The Brandon news., 1903-09-10
THE cHlvALRY OF ANIMALS.
Examples of Their Tenderness Toward
All Animal Young.

pose OF cultivating 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 posi-
ton and suck in the air vigorously
while keeping them firmly pressed,
thus giving rise to half squawing,
half whistling sound that closely re-
sembles the cry of young bird in dis
tress. 1t is astonishing, writes Woods
Hutchinson, in the Contemporary Re-
view, how quickly this will sometimes
cause an apparently deserted thicket to
become fairly alive with birds, all in a
state Of anxious excitement.
The attitude Of dogs and other do
nestle animals toward the babies or
children Of the family to which they
belong, and which they probably re-
| gard as adopted into their own fam
| lily circle, is familiar illustration OF
this same feeling. Nor is this simply a
matter Of affection for the particular
individuals; on the contrary, it's purely
personal and, If we might use the term,
abstract character is something most
curiously shown.
One Of my brothers, when the young
man, owned a handsome Newfound-
land, answering to the name Of Skuk-
KUN, the same being Chinook Indian
for good" and amply deserved. When
my brother married, Skukkum was gra-
ciously pleased to approve of his choice
and extended 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 first baby came his courtesy gave
way. He not only absolutely refused
to come and look at the little tot, ard
| be introduced to the new member of
the family, but if it was brought into
the room would instantly leave it or
march off to the farthest corner and
| lies down with an air Of offended dig
nifty.
And yet the moment the baby was
placed in his perambu1ator and started
out through the garden gate for 4
| constitutional down the street, Skuk-
KUN would promptly range up aloI.r.
side Of the carriage and escort il
| through the entire trip, keeping most
| vigilant eye upon any stranger, canine
! or human, who ventured to approach
| his charge without cordial greeting
from the nursemaid. The minute, how.
ever, that the gate was safely reached
again he considered his duty done and
! relapsed at once into his former atti
| tude of jealous contempt.
He evidently felt that, no matter hon;
much he might disapprove OF the bab!
personally, and even feel free to cz-
press this feeling within the privacy O.
the family circle, yet the youngest WAS
nevertheless, de jure, member OF tie
family, and entitled not merely to de-
fense, but to respectful 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
4 VI tlC dICludl III d1ll1Al 30
throwing the mantle Of protection over
even the young Of their legitimate prey,
may also be claimed as sort of female
chivalry. Nor, fortunately, is there
need to multiply instances Of it, as il
has attracted affectionate admiration
| from the dawn Of history.
| | have known young squirrels, young
rabbits, and even young chickens
adopted for 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 disappointed in.
stinct of maternity will assert itself
in this regard, for an orphaned mother
hound of my pack was prevented only
with great difficulty from appropriating
the puppies Of younger and more for
| tunate sister. And l have twice known
sour old maid cats carry off vi ct armis
the kittens Of ''the favorite Of the
harem," though in these last two in
stances 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
WELL
I think 1t 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 Romulus and Renius
myth is the most famous example, had
an actual foundation in fact. Indeed,
a number of cases are in record Of
actual wild or wolf children within
historical times, and although many of
these must be discounted as simply in.
stances Of well-known form of iusan.
ity, 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 nothing
ell