The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1875-06-03

was a limit beyond which conscience
could not assert itself.
For example, no matter how hungry
he might be, the dog might be safely left
in room where the dainties which he
best loved were left unguarded: not a
morsel of food would he touch. But he
did not offer any objection to the cat
when she stole the food from the table
neither did he display any scruples in
sharing with her the product of her
theft.
Neither was he conscientious enough
to submit passively to imprisonment
when his master wished to dispense with
his company; he had knack of gnaw-
ing cords asunder, forcing shutters and
opening doors which showed to a GER
tainty that the animal was actuated in
such matters by reason and not by in
stinct.
Not only does the dog guard the prop
erty which is intrusted to its charge, but
it often goes a little further and assumes
a charge on its own account.
was lately staying with friend in
the country and became on very excellent
terms with his little bull-terrier named
Vic" On the second day after my ar
rival croquet match was arranged and
| was asked to change the position of
| the hoops SO as to suit the latest develop
ment of the game Accordingly / went
to the lawn, followed by Vic, who took
no particular notice, but lounged about
the lawn with no apparent object.
Presently my friend Joined Ae. "Do
you know" said he, "why Vic is loafing
about heYeg"
mo, except that she prefers the gar
den to the house"
mot bit of it. She has come to see
| that you do not take away anything out
of the garden; and so came TO warn
you not to take hoop or peg off the
| lawn"
1t appeared that she always acted in
| the same manner toward people whom
| she did not know intimately, although
| after time she had confidence and let
\ them alone. In point of fact, after two
or three days had elapsed Vic never
! troubled herself about me.
On one occasion her fidelity took an
unpleasant form. Her master had lent
his chaise to friend, who was driving
| it, and who came to a hill. He dis
mounted, and was STOPPING TO put on the
! skid, when Vic flew at him, having an
| idea in her head that he was going off
with the wheel. One of the oldest
points in Vic's conduct is that, as if out
| of sense of politeness, she does not
make her watch an ostentatious one, but
merely keeps in view the object which
| she is guarding, and the person of whom
she Is suspicious. ......-
| In the cases which / have mentioned
! Vic was entirely wrong in her surmises.
A remarkable instance, however, has
reached me where the dog was right,
and acted in way that would have been
creditable to any human being:
"Of Help Newfoundland dog, sew
eral stories are told, and there was one
especially which showed that his sense
| of responsibility overcame that of
| friendship. His master owned wood
| yard, from which there had been con-
| slant series of mysterious thefts. At
last the dog was put into the yard for the
night, in hopes that he might scare away
the thief.
"Next morning Help was found guard
| ing one of the men belonging to the
premises who had bundle of wood upon
him. The man was aware that the dog
! knew him perfectly well, and had pre-
/ sumed on the animals forbearance.
| Help, however, assumed so fierce an as
| pect that even the certainty of detection
| did not give him courage to oppose the
| faithful creature, nor even to get rid of
| his compromising load"
Dr. j. Brown relates similar anecdote
of crab" He few at the throat of
man who tried to rob his master, pulled
him down and remained in charge of the
fallen man while his master went on his
journey. After while he was seen COM
ing alone to rejoin bis master. 1t APP
peared that the robber was a neighbor
whom the dog knew, and so, giving him
a thorough fright, he let him off, after
subjecting him to very humiliating treat
ment.
1t is well known that in India the ele-
| plant is sometimes taught to take charge
of children, especially If they happen to
| belong to his driver; but the dog APP
pears TO be even more curious nurse
than the elephant. The dog Help, how
ever, who took prisoner the midnigh.
robber, was accustomed to act as nurse,
and performed the task as well as any
elephant could have done, and indeed
| better than some nurse-maids do.
At times Help could take the place
OF the nurse maid, and was often in
trusted with the entire charge of a little
| girl, only old enough to crawl on the
floor. As long as she amused herself
safely Help looked on with quiet dignity /;
but whenever she moved toward the fire,
or in any direction that seemed danger
Gus, he put his great paw upon her and
turned her another way"
One of my friends has written to say
that she knows dog in Berkshire who
acts on the same principle as Help,
though, on account of his small size, he
cannot do without human assistance.
When the cook puts a saucepan on The
| fire she sets the dog to watch it, and can
go about other business in perfect Sc
curity, knowing that if the saucepan
should boil over he will call her. He is
also put in charge of the cradle, and if
the child should wake up goes and
fetches The nurse-maid. In these cases,
besides the sense of responsibility, there
is much reasoning power and capabili-
ty of understanding human language
And it must be noticed that the dog last
mentioned never brings the cook to the
cradle nor the nurse to the saucepan
Rafper's Weekly.