The Saline County journal. [volume] (Salina, Kan.) 1871-1893, 1873-08-28

A writer in the London Quarterly Re-
rie,c adduces many pretty instance OF
affection sagacity, end cunning IN dsgs.
A dog deserted BY his master will take
some cast-o6 gar. en-: and lie ON 1t for
dave the sight Of tho cleaning of guns
preparatory to tho 18th Of August 6lls
him with raPturous anticpati:ns O.
sport; tho taking tip hat or sti"k
makes him leap for joy. As itis prob
able he has dreams in which are rcpor-
duced the impression made on his
memory, 90 it is probable that when
waking be may follow imaginary sences,
which the ,nemorativc faculty, or hope,
or fear may depict on the Imagination.
He is said 20 distinguish at . glance a
,ramp OF . swcll-mob's man from q gem
tleman, even in the most soiled attire.
lie will steal away unperceived on .
poaching expedition, perhaps invite .
scrviccable companion to assist HIM,
and, whom ell 10 over, steal back into
the kennel, and sometimes even, wiring
rlo his head back into his collar. A
dog which once saw his master drop q
q s0ld coin on the floor 10 related to nave
picked it up, and to have sat tho whole
day with it in his mouth, refusing to
cat anything till his master returned,
for fear he should drop the treasure.
A poodle puppy, unable to resist temp
,ation, stole . pigeon out OF pipe,
and TO avoid detection, filed up the
hole with bit of damp inky swongc
taken from q writing-tsble, A dog has
been known to simulate . quarrel with
another dog, outside door into which
he wished to gain admission, because q
real quarrel the day before had led to
that result The story Of tho dog,
which, being discarded by bis master,
was seen deliberately to stand casing
Mt the rushing waters Of the Loire, then
painfully lift himself on bis crippled
legs, and leap into tho water, and
when stick was stretched out to him,
gave look of despair, turned his hoad
away and foated down without an
effort to save himself, has little of poet
r. in it, but We are not prepared to
deny any thing except the consciousness
II. e., real delibcrxtion or the intention
Of the act. With this exception, there
is nothing here, or in much more won
derfal stories of the cunning and a!f:c
ton of animals, that is at all inconsistent
with the theory we lay down. The
combinations Of direct perception, feel
ing, mcmorative and cstimative power,
and adaptations to the ever-cl'anging
circumstances of their life are only
second to the variations Of operations Of
intellectual life. Yhe difference 10 that
in animals the perception is Of the in
diridual and particular good or evil, and
that the operations that lead to the won
derful variety of the acts which so much
resemble men are without reflex con.
sciousess, whereas the human mind
pcrccives the good and evil, in the alb.
stract at least, implicitly, and is capable
Of cOnciOus reflection in its acts. And
five wish to realize in some sonce the
state Of boasts, we have only to rcmcm-
Der that many of our most complicated
acts, which in themselves seem 10 require
q long train of thought may DO per-
formed unccnsciously by the mere force
of habit. What is thus IN occasional
state in beasts, who have not The power
Of consciousness, but for whom nature
supplies that concatcnatiOn Of sensitive
operations which in US minister TO our
intellect, but would have been sufficient
for our animal nature, and arc ali that is
given to beasts.