The National tribune., 1903-07-16
THE SCOTCH COLLIE.
A Breed Possessing Great Qualities. lntelli-
gence, Utilit1 an Faithfulness.


NJ. Mowbray Il lind, President of the
gives many illustr ont of the intelligence
faithfulness and AilitJ of the Collie Mr..
Palmer, as an illustration of the seSacity.
refers to ''BoZzie,' owned by Mr.. Clason.
of Chicago, who in more ways than one
demonstrated her ahinking powers unaid-
ed by sign or command, leading one to
believe there was more in her that WAS
human than beast.f She was the daughter
of the celebrated Old s.Boz," who Travelled
all over Europe ani5sAmerica and gave
performances for the edifcation of such
distinguished mOrarchs as the present
King of England and the Gar of Russia.
So highly pleased was the King. then the
for the dog in Windsor Castle, so that he
could give performance early i'll the
morning, previous to Bozs departure.
Although "Bozzie" never had the ad-
vantaces of European travel, she inherited
from her sire his great intelligence, and IN
fact, surpassed him in the sense that his
performances were much governed by the
mind of man, while she seemed to think
for herself. The fact that what she did
she would do for stranger as well as
for her friends, conclusirely proved this
point. Ordinary mathematics, such as ad-
dition, subtraction and multiplication.
were almost too easy for her. Her DIS
elimination of co,Ors never failed, and in
a room full Of people she could pick ont
black man from Il white one. She could
tell figures written on n visiting-card, and,
of course. indicated all the numbers by
barks. In fact, this dog could not only
tell the numbers Of days in a week or
month, but she could also tell time.
l remember, on one occasion, a gentle
man who was skeptical was given the
privilege of examining the dog without
having the owner present The examlna-
ton, in brief. was as follows: "BozZie, how
many are two times foury' The dog barked
eight times-as rapidly as a child ten years
old would count the same number. Take
five from that, the reply in barks was
three. Add nine to that, ,"-Bozzic bark
ed II times. That the answers We're given
quickly and without assistance proved that
the dog thought OF her own accord, and
only when she was asked what was half
of II did she hesitate. and actually seem
ed to think before making the reply
which was correct.
In addition to her tricks she was a mar
velous worker, and. when taken to the
stock,yard and told to bring out five
steers, she would bring out five, and no
more: or when at the farm she was told
to bring up the cows from the pasture in
which steers were also kept she would
bring the cows, leaving the steers. On
another occasion, in n lot where several
horses We're kept, all bay except one gray
fellow, she was told to bring out the gray
one. and did so, leaving the rest. That
''Bogzie" is not an ordinary case, but held
a unique position and won the cup for the
cleverest dog in the world. is beyond dis
pute: but saGacity. probably more than
anything else has made the breed famous.
l recall very well. as a boy, being the
possessor of collie pup that / owned
from The time he was four weeks old, and
the following instance in connection with
this devoted friend melted my apprecia-
ton of the collies' worth. Unlike most
collies, this pun, who was then eight
water; and persuasion having failed and
being averse to forcing him to go in. he
had up to that age bec0me more or less of
land-lubber. One very warm day had
gone in swimming, = and struck out quite
distance from the shDre. AS was the
dogs custom, he steodro the bank watch
ing me-when ] wil suddenly taken with
a cramp. Approaching my precarious
condition, child-like II commenced to
scream; and just as + disappeared from
the surface of the water. without any idea
that the dog would to me, piteously
cried to him for Help When came up
my head almost struck the dog. who was
circing about where l. had disappeared; /
threw my arm over his back, and he
struck out for shore, with me in tow.
From that day on and as long as the dog
lived, which was some 10 years, no mat
ter whether went into fresh water or
into the surf. that animal never left my
side for moment. d '-