The book Arran; - Cook Clan

136 THE BOOK OF ARRAN
Up came the rest of the revenue crew with their firearms,
which they discharged as a warning to the desperate garrison.
' Fire away !
' shouted Dan, making his appearance, and,
as his habit was, sniffing contemptuously as he rubbed his
nose with his hand. Search was made for still and comrade,
while the host followed round with (sniff, sniff) ' Search away.'
The cries of their lost companion at last brought them to the
peatstack, but Dan's best explanation was that the fellow
must have tied himself up and insinuated himself among
the peats. No other satisfaction could be got, and of the
contraband there was now no trace.
Craigdhu was a namely place for secret distilling, where
one practitioner was a muscular lady with a hug like a bear,
who once nearly squeezed the life out of a ganger when she
received his intrusion with an embrace.
By 1840 illicit distillation had been almost entirely
suppressed so far as Kilmorie, the worse offender, was
concerned.^ In 1822 the smuggling of whisky was still
well in vogue, as we can judge from the misfortune that
befell Malcolm and Angus ' Sellers ' and Alexander Crawford
with their cargo of twelve casks from Brodick on the night
of November 27. A wrecked boat, ' her mast broken by the
beam,' and loose casks floated ashore between Ardrossan
and Saltcoats next morning, telling all of the disaster that
could ever be known.^ As late as 1860 we have a story of
the landing in the south end of three casks of whisky that
had paid no duty, which were pounced upon by the Excise
officers. Invited to a friendly glass by a brother of the
consignee in the inn at Lag, they returned to carry away
the casks, from which, however, the whisky had in the
interval been run into washing tubs, and replaced with
salt water.
But this chapter would not contain all that is told of
the sad, mad but exciting and profitable days, when up on
1 New Statistical Account. ^ Glasgow Herald, December 6, 1822.