The Red Cloud chief., 1878-03-14
DOGs AND GHOS1S.
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sasta~ s.sp~vt0esss.


An English philosopher. q Mr.
Georg. X. komsn-s. Who !. cvidenti.
on intimate terms With dogs. has ~
| cidcd tina, they are tirm believers in
! ghosts and s%pirituslism.
III. first e,perimep, was made with y
bone. According Ia his wi confession.
be- tied a small silk thread to . bone
| and gave it 10 his dog. After that ami
nal had convinced himself that IL was
In all respects n genuine and sub-'sn.
tiai bone. the philosopher possessed
himself VI the end II the thread and
drew the bon. slowly across the door
The as,oni-hed dog watched the unprc-
cedentrd spectacle 81 IN apparently
self.moving bone with startled ears and
terrified tail until he convinced himself
tina, he was not dr.amipg, bat that a
ghostl, bone had msterislized itself ia
front III his nose. When this convic.
tios had mastered his mind he ficd
bowling and with every symptom Of
terror to his kennel. where he undoub,-
edly spent u miserable night, ~torturing
himself with inquiries rs 10 what this
supernatural appearance might por
tend. and whether he had committed
some grave sin In point Of cats or rats
for which the vision Of the ghos,ly
bone Wa intended ~ q punishment.
Mr.. Romanes argues from this creln
experiment that his dog recognizes ,h.
existence ~ supernatural things and
breads them. OF course. the philoso-
pher fails To- notice that the conduct Of
the dog was far more sensible than /.
the conduct Of the average man who
thinks he sees something supernatural.
In all probability, had Mr.. Romanes
ever seen n piece Of roast beef in the
act OF cruising unassisted around the
table, he would instantly have asked /,
preposterous questions. and would sub
sequcntly have let his hair grow long.
and have become n confirmed spiritual
ist. His Intelligent dog did nom Of
these things, but as % o as he decided
that he had seen a spiritual bone. he
refused to have anything more To do
with it.. and continued To wear his hair
Of the usual length, and tn cling to tina,
faith in which he was educated.
Not content with his first experiment.
Mr.. Romanes tried another. He blew
soap-bubblcs. suffered them IN roll
along the carpet, and called his dogs
attention to them. II took some time
To convince the dog that they were not
a new kind of particularly dangerous
rat, but he ultimately made up his
mind to attack them. The first bubblc
upon which he placed his paw instant.
vanished. much to his amazement.
However he was not easily discouraged.
and he attacked u second bubble. with
a similar result. Then there flashed
upon him the recollection of the ghost.
y bone. and H. decided that soap-bub-
blcs were also supernatural. Again he
He'd, manifesting every symptom of ex
IRENE terror. and has never since con-
scntcd to remain in a room IN company
with even the smallest bubble.
Finally, Mr.. Romanes tried the die
nitied experiment Of making faces
at his unfortunate dog. Whether he i,
"a handsome man in his normal state,or
not. he refrains from informing us. bu,
II Is certain that he made his face SO
hideously ugly that the dog mistook
him for "a worse ghost than any he had
yet seen. and %thereupon crept under
the sofa and tried to die. A world
Astounding in supernatural bones, and
soap-bubbles. and infested with ar
attractions demon in the clothes, though
not the likeness. Of his master. had no
further charms for him. and he prefer.
red to leave it. and to hunt the unsub-
stantial cats Of the other world in the
. appropriate character of an I'M.
substantial and ghostly dog.
He has done his heat IN d;su.o.
among dogs a belief in ghosts which
tends to unfit them for the duties of
their station. This is direct injury To
every dog owner. and Mr.. Romaues
should not he permitted to lead our
dogs into evil ways with impunity.-
Ne~ York Times.