Travellers hunted by a party of men in a car.

Original Track ID

SA1965.168.A1

Original Tape ID

SA1965.168

Summary

Travellers hunted by a party of men in a car.

When Jeannie Robertson was five months pregnant, she and her husband were camping and hawking near Kincardine O'Neil in wintertime with another couple. Jeannie was unwell and had lain down. The other woman woke her, saying that there were several men in the wood. When the fire died down, the Travellers ran away through the wood, in and out of wreaths [snowdrifts]. When they reached the road, they heard a car creeping along, and they hid in a quarry at Invercanny. They saw seven men in an open car with the hood back, wearing soft hats and waterproof coats. The car turned back the way it had come, towards Potarch. Whatever they were up to, it was no good. They were well-bred men, not farm yokels.

In that same place, about five years earlier, Jeannie's Uncle Willie had to run away with his wife and five children when his wagon was shot at and thrown in a quarry. They came back to find the horse shot as well - and this was in the twentieth century [Jeannie says the 19th]. After their own escape, Jeannie and the others walked into Banchory and put up a makeshift camp, about three in the morning, using some bedclothes. Possibly the men were poachers working the River Dee, and the Travellers were in their way, potentially for months. There are some desperate poachers in Aberdeen.

Item Location

Language

English, Scots

Genre

Story Information

Collection

SoSS

Source Type

Reel to reel

Audio Quality

Good