The independent press. (Abbeville C.H., S.C.) 1853-1860, 1857-11-06
Remarkable Instance of Memory inthe
"a Horse, -

Remarkable Instance of Memory inthe
- Horse.
About fortnight ago, says the Bristol
Qns!andJ "Tiiies," M. Ring, carfyIhE
on the business of baker at Si6land, nedr
Thornbury, went in tlfe morning of,sthe
day, TO II field in which his horse bad been
grazing for the purp pose Of getting~hinis
home, and, as he had been in the. habit Of
doing, opened the gate aud allowed the an;
imal to proceed home by itself, but ION. .,l,is
return shortly after he found, to bis. dis
may, that it had not arrived. Mr. Ming
Immediately set about making inquiries
and found it had posed Grayeseud; twhicI,;
is near to SiIland, andsappeared. to bo pro-
ceeding towards ItchintotI Mr.. King .be-
ing necesstated to attend to his business,
despatched man to track, and if possible
ovcrtake the horse, The man succeeded
in tracing it some distance, and was in
formed it was proceeding at galop. Mr..
King, for upwards of week, used every
means, by advertising in the '"IIue .and
Cry and otherwise, to recover l.is missing
horse, but without avail. a few dayssince
he received 4 letter from gentleman resi-.
ding at St. George, near Bristol, giving him
the welcome ncws~that the animal was safe.
This gentleman owned the horse for some.
time, and parted with it four years sihce.'
From inquiries made, it appears,
that the horse proceeded by the most
direct road across the country and with. its
best speed arrived at his old quarters, which,
it had not visited for four years, in the at
ternoon Of the day it had strayed; away
from Mr.. King.
Instances OF like sagaci,y in the Horse are.
not uncommon. A friend Of ours hireGlR'
horse in Jacksonville (lll) To- go. to tie
southern part of the country, IL neighbof.s
hood where the horse had never been be
fore. While there he escaped from tic
stable, leapcd the fence ard disappeared
1t was supposed lie had returned to jack
sonville;f where he had been stabbed and
used for three years. son inquiry, no tsaces
Of him was found III that direction. =, A
rumor was brought by traveller Who
skncw the horse, that he had been seen ma
king his way towards tie southern part of
the State he sometimes kept thes public,
road leading toward Vandalia, and some
times took to the trackless prairie, but al =
ways bcnt southwark At one place ,o
WAS headed off in. n lane mile long, be-
tween two farms. He turned Short, GAL
lopeJ north inlhc end Of the farm, shot
down TO the open pran ,,hugging ,the;fence
all the way, and then held on his fssays
south again. lie was bound. for .lsotne,, ;.
the place of his colt-hood, wlel che ladsnot
been for several years, and guided by hisr
instinct, he had traversed the State, going
route unlSnown TO him, but unerringly-
reaching his range. He was .,discoyered ,
there some time after his escape, wien 4Fit@
was ascertained that he had taken almost n:
bcelinc from his strange Quarters in Nor
gan county to the home wi,erc lie was f0al-
ed in the southern part Of the State, =. s,
n gentleman from Tennessee related to
us :.story of a. horse Of his own, fillustra-
tive of this remarkable instinct in this
noble animal. lie purchased horse 10 a
portion of the State separated from his
own region 10y mountaias and rivers, and
| took him home by route cxtcnaing near
ly a hundred and fifty mills. lie placed
him in \ pasture lot for the night. .but.aiu
the morning he was gone. Tn a few days
was ascertained that he had returned,
that very night TO his old home, reaching
there by daylight. He had stpken
straight course across. the countfW, swim,
ming rivers and crossing mountains. On
his arrival he showed signs Of great IA
tiguc, having travelled distance of sixty: OF
seventy miles during the night, following
uncrringIy the point Of the Compass to :
which he desired to go. memorYxs
would, of course, have served hip fetract-
ing the route by which lie had come = but
guided by the same instincts which Con-
ducts the bee, after wandering and laden q
with his sswect burden, in line meclsanie Z
cally straight from the last flower be fay- !
ishes to bis cell. this horse. IN the darkness
by the night, over unknown paths, returned
Of the shortest course to his home.