Waterbury evening Democrat., 1891-06-04
CURIOUS PETS.
From Ferocious Leopards Down
to the Cunning Coon
a Wolf That Guarded the Poultry Yard
Demonstrated Coyotes, Foxes, Bears.
Raccoons, Cheetahs, and Every
Species OF Monkey.

The Russian humorist Pushlkin tells
a pretty story about widow who had
survived four husbands, and was going
to ratify the prellminaries Of fifth al
lance with a Grim Tartar.
do you know that your admirer
carries six pistols and a bandits knife?"
inquired an anxious friend.
Eyes, have seen Them" said the
woman, calmly, "but, judging from ex-
perience, do not believe that there is
any such thing as an untamable
creature"
Geological experts incline to similar
opinion. The most perfect embodiment
Of reckless fury is a trap-caught leopard
during his first weeks experience of
prison life. He will rush to and fro
with n persistency worthy Of better
success; his eyes glare defiance at every
visitor; every now and then he will at
tack the iron bars of his cage with alb
solute disregard of consequences, or roll
about the floor, biting his own paws in
his frenzy Of despair. Yet In Hindu
stan, q near relative of that four-footed
demon, the cheetah, or hunting leopard,
has been so perfectly domesticated that
he can be trusted to run at large and
return from a night expedition to share
the proceeds Of his enterprise with his
trainer.
Wolves terrorized our pastoral fore
fathers In q way that has made the
name Of the cGnis lupus synonym Of
fierce hostility, yet that adversary Of
stocE-raising mankind Is more than
probably the ancestor of the faithful
shepherd dog. On a stock farm near
Zacatecas, in northern Mexico, saw q
tame wolf that seemed to get along on
the best terms with his canine relatives,
and In the morning was always on
hand to greet his master with romps
and caresses, and II kicked away would
cringe In q manner suggesting the dep
recatory maneuvers of q fawning span
ieL He could not be trained to find his
way home from an extensive hunting
trip, but was often left to guard the
farm-yard poultry, and, to the best of
his owners knowledge, had never be-
trayed his trust.
The Aztec peasants Of Herman Cortez'
time used to domesticate the coyote, or
jackal-like prairie wolf; and in the up
land districts of southern Poland tame
specimens of the common gray wolf
could be seen in almost every larger
village, till the frequency of hydropho.
bia panics induced the authorities tc
discourage the popularity Of the per
ilous pets, whose conduct, from a moral
point Of view, seems to have been un
exceptionable.
Foxes, too, can be trained to restrain
their predatory instincts; and a Ten
nessee neighbor Of mine raised litter
of fox-whelps with his puppies, and in
duced them to stay about the house by
eating them to an occasional disl
( their favorite delicacy-fresh milk
,sweetened with sorghum treacle. Young
bears can dispense with such premiums
After few weeks petting they will
stick to o farmhouse with the tenacitJ
of loyalist oficeholders, and never leavt
the premises after dark. A half-growI
specimen on a Georgia highland farm
would now and then take a stroll IL
huckleberry time and stray q few hun
bred yards beyond the clearing of hi
protector, but any unusual noise, ,
shout or the distant report of firearm
was sufficient to send him back racinI
to the shelter of the old homestead
Like n cat, he seemed indeed to con
centrate his affection upon the dwell
ing-house, rather than on its propri
etors, and could never be coaxed to fol
low the family more than half a mil
from headquarters, unless they con
trive to counteract his horaesicknes
by liberal slices of pumpkin pie.
Bruins little cousin, the plantigrad
raccoon, Is far more capable of person
al attachments. His propensity TO
gadding is hard to control, but even GU
in the woods he will emerge from hi
hiding-place at the call of his master
and trot home with him like q duffy
dog. At the approach of stranger
"coony' often bristles up with ever
symptom of hostile intent, rs If tryin
to do his best in the way of secondin
the functions of the mastiff.
The pet monkeys Of the East India
country towns manifest similar dii
position in an even more demonstrs
tive fashion. Ten or twelve of theI
will congregate ON the roof of a Hind
farmhouse, waiting for lunch or uti
izing the palm-leaf thatch for rair
shelter, but, on the whole, pay fo
their board and lodging by making
Watchdog wholly superfuoua At th
first glimpse of a suspicious biped the
win give the alarm by a chorus G
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