Reminiscences of Dr. Langstaff
Anecdotes
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Lacrosse in the old daysEveryday lifeStreet lightingChristmas timeHorse and buggy daysAnecdotesAdvent of horseless carriageLetters to the editor of "The Liberal", 1956 and 1957.
Some horses, like some people, have a certain sense of humor. We had one such by the name of Yellow Jack. Before the advent of the lawn mower, my father would turn a horse out to graze on the lawn. Our lawn was 100 yards long, with a board walk up the centre. When Yellow Jack would get through grazing about midnight, he would amuse himself by galloping up and down this walk, making an awful racket. He would finish this little escapade by jumping up onto the veranda, running along, jumping into the lane and going around to his stall. One day when we were all at dinner, we heard heavy footsteps in the hall. When we opened the door Jack was standing in the hallway, quite unconcerned, having come through the kitchen. With din’t of pushing and scolding we managed to back him up, bit by bit, out through the kitchen and into the yard.
Just Like Marriage
At one time, one of the men hitched a spirited, ambitious horse up with a sleepy slow poke of a mare. This nearly drove the horse frantic, trying to drag her along. Now the man took the mare off and put on another spirited horse. What a joy now to drive this team. All one had to do was sit up, hang on to the lines and watch them go. People are just like that. When an ambitious person marries a slow poke it is just too bad, because they are hitched for life.
My mother had a driver all her own. This little brown mare was the gentlest and good to go. She was my favorite to ride. Best of all in the spring she would present us with a colt. I would slip out first thing in the morning, open the stable door gently, and peek in to see if the colt was there yet. One morning I got a surprise, when I opened the door the colt was not only there, but it was standing with its head in the crack of the door, our faces nearly touched. This colt, we called it Sweet Heart, grew up to be a fast trotter. The man who got it used to take it to Port Perry in the winter to race on the ice.
The Yeast Episode
In the early days women baked their own bread and made their own yeast, which they kept in tightly corked bottles, to keep it from blowing out. One day I was sent down Centre St. to get a bottle of yeast and as usual I rode my mother’s driver. When the mare began to canter it shook up the yeast and the cork blew out. The yeast went over my face and down my neck. When I got home the women cleaned off the mess and sent me back for more.
In the early Cays there was a deep ditch on each side of Yonge Street with wooden bridges crossing it at the different entrances. One day it rained and the bridges were slippery. When galloping up and turning in, the mare slipped and fell on her side. I was thrown over the end of the bridge and into the deep ditch. Neither of us was hurt.
A Bod Disposition
Horses, like people, are sometimes bad tempered, as well as good tempered. We had a mare once that had rather a bad disposition. One night, when we were driving this mare, we came to a railway crossing and the mare absolutely refused to cross the tracks. We got out and did our best to get her to cross, but without success. We then got in and my father gave her a good cut with the whip. She gave a big spring, clearing the tracks arid taking us with her. It is a wonder that she did not break the whiffletree. One time I was sent to Markham with this mare and a light wagon, to bring back young woman to work. When we were putting the heavy trunk into the wagon, it may a squeaky noise, whereupon the mare gave sudden jump, dumping the trunk on the ground. She then galloped to the road, turned eats for about a quarter of a mile and began eating grass. I went up quietly and got hold of the reins.
Umbrellas
We drove open buggies in those early days and carried an umbrella, in case of rain. This mare objected to umbrellas. As soon as one was raised she would start to gallop. One day when it started to rain my father gave me the lines and he took the umbrella. When the umbrella went up the mare began galloping. Presently she also began jumping sideways, threatening to throw us both out then down would come the umbrella. This was repeated until we got home, an exciting ride and we were quite wet.
Next thing, this mare took a dislike to the man who harnessed her. She would crowd her weight against him in the stall and also bite. The man gave up, afraid to go into the stall. For some reason this mare would let ma bridle her. One day, however, she turned on me when I went to put the bit in her mouth. She grabbed my elbow in her teeth, and flew back, throwing me quite violently against the wall. Next she ran into the yard. I went after her but she turned and came at me with her mouth open. I quickly stepped inside the stable door, closing it after me. This mare had to be disposed of.
At one time we had a mare that would not own her colt. She would try to bite or kick. It if it came near her. We tried to raise it on the bottle but this failed and it died.
One dark and stormy night in midwinter, while driving in the Honeypot hills, and as the horse plodded along in the deep snow, I thought that I heard something struggling along behind the cutter and breathing deeply. I stopped the horse and a dog came alongside the cutter. I lifted up the robe and said “Get in there”. The dog struggled in with my help and lay down on my feet, a very welcome foot warmer. There was a long lane into the farm house which was filled with snow, so that there was a track across a very large field leading to the house. With difficulty I found the gap into the field. From here on I drove with a slack line letting the horse follow that track by himself. If I had kept a taut line and pulled him off the track we might have become lost and wandered around the field all night. When I arrived home about 1 a.m. I bedded the dog down In the stable and went to bed. Next morning when I went out to see my very friendly dog he was gone. When the stable man came to attend to the horses he chased the dog away. He could not understand my disappointment.
One day a very alert dog, a Fox terrier, came and wanted to stay. He was very fond of horses and delighted to go on trips; it was almost impossible to keep him home. On a hot day he loved to run in the swamps and get black with mud. One day when I stopped at a house I gave a boy the whip and asked him to keep I the dog from getting into the buggy. As soon as I left the dog made a run at the boy, showing all his teeth. The boy dropped the whip and ran. When I came out, the dog was sitting on the seat, mud and all, grining as much as to stay “Wasn’t I wonderful.” I had not the heart to punish him.
Some horses, like some people, have a certain sense of humor. We had one such by the name of Yellow Jack. Before the advent of the lawn mower, my father would turn a horse out to graze on the lawn. Our lawn was 100 yards long, with a board walk up the centre. When Yellow Jack would get through grazing about midnight, he would amuse himself by galloping up and down this walk, making an awful racket. He would finish this little escapade by jumping up onto the veranda, running along, jumping into the lane and going around to his stall. One day when we were all at dinner, we heard heavy footsteps in the hall. When we opened the door Jack was standing in the hallway, quite unconcerned, having come through the kitchen. With din’t of pushing and scolding we managed to back him up, bit by bit, out through the kitchen and into the yard.
Just Like Marriage
At one time, one of the men hitched a spirited, ambitious horse up with a sleepy slow poke of a mare. This nearly drove the horse frantic, trying to drag her along. Now the man took the mare off and put on another spirited horse. What a joy now to drive this team. All one had to do was sit up, hang on to the lines and watch them go. People are just like that. When an ambitious person marries a slow poke it is just too bad, because they are hitched for life.
My mother had a driver all her own. This little brown mare was the gentlest and good to go. She was my favorite to ride. Best of all in the spring she would present us with a colt. I would slip out first thing in the morning, open the stable door gently, and peek in to see if the colt was there yet. One morning I got a surprise, when I opened the door the colt was not only there, but it was standing with its head in the crack of the door, our faces nearly touched. This colt, we called it Sweet Heart, grew up to be a fast trotter. The man who got it used to take it to Port Perry in the winter to race on the ice.
The Yeast Episode
In the early days women baked their own bread and made their own yeast, which they kept in tightly corked bottles, to keep it from blowing out. One day I was sent down Centre St. to get a bottle of yeast and as usual I rode my mother’s driver. When the mare began to canter it shook up the yeast and the cork blew out. The yeast went over my face and down my neck. When I got home the women cleaned off the mess and sent me back for more.
In the early Cays there was a deep ditch on each side of Yonge Street with wooden bridges crossing it at the different entrances. One day it rained and the bridges were slippery. When galloping up and turning in, the mare slipped and fell on her side. I was thrown over the end of the bridge and into the deep ditch. Neither of us was hurt.
A Bod Disposition
Horses, like people, are sometimes bad tempered, as well as good tempered. We had a mare once that had rather a bad disposition. One night, when we were driving this mare, we came to a railway crossing and the mare absolutely refused to cross the tracks. We got out and did our best to get her to cross, but without success. We then got in and my father gave her a good cut with the whip. She gave a big spring, clearing the tracks arid taking us with her. It is a wonder that she did not break the whiffletree. One time I was sent to Markham with this mare and a light wagon, to bring back young woman to work. When we were putting the heavy trunk into the wagon, it may a squeaky noise, whereupon the mare gave sudden jump, dumping the trunk on the ground. She then galloped to the road, turned eats for about a quarter of a mile and began eating grass. I went up quietly and got hold of the reins.
Umbrellas
We drove open buggies in those early days and carried an umbrella, in case of rain. This mare objected to umbrellas. As soon as one was raised she would start to gallop. One day when it started to rain my father gave me the lines and he took the umbrella. When the umbrella went up the mare began galloping. Presently she also began jumping sideways, threatening to throw us both out then down would come the umbrella. This was repeated until we got home, an exciting ride and we were quite wet.
Next thing, this mare took a dislike to the man who harnessed her. She would crowd her weight against him in the stall and also bite. The man gave up, afraid to go into the stall. For some reason this mare would let ma bridle her. One day, however, she turned on me when I went to put the bit in her mouth. She grabbed my elbow in her teeth, and flew back, throwing me quite violently against the wall. Next she ran into the yard. I went after her but she turned and came at me with her mouth open. I quickly stepped inside the stable door, closing it after me. This mare had to be disposed of.
At one time we had a mare that would not own her colt. She would try to bite or kick. It if it came near her. We tried to raise it on the bottle but this failed and it died.
One dark and stormy night in midwinter, while driving in the Honeypot hills, and as the horse plodded along in the deep snow, I thought that I heard something struggling along behind the cutter and breathing deeply. I stopped the horse and a dog came alongside the cutter. I lifted up the robe and said “Get in there”. The dog struggled in with my help and lay down on my feet, a very welcome foot warmer. There was a long lane into the farm house which was filled with snow, so that there was a track across a very large field leading to the house. With difficulty I found the gap into the field. From here on I drove with a slack line letting the horse follow that track by himself. If I had kept a taut line and pulled him off the track we might have become lost and wandered around the field all night. When I arrived home about 1 a.m. I bedded the dog down In the stable and went to bed. Next morning when I went out to see my very friendly dog he was gone. When the stable man came to attend to the horses he chased the dog away. He could not understand my disappointment.
One day a very alert dog, a Fox terrier, came and wanted to stay. He was very fond of horses and delighted to go on trips; it was almost impossible to keep him home. On a hot day he loved to run in the swamps and get black with mud. One day when I stopped at a house I gave a boy the whip and asked him to keep I the dog from getting into the buggy. As soon as I left the dog made a run at the boy, showing all his teeth. The boy dropped the whip and ran. When I came out, the dog was sitting on the seat, mud and all, grining as much as to stay “Wasn’t I wonderful.” I had not the heart to punish him.
Dr. Rolph Langstaff's favorite horse Details
