The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1883-03-18
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The memory OF tho horse is remarkably
good as almost every ono must have had 90
casion to observe who has driven one over
roads which the animal may have only once
raversed long timo before. Some OF the cur
rent anecdotes on this head may be deemed
apocryphal. but we may. doubtless. accept as
entirely authentic the incident recorded In the
following extract from q letter to Darwin from
the Rev. Il. II. Wedgwood and found among tho
formers manuscripts want to tell you OF an
instance OF long memory In aAorso. have Just
driven my pony down from London. and
though she has not been here for eight years.
she remembered her way quite we'll. and made
bolt for the stables whore used to keep her."
Among the examples OF the display Of intelli-
gcnco By the horse tribe the author quotes ono
from q letter received by him from Mr..
W. ]. Fleming The latter had. 1t seems.
vicious horse. which. while being groomod.
used frequently to throw o ball OF wood at
tached to his halter at his attendant. He did
this by lexing his fetlock and jamming the
ball between the pastern and the leg. then
throwing the ball backward with great force.
DR.. Romancs tells US that he himself had
horse which was-vory clover at slipping his
halter after he knew that the coachman was in
bod He would then draw out the two sticks In
tho Pipe of tho oat bin 80 rs to let oil the oats
run down from tho bin above upon the stable
floor. or course. he must have observed that
this was the manner in which the coachman
obtained the oats. and. desiring to obtain them.
he did what he mad observed to be required.
Similarly. on other occasions. he used to turn
the water tap to get drink. and pull the win
dow cord to open the window on hot nights.
Tho ensuing Is the only instance which DIR.
Romanes has met with in the horse tribe OF
that degree OF sagacity which leads to that
intentional concealment OF wrong doing which.
in the case OF elephants. dogs. and monkeys.
has been frequently remarked. Prof.'Niphon
OF Washington University. st. Louis. says:
A friend OF NINE living at Iowa City. had
mule. whose ingenuity in getting into mischief
was more than ordinarily remarkable. This
animal had great liking for tho company
Of the oat bin and lost no oppor-
tunity. whom tho yard cato and barn door
were open. of securing mouthfu OF oats.
Finally. the mulo was found in tho barn In the
morning. and for a long time 1t was impos-
siblo to discover how he had como there.
This went on for some time until the animal
was caught In the act. 1t was found that he
had learned now to open the cato. reaching
over the fence to lift tho latch and that he then
proceeded to cffectually mystify his masters
by turning round and backing against 1t until
1t was latched. He then proceeded to the barn
door. and. pulling out the pin which hold the
door. 1t swung open Of Its own accord
OF the memory OF elephants a striking in
stance ia given In the Philosophical Transac-
tons" by MIR. Corse. From personal OBSERVE
ton lo Is able to aver that an elephant which,
after having been for only two years tanned.
ran wild for fifteen years. nevertheless. on
being recaptured. remembered in all details
the words OF command. This. with several
other we'll established facts OF tho same kind
renders credible the statement OF Pliny. that
in their more advanced age these animals rec
ognize men who were their drivers when young.
but whom they have not seen in the mean
timo. Tho author brings forward a good deal
OF new and important evidence relating to
tho development OF tho higher mental facul-
ties in tho elephant. Passing over the
well-known facts that they arc habi;ually en-
ployed in India for the purposes of building.
storing timber &c. and that when travelling
they never fail to test bridge or stairway in
order to ascertain whether its strength is pro-
portionate to their anomalous weight. we
may note that DIR. Romanes shows us reason
for believing that they manufacture veritabie
implements for their own convenience. such as
scrapers and fans. Mr.. G. L. Peal writes to
Nature: One evening. soon after my arrival
in Eastern Assam. and while the five elepants
were as usual being fed opposite the bunga-
low. l observed young one lately caught
step up to a bamboo stake fence and quietly
pull one Of the stakes up. Placing it under
foot 1t broke a piece Off with its trunk and
after lifting 1t to its mouth. threw it away. It
repeated this operation twice or thrice. and
then pulled up another stake and began again.
At last 1t seemed to get a piece that suited and
holding it in the trunk firmly. and moving tho
fore leg we'll forward. passed the piece of BAN
hon nuler the nit In sppak Nd
to scratch with some force. My surprise
reached its climax when I saw large
elephant leech fall on the ground. quite
six inches long and thick as ones finger
and which. from its position could not easily
be detached without this scraper or scratcher
which was therefore designedly manufactured
by tho elephant. / subsequently found that it
was a common occurrence. Such scrapers are
used by every elephant daily" Mr.. Peal goes
on to recount that. on another occasion, at n
time Of the year when large flies are so tor
menting to an elephant. Il noticed that the
one rode had no fan or wisp to beat them of
with. The mahout. Mt my order slackened
pace and allowed her to go to tho side Of
the road. when for some moments she moved
along. rummaging tho smaller jungle on the
bank; at last she came to q cluster OF young
shoots we'll branched. and, after feeling among
them and selecting one raised her trunk and
neatly stripped down the stem. taking Off all
tho lower branches. and leaving u fine bunch
on top She deliberately cleaned it down sew
eral times. and then. laying hold Of 1t at the
lower end. broke off beautiful fan about Ave
feet long. handle included. With this she kept
the flies at bay us we went along. Tapping them
off on each side"
Perhaps the most remarkable proof OF fore
sight and discrimination In tho case of the ele-