Don’t mess with folk from the Wee County…
In 1699, Rob Livingston, found guilty of stealing sheep, was whipped out of Clackmannan (after a few laps of the town), stark naked, with the sheep’s head and feet round his neck, and was banished on pain of hanging.
Wallace, J. (1890) The sheriffdom of Clackmannan; a sketch of its history with lists of its sheriffs and excerpts from the records of court .James Thin, Edinburgh pp.74-75.
n. Mutton from dead sheep.
On the 21st January 1794, a sudden storm hit the Solway Firth area causing major floods. The toll, found at low tide on the Beds of Esk was:
1840 sheep
9 cattle
3 horses
3 people
45 dogs
180 hares
and innumerable smaller animals.
It was remembered as the Goniel Blast.
Dictionary of the Scots Language. https://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/goniel
Hyslop, J.D. and R. Hyslop (1912) Langholm as it was : a history of Langholm and Eskdale from the earliest times. John Menzies & Co, Edinburgh, pg. 850
CAISEAN-UCHD. n. Breast-strip of a sheep that was singed and sniffed to ward off evil spirits in a house. Passed around clockwise for the next person to inhale. Bad luck if it went out on your turn. Used at Xmas only in other places, but all the time on Islay. It must’ve smelled awful.
The winter of 1852 was so harsh and snowy that almost all the sheep of Ardgour were killed. The Edinburgh Evening Post reported the “great liberal generosity” of the laird, Colonel MacLean, during these hard times: He returned * 10% * of his tenants’ rent…
