Evening capital. (Annapolis, Md.) 1884-1910, 1884-07-07
1.-THE HOMING FACULTY"
Animals that Reach Thein HOmeSs
Niles Away.

the higher bred domestic animals. 1t Is
strongest, perhaps 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 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, circllng
about in spirals until suddenly they start
off in a certain direction, and that direc-
ton 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 a speck may cloud the
blue vault above, and half an hour later
flock of condors will be disputiEg over
its remains The pigeon flies round and
round, higher and higher until it sights
some we'll remembered object, maybe
steeple or tree that is its guide-post
But pigeons sometimes lose their way, get
''turned around in fact. Frequently
snow covered landscape blots out all OBJ
bird flutters helplessly to the earth.
But by what means does the albatross,
which idly floats behind ship on the
ocean for hours and hours, find its way to
the rocky ISLE perhaps hundreds of miles
distant, on which is its nestG Or the
frigate 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, is it difficult to under
stand how the salmon every year comes
back from the deeps of the ocean to the
river in which it 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, when the
whole subject began to be widely dis
cussed, the London Field gave a large
number of we'll authenticated instances
of the homing faculties in dogs. 1t seems
to be very highly developed in the canine
race. Among the best of these is an ip-
stance of fox hound, which was taken
in a covered van from one part of Eng
land to another, forty miles distant. Ar
irving at her destination, she was kept
chained for four days, then hunted with
the pack. Returning home late In the
evening, the huntsmen observed her sit
down in field, look gravely around for
a few moments, and then disappear.
Search was made for her without success.
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 of
rough, lonely country, passing through
populous town. in less than eight hours.
Another good story in the same paper
was of a pointer dog taken by an officer
from Liverpool to Belfast, and thence
after day or two fifty miles into the in
terror of Ireland. The dog had never
been in Ireland before, but the morning
after his departure appeared wGgging his
tail and tired and footsore at the barracks
in Belfast.
A very intelligent sheep dog was taken
from Birmingham to Wolverton in COW
cred wagon, not being allowed to look
out during the journey. The first night
he escaped, and twenty-four hours after
appeared at his old home, his feet bleed
ing and himself verv 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 entered his well-remembered kennel
in the north. Still another story was of
little terrier which mechanic living in
Holywell. Wales, visiting his mother In
Manchester, took to his home in basket.
In making the journey the young man
travelled by train, wagon, steamer and
afoot, both by day and night The dog
escaped from him at Holywell and some
how managed to get over this compli-
Gated route to his Manchester home
This strangest story in this class of liter
allure was furnished by Scottish gen.
tleman whose credibility the editor of the
Field vouched for. The narrator, who
lived in the north of Scotland, related that
a friend of his residing in Calcutta had
several months before written requesting
him to send out good colly dog lie
had duly sent the dog by steamer from
Bristol. What was his establishment a
few weeks later to behold one morning
the littlesfellow enter his house wagging
his tail in a transport of JOY to be home
again. Inquiry elected the information
that the dog had come aboard a Dundee
collier from ship hailing from Calcutta.
Later letter came from his friends 10
India that the dog had arrived there
safely, but had disappeared soon after.
This incident and that of the me-
chances dog gave rise to the greatest
discussion at the time of any in the
whole collection of incidents The two
II. \ r IL.