At Any Price

By Richard Stanford

The life of Donald Morrison, the Megantic Outlaw, is the stuff of myth and legend. To many he was a hero; to others, a ruthless killer. His short life came to represent not only the struggles of an individual against injustice but also the attempt of a community to preserve its cultural identity.

To call Donald Morrison an outlaw is a bit of a misnomer. He was no Robin Hood. Except for a relatively brief period of his life, Donald Morrison was a law-abiding and hard-working citizen, committed to his family and his community of Megantic in the Eastern Townships of Québec. In 1876, as a young man of eighteen, he headed west to work as a cowboy in Colorado, Montana and Texas. After six years, Morrison returned to his family to help them keep their farm out of debt. But corruption and greed, tempers and politics all conspired to alter Morrison's life from one of obscurity to being the most hunted man in the history of Québec.

Donald Morrison killed a man - of that, there is no doubt. On a sunny day in June 1888, Morrison shot a man on the main street of Megantic in front of scores of witnesses. The man had a warrant for Morrison's arrest for arson and attempted murder. But the circumstances behind that terrible act are rife with all the elements of a Shakespearean tragedy. The characters of this tragedy play their parts to the fullest: the land-speculator and loan shark who deceives an illiterate old man, robbing him of his life's work; the rum-runner and bounty hunter whose braggadocio lands him a one-way ticket to an unmarked grave; the brother who turns his back on his own flesh-and-blood; and the childhood sweetheart who tries desperately to save her lover.

There are other characters who make their contribution to this tragedy, characters representing the temper of the times and its politics. The most significant of these is the Scottish community of the Eastern Townships. Without them, Donald Morrison would have been arrested within minutes of his crime and would have been sent to prison without so much as a ripple on Lake Megantic. The Scots, who for two generations had carved out a meagre existence from this rugged land, watched helplessly as their children headed west in search of greater fortunes. By the 1880's they had become a minority in the region. For the Scots, Donald Morrison was not only a man who had been "done wrong" by the justice system, he had become a symbol of the very survival of their cultural heritage. They would not only fight for him; they would fight with him.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Richard Stanford
• Release date: Apr 22, 2021
• ISBN: 9798201810122

Richard Stanford

Richard is a photographer, filmmaker and writer living in Vaudreuil-Dorion, Québec.  His photography has been exhibited at The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, Vehicule Art Gallery Arbor Gallery, Skelly Gallery, Cornwall Art Gallery, Abbey for the Arts, and Critical Eye Gallery.  He has written and directed 50 documentary films and feature films.  The Adirondack Review, Montage, P.O.V., Canada's History Magazine and Ovi Magazine have published his stories and essays.

Book preview

AT ANY PRICE

FADE IN

EXT. COUNTRYSIDE - DAY

The rugged, windswept terrain of the Isle of Lewis.  The land is rocky with patches of moss and low grass.  Small herds of black cattle and sheep are grazing.  The lands drops away to high cliffs and the pounding ocean waves below.

There are several primitive-looking cottages nestled at the base of a hill.  The cottages have stone walls and thatched roofs.

And there is the wind, the harsh, constant wind.

TITLE: ISLE OF LEWIS, THE HEBRIDES, 1838.

On the hill, MURDO MORRISON is walking among his herd of wooly sheep while puffing on his pipe.  He is a short, proud man of 25, barrel-chested and strong.  As he walks through the herd, he pats them, bestowing a gentle word on each.

JOHN MacDONALD, a neighbour, comes up the hillside to MURDO.

They speak with thick Scottish accents.

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JOHN

Good day to you, Murdo.

MURDO

Aye, John.

JOHN

They're lookin' thick this year.

MURDO

Aye.  I'll be shearin' in a fortnight.

JOHN

Me too.  I hope it won't be our last.

MURDO

And why should that be?

JOHN

I have a bad feelin', Murdo.  A bad feelin'.  Sinclair wants to meet with all the crofters tonight.

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MURDO

Probably wants to raise our rents.

JOHN

Aye.  Bastard.  Next he'll be wantin' our first born.  We'll see you there, then.

MURDO

Aye.

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JOHN walks back down the hill towards his cottage.  MURDO watches him with a worried look.  He gently strokes the last of his sheep and heads off down the hill.  He enters a cottage where white smoke billows from the chimney and is blown away by the wind.

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INT. COTTAGE - DAY - CONTINUOUS

MURDO removes his coat and hat.  SOPHIA, his wife of 20, is cooking at the wood stove.  She, too, has the look of a firm, resolute Scot.

The cottage is a one room affair with modest, rustic furnishings.  They do not have much but what they do have is warm and inviting.

MURDO comes up behind SOPHIA, wraps his arms around her waist and kisses her on the neck.

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SOPHIA

Do you want to eat or no'?

MURDO

That depends on what you be servin', lassie.

SOPHIA

It no' be what you think.

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MURDO turns her around.

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MURDO

I've been talking to sheep all day.  I'm a desperate man.

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He kisses her on the lips.

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SOPHIA

Go wash your hands.  The night is still young.

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MURDO goes to the wash basin and scrubs his hands.  SOPHIA serves up a plate of food.

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SOPHIA

I saw John with you.  What did he want?

MURDO

Sinclair wants to talk to all the crofters.  I'll be goin' after dinner.

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MURDO dries his hands and sits at the table next to SOPHIA.  They bow their hands, are silent for a few moments, then they begin eating.

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SOPHIA

What does he want this time?

MURDO

I don't know.

SOPHIA

It can no' be the rent.  He just raised it last year and we barely got by.

MURDO

We'll get a bigger herd, that's all.  I hear McKinley is selling his.

SOPHIA

Bigger herd, bigger rent.  It's a bloody vicious circle.

MURDO

Aye, but we have each other, don't we.  And maybe soon, another.

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MURDO casts a sly smile at SOPHIA.

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SOPHIA

You've got a one-track mind, Murdo.

MURDO

Aye, but it's a pleasurable one, no'?

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SOPHIA smiles and they continue eating.

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EXT. COTTAGE - DUSK

About a dozen MEN have gathered in front of one of the cottages, among them is JOHN MacDONALD.  MURDO arrives and greets them.  They are all neighbours and fellow crofters.  Then a man dressed in a fine coat and hat arrives and stands in front of the group.  His name is SINCLAIR.

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SINCLAIR

Gentlemen. 'Tis a fine day, is it not.

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None of the men say anything, except for JOHN.

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JOHN

What is it you want with us, Sinclair?

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SINCLAIR takes a deep breath and looks at the men sternly.

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SINCLAIR

I'll be taking over my land.  All of it.  You'll have to be moving off...by the end of the month.

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The news hits the men like a thunderbolt.  MURDO is angry.

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MURDO

Why are you doing this?

SINCLAIR

You know as well as I that your sheep can barely survive on this isle.  I'm buying a herd of the new breed of Cheviots.  They're hardier and woolier.  I'll hire some men to tend to them so there'll be no need for you crofters.

JOHN

And where do you expect us to go?

SINCLAIR

I'll buy back your herds and you can make passage back to the mainland.

MURDO

We and our fathers have paid you rents for years. Your doing this with the money we've given you.

SINCLAIR

Given me?  This is my land, Morrison.  When your father came here, he was penniless.  I let his herds graze on my land.

MURDO

And he died penniless.

SINCLAIR

Not because of me.

MURDO

You bastard, Sinclair!

SINCLAIR

I thought I might hire you to tend my new herd, Morrison.  Clearly, I was wrong.  The end of the month and not a day more!

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SINCLAIR is about to walk away when MURDO steps forward, grabs SINCLAIR by the collar and punches him in the jaw.  SINCLAIR falls to the ground.  A couple of the MEN hold MURDO back before he does anymore damage.

MURDO

I'll throw you into the ocean if I see you again, Sinclair!

SINCLAIR

Aye, but you'll no' be seeing me again, will you.

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The MEN pull MURDO away.  They all walk off, a sad despondent lot.  JOHN stands over SINCLAIR.  SINCLAIR thinks he is going to help him up and reaches out with his hand but JOHN spits on him and walks off.

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EXT. COTTAGE - DAY

A herd of sheep are gathered together.  A MAN counts out several pound notes into MURDO's hand.  They shake hands.  The MAN walks away and whistles his border collie into action.  The border collie barks and the sheep move off with the MAN.  As the sheep pass MURDO, he looks at them sadly.

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MURDO

Good-bye, Molly.

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The sheep called Molly stops, looks back at MURDO for a moment, only to have the border collie bark at her.  Molly trots off to join the rest of the herd as it heads off down the hill.

MURDO looks down at the money in his hand and goes into the cottage.

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INT. COTTAGE - DAY - CONTINUOUS

SOPHIA is folding and packing away clothes when MURDO comes in.  He lays the money on the table.

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MURDO

Ten quid.

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SOPHIA brings a metal box to the table, opens it and takes out some coins, lays them on the pound notes.

SOPHIA

Six quid, four shillings. That's all we've got.  It'll no' be enough to take us across the bloody ocean.

MURDO

We have no choice.

SOPHIA

We can go to the Isle