The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1875-01-09 00:00:00

THE INSTINCT OF ANIMALS.

The following is an extract from a letter in The Times,
from Colonel Stuart Wortley—"an earnest student of
natural history and a firm friend of animals of all sorts and
kinds":—

•
Now for a flew words on dogs and other animals. I
am one of those who believe that we usually under
estimate the reasoning powers of animals. I believe
they think, and reason out a course of action from
their thoughts. The following anecdotes bear on this
point. I have a very favourite Skye terrier, bred
and sold to me by the famous Bill George many years
ago. His eyes are now dim with age, he is stone
deaf, but he is sitting now by my side with his wise
old face turned up towards me, and a look of reason-
ing love upon it. The dog is a thinker and reasoner,
witness his acts.

Some years since I spent a winter in Naples, and
went often to a library to read the newspapers. My
dog went with me, but as he would quarrel with the
library dog, he was shut out. But one morning the
door bell rang, and on the door being opened in
rushed "Cloudy." There was no one at the door,
and as the same thing occurred again on my next
visit, it was clear the dog rang the lien. The door
was watched the next time, and it was so; the bell
pull was a cord, hanging down, and the dog jumped
at it till either with paws or teeth he jerked it suffi-
ciently to ring the hell. But once he heard the bell
tinkle inside, he left off jumping, and posted himself in
position to rush in the moment the door was opened.
Again, at a croquet party a ball was knocked into
the water.; " Cloudy " went in after it, but it was
much too big for his mouth, . and after many vain
attempts to get hold of it he swam back. Half-way to
the bank, however, he reasoned, and swimming back
to the ball, he paddled it along in front of him by nose
and feet to the bank, up which and on to the lawn he
brought it in the same way. I could tell many more
stories of this dog's wisdom, but will only mention
one more trait in his character. He had to make the
journey from Paris to Marseilles in a dog box, and he
never now is taken to a railway station but he in-
stantly flies into a carriage and ensconces himself in a
corner, whence no railway porter in England could
" draw " him. This is from his recollection and horror
of his dog-box prison.
Another dog of mine reasoned. After the battle of
Inkerman a fine Russian dog remained with his
master's body, and I took him away. He tolerated
me, but at intervals of ten days or so would go off
down a valley in front of our camp into Sevastopool,
and not return for a day or two. Clearly he went to
search for his lost and loved master, and failing to find
him returned to his friend. This dog never recovered
the loss of his master, and even when living in Eng-
land would go restlessly off in search of him. Many
of my friends and relations will remember old
" Menshikoff." Even my pug, by no means a clever
dog, has sufficient reasoning power to have learnt to
open the lid of the croquet box, and fish out a ball
when he wants to have a game of play.

Few people would credit a cat with reasoning power,
but the one which acted as follows certainly had it.
After the French troops had taken the Malakoff I was
sent into it on duty, and found an unhappy cat
bayonetted through the foot and pinned to the ground.
I took her to my tent, she was carefully tended, and
every morning taken to the doctor to have her wound
attended to. Four or five days after I was too ill one
morning to get up, and puss came and scratched at my
tent door. I took no notice, but not long afterwards
the doctor came to say that mine was a wise cat, for
she had come to his tent and sat quietly down for her
foot to be examined and have its usual bandaging. She
was watched to see what she would do the next morn-
_ _

ing, but she declined wasting her time scratching for
me, and went straight to the doctor's tent and
scratched there. Surely, she reasoped. She was a
very affectionate animal and it was absurd to see her
following me all over the camp with her tail carried
stiff in the air.

I must not occupy more space, or I could tell many
other stories, but I think I have said enough to show
that animals have reasoning powe, , and are not merely,
as Dr. Bree seems to think, guided by scent alone.