INSTINCT AND REASON IN ANIMALS.

Globe, Volume III, Issue 247, 25 March 1875, Page 3

INSTINCT AND REASON IN ANIMALS.

A discussion on this subject having been started in the Times, Colonel Stuart Wort'ey sends the following interesting facts. He says : " When serving at the Cape of Good Hope I went far into the interior of the country on a shooting expedition, and one morning, having shot a blesblox on one of the open plains, I left it on the spot where it was killed while 1 rode off in search of water. My Caffir boys remonstrated, declaring the vultures would eat it, but as the sky was clear and no vulture in sight I disbelieved, and we rode off. On returning in about an hour and a half the dead animal was devoured to the bones, and a dozen gorged vultures were" finishing their meal. It is, I think, certain that vision only could have led these birds to their prey, and a vision of remarkable keenness, for when we left the dead animal no vulture was in sight, even in the farthest distance. I was so struck with this marvellous keenness of sight that I tried the experiment often afterwards, and always with the same result. In these cases no taint of decomposition had set in, and the only other possible alternative would be that the birds could have hoard the report of my gun, and been attracted by it. But that hypothesis is negatived by the fact that I frequently run down deer with dogs, and the vultures have in that case as quickly and certainly appeared as in cases where the animals were shot. " Now for a few words on dogs and other animals. I am one of those who believe that we usually underestimate the reasoning power of animals. I believe they think, and reason out a coarse of action from their thoughts. The following anecdotes bear on this point. I have a very favorite Skye terrier, bred, and sold to me, by the famous Bill George many years ago. His eyes are now dim with age, he is stone deaf, but he is sitting now by my side with his wise old face turned up towards me, and a look of reasoning love upon it. This dog is a thinker and reasoner; witness his acts. Some years since I spent a winter in Naples, and went often to a library to read the newspapers. My dog went with me, but, as be would quarrel with the library dog, he was shut out. But one morning the door-bell rang, and, on the door being opened, in rushed " Cloudy." There was no one at the door, and as the same thing occurred again on my next visit, it was clear the dog rang the bell. The door was watched the next time, and it was so; the bell-pull was a cord, hanging down, and the dog jumped at it till either with paws or teeth he jerked it sufficiently to ring the bell. But once he heard the bell tinkle inside, he left off jumping, and posted himself in position to rush in the

moment the door was opened. Again, at a croquet party a ball was knocked into the water. 'Clou-'y' went in after it, but it whs much too large for his mouth, and after many vain attempts to get hold of it, he swam back. Hulf-wny to the bank, however, he reasoned, find swimming back to the ball, he paddled it along in front of him by nose and feet to the bank, up which and onto the lawn he brought it in the same way. I could tell many more stories of this dog's wisdom, but will only mention one more trait in his character. He had to make the journey from Paris to Marseilles in a dog-box, and he never now is taken to a railway station but he instantly flies into a carriage and ensconces him in a corner, whence no railway porter in England could 'draw' him. This is from his recollection and horror of his dog-box prison. Another dog of mine reasoned. After the battle of Inkerman a fine Russian dog remained with his master's body, and I took him away. He tolerated me, but at intervals often days or so would go down a valley in front of our camp into Sebastopol, and not return for a day or two. Clearly he went to search for his lost and loved master, and failing to find hirr returned to his friend. The dog never recovered the loss of his master, and even when living in England would go restlessly in search of him. Many of my friends and relations will remember old ' Menschikoff." Even my pug, by no means a clever dog, has sufficient reasoning power to have learnt to open the lid of the croquet box and fish out a ball when he wants to have a game of play. " Few people would credit a cat with reasoning power, but the one which acted as follows certainly had it. After the French troops had taken the Malakoff 1 was sent into it on duty, and found an unhappy cat bayonetted through the foot and pinned to the ground. I took her to my tent, she was carefully tended,' and every morning taken to the doctor to have her wound atteuded to. Four or five days after I was too ill one morning to get up, and puss came and scratched at my tent door. I took notice, but not long afterwards the doctor came to say that mine was a wise cat, for she had come to his tent and sat quietly down for her foot to be examined and have its usual bandaging. She was watched to see what she would do the next morning, but she declined wasting her time scratching for me, and went straight to the doctor's tent and scratched there. Surely she reasoned. She was a very affectionate animal, and it was absurd to see her following me all over the the camp with her tail carried stiff in the air. " I must not occupy more space, or I could tell many other stories ; but I think I have said enough to show that animals have reasoning power, and are not merely, as Dr Bree seems to think, guided by scent alone."