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The below map was prepared by Tim Barnard.
Please note "Copyright, Tim Barnard, Tobermory."
The words at the top (to the right of the ship) stated:
"From the far northern counties of Scotland they came,
droves of Highland cattle, started on their long and arduous
journey sometimes as soon as a bite of spring grass enabled them
to gain the strength to travel after the rigours and starvation
of winter. They came from the Hebridean islands and the west,
droves of cattle, sometimes few sometimes hundreds, swimming the
narrows between the inshore islands and the mainland of
Scotland. From the outer islands they were transported on small
ferries or Kyloes."
The words below the orca (middle right)
stated:
"All summer the droves left for the
south. They would travel ten or twelve miles each day resting in
the middle of the day wherever there was enough feed to sustain
them and stopping wherever darkness found them."
The words on the bottom left stated:
"Gathering strength and numbers as
well, they wended their way on the long journey. Until autumn
made the high passes and rivers impassable, these droves of
cattle defied the rugged mountains and swollen torrents, winding
their way down the great Highland droving routes to the huge
trysts held at Crieff and Falkirk."
The words on the bottom right stated:
"The export of these hardy and
indomitable cattle was the lifeblood of the nation for over a
hundred years. To enable this trade to take place, a resolute
and self reliant race of men arose, who, for meager rations and
paltry wages would embark on arduous and dangerous journeys.
Rarely under a roof, these hardy men would spend their lives
sleeping under the open sky. The cattle were fattened on the
lush pastures of England to feed the growing populations of the
cities and to fuel the empire on which the sun never set.
The Drovers Story as told by
Angus R. MacKay, a 20th century Drover."
Click below, to see an enlarge version
of the map which can be printed.
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