The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1877-04-14
Animal Cunning.

Here is story which our veraciOus
Deacon E. S. Palmer relates to US, and
which we are therefore bound to believe:
About two years ago one of his trusted
hens Matched a brood of chickens, and
they were domiciled in coop in the
garden. Close by, in an asparagus bed,
rested fine old cat, the pet of the
household, with some new kittens. One
of the kittens looked upon the chickens
and loved them--loved them so we'll
that it abandoned mother, and brothers,
and sisters, and went to the old hen and
asked to be admitted into her family
circle and become a member thereof.
Blddy clucked assent; and thencefor-
ward hen, chickens, and kitten mingled
together in mutual sympathy and sweet
accord. 1t astOnished the deacon, vet
did his heart good, to see chickens and
kitten rubbing against each other and
lying close together, and his faYorite
hen brooding them all with her wings,
and the entire family acting all day as
if kitty, in spite of her four claws and
her fur, had been Matched from an egg.
! The curious utilization has been kept
up until this day. The kitty of two
years ago is now a grave old cat, but
from kittenhood to the present it has
| lived and roasted with the chickens and
hen.
There are several witnesses to the
truth of another story. The affiliation
in this case was between cat at the
Hyland House barn and four small pigs.
1t commenced last summer, and con-
tinued some weeks, on the grounds and
street adjoining the Hyland House.
The cat saw the pigs, went up to them,
made friends with them, and became
their constant companion until they
were shut up in pens. When they
ate, the cat was always present, and
they followed it about, running when it
ran and walking when it walked, and
each night the cat and pigs slept to-
gether in the straw.
Just after the last heavy fall of snow,
man in West Sparta, while in his barn
yard feeding cattle, heard noise
among his geese, close by. He turned
and saw fox take one of them by the
neck, sling 1t over his back, and start
across the fields with it to Hartman
gully, a quarter of mile away The
man chased with pitchfork, but the
snow was so deep that the fox gained on
him. So he called Mss shepherd dog,
and showed him the game. The dog
| quickly caught up with the fox, but the
fox dropped his goose, turned around,
whipped the dog, and then took up the
goose and trotted on again. The dog
was induced to tackle the fox three or
four times, and each time the result
was the same as we have described; the
goose was dropped, the dog whipped,
and forward movement with the
goose. The fox finally got safely into
the gully with his goose, and probably
never had better opinion of himself
than he had when he was satisfying his
hunger on the choice meat that he
had secured with so much risk and
courage.
About five weeks ago a quail flew in
to one of our village yards, and was
picked up by kindly hand and given to
lhomas OMeara, who put him in a
large cage in his store. In the same
room were two canary birds in another
cage. The canares would sing and the
quail would whistle in response, and so
much reciprocity of feeling was mani
Tested that after time Mr. O'Meara
transferred the canaries to the cage of the
quail, who received the spngsters with
evident delight, and when night came,
seeing them place themselves on
perch in the top of the cage, it hoped
to another perch just below and slept
there. This it has done each night
since, although before, in accordance
with quail customs the world over, it's
roo't was the bottom of the cage.-DGn-
0jlle az ~ Adoerti,er