Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-06-27
THE cH1vALRY OF ANIMALS.
Examples of Their Tenderness Toward
All Animal Young.

Examples of Their Tenderness Toward
All Animal Young.
BY far the most effective means Of bring
ing birds about you for the purpose Of cul-
tivating their acquaintance, after you have
settled yourself. field glass in hand. with
your back against a tree trunk. Is to place
your lips to the back of your hand in the
kissing position and suck in the air vigor-
ously. while keeping them firmly pressed.
this giving rise to a half squawing, half
whfstling sound that closely resembles the
cry of young bird in distress. 1t is as
tonishing, writes Woods Hutchinson in the
Contemporary Review. how quickly this will
sometimes cause apparently deserted
thicket to become fairly alive with birds,
all in state of anxious excitement.
The attitude Of dogs and other domestic
animals toward the babies or children of
the family to which they belong, and which
they probably regard as adopted into their
own family circle, is familiar Illustration
Of this same feeling. Nor is this simply a
matter of affection for the particular in
dividual; on the contrary. its purely per-
sonal and, If we might use the term, alb
stract character Is something most curl
ously shown.
One of my brothers, when a young man.
owned handsome Newfoundland, answer
ing to the name Of Skukkum, the same be-
ing Chinook Indian for good" and amply
deserved. When my brother married, Skuk-
KUN was graciously pleased to approve of
his choice and extended a courteous but
distinctly condescending friendship to the
new member of his family, evidently think
ing that perhaps, after all, three might be
company in spite of the proverb. But he
drew the line at four, and when the hrst
baby came his courtesy gave way. He not
only absolutely refused to come and look
at the little tot and be introduced TO the
,k,or aF 70 " hy1
brought into the room would instantly
leave 1t or march off to the farthest cor
ner and lie down with an air Of offended
dignity.
And yet the moment the baby was placed
in his perambulator and started out
through the garden gate, for constitu-
tional down the street. Skukkum woulo
promptly range up alongside of the car
riage and escort it through the entire trip,
keeping most vigilant eye upon any
stranger, canine or human, who ventured
to approach his charge without a cordial
greeting from the nursemafd. The minute,
again he considered his duty done and re-
lapsed at once into his former attitude OF
jealous contempt.
He evidently felt that, no matter how
personally, and even feel free to express
this feeling within the privacy OF the fam
lily circle, yet the youngest was, neverthe-
less, de jure, a member of the family, ana
ent1tleQ not merely To UeicISe, " AO-
spectful attention before the eye Of the
outside world. AS the baby grew older he
soon came to like him for his own sake,
and they were the best of friends.
The broad and beautiful catholicity OF
the maternal instinct in animals, throwing
the mantle of protection over even the
young of their legitimate prey, may also
be claimed as a sort of female chlvairy
Nor fortunately, is there need to multiply
instances of it, as 1t has attracted affec-
tionate admiration from the dawn OF his
tory.
I have known young squirrels, young rab-
bits, and even young chickens, adopted 1or
longer or shorter periods by mother cats
and every collection of pets can furnish
one or more instances of strange and often
incongruous foster children. Even the DIS
appointed instinct of maternity will assert
itself in this regard. for an orphaned
mother hound of my pack was prevented
only with great difficulty from appropr1at-
ing the puppies of younger and more for
tunate sister. And I have twice known
sour old maid cats carry Off vi ct arms
the kittens of 1.-The favorite of the harem,"
though in these last two instances there
was, I fear-as often, alas, In even the
most pious of human actions-a suspicion
at least of a strain of the green-eyed
monster as we'll
think it is quite possible, indeed, prob
able, that the innumerable old folk lore
stories told in every region OF the world
among the most widely divergent of races
of deserted infants being adopted and
nourished by wolves. panthers, deer and
other wild animals, of which the Romuius
and Remus myth is the most famous ex-
ample. had an actual foundation in fact
Indeed a number of instances are in rec
ord of actual wild wolf children within
historical times, and although many OF
these must be discounted as simply in
stances of a well-known form of insanity,
few seem to have been genuine. When
we remember the far greater frequency
with which infants were left to take their
chance in the open air in earlier times, on
account of the now almost incredible risks
of war, famine and pestilence, to say moth
ing of the cheerful custom, followed by
MANY tribes of deliberately exposing their
weaklings. it would be strange IT, out of
the innumerable opportunities of this sort
of adoption, some successful instances had
not occurred. So that we may cast aside
our scruples and believe in the Irresistible
"Moweli' to our hearts content.