The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1873-07-17
Reason i'm Animals.

Wa So much attention is at present directed
to this and similar subjects that we may
be pardoned for adding another instance
of the power in question. Nellie is
Pomeranian dog, about thirteen months
old. She was given to her present mis-
tress six months ago, and the attempts
that had been made to educate her had
all resulted in failure She had not even
been properly instructed in the ordinary
amenities of life, as found in dogs who
are inmates of our city houses. Under
these circumstances her mistress took her
education in hand, and by judicious
system of rewards, and rarely of punish
ments, soon taught her the ordinary &C
complishments of sitting up, and walk
ing on her hind legs about the room. BY
degrees her attainments increased in num-
Der and perfection, and now during din
ncr she stays under her mistress's chair,
and when the order is given to get her
table.cloth she brings newspaper which
is kept in the corner of the room, spreads
it out, and sits up while her mistress pre-
pares her food in saucer, which is then
placed on the newspaper-but Nellie does
not touch it until her mistress gives the
signal by counting one, two, three.
From the account we have given it
will be seen that Nellie is dog of con-
siderable intelligence, and even possesses
mathematical mind. 1t is possibly this
latter gift that has enabled her to show
the evidence of reasoning power we pro-
pose to relate. -Four or five times each
day, for about a week, Nellie had carried
messages to her master, that were written
on old envelopes, and generally received
something to take back in return. She
had therefore learned that if she delivered
an envelope she received something.
Lunch being served on one occasion in
the library, Nellie sat up and begged for
sugar that happened to be on the
table; that failing, stood up; then
she tried sitting up again, but
without success. She then seemed to
think for a moment, and as the result of
her cogitations went straight to the waste
paper basket, picked out an old envelope,
and presented it to her mistress, evidently
in the hope that she would receive what
she desired, and so earned her piece of
sugar.
1t may be said that in this instance ap-
petite gave the stimulus, and otherwise
she would not have exerted what certain
ly appears to be q reasoning faculty. To
meet this objection we give another in
stance. Nellie always comes down the
hall-stairway to meet her master on his
return home, and after greeting him races
off to the front room for his slippers, and
brings them to the head of the stairway.
A recent attack of illness having confined
her master to the house for a couple of
weeks, Nellie was in high glee until he
went out for the first time after cOnvalesc-
ing, when she was greatly distressed, and
watched him from the open window as
long as he was in sight; when he finally
disappeared she gave despairing yelp,
and racing off to the place where the slip
pers were kept, snatched one in her
mouth, and, leaping on chair, held it
out of the window as far as she could
reach, and whined piteously, evidently
hoping that If the master saw the slipper
it would induce him to return. In this
instance there is certainly nothing salts
factory In resorting to- instinct for an ex-
PLANTATION; the act was evidently the re-
suit of true reasoning process, prompt
ed not by greed but by an almost human
affection and observation-disclosures and
Science, Scri6ners for July.