Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1905-11-27

chained there to keep them away.
Without their seeing me 1 carried the
dead lion and laid it in life-like
position in the open doorway The
burros approached the rear of the
crib, then circled around and came
with startling suddenness upon the
frightful object. To my establishment
Mig only hesitated for an instant, shot
forward his ears, took a sniff, then
walked up and ate corn over the
body Of his yet warm though dead
enemy. That took some rapid think
ing, first to perceive that the lion
was not exactly in a life-like posture,
next that we would not be standing
near If it was alive. Just what he
thought I do not know, but his con-
illusions were just, and he went for
the corn! Horses think, but some
more than others. My old driving
mare would never allow me to ap-
proach her in pasture if I had a
bride with me, but by laying it down
and taking an ear of corn could
catch her anywhere, though some
times it was difficult to lead her by
the foretop to the place where laid
the bride. There is certainly a be-
ginning of reasoning there, not so
wonderful as in the case of the burro,
true, yet beginning.
A much more intelligent mare than
I owned on the ranch would hardly
permit me to catch her at all, never
unless she was first run into corral
One night she ran with another mare
in a little wild meadow where we
were camped. That night big lion
came and killed the other mares colt.
The two were wild about it and all
the rest of the night ran about, neigh
ing, calling their colts. In the morn
ing we learned the cause of their
agitation, finding the dead colt. My
mare came right to me, though I had
bride in hand, and seemed glad to be
caught. There was solid log fence
across the canyon little higher up
past which these horses could not go,
There were not apt to be lions up on
the mesa, to which this canyon led.
rode the mare, Old Speck, up above
this fence that morning, where I was
doing some work. AS she seemed
glad of our company I thought she
would surely stay about, so turned
her loose without hobbies or picket
line. In an instant I knew that /
had missed it; she called her colt to
her side and looked at me in a
roguish way as much as to say
Thank you, Joe, now good bye!" and
away she went up the canyon as fast
as she could streak, never stopping
until she had reached the mountain
top. Knowing her so we'll, I never
doubted that she reasoned that ]
would protect her colt and would
help her get beyond the Ito herr i'm,
passable boundary.
Collie dogs think and reason often
times, feel very sure. I have had
a good many instances of that. Old
Pard, big, rough Collie that !
owned, and whose portrait has often
appeared in The Gazette, would catch
young lambs by running full tilt at
them and holding them down with
his paws, while he would catch old
sows savagely by the ears with his
teeth, and hold them! Did it not
take thought to discriminate, to know
that the lamb was delicate and valu-
able, that the SOW was tough, and an
intruder, anyway, on sheep farm
A high state of thinking is connected
with the workings of conscience. This
Old Pard had as much as any dog 1
ever knew. To illustrate, he hated
pigs and when set to drive them out
of mischief he was very rough with
them, dangerously so. We had a
cornfield on fiat below the house:
we were husking in this field and Old
Pard helped. A neighbours pigs came
often into this field while we were
husking, fat, saucy porkers Just about
old enough to be weaned. We set
the dog on them now and then, but he
was so rough we had to go after him
and compel him to desist or he would
have killed some Of the. rogues. One
day when we were not working down
there I heard a furious barking and
realized with dismay that the dog
was at work on those pigs, and with
no one to restrain him. l feared
some Of them would be killed before
I could reach them, but ran at top
speed to where could see. It was a
curious and laughable sight. The
pigs were frightened out of their wits
and running in all directions; Old
Pard was enjoying 1t immensely; he
WOllld chaSp after nip Ouorto Ia ~