The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1899-10-21
AFFECTIONS OF ANIMALS.
Instances I'm Which Birds and Beast.
Are Concerned About Mates In
Trouble.
(From the Lcndon Spectator

(From the London SPECTATOR
The monkeys who drown the objec-
tionab'e sick by showing them Off the
trees into the river are certainly no worse
than the Greeks who "marooned" Phil
octetes for the same reason. BIT with
this should be contrasted Brehm's story
Of the rescue of the young baboon from
his dogs BY a patriarch of the troop, and
the encouragement given by an elder
stag to young one which feared to jump
fence. Lord Lovat gives an admirable
description OF this scene In the volume of
the'' Badminton Library''on "Deer-stalk-
ing" The old stag reached over toward
the young one at Last, and ''actually
kissed him" but the youngster would
not ju mp. Animals. are SO "helpless''
themselves when anything goss amiss,
especially In cases OF accident, that they
can hardly be expected to do much for
others. But the impulse is often there IN
the related kinds, though 1t is not ex-
tended to the non-relat d. Offers run
round trapped otter all night. Cats and
foxes visit the bodies of tn cir dead. and
so DO stoats end weasels. 1t is a rule
so We may conclude that these animals
probably visit their fellows when
trapped. The writer onoe saw an odd in
stance OF this Intellectual concern-prob-
ably not very deep. for the actors were
sparrows. A brick trap had been set In a
YARD, ana sparrow caught. All the
sparrows In the neigh borhood had learned
OF it, and were sitting In crowds on
hedges, oucumter frames, sheds, or star
Ing moodily at the trap where tho can.
tive was imprisoned, but quite invisible,
Next Gay robin was caught. but the
sparrows showed no concern whatever.
This tendency among the wild races
nnds deilnite expression among the do
mesttcated animals, though instances ara
not very common. We have seen q small
pig, stuck In a paling through which 1t
had tried to queeze. assisted by an elder
one inside. A ttracted by its cries, 1t took
the small pigs head In its mouth and
tried to pull 1t through, In doing which
it almost uiled the sufferers head off.
In another case a cat deliberately fetched
It's owner to assist another cat which was
lying helpless In q fit. More over. do
nestisat6d ami mails are to some extent
progressive" and have ellized the no :
tion OF common good among other ere at
ures than their own stock. There Ia a
good deal OF service and bensvOlenoe
among very different domesticated ant
mails, especially in the form of protec-
tion. sharing of food, and forbearance.
Specialized instances in which dogs or
catl have taken food to others could
doubtless be authenticated, though the
writer has not witnessed a case. But
there is the strongest of all evidence that
they have tendency to perform these
and other sery ices to other animals, be.
cause the domestioated creatures volun-
tarily offer their services Of benevolence
TO man. How can any one doubt that
animals Tin domestication) are willing
to feed each other, when there are cats
all over England and Scotland which de-
ignt In lrlnging food as presents to
their ownersS We need not 90 back 10
the historic cat which caught n pigeon
every day and brought 1t to its master
when prisoner In the tower.