Butte record., 1854-07-22
NJ MBER 81
SAGACTTY OF DOG.

We are about to relate an anecdote
of the wonderful sagacity of a dog,
which. if it was not well authenticated
from the circumstance that we had It
from the lips Of its owner, Mr.. Risley,
the proprietor Of the Varieties theatre
Of this city. we would hardly have
deemed it credible.
Some three months back, at the time
that the Varieties theatre was still open,
before the termination Of the season,
Mr.. Risley lost, or rather had his dog,
whose name is Pro, fine, noble look
ing animal of the pure Newfoundland
breed, stolen from him. The reason
f'r this latter suppostion is, that Mr.
RI>ley lost the dog while al the barber's
shop, at the National Hotel, and the
animal, which IS attached in an extra
ordinary manner TO its master, was not
likely to have lost itself about The city;
whilst the inference that it was stolen,
Is rendered more conclusive from the
act that some one had openly said in
The BARRIERS shop that he would give
any one $50 who would steal the dog
for him.
Mr.. Ri,ley on discovering his loss
made every effort in his power to find
the animal, bat IN VAN. 1t was traced
as iar as Pittsburg in Pcnnsylvania, but
beyond this nothing could be found OF
its whereabouts. The owner had con-
sequently given up his faithful Pro for
lost, and his joy and surprise may be
well conceived, when on passing the
spot the other evening where he had
lost the dog, he was suddenly fawDed
upon By the sagacious creature, which
had been watching at the corner Of the
National Hotel, the passsrs-by, and
knew his masters footsteps before be
came up. How the dog had made his
way back to the spot from which he
had been originally decoyed, is still 6
mystery. HIS Appearance even now
shows that he must have travelled from
considerable distance, as the poor ami
nal IS yet in weak condition, enact
ated, dirty, and with lack-lustre eve,
eyincing all the tokens Of fatigue and
hardship.
The wonderful instinct Of the dog in
finding It's way back, evidently from a
considerable distance, Is an extraordi-
nary circumstance, and so IS It's Won
deriul intuitive recognising Of iis mas
ter BY his footsteps alone; but in our
estimation, the most singular part of
the affair is the sagacity Of the dog,
which had stationed itself in such a
position at the corner Of the streets
where they cross, that It might be able
to see the passers by, in both directions.
THIS latter can hardly be called instinct,
but is entitled to some higher appela-
ton, almost, or quite reason, for We are
Enabled to imagine how the dog could
have done this but By the ordinary pro-
cess Of the reasoning faculties, as with
human beings
Mr. Risley's joy at the recovery of
the dog, is almost equal to that of the
animal at the discovery of its master,
and the value Of the dog. which was
before highly priced by him, is now in
calculable. Some time back, while in
London, he was offered $500 for the
dog, by the proprietor Of one Of the
theatres in that city, which was refused,
the animal being accustomed to act in
some of those pieces where canine sa-
gacity Is made part of the perform
ance. But the real adventure, if it
could be told by Pro, would, we believe
be more interesting than the most strik-
ing pieces that have ever been drama
tised of canine sagacity = Washington
Star.