The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1878-10-10
THE LION OF BARINGO.

Major Deepwood lifted up his glass OF
pOrt-wine, and, setting it down again
with emphatic deftness on the marble
table, said it was literary tomfoolery
"All animals" said he, ''get their in
telligence from man. If he doesn't
breed it into horse he imparts it by
companionship. You fellows who come
home from Africa and Upper Mexico,
and tell your romantic stories about
lions and grizzlies, don't begin to know
what sagacity and level-headed sense
an omnibus horse has got"
This was directed to Fred. Baker,
who had been in the saddle for years on
the plains, and to Eben Starkweather,
who had jast got back from the anti.
podes.
Baker fired up in q good-natured
way, Stark took it indifferently, and
slipped his hot Scotch. There was some
thing preposterously impudent in the
Majors presuming to tell these men
any thing about animals. q But he did,
for the Major was a well read ,sagacious
fellow; albeit, his horsemanship was
confined to an annual cavort up the
Bowery on Washington's birthday.
1.-The Apaches say the white man
takes sll the sense out of a horse" Ba-
ker replied, 'tand from what I've seen
since I've been East, I'm inclined to
think they're right. Why, sir, if you
haven't seen the animal in his natural
state you don't know any thing about
him." And, turning to Stark, al be-
lieve the same can be said of all ami
mails, except the one we call human"
Mistake, mistake" cried the Major.
breeding and training have made the
animal all that he is to-day. Speed,
endurance, and beauty have been con
ferred on him by man. l always hold
that man is the lord of creation.''
"The only difference" persisted
Baker, between the wild and subject
ed brute is that the gifts of one are con-
centrated on certain points, in the ether
they are distributed according to a ma
uralplan. One animal is Better for
mans purposes; the other is better for
the horses purposes. 1t all depends
now on whether you are considering a
horse as an adjunct of man or as a dis
tinct order"
We all laughed at this, and Baker
went on undisturbed. " Let me tell YOU
something,, he said, (which perhaps
you.do not know. It islthis, that the
farther you get from civilization the
more human attributes are imputed to
the animals"
40, you might say that of trees and
rocks,'h exclaimed the Major. s"The
less civilization the more ignorance,
and, / believe, the more poetry or
fetish"
"No man," continued Baker, selves
long in the wilderness without getting
to have suspicion that animals have
souls. / believe this experience is uni
versal. The Indians everywhere hold
to it. The reason is that the brutes--
no matter whether they are buffaloes or
bronchos-say and do mysterious things
in their natural condition that they can
never say or do when they have been
subjected to mans rule. Whenever a
fellow undertakes to tell some of his ex-
periences with animals in the forest or
desert, nobody will believe him, and L
appeal to Starkweather if what say is
not true"
We all looked at Stark. He woke up
suddenly from brown study, and said,
to our astenishment, that he endorsed
every word his friend had said and then,
adding that it was pretty late, got up,
and so broke up the party.
This conversation, and great deal
more, took place in 1851, at Delmonico's
old restaurant. To understand, the in
credible Circumstance which happened
Immediately afterward, it must be I'M
derstood that Stark had been abroad for
five years, spending most of his time in
Algeria and Zanzibar in the employ of
the English Government. He had only
been home three months, and we had
made quite lion of him. He was
stopping at my fathers house, in 27th
Street, for few days, and when this
little party at Delmonieo's broke up, we
got into a coach to go up there, and
were accompanied by q young gentle
man-an intimate friend of mine-who
was at that time employed on one of the
morning newspapers. l believe the
house on 9th Street is standing yet. If
you 90 up the Sd Avenue to that street,
and turn east, you will notice on the
north side, midway in the block, a
brick church and public sehool-house