The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1880-07-14

THE POINTER. HECTOR, WHO KNEW HIS WAY
| HOLE AND COULD NOT BE DECEIVED BY ARTS
! OF MN.
In an article on "The Sixth Sense" prb-
JiSbed in the Popular Science Monthly. DR..
Felix J.. Oswald tells the following strange
story:
We often hear OF the wondrous sa.
gacity-generally ascribed to memory or
acuteness OF scent-whlch enables dog TO
find his way home by unknown roads,
even from a considerable distance. | think
| it can be practically demonstrated that this
| faculty has nothing to do with memory
and very little with scent, except in quite
novel sense Of the word.
Last fall my neigbbor, DR.. l.. c.. of
Cincinnati, O., exchanged some suburban
property for a house and office near the city
hospital, and at the same time discharged "A
number OF his four-iooted retainers. a lit
ter of poodle puppies was banlshed TO Cow
ington, Ky, across the river, and two Eng
liSh pointers were adopted by venatorial
Turalist in the eastern part OF Ohio. The
puppies submitted TO exile, but one Of the
pointers, like the black friar in the halls OF
AmundevIlle, declined to be driven away.
He returned, by ways and means known to
himself alone. once from Portsmouth and
the last time in binding SNOW
storm and under circumstances which led
his owner to believe that he must have
steered By memory rather than scent. But
how had be managed it the first time? The
matter was discussed at rtiinion OF anna
teur sportsmen end naturalisis, and one
opponent OF the Doctors theory proposed
as a crucial test that the dog be chlOrO-
formed and sent by a night train TO a GER
tain farm near Somerset, n.y., l1C0 miles
from Cipcnnatl.) Ii he found his way
back he could not have done il by memory.
The Doctor objected 10 chlorofOrm, re-
membering that dogs and cats often forget
TO awake from ipaslhctic slumberS; but
finally Hector was drug2ed with a dose OF
Becker's elixir IAN alcoholic solution OF NOR
pbine) aud sent TO Somerset In charge OF a
freight-tran conductor. The CONDUCTOR re-
ports that his passenger grOaned in his stu
pOr 4" like Christian in whiskey tit," at
length relieved himself by stretching, and
went to sleep again. But IN the twilight Of
the next morning, while the train was
taking in wood at Kings Mountain, eigh-
teen miles north OF Somerset, the dog
esciDed from the cabooSe and staggered to-
ward the del0t in daZed sort OF way.
Two brakemen started in pursuit, but, SEE"
ing them, the dog gathered himself up,
boled across the pasture, and disappeared
in the morning mist. At 10 A. Nj. on the
following day he turned up at Cincinnati,
having run distance of 142 miles in about
tweDty-eight hours.
Still the test was not decisive. The dog |
might have recovered from bis lethargy i'm |
time to ascertain the general direction OF
his Journey, and returned to the northern |
ell fh.
track backward. The protector OF the ex-
pertinent. therefore. proposed new test. |
with different amendments, to be tried on |
his next hunting trip to Central Kentucky. |
On the last day OF January the dog WAS
sent across the river, and mem. con-, the eX.
permenter fudded him with ether and put |
him IN a wicker-basket, after band9ging bis |
nose with a rag that bad been scented with q |
muSky perfume. Starting with an eve.
ming train OF the Cincinnati Southern
railroad, be took his patient south
west 10 DanviIe junction, thence east to
Crab Orchard, and finally northeast TO a
hunting rendezvous near Beres, in Madison
county. Here the much-travelled quadru-
ped was treated 10 handsome supper, but
had TO pass the night in dark toOlshed.
The next morning they lugged him out to
O clearing behind the farm, and slipped his
leash on top OF grassy knob at some dis
lance from the next large wood. The dog |
cringcd and fawned at the feet OF bis travel |
ling companion as II 10 conciliate his con-
sent 10 the medita.ed enterprise, and then
SUNK of into ravne, scrambled |
up the opposite bank, and scam
pered away at trot first, and by and |
by at gallop, not toward Crab Orchard
1. e., southeast-but due north, toward |
Morgan's ridge and Boonsboro'-in bee
line to Cincinnati, Ohio. They saw him
cross a stubble-ield, not bit like an animal
that has lost its way and has TO turn right
and left to look for landmarks, but like
horse on tramway," straight ahead, with
his nose well up, as IL he were following
an airline toward visible goal. He made
short detour 10 the left, to avoid lateral
rayine, but further up he resumed bis origi-
nal course, leaping q rsil-fence, and went
headIong into coppce Of cedar bushes,
where they finally lost sight Of him.
report TO the above effect, duly conn-
tersigned by the Berea witnesses, reached
the dogs owner on February 4th, aud on