The Dickinson press., 1905-02-11
OF ANIMALS
A DOG THAT STOLE But. ONCE AND
THEN REPRINTED.

THEN REPRINTED.
Crows In Judicial Convention Pass
md Execute Sentence ON Culprits
of Their Tribe Puppy and Lion
That Ate and Slept Together.
And now they say animals know
right from wrong and that even in a
puppy's breast is kindled that spark of
divine fire, a conscience.
The beasts of the field have eaten Of
the fruit of the tree Of knowledge Of
good and evil. That they are capable
Of loving and Of devoting themselves
to those they love. that they offer
models of maternal and conjugal at
lection, has long been admitted, and
today they are credited with express
sions Of some notion, however obscure
or imperfect, Of good and evil, Of merit
and demerit, Of Justice and injustice.
There is a familiar anecdote from the
naturalist Romanes about his dog,
which never stole a thing in his life
save once and then under these cir
cumstances:
zone day when he was hungry" says
his master, che seized a outlet from
the table and carried it under a sofa.
I was witness to this fact, but pre-
tended I had een nothing, and the
culprit remained some minutes under
the sofa, divided between the desire
to assuage his hunger and the senti-
ment of duty. The latter finally tri-
umphed, and the dog deposited at my
feet the outlet which he had stolen.
This done, he returned to conceal HIM
self under the sofa, whence no appeal
could make him emerge. In vain I
gently patted his head. The only eff
feet of this caress was to make him
turn his face with an air Of contrition
that was truly comical."
What gives particular value to this
example, concludes Romanes, is that
the dog in question had been
beaten, so that it could not have been
fear Of corporal punishment which ac-
tuated him. In him there seems to be
an animal that knows what he owes
to another. There are also animals
which know what is due them. 1t has
often been stated that certain beasts
have a precise idea of what can be ex-
acted from them without injury and
that they ask in their own way to be
limited to their proper obligations.
1.-THE cattle in the gardens Of Suse,"
Montague says, ARE used to turn
large wheels for drawing water. Each
is required to make a hundred revolu-
tons every day. They are so accus-
toned to this number that it is almost
impossible to make them do more, and
having finished their task they stop
short"
One day the illustrious scholar Arago
was forced by a storm to take refuge
in a roadhouse. He was warming him
self in the kitchen when his host went
to put q chicken on the spit. This
done, he wished to pick up q terrier
that was in the room to make him turn
the spit, but the animal took refuge
under the table, showing his teeth.
When Arago was astonished at the con-
duct Of the dog, it was explained that
the animal was not altogether In the
wrong, as it was not his turn to attend
to the spit. Another terrier was found
and put to work without a protest.
When the chicken was roasted OF n
side, the cook thought it time to re-
lieve the spit turner. This time the
dog that had been rebellious caused
no trouble and applied himself to his
task. Is it credible that animals EN-
der Justice, have a species of tribunals
where the accused appear before mag
istrates? Certain animal tribes pos
sess a veritable judiciary organization
in the image Of those of human so
cieties.
DR.. Edmondson, who has made a
special study Of crows, says that they
hold periodic assizes when the at
fairs Of the eason are appealed. They
gather together in large numbers for
a c~onvocation. Among them are some
| whose fallen heads indicate accusa-
tons; others are grave like Judges,
while still others are motion and clam
or. When the assembly is ended there
Is q general noise, and q little after law
yers, listeners and bailiffs pounce upon
the two or three prisoners arraigned
before the bar and ply them with
strokes until death ensues.
To wrong no one, to render unto
each his own, to receive according to
ones deserts, is only the negative Of
the moral code. Above the duties Of
justice are those of charity, whose for
mula in this: do unto others as you
would that they do unto you." Whether
or not animals attain to this stage
may be partially judged by a scene
whose theater was a large Partisan
menagerie. A little black and white
pug dog was thrown into the cage Of
! lioness named Constantine. Terri
fed and trembling in all his limbs he
tried to hide in q corner. The liOneSs