, oh, she was the best on the Island. Mary Belle [Morrison, a neighbour] was going to shoot me for parting with her.... I was up to try to buy her since, but [they] wouldn’t sell her. But I’m going up again some of these days. I’d love to get that yella mare back. Oh, I’d give anything for her. But I guess I’ll never get her back, though.

New Line

The first car I bought was in Boston. I had three or four here too. I’d have one now, only I made a bitch of it a few years ago you know. Let my licence run out.

I was in Boston; I had no licence — wait now. I bought a car, a nice little Chev. I guess I paid more for parking it than I paid for it. I had it up there for a long time you know.... I sold [it] up there afterwards. I got a little more than I paid for it.

The first car I bought [here], I believe it was from Cameron MacPhee*. He was selling them. A Chev, a little Chev. I traded it for that big Chalmers, a great, big seven—passenger car I got at Montague. I used to haul potatoes away with it. Do you remember? Oh Jesus, a great, big car. I bet it used to take 50 bags of potatoes... And then, oh, I bought a lovely little coupe car from MacDonald. He was killed at Montague. It was only used a little bit. I lent it to a couple of fellas and they damned near ruined it. I sold it to Clarence Martin.

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68 BELFAST PEOPLE