Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1880-06-20
SUICIDE BY ANIMALS.

That animals commit suicide for various
causes, such as shame, disappointment, love,
loss of friends, dependency from i'll health,
DR.. Lindsay firmly believes and contends for
in his book on I" Mind in Animals" and he
cites the following examples:
A case of suicide in the dog is given by
Morris, as illustrative of mans pitilessness to
to wornout animal dependents. The poor
animal was old, infrm, paralyzed, useless,
an outcast and wanderer. Prior to its sui
eide by drowning, it was characterized by
sadness of look. 1t obviously pondered its
course of action, exhibited for a time hest
fancy, and at last came to a decision, and
acted upon it with promptness and resolu-
ton. 1t preferred death to its experience of
life, and refused to allow itself to be saved.
In another instance, cited by the same
author, the dog was old, diseased, distracted
with pain. It. too, drowned itself with the
utmost elaboration, first casting last pite-
Gus, "longing, lingering look" at its mas
ter, who had suspected it of being affected
by, and probably had discarded it for sus-
pected rabies.
An old collie (shepherd's dog) in Cath
ness, troubled with the infrmities of age,
including deafness and loss of teeth, in 1876
committed suicide-here again by drowning.
g Evidently age was burden to him. The
day before the last scene In the drama was
enacted, he was observed to take general
survey of the locality he was about to quit
foreVer-in a very shaky way. He then
wended his way over ground familiar to him
in his hunting days to the sea shore-a dis
lance of about two miles-and without TAX
ing longing, lingering look behind, he
plunged into the sea and expired. The act
was witnessed by number of persons on
the shore.
A Newfoundland dog "of great age" had
his feelings wounded by being scolded
beaten in pretence only by means of a pock-
et-handkerchief, and having door shut in
in his face when about to leave room with
his usual companions-a nurse and group
of children. Soon after he was found alive,
but with his head altogether or partly sub
merged in ditch. He was dragged out
But now he refused to eat or drink, and be-
fore long he was found in the same ditch,
but this time dead. He had succeeded in
this second determined attempt at drowning,
but failed in securing his purpose with
sufficient rapidity and directness by starva-
ton.
| A captive monkey that committed suicide
by drowning, prior to the act was noticed to
become morose; it refused all companion
ship, bit viciously, and had marked fxity
and vagueness-as if contemplative-of
gaze (Forbes).
An American canvas-baOlr duck used it's
bill to keep itself submerged Until it was
drowned, Selling water-weeds attached to OF
growing from the bottom of a pond or lake
| (Gilmore). "Certain fowls were deter
mined upon suicide, and many jumped de-
iberately overheard" on the African lake
Albert Nyanza Baker). Captive birds
sometimes poison themselves, apparently
preferring death to confinement.
The American stag or deer commits sui
eide sometimes when seized or attacked by
the glutton-by precipitating itself against
trees (Pierquin and Watson).
DR.. Bidie has put upon record very de-
cided case of suicide in the common black
scorpion of Southern India, as it occurs, for
instance, in Madras. One was placed ex-
perimentally in a glazed chronological case
and exposed to the suns rays. "The light
and heat seemed to irTitate it very much.
Taking common botanical
lens, focused the rays of the sun on its
back. The moment this was done it began
to run hurriedly about the case, kissing and
splitting in very fierce way.
"This experiment was repeated some four
or five times with like results. But, on try
ing it once again, the scorpion turned up its
tail and plunged the sting into its
| ONA LII 1SSS Ilttu ld1 q
minute life was quite extinct" Another
Indian officer confirms Dr. Bidie's obserya-
tion subsequently by asserting &C that scor-
pions do commit suicide * is well
known fact They turn back their
tails and sting themselves to death" For
instance, CIV When surrounded by circle of
glowing embers," from which presumably
they infer escape to be impossible and death
by the torture of burning imminent. Pal
sey's experiments on scorpions also led to
their death by suicide.
A certain trap-door spider of New Zealand
combines murder of its young with volun-
tary sacrifice of its own life. It is per-
fectly clear to me, says a most intelligent
observer and describer of its habits, Robert
Gillies, c. E., President Of the Otago Insti-
tute, that the spider deliberately sealed
its nest and starved itself and It's young to
death. 1t evidently could not bear to leave
its home, for it,could have done SO easily at
any time with its young The partial mar.
ring of its handiwork seemed to have SO dis
| heartened it that it sealed itself up in its