The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-07-12

elephants haunt half the jungles of
that vast country if the natives may
be believed. Here is a typical story:
"By the beard of my father, Sahib
1 speak straight words" said an old
Mahommedan mahout lone evening
we were hunting wild elephants in the
jungle for our lord, the Maharaja Of
Gildhaur 1 saw a large tusker alone
by a pool. His color was grayish-
white. and my heart beat fast, for l
thought Allah had been gracious to
me, and had placed in my hands that
greatest of all prizes-a Lord White
Elephant. Cautiously l edged my own
fame elephant towards him, hoping
that while they made friends / could
bind him fast to tree by the heel
rope.
my beast trumpeted in terror and
trembled violently, but 1 goaded him
on. And then, when I put my hand
on the white elephant I felt nothing
but air. 1t was a. ghost elephant-one
of those elephants which come back
after death to walk the earth because
in this life they went musth' and muir
dered men.
II fed from the spot as if Shaitan
himself were at my heels, and soon
afterwards l made a pilgrimage to
Mecca to avert the curse. But my
elephant fell sick and died"
IH-Used Animals Haunt Their Tor
turers.
The Jains, powerful religious sect
in India. who devote themselves to
caring for animals, teach that any an
imal which is ill-treated during its
early life will return in spirit form
after death to haunt its oppressor. 1t
will infiict upon him all the torments
il has endured-and worse. His crops
win fail, his children die, his wife
prove unfaithful, MS enemies triumph
over him, and his body be racked with
all manner of aches and pains. Nat
urally, this doctrine does more to pro-
mote kindness to dump creatures than
any Society for the Prevention to
Cruelty to Animals could do.
Chinese folklore abounds with stories
of the Infused pet monkey who returns
after death to worry the people who
! tormented him in the flesh. This mon
key is never seen-only felt and heard
He sits on his former masters bed at
night gibbering at him and pulling his
pigtail, or he appears at meal times
and snatches away the food as it is
! being conveyed to the mouth. Madness
and death are said to be the inevitable
doom of anybody haunted by this most
uncomfortable spectre.
Two German Legends.
Travellers in the remoter parts OF
| Germany are pretty sure to come
across stories of animal ghosts. In
| deed, Germany has a finer crop of all
sorts and conditions of ghosts than any
| other country in the world. The most
| famous of these stories is that of the
wild Troop of Rodenstein.'
Before ii passed over" as Spiritual
! lists say, this troop was a band OF rob-
/ bers who owned the castle of Roden-
stein and committed many frightful
! crimes. To this day, it is said, the
! troop may be heard dashing madly
| along the road to the castle. Nothing
! is seen. but the hoof-beats and neigh
| ing of the horses, the curses of the
troopers and the barking of hounds
make the peasant shudder as they pass
| by him on the lonely road.
! Ghostly flocks of sheep are also fire.
| quently seen by the peasants of some
parts of Germany, if their word may
/ be accepted. 1t is supported by sew
eral tourists, including an English
| clergyman. The latter declares that the
| driver of his carriage got down and
/ found himself in the midst of the ami
mails, the size and beauty of which as.
tonished him. They passed him at ar
unusual rate, whilst he made his way
I through them to find the shepherd
when, on getting to the end of the
flock. they suddenly disappeared. He
then first learned that his fellow trav-
elers had not seen them at all.
| Another clergyman who met the
spectral muttons declares that he Saw
a large flock of sheep which stretched