Knoxville journal. [volume] (Knoxville, Iowa) 1874-1986, 1875-10-14
Instinct and Reason.

Mr.. James Hutchings, writing from
Bambury, England, to Nature, gives the
following curious account of the doings
of cat:
A pair of blackbirds built a nest on
the top of my garden wall, which is
thickly covered with ivy and within three
yards of the drawing room window. When
the young birds were about three parts
fiedged, one Of them, by some mishap, lett
the nest and fell into the flower garden.
My cat (seyen years old, and which had
Killed scores of small BIRDS Immediately
found it, and AT the same time kitten
(about three months old but not belong
ing to the cat began TO pay rather rude
attentions to the young blackbird, and
would have used il as kittens are won't,
but the old cat would not suffer her to
touch it, The cause of this was the old
cock blackbird, being aware of the peril
of its young, made great noise and kept
flying here and there around the scene of
action, crying and scolding with might
and main. 1t then became evident 10 me
that the cat had two or three objects in
view and purpose to gain. Firstly, not
to allow the kitten TO touch, or kill, or
make off with the young bird. Secondly,
10 use the young bird as a decoy TO en-
trap the old one. Thirdly, to make the
young bird cry sufficiently from fear or
pain to induce the parents affection TO
overcome its discretion. During the ma
neuvers old Tom repeatedly made unsuc-
cessful springs 10 catch the cock bird,
alternately running TO give the kitten Il
lesson Of patience or self.denial, or i'm
pose fear Of punishment. The
young bird repeatedly hoped out
of sight amongst the flowers and
stinted its cries; then anon the
cat touched it again and made ii
flutter about and cry again, which from
time to time brought the old bird down
with cries of terror or wrath or blending
Of both emotions, and almost into the
very mouth Of the cat. Two OF three
times ! thought old Tom was successful,
but no, he missed his object most surpris-
ingly. 1t became evident to me that the
cat was usiag the young bird as a decoy
to catch the old one. After had watched
some ten or fifteen minutes ii became too
painful for me To witness, so / caught the
young bird and put it again into its nest,
which was about ten feet from the ground.
In less than an hour the young bird was
again on the ground, the cat, kitten and
parent bird performing the same drama,
with this difference in the acting: the cat
lay down, rolled about or sat at a conyen-
lent distance from the young bird, yet
with eyes alert, though half shut and OH.
erwise giving an assurance that he dld
not intend TO make another bound with.
out succeeding to catch his prey. lie
was, however, disappointed and made
four without achieving his purpose. Al
this iuncture the mother-bird came on the
.,xH al hsht h oil
on the branches of tall cherry tree that
rises above the wall and If her boidness
were less thar the cock-bird's her discrc.
ton was greater, for she kept tar
aloft. Once il seemed to me that
the cock.bird actually struck the back
or head of the cat with his wing
and mandibia. Chis scene continued
about seven or ten minutes, when again
caught the young bird and threw II over
the wall, and the exhibition of animal
thought, emotion and passion ceased.
Here were manifested phenomena Of a
more remarkable kind than those seen in
the cases cited by the Duke Of Argyll in
the Contemporary Repieu for July, In an
article TO illustrate Animal Instinct in
Relation to the Mind OF Man" for the cat
showed an amount of reasoning which he
probably never before exercised because
never before placed in the same circum-
stances. That he had used young spar
rows, Of which he must have caught
scores, as decoys To catch the old ones Is
possible, but / am perfectly sure that no
kitten ever was in the garden during his
reign as monarch of all he surveyed" in
the shape Of birds. Hence his authority
over the kitten, which was full Of life and
eagerness TO appropriate the young bird,
the killing Of which would have defeated
the purpose Of the cat In using the young
bird as decoy to catch the old one, was
indeed remarkable, and disclosed com
binatioD of mental forces Of self-conscious
reason Of no trihing order, and, as ii APP
pears to me, conclusive that the difference
and only dificrence--between instinct
and reason Is one Of degree.