Washington sentinel., 1900-11-17
Animals that Weep.

The weeping mock turtle in
"Alice in Wonderland" and the
walrLs in the same classic who
held "his pocket handkerchief be-
tore his streaming eyes," are not
wholly creatures OF the imagina
ton, il we may believe M. Henry
Coupin. He quotes numerous
authorities to show that many ami
mails shed tears, and tor the same
reasons that cause human beings
TO weep. He intimates that there
is a fruitful field for investigation
along this and similar lines. He
says:
Laughing is believed to be pc
culiar to man; but the same is not
true Of weeping, which is a mani
festation OF emotion that is met
with in divers animals.
Among the creatures that weep
most easily, we may first mention
the ruminants, with whom the act
is so we'll known that it has given
rise to a trivial but accurate ex-
pression-"to weep like a calf"
Among these animals the facility
OF shedding tears is explained by
the presence Of a supplementary
lacrymal apparatus.
All hunters know that the stag
weeps and we are assured
that the bear sheds tears when il
sees its last hour approaching
The giraffe is not less sensitive,
as might be expected in so gentle
creature, and regards with tear
full eyes the hunter who has
wounded il.
II we are to credit Gordon Cum
ming, the eland African antelope !
acts in the same way. He says oi
one Of these animals that he had
pursued a long time: "Flecks OF
ioam flew from its mouth; abun-
dant sweat had given to its gray
skin an ashY blue tint. Tears fell
from it's great black eyes, and it
was evident that the eland felt that
its last hour had come"
Dogs weep quite easily. II their
master goes away, for instance,
leaving them tied, they bark with
tears both in their eyes and in
their voices, The same is true Of
certain monkeys. The Cebus
azar9 weeps when its wishes are
opposed or when it is frightened,
and the eyes OF the Callithsix sci
ureus fill at once with tears when
it is seized with terror.
The aquatic mammals, too, are
able to weep. Thus all authors
agree in saying that dolphins, at
the moment OF death, draw deep
sighs and shed tears abuhdantly.
A young female seal has also been
seen to weep when teased by a
sailor. ST. HillaIre and Cuvier
assure US that, on the authority Of
the MalaYs, when a young dugong
is captured the mother is sure to
be taken also. The little ones then
cry out and shed tears. These
tears are collected with care and
preserved as a charm that is GER
tain to make a lovers affection
lasting.
AS for the elephant, there is
abundant evidence OF the ease with
which it weeps. Sparrman assures
US thaC il sheds tears when
wounded, or when it sees that it
can not escape; its tears roll from
its eyes like those Of a human be-
ing in affiiction. Tennsnt, speak
ing OF captured elephants, says
that "some remain quiet, lying on
the ground without mapifesting
their grief otherwise than by the
tears that battle their eyes and run
constantly down."
Such are the principal animals
that have been reported as she'd
ding tears; doubtless they will be
come more numerous when we
have taken the trouble to observe
the same phenomena in other
species. l advise those who wish
to give attention to the matter to
note carefully the circumstances
ia which the tears have manifested
themselves. From the examples
given above, it will be seen that
tears have about the same emo
.ional significance in animals as in
man, but to establish the certainty
Of this we should have many more