The Democrat. (Scotland Neck, Halifax Co., N.C.) 1884-1896, 1885-10-08
SAVED BY A JACKAL.

VA LII III II VAOAl1Ls
"Jackals are at once the bane
and the blessing of Indla," said a !
gentleman whose face, either through
a disorganized liver or from q quar-
ter of century of steady curry-eat,
ling under an eastern sun, or in con-
sequence of both, had acquired a
rich yellow hue. s'They Danish
sheep with their nightly bowling,
and sometimes they carry off al
child, but they are the scavengers of
the plans, which, I think, would
hardly be habitable without them.
Let me tell you a curious story about
one of the brutes saving child.
Il had better say at once, to
check undue sympathy, that the
jackal which rescued Lal Chokre,
acted purely as an involuntary agent
for he certainly intended to eat her.
The little girls name given to her
in England year previously, was
Masel Stern. Her father Col, Stern
whose regiment was in India, was
on leave of absence in his native
land when little Mabel was born
and three months later rumors of
the coming mutiny in India began to
be heard. Col Stern was ordered
to rejoin his command, and with his
wife, who insisted on accompanying
him, his infant daughter and an
ayah, or native nurse obtained with
some difficulty in London he turned
his face eastward. When he stepped
ashore in Calcutta the country was
in fame of jnsurrectlon, and the col
onel learned that his own regiment
composed Of Sepoys, recruited chief
ly in the northwest, had been among
the first to turn the arms they had
obtained and the arts they had
learned from their English masters
against their teachers. He was or
dered to do general daty with the
forces at Delhi and still accompanied
by his wife and child, through the
ayah refused to go any further, he
went up the country.
"The last scenes Of the mutiny
were being played. Their horrors
and those that preceded them are
too we'll known to need description.
Col. Stern and his little family, with
another ayah. were living in bung>
allow, or Indian house, few miles
from Delhi, and keeping careful
watch at night time, for parties of
dlsbanded mutiueers were still prowl-
ing about actuated by one prevailing
purpose, to murder white men, wo-
men, and children whenever they
could do so with q fair chance of
escaping with their lives: The col
onel was an old Indian campaigner,
and was apprehensive of an attack.
1t came at last in broad daylight,
and when the master Of the house
and his wife were absent in the city
for an hour, and nobody was in the
bungalow except the ayah and the
child. When the colonel and Mrs
Stern returned Mabel was gone, and
the ayah, who seemed halt-distracted
told the story in her native tongue.
'They came Mem-Sahib,' she said
excitedly addressing Mrs. Stern,
so quickly that 1 heard no noise until
they were in the room, Where is the
Sahib Logue? said one of them. l
told them the colonel had gone out
and would not be back before night.
They wanted to know where the Mem
Sahib was. I told them you
we're with him. Great Allah said
the leader, nobody to kill! Then a
dirty little fellow, who lives by rob
berry and mutinied but never fought
said:
"There is still the chokrG."
&" oh! Mem Sahib! l put my
forehead to the ground to them.
said Kill me.bnt spare the chokrG.'
At last they said should not see the
baby die. The leader asked her
what her name was, and I said Ma
bel Stern. ''That will not do, said
the man. She must not meet Allah
i with such q name as that. The
country is still red with blood. Let
us call her Eal Chokre. (Red GirD.
( Then they took her away.
i "Mrs. Stern shrieked and rushed
toward the door. The colonel stop
ped her.
i "'What will they do with our ba>
Ilby? he asked the ayah.