The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1884-08-07
Andersou gntelIigenfsr.
ssTKE HOBIING FACULTY.
Animals That Reach Their Homes Miles
Away.

Tho, hOmlng faculty., as ny couihoH
consent it is called, is, with few excep
tions among wild animals, confined to the
higher bred domestic animals. 1t is
strongest, perhaps, in the carrier pigeon.
The ordinary carrier pigeon manages 70
get home from distance of forty miles.
The finer bred variety. particularly the
Belgian bird, can be loosed at much
greater distance and will reach its house.
The finer and coarser varieties 90 about
in the same way. Thrown into the air
thew mount to great height, cIfcling
about in spirals until suddenly they start
off in O certain direction, and that d'rec'
tion 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
eve of all birds. Kill goat in the Andes.
Not speck may cloud the blue vault
above. half a hour later flock of condors
will be disputing over its remains. Inc
pigeon flies round and round, higher ana
higher until it sights some well remcm'
bered object, maybe steeple or tree'
that is its guide post. But pigeons some.
times loose their way, get turned
around" in fact. Frequently snow
covered landscape blols out all objects
they remember, and the confused bird
fiutters helplessly to the earth.
But by what means does the albatross,
which idly floats behind ship on the
ocean for hours and hours, find it's way
to the rocky isle, perhaps hundreds OF
miles distant, on which is the nest? Or
the friCate bird, how does it know what
path to take across mid ocean to get
home? What marks does it have for
guide? These are hard questions to
answer, and shake the theory OF sight
and remembered objects. So, also, 1t Ii
difficult 10 understand how the salmon
every year comes back from the deeps OF
the ocean to the river in which 1t was
born. Or how the bee, when its load Of
nectar is complete, flies straight To its
hive-in "bee line"
Less than twenty years ago, TyheH .I5
whole subject began to be widely dis
cussed, the London Field gave a large
number of well.authcnticaled instances
cf the homing faculte. in dogs. II seems
to be very highly developed in the canine
race. Among the best Of these is an
instance of fox hound, which was taken
in covered van from one part of Eng
land to another, forty miles distant. Ar
irving Mt her destination she was kept
chained for four days, then hunted with
the pack. Returning home late in the
evening, tho huntsmen observed her sit
down in field, look grayely around for
q few moments, and then disappear.
Search was made for her without SUCCESS.
The following morning her former owner
telegrapi;cd that Precious had turned up
at her old home about midnight. She
had travelled about forty.five miles Of
rough, lonely country, passing through 6
populous 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 Ireland before, but the morning
after his departure appeared wagging his
tail and tired and fuotsore at the bar.
racks of Belfast.
A very intelligent sheep dog was
taken from Birmingham to Wolverton in
a covered wagon, not being allowed to
look out during the journey. The first
night he escaped, and twenty four hours
after appeared ct his old homo, his feet
bleeding and himself very much fatigued.
Another 5right.eyed colly was taken
from Manchester to Liverpool by train
md thence to Bangor, In Wales, by
steamer. He, too, escaped and four
days later entertained his well.remem.
bered kennel In tho north. Still another
story was of q little terrier which q me.
chanio living in Holywell, Wales, visit.
ing his mother in Manchester, took 70
his home in basket. In making the
journey the young man travelled ty train,
wagon, steamer and afoot, both Ivy day
and night. The dog escaped from him at
Holywell and somehow managed to get
over this complicated route to his Man.
chester home. The Btrapgest story In
this class of literature was furnished By
u S--.tiBh gentleman whose credibiity
the editor OF the Field vouched for. The
narrator, who lived In the north of Scot
land, related that q friend of his residing
in Calcutta had several months before
written requeating him to send out q good
colly dog. He had duly sent the dog by
steamer from Bristol. What was his
astonishment o few weeks later to behold
one morning tha little fellow enter his
house wsgging ala ts!l in o transport of
Joy to be home again. Inquiry elicited
the Information that the dog had come
aboard Dundee collier from a ship
hailing from Calcutta. Later q 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 mechan.
ic's dog gave rise to the greatest discuss
ion at the time of any in the whole col.
lection of incidents. The two also drew
forth theory which is probably the true
one, namely, that the two animals in
Of smell. A. dogs nose, especially q
In the case Of the little fellow who man.
aged to travel half the earth's circum.
ference, 1t was suggested that finding
took possession of him. He Carefully
noted, labeled and stored away in his
memory every smell along the route.
This, the theoris. contended, explained
his land journey. But after getting
an city. to the docks, how he selected the
proper vessel ont OF the scores lying at
anchor there, Is more difficult to account
for; II suggest. says the writer, that the
little animal had taken note Of the rig.
ging of the vessel ia which he came cys..
and was guided In that way to the right
ship; or, perhaps, the familiar Scotch
asse accent o OF !, q sailor aboard helped him
here, az II undoubtedly did in boarding
tho collier at Dundee. But would
prefer to leave to others the task of ex.
planning how the little, dumb creature
uuhesitatingly boarded q ship out Of n
feet bound for his home, T confess I,
cannot" a French writer, whose name
has escaped the writer hereof, seized
.Lunnn fhia incidanf IA anrza.k Il hial+,a....