The sea coast echo., 1903-05-16
WONDERS OF PATH FINDING.


The remarkable ease with which
certain animals and some savage races
Of men can find their way through
trackless coun,fy and often through
territory Which they never traversed
before has occupied naturalists and
psychologists for ages. and no thor
oughly adequate explanation OF the
power haso'been made.
Bates, the explorer, tells of one of
his journeys in South America, when
be and two companions, one a Port
uguese traveller and tho other r. ten
year-old Indian boy, had penetrated
prlmeval forest for two days, during
which time the boy did not appear to
pay the least attention to the route.
AT the end of the second day both
Bates and his Portuguese companion
were bewildered completely, and had
to confess that they were lost. Finally
without expecting any real help they
asked the little Indian IL he could find
the way out. Without the least hesita-
tion he pointed in a certain direction,
and said they would find their camp
straight ahead
They doubted it, as the boy pointed
In direction exactly opposite to that
in which they expected to find 1t, but
they were agreeably disappointed, for
the camp turned out to be just where
the boy said it was.
IIprepa aro Fn tppt.c fgr abIn
tC find their way. zurn, the naturalist,
tells of one that had worked for
miller When IT became blind, he
sold 1t to farmer about fifty miles
distant One day. some time after 1t
had been sold, its owner drove along
road that passed the mill. AS soon
as the blind horse reached q little
side path that led from the road to
its old home 1t turned into 1t and tried
to trot to the mill.
Subsequently, experiments we're
made with the animal, and 1t was
found that no matter how the horse
was driven, from what direction 1t
approached the road, or under what
circumstances, 1t never failed to turn
out of the main road When 1t came
abreast of the little side path.
The German principality Of Lippe
once was celebrated for I particularly
fine breed of horses. They ran half
wild and were beautiful in form and
exceedingly swift AID powerful. One
Of them. magnificent stallion, was
sold to French officer who shipped
the boast to his b )me in France.
A few weeks afterward the horse ar
rived in his old home In Lippe. It wore
French harness and was covered with
Gust and foam. 1t turned out that the
stallion had thrown It's rider the mo-
ment he had mounted it after taking
IT. from the railroad. and had darted
away down the road Later men re-
ported that they had seen the animal
swim across the Rhine All the facts
that were gathered finally showed
that the horse had run in almost
straight line from It's French owners
place to its home.
Civilized men do not possess the
gift in so great measure, but indi-
vlduals are often found who have 1t.
An ex-officer of the United States
Coast Survey Is noted for It. The
writer had a striking proof of his
power one night in big bay on the
Atlantic coast. A small boat contain
ing the officer and two companions
had set out from an anchored vessel
to reach an island about fvc miles
away. None of those in the boat had
ever been in the bay before. A thick
sea fog covered the water and neither
lights nor landmarks were to be seen.
Before the boat had gone fifty feet
the vessel was blotted out.
Yet the officer steered the little
boat without single mistake and
without stopping once. as surely and
true as II 1t were bright day. The
party not only reached the island.
but actually was steered by him to
a little wharf that he knew to exist
from his glance at chart before he
started.-San Francisco Chronicle.