The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1897-06-15

| looked upon as a sort OF intellectual ex-
ercise. calculated TO increase the
knowledge Of its surroundings posses
sed by the individual. For the most
part. each creature lives in the midst
Of things which it has known from the
beginning of its life, and hence il is the
unfamiliar which attracts its atten-
ton. and when anything is seen which
cannot be classified by experience. the
attempt is made TO ascertain whether
it is friendly. harmless or inimica1.
The weake and most timid animal
often shows itself bolder in the inyesti-
CATION Of the unknown than the strong
and courageous, and this is just
might be expected, since the strong
have less TO fear should the novelty
prove to possess dangerous qualities.
There are all degrees Of curiosity to be
found among animals, from that which
goes no further than the simplest in
quiry into the safe or dangerous nature
Of the Unfamiliar, to that amusing de-
gree of playful inquisitiveness which is
constantly Investigating everything
within reach, found mostly among an
mails which are closely associated
with
Next TO children, monkeys are the
most inouisitive ina Their curl
osity is Unsuitable, and manifests itself
in many curious and amusing ways
So great is it that, in fact, it frequently
overcomes their fear. Monkeys dread
nothing so much as serpents, of which
they have a wholesome and instructive
fear, as the only enemies against which
the leafy Businesses of their lofty tree
hauntS afford 10 protection. Brehm
tells Of his monkeys that their curios-
ity occasionally drove them, in quite
a human inner to satisfy it, even at
the cost of a fit of terror, by lifting the
lid of a box cOntaing a number of
snakes. Darwin, in order to test the
truth of this observation, at which he
was rather astOnished, took with him
a stuffed and cOiled up serpent into the
monkey house of the Geological Car
dens, and remarked that the excite
ment thus caused formed the ~strangest
comedy he had ever witnessed. Three
different small species were most dis
turbed. They ran up and down their
cages, uttering shrill warning cries,
which appeared to be understood by
the other monkeys. When he laid the
stuffed serpent on the ground in n
of the large divisions, after a little time
all the monkeys gathered around it in
a wide circle affording thefunniest spec
tacle imaginable. Then he put down a
live serpent inclosed in a paper bag,
the mouth Of which was loosely closed.
Instantly one of the monkeys APP
oPOAA~N I'm "NS -
little, peeped in, and fled precipitately
One after another of the of
the large cage came forward, ach with
it's head stuck cOmically on one side,
and not one could resist the temptation
to give a rapid glance into the bag at
the terrible thing which lay there on
the ground so peacefully.
Dogs are we'll known to be possessed
! of a rood deal of c11riOSitV Every
strange dog is an object Of the greatest
interest, and curiosity plays a great
part in the Watchfulness of dogs n
their attention to every noise. When
a beetle happens to run past, the dogs
curiosity is very comical. He is really
not a little afraid of the little creature,
but his curiosity gives him no rest until
he has snuffed at it. ROmaneS tells Of
his dogs conduct with respect to a soap
bubble which was floating near the
carpet. He was evidently very much
interested in it, but could not appar-
emily make up his mind whether this
strange thing was alive or not. After
some hesitation he overcame his dis
trust. drew near gradually, and
touched the bubble with his paw. It,
Of course, Immediately burst to the
dogs undOunded amaZement.
The slow and placid-natured COW
has some inquisitiveness in it's compo-
sitiOn. One writer tells of his expert
ence when sketching in a meadow.
The grazing COWS drew near by de-
grees, and stood round him in a circle,
gazing s~teadfaStly with OutStretched
neckS at the paper, as il to see what
could be there. Presently they came
so neal as to become troublesome, and
had to be driven away with a stick,
but only return again persistently, as
if determined to solve the mystery.
That horses behave in the same way
has been shown by Anschutz in one Of
his remarkable instantaneous photo
graphs, which shows the photographer
kneeling on the ground busted with his
apparatus, and surrounded by a troop
Of horses pressing closely on him and
eagerly stretching out their necks to-
Perhaps the goat is only surpassed
in curiosity by the poodle. A German
naturalist says that when a flock OF
goats is driven through a town or viii
lage, here one and there another leave
the rest, and ak into a house, enters
a room and looks round it leisurely,
letting the herd go on unheeding. They
climb up inquisitively on everything
elevated, and often mount as far as the
second or third story Of a house.
Tschudi, in his Animal Life in the
Alps" tells this comical story OF a
goats reakish humor: An English
tourist had seated himself on the trunk
of a tree near the inn, and was nod
ding over his book, thereby attracting
the attention of a he goat which was
wandering about in the neignborhood
The animal drew near cautiously
took the nodding Of the sleeper as a
challenge, put himself in position,
measured the distance. and then bore
down upon the unfortunate son of AL
biOn. with a powerful thrust of his
horns o~verturning him, SO that he lay
on the ground uttering strong Ian
guage. with his feet in the air. The
victor. almost terror struck at the un-
expected1y small resistance offered by
the British skull, mounted the tree
trunk with his f%orefeet and gazed with
intense curiosity IN his foundering anc
grooming victim. Chamois are SINH
!, larry full of curiosity, and, like gazelle:
| and wild goats, allow themselves to bs
outwitted by the display of some strik-