Once of my uncles, who passed away recently had a wealth of stories which were told to hiim by his grandfather about how the distillers evaded the dreaded 'gaugers' - the excise men. On hearing that the excise men were on their way to search for whisky and stills, they quickly killed a hen and daubed all the children with spots of blood. When the excise-men called, they saw the children covered in what looked like spots. Fearing it was contagious, the gaugers retreated fast.
Just like the film Whisky Galore, my family claim that there are still jars of illicit hooch still hidden in the burns and glens.
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