The Arkansaw traveler., 1888-02-04
THE CANINE WORLD.
Detroit Free Press.

 gacity and usefulness of different species of this friend of man since the tragic story of the faithful Gelert. that it would seem superfuous to add fur ther corroborative testimony, except that many interesting items would otherwise be known and appreciated only by those who observe them. It is not my intention to hamper the reader with anything sensational" in the Baron Munchausen line, or such as the story of the sportsman who, arriv- ing at the limit of his covert, discov- cred his dog pointing at board on the adjoining property and could not be induced to go farther, for the reason that it bore a notice that all dogs tres passing would be shot, but simply to record few additional instances of instructive intelligence which have come under my own notice or have been related by friends or others whose veracity I have no reason to doubt. The question has often been discussed, Do animals reason?" with what result I will not pretend to say. It does, however, seem that it cannot be anything short of reason which many-the canine race in particular do exhibit.
 Journeying once to London. Eng, by way of Salisbury, observed in a field just outside the cathedral city stick bearing small red flag, and on inauiring it's purpose passenger pointed to mansion in the distance and told me the flag was the guards mark for throwing out the morning paper. which, as soon as particular train passed, was at once fetched by dog from the mansion and carried to his master unsoiled, the dog having to cross river.
 A friend of mine in southern town of England had a very intelligent brown retriever which he called "Mis- ter," and among other acts of use- fulness, on the command, "Mister, fetch my paper" the dog would bound off to the newsdealer as if it were case of life and death, sometimes ab- ruptly forcing lady aside in his eagerness to be promptly served. On one occasion he brought only slip of paper bearing the words, "Not come yet" and waited eagerly for the sig nal for second trip.
 Another friend of mine who hap pened to be a warm Liberal would say, on giving his dog biscuit, "Lord Salisbury sent you that" when the dog would quickly drop it and walk away in apparent disgust, but on another biscuit being substituted with the as- surance, "Mr. Gladstone sent you that" it was gobbled up with voracious rel ish. The foregoing may, perhaps, have been matters of method only. How ever, had a few years ago very pleasing terrier, cross bred between the Daschund and Skye. He was capital retriever and house dog, in fact would hunt and face a cow or almost anything.
 On the postman dropping letters through the door he would fetch them to me with serious face and watch intently for the envelopes, with which he would amuse himself by tearing into small pieces, which l used to term his "little perusal." He was always ready to accompany me out on week days, but when Sunday came and was going to church he would be found curled up in some cor ner, looking as miserable as possible. have often been waiting for my wife to complete her toilet and would say, with emphasis, "Jim, go and tell missus to come on at once," when he would rush upstairs, raise and push himself against and plainly motion her to make haste. He would also fetch my slippers in the dark from lot of boots in the kitchen, but after my striking him rather lightly on one oc- casion, when he was rather slow, he refused to fetch them. Jim would also carry his collar to the servant girl on being told, and wait, though very impatiently, to have it put on, supplemented by brush-up when we were going out.
 On another occasion I was seeing my wife of at the railway station, when Jim jumped into the carriage directly the door was open. 1 took him out and closed the door after my wife, when he walked up to the plat form and entered one of the front carriages. Being out for walk on warm day my wife gave him her parasol to carry it probably inter- fered with his respiration, so of he marched with it to sand heap (we pretending not to notice him), paved trench, laid it in and carefully cov- cred it over. It seems evident he did not want to lose it, and he would doubtless have remembered it on our return, but being ordered, he quickly retrieved it. Jim was fond of ofchasing cats, but on the senemy" stopping de- family, he would stop, too, and pace around, evidently considering discre- finn fha better mart nf xalor