Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1884-02-22
Animals and Death.

There is no doubt but that many ami
mails recognize in their declining powers
the approach of death. The dog retires
to quiet, sequestered spot to die. 1t is a
matter of general belief that they seek
the most scquestered snot, the most hid
den thicket, where, unnoticed and alone,
they can quietly lay down to eternal
sleep. Shrimp and prawns withdraw
under stones to die, thus showing a Won
derful premonition of death among even
the lower orders. The poet Cowper
beautifully illustrates this idea in lines
that are inscribed on the monument cree
ted to his memory in front of the Memoir
ial church at East Dereham, in Norfolk
81 was a stricken deer that left the herd
Long since. With many an arrow deep in
fixed,
My painting side was charged when l with
drew
To seek tranquil death in distant shades"
The llamas of South America have reg
ular cemeteries in WEIGH they retire to
die, and the bones are found bleaching in
great numbers.
Animals recognize approaching disso-
luton in other animals, without question.
The dying whale is at once set upon by
the shark tribe. The aged buffalo of
the plains, sick or starving, cannot de-
ceive the coyote or prairie wolf, which
watch him, hound his footsteps, and
even hamstring him, so that they may de-
your his carcass. The vultures of the
Himalayas gather to the number of
twenty or thirty about the dying calf and
composedly await his dissolution that
they may fatten on his carrion.
Animals recognize death in others
without doubt. They make, as it were,
q irregular diagnosis of death. They may
have been fooled before, but old animals
show an especial and peculiar solicitude,
and once satisfied, treat the dead enemy
with contempt or indifference. The she
bear, says HonZlan, makes use of a pro-
cess of experimentation to ascertain the
death of her cubs. She offers them
food, leaves and then calls them; touches
them with her paws and finds them cold,
rigid, motionless. Indifferent. She makes
use of observation, comparison, refec-
ton, The elephant bull or COW makes
sure of the death of fallen foe by
trampling on it and goring it till all pos
sible life is extinct:
Animals sometimes show a care for
their dead The aux monkey carries off
the dead and wounded. Some animals
bury their dead with funeral ceremonies.
Cassell says that goTillas cover their
dead Certain birds, such as the wren,
twitter requiems over them, and this fact
is so well attested that "The Wren
Requiem" is we'll known as mournful
twitter quite different from their usual
chirpy, lively notes. That many animals
commit suicide is well-attested fact.
Dogs, abandoned and kicked out by
their masters, have been often known to
kill themselves. Stag or deer, when
seized by the glutton, butt their heads
against trees. The scorpion is we'll
known instance. The rattlesnake, close
pursued, will sting himself rather than
be captured, and the Indians SO we'll
know this that, though they cat them as
food, they reject them when death comes
in this form, These illustrations and
anecdotes show that animals possess
reasoning powers to certain extent, and
why not soul2- Cincinnati Enquirer