Arizona weekly enterprise., 1890-07-26
MISCELLANEOUS.
SOME OF THE REMARKABLE OCCUR
 RENCEs IN LIFE.
\ Dog With Reasoning Powers--the Strange Death Song of a Pet Canary Rird-A Woman's Idea of
 Brevity Two Gentle
 men of Veracity.
BY JOHN A. SPRING

Looking over some memoranda when I have iotteJ down from time to time, have come across few things which know will be new to the readers ot HE ENTERPRISE, and may perhaps be or gen eral interest. 1 believe it IS now general ly conceded that not all the actions or animals, which at times are astonishing to a high degree. are the natural conse- ouence of mere instinct; but that, as these creatures have brains with more or less similar working machinery and oi aoout the same substance as is contained ln tDe human brain, it is natural to conclude that they also possess to greater or less extent the power of reasoning. One or my memoranda. dating from my stay Tn San Francisco in lS65, refers to very pretty white dog of the genus. "Spltz' with long, silky hair and the nneSt cut muzzle 1 ever saw, and humid plack nose which a New York lover of dogs of fine female persuasion would call just 1 lovely" But besides these corporeal at | fractions this canine was endowed with ! snperior intellect which enabled him, un- | donbtedly. to reason with himself, as will | be seen presently.
 The owner of this "Spitz," whose name by the way was Ulysses, lived solitary life on Sansome street. Being bachelor with an independent income, he rose rather late whenever 1t suited his own convenience, and then proceeded to COOK his own simple meal on small alconol stove Ulysses would be dispatched with n small basket containing the order Tor the steak of mutton. beef or pork to the customary butcher, who would Ill the order while the Spitz demurely trotted to tbe post-ofice, where he regularly recelV,, ed his masters Sacramento paper ana whence he returned home, ealing on ms way for his basket at the butchers. There mon master and dog would have then
 breakfast together in a most tnendly
 manner. This had been going on Tor over two years without the least change inter
 ruption or mishap.
 But one day Ulysses failed to return
 after the usual term of absence. hli owner very soon became quite restless
 he knew that his dog was as reliable as
 sun-dial in fair weather and of exemplari
 conduct In his daily conversations Wlti Ulysses he had tried to instll into th latter the best principles as 10 honesty
 cleanliness, obedience, etc. It Is tru
 that these conversations were very one sided. but still the canine would lool a steadily into his masters eye with suc
  2 teution that our bachelor would almos i, have sworn and certainly did believe tha 2 his attentive listener understood ever
 word he uttered All at once he remen
 bered that he had utterly forgotten f giye his Spitz those solemn warnings ( n the older Weller to "bevare of vldders Q which were deeply impressed upon hl own mind This was a consolation 1C
 the time being: Ulysses had probably Ia r. len into the snares of one of these decel' ,f inc creatures and would turn up present is lv When. however, the minutes grew Il t. to half an hour and then an hour witt
 ont the return of the overdue messenge
 the dogs friend and master became Q, le asperated and resolved to start upon le search for the missing one Arriving Ill the butcher's he found that Ulysses hS ic correctly delivered the basket and startt
 of in the direction of the post-ofhc
 Tbither the anxious man went with has h. steps and soon reached the lobby whe 5 he found Ulysses sitting upon hls haunc 'n es with one fore-faw upon neWspapt 1h As soon as he discovered his master lg cave vent to manifestations of eXtFen
 iov. returned in kind by the latter. E or why had he not returnedF simply U .oi cause by mistake the distributing cle ba had given him the wrong paper. n'' n Now think hear some of my read' ay say that this Is a story of a direct line rnI1 descendant of Ananias of biblical fan u1 n1 or rather ill-fame; but it is not; 1t IS p eN fectly true. Of course l do not for
 moment believe or desire to make my res ,a- CTS believe that dog, no matter how ,at telieent he may be, can be taught tte read. The dog Ulysses simply refus he the paper because its shape was entr' aIy different from the form of the paper his had been carrying home for over t is years; it was folded lengthWlse, long
 narrow. while his paper was folded bro
 wise. short and wide.