Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1884-07-17
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"THE HOMING FACULTY.

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"THE HOMING FACULTY."
ANIMALS THAT REACH THEIR HOMES
| MILES AWAY.
The homing faculty, as by common con-
sent it is called, is, with few exceptions
among wild animals, confined to the higher
bred domestic animals. 1t is strongest, per-
haps, in the carrier pigeon. The ordinary
carrier pigeon manages to get home from
distance of forty miles. The finer bred
variety, particularly the Belgian bird, can
be loosed at a much greater distance and
will reach its house. The finer and coarser
varieties 60 about it the same way. Thrown
into the air they mount to a great height,
circling about in spirals until suddenly
they start off ina certain direction, and that
direction is home. Their speed is startling
and far sWifter than the fastest railway
train. These birds, there is no doubt, rely
on sight entirely. Few persons realize how
far the eye can see at great distances in the
air, or how keen is the eye Of all birds.
Kill a goat in the Andes. Not speck may
cloud the blue vault above, and half an hour
later a flock of condors will be disputing
over it's remains. The pigeon flies round
|
some we'll remembered object, maybe a
steeple or tree, that is its guide-post. But
pigeons sometimes lose their way, get "turn"
ed around" in fact Frequently a snow
covered landscape blots out all objects they
remember, and the confused bird f1utters
helplessly to the earth.
But by what means does the albatross,
which idly floats behind a ship on the ocean
for hours and hours find its way to the rocky
isle, perhaps hundreds Of miles distant, on
which is its nest? Or the frigate bird, how
does it know what path to take across mid
ocean to get home? What marks does it
have for a guide? These are hard questions
to answer, and shake the theory Of sight and
remembered objects. So, also, is it difficult
to understand how the salmon every year
comes back from the deeps of the ocean to
the river in which twas born. Or how the
bee, when its load of nectar is complete,
flies straight to it's hive-in "bee line"
Less than twenty years ago, when the
whole subject began to be widely discussed,
the London Field gave large number of
Well-authenticated instances of the homing
faculties in dogs. 1t seems Obe very high
ly developed in the canine race. Among
the best Of these is an instance of fox
hound, which was taken in a covered van
from one part of England to another, for
ty miles distant. Arriving at her destina-
tion, she was kept chained for four days,
then hunted with the pack. Returning
home late in the evening, the huntsmen OBJ
served her sit down in field, look gravely
around for few moments, and then dlsap-
pear. Search was made for her withoutsuc-
cess. The following morning her former
owner telegraphed that Precious had turned
up at her old home about midnight. She
had travelled about forty-fve miles through,
| oh n
town, in less than eight hours.
Another good story in the same paper
was of pointer dog taken by an officer
from Liverpool to Belfast, and thence after
day or two fifty miles into the interior of
Ireland. The dog had never been in Ire
land before, but the morning after his de-
parture appeared waggng his tail and tired
and footsOre at the barracks in Belfast.
A very intelligent sheep dog was taken
from Birmingham to Wolverton in a cover
ed wagon, not being allowed to look out
capped, and twenty-four hours after appeared
at his old home, his feet bleeding and him
self very much fatigued
Another bright-eyed colly was taken
from Manchester to Liverpool by train and
thence to Bangor, in Wales, by steamer,
He, too, escaped and four days later enter
ed his well-remembered kennel in the
north. Still another story was of little
terrier which mechanic living in Holy
we'll, Wales, visiting his mother in Man
chester, took to his home in basket. In
making the journey the young man travel
ed by train, wagon, steamer and afoot, both
by day and night. The dog escaped from
him at HolyWell and somehow managed
to get over this complicated route to his
Manchester home. This strangest story
in this class of literature was furnished by
Scottish gentleman whose credibility the
editor of the Field vouched for. The narra-
| tor, who lived in the north of Scotland, re-
lated that friend of his residing in Calcut-
ia had several months before written re-
questing him to send out a good colly dog.
Bristol What was his astonishment a few
weeks later to behold one morning the little
fellow enter his house Wagging his tail in
transport of Joy to be home again. Inquiry
elected the information that the dog had
come aboard a Dundee collier from a ship
hailing from Calcutta. Later Il letter came
from his friends in India that the dog had
arrived there safely, but had disappeared
soon after
This incident and that of the mechanics
dog gave rise to the greatest discussion at
the time of any in the whole collection of
incidents. The two also drew forth a theo-
ry which is probably the true one, namely,
that the two animals in getting home were
guided by their sense Of smell. A dogs
nose, especially high-bred dogs, is extra
ordinarily keen. In the case Of the little
fellow who managed to travel half the
earth's circumference, it was suggested that
finding himself kidnapped the idea how
to escape took possession of him. He care
fully noted, labeled and stored away in his
memery every smell along the route.
This, the theorist contended, explained
his land journey. But after getting through
the crowded streets of the Indian city to the
docks, how he selected the proper vessel
out OF the scores lying at anchor there, is
more difficult to account for. 81 suggest,
says the writer, that the little animal had ta-
| ken note of the rigging of the vessel in
which he came over, and was guided in
that way to the right ship; or, perhaps,
the familiar Scotch accent of a sailor
aboard helped him here, as it undoubtedly
did in boarding the collier at Dundee. But
I would prefer to leave to others the task of
explaining how the little dumb creature un-
hesitatingly boarded a ship out of fleet
bound for his home confess l cannot"
A French writer, whose name has escaped
the writer hereof, seized upon this incident
to support his assertion that animals facul-
ties are much better developed than admit
ted. He declared they have language.
A newspaper writer of few years ago,
describing the stampede of two mules ofa
pack-train on the plains, gravely declares his
belief in the Frenchman'S assertion. The
mules in question were the ugliest, most
evil tempered of the entire train. They
were continually biting and kicking each
other, and in every way behaving as open
enemies. One evening they were observed