> During one of the Jacobite uprisings a single combatant from one company of soldiers, who were
> overwhelmed by larger opposing forces, managed to escape fatal pursuit with an astonishing 5 metre
> leap across a gorge above the river Garry at Killiecrankie, just north of Pitlochry. The pursuers turned
> away from making the same mad jump and failed to find a safer crossing upstream or downstream.
>
> The figures in the dance loosely try to represent aspects of this encounter with an initial chase, short
> engagement (teapots), running away (snake pass), various leaps with the opponents turning away
> (hello-goodbye), running up and down the banks of the river with the escapee safely on the other side
> (half reels) and finally getting home free to repeat the whole unpleasant adventure from 2nd place.
>
> The four left footed leaps in eight bars of hello-goodbye setting by the average dancer probably add up
> to less distance than that of the single leap of the escaping soldier!