The Sun.
London, England, 1860-04-19 00:00:00

A PUGILISTIC TINKER GIRL.

The Northern Ensign tells the following story
—:" A few days ago, a girl belonging to the tinker
tribe, named Sarah Johnston, in her wanderings
entered the house of a shepherd in the Strati' of
Kildonan, Sutherlandshire, and finding no one pre-
sent but the mistress and her children, took advan-
tage of the opportunity to levy black mail from her.
After making sundry large demands on the dairy
and larder, she demanded a supply of warm milk,
and the good wife becoming alarmed by the threats
of the girl, complied, and despatched one of the
children to the hills for the cow, which was brought
home and milked, the produce being duly handed
over to Sarah. Surfeiting herself with the warm
milk, Sarah threw the dish and the remainder of the
milk in the face of the woman, who had privately
sent off one of the children for the assistance of a
neighbouring gamekeeper. The gamekeeper, who,
it appears, wears a long beard, instantly repaired
to the scene of danger, and having threatened Sarah
with summary ejection, she immediately pounced
upon him with the fury of a hyena, seizing hold of
his beard with one hand and administering a hearty
beating with the other. In his endeavours to re-
lease his hirsute appendage from the enraged girl.
she caught one of his fingers in her teeth, and bit
it severely. After getting a sound thrashing, the
unfortunate gamekeeper got himself disengaged,
and considered it the better part of valour to retreat
till the force against the girl was augmented. A
despatch was therefore sent off for farther troops
to meet the enemy, and other two men by-and-by
appeared. Despite the odds, however, Sarah
gave fight, but at last one of her opponents
adopted the expedient of throwing a plaid over the
head of the desperado, by which she was secured,
and ultimately ejected from the house. But the
contest did not close here ; for no sooner was Sarah
released than she commenced attacking the party
with stones. Meantime, another despatch was sent
off to Helm sdale for the police, the girl at the same
time keeping the whole party at bay, by means of
stones and other missiles, challenging them
another conflict, and proclaiming herself as the
victor. The policeman hurried to the scene of ac-
tion with all possible speed, to enforce the majesty
of the law, and under his brawny arm the heroic
Sarah had to succumb, and was taken to llelinsdale
as a prisoner. Arrived at li elmsdale, a conveyance
was obtained to carry Sarah to Dorneelt gaol; but
the drama was not yet completed. When at the
farm of Lothbeg, Sarah managed to escape from the
gig and to conceal herself among. the farm-houses,
where she succeeded in manoeuvring the policeman,
afterwards running off, and getting considerably
a-head, of him. Determined not to be outdone by a
tinker girl, Charlie immediately obtained a horse
and gave chase, Sarah meanwhile running over bog
and moor, roads, bridges, and streams, with the
policeman in full chase, at the rate of some ten
miles an hour. Sarah was at last out-distanced,
and somewhere about Berriedale she had once more
to give herself up to the officer of law and justice,
under protest, however, that_ the liberty of the sub-
ject was grievously interfered with, Duly secured,