AN E C D O T E S

OF T HE

HABIT S AND INST NOTS E

OF AN I MAL&

BY

M RS . R . LE E
( F O RM E R L Y M RS . T . BOWD CH I ),
A u t hor of Ane d te f B
c o s o L; d a, F z shes , an d Rep t z l es ,
’
T he Af r i c a n Wan d ee
r r s,

Ad e t e i Pla y mg e e m
’
v n ur s n A u s tr al i a! at S t tl r s, e .

fi lc hmtb fib u u z anu .

W ITH I L L U S T R A TIO N S BY HA RR S O N I W E IR .

G R I F F IT H , FA R R AN , O KE D E N W E LS H ,
S UC C E S S O R S T O NE W B E RY A N D H A R R IS ,

W E ST C OR N E R OF ST . PA U L
’
S C H U R C H Y A R D, L O N D O N .

E . P . D UT T O N CO N E W YO RK .
 PR E F AC E .

I N makin g a selec t ion o f A necdotes those have been

,

assembled w hic h were supplied by me to other works ,

an d i n most instances have re c eive d considerable ampli

fic atio n ; others have been given which never be fore

were p rinted —perhaps not even written ; while all
which h a v e been trans ferred f rom other pages to mine
h ave received the stamp o f authenticity Besides those
.

whose names are already mentioned I have to thank

,

f riends w ho have drawn f rom the ir private stores f o r

my a d v antage and thus enabled me to O ff er m uch
,

that is per f ectly n ew .

D ry details o f science an d classification have been

laid a side but a certain order has been kept to avoid
,

conf usion ; and al t hough endeavours have been made

to throw as much interest as p ossible over these r e
c orded habits and a c tions o f the brute creation I love
,

the latter t o o well t o raise a doubt by o n e word o f

embellishment even if I did not abstain f rom principle
, .

The in tentions with which this work w as commenced

have n o t been carried o u t in asmuch as m aterials have
,

crowded up on me beyond all calculation ; and although

a large pc rt io n has been rejected , the a necdotes related

M3 ? 2 1 5 4
“
iv PR EFA C E .

g o no f urther than the Mammalia while almost all ,

a n imals were t o have been included .

With regard to the remaining orders —if the present

work should meet with a f avourable reception I shall ,

hope nex t year to present the publi c with touchi n g

and amusing proo f s o f the sagacity and dispositions
’ ’
O f bir ds and o f
,
hair breadth scapes f rom reptiles
‘ -
,

etc , some O f which will like t hose in the prese n t

.
,

volume be care f ully selected f rom the works o f tra

,

v aller s f rom t he resources O f f riends an d f rom my o w n

”
, ,

experience .

To the pleasing task O f enlightening those w ho shut ,

up in close cities have no O pportunity o f observing f o r

,

themselves and to the still higher enj oyment O f d irect

,

ing young minds to an elevating pursuit the naturalist ,

adds a gratification even better than all by making ,

known the hi dden wonders o f nature ; and leaving to

those who delight in argument the ever unsolved ques
,
-

tion o f where instinct ends and reason begins he sets ,

f orth the love o f the great Creator towards all His

creatures , and the way s He takes to show His wisdom .
 PRE F AC E T O T HE S E C ON D E D I T I O N .

T u n pleasure O f bei n g so read as to require a second

e d ition o f o u r works is much increased if we authors
, ,

can in any way make tha t edition more worthy O f the

p u blic than the first .

I flatter mysel f that in the present instance I have

s ucceeded by be ing able to add two or three anecd o tes
,

o f much interest bearing the same stamp o f au t hen t i

,

city as all the rest O f the collection The history o f .

the fire dog is here ended and a cat O f remarkable

-
,

sag a city intro duced ; the history o f bears is also ampli

fied ; and as nothing but the truth has been told I hO pe ,

to receive the same kind reception as t hat which has

accompanied t he first e d i tion .

T he T hir d E d it i o n Of t he A n ecd o tes of t he H ab its an d

I n s t in ct s of B ir d s, F ishes, an d R ep ti les allu d ed t o in t he

Pr eface of th e F i rs t E d i t io n to t hi s W o rk, may b e h ad
u n ifo r m w i th t h i s V o lu me, w i t h I llu s t r at i o n s b y H AR R I S O N
W E I R , pri c e 33 . 6 d , o r gilt ed ges 48
. .
 C ONTE NT S .

M ON KE YS ETc .
, ,

HED GEHO GS ,

BEARS ,

BADGERS ,

W EASEL S ,

OT TE R S
DOGS ,
L
W O V ES ,

FOXES ,

H r zE N A S

L I ON S ,

T IGERS ,

LEOPARD S PANTH ERS , ,

CATS ,

S ! UIRRELS ,
RATS ,

M I CE ,

ELEPHANTS ,

H I PPOPOT A M US
,

HO GS ,
 C O NT E NT So

PA C ?
R H INOCE ROS E S ,

HORSES ,

A S S ES ,

C .\ M E L S- D ROMEDA RI ES ,
L LAMAS , E T C .
,

D E ER,
G IRAFFE S ,

A N T E L o r E s,

G O AT s

SH E E P
 AN E C D O T E S O E

HABITS AND INSTINCTS OF ANIMALS .

T HE ! U A D R U M AN A O R ,
M O N KE Y
T R IB E .

F O R M E D li ke man ,and practising similar gestures , but

with thumbs instead o f great toes upon their f eet a nd ,

with so narro w a heel bone that even t ho se who con

-
'

st an t ly walk upright have not the firm and dignified step

o f human beings the Quadrumana yet approximate s o

,

closely to us that they demand the first place in a book

,

devoted principally to the intellectual ( whether it be

reason or instinct ) his t ory o f animals This appr o x i .

ma t ion is a matter o f amusement to some ; but to the

l arger portion o f mankind I should say it is a source
, ,
’
O f disgust R apo yn d a, I exclaimed o n e day to a
‘
.

troublesome inqui sitive restless negro pointi n g to a

, , ,

black monkey , which m uch resembled him in ch aracter ,

’
‘
that is your brother N ever shall I f orget the malig
.

nant scowl which passed over the man s f eatures at ’

my heedless co mp arison N o apology n o kindness

.
, ,

not even the gi f t O f a smar t waistcoat which he ,

greatly coveted ever restored m e to his good graces ;

,

an d I was not sorry when his chie f summoned him

f rom my vicinity , f o r I dreaded his revenge .

A
2 AN E C D O T E S OF ANI M AL S .

A f ew years a fter I stoo d lost in admiration be f or e

,

Sir E dwin L andseer s inimitable picture O f the monkey

’ ‘

’
who had seen the world in which n ature an d truth
,

lend their tone and f orce to the highest e ff orts O f art ;

when a voice exclaimed How can you w aste your time
,
‘

looking at that thing ? such creatures ought never to

have been painted ; and although the speaker was a
’

religious man he muttered to himsel f I am not sure

, ,

they o ugh t ever to have b een made The voice pro .

’

c eed ed f rom o n e O f the finest instances O f manly beauty ,

—O n e f ame d also f or talent an d acquirement R a .

p yo n d a s t arted into my recollection and as I slowly ,

le ft the talented picture I could not help smiling at

,

the common f eeling bet ween the savage and the gentle
man thereby proving its universality
,
.

N ever did any one start f o r a tropical climate with

a greater antipathy towards these wild men than I ‘ ’

d id
. I lived years in their vicinity and y et contrived to ,

avoid all contact with them an d it was not till I was ,

home ward bound th at my conversion was e ff ected The .

ship in which Mr B owdich and mysel f took a round

.

about course to E ngland was floating o n wide expanse

o f water disturbed o n ly by the heavy swell which f orms
,

the sole motion in a calm ; the watch o n deck were

seated near the bows O f the vessel ; the pa ssengers and
O fficers were almost all belo w ; there were only mysel f
and the helmsman O n the a fter deck : he stoo d lis tlessly -

by the binnacle , and I w as wholly occupied in reading .

A noise between a squeak and a chatter suddenly met

my ears ; and be f ore I could turn my head to see
whence it proceeded a heavy , livin g creature j umped
,

O n my shoulders f rom behind and its tail encircled my ,

throat I f elt it was Jack t he cook s monkey —the

.
,
’

,
 T rI E M O N KE Y T RI B E . 3

mischie v ous , m alicious , mocking , but inimitable J ack ,

w hose pranks had o ften made me laugh against my
w ill as I watched him f rom a distance but with whom
, ,

I had nev er made the least acquaintance Whether .

f rom f ear or presence O f mind I do not pretend t O say ,

'

but I remained per fectly still , and in a minute o r two

Jack p ut his head f orward and stared me in the f ace ,
uttering a sort O f croak He then descended o n to my
.

knees examin e d my hands as if he were counting my

,

fi n gers , tried to take o ff my rings and when I gave ,

him some biscuit , curled himself compactly into my lap .

We were friends f rom that moment My aversion thus .

c ured , I ha v e e v er since f elt indescribable interest an d

e ntertainment in watching studying an d protecting
, ,

monkeys We had several o n boar d the above men

.
-

t io n ed v essel , b u t Ja ck was the prince o f them all .

E xclusively belonging to the cook al t hough a f a v our,

ite with the whole crew my f riend ( a Cercopithecus

,

f rom S enegal ) had been at first kept by means o f a cord

attached to the cab oose ; but as he became more and
more tame his li b erty was extended , till at last he w as
,

allowed the whole range O f the ship with the exception ,

’
o f the captain s and passengers cabins The occupa
’
.

tions which b e marked o u t f o r himsel f began at early

d awn by overturning the steward s p arrot cage when
’
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,

ever he could get at it in order to secu r e the lump o f

,

sugar which then rolled o u t , o r lick up the water which

ran f rom the upset cup He evidently intended to pull
.

’
the parrot s tail feathers ; but the latter by turning round ,

as f ast as Jack turned , al w ays f aced him , and his beak

was t o o f ormidable to be encountered I w as frequently .

a w akened by the quick tramping O f f eet at this early

hour , and I knew it arose from a pursuit O f J ack , in
4 AN E C D O T E S OF AN I M AL S .

c onsequen ce o f some mischie f o n his p art Like a ll .

other nautic al monkeys , he descended into the f ore

castle, where he twisted o ff the night c aps o f the sailors
-

as they lay in t heir hammocks , stole their kni v es , tools ,

etc ; and if they were not v ery acti v e in the pursuit,
.

these pu rlo in in gs were thrown overboard .

When preparations f o r break f as t began , J ack took his

post in a corner near the grate and when t he cook s b ack
,
’

was turned hooked o u t the pieces o f biscuit which were

,

toasti n g between the bars f o r the men and sna t ched the
,

bunches o f dried herbs with w hich they tried to imitate

tea o u t o f the tin mugs He sometimes s calded o r
,
.

b urnt his fingers by these tricks which kept him quiet

,

f o r a f ew days but no sooner was the p ain gone than

he repeated the mischie f .

T w o days in each week the pigs , which f ormed part

,

O f o u r li v e stock were allowed to run about the deck

,

fo r exercise , and then J ack w as particularly happy .

Hiding himself behind a cask , he would suddenly spring

o n to the back o f o n e o f them his f ace to the tail ,
,

an d away scam p ere d his f rightened steed Sometimes .

an obstacle would impede the gallop and then Jack , ,

l oosenin g the hold which he had a cquired by digging

his nails into the skin o f the pig , industriously tried t o
u n curl it s tail and if he we r e saluted by a laugh f rom
some o n e near by, he would look u p with a n assume d
air o f wonder as much as to s ay What can y o u find to
, ,

laugh at ? When the pigs were S hut up he thought it ,

his turn to give others a ride and there w ere three little
,

monkeys wi th red skins and blue f aces whom he par t i

, ,

c u larly f avoured . I f requently met him with all o f them

o n his back at the same time , squeaking and huddling

together , and with di fficulty preserving their sea t ; when

 TH E M O N K E Y I
TR B E . 5

he suddenly stopped , and seemed to ask me pr a is e to

the goo d natured a c tion which he was per forming He
- .

w as, however , j ealous o f all those o f his brethren who

came in contact with me and f reed hi msel f from t w o o f
,

his rivals by throwing them into the sea One o f them .

w as a small L ion monkey o f great beau t y and extreme

,

gentleness ; and immediately a fter I had been f eedi n g

him , J ack called him with a coaxing p atronizing air ,

but as soon as he was within reach the per fid io u s c rea ,

ture seized him by the nape o f his neck a nd as quick as , ,

thought, popped him over the side o f the ship We were .

going at a bri sk rate, and although a mm w as thrown

o u t t o him the poor little screaming thing w a s s o on le f t
,

behi n d very much to my distress f o r his almost hum a n

, ,

agony o f countenance was p ain f ul to behold F o r this .

Jack was punished by being shut up all d ay i n the

empty hen C oop in which he usually passed the night
-
, ,

and which he so hated that when bed time c ame , he

,
-

generally avoided the clutches o f the steward He , how .

e ver committed so much mischie f when unwatched , that

,

it had become necessary to confine him at night , and I

was o f ten oblige d to per form t he o ffice o f nurse maid -
.

’
Jack s principal puni shment, however was to be taken ,

in f ront o f the cage in w hich a p anther belonging to me

was pla c ed , in the f ore p ar t o f the deck His alar m .

w as intense ; the panther set up his b ack a nd gro w led ,

but J ack instantly closed hi s eyes and made himself ,

‘

per f ectly rigid I generally held him up by the tail ;

.

a nd if I moved he cautiously O pened o n e eye ; b ut if

,

he caught sight o f even a corner o f the cage , he shut it

f ast , and pretende d to b e dead His drollest trick was
.

pract ised o n a poor little black monkey ; taking the

O pportunity when a calm , similar to tha t spoken O f
6 AN E C D O T E S OF ANI M AL S .

above le ft him nearly the sole possessor o f the d eck I

,
.

do not know that he saw me , f o r I was sitting behin d

the companion door The men had been painting the
.

ship o utside , and were putting a broad band o f white

upon her when they went to dinner below , lea ving their
,

paint and brushes o n the upper deck Jack enticed his .

victim to him who meekly obeyed the summons ; an d

,

s eizing him with o n e hand he with the other took the

,

brush and covered him wi th the white fluid f rom head

,

to f oot The laugh o f the man at the helm calle d my

.

attention to the cir cumstance ; and as soon as Jack

perceived he was dis c overed , he d r opped his dripp ing
brother and rapidly scampered up the rigging till he
, ,

gained the maintop where he stoo d with his nose b e

,

tween the bars looking at what was going on belo w .

A s the other monkey began to lick himsel f I called up

t he ste w ard who washed him clean with turpentine and
, ,

no harm ensued ; but J ack was a fraid to come down ,

and only a f ter three d ays passed in his elevated place o f

r e f uge di d hunger c ompel him to descend He chose .

the moment when I was sitting o n deck and swinging , ,

himsel f by a rope he dropped suddenly into my lap

, ,

looking so imploringly at me f or pardon that I not only ,

f orgave him mysel f but procured his absolution f rom

,

others Jack and I parted a little to the so uth o f the

.

’
S cilly Islands a f ter five mon t hs companionship an d
, ,

never met again ; but I was told that he was much d i s

t ressed at my absence hunted f or me all over t he vessel
,

tn the most disconsolate manner, even venturing into

M y cabin ; n or w as he reconcile d to the loss o f me when
’
t he ship s company p arte d in the L ondon D ocks .

A nother monkey, o f the same species as Jack was ,

trained by a man in Paris to p er f orm a multitude O f

 T II E M O N K E Y I E
TR B . 7

clever tricks I met him o n e day suddenly as he was

.

coming up the drawing room stairs He made way f or

-
.

me by standing in an angle and when I said G oo d ,

‘

morning took o ff his cap and made me a lo w b o w

’
, , .

’
‘
A re yo u going a w ay ? I asked ; w here is your ‘

passport ? U pon which he to ok f rom the same cap a

’

s quare piece o f p aper which he O pened an d showed t o

,

me His master told him my gown was dusty and he

.
,

instantly took a smal l brush f ro m his m aster s pocket ’

raised the hem o f my dress cleaned it and th en did

, ,

the same f o r my shoes He was per fectly do cile and

.

obedien t : when we gave him something to eat he did ,

n o t cram his p ouches wi t h it b ut delicately and tidily

,

devoured it ; and when we besto w e d money o n him , he

’
immediately put it into his m as ter s hands .

Much more accomplishe d monkeys than those o f

which I have spoken have been kno wn to act plays ,

an d to assume the characters they h ave undertaken ,

with a spirit and aptitude which might tempt us to

suppose that they were per f ectly c ognizant o f every
bearing o f t heir diff erent parts ; and their stratagems
to procure f oo d and de fend themselves , are only
,

equalled by human beings .

D enizens o f those mighty f orests which clothe t he

earth between the tropics o f both the Old and N ew
W orld assembling by hundreds in those lands where
,

the Palm t he Ba ni an the Baobab the B ombax and

, , , ,

t housands o f m agnificen t trees adorn the soil — where ,

the most delicious fruits are to be pro cured by merely ,

stretching o u t the h and to separate them f rom their

t —
p arent s em no wonder that both a
, pes and monkeys
ther e congregate and strike the E uropean , o n his firs t
,

a rrival amo n g them with astonishmen t I h ad seen

, .
8 A N E C D OTES OF ANI M A L S .

many at Cape Coast ; b ut not till I advanced into the

f orest up the windings o f the river G aboon could I ,

f orm any idea o f their multi t ude o r o f the various ,

habits which characterize their savage lives The fir st .

time the reali t y burst upon me w as in going up a ,

creek o f t hat river to reach the town o f N aan go when ,

t he most dea f ening screams were to be heard ov erhead ,

m ixed with squeaks and sundry strange n oises These .

proceeded fro m red and grey p arrots which were pur ,

sued to the t o m o f the tallest trees by the monkeys .

The birds were n o t f rightened ; o n the contr ary they ,

appeared to enj oy the f u n and per chi n g on slight twigs

, ,

which would not b ear the weight O f t heir play fello w s ,

they stretched out their wings and seemed voci ferou sly ,

to exclaim Y o u can t catch me !

,
’
S ometimes ho w ’

ever they w er e sur prised and then there was such a

, ,

scu ffl e and noise The f our handed beast however

.
-
, ,

plucked the red f eathers f rom the tail o f the bird an d

careless o f its a n ger seated himsel f o n a branch suck
, ,

ing the quills till they were dry, when he started f o r a

f resh supply .

That monkeys e n j oy moveme n t that they deli ght in

‘

pil f ering in o ut w itting each other and their higher

,

br ethren—men ; that they glory in teari n g and de stroy

ing the works o f art b y which they are surrounded in a
d omestic state ; that they lay the m ost art f ul plans to
e ff ect their purpo s e —is all per f ectly true ; but the terms
,

mz r tlzjii l and mer ry seem to me to be totally mi s applied

'

in re ference to their f eeling and actions f o r they do all

’

in so lemn ity and seriousness

~

D O you s t and under a

.

tree w hose thick f oliage complete ly screens you from

, .

the su n and you hope t o e nj oy per f ect shade an d r e

,

p o se : a S l ight rustling proves t hat companions are

10 AN E C D O T E S OF ANI M AL S .

the instant he heard my voice he put himsel f in a p as ,

sion ; and several months a f ter al t hough I had been ,

absent the whole time he seiz ed o n my gown while I ,

incautiously stoo d too n ear to him dragged a p ortio n ,

o f i t within the bars and b i t a great piece out o f it ,

,

al t hough it was made o f a very strong material .

A monkey o f I kno w not what species was domi

, ,

ciled in a f amily in Yorkshire to whom my mother was

paying a visit o f some d ays A large dinner p arty was .
-

given in honour o f the guest the master o f the house ,

helped the soup ; b ut as he was t alking at the time h e ,

d id not observe its appearance Presently all to wh om .

it had been served , laid down their spo ons o r sent their ,

plates away This o f course at tracted attention ; and

.

o n inspection , the liquid w as discovere d to b e f ull o f

s hort hairs The servants in attendance w ere ques

.

t io n ed ,
b ut they decl ared they were igno rant o f the
cause ; and the wisest and politest proceeding was to ,

send the t u reen f rom table and serving the fish , make , ,

no f urther comment The mistress o f the f amily ho w

.
,

ever , when the ladies le ft the dining room slipped away -

,

f rom her f riends , and summoning the cook to her pre

sence received an explanation o f the mystery The
, .

woman said she had le f t the kitchen f o r o n e minute ,

and when she returned she saw the m onkey standing ,

o n the hob o f t he kitchen grate with o n e f ore paw rest ,

-

ing o n the lid o f the b oiler which contained the soup .

0 Mr Curiosity ! she exclaimed , that is too much

’ ‘
.

f o r y o u ; you can t li f t that u p To her horror and

’ ’
.

amaz ement however, he had li f ted it up and was p ut

, ,

ting it o n again a fter p opping the kitten in whose re ,

mains were discovered at the bottom when the soup was

st ra ined T he poo r cook was s o bewildered that she
. .
 T II E M ON K E Y TR IB E. 11

d id not kno w what to do ; it was time f o r the di nner to

’
b e served , and she there f ore , fo r the look s sake though t ,

it best to send the soup in as it was even if it were sent ,

’ ’
o u t again immediately ; because you know ma am
‘
, , ,

said she that would prove you h ad o r d er ed it I

,
‘
.

always thought the monkey would do the kitten a mis

chie f, he was so j ealous o f i t and hated it so because it
,
’
s cratche d him ; s o he seized it when asleep .

A much better disposed monkey belonged to my

eldest daughter ; and we brought him to E ngland f rom
the G ambia He seemed to k n ow that he could master
.

the child and did not hesitate t o bi t e and scratch her

,

whenever she p ulled him a little harder th an he though t

proper I punished him f o r each o ff ence yet f ed and
.
,

caresse d him when good ; by which means I possessed

an entire ascendency over him He was very wretche d
.

in L ondon lodging s where I was obli ged to f asten him

,

to the bars o f a stove and where he h a d no f resh air ;

,

and he was no sooner let loose th an he tried t o brea k

everything wi thin his reach ; so I persuaded his young
mistress to present him to the Jardin des Plantes I .

took him there ; and during my stay in that place paid

him daily visits When these were dis continued t he
.
,

keeper told me he incessantly watched f or my return

and it was long be f ore he recovered his disappointmen t
and made friends with his companions in the same cage .

Two years a fter I again went to see him and when I

,

stoo d be f ore him and said , Mac do you kno w ‘

,

he gave a scream o f deligh t , p ut both his p a w s beyond

the bars stretched them o u t to me held his head down
, ,

t o be caressed uttering a low murmur , and givi n g

,

every S ign o f delighted recognition .

T he m ost melancholy o f all monkeys is, app arently ,

12 AN E CD O T E S OF ANI M AL S .

the Chimpanzee ; and al though h e has perhaps evince d

m ore p ower o f imitating man than any other he per ,

f orms all he does w ith a s ad look f requently aecom ,

p an ied by petulance and o ccasional

,
bursts O f f ury .

One o f the smaller species such as those which at d if

,

f er en t times have been brought to E ngland and Paris ,

was O ffered to Mr B o w dich f or purchase while o u r

.
,

s hip lay in the river G aboon His owner lef t him with
.

us f o r f our weeks during which time I had an o ppo r

,

t u n it y o f watching his habits He would not associate

.

w ith any other o f the tribe not eve n the irresistible ,

Jack ; but was becoming reconciled to me when one ,

unlucky day I checked his dawning p artiali t y He f o l .

lowed me to the panther s cage and I shall n ever f orget

’

the f ear f ul yell which he uttered He fled as swif tly a s .

p ossi b le overturning men and b oys in his way , with a

,

strength little to be expected f rom his size ; nor did he

stop till he had thrust himsel f into a b oat sail o n the -

a fter deck wi t h which he entirely covered himsel f and

-
, ,

which was thence f orward his f avourite abode It was .

several days be fore I co uld reins t ate mysel f in his good

O pinion f o r he evidently th ought I had something to do
,

w it h the p anther The latter had been in such a f ury

.
,

t hat the sailors thought he would have broken his cag e ;

and he continued restle ss and watch f ul f o r hours a f t er
wards proving that the chimpanzee is f ound in his
,

country o f A shanti f arther to the north than we had

,

imagined I e did n o t buy the animal on account o f

V
.
,

the exorbitant s u m asked f o r him and the ri sk O f his ,

living during a long voyage He was always very sad .

,

but very gentle ; and his attachm ent t o his master was
very great c linging to him like a child and go ing j oy
, ,

f ully away in his arms O f those kept in the Z oological

.
 T II E M O NKE Y TRIB E . 13

G ardens of and Paris many anec d o tes have

E n gl a nd ,

been related , evincing great intelligence One o f the .

latter used to sit in a chair lock and unlock his door

, ,

d rink tea with a spo on eat with a kni f e and f ork set
, ,

o u t his o w n dinner , cry wh en le f t alone and de light in ,

’
being apparently con sidered one o f his keeper s f amily .

It is in equatorial A f rica that the most p ower f ul o f all

the Quadrumana li ve , f ar e x ceeding the Oran Outang ,

and even the Pongo o f Borneo Mr Bowdich and my . .

sel f were the firs t to revi v e and confirm a long f orgotten -

and vague r eport o f the existence o f such a creature ,

and many thought , as we our s elves had not seen it that ,

we had been deceived by t he natives They assured us .

that these h u ge creatures walked constantly o n their

hind f eet , and never yet we r e t aken alive ; that they
watch the actions o f men , and imitate them as nearly
as po ssible L ike the i v ory h unters , they pic k up t he
.

f allen tusks o f elephants but n o t knowi n g where to

,

deposit them they c arry their burthens about till they

,

themselves d rop and e v en die f rom f atigue ; that they

,

b uild huts nearly in the shape o f those o f men , but live

o n the outside ; and that when one o f their childre n

d ies the mother carries it in her arms t ill it f alls t o

,

pieces ; t hat o n e blow o f their p aw will kill a man ;

and that nothing can e x cee d their f erocity .

A male and f emale o f an enormous specie s o f chim

,

p an z ee,
were brought to Bristol by the ma s ter o f a
v essel com ing f rom the ri v er G ab oon He had been .

commissioned t o bring them a li v e ; but as this was

i mpracticable he put the male into a puncheon o f rum
, ,

an d the f emale into a cask o f strong brine , a f ter they

had been shot The p erson who had ordered re f used

.
,

t o take them a nd Pro f essor Owen secure d them f or t he

,
I4 AN E C D O TE S OF ANI M A L S .

College o f Surgeons T he flesh o f that in salt an d w ate r

.

f ell f rom the bones but it w as possible to set the other

,

u p s o as to have his portrait taken which likeness is ,

n o w in the museum o f the college T he rum had s o

.

destroyed the hair , that he could n o t be stuff ed H e .

was between f our and five f eet high ; his enormous nails ,

a mounting to claws were well adapted f o r di gging root s ;

,

and his huge strong teeth must have made him a f o r

,

n i id ab le antagonist . There could not be anything much

more hideous than his appearance even when allowance s
,

were made f o r the disfiguring e ffects o f the spirit in which

he had been preserved He was entirely covere d with
.

hair, and not wrinkled and bare in front like the smaller
chimpanzee ; an d it was f o r some time supposed that
this was the I n gheen a reporte d by Mr B owdich Sinc e . .

then however , some skulls have been sent to E nglan d

,

f rom the same locality o f much larger p r oportions , b e

,

t okeni n g an almost marvellous size and s t rength ; and

these probably belonged to the real I n gheen a They .

go about in pairs ; and it is evident f rom their enor

mous teeth that as they are not fl esh eating animals
,
-
,

these weapons must have been given to t hem as mean s

o f de fence against the most p ower f ul enemies ; in f act ,

against each other .

I now come f rom my o wn knowledge and personal

experience to those o f others and I cannot begi n wi t h
,

a more in teresting account than that given by Mr .

Be n nett o f the U ngka A pe o r Gibbon o f S umatra , the

,

Simia S yn d ac t yla O f n aturalists He sto od two f eet

.

high when o n his hind legs an d was covered with black

,

hair except o n the f ace the skin o f which w as also

, ,

black ; the legs were short in proportion to the body

and arms , the latter being exceedingly long His only .
 —
T II E M ONKE Y TRIB E . 15

p ouch w as unde r the throat the use o f which was n 0 t ,

apparent f o r he did not make it a reservoir fo r f ood

,
.

He uttered a s q u eaking o r chirping note when please d ,

a hollo w bark w hen irritated and when f rightened o r ,

’
angry he lo udly called o u t Ra r a r a He was as ‘
.
, ,

grave as th e rest o f his tribe but not equally mischievou s ; ,

he however frequently purloined the ink , sucking t he

, ,

pens and drinking the liquid whenever he could get at

,

it
. He soon kne w his name and readily went t o t h ose ,

w ho called him Th e chie f O bjec t o f his attachment w as

.

a P apuan child ; and he wo u ld sit with o n e o f his lo n g

arms round her neck share his biscui t with her , run f rom
,

o r a fter her in play roll o n the deck entwining his arm s

, ,

around her preten d to bi t e swing himsel f away by

, ,

means O f a m m and then dro p suddenly u pon her

, ,

w ith many o t her f rolics o f a childish charac t er If .

,

ho w ever she tried to make him play when he was not

,

inclined to do so he would gently w arn her by a bite

, ,

that he would not su ff er her to take any liberties He .

made advances to several small monkeys b ut they alway s ,

dre w themselves up into an O pp o sing f or c e ; and he to ,

punish their impertinence seized hold o f t heir tails and , ,

pulled them till the s q u eakin g owners contrived to escape ,

o r he dragged them along by these appendages up the

rigging and then s uddenly let them go , b e all the time

,

preserving the utmos t gravi t y .

When the hour came f o r t he passengers dinner , he ’

took his st ation near the table and if laughe d at , ,

while eating b arked inflated his p ouch and looked

, , ,

at those wh o ridiculed him in the mos t serious manner

till they had finished w hen he quietly resumed his ,

o w n meal This is o f ten done by others o f his r ace

.
,

an d some seem to i n quire wh at you see to laugh at ,

16 AN E O D O TE S o r AN I M AL S .

while others fly into a pas sion when such an affront is

o ffered .

U ngka greatly di slike d being le ft alone, and when

re f used anything w hich he wished f o r rolled upon the ,

d eck , threw his arms and legs about and dashed every ,

thing down which came within his reach incessantly ,

’
utterin g Ra r a r a
‘
,
He had a great f ancy f o r a
, .

certain piece o f soap but was al w ays scolded when he

,

tried to take it away One day when he thought.

,

Mr Bennett was too busy to obser ve him he walked

.
,

o ff wi t h it , casting glances round to see if he were

observed When he had gone hal f the length o f the

.

cabin, Mr B ennett gen t ly calle d him ; and he was so

.

conscience s t ricken t hat he immediately returned the

-

soap t o its place evi d ently knowi n g he had done wro n g

, .

He was very f ond o f sweetmeats ; but although goo d

f riends with those who gave them to him he would not ,

su ff er them to take him in their arms only allowing t w o ,

persons to use that f amiliarity and particularly avoid ,

i n g large whiskers He f el t the cold e xtremely as he

.

proceeded o n his voyage was attacked with dysentery , ,

an d d ied as he c ame into a northern latitude .

A f e male G ibbon w as f or some time exhibited in

L ondon , whose rapid and enormous spri n gs verified the
acco u nt given o f her brethren by M D u vau eel, w ho said .

that he had seen o ne o f t hese a n i mals clear a S pace o f

f orty f eet , receiving an impetus by merely touching the
branch o f a tree and catching f ruit as she sprang The
, .

o n e in E ngland could stop hersel f in the most sudden

m anne r and calculate her distances with s u rprising

,

accuracy She uttered a cry O f hal f tones and ended

.
,

with a d eaf ening shake which was not u nmusical She, .

ma d e a chirping cry in the morning supposed t o be the ,

18 AN E O B O T E S O F ANI M AL S .

says however, I should suppose some o f his heroes to

,

be the same as t he Macacus Rhesus He expresses .

’
his surprise w hen he sees monkeys at home f o r the
first time as being s o different to the individ u als on the
,

t o ps o f orga n s o r i n the menageries o f E urope Their

,
.

air o f sel f possession comprehensio n and righ t to the

-
, ,

s oil o n which they live is most amu s ing F rom thirty to .

f orty seated t hemselves to look at hi s advancing palar

quin and bearers j ust as vill agers w atch the strange
,

arrival going to the squire s and mi n gled with the

‘ ’ ’

inhabitan t s j ostling t he naked childre n and stretching

, ,

themselves at f ull length close to the seated human

groups wi th the most per f ect f reedom This freedom
,
.

O f ten amounts to impude n ce ; an d they f requent the

tops o f bazaars in or d er to s t eal all they can lay t heir
,

hands u pon belo w The only way to keep them O ff is

.
,

to cover the roo f with a prickly shrub the thorns o f ,

which stick to the flesh like fish hooks T he above -

.

mentioned traveller watched o n e which he calls a b an ,

d ar , and which took his station O pposite t o a sweetmeat

shop He pre t ended to be asleep b ut every n ew and
.
,

then so f tly raised his head to look at t he tempting piles

an d t he owner O f them , who sat smoking hi s pipe
without symptoms even o f a doz e In hal f an hour .

the monkey got up as if he were j ust awake yawned , , ,

stretched himself and took another position a f ew yards

,

o ff where he pretended to play with his tail occasionally

, ,

looking over his shoulder at the coveted delicacies A t .

length the shopman gave s igns o f activity and t he ,

bandar was o n the a lert ; the man went to his back

room the bandar cleare d the street at one bound and
, ,

i n an instant stu ffed his pouches f ull o f the d elicious

mor sels He had , however , overlook ed some horne ts ,
.
 T I IE M O NK EY T RIB E . 19

which we re regaling themselves at the same time They .

resented his disturbance and the tormented b andar in

, ,

his hurry to escape came up on a thorn covered roo f

,
-
,

where he lay stung torn and bleed ing He spurted the

, ,
.

stolen bon bons f rom his pouches and barking hoarsely

-
, ,

looked the picture o f misery The noise O f the tiles

.

which he had dislodged in his retreat brought o u t th e

inhabitants and among them the vendor O f sweets wi th
, ,

his turban unwound and streaming two yards behind

,

him A ll joined in laughing at the wretched monkey ;

.

but their religio us reverence f o r him i n duced them to

g o to his assistance : they picked o u t his thorns ,
and he
limped away to the woo ds quite crest f allen .

The traveller came in constant contact with monkeys

in his occupations o f clearing land and planting and at ,

firs t as he lay still amo n g the brushwood they gam

, ,

b olled round him as they would rou n d the natives .

This peaceable state o f things however did not last , ,

when he established a field o f sugar canes in the newly -

cleare d j ungle He tells the story so well , that I must

.

be allowed to use his o wn expressions

E very beast o f the field seemed leagued against this
d evoted patch o f sugar cane The wild elephants
.

came and b ro w z ed in it ; the j ungle hogs rooted it up ,

and munched it at their leisure ; the j ackals gnawed

the stalks into squash ; and the w ild d eer ate the top s
o f the young plants A gainst all these marauders
.

there was an O bvious remedy ,—to build a stout fence

round the c ane field -
This was done accordingly ; an d
.

a deep trench dug outside that even the wild elephant

,

did not deem it prudent to cross .

The wild hogs came and inspected the trench and

t he palisades beyond A bristly O l d t u sker w as O b
.
20 AN E C D OT E S OF ANI M AL S .

served taki n g a survey o f the de f ences b u t, a ft er

mature deliberation he gave two short g runts t he
, ,
”
porcine (language) I imagined f o r N 0 go and to ok
, , ,

himsel f o ff at a round trot to pay a visit to my n eigh ,

b our Ram Chunder and inquire how his little plot o f,

sweet yams was coming o n The j ackals sni ff ed at .

every crevice and d etermined to wait a bit ; but the

,

monkeys laughed the whole entrenchment to scorn .

D ay a fter day was I doomed to behold my can es de

v o u r ed as f ast as they ripened by troops o f j ubilant ,

monkeys It was o f no use attempting to drive them

.

away When disturbed they merely retreate d to the

.
,

nearest tree draggin g w hole stalks o f sugar cane along

,
-

with them an d then spurte d the chewed fragments in

,

my f ace as I looked up at them This was adding

,
.

insult to inj ury ; an d I posi t ively began to gro w blood

thirsty at the idea o f being outwitted by monkeys T he .

case between us might have been stated in this way .

I have at much trouble and expense cleared an d

, ,

cultivate d this j ungle land said I ,

.

”
More f ool you said the monkeys , .

I have planted and watched over these sugar

V
V at c hed ! A h ah ,
! so have we ,
fo r the matter
”
of that .

'
B ut surely I have a right to reap w hat I s owed .

’”
D on t e i t said the mo n keys ; the j ungle , by
s e ,
“

rights prescriptive and indef easible is ours an d has , ,

been so ever since the d ays o f Ram Honuman o f the

long tail I f you cultivate the jungle wi t hout o u r con
.

se n t , you must look to the consequences I f you don t .

’

like o u r customs you may get about your business

, .

”
W e don t w ant you
’
.
 THE M ON KE Y TRIB E . 21

‘
I kept brooding over this morti fying view o f the
matter, until o n e morning I hatched revenge in a pr ac
tic ab le shape . A tree with about a s core o f monkeys
,

on it , was cut do w n and hal f a dozen o f the youngest

,

were caught as t hey at t empted to escape A large pot .

(
o f glz o w treacle ) was then mixed wi t h as mu c h tartar

emeti c as could be spared f rom the medicine chest , an d

the young hope f uls a f ter being c are fully painted over
,

with the compound were allowed to return to their d is

,

tressed relatives who as soon as they arrived gathered

, , ,

round them and commenced licking them with the

greatest assiduity The results I had anticipated were
.

not long in making the ir appear ance A m ore melan .

~

c holy sight it was impossible to behold b ut so effi c a

cions was this treatment that f o r more t han two years
,

I hardly ever saw a monkey in the neighbo ur hood

’
.

When we read o f the numbers , the intelligence and ,

the audacity o f monkeys in this part o f the world it ,

becomes a matter o f curious specula t ion as to how t hey

w ill behave when railroads are m ade in India .

It has been f requently observed that there is nothi n g

,

more distres sing than to see a wounded o r su ff ering

monkey He lays his hand upon the part a ff ected and
.
,

looks up in yo ur f ace as if appealing to your kindly

,

feelings ; and if b lo o d fl o w he views it with so f rightened

,

an expression that he seems to know his lif e is going

,

f rom him A n inquisitive monkey a mong the numerous

.
,

company which sailed in a ship with mysel f, al w ays

seemed desirous o f ascertain ing the nature o f everything
around him , and touched tasted and closely scrutini z ed
, ,

every object to which he had n o t been accustomed A .

p ot o f s calding pitch was in use f o r caulking the seams

o f the upper deck , and when those who were emplo e d
y
22 ANE OB O T E S O F ANI M A L S .

in laying it u pon the planks turned their heads f rom

him he d ipped o n e paw into it and c arrying it to his
, ,

c hin rubbed himsel f with the destructive substance

,
.

His yell o f pain calle d the attention o f the sailors to him ,

and they did all in their p ower to aff ord alleviation The .

pitch was taken O ff as well as it could be ; his pouches

being entirely burnt away his p oor c hec ks were wrapped
,

u
p in rags steeped in turpentine and his scalded hand ,

was bandaged in the same mann er He was a piteous .

sight an d seemed to look o n all who came near as if

,

aski n g f o r their commiseration He was very gentle .

and very s ad submitted to be f ed with sugar and w ater

,

through a tube ; but a fter a f ew days he laid his head

d own a nd expired .

Mr F orbes tells a story o f a f emale monkey (the

.

Semnopithecus E ntellus ) who was shot by a f riend o f

,

his and carried to his tent F orty o r fi f ty o f her tribe

,
.

advanced with menacing gestures but stood still whe n ,

the gentleman presented his gun at them One, how .

ever who appeared to be the chief o f the tribe cam e

, ,

f orward chattering and threatenin g in a f urious manner

, .

N othi n g short o f firing at him seemed likely to d rive

hi m away ; but at length he approached the tent door
w ith every S ign o f grie f and supplication as if he were ,

begging f o r the b ody It was given to him ; he took it

.

in his arms , carried it away with actions expressive o f ,

a ffection to his companions and with them disappeared

, , .

It was not to b e wondered at that the sportsman v owe d

never to shoot another monkey .

Monkeys are eaten in some parts o f the Old Worl d ,

and universally in S outh A merica M Bonpland speaks . .

o f the flesh as lea n hard , and dry ; but that which I

,

tasted in A frica w as white j uicy, and like chicken Mr

, . .
 T II E M ONKEY TR BI E .

B owdich had monkeys served whole be f ore him at the

table o f the king o f A shanti having been roaste d in a
,

S itting posture ; and he said nothing coul d be more

h orrid o r repugnant than t heir appearance with the ,

skin o f the lips dried and the w hi t e teeth giving an

, ,

aspect o f grinning f rom p ain .

The ho wli n g monkeys o f South A merica wh o make ,

the f ores t s r esound at night or be f ore a coming storm

, ,

w i t h their hideous choruses , and whose hollow and

e n large d tongue bone and expanded lower j aw enables
t hem to utter those melancholy and startling c ries are ,

l arger and f atter than m any others in the same country ,

and are co n stantly sought f o r as f ood They eat the .

t hick tri angular Br azil n u ts (Bertholle t ia E xcelsa) an d

, ,

break the h ard p od w hich contains them w i th a stone,

l aying it o n the bough o f a t ree or some other stone , .

They sometimes get their t ai l bet w een the two ; o f course

the blow f alls upon t he tail and the monkey bounds ,

a w ay howling in the most f right ful man ner .

The pret tie s t o f all monkeys is the M ar mo z et—the

,

O uis titi o f B u ff o n the Simia J ac c hu s o f L inn aeus It

’

.
,

is extremely sen sitive to cold ; nevertheless if plenti f ully ,

supplied with wool cotton and other warm materials

, , ,

will live f o r years in this climate D r N eil o f E d inburgh

. .

—that m ost excellent protector an d lover o f a n i mals

brought one from Bahia which he f o und great difficulty
,

in training It even resisted those who fed it n o t allo w

.
,

ing them to t ouch it putting o n an an gry suspicious

, ,

look an d being roused by even the slightest whisper

, .

D uring the voyage it ate corn and fruit an d when these ,

became scarce took to cockroaches o f which it cleared

, ,

t he vessel . It would d espatch t w enty large besides ,

smaller ones , three or f our times in each day n ipping

,
24 A NE O B O T E S or ANI M AL S .

o ff the head o f the f ormer, and rej ecting the viscer a ,

legs and hard win g cases Besides these it f ed o n

,
- .
,

milk sugar raisins and bread crumb s It a f terwards

, , ,
-
.

made f riends wi t h a cat and slept an d ate with this

,

animal but it never entirely lost its distrust f ul f eelings

,
.

L ieutenant E d wards in his voyage up the A mazo n

, ,

me n t ions a domestic white monkey which had con ,

t r ived t o get to the top of a house and no persuasions ,

o r t hreats could get him down again He ran over t he .

roo f displaced the tiles peeped into the chambers belo w

, ,

o r there are no ceilin gs in that country ) and when

( f ,

called , put his thumb up to his nose He was shot at .

with corn ; but having f ou n d a rag he held it up be f ore ,

him an d so tried to evade the shot every n o w an d

, ,

then peeping over t he t o p A t last he w as le ft t o him

.

s el f ; an d when no endeavours were made to get him

down he came o f his o wn accord Captain Brown
, .

mentions a m onkey w ho when he was troublesome in

, ,

the cabin o f a ship was fire d at with gunpowder and

,

currant jelly ; and in order to de fend himsel f used to

, ,

pick u p the f avourite monkey and hold him between ,

t he pistol and himsel f when it was presented .

A race o f animals exists in Madagascar and some

o f the E astern islands to which the name o f Maki has
,

been given and which although diff ering in the f o r

, ,

mation o f the skull and teeth must f rom having f our , ,

hands be pla ced among the Quadrumana They are

, .

n octurnal in their habits very gentle and c on fid in g

, ,

with apparently o n e exception which is called the Vari , .

M F rede rick C uvier has told us that t w o o f these being

.

shut up in a cage together , o n e killed and ate his com

panion , leaving no t hing but the skin T w o o f the m ar e .

remarkable f o r their slow , delib erate movements ; an ]

2G AN E C D OTES OF ANI M A L S .

her he would go to the b ush ( forest) and f etch wood ,

to build her a new house He went away and in a few .

,

hours brought some wood The next day his wif e told .

him to go and f etch some more A gain he w ent aw ay .

,

stayed all day and only brought home a few sticks

, ,

w hich made her so angry that she took the biggest an d

beat him with it The man w ent away a third time
.
,

and stayed all night not bringing home any wood at all
, ,

saying that the trees whi ch he had cut down were so

heavy that he could not bring them all t he w ay Then .

he went and st ayed two days and nights w hich made ,

his wi fe very unhappy She cried very much entreated

.
,

him not to leave her promised n o t to scold o r beat him

,

any m ore and to live contentedly in the kitchen ; but

,

he answered N o ! you made me go to the bush ; now

,
“

I like the bush very much and I shall go and st ep ,

”
there f o r ever .S O saying he rushed o u t o f the cook,

house into t he bush where he t urned into a monkey,

,

an d f rom him c ame all other monkeys

’
.

B AT S .

A R A C E o f b eings t o whi ch the epithet mysterious may

,

be w i th some tr u t h applied aff ords more interest f rom

,

it s peculiar habits than f rom an y proo f which can b e

,

given o f its mental powers ; an d its place in this wor k

is due to the marvellous hi stories which have been r e
lated concerning it and which have made it an object
,

o f super s titious alarm .

Bats o r Cheiroptera are particularly di stin guished

, ,

from all other creatures which suckle their young , by

 B A TS . Z7

p ossessin g th e p ower o f fl ight A L emur G aleopi thecus

.

which exists in the eastern p art o f the globe takes long ,

sweeps f rom tree to tree and o w es t his f acul t y to the

,

exten sion o f its skin between its f ore and hind limbs ,

including the tail ; but it cannot be really said to fly .

The B ats , then alone enj oy this privilege ; and the pro
,

lo n gat io n o f what in common p arlance we should call

, ,

the arm and fingers c onstitutes the f ramework which

,

suppor ts the skin o r membrane f orming the wings The

,
.

thumbs however are le f t f ree and serve as b o o ks f o r

, , ,

various p urposes The legs and tail ( wh en they have

.

any ) generally help to extend the membrane o f the

wing ; and the breast b one is so f ormed as to support
-

the power f ul muscles which aid their locomotive peculi

arit ies
. They climb and crawl with great dexteri ty and ,

some wil l run when o n the ground ; but it is di ffi cult f or

most o f them to move on a smooth horizontal sur f ace ,

an d they drag th emselves along by their t humbs A por .

tion o f the Cheiroptera f eeds o n inse ct s and another o n ,

f ruits ; o n e genus subsists chiefly o n bloo d The first .

help to cle ar the atmosphere O f those insects which fly at

twilight ; the second are very destructive to o u r gardens
and orchards ; t he last are especially the object o f that
superstitious f ear to which I have already alluded They .

are all nocturnal Or crepuscular and during the day r e ,

main suspended by the sharp cla w s o f their f eet to th e

under branches o f tre es the roo f s o f caves subterranean
, ,

quarries , o r o ld ruins hanging with their heads down

,

wards : multitudes live in the tombs o f E gypt .

The appearance o f bats is always more o r less

grotesque ; but this term more aptly applies to those
which live o n animal f ood in consequence o f the addi
,

t ions m ade to the nose and e a rs probably f o r t he sake ,

 AN E C D O I E S OF ANI M AL S .

of increasing their al ways acute senses o f smell an d

hearin g The c ars are f requently o f an enormous size
.
,

and are j oined together at the back o f the head ; he

sides which they have lea f o r lance sh aped appendages -

in f ront A membrane o f various f orms IS also o fte n

.

attached to the nose in o n e species the shape o f a

, .

horse shoe The bodies are al w ays covered with hair

-
.
,

but the wings consist o f a leathery membra n e A n .

other singularity in o n e genus is the extremity o f the

s pine being converted into t w o j ointed , horny pieces ,

covered with skin so as to f orm a box o f t w o valves

, ,

each having an independent motion The large bats o f .

the E ast Indies measure five f eet f rom the tip o f o n e

wing to that o f the other and they emi t a musky odo u r
,
.

The skin o f the Nycteris G eo ffr o y i is very loose upo n

the body ; and the animal dra w s air thro ugh openings
in t he cheek pouches , head and back and swells itsel f
, ,

into a little balloon ; the O penings being closed at plea

sure by means o i val ves The bite o f all is extremely
.

sharp ; and w e seldom hear o f an instance o f o n e being

tame d . They try to shel ter themselves from chilly
winds and f requent sheltered sp ots abounding in
,

masonry rocks trees and small streams

, , ,
.

A b out the Vampire o r bloo d sucker there are d if

-

f er en t O pinions That o f the E ast is said to be quit e

.

harmless ; but it is asserte d that the S outh A merican

species love to attach themselves to all cattle especially ,

t o horses wi t h lo n g manes because they can cling to

,

the hair while they suck the veins and keep their v ictim
,

quiet by flapping their wings over its head ; they als o

f asten themselves upon the tail f o r the first reason an d
, ,

a great loss o f bloo d frequently ensues F owls are o f t e n.

killed by them as they roost upon their perches ; f o r so

 B AT S . 2U

noiseless and gentle are they in their flight and opera

tions that animals are not awakened o u t o f their S leep
,

by their attacks The teeth are so disp osed that they

.

make a deep and triple p uncture and one was taken by ,

Mr D arwin in the act o f s u cking blood f rom a horse

. ,
.

This able naturalist and accurate observer is o f O pinion

t hat horses do n o t su ff er f rom the quan t ity o f blood
taken f rom them by the vampires b ut f ro m the in ,

fl ammat io n o f the wound which t hey make and which is ,

increased if the saddle press on it Horses however .

, ,

t urned out to gr ass at night are f requently f ound the ,

nex t morning w ith their necks and ha u nches covered with

bloo d and it is kno wn that the bat fills and disgorges
itsel f several times D r Carpenter is o f th e same O pinion
. .

as Mr D arwin and also di sbelieves that these cre atures

.
,

s oo t he their victims by f anning them with their wing s .

Captain Stedman who travelled in G uiana f rom 17 7 2

,

t o 17 7 7 p ublished an account o f his adventures and f o r

, ,

s everal years a f ter w ards it w as the f ashion to doubt the

t ruth o f his statements In f act it was a general feeling
.
,

up to a much later period than the above that travellers ,

were not to be be lieved A s o u r knowledge however, .

,

has increased and the works o f G o d have been made more

,

mani fest the reputation o f many a calumniated traveller

,

has been restored and among others that o f Captain

, , ,

Stedm an I shall there fore unhesitatingly quote his ac

.

count o i the bite o f the vampire On w aking ab out ,

f o u r o clock this morni n g in my hammock I was ex

’

, ,

t r emely alarmed at finding myself wel t ering in co n gealed

blood and wi thout f eeling an y pain w hatever Havi n g
, .

s t arted up and run to the surgeon wi t h a firebrand in ,

o n e hand and all over besmeared w ith gore the mystery

, ,

was f ound to be , that I had been bitten by the vampire ,

 AN E C D OT E S O F ANI M ALS .

or spectre o f G uiana which is also called the flying d d g

,

o f N ew Spain This is no other than a bat o f monstrous

.

s ize that sucks the blood f rom men and cattle sometimes
, ,

even till they die K no w ing by instinct that the person

.
, ,

they intend to attack is in a sound slumber they generally ,

alight near the f eet where while the creature continues

, ,

f anni ng with his enormous wings which keeps o n e co ol , ,

he bites a piece o u t o f the tip o f the great toe so very ,

small indeed that the head o f a pin could s carcely be r e

,

c ei ved into the wound which is consequently not pain f ul ;

,

yet through this ori fice he con t rives to suck the blood ,

un til he is obliged t o disgorge He then begins again .

,

and thus continues sucking and disgorging til l he is

s carcely able to fly and the su ff erer has O ften been kno w n
,

to sleep f rom time into eternity Cattle they general ly .

bite in the c ar , but al w ays in those places where t he

b loo d flows spontaneously Havin g applied tobac co
.

ashes as the best remedy and washed the gore f ro m ,

mysel f and my hammock I observed several small heaps

,

o f congealed blood all around the place where I had lain ,

upon the gro und ; upon examining which the surgeon ,

j udged that I had lost at least twelve o r f o urteen ounces

d uring the night Having measure d this creature ( o n e
.

o f the bats ) I f ound it to be bet w een the tips o f the

, ,

wings thirty two inches and a half the colou r was a

,
-

dark bro w n nearly black , b ut lighter underneath

,
.
’

Mr W aterto n whom all the world recognises as a

.
,

gentleman and consequen tly a man o f truth , laboured

,

at o n e time under the same stigma o f exaggeration as

Captain Stedman and many other illustrious travellers ;
and he confirms the blo od sucking in the f ollowing terms
-

S o me years ago I went to the river Pau mar au with

a Scotch gentleman We hung o u r hammocks in the
.
 ’
th atched le ft o f a planter s house N ext morning I heard .

this gentleman mutterin g in his hammock and n o w and ,

then letting f all an imprecation o r t w o What is the .

” ”
matt er sir ? said I so ftly ; is anything amiss ? What
,
“ “

”
is the matter ! answered he surlily ; why the vampires ,
”
have been sucking me to death A s soon as there was .

light enough I went to his hammock and saw it much

, ,
”
s tained with b lood “
There said he thru sting his f eet
.
, ,

o u t o f the hammock s ee ho w t hese imps have been

“
,
”
d ra wing my li fe s blood On examin ing his f eet I
’
.
,

f o und t he va mpire had tapped his great toe T here .

w as a wound somewhat less than that m ade by a leech .

The blood was still o o zin g f rom it an d I co nj ectured he ,

might have lost from ten t o t w elve o unces o f blood .

’

Mr Waterton f urther tells u s that a boy o f ten o r

.

eleven years o f age w as bitten by a vampire ; an d a poor

’
as s
,
belo n ging to the you n g gentleman s f ather was ,

dying by inches f rom the bites o f the larger kinds whil e ,

most o f his f owls were killed by the smaller bats .

The to rp idi ty in w hich b ats r emain during the winter ,

in climates similar to that o f E ngland is well known ; ,

and like other animals which undergo the same s u s

,

pension o f powers they have their histories o f long

,

imprisonmen t in places which seem inimical to li fe .

There are two ac counts o f t heir b ein g f ound in trees

which are extremely curious and the more so b e , ,

cause the o n e corroborates the other In the beginning .

o f N ovember 1821 a woodman , engaged in S plitting

,

t imber f o r rail posts in the woods close by the lake

-

at Hain ing a seat o f Mr Pringle s in Selkirkshire

, .
’

, ,

d i scovered in the centre o f a large wild cherry tree a -

living bat o f a bright scarlet colour which as soon as it , ,

was r elieved from it s entombment , took to its wings and

 AN E C D O TE S O F ANI M A L S .

escaped . In the tree there was a recess su fli c ien tly

large to contai n the animal ; but all around the wood ,

was per f ectly sound solid and f ree f rom any fissure
, ,

through which the atmospheric air could reach the

animal.

A man engaged in spli t ting timber near K els all in ,

the beginning o f D ecember 1826 di scovered in the ,

centre o f a large pear tree a living bat o f a brigh t

-

s carlet colour which he f oolishly s u ff ered to escape ,

,

f rom f ear bein g f ully persuaded ( with the character

,
:

istic s u perstition o f the inhabitants o f that part o f

Cheshire) that it was a being not o f this world
‘
.
’

The tree presented a small cavity in the centre where ,

the hat was enclosed but was per f ectly sound and solid
,

o n each side The scarlet colour o f each o f these

.

prisoners seems at present to be inexplicable and makes ,

these statements still more marvellous .

Pro fessor Bell in his admirable work on British

,

Q uadrupeds speaks o f a long cared bat which f ed

,
-

f rom the hand ; and if an insect were held between the

lips it would settle o n its master s cheek and take the
,
’

fly f rom his mouth w ith great quietness So accustomed .

was it to this that it wo uld seek his lips when he made

,

a b uz zing noise It f olded its beauti f ul ears under its

.

arm when it went to sleep and also during hibernation

, .

Its cry was acute and shrill becoming more clear an d ,

piercing when disturbed It is most f requently seen in

.

towns and v illages This instance o f taming to a cer

.

t ain extent might perhaps be more f requently repeated ,

if bats were objects o f more general interes t .

34 AN EC D OT E S or A N I M AL S .

The f oo d o f moles chiefly consists o f worms an d

the larv ae o r grubs o f insec ts o f which they eat enor
,

mous quantities They are extremely v orac ious and

.
,

the slightest privation o f f ood drives them to f renzy o r ,

kills them T hey will all eat flesh and when shut up
.

in a cage without nourishment , have been known to

devour each other There is a remarkable instance o f
.

a mole when in confinement having a viper and a toad

given to it both o f which it killed an d devoured A ll
,
.

squeeze o u t the earthy matter which is inside worms

be f ore ea ting them which t hey do wi th the most eager
,

rapidity I n June and July they pro wl upon the su r

.

f ace o f the ground generally at night but they hav e

, ,

been seen by day ; and this is the time in which they

indulge in fleshy f ood f o r then they catch small birds
, ,

mice frogs liz ards and snails ; b ut although when m

, , , ,

confinement o n e was known to eat a t oad , they gene

,

rally re f use these reptiles probably f rom the a crid

,

humour which exudes f ro m their skin They o n these .

,

occasions o f open mar a uding are o f ten ca u ght and de

,

v o u r ed i n their turn by owls at n ight and dogs by day .

They have a remarkable p ower o f eating the roots of

the col chicu m o r meadow sa ffron which takes such ,

power ful e ff ect o n other animals and which they pro ,

bably sw allow f o r the sake o f the lar vae or worms upon

t hem . S uch is the i r antipathy to garli c , that a f ew
cloves pu t into their runs will cause their destruction .

A F rench naturalist o f the name o f Henri L ecourt

devoted a great part o f his li f e t o the study o f t he
habits and structure o f moles ; and he tells us that
they will run as f ast as a horse will gallop By his .

observations he rendered essential service to a large dis

tr ic t i n F rance ; f or he discovered that numbers o f moles
 M O LE S 35

had undermined the banks o f a canal and that unless ,

means were t aken t o prevent the catastrophe these ,

banks would give w ay and inundation would ensue

,
.

By his ingenious contrivances and accurate knowledge

o f their habits he contrived t o extirpate them be f ore
,

the occurrence o f f urther mischie f Moles , however .

,

are said to be e x cellent drainers o f land ; and Mr .

Hogg the E ttrick Shepherd used to declare that if

, ,

a hundr ed men and horses were employed to dress a

pasture f arm o f 150 0 o r 2000 acres they would not ,

do it as eff ectually as moles wo uld do , if le f t to them

selves .

The l a te E arl o i D erby p ossessed a small deserte d

island in the L o ch o f Clunie 180 yards f rom the main
,

land and as proo f that moles swim well a number o f ,

the m crossed the water , and took p ossession o f this

place They are said to be dragged as bea v ers are
.

by their companions who lay hold o f their tails and

,

p u ll them along while they lie o n their backs , em

bracing a quanti ty o f soil dug o u t in f orming their
runs The f u r o f the mole is v ery short , fine , and
.

close and is as smooth and so f t as G eno a vel v et

, .

Moles display a high degree o f instinct in the skil f ul

construction o f their subterranean f ortresses Their site .

is not in d icated by those little mounds o f loose earth

which we see raised up at night , and which mark their
hunting excursions but under a hillock reared by them
,

sel ves and protected by a wall , bank , o r roots o f a tree

, .

The earth is well worked s o a s to make it compac t

,

an d har d and galleries are f ormed which communicate

, ,

with each other A circ ular gallery is place d at the

.

u p per part o f the mound and five descending passages

,

lead f rom this to a gallery below, which is o f large r

86 ANE O B OTE S or ANI M AL S .

circum f erence Within this lower gallery is a ch am b e r

.
,

which communicates with th e upper gallery by three

descending tunnels T his chamber is as it were t he
.
, ,

cita del o f the mole , in which it sleeps .

A principal galle ry goes from the lower gallery in a ,

di rect line , to the utmost extent o f the groun d through

which the mole hunts ; and from the bottom o f this
d ormitory is another which descends f arther into the
,

earth , and j oins this great o r principal road E ight o r .

n ine other tunnels run round the hillock at irregular

distances , leading f ro m the lower gallery th r ough which
the mole hunts its prey , and which it constantly en
larges D uring this process it thro ws up the hillocks
.

which betray it s vicinity t o us The great read is o f

.

v arious depths according to the quality o f the soil in

,

which it is excavated : it is generally five o r six inche s

belo w the sur f a ce but if carried under a stream o r
,

path way , it will be o ccasionally s unk a f o ot and a half .

I f the hillock b e very extensi v e there will be several

,

high roads , and they will ser v e f o r se veral moles ; but

-

they ne v er trespass o n each o ther s hunting groun d s

’
-
.

I f t hey happen to meet in a r e ad , o n e is obliged to

retreat , o r they have a bat t le , in which the weakest
always comes o ff the worst In a barren soil the search
.

ing galleries are the mos t numerous ; and those made

i n winter are the deepest , because the worms penetrate
beyond the line o f f rost and the mole is as active in
,

winter as in warm weather .

The females have a separate chamber m a de f o r them ,

in which they bring f orth their young This is situated

.

at some di stance from the citadel , and placed where

three or f our galleries intersect each other There they .

ha v e a bed m a de o f dry grass or fibres o f r oots , and

 M O LE S .

fo ur or five
young are born at the same time which ,

begin to get their own f ood when t hey are hal f gro w n .

L ike all voracio us animals moles require a larg e ,

qua n tity o f water ; consequently their run o r f ort r ess , ,

generally com municates with a ditch or pond Should “

these dry up o r the situation be without su ch resources

, ,

the little architect sinks perpendicular wells which r e ,

tain the water as it drains f rom the soil .

Moles shi f t their quarters according to circumstances ,

and as they swim well they migrate a cross rivers ; and

,

in a sudden inundation are able not to save themselves ,

al o ne b u t their young to which they are mu ch attached

, ,
.

The stratagem and caution which they practise in order

to secure a b ird are highly curious They approach .

without see mi n g to do s o but as soon as they are

within reach o f their prey they rush upon it tear O pe n
, ,

its body , thrust t heir sno ut into the intestines an d revel ,

in their sanguinary f east They then sleep f o r three o r

.

f our hours and a w ake with renewed appetite

,
.

A ll m ole catchers will bear te stimony to the rapid

-

movements and conse quent di fficulty o f catching these

animals I have watched a gardener stand f or half an
.

ho ur by o n e o f the little hillocks o f l o ose earth which ,

from its movement showed that the m ole was there at

work and remain motionless spade in h and and when
, , ,

he s aw the earth shake dash his weapon into the heap

, .

The mere upli f ting o f his arm was su fficient and be f ore ,

t he spade co uld reach t he ground the mole was gone .

He could s car cely reckon o n securing his v icti m o n c e

o u t o f twenty e ff orts .

N o moles are f ound in the north o f S cotlan d o r in ,

Ireland which some attribute to th e soil and climate

,

b ut they exi s t in oth er parts o f E urope under simil ar

circumstances .
 AN E C D OT E S O F ANI M AL S .

II E D G E II O G S .

H E B G E H O G S f orm the small groups o f Insect eat

one of -

ing Mammalia and are remarkable f o r being also able

,

to eat t hese substances which a re destructive to others ;

f o r instance , they devour th e wings o f Spanish flies
C an t/ami d es with impunity which cause f ear f ul torments
( ) ,

t o other animals and not the least to man by raising

, ,

blisters o n his S kin It would seem that the hedgehog

.

is also externally insensible to p oison f o r it fights wit h ,

adders and is bitten about the lips and nose without

,

receiving any inj ury A n experiment has been made

.

by administering prussic acid to it which took n o ,

e ffect
.

It is well known that hedgehogs are covered with

bristles amounting to sharp prickles and that they roll ,

themselves up into a ball This is e ff ected by a peculiar

.

s et o f muscles attached to the skin by which they p ull ,

themselves into t his shap e and a t the same time set

,

up every bristle and drag their head and limbs within

,
.

S uch is the resistance an d elasticity o f these bristles ,

that the owners o f them may be thro w n t o great dis

tances and remain unhurt and they will even thro w
,

themselves do wn steep places when they wish t o r e

move from a particular spot .

Hedgehog s are nocturnal animals and f requen t ,

woods gardens orchards and thick hedge rows It

, , ,
-
.

is in the latter that I have heard o f o n e being mistaken

by a hen f or a bush in w hich she might lay her egg in
,

sa fety The f act was announced by the triumphant

.

cackling which these birds voci f erate o n such o cca

sions : the egg was consequently searched f o r, and
f ound up on the hedgehog s back
’
.
 II E D G E H O G S . 39

Hedgehogs f eed on insects slugs f rog s eggs young , , , ,

birds in the nest mice f allen f ruits and the roots o f

, , ,

vegetables especially the plantain , b oring into the

,

ground to get at these substances They will cle ar a .

h ouse o f black beetles in a f ew weeks as I can attest ,

f rom my o wn experience My kitche n was mu ch in

.

f est ed not only by them but by a sort o f degenerate d

, ,

co ckroach descended f rom the better c o n d itio n ed B lat tae

,
-
,

brought in my p ackages f rom a tropic al country an d ,

which had resisted all efl o rt s f o r their extermination ,

’

s uch as boiling water , pepper arsenic wa fers , mortar ,

-
,

etc A t last a friend whose house had been cleared

.
‘

, ,

o f b eetles by a hedgehog made the a n imal over t o me

, ,

very much to the discom f ort o f my cook to whom it .

w as a n obj ect o f terror The first night o f its arrival, a

.

bed was made f o r it in a h amper hal f f ull o f hay and a ,

saucer o f milk w as set within The next morning the .

hedgehog had disappeared and f o r se v eral days the ,

search made f o r it was f ruitless That it was ali ve w as .

proved by the milk being dr unk o u t o f the saucer i n

which it was placed One night I purposely went into
.

the kitchen a f t er the f amily had been f o r some time in

bed and as I opened the door I s aw the little creatur e
, ,

slink into a hole under the oven attached to the grate .

F earing this would somet imes prove too ho t f o r it I had ,

some bricks put in to fill up the aperture The nex t .

night the bricks were pulled away and overturned , ,

evi ncing a degree o f stre n gth which astonished us ; but

a f ter that we le f t t he animal to its o w n care The .

beetles and cockroaches visibly disappe ared ; b ut as they

d isappeared , other things also vanishe d : ki t chen cloths
le ft t o dry at night were mis sing ; then a silk han d ker ,

c hie f .A t last a night cap le f t on t he d resser was gon e ;

-
 AN EC D OTES O F ANI M AL S .

and these abstractions were most mysterious The next .

d ay there w as a general sear ch in possible and impossible

places and the end o f a muslin string w as seen in the
,

oven hole ; it was seiz ed o n and not only was the night
-
,

cap dragged o u t but all the missing and not missing

,

ar t icles w hich the hedgehog had purloi n ed ; most o f them

w ere m u ch tor n and it was supposed that the poor beast
,

had taken p ossession o f them to make a s o f t bed I .

have not seen such a propensity noticed else where and ,

it m ay be a use f ul hint to those wh o keep he d gehog s .

A ll endeavours to make this animal f riendly were u n

avai lin g ; but I am told that hedgehogs are f requently
quite domesticated and even S ho w a degree o f afl ec t lo n
,
’
.

D r B ucklan d ascertained the manner in which hedge

.

hogs kill snakes They make a sudden at t ack on the

.

reptile give it a fierce bite , and then with the utmost

, ,

dexterity roll themselves up so as to present nothing

,

but spines when the snake retaliates They rep eat this .

man oeuvre several times till t he back o f the snake is

,
'
br oken in v ario u s places ; they then pass it through their
j aws cracki n g its bones at short intervals ; a ft er which
,

they eat it all up beginning at the tail The old legend

,
.
,

t h at hedgehogs suck the udders o f cows as they lie o n

the ground chewin g the cud is o f course wholly w ith, , ,

o u t f oundation They retreat to holes in trees or in t he

.
,

earth w here they make a bed o f leaves , moss etc in

, ,
.
,

which they roll t hemselves and these sub st ances sticking

,

to the spi n es make them look like a bundle o f vegetable

matter In this condition they pass the winter in a state
.
,

o f torpidity ; b ut i t should be mentioned that o n e which

was tame retained it s activity the whole year There .

are instances o f hedgehogs per f orming the o ffi ce o f turn

spits in a kitchen : a nd f rom the f acility with which they
42 ANE C D OT E S or ANI M AL S .

to their nourishment The story that they live by suck .

ing their p a ws is as may b e supposed a f able ; when

, ,

well fed they always li ck their p aws very o f ten aecom

-
,

p anying the action with a peculi ar sort o f mumbling

noise There a re a f ew which wi ll n ever eat flesh an d
.
,

all are able to do without it They are generally .

,

speaking large clumsy and a wkward p ossessing largo

, , , ,

claws f or digging ; and o f ten walk on their hind f eet -

,

a f acility afforded them by the peculiar f ormation o f

their thigh b one They d o not o f ten a ttack in the first
-
.

instance unless impelled by hunger o r danger ; they

,

are ho w ever f ormidable opponents w hen excited

, , In .

f ormer times there were f ew p arts o f t he globe in which

they were not to be f ound ; but like other wild animals ,

they h ave disappeared be f ore the advance O f man Still .

they are f ound in certain spots f rom the northern regions ,

o f the world to the burning climes o f A frica A si a, ,

and A merica The latest date o f their appearance in

.

G reat Britain was in S co tland during the year 1057

, , .

Be ars are al w ays covered with thick f u r ; which ,

notwithstanding its coarseness is m uch priz e d f o r ,

various purposes T hey a ff ord m uch sp ort to those

.

inclined f o r such exercises ; but the cruel practice o f

bear baiting is dis c ontinued In an o ld edi tion o f
-
.

I l u d ib r as there is a curious note o f a mOd e o f r unning

,

at the devoted b ears w ith wheelbarro w s o n which they ,

vented their f ury an d the baiters thus had t hem at

,

t heir mercy A t present the hunts are regularly

.

organized fights o r b attues ; besides which there are

m an y ways o f catching them in traps pit f alls etc , ,
.

The large Polar B ear ( Ur s u s M ar iti mu s) with its

’

white f u r its long flattened head and black claws may

, , ,

b e seen in grea t perf ec t ion at the Zoologic al G arden 8 .

 B EA R S . 43

In its own d ou n t ry during the wi n ter it lives chi efly o n

‘

, ,

seal s flesh but in the summer eats berries sea weed

’

, ,
-
,

and marsh plants It is o n e o f the most f ormidable

.

o f the race and may be seen c limbing m ountains o f

,

ice and swimmi n g f rom fl ee to fl ee wi t h the greatest

,

rapidi ty Captain L yon tells us that when a seal lies

.
,

j ust ashore the bear gets quietly into the water and
,

s w ims away f rom him to lee w ard ; he then takes shor t

dives and manages so that the last d i ve shall bring him
,

back close to the seal which tries to escape by rolling ,

’
into the water when he f alls into the bear s paws ; and
,

if he should lie still the bear springs upon and devours

,

him Its f avourite f ood however , is the floating c arcase s

.
,

o f whales T he gait o f all bears is a sort o f shu file ;

.

b u t this o n e goes at such a rate that its pace is equal ,

’
to a horse s gallop It is remarkably sagacious an d .
,

o f ten de f eats t he stratagem s practised f o r its capture

A f emale with two cubs was pursued across a field o f
ice by a p arty o f sailors at first she urged the young
ones to increase their speed by running in f ront o f them , ,

turning round a nd evincing by gesture and voice

, , ,

great an xiety f o r their progress ; b ut finding that their

pursuers gained u pon them she alternately carried , ,

p ushed o r pitched them f orwards until she e ffected

,

their escape The cubs seemed to arrange themselves

.

f o r the throw and when thus sent f orwards some yards

,

in advance ran on till she agai n came up to them when

, ,

they alternately placed themselves be f ore her .

A she bear and two large cubs being attracted by

-
,

the scent o f some blubber pro ceeding f rom a sea horse -

which had been set o n fire and was burning o n the ice ,

ran eagerly towards it d ragged s ome pieces o u t o f the,

fl ames , and ate them with great v o i ac ity T he sailors .

 ANE C D OTE S O F ANI M AL S .

thre w them some l umps still le f t in their p oss ession ,

which the o ld bear to ok away an d laid be f ore her cubs ,

reserving only a small piece f o r hersel f A s t hey were .

eating the last piece the men shot the cubs and wounde d
,

the mother II er distress was most pain f ul to behol d

.
,

and though wounde d she crawled to the spot where

, ,

they lay tore the piece o f flesh into pieces and p ut

, ,

some be f ore each F inding they did not eat she tried
.
,

to raise them making piteous me an s all the t ime She

, .

then w ent to some di stance looked back and m oaned ;

,

an d this f ai ling to entice them she returned and licke d ,

th ei r woun d s She did this a second time and s t ill

.
,

finding that the cubs did not f ollo w she went round ,

an d pa w ed them with great tenderness Being at last .

convinced that they were li feless she raised her hea d ,

towards the ship and by a growl seemed to reproac h

,

their destr o yers They returned this with a volley o f

.

l
musket balls ; she f ell between her cubs , and die d
licking their wounds .

The Black Bear o f Canada is a f ormidable creature ;

and D r Richardson contradic t s the assertion that i t is
.

not s w i f t o f f eet He says that it soon outstrips the

.

s w if test runner and adds that it climbs as well if not

, ,

better t h an a cat It f eeds o n berries eggs an d roots ;

.
, ,

but although it does not seek flesh it does not re f use ,

it when o ffered A young b ear o f this kind ro u ghly

.

handled a Canadian settler who being a very large ,

power f ul man returned hug f o r hug till the surprised

, ,

bear let go its hold It had ventured into some you n g

.

plan t ations where i t was c ommitting much mischie f

, ,

an d the settler had endeavoured to f righten it a w ay .

A friend of mine was in the house when the gen t lem an

 B EA R S . 45

r etu r ned hom e, his clothes torn in the struggle a nd ,

very much exhauste d by the encounter ; he dropped into

a chair, and nearly f ainted ; but a little brandy revive d
him though he w as ill some days f rom the pressure
,
.

A yo ung E ng lish o fficer, w ho was stationed at a

lone f ortress in the s ame country, amused himsel f by
t aming a hear o f the above species He taught him .

t o f e t c h and carry , to f ollow him like a dog an d to wait ,

patiently at me al time f o r his share He to ok the bear

.

with him when he returne d to E n gland , and he became

a great f avourite with the passenge r s a nd the ship s ’

company Bruin, ho w e v er , especially a ttached himsel f

.

t o a little girl about f o u r years o ld , the daughter o f

o n e o f the ladies on b oard , who r o mped with him as

she would with a dog . In on e o f these games o f play ,

he seized her with o n e f or e paw a nd with the other
-
,

clambered and clu n g to the rigging till he lodge d her ,

and himsel f in the main t ep where , rega r dless o f her

-
,

cries an d the agony o f her mother , he tried to continue

his romp . It would not do to p u rsue the pair , f o r f ear
the bear should drop the child ; and his m aster , knowing
how f ond he was o f sugar, had some mattresses placed
round the mast in case the child should f all , and then
strewed a quantity o f sugar o n the deck ; he called
B ruin , and pointed t o it who , a f te r a moment s hesi
’

t at ion , came down as he went up bringing the child ,

in sa f ety He was , o f course , depri ved o f his li berty

.

during the rest o f his v oyage .

This same black hear o f Can a da a fter it h a s hugged

,

i ts antagonists to death tears them open with its hind

,

f eet It will ward o ff blows like an accomplished boxer

.

f o r as it would be o f no use t o strike him o n his thickly

c overed bo d y , the a tt a cks a r e usually made about the
 AN E C D OTE S O F ANI M AL S .

head A man who wantonly t hrow an axe at a male

.

b ear as he p assed Wounded him whereupon the beast ,

ru shed at him ; the man f ell back w ards over a f allen

tree and in s o doing tore o ff a sharp poin te d knob o f
,
-

’
wood which he thrust down the bear s throat and so
, ,

kille d him ; not , however be f ore he had received his ,

o w n death wound f rom the hind f oot

-
He Walked hom e -
.

‘
holding in his intestines an d died a day o r two after , .

A n o ld hunter named Ruhe ha v ing set his traps t o

, ,

catch beavers , returned to the stream to ascertain his

s uccess He missed o n e o f them and o n lo oking f or it,
.
, ,

s aw signs o f a bear having p assed that way A s he .

went o n he hear d the noise o f a heavy body breaking

,

through the bushes in the thicket He hid himsel f he .

hi n d a rock and saw a huge bear limping on three legs

,

to a flat piece o f rock , up on which it seated itsel f ; and

o n r aisi n g o n e o f its f ore p aws Ruhe d iscovered that it -
,

was encircled by the lost trap The bear li fted the .

iron glove towards his f ace ex amined it turned his paw , ,

ro u nd and round bent his head fr om side to side looked

, ,

at the trap ask ance with the most puz zled air f elt the ,

encumbrance t apped it o n the ro ck and evidently knew

, ,

not what to d o Then he began to f eel p ain and licked

.

it ; but R u b e soon put an en d to all his conj ectures by ,

2
shooting him dea d .

O f all the bears the G rizzly ( Ur su s f er ox ) is s aid to

,

be the m ost f ormidable both f o r size and f ero city ; and ,

Mr q t o n tells the f ollowing anecdote i n which o n e o f

them makes a conspicuous figure —A trapper , named
.
,

Glass and a compani on were setting their beaver traps

, ,

in a strea m to the north o f the ri ver Platte when they ,

s aw a large griz zly bear turni n g up the tur f near by ,

’
l L A c ad ie .
2
Ru x to n .
 BE A R S . 47
'

an d searching f or ro ots and pig nuts T he t w o men -

.

crept to the thicket and fired at him ; they wounded

, ,

b u t d i d no t kill him The beast groaned j umped all

.
,

f our legs from the ground and snorting with pain and
, ,

f ury charged towards the place f rom whence came the

,

smoke o f the rifles The men rushed through the

.

thicket where the underwood almost i mpeded their

,
’
progress ; b ut the beast s weight and strength carried
him alo ng so f ast that he soon came up with them A
, .

steep blu ff was situated a hundred yards o ff , with a level

plain o f grass between it and the thicket ; the hunters
fl ew a cross the latter with the utmost speed , the bear
a fter them W hen he reached about hal f way , G lass
.

stum b led o v er a stone an d f ell He rose and the bear .

,

stood be fore him o n his hind legs G lass called to his -

.

companion to fire and he himsel f sent the contents o f his

,
’
pistol into the bear s body The f urious animal with .
,

t he bloo d streaming f rom his nose and mouth , knocked

the pistol away with o n e p aw while he stuck the cla w s ,

o f the other into the flesh o f his antagonist an d rolled ,

with him o n the ground Glass managed to reach his

.

kni fe and plunged it se ver a l times into the bear while

, ,

the latter w ith t eeth an d claw tore his flesh A t l ast .

,

blinded with blood a nd exhaustion the kni f e f el l f rom ,

the trapper s hand and he became in sensible His com

’
, .

panion who thought his turn would come next did not
, ,

even think o f reloadi n g his rifle and fle d to the camp , ,

w here others o f his party were resting , to tell the miser

able f ate o f their compani on A ssistance was sent , and .

Glass still breathed ; but the bear lay across him quite
d ead from three b ullets and twenty kni f e wound s
,
The .

man s flesh w a s t orn away in slips an d lumps o f it lay

’

u pon the ground ; his sc al p hung bleeding over his f ace

,
48 ANE OD OTE S or ANI M AL S .

’
w hich was also torn The men took away the trapper s
.

hunting — shirt , mocassins , and arms , dragged the bear

o ff his b ody an d le f t him , declaring when they rej oined
, ,

t heir party that they had completed his burial

, .

A lthough the bear n o longer figures in the story I ,

must be allowed to relate the sequel as a proo f o f what ,

human nature can endure wi t hout destruction M onths .

elapsed , and some o f the p arty o f the ab ove mentioned -

camp were on their w ay to a tra d i ng port with their

skins , when they saw a horseman approach them w i t h
a f ace so scarred an d disfigured that they could n o t
d i stinguish his f eatures .

The str anger acco sted that o n e o f the par ty who had
’
been G lass s comp anion , exclaiming in a hollo w voice ,

Hurrah , Bill , my boy, you thought I w as gen e under

( killed ) that t ime ,
did you ? but hand me over my horse
and gun , lad I m not dead yet
.
’
A stonishment an d
.
’

horror seized o n the party , m an y o f whom believed he

had been buried a s well as dead Ho w ever there could
.
,

be no mistake n o w ; and when they had su fficiently r e

’
covered f rom their surprise to listen to Glass s story , he
t old them that he kne w not ho w long he lay bef ore he
recovered his senses ; but when he did , and was able to
take nourishment he was obliged to subsis t o n the flesh
,

o f t he bear .When he had stre n gth to crawl he tore ,

o ff as much o f this as he c ould carry in his w eak state ,

and crept down to the river He had su ffered tortures

.

f rom cold wounds and hunger ; b ut he had reached the

, ,

f ort , which w as between eighty and ninety miles distant ,

living the greater part o f the way o n roots and berries,
but there he had been taken care o f and recovered .

The claws o f these bears make a ou t like the strok e

o f a chise l . They do not hug at first , b ut strike with
 ANE C D OT E S O F ANI M A L S .

of all the j oists ; and at last reached the summi t w hich ,

w as one hun d red and twenty f eet high He looked much .

pleased when he had complete d this O peration and the ,

workmen treated him with great civility T hey were .

going to l ower him in a bucket but to this he would not ,

consent and descended as he had mounted ; being so

,

pleased with his pro w ess that he repeated his visit

, .

A N orwegian had tamed a h ear so completely t h at ,

’
he used to stand at the b ack o f his m aster s sledge where ,

he kept so go o d a balance that it was impossi b le to

,

u pset him : i f the sledge went o n one side the be ar ,

threw his weight in the opposite direction and so kep t ,

up the equilibrium One day , ho w ever hi s m aster in

.
, ,

sport, drove over the worst ground he could find ,

hopin g t o throw the bear o ff Thi s ho w ever only served

.
, ,

to irritate him ; an d he vented his ill h umour by giving -

his master a tremendous blow across the shoulders .

A countryman in Russia when seeking honey climbed

, ,

a very high tree the trunk o f which was hollo w ; and

,

finding there was a large quantity o f comb in it he de ,

scended and stuck f ast in the tenacious substance there

,

deposited He w as so f ar distant f rom home that his

.
,

voice could not be heard and he remai n ed t w o days in

,

this situation relieving his hunger with the honey He

,
.

began to despair o f e v er b eing extricate d when a bear , ,

who , like himsel f came f o r t he sake o f the honey slid

, ,

down the hollo w hind part f oremost

,
-
T he man in .
,

spite o f his alarm seized hold o f him ; and the bear

, ,

also in a great f right clambered o u t as f ast as he could

, ,

d ragging the man up with him and when clear o f his ,

tai l bearer made o ff as f ast as possible

-
, .

The drollest and most accomplished o f all bears w as ,

the celebrated Mar t in , o f Paris , u hose dancing climbing , ,

 BE ARS . l

c urtseyin g tumbling begging and many other antics

, , , ,

were the delight o f every child in the me t ropolis an d ,

o f grown u p children also

-
It is true that the n urse .

maids endangered the lives o f their charges by holding

the m over the sides o f the pit in w hich he was kept
'

but as n one d id fall they continued to amuse themselves

,

and their nurselings at t he same risk One morning .

early he very cleverly withdre w the b olts o f his pit

,

door and sallied f ort h o n his hind legs to take a walk

,
-
.

The keepers o f the garden had not risen ; b u t the dogs

were o n the alert and surrounded Martin j umping an d
, ,

barking hal f in play and hal f in earnest This roused

, , .

the men who rushing out to see what was the matter
, , ,

b eheld the bear in the mid st o f the c anine troop his ,

tongue lolling o u t o f his mouth and an expression o f ,

f u n and enj oyment in his countenance which was in ,

describable N ever was the malignant sco w l s o o ften

.
,

noticed in bears f rom pulling the nictita t ing membrane

, ,

o r third eyelid hal f over the eye seen in po or Mar t in s

’

, ,

f ace ; y et he became unpopular f rom the cupidity o f o n e

o f the sentinels This man f ancied he saw a five franc
.
-

piece lying in the bear s pit and determined t o g o ’

during the night when he would be on duty and se cure

, ,

it He accordingly provided himsel f wi t h a ladder and

.
,

when the guard was cha n ged was f ound lying li feless at ,

the bottom the coveted piece in his hand which proved

, ,

to be nothing but a l arge button N o marks o f violence .

were to be seen upon his bo d y ; b ut the c o n f u sio n s

o n his head seemed to tell that he had f allen f rom

the ladder w he n near the top and s o met his death , .

W hether he had been f rightened , or seiz ed with gid d i

ness or whether Martin had shaken t he ladder no o n e
, ,

coul d s ay ; the ani mal w as si tting quietly by his side

52 ANE OB OTE S OF ANI M AL S .

when his fate was first made known The story fled .

like wildfire f rom one end o f Paris to the other and in ,

a short time t he populace were f ully convince d that

Martin had killed him ; and this combined with other ,

exaggerations induced them to flock in multitudes to see

,

the murderous bear A f terwards two balls o f arsenic

.
, ,

wrap ped up in some swee t substance were f ound in the ,

pit f ortunately bef ore Marti n had touched them ; and

,

the authorities o f the establishment thought it prudent .

to remove him to a den in t he menagerie The f ront o f .

these dens was closed at night with a s liding shutter ,

p ulled down by inserti n g a hook at the end o f a long

p ole into a ring which ring when the shu t ter was down
, , ,

served to admit a bolt This did no t at all please .

Martin and the keeper never could accomplish the f as

,

tening till some o n e else went to the other side to take

,

O ff the bear s atten t ion f o r t he moment the shutter was

’

down Martin inserted his claws and pushed it up again ;

,

and this practice was continued as long as he exi sted .

The Malayan S un B ear Ur su s M alay en sis) has a long

tongue shor t smooth f u r very extensible flexible lips
, ,

and large claws Sir Stam f ord Ra ffles had o n e which

.

was brought up in the nursery with his children and ,

when he j oined the party at table would only eat the ,

choicest f ruit and drink champag ne and even be o u t o f

, ,

h umour when there was none o f t he latter He was very .

a ff ectionate and never required to be chained o r chastised

,
.

This bear a eat a dog and a lory f rom N ew Hollan d

, , , ,

used to eat amicably o u t o f the same dish His f avourite .

play f ello w ho w ever was the dog although he was teazed

, , ,

and w orried by it incessantly He grew to be very .

p ower f ul and p ulled plants and trees up by the roo t s

, ,

the latter o f W hich were to o large f o r him to embrace .

 B AD G E R S . 53

A b lack bear w a s brought up f rom a cub with an

antelope and s o great an a ffection existed between the
,

two animals that they even ate o u t o f the same dish .

On o n e o ccasion a fierce dog fl ew at the antelope whe n

, ,

the bear rushed to its rescue gave the dog a tremendous

,

blow and sent him howling away

, .

The Bornean Bear ( Ur su s E u ryspi lu s) is o n e o f the

most amusing and play f ul o f all bears begs in the mos t
earnest manner ; and when it has more to eat than it
can hold in its paws and mouth places the surplus o n ,

it s hinder f ee t as if to keep it from being soiled ; and

,

when vexed o r irritated will never be reconciled as

,

long as the o ff ender is in its sight It does much .

inj ury to cocoa nut trees by biting o ff the t o p shee ts,

-
,

o r tearing down the f ruit .

Bears are very subject to that disease o f the eye

c alled cataract and have had it removed while under
,

t he influence o f chloro form .

B AD G E RS .

B A B GE RS belong t o t he s ame d ivision o f Carnivora a s

bears but diff er f rom t hem not only in siz e but in
, , ,

dentition This while they claim a sort o f miniature

.
,

r elationship f orms them into a separate genus T hey

, .

aff ord many a day o f what is called sport to those who

,

choose to hunt them during which they evince much

,

sagacity in their c fio r t s to escape ; but I am happy t o

s ay the custom o f tying them into an empty cask and
,

baiting them wi t h dogs no longer exists They are

, .

by nature sloth f ul and heavy but are easily t ame d and

, ,
 ANE C D OT E S O F ANI M AL S .

when roused are fierce They have a gland un d er

,
.

the t ail which secretes a liquid o f a most disagreeable

odour and causes them to p ass into a sort o f proverb
, .

They f eed chiefly o n r oots nuts and other f ruits ; , ,

attack the nests o f wasps , o r wild bees and devour ,

their larv ae , themselves o r their hon ey with a per f ect

, ,

indiff erence to their stings which cannot pier ce through

,

their tough hide They prey at nigh t and live in t he

.
,

thickes t parts o f woods o r coppices where they rapidly ,

dig deep holes by means o f their sharp and power f ul

,

claws T hese holes are divided into several chambers

.
,

the i n nermost o f which is round and lined wi t h hay o r ,

grass A ll are kept very clean and every waste remnant

.
,

o f f ood and species o f filth is deposited in holes dug o n

purpose f or its reception The passages to the dwell

.

ings f requently turn at sharp angles at which place s ,

the b adgers make a stand when attacked Mr St . . .

’
J ohn caused a badger s hole to be dug out and he there ,
’
f ound b alls o f grass rolled u p to the size o f a man s fist
, ,

evidently intended f o r f ood That gentleman also says

.
,

that he has f requently f ound the bulb o f the common

bl ue hyacinth lying near t he hole T hey devour besides .
,

all sorts o f vegetables small animals whether alive or

, ,

dead snails , an d worms ; but their peculiar dainty con

,

sists o f eggs A p artridge s nest a ff ords them a de

.
’

lic io u s f east , p articularly i f they include the sitting hen .

B adgers have a peculi arly f ormed chest and j aw ,

w hich give them great strength ; their f orehead is s o

thick in consequence o f a ridge which runs down the
,

middle o f it that they are unhurt by a blow in front

,

which would kill an o x ; while almost a touch at t he

back o f the head will cause their destruction Their .

thick skin , which lies loosely upon them is much used ,

 B A B GE RS 55

fo r making pistol cases ; and thei r f u r is excellent f o r

pain t er s brushes They are di fficul t to kill and f ew
’
.
,

d ogs have courage enough to attack them in their

holes , where they live in pairs When thus pursued .
,

they constant ly impe de the progress o f their enemies

by throwing the soil behind them so as to fill up the ,

p assages, w hile they escape to the sur f ace They are .

rare animals but are to be f ound in v arious p arts o f

,

the world The Chinese eat them in spite o f their b a d

.

o dour They o ft en show great a ff ection, an interesting

.

proo f o f w hich is given by Captain Brown in his P opu la r

N atu r al H is tory which I transcribe T wo persons ‘
.
,

( in F rance ) we n t o n a j ourney a nd passing through a

,

hollow way , a dog which was with them started a b a dger ,

which he attacked and purs ued till he took shelter in a

,

b urrow under a tree With some pains he was hunted

.

o u t and killed Being a f ew miles f rom a v illage called

.

C hapellet iere, they agreed to drag him thither as t ho ,

commune gave a reward fo r every o n e which w as de

stroyed ; besides which they pro posed selling the skin
, .

N o t having a rope they t w isted some twigs , an d by

,

turns dre w him along the road They had not pro .

c eed ed f ar when they heard the cry o f an ani mal in

seeming distress and stopped t o listen when another

, ,

badger approached them slowly They at fir st threw .

stones at it ; notwithstanding which it d rew near came , ,

up t o the dead animal began to lick it , and continued

,

its mourn f ul c r v The men surprised at this desisted

.
, ,

f rom o ff ering an y f u rther inj ury to it an d again drew ,

t he dead o n e along as be f ore ; when the living badger ,

determined not to quit its companio n , lay down o n it ,

t aki n g it gently by o n e ear and in that manner w as

,

dr awn into the midst o f t he vill age ; nor could dogs ,

 A N EC D OT E S O F A NI M A L S .

boys o r men indu ce it to quit it s situation ; and t o

,

their shame be it said they had the inhumanity to kill

,

the po or animal an d a f terwards to burn it declaring

, ,
’
it co uld be no other than a witch .

Pro f essor Bell had a badger which f ollowed him lik e

a dog, and which had been tamed when quite young by
’
s ome cott a ger s children with whom he played like a ,

p uppy A s he grew in years he became t o o rough f o r

.
,
’
them but at Mr B ell s was a universal f avourite He
,
. .

yelped with a peculiar sharp cry when excluded f rom , ,

his master s presence He was f ed at d in ner time and

’
.
-
,

t ook the m orsels in the m ost orderly manner He was .

very a ffe ctionate good tempered and cleanly He died

,
-
, .

o f a disease which a ff ects many carnivorous animals in

c o n fin emen t —a contraction o f t he lower O pe n ing o f t he

stom ach which prevents the f ood f rom passing

,
.

In that m ost in t eresting book written by Mr St , . .

John , and called IV i ld Spor ts of the H ighlan d s the ,

author treats at some length o f the badger I selec t .

t he f ollowing passages f rom his p ages

I was j ust then startled f rom my reverie by a kind
o f grunt close to me an d the apparition o f a sm all
, ,

waddling grey a n imal wh o was busily empl oyed in

, ,

hunting about the grass and stones at the edge o f the

loch Presently another and another appeared in a little
.

’
grassy glade w hi ch ran down t o the water s e d ge till at ,

last I saw seven o f them busily at work within a f ew

yards o f me all comin g f rom o n e direction It at firs t
,
.

struck me that they w ere some farmer s pigs taking a ’

distant ramble ; but I shortly s aw t hey w ere badgers ,

come f rom their f astnesses rather earlier than usual ,

tempte d by the quiet evening and by a heavy summer ,

s hower that w as j ust o v er , and which had brought o u t

58 AN EC D OTE S or ANI M AL S .

When at home I put him i nto a paved court , where I

,

though t he could not p o ssibly escape The next morn .

ing , however he was gone , having displaced a stone

,

that I thought him quite incapable o f m ovin g and then ,

digging under a wall S ometimes I have known a

.

badger leave the solitu d e o f the woo ds and take to

some drain in the c u ltivated c o untry where he becomes ,

very bold an d destructive to the cr 0 ps cutting d o w n ,

wheat a nd ravaging the gardens in a most surprising

,

manner One which I know to be no w living in this

.

m anner derives great part o f his f ood during the spring

,

f rom a rookery under which he nightly hunts f eeding o n ,

the young r ooks that f all f rom their nests , or on the o ld

ones that are shot This badger eludes every attempt
.

to trap him Having more than once r u n narrow risks

.

o f this n ature , he has become s o cunning that no o n e can

catc h him I f a dozen baited traps are set he manages

.
,

t o carry o ff the baits and spring every trap , al w ays with

,

total impunity to himsel f A t o n e time he was watched .

o u t to some distance f rom his drain , and traps were

then put in all dire ctions round it ; but by jumping over

some and rolling over others he esc aped all In f act
, , .
,

though a despised and m altreated animal w hen he has ,

o n ce ac quire d a certain experience in worldly matters ,

f e w beasts show more address and c unni n g in keeping

o u t o f scrapes Though eaten in F rance G ermany, an d
.
,

other countries , and pronounced t o make excellent hams ,

we in Britai n despise him as f ood though I see no ,

reason why he should not be quite as good as an y pork .

The b adger becomes immensely f at Though not a .

great ea t er , his quiet habits an d his being a great sleeper

’
prevent his being lean That sleep is taken in the d ay ,
.

f o r his habit s are generally nocturnal .

 W EASELS . 59

A ll badgers may be recognised by the bro ad bl ack

b and across their ch eek Those o f India have longer
.

legs than those o f E urope ; their snout is also pro

longed l ike that o f a hog ; and their tail resembles
that o f the latter animal They are v ery slow in
.

their movements and when afir on t ed make a peculiar

grunti n g noise and bristle up the hair o f their back
,
.

I f stil l more rouse d they stand o n their hind legs as

,
-

bears do have much p ower in their f ore legs , a nd are

,
-

ex t remely savage when provoked .

WEASEL S .

T HE second tribe o f Carnivora walks upon its t oes an d ,

is consequently called D igitigrada It is chiefly c o m .

pose d o f a number o f sm aller animals which are very ,

interesting f rom many o f their habits very precious from ,

the valuable f u r which they a ff ord an d in many instances

,

are so destructive that they go under the common name

o f Verm in . A numerous gen u s bears the appellation
o f Vermi f orm because their b odies are long and their
,

legs are short , which f ormation enables them to slide

through small apertures in worm f ashion twisting them ,

selves through the winding passages with their b odies

touchi n g the ground They destroy m uch game and
.
, ,

except when trained to kil l rats and rabbits are objects

'

o f persecution and dislike A mong them are weasels

.
,

polecats , f errets , martens skunks and others

, ,
The .

ermine and sable are included with the martens ; and

t he three first send f orth a disagreeable odour T hey .
,

however are not t o be compared in this respect t o the

,
60 AN EC D OTES or AN I M AL S .

skunk which o f all creatures is one o f the most dis a gree

,

able in consequence o f its f oetid gland which secretes

, ,

the o fl en sive li quor sent f orth when the animal is f right

ened o r irritated N othing will obliterate this odour ;
.

no other scent overcomes it ; n o burying in the ear t h ,

no washing will avail ; even time does not cure ; and

,

an article o f dress p ut by f o r years is still unwearable .

It is to Weasels and Otters that I shall confine mysel f

in this work f o r about their intellectual powers do we
know most The firs t is a very courageous beast n o t
.
,

f earing to attack animals much larger than himsel f

even man A labouring peasant at G lencairn in D um
.
,

f riesshir e w as attacked by s ix o f them wh o rushed u pon

, ,

him when he was at work in a field B eing frightened .

at such a f urious onset , he fled ; but they pursued him ,

al t hough he dealt some b ack handed strokes with a long

-

horsewhip He was o n the point o f being seized by the

.

throat when he f ortunately perceive d the f allen branch

,

o f a tree He sna t ched it up an d making a stand

.
,

against his enemies he killed t hree and p ut the others

, ,

to flight A nother in s tance is rep orted by Captain

.

Brown in his P op u lar N atu r al H istory , W here the

afl r ay commenced by a person striking a weasel which ,

squeaked aloud This rouse d a whole colony consist

.
,

ing o f fi f tee n wh o flew at him an d hit him severely A

,
.

gentleman came to his aid and with his assistance ,

several o f the assailants were killed ; the others ran into

the fissures o f a neighbou ring rock .

There are insta n ces o f weasels having been tamed

but it is very d i fficult t o make an y impression o n their
a ff ections although they ar e very s agacious an d s aga
, ,

cions animals a re more easily influence d than others .

The weasel and the stoat are so o ften mistaken f o r e a ch

 W EA S EL S . 61

ot her that it will be well to point o u t the constant

,

d i ff erence in each The stoat is brown above d irty

.
,

white underneath ; his tail is longer and more bushy

t han that o f the weasel and always black at the tip , .

The weasel is red a bove and pure white underneath , ,

and the tail is re d and uni f orm being deprived o f t he ,

bushy tip Mr Bell from whose pages I have taken

. .
,

these characters de fends weasels f rom the accusation

,

o f devouring p oultry game hares rabbits and various

, , , ,

small birds He s ays that when driven by hunger they

.
, ,

may o ccasionally eat such things ; but that their gener al

f ood consists o f mice and rats o f every description t he ,

field and water vole and moles ; and that they ought
,

rather to be encourage d than exterminated because they ,

destroy so much vermin They generally approach with .

the utmost caution and shyness an d w hen once they have ,

seized their prey they never let go their hold ; they aim
,

at the neck below the ear or drive their teeth through

, ,

the back o f the head They bound and spring and climb
.
,

trees with the greatest f acility and seem never to tire o f ,

hunting whether they are hungry o r not Mr St John

, . . .

s aw one in a stubble field in which several corn bunti n gs ,

were flying about or alightin g on a thistle The animal

,
.

dis appeared at the f oo t o f this thistle and the above ,

gentleman thought he had slunk into a hole ; but f eelin g

sure by his manner he intended some mischie f he stayed ,

to watch his movements A s soon as o n e o f the bir d s .

settled on t he thistle somethin g sprang up as quick a s

,

lightning and then disappeared with the bird : it was

,

the weasel who had thus success fully concealed himsel f

, .

The same gentleman chased a weasel into a hollow t ree ,

who carried something in her mouth He applied smoke .

to t he hole , and out she came again , carrying the sam e

 AN E C D OT E S O F AN I M AL S .

b urden She ran towards a stone wall but w as met by

.
-
,

a terrier who killed her catching her with the greater

,

f acility in consequence o f her obstin acy in carrying away

what Mr St John still thought was her prey On pick
. . .

ing it u p however he f ound that it w as a young weasel

, ,

unable to run which its mother was endeavourin g to

,

carry to a place o f saf ety her f ormer hole in an adj oin

,

ing field havi n g been ploughed over A nother proo f o f .

the weasel s a ff ection f o r her young was witnessed by a

’

labourer who while standing on a f oot path close to the

, ,
-

hedge side , perceived a weasel with o n e o f her young

ones in her mo n th He kicked her and she dropping
.
, ,

it retreated into a hedge He then stood over the

,
.

young one with a stick in his hand not intendin g t o ,

kill it but merely to see ho w it s mother would proceed

, .

She soon peeped f rom her covert and made several ,

feints to get at her charg e but was obliged to ru n into

,

the hedge again intimidated by the stick which the man

,

flourished about A t last she summoned up all her

.

resolution and in spite o f everything , a f ter a grea t

, ,

deal o f dodging to avoid the stick , succeeded in obtain

ing the object o f her solicitude and bore it o ff be tween ,

the legs o f her tormentor .

“ l easels sometimes f all a prey to hawks and the ,

latter are occasionally overcome by them I transcribe .

the following account f rom the pages o f Mr Bell As . .

a gentleman o f the name o f Pinder was riding over his

grounds he saw at a short di stance f rom him a kite
, , ,

pounce o n some objects on the ground and rise with it ,

in his talons In a f ew moments however , the kite b e

.
,

gan to sho w signs o f great uneasines s rising rapidly in ,

the air or as quickly f alling and wheeling irregular ly

, ,

round , whilst he w a s evidently endeavouring to f ree som e

 OTTERS . 63

ob n o x io u s thing f rom him with hi s f eet A fter a short .

but sharp contest the kite f ell suddenly to the earth

, ,

not f ar f rom Mr Pinder He instantly rode up t o the

. .

s pot when a weasel ran away f rom the kite apparently

, ,

unhurt leaving the bird dead wi t h a hole eaten through

, ,

the skin u n der the w ing and the large blood vessels o f
,
-

’
th e part torn through .

The nest composed by weasels in which they will ,

bring f ort h f our o r five you n g ones two o r three times ,

a year is o f dry leaves and herbage is placed in a hole

, , ,

in a bank a dry ditch o r a hollow tree ; and if a dog

, ,

c ome near it , the mother flies at him and f astens o n his ,

lips with great ten a cit y .

O T TE RS .

THE much persecuted Otter presents himsel f to o u r

-

notice among the worm b o died digitigrade animals -

, .

Their broad webbed f eet show that they frequent the

water ; and in f act they are not only f ound in rivers
, ,

an d lakes o f most E uropean countries but at sea , .

Their elongate d body is flattened horiz ontally ; th eir

tail is broad and flat and f orms an excellent rudder
,

f o r their guidance when in the water Their short legs .

are so loosely j ointed that they can be turned in any

direction when swimming ; and their f u r is so f t fine an d , ,

close underneath whi le a lo n ger coarser set o f hard

, ,

shining hairs are o n the outside Their teeth are very .

pointed and well adapted to hold their slippery prey ;

,

their ears are very small and close to their head ; and
,

they have a nictitating membrane o r third eyelid f o r , ,

the protection o f their bri gh t eyes T heir movement s . .

64 ANE C D OTE S or AN I M AL S .

in the water are p articularly elegant ; they swim hori

z o n t ally and rapidly dive a f ter their victims which they
, ,

eat ashore It is said that they will collect a number o f

.

trouts into a shoal and drive them o n till in t heir dread

, , ,

and alarm many o f the fishes will throw themselves o n

,

to the land They have the p ower o f remaining very

.

long under water at a considerable depth ; and the fierce

,

manner in which they keep dogs at bay o f ten wounding ,

them severely with their sharp bites and the an xious ,

watching f o r their rise in the water w hen they have

retreated all f orm a most exciting sport ; s o that we
,

hear o f o tter hunting as a source o f keen enj oyment ;

-

and there is o n e o n record in w hich nin e otters were

killed in o n e day .

O tters will certainly consume an immen se quantity

o f fish ; and the owners o f salmon o r trout streams hav e

great S pite against them It is however very possibl e .

, ,

to tame them so as to make them bring the fish which

they catch This practice is much more f ollowed in other
.

countries than in E ngland ; they are purposely kept f o r

it in Sweden and at a signal f rom the co ok w ill go and
,

f etch the fish f o r d inner Bishop Heber mentions that

.
,

he saw several large and very beau t i ful otters f astened to

bamboo stakes by the side o f the Matta Colly ri v er , some
o f which appeared to be at play and u t tered a shrill , ,

whistling noise They w er e straw collars and were

.
,

very tame and docile They should be caught quite

.

young and f ed o n small fish ; then they are allowed bread

,

and milk at alternate meals till at last they entirely live,

upon this f ood They are taught to f etch and c arry

.

w ith artifi cial fi shes made o f leather and stu ff ed wi t h ,

w ool ; then they are made to b ring d ead fishes an d if ,

they attempt to te ar them , they a re severe ly punished .

66 A N E C D o rE s o r
'
AN I M AL S .

fo r its mate wi t h untiring persever ance ; and if one be

caught in a trap its co mpa n i on will run round and
,

round endeavouring to set it f ree o n which o ccasions

, , ,

th ough so quiet at other times they make a snorting ,

and blowi n g like a horse .

’

A dog belonging to the above gentleman was run

n ing and splashing through the sh allow wa t er an d ,

suddenly stoo d st ill sometimes whin ing as if caught in

, ,

a trap an d then bitin g f uriously at s omething in the

,

water He w as called by his master but as he did not

.
,

o bey , his master waded to him and f ound a l arge otter ,

’
holding on by his p ower f ul j aws to the dog s shoulder ;
and had he not had a goo d co v ering o f c urly hair he ,

stood a chance o f having his leg broken , the bite was

so severe .

The p eople in S cotland believe that the otters have ’

'

a king o r leader , which is larger than others an d ,

spotte d with white They also believe that when these

.

ani m als a re killed , a man , or another o f the brute kind ,

dies suddenly at the same moment ; that their skin

possesses an antidote to in f ection preserves soldiers ,

f rom w ounds and saves sailors f ro m disasters at sea

,
.

The darkness in which otters delight , their watery

habitations , their oily noiseless movements and their
, ,

dark f u r invest them with mystery in the eyes o f the

,

peasantry in many parts o f E ngland .

The emigration o f otters is established by the f ollow

in f act
g A lab ourer g oing to his w ork , so on a f ter
’
five o c lock in the morning saw a number o f an imals ,

coming towards him and sto o d quietly by the he d ge

,

t ill they came alongside o f hi m He then p erceive d .

f our old otters , probably dams , and about twenty

youn g ones He took a sti c k o u t o f the he d ge an d
.
 OTT E R S .

killed o n e D irectly it began t o squeak all the f our

.
,

o ld ones turned b a ck , and sto od till the other young

o nes had escape d through the hedge , and then went

quietly themsel ves Seve r al f amilies were thus j ourney

.

ing together and prob ably they had le f t their f ormer

,
’
abo de f rom not finding a su ffi ciency o f f ood .

The beautif ul otter in the museu m o f the Zool ogical

G ardens is f rom Ireland and is by some c onsidered as
,

a distinct species It is chiefly f ound on the coast o f

.

A ntrim , li v ing in the ca verns f ormed by t he basaltic

c olumns o f that shore ; and as it hunts the salmon ,
rewards are o ff ered f o r its destruction .

The flesh o f all otters is extremely r ank and fishy ;

a nd because it cannot be called meat it is o ften allowed ,

to be eaten o n the meagre days app ointed by the

R omish Church .

Captain B r own in his P opu lar N atu r al H istory, tells

,

us o f a person who kept a tame otter with his dogs ,

which f ollowed him in company wi t h them He hunte d .

fish with them and they never would hunt any other
,

otter as long as he w a s wit h them .

There was a tame otter in N o rthu mb erlan d , which

also f ollowed his master where v er he went He caught .

his o w n f ood and returned home when s a tisfied

, .

Once he re f used to c ome to the usual c all when he w as

o u t, and was lost f o r some d ays A t length , going .

back to the same place he with gre a t joy ca me creep

,

ing to his m a ster s f eet, who w as still seekin g his

’

f a v ourite
.
 ANE C D OT E S O F A NI MAL S .

D O G S .

B A RO N C u v mn ays th a t the most use f ul c onque st

s

a chieved by man , is the domestication o f the dog—a

conquest so long completed , that it is now impossible
with any certainty to tr a ce these animals to their o ri
g in s l type
. The cleverest o f naturalists have supposed
them to d escend f rom wolves f rom j ackals o r f rom a
, ,

mixture o f the t wo ; while others equally cle ver , assert

,

that they proceeded f rom diff erent species o f dogs .

The latter maintain that the D ingos o f A ustralia t he ,

B u an sas o f N epal , o r D holes O f India , the A guaras o f

S outh A merica and several other races a re original ;
, ,

and alth ough they may not have produced the dogs
which attend m an , t hey prove that we m ay attribu t e
t he latter t o predecessors o f the same kind , wi t hou t
having rec o urs e t o o t her animals which they more o r
less resemble O n the other hand again some o f o u r
.
,

first men ar e o f O pinion that there are n o w n o original

d ogs but that all the packs called wild are those which
,

have mad e their escape from a state o f domesticity .

T his is not the place to examine the merits o f the

di ff erent proo f s bro u ght in f av our o f each argument ;
and I hasten to a brie f notice o f some o f those which
s ubsist independently o f human assistan c e .

A ll dogs , wild o r tame walk upon their toe s with a

,

fi rm elastic gait , and their claws are not retractile

, .

Their other external characters are so v aried , that it is

impossible to give a general summary o f their colour o r
f o rm : the largest o n record ( a S aliot , belongi n g to t he
king o f N aples) measure d f our f eet at the shoulders ;
the least would probably give a height of a s many inches .
 n oes . GO

A ll the untamed species are lank and gaunt , their

muz zles are long and slender , their eyes oblique and ,

their stren gth and tenacity o f l if e are always marvellous .

The D ingo o r A ustralian dog roams in packs through

, ,

th a t vast country ; h as a broad head ; fierce , Obliqu e

eyes ; acute muz zle ; short p ointed erect ears ; tail
, ,

bu shy and never raise d to more than a horiz ontal

,

position He does not bark , b ut ho w ls f ear fully ; is

.

extremely sagacious and has a remarkab le p ower o f

,

bearing pa in When beaten s o severely as to b e le ft

.

f o r dead he has been seen to get up and run away

, .

A man proceeded to skin one not doubting that li f e ,

was extinct , a nd a f ter proceeding a little way with the

O pera t ion he le f t the b u t to sharpen his kni fe
,
When .

he returned the poor animal was sittin g up with the

, ,

loose skin hanging over o n e side o f his f a ce .

The D ingos worry the cattle o f the settlers and will ,

even eat pieces o u t o f them as they lie upon the ground ;

the leg o f a sh eep has b een f requen tly gna w e d o ff by
them . D omesticate d dogs will h unt and kill them ,

b ut show signs o f great disgust a f terwards always , if ,

they can plunging themselves into water , as if to get

,

rid o f the contamination caused by such conta c t One .

taken from his mother at six weeks o ld was partially

tamed but at fir st he crouched down in all the darkest
corners he could find , looking at every one with aver
sion and when alone howling incessantly especially if
, , ,

the moon were shining He became gradually recon

.

cile d to those who f ed him but to no o n e else He, .

never gave w arning o f the approach o f stran gers and ,

never m ade an open attack It is remarkable tha t

.

these do s are no t f ound in the c losely neighbourin g

or

isl a nd o f Van D iemen s L and ’

.
70 A NE C D OTE S o r AN m A L s.

The wild dogs o f In dia go under the names o f B u ansa ,

D hole and K ols u n ; are f ound i n N epal the N ilgir is

Coromandel the D ekkan etc and bea r v a rious na m
, , ,

, ,
.es , ,

a ccording to their lo c ali ty They prey night and day

.
,

have an acute smell a p eculiar bark , not unli ke that o f

,

a hound, and are o f a sandy o r red colour Their head .

is long ; they have an ill natured look oblique eyes ;

-
,

long erect ears ; p ower f ul limbs bushy tail f u r v ary

, , ,

in g according to climate ; and all a nimals are a f raid o f

them They kill tigers a nd Cheetahs and the remains
.
,

o f hogs and d eer are to be f ound in their p ath An .

endeavour to tame one succeeded and he was as aff ec ,

t io n at e and intelli gent a s many other dogs .

I n J ava there is a large wild dog and in B elo o ,

c hist an whole p acks are to be f ound w hich p ull down ,

bu ff aloes with ease ; their f ootmarks are like those o f

a b o u n d ; a nd still f arther to the west a much larger
species i s said to exist .

The Sheeb o r S ehib o f Syria is wild and is prob abl y ,

the wolf dog o f N at olia The D eeb o f N ubia would

.

seem to be also a primitive species but not resembling ,

the packs o f wild dogs which inhabit Congo and S outh

A f rica etc and live in covers and bur rows
,
.
,
.

The hunters o f Sout h A frica tell us that t heir dogs

pull do w n the strongest antelopes ; they are very de
structive to sheep and mangle more than they devour
,
.

They a re extremely s wift, and utter a short bark o r

chattering cry which calls the p ack together and is
, ,

very so f t and melodio u s The hatred between them an d

.

t ame dogs is unconquerable ; and in their appearance

they look like a lin k between the wolf and the hy aena .

A large group o f dogs i nclude all the indigenous

c anines o f S outh A meric a u nder the name o f A guar a s
, .
 D OG S .

an d rese mble f oxes They are silent if not dumb and

.
, ,

appear to congregate in f amili es rather than packs .

They have a peculiar propensity to steal and se c re te ,

without any apparent obj ect f o r so do ing .

Colonel Hamilton Smith the able writer o n dogs

, ,

d oes not ackno wledge some o f these wi ld races , but

thi nks they are what he calls f eral o r domestic dogs ,

which h ave regained t heir lib er ty , and have subsisted

_

f o r many generations o n their o w n intelli gence To .

these he re f ers the N at o li an s and A guar as ; but there

can be no doub t concerning the f eral nature o f the dog
o f St D omingo which descends f rom the b o u n d s trained
.
,

to hunt human beings by the Spaniards and which are ,

supposed to have regained their liberty in the woods o f

Haiti It is o f these dogs the stories are tol d concern
.

i n g runaway negroes and which were taught by means

,

o f raw f o od place d in stuff ed repres entations o f human

,

beings They are very handsome creatures carrying

.
,

their heads with an air o f conscious superiority They .

f ollow a track rapidly , and in complete silence ; they ,

however always seiz e their victims

,
.

A contrast to the feral dog o f St D omingo is the .

,

A lco o f Mexico , with its small head short neck and , ,

very thick body Those o f the Pamp as havin g assumed

.

the shapes o f all the dogs transported f rom E urope ,

h ave now settled in to what may be called curs They .

are very bold very sagacio us are n o t inimical to men ,

, ,

but destructive to the youn g animals in herds They .

li ve in burro w s and if brought back to domesticity ar e

, ,

v aluable f or their c ourage and highly developed senses

In various cities exist herds o f dogs who do not o w n
any m a sters who in f est the streets in packs and wh o
, ,

are at once the s ca ve n gers , the p ur ifiers , a nd the gre a tes t

 AN E C D OTE S O F AN I M AL S .

nuisances In beauti f ul L isbon rising from the Tagu s

.
,

wit h her stately towers her gardens her churches her , , ,

deep blue sky and her noble aqueduct leading li f e s

, ,
’

beverage t o her exquisite f ountains t hese animals ,

abound t heir presence being easily accounted f o r by

,

their owners bringing and abandoning them there at

the time o f vintage They e at so many grapes when
.

ripe th at they are sent away in sel f de f ence W oe to

,
-
.

the person who afir o n ts o n e o f them : he is obliged to

run hard o r else to ke ep them at bay by threatening
, ,

to throw stones a t them and walking backward s , .

F ortunately he can do this in the narro w streets o f

this city f o r he would be lost if surrounded by them
,
.

They lo d ge by day i n the holes of ruins , which are

plenti f ul in L isbon .

The same dogs w ith regard to habits are to be met

, ,

with in the c i t ies o f Russia T urkey and E gypt ; b u t

, , ,

they d ifl er in siz e and appearance Those o f Tur key .

ar e particularly a udacious ; and in all cities where

cleanliness is not systematically org a nized they a re ,

doubtless o f infinite service though I have read in a ,

pamphlet written by a F rench savan t that those o f ,

E gypt are on e means o f con t inuing the plague ; f o r they

uncover the carelessly buried bodies and drag p ortion s
-
,

o f flesh and clothing into the houses o f the living .

In some o f the countries o f G uinea dogs are bred ,

f o r the table a nd sit in circles in the marke t places f o r

,
-

sale I do n o t kno w f rom what race they come ; they

.

are not used f o r any other purpose and are small ex , ,

t remely ugly , an d variously marked with bro wn red o r , ,

’
b lack spots The passion f o r dog s flesh is in these
.

countries very stro n g and n o E uropean can keep an

,

animal o f thi s kind ma n y weeks A n o fficer arrive d at .

74 ANE C D OT E S OF AN I M AL S .

alone ; and when the ir owners turn t hem o u t to obt ain

their o wn living o f ten fish with great dexterity When
, .

they quarrel they constantly destroy each other f or they

, ,

never will give up while they are alive A mong them .

are the Siberian D ogs remarkable f o r the instinct wi th

,

which they return to their masters a f ter weeks o f ah ,

sence an d sel f subsistence to drag their sleighs

-
,
This .

is the more curious , as they are then al ways very ill

f ed and ill treated They utter yells when about to be
.

yoked ; but once in file they move silently and rapidly,

—sometimes however trying to upset their drivers
,

, ,
.

The tail o f the E s quimaux D ogs is bushy and curl s ,

v ery much over the back , which is covered with long

waving hair They are very pat ient and f aith f ul rapid
.
,

in their paces , skil f ul and c ourageous when huntin g ,

carry burdens an d are very go od tempered

, T hey -
.

f orm a close attachment to their masters ; a nd o n e

which had been kept in c onfinement in E dinburgh ,

being let loose entered the kitchen door f ound his

, ,

way through his owner s house a nd leaping o n his

’
,

bed , gave every sign o f a ffection A t another tim e .

,

as his master was walking in Pr inces Street G ardens ,

his f oot slipped and he fell , upon which the dog tried
to li f t him up by his coat He was very cunning and
.
,

when he ate strewed his meat around him , to entice

,

f owls and rats .He then laid himsel f down and pre ,

tended t o be asleep ; no so oner however , did they ,

come than he pounced upon and killed them

,
.

A p air o f E s quimaux dogs lived in the Menagerie o f

the Jardin des Plantes where they were great f avourites ;
,

but it was extremely p ain f ul to see the p oo r c reatures

panting with heat and almost unable to mo v e during
,

the hot we a ther , only f eeling happy when cold w a te r

 DOGS . 75

w a s thrown o v er them The f on d ness o f the E squi

.

maux dog s f o r o il never c eases and they do not like,

to drink water u nl ess it tastes o f this substance Two .

o f them ar e said to have stood h our a f ter hour be f ore

a candlemaker s workshop evidently sni ffing the f umes

’

o f the melted tallo w with great enj oyment Their scent .

is particularly deli c ate which renders t hem invaluable

,

in the chase o f the reindeer N or are they f rom their

.
,

resolution and f erocity less use f ul in attacking the bear

, ,

the v ery name o f which beast pronounced in their hear

,

ing, excites their ardour E ven in the sledge they

.

dash af ter their prey o u t o f the track , d r a gging their

,

o wner into the pursuit .

In order to t est the strength o f the E squimaux dogs ,

s everal experiments have been made among others by ,

Captain L yon, who f ound that three o f them coul d

drag him on a sledge weighing o n e hundred pounds , at
th e rate o f a mile in six minutes With heavy loads .

they are O f ten induced to exert themselves by a woman

walking bef ore them with a mitten in her hand Having .

been accustomed to re c eive f oo d f rom her they believe ,

that in this way she o ff ers them meat T hey are par .

t ic u larly obedi ent and aff ectionate to women because ,

i t is f rom them that they receive the only kindnesses

b estowed upon them ; an d a word f ro m a f emale will
excite them to exertion when the blows and threats o f
,

the men only make them obstinate .

The d og o f the Hare Indians o r Mackenz i e River, ,

was first described by D r Richardson an d is O f a

.
,

s mall er size than the E s quimaux breed but with broad

,

f eet, which prevent them f rom sinking into t he snow .

One o f them only seven months old ran beside this

, ,
’

g entlem a n s sledge f or nine hundred miles f requently .

 AN EC D OTES O F AN I M A L S .

carrying o n e o f his master s mittens in his mo n th A ll ’

.

are very gentle , and like the E squimaux dogs do n o t

, ,

bark .

The large power f ul and h andsome dogs which go by

, ,

the name o f N e w f oundland are not the pure breed o f ,

that country The latter are more slender in their make

.
,

h a ve a sharper muz zle a wilder look and are generally

, ,

black in colour , with a rusty spot over each eye , and a

t awny muzzle These a re called L abrador dogs , and it
.

is supp o sed that they a nd the E squimau x have c ontri

b uted to f orm the commonly accepted breed What th e .

latter have lost however in purity o f blood , has b een

, ,

gained o n the side o f beauty ; an d there is no ani mal o f

its size which c onveys a higher idea o f intelligence a nd
dignity than the so called N ewf oundland D og A ll ar e
-
.

semi palmate and dive swim and keep longe r in the

-
, , ,

water than any others o f their tribe One w a s picked .

u p in the Bay o f Biscay o u t o f sight o f any other vessel

, ,

f atigued and hungry and which j udging f ro m the c ir

, ,

c u mst an c es mus t have been there f or many hours

, Their .

fidelity their courage their gener osity are proverbial ;

, , ,

and yet it is whispered that they are o c casionally capri

cio n s and not to be trusted D uring long years o f
, .

intercourse with these animals I never met with a n in

stance o f this and I have been told that it is more apt
to occur when they have been kept in confinement .

A n oble creature o f the mixed breed and o f the usual ,

colour—black and white—belo n ged to me and his ex ,

treme goo d nature and endeavours to guard everything

,

belong ing t o the f amily made him like a con fidential ,

servant The great de fects in his d i sposition were heed

.

lessness and an under est imate o f his o wn po w er ; he

,
-

did not stop to thin k be f ore he acted, as many mor e

 n oes 77

c au tio u s d o gs will d o ; an d he f o r got that his w eight

was so great as t o spoil and c r ush whatever he laid
himsel f upon A s a n instance o f the f ormer he o n e day
.
,

f ancied he saw some o n e whom he knew in the street ,

and immediately dashed through the windo w, smashing

not only the glass , but the framework D ir ectly he
.

had done it he f elt he had been w r ong ; and returning

through the shatte r ed window, which w as o p ened f or
him he hu n g his head , and w alked unbidden to a recess
,

in the room co v ered with matting to which place he ,

was al w ays banished when naughty and seated himsel f , .

The bell was rung f or the housemaid to come and clear

away the b r oken glass ; and as the woman smiled when
she passed L ion I turned my head to w a rds him
, There .

he sat , with a p a ir o f my slippers , accidentally le f t in

t he room in his mouth , as i f he thought they would
,

obtain his pardon My grav ity was disturbed ; and

.

L ion seeing this , humb ly came up to me , and rested his

c hin o n my knees I then lectured him concerning the
.

mischie f he had c o mmitted ; and he so per fectly under

stood , that f or a long time , when any o n e pointed to
t he window , he would hang his head and tail , and look
a shamed D u r ing my absence he cons tantly collected
.

articles which belo n ged to me , and slept upon t hem .

One day, o n retu r ning f rom church , he met me on the

stairs , dragging a new silk d ress along with him by t he
slee v e which he must have contrived by himsel f to ha v e
,

abstracted f rom a peg in a closet .

It must b e owned that , cle v er a s my L ion was ,

Pro f essor O wen w as a cquainte d w ith a L ion wh o sur

passed him This gentleman was walking with a f rie n d ,
.

the master o f the dog , by the side o f a river , near its

mouth on the coast o f Corn w all , and picked up a small
,

piece o f sea weed It was co vered with minute a nimal s ;

-
.
75 ANE C D OT E S O F AN I M AL S .

and Mr Owen observed to his companion throwing the

.
,

weed into the water If this small piece a fforded so ,

‘

many treasures how microscopically rich the whole plant

,
’
would be ! I should much like to have o n e The gentle .

men walked O n , but heari n g a splashing in the water ,

turned round , and saw it violently agitated It is .

L ion ! both exclaimed ; what can he be about ? H e

’

was walking quietly enough b y o u r side a minute ago .

’

A t o n e moment they saw his tail above the water , then

his head raised f or a breath o f air then the surrounding ,

element shook again and at la st he c ame ashore , p anting

,

f rom his exertions and laid a whole plant o f the iden

,

tical weed at Mr Owen s f eet A fter this proo f o f in

.
’
.

t elligen c e it will not be wondered at , that when L ion

,

was j oy f ully exp ectin g to ac company his master and

his gues t o n an excursion , a nd w as told to go and take
care o f and com f ort Mrs O wen who w a s ill , he should .
,

i mme d iately return to the dr a wing room and lay hi m -

sel f by her side which he never le f t during the absence

,

o f his owner his countenance alone betrayin g his dis

,

a ppointment , and that only f or a few minutes .

Ma n y instances are recorded o f N ewf oundland dog s

having saved the lives o f those who have f allen in the '

water and among the m was my f ather , wh o when he ,

was o n e day missing was traced to a deep pond in his

,
’
mother s garden His f riend T rial w as called Some
. .

o f his yo u n g master s clothes were shown to the d o g,

’

the pond was pointed o u t and T rial dashed in shortly , ,

bringing o u t the b ody He watched all the endea v ours

.

made to restore animation an d at last aided the work ,

by bein g allowed when dry to g et into the bed an d

, , ,

w ith the warmth o f his b ody give heat a nd c irculation

to the hal f expirin g child
-
.

A very interesting a necdote is gi ven o f a p erson w ho

 D OG S . 79

was tr av elling through Holland a c c ompanied by a large ,

N ewf oundland d o g Walking o n e evening o n a high b ank

.

by the side o f a canal his f oot slipped he f ell into the

, ,

water and being unable to swim soon became senseless

, , ,
.

When he recovered his recollection he f o u nd himself in ,

a cott a ge o n the O pposite side o f the canal, surrounded

by peasants who had been using all means f o r restoring
,

him to lif e He was tol d , that o n e o f them returning

.

home f rom his work saw at a considerable distance a

,

large d o g swim ming in the water sometimes pushing ,

and some t imes dragging something which he appeared

to have great difficulty in supporting but which he at ,

leng t h succeeded in getting into a small creek When .

there the animal pulled this obj ect a s f ar o u t o f the

,

water as he was able and the peasant disco v ered it to be

,

the body o f a man T he dog shook himsel f licked the

.
,

hands and f ace o f his m aster ; the peasan t ob t ained as

sist an c e and the body was conveyed t o the house , wher e
,

the endeavours used f or resuscitation proved su ccess f ul .

T wo bruises with marks o f teeth appeared o n e o n the ,

shoulder , the other o n the nape o f his neck ; whence it

was presumed that his preserver first seized him by the
shoulder , but that his s a g a city prompted him t o shi f t
his grasp to the neck as by so doi n g he c ould keep the
,

head o u t o f the water He had continued to do this

.

f or at least a quar t er O f a mile and thus preserved his ,

o wner as much by his intelligence as by his a ff ection

, .

The N ewfoundland dog like ma n y others possesses a

, ,

sense o f time and Mr Bell relates an instance o f this

, .

which o ccurre d under his o w n observation He says .

that a fine N ewf oundland dog which was kept at an inn ,

in D orsetshire was accustomed e v ery morning as the

, ,

c lock struck eight , to take in his mouth a c ertain b a ske t

,
 ANE C D OT E S O F A NI M A LS .

pl a ced f o r the purpose containing a f ew pence , a nd to

,
’

carry it a cross the street to a baker s , who took o u t the

money a nd replaced it by the proper nu mber o f rolls
,
.

With these N eptune hastened back to the kitchen and

saf ely deposited his trus t ; but what w as well w orthy
,

o f remark , he never attempted to take the basket , o r

e ven to appro ach it , o n Sunday mornings On o n e .

o ccasion , when returning wit h the rolls an other d o g ,

made an a t tack upon the basket f o r the purpose o f

stealing its contents , when the trusty N eptune place d
the basket o n the ground severely puni she d the in
,

t r u d er , and then b ore o ff his ch arge in triumph .

The proo f s o f intelligence which I h ave related are

perhaps surpassed by those o f D andie a N ew f oundland ,

d o g belonging to Mr M I n t yr e o f E dinburgh ; but it

.
‘

’
must be recollected that D an d ie s education had bee n
more c are f ully and continuously carried on than tha t
o f his be f ore mentioned bret hren
-
He selected his.

’
master s hat f rom a number o f others o r a c ar d chosen ,

by his master f rom a whole p ack ; picked his master s ’

penkni f e f rom a heap O f others and an y particular ,

article whi ch he might have been told t o find although ,

he would have to search amo n g a multi t ude o f others

belonging to the same person ; proving that it was not
smell which guided him but an un d erstandi ng o f what
,

he was required to do One evening, a gentleman in

.

company with others a c cidentally dropped a shilling o n

the floor which a fter diligent search could not be f ound
, .

D andie had been sitting in the corner o f the room ,

apparently unconscious o f w hat had been going o n .

Mr M I n tyr e then said to him F in d us the shilling

.
‘ ‘
, ,

D andie and you shall ha v e a biscuit The dog instant ly

, .
’

j umped u p and laid the shilling upon the table, whic h

82 AN EC D OTE S or AN I M AL S .

st an t ly escorted Mr M I n tyr e s friends home when de

.
‘ ’

sired t o d o so h owever considerable the distance ; and

,

when they were saf e he returned to his o wn quarters

,
.

Mr Jukes in his E x c u r sion s in an d ab ou t N ewf o u n d

.
,

lan d speaks o f a d o g w hich appeared to be o f the pure

,

breed and which h e thought to be more intelligent

,

than the mixe d r a ce This animal caugh t hi s o w n

.

fish ; f o r which purp ose he sat o n a proj ecting rock

beneath a fish stage o n which the fish were laid to dry
, ,

w at c hing the water the depth being f rom six t o eight

,

f eet and the bottom quite w hite with fish bones

,
On -
.

throwi n g a piece o f c o d fish into the water three o r ,

f our heavy , clumsy looking fish , c alled in N ewf ound

-

l and sc u lp ins would swim in to catch it

,
The instant .

o n e turned it s broadside towards him he darted down , ,

and seldom came up without the fish in his mo n th .

He regularly carried them as he caught them to a

place a few yards o ff where he deposited them some
, ,

times making a pile o f fi ft y o r sixty in the day As .

he never attempted to eat t hem he appeared to fish for ,

his amusement .

L o n g lanky , ro u gh haired with drooping bushy

,
-
, ,

t ail ; long ears hal f erect ; long sharp muz zle ; black
, ,

an d f ulvous in colour o f ten mingle d with brown and

,

w hite the Shepherd s D og yields to none in fidelity a nd

’

sagacity In his o wn peculiar calli n g nothing can

.

exceed his vigilance his quick comprehension and his

, ,

inti mate knowledge o f ev ery individual entrusted to his

care Rushing into the middle o f his flock he singles
.
,

o u t an y o n e member o f it and bri n gs it to his mas ter , .

F ierce in the de f e n ce o f all he keeps them together by ,

incessa n tly prowling round them dragging t he w a n ,

d erers b a ck t o their companions , and fiercely attacking

 n oe s . 83

those who would o ff er them an inj ury A t night he .

guides them to their f old ; and if this sho uld be in an

exposed situation he throws himsel f across the entrance
, ,

s o that the intru d in g enemy will have to pass o ver his

body to commence his work o f destruction .

A ludicrous instance o f the promptitude with which

he punishes o ff enders is related b y Colonel Smith in the ,

f ollowing manner We have witnessed the care they

take o f their charge and with what readiness they
,

chastise those that molest them in the case o f a cur ,

biting a sheep in the rear o f the flock and unseen by ,

the shepherd T his assault was committed by a tailor s

.
’

d og but not unmarked by the other who immediately

, ,

s eized him and dragg i ng the delinquent into a puddle

,

while holding his ear kept dabblin g him in the mud

,

with exemplary gravity ; the cur yelled ; the tailor came

slipshod with his goose to the rescue an d having flung ,

it at the sheep d o g and missed him stoo d by gaping

-
, ,

n ot venturi n g to f etch it back until t he castigation w as

over and the dog had f ollowed the flock .
’

A s a proo f o f the comprehension o f the shepher d s

’

dog I quote the descripti o n o f Mr St J ohn in his

,
.
,

H ighlan d Sp or ts A shepherd once to prove the

-
‘
,

quickness o f his dog w ho was lying be f ore the fire in

,

the house where we were talking said to me in the , ,

middle o f a sentence concerning something else I m ,

“ ’

thinkin g sir t he c o w is in the p otatoes ” T hough he .

, ,

pu rposely laid no stress o n these words , and said them

in a quiet un concerned tone o f voice the dog , wh o
, ,

appeared to be asleep immediately j umped up , and ,

leaping through the open windo w, scramble d up the

tur f ro o f o f the house f rom which he could see the
,

p otato field He then ( not seeing the cow there) ran

.
 ANE C D OT E S O F AN I M AL S .

an d looked into the byre [f arm yard] where she w as

-
, ,

and finding that all was right c ame b ack to the house
, .

A f ter a short time the shepherd said the same words

again , and the dog repeated his lookout ; but o n the
f alse alarm being a third time given the dog got up , ,

and wagging his tail looked his master in the f ace

,

with so comical an expression o f interrogation that we ,

could not help laughing aloud at hi m, o n whi ch with a ,

slight growl , he laid himsel f down in his w arm corner ,

with an o ffende d air , as if determined not to be made a

’
f ool o f again
.

Mr Hogg , the E ttrick Shepherd is the perso n o f all

.
,

others to give an adequate idea o f the shepherd s dog ’

and I use v ery nearly his o wn words ‘

My dog Sirrah .

was beyond all comparison the best dog I ever saw ; he

was o f a surly unsocial temper ; disdaining all flattery,
,

he re f used to b e caressed ; b ut his attention to my

commands and interests will never again perhaps be , ,

equalled by any o f the canine race I thought I dis .

co v ered a sort o f sullen intelligence in his countenance ,

notwithstanding his dejected a nd f orlorn appearance I .

gave a drover a guinea f or him He was scarcely a year

.

o ld , and knew so little o f herding that he had never ,

turn ed a sheep in his li fe ; but as soon as he discovered

that it was his duty to do so and that it obliged me I can
, ,

never f orget wi th what eagerness and anxiety he learned

his evolutions He would try every way deliberately, till
.

he f ound o u t what I wanted him t o do and when I once ,

made him understand a direction he never f orgot or mis

,

t ook i t again
. Well as I knew him he o f ten astonished
,

me ; f o r when pressed hard in accompl ishing the task

that he was p ut to he had expedients o f the m oment,
,

that bespoke a great sh are o f the reasoning f aculty .

 D OG S . 5

‘
On o n e o c casion ab out 7 00 lambs w hich were under
, ,

his care at weaning time broke up at midnight , an d

,

s c ampered o ff in three divisions across the neighbouring

hills in spite o f all that he and an assistant could do t o
,

keep them together The n ight was so dark ; that we

.

co uld not see Sirrah ; but the f aith f ul animal heard his
master lament their absence in words which o f all other s
were sure to set him most o n the alert ; and without
m ore ado he silently set o ff in quest o f the recreant
,

fl ock Meanwhile t he shepherd and his companion did

.

not f ail to do all in their power to recover their lo s t

ch arge ; they spent the whole night in scouring the hills
f o r miles around but o f neither the lambs nor S irrah
,

could they O btain the slightest trace T hey had nothi n g

.

f o r it day having dawned , b ut to return to thei r master

, ,

and in f orm him that they ha d lost the whole flock o f

lambs , and knew n o t what had become o f o n e o f them .

On o u r way home however, we discovered a lot o f lambs

,

at the bot t om o f a deep ravine and the inde f atigable

,

Sirrah stan din g in f ront o f t h em , looking round f or some

relie f , but still true to his charge The sun was then up
.
,

and when we first came in view, we concluded that it

was o n e o f the divisions which Sirrah had been unable
to manage u ntil he came to that commanding situation .

B ut what was o u r astoni shment when we discovered,

that not o n e lamb o f the whole flock was wanting !

How he had got all the divisions collected in the dark
is beyond my comprehension The charge was lef t to
.

himsel f f rom midnight until the rising s u n ; and if all

the shepherds in the F orest had been there to assist him ,

they could not have effected it with greater propriety .

’

’
A n exceedingly good shepherd s dog appears to c o n
c entrate all hi s powers in his o w n immedi a te v oc a tion ;
 AN E C D OT E S O F AN I M AL S .

and in this does he exert and exhaust his whole capaci ty .

I f he be sudde n ly awoke an d hurriedly called he rears , ,

himsel f up to see what sheep are running a way ; and

h e is so honourable that he will li e among pails f ull o f
,

milk and neither touch them himsel f nor suff er c at ,

, ,

rat o r any other creature to molest the store

,
.

’
The drovers dogs are somewhat larger , and more
’
rugged T hey are as sagacious as the shepherd s dog
.
,

b ut they are trained to act with more cruelty to their

charges .

The original St Bernar d D og w hich h as f o r years

.
,

been the object o f so m uch interest resembles the N ew ,

f o u n d lan d in f orm hair , colour and size,

A nother race , .

w ith close short hair is trained to the same services ;

, ,

an d one o f the latter belonged to me f or some time,

est ablishing himsel f in the goo d graces o f every o n e b y
his goo d te mper an d fidelity He must however , with .
,

all his good qualities yield to B ass the property o f Sir

, ,

Thomas D ick L auder who thus writes o f him My

,

St Bernard was brought home direct f rom the G reat

.

St Bernard , when he was a puppy o f about f our o r

.

five months His bark is tremendous ; so loud , indee d

.
,

that I have o ften distinguished it nearly a mile off He .

had been missin g f or some time when to my great , ,

j oy o n e O f the letter carriers brought him back ; and

,
-

the man s account was that in going along a certain

’
,

street he heard his bark from the inside o f a yard and

, ,

knew it immediately He kno c ke d at the gate , an d .

said to the owner o f the premises Y o u have got Sir ,

”
Thomas L auder s big dog The man denied it
’ “
B ut . .

I know y o u have continued the letter c arrier ; I can

,
“ -

swear that I heard the b ark o f Sir Thomas s big dog ’

f o r there is no dog in o r about all E dinb u rgh that has

 D OG S . 87

s u ch a b ark A t last with great relu ctance, the man

.
,

g ave up the dog to the letter carrier who brought him -

,

home here. B ut though Bass s bark is so terrific he is ’

the best natured and most play f ul dog I ever saw ; s o

-

much so indeed t ha ,
t the small K ing Charles s S paniel
,
’

Raith used to tyranniz e over him f or many months

,

a f t er he came here from abroad I have seen the li t tle .

creature run f u riously at the great animal when gnawing

a bone who instantly turned himsel f submissively over
,

o n his back with all his legs in the air whilst Raith
, , ,

s ei z mg the bone would make the most absurd and n u

,

availing attempts to bes t ride the enormous head o f his

subdued companion with the most l u dicrous a ff e ctation
,

o f the terrible growling that might bespeak the lo ftiest ,

d escription o f dog indignation When a dog attacks

-
.

Bass in the street o r roa d he runs a w ay rather than ,

quarrel ; but when compelled to fight by any perseverance

in the at t acking party he throws his enemy do wn in a ,

moment , and then withou t biting him he lays his whole

, ,

immense bulk do wn upon him , till he nearly sm others

him He to ok a particular f ancy f or o n e o f the p ostme n
.

who deliver letters here whose duty it was besides de , ,

livering let t ers to carry a letter bag from one receiving

,

house to another and this bag he used to give B as s to

,

carry B ass always f ollowed that man through all the

.

v illas in this neighbourho od where he had deliveries to

make and he invariably parted with him O pposi t e t o

,

the gate o f the Convent o f St Margaret s , a nd returned .

’

home When our gate was shut here to prevent his

.

f ollowing the postman the dog al w ays leaped a high ,

wall to get a f ter him One day when the postman was
.

ill o r detained by some accidental circumstance he sent

, ,

a m an in his p lace Bass went up to the man, curiously

.
 ANE C D OT E S O F AN I M AL S .

scanning his f ace whilst the man rather ret ir ed f rom

,

the dog by no means liking his appe arance B ut as

, .

the man le f t the place Bass f ollowed him showing , ,

stron g symptoms that he w a s determined t o have th e

post bag The man did a ll he could to keep possession
-
.

o f it
. B ut at length Bass seeing that he had no chance
o f getting possession o f the bag by civil entreaty raised ,

himsel f up o n his hind legs and putting a great f ore

-
,
’
paw o n each o f the man s shoulders he laid him flat o n ,

his b ack in the road an d quietly picking up the bag

, ,

he proceeded peaceably o n his wonted w ay The man , .

much dismayed arose and f ollowed the dog making

, ,

every n o w and then an ine ff ectual attempt to coax him

to give up the b a g A t the first house he came to he
.
,

tol d his f ears , an d the dile mma he was in ; but the

people com f o rted him , by telling him that the d o g
always carried the bag Bass walked with the man to
.

all the hou ses at which he delivere d letters and alo n g ,

the road till he came to the gate o f St Margaret s , .

’

w here he dr opped the b ag and returned home

’
.

The peculiar services which t he St Bernard dog is .

taught to per f orm have made the m the blessings o f the

,

snow covered regions in which they dwell Their sense

- .

o f smell is very acute ; their large f ull eye is very ex ,

pressive ; and their intelligence has saved many persons

f rom death when overtaken by cold o n the Alpine
,

passes One o f these noble creatures wore a medal

.

in commemoration o f his ha ving preserved twenty t w o -

lives and he at last lost his o w n in an avalanche to

, ,

gether with those whom he was endea v ouring to protect .

They carry f oo d and wine with them ; an d f ollowed

by the monks wh o have vo w ed themselves to the task ,
,

s eek t hose who need assistance .

90 ANE C D OTE S or AN I M AL S .

the A rab horses) those kept f or coursing are mu ffl ed

up In cloths during o u r periods o f cold temperature .

Their f orm their clear prominent eyes show that they

, , ,

secure their prey by speed not by smell ; and such is ,

their power in this respect that they will run eight ,

miles in twelve minutes and will run down the hare ,

w ith f atigue while they themselves a re compar a tively

,

f resh .Colonel Smith fixes their e a rl iest orig in to the

westward o f the A siatic mountains where the B actrian ,

a nd Persian plains commence and the S cythian steppes ,

stretch to the north Thence they have been spread

.

over E urope, A sia and part o f A frica ; many have

,

again become wild , and others are the pampered de

pendants o f amateur sportsmen Many Russian noble .

men keep p acks o f them in the steppes .

The S cotch G reyhound ( C ams S c o lion s) generally

'

white with black clo uds is said to be the most intel

, ,
‘

lectual o f all and f ormerly to have had so good a scent

,

as to be employed as a bloodhoun d Maida whose .

,

name is immortalized as the f avourite o f Sir Walter

S cott was a S c ottish greyhound
, .

The Irish is the largest o f all the western breeds and ,

is supposed to owe this distinction to mingling with the

great D ani h dog T o it Irelan d owes the extirpation
s .

o f wolves and itsel f now scarcely exists but in name

,
.

A n instance 1s recorded o f a black greyh ound in

L ancashire who adopted a lif e o f f reedom , and lived
,

upon depredation Many attempts were m ade to shoo t

.

her but she eluded t hem all She was at last ensnared
, .

in a barn where she had placed her puppies ; they

,

were destroyed and she was partially reclaimed so as

, ,

to be use ful in coursing ; but she al w ays retained tha t

wild look which told o f her f rolic A Mr K irkpatrick . .
 DOGS . 91

possessed a greyho und which always took care o f the

meat in the kitchen , a nd de f ended it f rom cats and
other dogs .

The ro ugh , large boned ill look ing L ur cher , is said

-
,
-

to have d escended f rom the rough greyhound and the

s hepherd s d o g It is now r are ; but there are some
’
.

o f its s inister looking mongrel progeny still to be seen

-
.

’
They always bear the reputation o f being p oachers d ogs ,
and are deeply attached to their owners They have a .

fin e scent ; and a man con fesse d to Mr Bewick that he .

,

could with a pair o f lurchers procure as many rabbits

, ,

as he pleased They never give tongue but set about

.
, '

t heir work silently and cautiously , and hu n t har es an d

p artridges driving the latter into the nets o f the u n
,

la w f ul sportsmen They will e v en p ull down deer

. .

There are still many E ngli sh hearts which beat

quicker at the cry o f the b o u n d ; there are some o ld
ones which throb at the recollection o f the well ap -

po inted field when th e bugle s ummoned them to the

,

chase when gallant steeds carried them over gate

, ,

hedge , ditch and river ; they even glory w hen they

,

re f er to f ear ful tumbles barely escaping with lif e and

, ,

some meeting with a death next in honour , according to

their notions to that o f a soldier in action There are
,
.

some young ones who listen with entrance d ears to the

deeds o f their f ore f athers and amids t the toil o f the
, ,

dark counting house wish that such times would come

-
,

f o r them. They never will come again ; railroads have

’
bee n invented ; men s minds have been diverted into
other channels ; and fo x hunting with its concomitant
-
,

e v ils a nd its attendant pleasures , is gradually d is ap

pearing from f o x hunting E ngland S ome on whom
-
.
,

t he spirit o f N imro d has descended with such f orce as

92 ANE C D OT E S OF AN I M AL S .

to render them impatient under the pri va tion go t o ,

distant lands and there per f orm f eats worthy o f t he

,

mighty hunter ; but it is neither with hawk nor ho und ,

and bef ore many generations have passed o u r beauti ,

f u l race o f hunting dogs will exist b ut in name .

There are more varieties o f these hounds than I can

here enumerate ; but all p ossess a larger development
o f brain th an the greyhound ; their nose is broader a s

well as the j aws ; their ears are l arge and hanging ;

their tail is raised and truncated ; and they have a firm ,

b old and erect gait an appearance o f strength , inde

, ,

en d en c e and ( if I may be allowed to u se the expres

p ,

sion) candour , which is vainly looked f o r in other dogs .

They came to us f rom the E ast , probably at a late r

period than those dogs which more resemble the wol f .

The once esteemed Bloodh ound is now rare ; and I

’
copy Mr Bell s description o f the breed and who is in
.
,

possession o f his namesake They stand twenty eight -

inches high at the shoulder ; the muz zle bro ad and

f ull ; the upper lip large and pendulous ; the vertex o f
the head pro t uberant ; the expression stern thought f ul , ,

and noble ; the breast broad ; the limbs strong and

muscular and the original colour a deep t an with large ,

black clou ds They are silent when f ollowing their

.

scent ; and in this respect di ff er f rom other hounds wh o ,

are generally gifted with fine deep voices N umbers .

,

under the nam e o f sleuth hounds used to be kept o n

-
,

the Borders ; and kings and troopers , perhaps equally

marauders have in olden times f ound it di fficult t o
,

evade them . The noble Bruce had several narrow

escapes f rom them ; and the only sure w ay to destroy
their scent was to spill blood upon the track In all .

the common routine o f lif e they are good natured and -

94 AN E O D O TE S o r AN I M AL S .

miles T he hounds were f o und dead at a little d is

.

tance , h aving been unable t o leap the wall .

The F oxhounds are still smaller than the staghounds ,

ar e generally white in colour with clo uds o f black and ,

tan They have been known to run at f ull speed f o r

.

ten hours , during which t he hunters were o bliged t o

change their horses three times o r abandon the pursuit ,
.

The Harrier and the Beagle are still smaller varieties .

A s the name indicates , the f ormer are used excl u sively

f o r hunting t he hare and have nearly superseded t he
,

beagle w hich is chiefly valuable f o r its v ery musical

,

note There was a f ancy breed of them in the time o f

.

Queen E liz abeth so small , that on e could be carried

,
’
in a man s glove , and they were called singing dog s .

They used to be conveyed to the field in pan niers .

Turnspits are descended from ill made hounds , which -

they resemble in body but have very short an d even , ,

crooked legs They are rough or smooth T hey are

. .

said also to be derived f rom terriers ; an d it seems t o

me that the perpetuation o f mal f ormation in several
breeds will pro duce the turnspit They derive their .

name f rom having been used to turn the ki tchen spi t ,

being put into an enclosed wheel placed at the end f o r ,

the purpose It is a curious f ac t , that now the O ffice

.

is abolished , the rac e has be c ome n early extinct I .

’
extract the f ollowing f rom Captain Brown s Popu lar
N atu r al H is to ry , to prove that if turnspits had crooked
legs they had not crooked wits —I have had in my
,
‘

’
kitchen, said the D uke d e L ian c o rt t o M D es c artes .
,

two turnspits which took their turns regularly every

,

other day in the wheel One o f them not liking his .

,

employment, hid himsel f o n the day he should have

wrought, when his c ompan ion was f orced to mount the
 D OGS . 95

wheel in his stead ; b ut cry ing and wagging his tail ,

he intimated that those in attendance should fir st f ollow

him . He immediately conducted them to a garret ,

where he dislodge d the idle d o g and killed him im ,

’
me d iately The f ollowing occurrence at the J esuits
.
’

College at F lé c he sho w s that others o f the species have

,

kept the turnspit t o this disagreeable duty When the .

cook had prepared the meat f o r roastin g he f ound that ,

the dog which S hould have wrought th e spit had dis

appeared He a ttempted to employ another but it bit
.
,

his leg and fled S oon a fter however the re fractory

.
, ,

dog entered the kitchen driving bef ore him the t ruan t
,

turnspit which immediately o f its own ac c ord went

, , ,

into the wheel A c ompany o f tu rnspits were assem

.

ble d in the A bbey Church o f B ath w here they remain ed ,

very quietly A t one part o f the service however , the

.
,
’
w ord spit was pronounced rather loudly This re
‘
~
.

minded the dogs o f thei r duty ; and they all rushed o u t

in a body to go t o their respective d wellings
, .

’
F rom the word Spanish being o f ten prefixed to
‘

the name o f the Pointer it is supposed that these dogs

,

came to us f rom the Peninsula ; but as all dogs came

f rom the E ast their more ancient origin is to be as
,

c rib ed to the Ph oenicians who brought them n o t only

, ,

to that country but probably to E ngland , althoug h

,

many t hink they were not known here be f ore 16 88 .

In consequence o f lo n g training the peculiar f aculty ,

o f pointing at game has become an innate quality o n

their part : young dogs inheri t it , a nd they only require

that d i scipline which is n ecessary to make all puppies
behave themselves I f we look at a pointer the first
.
,

r emark which naturally arises is that he is a large , ,

in dolent hound He is, howe ver , extremely do cile and

.
96 ANE C D OT E S or AN I M AL S .

a ff ectionate The black are said to be the b est b u t

.
,

they v ary in colour ; their f u r is qui te smooth and they ,

are considered very valuable dogs Mr G ilpin sp eaks . .

o f a brace o f pointers who stoo d an hour and a quarter

,

witho ut moving T his however was exceeded by Clio

.
, , ,

a dog belonging to my f a ther who stood with her hi n d

,

legs upon a gate f or more than two hours with a nest ,

o f partridges close to her nose She must have seen

.

t hem as she j umped over the gate and had S he moved ,

an inch , they would have been f rightened away My .

f ather went o n and having o ther dogs did not mi s s

, ,

Clio f or a long time ; at length he perceived she was

not with the rest, and neither came to his call o r
whistle ; he went back to seek her and there she stood , ,

j ust as she had got over the gate His coming up d is .

t u r b ed the birds and he shot some o f them ; but Cli o

, ,

when thus relieved was so sti ff th at she could not move

, ,

and her master sat down o n the gr a ss and rubbed her

legs till she could bend them again She died o f o ld .

age , h av ing been with us f ourteen years f rom her birth .

There were no S igns o f illness ; and she went out in the

morning with the shooting party The first question .

o n the return o f the S portsmen was an inquiry f or

Clio Search was made and she was f ound quite stiff
.
,

i n the stable, having apparently come home to die .

O f the gener a l intelligence o f the pointer the f ollow ,

in g i s a proo f .A gentleman S hooting in Ireland , with

a dog totally unused t o f etch and c a rry, killed a snipe .

It f ell in so ft boggy ground where he could not get

, ,

to pick it up A fter some vain e ff orts to approach it

.
,

he hied o n the pointer , by sayin g F etch it F an ! f etch

‘
, ,
’
it
. She seemed f or a moment puz zled at such an u n
u sual proc eeding , a nd looked round inquisitively once
 AN EC D OT E S O F AN I M AL S .

He bred and cherished him ; and the memory o f Blac k

York is still f resh in his county not only f o r his per ,

f eet symmetry his silky raven black hair but f o r his

, ,
-
,

gentle submissive disposition He was a nervous dog

,
.

when young f o r even a loud wor d alarmed him which

, , ,

combined with his mysterious arrival and an in volu n

tary a ff ection , induced his master to trans fer him f rom
t he kennel to the drawing room F rom that time
‘

-
.

York acqu ired confidence and lost his timidity ; h e

,

first walked o u t with the nursemai d s and children , and

then accompanied his master The latter w ent o n e .

morning to a rushy fiel d , to lo ok at some newly born

foals ; and there York p ointed to a snipe The bir d .

rose , a nd pitched some hundred yards away York s .

’

nose detected him a second time ; he crept o n a dozen

paces and couched again This circumstance beto
,
.

ken ed his natural per f ections ; but with his temperament ,

the firing a gun might be a dangerous trial He w as .

taken day a f ter day to mark the snipes and praised f o r ,

his conduct A f ter this his master took his gun an d

.
,

a n attendant , with orders to the latter , i f York should

attemp t to levant or run a w ay he was to catch him in ,

his arms It o c curred as he had anticipated Poor

. .

York was dread f ully f righ t ened every limb quivered ;

but he was soothed by caresses and encourage d to go ,

where the dead snipe was lying In a moment he .

appeared to comprehend the whole He smelled the .

snipe looked at the gu n then in his master s f a c e, and

, ,
’

became bolder when he there saw approbation A nother .

po int anothe r shot and another snipe ; and York an d

, ,

his master returned home ; the gun was put in t he

corner a nd the snipes close by, o n the carpet A
, .
 D o es 9

York stole quietly to the corner smelle d the smpes and , ,

examined the gun F rom that day he gave up walking

.

with the nursemaids and became a matchless field d o g

,
.

York was never wil lingly separated f rom his master ,

a nd w as very u nhappy a t his absence He so on asc er .

t ain ed that a carpet bag put into the gig w as the

-

S ignal f o r going away ; and o n e d ay he secretly f ol

lowed and only showed himself when he thought he
‘

was at such a distance that he could not be sent back

again . He was taken into the gig and by this means ,

escaped a sad death .

While he w as away a mad dog in fected the kennel ;

,

a nd nine setters and t w o Skye terriers were oblige d t o

be killed Black York alone r emaining
, F rom th e .

’ ’
moment says York s master I took him f rom the
,
‘
,

kennel to the parlo ur he cut all lo w connectio n s ; o n

,

t he human race his afl ec ti o n s seemed to be c oneen ~

t r at ed and o n o n e o ccasion he gave a m arked instance

o f his fidelity and intelligence His mistress had go n e
.

wi th her maid to the beach t o bathe and a general ,

permission had been given to the servants t o go to the

n eighbouring f air , a mile o ff The young nurse in the
.
,

giddiness o f girlhood le f t the b aby in his cot A ccord

,
.

ing to the then exis t ing custom , the hall door w as wi d e -

O pen , and save the sleeping baby , Black York and

, ,

cats n o li ving thing held possession o f the p remises

, .

A strange priest arrived , to ask and recei v e hospitality .

He entered the hall ; and the dog , otherwise quiet ,

sprang f orward and assailed him like a tiger The .

’
priest retreated ; York s back was ridged f or battle ,

an d a mouth f ul o f unquestionable tee t h hinted to his

Reverence tha t the canine customer would prove an

Ugly one He retre a ted ac cordin gly , and York sat
.
 ANE CD OT E S O F AN I MA L S .

down b eside his sleepin g ch arge T he r e he r ema ine d

.

o n guard until the absent mo t her retu r ned When She .

entered the drawing room he r f ou r legge d r epresentative

~ -

laid his to n g u e gently a cross the in f ant s f ace an d with

’

o u t opposition permitted F athe r Malachi to walk in

’
.

E qually interesting is the biogra p hy o f Mr Bell s

’
.

setter Juno who f rom a puppy w as o n e o f the best

,

dogs that ever entered a field She appeare d to b e

.
‘

alw ays o n the watch to evince he r love and gratitude t o

tho se who were kind to her and S he had other than
human friend s A kitten , w hich had been taken f rom
.

its mother , S ho w ed the usual horror o f cats at Juno s ’

approach . She howe v er seemed determine d t o con

, ,

quer the antipathy and the most winning perseveranc e

,

completely attached the kitten to her ; and as S he had

lately lost he r puppies she became its f oster mother
,
.

J u no also played wit h some tame rabbits enticing them ,

by her kind m anner ; a nd so f ond w as she o f caressin g

the young o f her o w n species that when a spaniel o f
,

my f ather s had puppies , and all but o n e were de

’

stroyed J uno would take every Opp ortunity o f stealing

,

this f rom its moth er an d lick an d f ondle it with the

,

gre atest tenderness W hen the poor m other disco v ere d

.

the the f t she hastened to b r ing back her little o n e

, ,

only to be stolen again a t the first O pportunity ; until

at length J uno and B usy killed the p oor puppy b e ~

’
tween them f rom e x cess o f tenderness
, .

I close this account o f the setter by gi v ing a n in

stance o f the remarkable power o f dogs to return to their
h omes f rom a distance so o ften cited , and which was
,
’
exemplified by my f ather s setter F lush , a dog o f rem ark
able beauty and value His master dro v e him in his dog
.

cart as f ar a s L ondon a dist ance o f above fi fty mile s,

,
10 2 AN EC D OTE S or AN I M AL S .

may be called a small set ter as the setter is called a ,

large spaniel having the same long hair and ears but
,

the f ormer is even more silken i n its texture With .

some it curls more and is a little harsher ; and these are

,

f onder o f the w ater than the others Their attachments .

a re strong their intelligence great and the beauty o f

, ,

some o f them m akes them much sought as pets t hey

are however , generally use f ul to the sportsman The
, .

only f aul t w hich can be laid to their charge a nd this ,

perhaps only extends to a f ew is that they are apt t o , ,

love strangers as well as f riends A s an instance to the .

contrary , was a beautif ul little red and white Blenheim ,

who was most unsociable and whose affections were most
,

di fficult to win I however succeeded when o n a visit

.
, , ,

to her mistress and two years af ter when I repeate d ,

my v isit expected to have the same difficulty She how

, .
,

ever when the first bark had been given became silent
, , ,

and S he did not f avour me with a S ly bite o n the heel ,

,

as she was in the habit o f doing to strangers Be f ore the .

evening was over the recognition was complete and S he

, ,

j umped into my lap Her mistress took pains to prevent

.

her f rom coming in contact with vulgar dogs always ,

thought her p ossessed o f the most refined habits and ,

w as sure she would n eve r be too f at because S he ate so ,

delicately One evening a small social p arty o f us were

.
,

listening to the m usic o f Handel executed by t wo o f ,

the finest per formers in the world , when through t he

door , which stood a little way O pen F anny glided in , ,

with a large piece o f f at and skin in her mou t h I .

thought I was the only person who saw her and r e ,

m ained quite still ; presently my eye caught that o f the

gentleman o f the house who made a S ign that he al s o
,

h a d d i s c overed her , and o u r equanimity w as much

 D OG S . 03

disturb ed She c r ouched rather than walked round the

.

room dragging her b on n e b ou c lze over the rich f olds o f

,

the deli cately tinted silk damask curtains as they lay

-
,

u pon the ground , till she reached a very obscure corner

u nder the piano where she proceeded to enjoy her

,

self A s soon as the glorious music was concluded ,

.

D id y o u see F anny was the exclamation ; a nd the

delinquent was dragged o u t be f ore the last morsel
was devoured ; so there was proo f positive The next .

mor ni ng the cook told her mis t ress that She was in the
habit o f stealing such morsels as I have d escribed and ,

hid ing them and t hat she only took them o u t to eat
,

when S he ( the co ok ) was gone t o church Poor F anny s .

’

reputation f o r refinement was f o r ever c louded .

In the same hO u s e lived a larger spaniel o f the variety ,

which takes to the water, and named F lora She w as .

a n excellent house dog and g enerally speaking under

-
, , ,

n o restrai n t Some alarm however occasioned by a

.
, ,

real o r reported accident caused the magistrate o f the ,

town in which her master resided to i ssue an order that ,

no dogs S hould leave the premises o f their o w ners with

o u t being muzzled A ccordingly F lora when S he wen t
.
, ,

o u t w i t h the servant had this instrument put o n ,

She .

hated it at first tried all S he could to get it o ff but at

, ,

length appeared to become indiff erent to the confinement

which it produced In consequence o f this it was .
,

perhap s more carelessly b u ckled o n and o n e day it ,

c ame o ff and the man s te eped t o put it in its place

, .

F lora, howe ver was too quick f or him ; S he took it in

,

her mouth plunged with it into a neighbourin g pon d ,

,

and when she reached the deepest part droppe d the ,

muz zle into it and swam back, with her countenance

,

expressing delight .
 AN E C D O T E S O F AN I M AL S .

A ll dogs enj oy the sp ort t o which they are bre d

an d M Blase tells u s that he was once shooting near
.

Versailles when his f riend M G u illeman , accompanied

, ,
.

him with permission to kill wild ducks on the preserve

, .

There was b ut o n e dog between them but a t the first ,

shot a fine spaniel ran up to them at f ull speed He .

plunged i n to the water an d caressin g M G u illeman , .

,

seemed to say Here I am at your service ; amuse me

, ,
’
and I will amuse you The gentlemen pursued their .

sport all day and the dog proved excellent N o on e

, .

appeared to o wn him but the sport over o ff he set at ,

f u ll gallop and they s aw him n o more

,
T hey spoke o f .

him to the keeper o f the water w ho in f ormed them that ,

t he dog belonged t o a sportsman living t w o leagues dis

tant who was at that time laid up wi t h the gout
,
The .

dog knows added the keeper that persons come t o

,
’
,
‘

shoot here every Sunday ; an d o n that d ay regularl y

makes his appearance Having done his duty f or the .

first sportsman wh om he mee t s , he returns to his master .

’

M r Martin in his clever little treatise o n dogs

.
, ,

v ouches f o r the t ruth o f the f ollowing story One

m orning as a lady was lacing her b oots o n e o f the laces
, ,

broke She playf ully said to her pet S paniel who was
.
,

standing by her I wish you would find me another ,

“

boot lace ; but h avi n g managed to u se that which was

-

broken she thought no m ore about it On the f ollowing

,
.

morning , when she was again lacing her boots the dog ,

ran up t o her wi t h a new silken boot lace in his mo n th -

.

This created general amaz ement ; f o r where the dog had

obt ained it no o n e c ould tell There w as no doubt
, .
,

however th at he had p urloined it from some o n e else

, .
’

A black and white spaniel belonging to a f riend o f ,

mine seemed to understand everythin g said t o him ; an d

,
 ANE C D OTES O F AN I M AL S .

E ven surpassing these histories o f reason an d fidelity,

is that which Mr Bell rel a tes in nearly the f ollowin g
.
,

terms My friend was travelling on the Continent , and

his f aith f ul dog was his compani on One day be f ore .
,

he le f t his lodgings in the morning wit h the expectation ,

o f being absent till the evening he took o u t hi s purse ,

in his room , f o r the purpose o f ascertainin g whether he

’
had t aken su fficient money f o r the day s o c cupation and ,

then went his way leavi n g the dog behind Havi n g , .

di ned at a co ff ee house he took o u t his purse and

-
, ,

missing a louis d o r searched f or it diligently but to

’

, ,

no p urpose Returning h ome late in the eve n ing his

.
,

servant let him in wi t h a f ace o f sorrow and told him ,

that the p oor dog was very ill as she had not eaten ,

a n ything all day ; and what appeared very strange she ,

would not su ffer him to take her f oo d away f rom be f ore

her b ut had been lying with her nose close to the vessel
,

wi thout attempting to touch it On my friend entering .

the room S he instantly j umped upon him then laid a

, ,

louis d o r at his f eet , and i mme d iately began to devour

’

her f ood with great v er ac ity The truth was no w appa .

rent my f riend had dropped the money in the morning

when leaving the room and the f aith f ul creature finding ,

it had held it in her mo n th until his return enabled

,

her to restore it to his o w n hands even ref using to eat

’
f o r a whole day , lest it should be o u t o f her custody .

A ll dogs trained f o r the service may become Retriever s

o r finders o f game which they bring to their master ,

without inj ury Spaniels however are generally pre

.
, ,

f erred Mr St John h ad o n e called Rover a black

. . .
,

water spaniel who noticed everything that was spoken

-
, ,

and acted accordingly I f at break f ast time his mast e r .

s a id Ro v er must st ep at home to day, I cannot take

‘ -
,
 DOGS . 10 7

him out Rover n ever o ff ered to go ; but if he said I

’

, ,
’
shall take Rover with me to day the moment break f ast -
,

w as over he w as o n the alert never losin g sight o f his ,

master Plans were f requently made f or the ensu ing

.

morning in the dog s presen ce ; and o n e day he was no t

’

taken E ver af ter, when Rover heard over ni gh t what

.

was to take place he started alone very early and met

, , ,

the party S itting in f ront o f the road wi th a peculiar

,

kind o f grin o n his f ace expressing a doub t o f being well

,

received in consequence o f coming without permission

,
.

D irectly however he s aw he was well received he thre w

, , ,

o ff his a ffected shyness and j umped about with delight

, .

Though a most aristocratic dog in his usual habits ,

when stayin g in E ngland with M r St John he struck . .

up an ac quaintance with a ratcatcher and his curs as ,

sisting them in their business w atching at the rat holes ,

-

where the f errets were in a nd being the best dog o f all ;

,

f o r he never gave a f alse alarm o r f ailed to give a true ,

o ne. The moment he saw his master however, he cut ,

his humble f riends and decli ned their acquaintance in

,

the most comical manner .

A dark brown retriever name d Sam was in the habit

-
, ,

o f going into a kennel o f hounds who always crowded ,

ro und and caressed him When they were in the fiel d

.

at exercise S am was told to go and amuse them ; he

,

then went among them j umped J im Cro w and played

, ,

all sorts o f antics , leaping and tumbling about in the

most laughable manner they lo oking at him most atten
,

t ively He went with his master to cal l upon a lady ;

.

S he patted him , a sked if he were the celebrated Sam ,

an d hearin g that he was S he invited him to stay with

,

her The animal ran to his master looked u p and

.
, ,

seemed to ask f or his consent He was told to return .

 ANE C D OTE S O F AN I M AL S .

to the lady and take care o f her ; upon which he ran to

,

her took her basket f rom her and tried to express his
, ,

willingness to serve her He remained with her f o r .

some hours ; and when his master arrived to f etch him ,

the lady was so pleased that she asked f or his company

till the next day S am s owner petted and praised him
.
’
,

told him to be a good dog and stay with the lady u n til ,

she had given him his break f ast the next day The d o g .

was contented to remain ate his break f ast o n the ensu

,
’
ing morning then lo oke d up in the lady s f ace wagged
, ,

his tail le ft the house and ran home He was in the

, , .

h abit o f f etchin g his m aster s clothes and o f retur n i n g

’

them to their proper places and he knew their name s .

He sat in a chair at dinner with the f amily without ,

making any con f usion o r dined alone, alter n ately tak

ing a piece o f bread and meat and then drinking a little ,

milk ; and if any o n e said , Give me a piece Sam b e ,

’
,

instantly obeyed When all was gone he cleared away

.
,
;

the things He would f etch his master s horse f rom

.
’

the inn pay the ostler and ride back upon the saddle
, , .

In short he seemed to comprehend everything that was

,

s aid to him and was a mo del o f go o d nature and o b e

,

d ien c e
.

Wonder f ul as these stories are as matters o f reason ,

they are perh aps exceeded by some o f the tricks per

f ormed by the Poodle dogs , wh o are easily distin -

g shed by their crispy curli ng hair their large r ound

u i ,

head and long ears and to whom w a ter is as welcome

,

and f amiliar as land T w o o f them e ducated in Milan

.
, ,

exhibited their powers in Paris ; and I can vouch f o r the

ver a city o f the f ollowing statement The elder was
n amed F ido and the younger Bianco
,
The f ormer was .

a serious , stea d y d o g, who walked about wi t h muc h

 AN EC D OTE S O F AN IM ALS
'

import ant an d sig n ificant look , cutting at proper times

and n ever mistaking o n e car d f or another Bianco .

occasionally won , and went to the cyphers to mark his

p oints ; and when he was asked how many his adversary
had gained he took o u t a 0 with his teeth They
, .

sometimes played at é cart é wi t h o n e o f the compan y

assembled to se e them when they evinced the sam e ,

correctness , and seemed to know all the terms o f the

game A ll this passed without the slightest audible o r
.

v isible Sign bet w een them and their master .

There is a water d o g at Hastings belonging to Page

-
,

the boatman who , o n receiv in g a p enny, immediately

,

takes it to a baker s S hep f or the purchase o f a roll n o r

’
,

will he p art wi th it till the person who serves hi m has

p ut the bread upon the counter ; he then lays it down ,

and walks o ff with hi s purchase in his mouth A nother .

d o g o f this kind , also o f my a cquaintance , was the f amily

c arrier , th at is she c arrie d bo oks work , etc , to an y
, ,
.

person o r an y room p ointed o u t to her ; and as we rathe r

encroached o n her , she lost almost all her tee t h f rom the
hard a nd heavy burthens with which she w as laden .

’
W e had only to s ay, Cora , take this to so and so a nd
‘
,

i f the goo d d o g c o u ld n o t find the person she brought ,

it back and sto o d bef ore us A t the same hour every .

a f ternoon she untold brought her master s boot jack an d

, , ,
’
-

slippers into his study , to be in readiness f or his return .

U nder the d espised name o f ou rs, Colonel Smith

classes the sharpest , the drollest , the most pertinacious ,
the most mischievous and yet the m ost use f ul Terrier ;
,

together w ith se v eral other small dogs L ong haire d , .

-

rough haire d lo n g e ared , short eared brush taile d

-
,
- -
,
-
,

smooth tailed , long legged

-
short legged black eyed
-
,
-
,
-
,

black nosed ; white brown , black , tan , san d y, mixed ;

-
,
 D OG S . 111

e very d egree o f pure o r mongrel blo o d ; terriers o f all

k inds swarm around us , playing all sorts o f a ntics ,

evincin g all kinds o f impertinences catching all sorts o f ,

vermin and presenting themselves to us in every S hape

,

o f beauty o r ugl iness o f which their race is capab le ,

.

The most ancient o f this influential if not respectable

tribe o f dogs indeed the most ancient dog o f G reat
,

Britain is the Scotch Terrier brought hither probably

, , , ,

f rom the north west o f E urope by the primitive inhabit

-

ants There are t w o varieties o f indigenous terriers

.

the o n e smooth usually white o r black in colour with

, , ,

tan S pots sharp muzzle bright a nd lively eyes pointed

, , ,

o r slightly turned down ears , and t a il c arried high-

It .

is however , supposed that the S c ottish race with a

, ,

shorter and f uller muz zle , stouter limbs , hard shaggy ,

f u r sometimes white in colour , but more o f ten sandy

,

o r ochrey is the oldest an d most genuine breed

, O ne .

o f t hese clever and ex c ellent beasts named Peter lived ,

,

with my mother f or some years , and during the whole

o f that time evinced the greates t sagacity and attach

ment He c onstantly understood the conversatio n , pro

.

v id ed it relate d to ca t s , rats o r himsel f and o ften ,

when we sp oke o f him c a sually, without e v en knowin g

he was in the ro om , or calling him by his name , he has
lai d his head o n o u r knees and wagged his tail as much ,

as to say I understand , He was a most inveterate

‘
.
’

enemy to all rats mice , and cats n ipping them in the , ,

back o f the neck and throwing them over his head at

,

the rate o f o n e in a minute Be f ore he came into o u r .

f amily , he won a wager that he would kill t w elve rats

in twelve minutes The second rat f astened o n his lip .
,

and hung there wh ile he desp atched the other ten , an d

t hen , within the given time , he fini shed th a t als o The .
112 ANE C D OT E S OF AN I M AL S .

inh u m anity o f su ch w a gers d i d not rest with him H e .

w as stolen more than once and brought back when a

,

reward was ad v ertised ; and the first time the signs o f

suff ering about him were very mani f est The beard .

u nder the chin , the tu f ts o f the ears , the f ringes o f the

legs ha d all been c u t o ff and he had been rub bed with

, ,

red ochre t o disguise him f or sale He w as placed wi t h .

many others in a cellar , ready f o r shipping ; and the d o g

dealer o r rather dog stealer who brought him t o u s
,
-
, ,

said he thought he would have died o f grie f in a day or

t w o f o r he re f used to eat and seemed to be inse n sible
, ,

either to kindn ess or anger F or three weeks he hung

.

his head and shrank into corners as if he f elt himself ,

degraded ; but at last o u r caresses and encouragement

b rought back his usual bold and lively bearing .

’
F or the last t hree months o f my mother s existenc e,
Peter w as almost al w ays o n her bed night and d ay ; ,

and during the final f our weeks when death was daily ,

expected he w a s sad and dull which w as attributed

, ,

to the change in the habits o f the f amily F orty eight .

-

hours bef ore all was over Pete r crept into a corner
,

under the bed which had always been his place o f re f uge
,

w hen in trouble ; and we with di fficulty prevailed o n

him to quit it e ven when his mistress wished to see and
,

s ay f arewell to him On one o ccasion he hung his head

.

and appeared to be so miserable , th a t apprehensions o f

malady o n his part were entertained He retur ned to .

his corner and was not t hought o f f or some time A t

, .

length all was quiet in the room and I w as about to ,

leave it when I recollected Peter He was with d iffi

, .

culty prevailed o n to leave his corner where he lay ,

curled up and trembling I lift ed him up to take a

.

last look o f his b eloved mistress but he laid his he a d

 ANE C D OT E S O F AN I M AL S .

a nd the first sound which I heard when the carriage

s topped a t the door was a noisy demonstration o f j oy
,

f rom Peter . He thence forward resumed all his usual

habits , barking o n all o ccasions but he ne v er was quite
the same in disp osition He grew indi ff erent to every
.

o n e except my brother , never played again and f our ,

years a f ter was f ound dead in his corner o f re f uge .

A S c otch terrier an d a v ery great pet , n amed D andy ,

belonged to a lady who was a widow but who was abou t ,

to enter a second time into the b onds o f marriage .

D andy discovered the attachment o f the suitor long

b ef ore others were aware o f it a nd took the most ,

inveterate dislike to him thereby entirely acting con

,

tr ary to his usual habits o f love and gentleness His .

mistress was obliged to leave home a short time bef ore

the c eremony took place a s she was to be married in
,

L ondon . D andy took possession o f the rug under her

wr iting table during all the packing and prep arations
-
,

and nothing c ould persuade him to leave it , e v en f o r a

walk with those whom he loved ; and the morni n g his mis
tress le f t him he still lay there ; he would not even raise
,

his hea d b ut lifted up o n e paw and looked wretched

, , .

A f ter the lady was gone D andy disappeared and a

, ,

vain search was made f o r him ; at lengt h he was dis

c overed in a remote corner o f the park quite dead and ,

lying o n a heap o f leaves A veterinary surgeon was

.

sent f o r who a fter a care f ul examin a tion said there was

, , ,

no app arent cause f o r his death a nd it could not be,

age , f o r he was comparatively a young dog We may .

there f ore be j ustified in supposing that he died o f grie f .

A nother S cotch terrier belonged to a lady in Bel

gravia , and two days be fore her death seemed to possess
tha t c ons c iousness of what w as approaching , which
 D OG S . 115

many other dogs h ave evinced The remarkable par t.

O f his history is that he went into the garden at the

,

b ac k o f his ho use and scratched two large holes an d ,

when his mistress d id die he returned to the garden

,

an d laid himsel f down in o n e o f them .

A nother dog b ut o f what specie s I do n o t kn o w

, ,

was le f t at Hasti n gs with servants whi le his m istress ,

paid a visit to Brighton One evening he went into her

.

room j umped upon her bed moaned and rolled hi mself

, ,

in the bed clothes till those around him thought him

-
,

mad The next morning the post brought a letter to

.

s ay that his mistress had died at the time he was

s howing those signs o f distress .

B ut it is not in a mourn f ul light alone that we mus t

Vie w the S cotch o r indeed any other terrier ; f o r they
,

are the most untiring play f ul beings under the s u n I .

picked up a poor li ttle expir ing puppy by the edge O f a

p ond o ne day recovered him brought him up and there
, , ,

never was a more f aith f ul or amusing beast He proved .

to be a shaggy S cotch t errier ; and his hee dless you t h

had to undergo many corrections be f ore he became the
per f ect model o f ob edience which his maturity presented .

One o f his misdemeanours was to kill the young

c hickens . The woman who managed the poul t ry could
not imagine why these l ittle creatures d i ed so f ast and ,

at first suspected that they picke d up and swallowed

s omething which poisoned t hem She however O pened .
, ,

o n e and did not find any t hing in it which confirmed her

,

suspicions ; but the f eathers were r u ffl ed on the back O f

th e neck and she was then convinced that they were
,

destroyed by a much larger animal than themselves .

S hewatched f o r some day s and at length s aw Mr Bruin

, .
,

my dog , creep th r ough a little hole in the palings o f t he

 A I TII C D O T E S O F ANI M AL S .

yard and squat himsel f down v ery gravely as if he had

, ,

not a thought o f mischie f in him Presently a little .

chi cken ran past him snap went Bruin at the back o f
its neck and giving it a toss over his head as he would
,

a rat the little thing was dead A nother w as served in

, .

the same way, and I was then called t o inflict the pun
ishmen t I thought most pr O per I w as averse to beating .

him a t first, so I pointed to the chicken and scolded ,

him so much that he appeared to be very sorry f or what

he had done B ut he was then yo ung and giddy and
.
,

the impression made was but slight In three days he .

returned to his t r icks and I w as obliged to chastise him

,

more severely I tied a dead chicken round his neck

.
,

beat him an d sh u t him u p all d ay in a tool house where

,
-
,

I visited him several times pointed to t he chicken and

, ,

repeated how naughty he was He was s o ashamed that .

he could n o t look me in the f ace an d in the evening , ,

when I released him he could n o t eat He recovered

, .

his gaiety in a day o r t wo because he was entirely f or

given ; b ut he never ag ai n w ent into the poultry y ard -
,

and if by chance he saw a chicken he w ould hang his , .

head and tail and walk round it at such a distance that

,

he evidently recollecte d his f ormer c onduct .

The great f riend and playmate o f Bruin was Pincher ,

a v ery accomplished smooth terrier a capital dog to

, ,

go wi th the hounds and to kill all sorts o f obnoxi ous

,

a n imals I f the two appeared to be asleep and we

.
,

exclaimed Cat 1 o r Rat ! in o n e inst ant they were

‘ ‘ ’ ’

o n their legs seeking i n every direc t ion f o r their game

,
.

They hunted o n t heir o w n accou n t sometimes and were ,

O ften seen with a red S paniel trottin g thro u gh the fields ,

,

no doubt conspiring together to have a f east B eth .

Bruin a nd Pincher were per f ectly aware when Sunday

118 AN EC D OTES OF ANI M AL S .

when the procession le ft the church accomp an ied his ,

master to the sid eo f the grave where he mingled with ,

the attendants The parties remained f or some little

.

time lo oking at the co ffin a fter it was lowered and the ,

c lergyman slipped away unob served even by his dog , .

A n hour a fter as he sat at d inner with his friends his

, ,

sexton requested to speak with him He was admitte d .

into the room when he said it was impossible to clo se

,

the grave and that he d i d not kno w what to do

, .

Why asked the gentleman ‘

Because sir your .
, ,

terrier stands there and flies so fiercely at us whenever

,

we attempt to throw a spade f ul in that we dare n o t ,

’
go o n. One o f the house servants was sent to the
churchyar d and there saw the d o g in a per f ect f ury
, ,

de f ending the grave ; he re f used to come to his call so ,

by main f orce he removed him and carried him to the ,

drawin g room There the moment he saw his master

-
.
, ,

his transport o f j oy eq u alled his f ormer f ury and it

is supposed that not seeing his master go away and
, ,

missing him he f ancied he was in the grave and thus

, ,

strove to protect him from i n jury .

The same d o g an d a companion equally f aithf ul and

,
’
sagacious attached themselves to their master s horse
, ,

and whenever they could went o u t with it He rode ,

.

o u t o n it to dinner the two dogs with him who went

, ,

contentedly into the stable with their f riend He .

o rdered his horse when it was time to go away but as

it was a lo n g w hile coming to the door inquiries were ,

made about the delay, upon which the groom appeare d ,

and said he dared not take the horse o u t o f the stable ,

f or o n e O f the clergyman s dogs was o n its back an d

’

the other by its side flyi n g at e very person w ho c ame

,

near the animal The owner comprehended the mystery ,

.
 D OG S . 19

a nd going to the stable him sel f b rought f orth the steed ,

.

The groom w as a stranger and t he dogs dared not ,

trust hi m with their master s property ’

.

A terrier known to Pro fessor Owen , was taught to

play at hide and seek with his master who su m
- - moned ,
’
him by sayin g L et us have a game upon whi ch the ,

d o g immediately hid his eyes between his p aws in the

most honourable manner ; an d when the gentleman had
placed a S ixpence o r a piece o f cake in a most im
probable place he s t a rte d u p and invariably f ound it
,
.

His p owers were equalled by wh at was c alled a F ox

terrier named F O p who would hide his eyes and suff er
, , ,

those at play with him to c on c eal themselves be f ore he

looked up I f hi s play fellow hid himself behind a
.

window curtain , F O p would f o r a certain time c are

-

f ully pass that curta in and look behind all the others
, ,

beh ind doors etc , and when he thought he had looked

, .

long enough sei ze the concealing curtain and drag it

,

aside in triumph The drollest thing however was to

.
, ,

see him take his turn o f hiding He would get under a .

chair , and f ancy that he was not seen o f course those

at p lay with him pretended n o t to see him , and it w as
most amusing to witness his agitation as they passed .

When he w as ill b e had been cure d b y some ho mec o

,

pathic globules ; and ever a fter if anything were the ,

matter with him he would stand near the medicine

,

b ox , an d lu fl d lfis rn o u fli o pen .

A black and tan terrier belonging to a linendraper in

S windon directly the shop w as O pened in the morning
, ,

was in the habit o f going to the post o flic e with his

master the letter bag was put into his mouth and he ,

carried it home One morning he took it into his head

.

to precede his master , an d go alone The p ost master, .

-
 ANE C D OTE S OF AN I M AL S .

on seeing him felt so certain his owner was at the doo r

, ,

that he delivered the bag t o him with which he r an ,

home while hi s m aster w as seeking him F rom that .

time it bec ame his regular duty to f etch the letters daily .

Sir Walter S cott tells us o f the remarkable compre

hen sio n o f human language e vin c ed by his bull dog -

terrier called Camp He understoo d s o many word s

,
.
,

that Sir W alter f el t convinced an inter c ourse with dumb

animals might be enlarged Camp once bit t he baker
.
,

f or w hich Sir W alter bea t him and at the same time ,

explained the enormity o f the O ffence ; a f ter which t o ,

the last moment O f his lif e h e neve r heard the least

,

allusion to the story in whatever v oice o r tone it might

,

be mentioned witho ut get t ing up and retiring into the

,

d arkest corner o f the room w ith great appearance o f

,

distress Then if it were s aid that the b aker had been

.

well paid o r that the b aker was not hurt a fter all
, ,

Camp came f orward capered barked and rej oiced

, , , .

When he was unable to w ards the end o f his li f e to

, ,

a ttend his master in his rides , he watched f or his

return and the servant use d to tell him Sir Walter
,

was coming down the hill , o r t hrough the m oor .

Camp never mistook him although he did not use any

,

gesture but either went o u t at the front t o ascend t he

,

hills or at the back to get at the moor side

,
.

These an ecdotes taken f rom m any others concerning

,

terriers , cannot be better ended than by some concern

ing a Russian terrier A s I once was acquainted with
.

an inimitable monkey named Jack s o d o I n o w kno w

, ,

a n inimitable dog o f that name He is small , white .

,

with some quaintly placed dark brown spots o n the

b ody and head , his eyes are o f the most brilliant black ,

he is slightly a nd genteelly made and he has a quanti ty ,

 A NE C D OTE S O F ANI M AL S .

to be seen they being laid o u t rat f ashio n in due f orm ,

, ,
-
,

and he displaying his prowess with great pleasure .

Jack went to Torquay with his young mistress where ,

he was one day lying in the balcony enj oying the sea ,

breezes A n Italian came p a st with his organ and a

.

monkey ; he stopped be f ore J ack and su ff ere d his ,

monkey to c limb the pillars which supported the bal

cony, and enter Jack never tamely su ffered the in t ru
.

sion o f strangers ; but such a stranger as this was

beyond all p atience He seized him , shook him ; the
.

p oor monkey squealed ; the Italian bawled o u t f or his

companion ; and Jack s mistress rushed to the windo w
’

and rescued the un f ortunate creature j ust time enough ,

’
to save him f rom Jack s final gripe S ome days a fte r .

this Jack was walking o u t with his mistress s brother ,

,
’

who was a great invalid , when the sound o f an organ

saluted his ears In o n e moment he came up with it
.
,

seize d t he ac companying monkey between his teeth and ,

dashed p a st his astonished master with the hind legs o f

,
-

t he creature hanging o u t o n one S ide and the f eathered

hat o n the other In vain did the gentl eman call
.

Jack either did not hear or did not heed h e took his
’
way to the stable where his master s horse was kept ,

and would have imm olated the monkey had n o t the ,

grooms there saved him from death The inv alid a nd .

the owner o f the monkey arrived at the same moment ,

each delighted at the sa fe ty o f the poor v ictim Jack .

to this day cannot endure an organ o r a monkey .

The Pariah D ogs O f India when wild o ccupy t he

, ,

wood s in numerous packs ; they have long backs pointed ,

ears sharp noses and fringed tails Their f ondness f o r

, ,
.

human beings is v ery remarkable ; and they wil l attach

t hemselves to strangers and n o t su ff er any ill usage t o
,
-
 D OG S . 123

keep them at a distance One w as kno w n to f ollo w a

. .

gentleman travelling in a p alanquin till he dropped f rom

f atigue
. There is a minute variety , white with long ,

silky hai r, like a lap d o g and this is traine d to c arry

-
,

fl amb eau x and lanterns Bishop Heber gives an account

.

o f a p oor Pariah dog wh o f ollowed him during a part

o f his j our ney through India He ordere d the c ook t o

.

give him some scraps , and the animal strongly attached

himsel f to the bishop When the party were obliged to
.

cross a rapid river o r rather a dan gerous f ord the dog

, ,

w as so f rightene d at the black roaring water that he s at

do w n by the side and howled piteously as the bishop
went over He however , a ssumed courage to f ollow ;
.
,

b ut w as again distressed when o n e O f the Sepoys was

missing ; he ran back to the spot and howled , returned
to the bish op then back to sum mon the d e f aulter an d
, ,

continued this till the man had rej oined his party .

The bishop relates a story o f o n e o f the se dogs who ,

b eing in se arch O f water , thrust his head into an earthen
jar and could not get it out again ; he r ushed ab out in
,

all directions bellowing and howling in the most fear f ul

,

manner The guard sprang to their f eet , and stoo d

.

prepared to encounter an enemy, whose approach they

thought was an nounced by the blast o f a war horn -
.

Halters were broken and horses and mules pranced

,

over the tent rope s ; and it was some minutes be f ore

the cause O f this con f usion was ascertained .

A massive f orm arched skull deep lo wer j aw strong

, , ,

legs and neck semi hanging ears trun c ate d tail, and
,
-
,

f requent presence o f a fi fth toe distinguish the noble ,

Masti ff Mastiff s are silent phlegmatic dogs conscious

.
, ,

o f their o w n strength , seem t o consider themselves more

as companions than servants are resolute a nd f ace

,
,
124 AN E C D OTES OF AN I M AL S .

d anger with the utmost sel f possession A cold region , -

.

such as the highest ranges o f Central A sia is bes t ,

adapted to their per f ect development ; and yet thei r

only wild type is met with in A frica They are ol d .

deni zens o f G reat Britain and are said to h ave been

,

brought here be f ore the Romans conquered the country .

They are not supposed to have originally come f rom

A frica but f rom Thibet through the north o f E urope
, ,
.

They have been known to conquer li ons ; and yet ,

while they possess the most indomitable strength an d

courag e they are the gentlest o f animals su ffering
, ,

children to sit upon them p ull them roughly and small

, ,

dogs to snap and snarl at them Confinement alone .

disturbs their temper They are excellent guardians ;

.

and such is their deliberate coolness that they have ,

been known to walk quietly by the side o f a thie f with

out doing him an inj ury merely preventin g his escap e
,
.

They wi ll , howe v er, su ff er the rogue to go away, if he

has not already purloined anything .

It is well known that dogs love to b e in a cro w d O f

people ; and this is frequently the temptation f o r them
t o enter churches A number o f dogs in a village
.

o f B ohemia had f ollowed this practice incl u ding an ,

'

E nglish ma s tih belonging to a nobleman who lived

there A magistrate who presided at a court O h
.

served upon it and said , in an authoritative voice

, ,

N 0 dogs shall be allowed to go to church ; let me not

The mast ifl was present and
'

see o n e there in f uture

’
.
,

seemed to listen with attention not without e ff ect , f o r ,

o n the ensuing S u nday he rising early ran barking at

, , ,

the village dogs took his station near the door o f the
,

church killed the only dog that ventured in n o t wit h

, ,

st anding the prohibition ; and al w ays posted himsel f as

126 ANE C D OTE S OF AN I M AL S .

so characteristic o f his species was walking o n the shor e ,

with him It was nearly low water and a sand bank

.
,
-
,

c overed during high tide was v isible a t some hundre d ,

yards distance f rom the shore His attention was .

drawn to this obj ect f rom the circum stance O f the

,

water being in a state o f commotion around it while ,

the sea elsewhere was per f e c tly placid On f urther .

examination he discovered that some large fish w as

,

chasing a shoal o f whiting , and in his eag erness to cap

ture his prey he more t han once ran o n the sand bank
,
-
.

‘
D irectin g the dog s attention to these O bjects he
’

was encouraged to swi m to the sand bank which he -

,

soon attained ; and he had n o t been there a minute,

bef ore the large fish m ade another dash almost under
his nose The dog immediately pursued the fish ; an d
.

ere it had reached the deep wa t er he seiz ed it by t he

shoulders and b ore it to the sand bank The fish how -
.
,

ever, remained f ar f rom p assive under such treatment ;

f o r as soon as it w as released it opened its large j aws , ,

and bit t he d o g so fiercely as to cause his muz zle to ,

be cri msoned with bloo d .

A f ew struggles brought the fish again in to his own

element in which he quickly disappeare d B ut the
,
.

dog though severely bitten was not d isc o mfited

,
A
,
.

c heer in g c all f rom his young f riend was f ollowed by

'

his dashing into the water a fter his fin n y f o e ; an d

d ivin g he reappeared w ith the fish trailin g f rom his
,,

j aws A gai n he bore him to the sand bank and again

.
-
,

the fish made good use o f his teeth .

B ut it w as evident that the struggle could not be

m uch longer continued A vailing himsel f o f every O p
.

o r t u n it y the dog use d his p ower f ul tusks with terrible

p ,

eff ect on the fish s shoulders , and at last , taki n g a goo d

’
 D OG S . 127

gripe o f his prey he set o ff f o r the shore When ,

.

about hal f way the fish managed to break loose but ,

Glaucus was too quick f o r him ; and once more seizin g

him he landed his priz e with all the apparent triumph
,

evince d by a veteran angler w ho secures a monster

salmon a fter a lengthy battle The fish turned o u t to .

be a b ake ; it weighed seventeen pounds and whe n ,

’
O pened was f oun d completely filled with whitings .

The B u ll dog with his tr u ncate d nose, his broad

-
,

mouth red eyelids large head f orehead sinkin g betwee n

, , ,

the eyes nose rising under j aw proj ecting o ften show

, ,
-
,

ing the teeth , and thick made has not those outward ,

chara c ters which compose beauty T he head has always .

b lack about it ; but the body is brindled buff o chrey , , ,

o r white B ull dogs are said to be less sagacious than

.
-

other dogs and less capable o f attac hment ; but their

,

great streng th their courage and extr eme pertinacity

, ,

in keepin g hold when they have once taken a gripe ,

make them most valuable f o r completing the packs o f

b o u n d s trained to hunt boars wolves and s t ill larger , ,

animals When excited they are terrific in appearance

.
,

and were f ormerly used f o r bull baiting in this country -

.

In Spain and Corsica where this practice is still con ,

t in u ed , they may be seen in all their strength and

power I have been told they are gentle when not
.

engaged in their cruel sport .

The Pug has be en by some con sidered as a variety o f

the bull dog ; but others reject this O pinion his round
-
,

head grotesquely abbreviated muzzle and small tightly

,
-
,

curled tail , they think enti t ling him to a place o f his ,

o w n among dogs A uthorities state th a t he is a cross

.
,

ill tempered li ttle dog ; but my o wn experience contra

-

d ic ts this T he two with whom I ha v e come in freque n t

.
 ANE C D OTES O F A N I M AL S .

contact have been remarkably play f ul and good

,

natured One was the pet o f a lady , and his bringing

.

up ought to have m ade him gentlemanly ; b u t he had

s everal low tricks in the eating way such as stealing ,

f rom the scullery, which used to provoke his mistress .

His place f o r hidi ng the purloined dainties w as under the

pillow o f her bed and freq u ently at her nightly examina
, ,

tion o f the spot she f ound not only bones but dead mice
, , .

Pug number two was a very clever f ello w who used ,

to walk out by hi msel f every day and when he wished ,

to r e enter the house he always rang the door bell

-
,
-
,

ei t her by shaking the wire with his p aw o r taking it ,

between his teeth He was clever in f etching what was

.

wanted from diff erent parts o f the house b ut was v ery ,

much a f raid o f being by himsel f in the dark He had .

f ormed a great f riend ship with a kitten , and the t w o

u sed to bask together be f ore the fire I f Pug were .

told to f etch some article f rom the be d room a f ter the -

,

house was closed f o r the night he i n sisted o n ha ving

,

puss s companionship I f she were unwilling to move

’
.
,

h e dragged her alon g wi t h his mo u t h and f requently ,

mounted several stairs with her , be f ore she gave c o n

sent to the proc eeding .

Multitudes o f anecdotes exist which ha v e been ,

handed down to us as relating t o dogs without any

, ,

in formation concerning the species o f the principal

actors as in the f ollowing instances
, .

The F ire dog w as to be seen at almost every con

-

fl agr at io n in L ondon ei t her mounted o n the engine o r

,

tearing along by its side , seeming to think hi s presence

necessary o n all such occasions He was well known .

at all the engine stations , though he did not bel o n g to

or derive his suppor t f rom an y in di v idu a l A t last the .
 ANE C D OTE S O F A N I M AL S .

almost all d estroyed The extent to which this illicit

.

commerce was carried w as enormous D ogs notions .

’

o f property ho w ever are o ften very scrupulous A

, , .

lady at B ath f ound her way impeded as she walked by ,

a dog , who had discovered the loss O f her veil though ,

she had not The animal had le ft his o w n master to

.

seek it f or her ; he f ound it , and then returned to his

o w ner They o f ten show a presentiment o f danger and
.
,

gave notice o f the ear thquake at G ab alu asc o in 1835 by ,

leavin g the to wn ; also at Concepcio n in the same manner

, .

Some dogs have a great antipathy to music others ,

only to certain tones and I have kno wn a d o g wh o

,

always set u p a howl at particular p assages There .

was o n e who be f ore the great Revolution in F r a nce

, ,

u sed to march with the band at the Tuileries because

he li ked it , a nd at night f requent the O pera and other

theatres .

The most surprising histories told o f dogs are con

cerning the ir speech L iebnitz reported to the F rench
.

A cademy o f Sciences that a dog had been taught t o

mod u late his v oice so that he could distinctly ask f o r
,

co ffee tea and cho colate A f ter this we m ay believe

’

.
, ,

that a dog was learning to say E lizabeth I have o ften .

wa t che d f or such sounds f rom en ergetic clever dogs , ,

who have evidently tried v iva r ac e to make me ac

u ai n t ed with some circumstance , but never heard any
q
thing intelligible and cannot imagine that the orga n s
,

o f s peech are bestowe d upon a f avoured f ew without ,

w hich the articulation o f words must be imp ossib le .

Volumes might be fil led with these anecdotes o f dogs ,

b ut I will here conclude my list wi t h the picture given
by Mr St John o f his pets , p ortraying a happiness
. .

which c on t rasts strongly wi t h t he miserab le conditi o n

 Doc s . 131

of m a ny ill used an imals , belonging

-
hard heartedto -

masters , who per form v aluable servi c es , a nd are yet

kicked , sp u rned , o r hal f starved
- .

Opposite the windo w o f the room I a m in at

present , says this gentleman are a monkey an d five
’ ‘
.

dogs basking in the su n a bloodhound , a Skye terrier ,

,

a setter , a Russian p oodle a nd a yo ung N ewf oundland

,

who is b eing educated as a retriever They all live in .

great friendship with the monkey who is n o w in the ,

’
most absurd manner searching the poodle s c oat f o r
fleas lif t ing curl by curl , and examining the r oots o f
,

t he hair Occasionally, if she thin ks that she has pu lled

.

the hair o r lif ted o n e o f his legs rather too roughly , she
,
~

looks the d o g in t he f a c e with a n inquiring expression

to see if he be angry .The d o g, howe ver , seems rather
o enj oy the O pera t ion , and , showing no symptoms o f
t

displeasure the monkey continues her S earch , and whe n

,

she sees a flea , catches it in the most active manner ,

looks at it f o r a moment , and then eats it with great

relish Having exhausted the game on the poodle she
.
,

j umps on the back o f the bloodhound , and having looked

into her f ace to see how she will bear it , begins a new
search , but finding nothing goes o ff f o r a game at
,

r omps with the N ew f oundland dog while the blood ,

hound , hearing the voice o f o n e o f the children t o who m ,

she has taken a particul ar f ancy , walks o ff to the nursery .

The setter li es doz ing and dreaming o f grouse ; while

the little terrier sits with c ar s pricked up , listening to
any s o und o f dog o r man that S he may hear ; occasion
ally she trots o ff o n three legs to look at the back door
o f the house , f or f ear any rat hunt o r f u n o f th a t sor t
-

may take place wi t hout her bein g invited Why do .

Highland terriers so o ften run on three legs , p arti c ularly

132 A NE C D OTE S or A N I MA L S .

when bent on a ny mischie f ? Is it to kee p on e in r ese r ve

in c ase o f emergencies ? I ne ve r had a Highland terrier
who did n o t hO p along constantly o n three legs , keep
ing o n e o f the hind legs up a s if to gi v e it rest
- .
’

A proo f o f the sudden attachments which dogs will

f orm is given by Mr Murray, to whom the dog o f hi s
.

guide took a f ancy M r Murray p assed the n ight in

. .

the house o f his master , f ed him , and the animal sat

looking up in his f ace T he next mo r ning the pa rty
.

started o n f oot to cross the Pyrenees ; and when t he

guide had f u lfilled his agreement and received his
reward he took his leave The dog , howe v er f ollowed
, .
,

Mr Murray , and no threats o r entreaties could p re v ail

.

o n him to turn back He proceeded to an in n wit h his

.

new f riend an d Mr Murray w as making a bargai n

,
.

with the innkeeper to send the dog to his owner , when

a boy came f rom the man to claim the beast H e .

f ollowed the boy two o r three times f o r a f ew ya r ds ,

and in v ariably returned A strong cord was then tied
.

round his neck and the boy w as told to lead him with
,

that but at a little distance fin ding that he could n o t ,

get rid o f the cor d , the d o g leaped Upon the boy thre w ,

him down dragged the cord o u t o f his hand , and

,

returned to Mr Murray A f t er this it seemed inevitable

. .

t hat they sh ould tra vel together Mr Murray sent f o r . .

the master bo u ght the dog , and eventually took him

,

t o S cotland , having a place secured f or him always in

the d iligence ; an d f rom the moment he arrived he
became t he pet o f the f amily .

A nother instance o f the s ame feeling in dogs

o ccurred to a sporting tra v eller in N or way ( Mr L loyd , .

i f I mistake not ) to whom the d o g o f a peas a nt t oo k

,
.

t he same sudden liking .

134 ANE C D OTE S OF ANI M AL S .

impart a mystery to them which h as been heightened

by f ear a nd the natur al p roneness o f m a n to magni fy
,

t a les o f horror .

Wolves are t o o suspicious to be o ften taken in traps ;

an d when pursued they run with their noses almost
,

t ouching t he ground their eyes glowing like fire , the

,

hair o f their head and neck bristled up their tail d rawn ,

close to their legs T heir usual height at the shoulders

.

is about two f eet a nd a hal f Their young are born in .

caverns or gloo my recesses , and the f emale wol f is f uri

o u s in their de f ence They o f ten fight with each other ;
.

and it is said if a wounded wolf come among his

f ellows he is immediately torn in pieces and devoured
,
.

Mr L loyd in his F ield Sp or ts in the N or th of E u r op e

.
, ,

tells us o f a peasan t who in the neighbourhoo d o f St .

Petersburgh met with the f ollo w ing narro w escape

He was pursued by eleven o f these f erocious animals ,

while he was in his sledge A t this time he wa s only .

about two miles f rom home, towards which he urged his

horse at the very top o f his speed A t the entr a nce o f .

his residenc e was a gate which happened to be closed

,

at the time but the horse dashed this O pen an d thus ,

his master and himsel f f ound re f uge in the court yard -

.

They were f ollowed however by nine out o f the eleven

, ,

wolves b ut very f ortunately at the v ery instant these ,

had entered the enclosure the gate swung b a ck o n its,

hinges and thus they were caught as in a trap F rom

, .

being the mos t f erocious o f animals , now that they

f ound escape impossible they c ompletely changed , an d
,

s o f ar f rom o ff ering molestations to any o n e they slu n k ,

into holes and c orners and allo w ed themselves to b e

,

sla u ghtered almost witho ut maki ng resistance

’
, .

A more tragic o cc urren c e happened to an un fo r tunate

 W O LV E S . 35

w oman , also in Russia , and is relate d by the same

gentlem an : ‘
A woman accompanied by three o f her
,

chil dren w as o n e day in a sledge when they we re pur

, ,

sued by a numbe r o f wolves She put the horse into a .

gaHO p, and drove towards her home w ith the utmost

spee d. She was n o t f ar f rom it ; b u t the f erocious
animals gained upon her and were o n the point o f rush
,

ing o n to the sledge F o r the preservation o f her o w n

.

li f e and that o f the remaining children the poor , f rantic ,

creature cast o n e o f the m to her bloodthirsty pursuers .

This stopped their career f o r a moment but af ter de ,

v o u r in g the poor child they renewed the pursuit and

, ,

a second time came up with the vehicle The m other .

,

d ri ven to desperation , resorted t o the same horrible

expedient and threw another o f her o ff spring to her
,

f ero cious assailants The third child was also s a crificed

.

i n the same way and soon a fter the wretched being

, ,

reached her home in sa fety Here she related w hat had.

happened and endeavoured t o palliate her o w n conduc t

,

by describing the dread f ul alternative to which she had

been red u ced A peasant ho wever who was amo n g
.
, ,

t he bystanders and heard the recital took u p an axe

, , ,

and with o n e blo w cle f t her skull in two saying at ,

the same time that a mother who co uld thus s a cri

“
,

fic e her children f o r the preservation o f her o wn li f e ,

w as no longer fit to live The man was c ommitted

.

to prison but the E mperor subsequently gr a nted him

a pardon .

The tame wolf at the Jardi n des Plantes is described

by M F rederic Cuvier in the f ollowing manner
.

This a nimal was brought up as a young dog became ,

f amiliar with every pers on whom he was in the habit o f

Seeing , a nd in particular f ollowed his master everywhere,
136 AN E C D OTES OF A N I M AL S .

evmc I n g chagrin at his absence , obeyi n g his voice, an d

showing a degree o f submission scarcely d iff ering in any

respec t from that o f the m ost thoroughly domesticated
dog His master being obliged t o b e absent f or a time
.
,

presented his pet to the J ardin des Plantes where the ,

animal confine d in a den continued disconsolate and

, , ,

would scarcely take his f ood A t length however his .

, ,

health returned he became attached to his k eepers and

, ,

appeared to have f orgo t ten all his former a ff ection ;

w he n a f ter eighteen months his master re t urned
, , At .

the first word he uttered the wol f who had n o t per , ,

c ei ved him among the crowd recognised him exhibited , ,

the most lively j oy and being set at liberty lavished

, ,

o n his o l d f rien d the most a ff ectionate caresses A .

second separation and return was f ollowed by similar

demonstrations o f sorro w which however again yielded

, , ,

to time Three years had passed and the wol f was

.
,

living happily in company with a dog when his master ,

again returned and the still remembered voice was

instantly replied t o by the most impatient cries which ,

were redoubled as soon as the poor f ellow was at ‘

liberty ; when rushing to his ma ster he threw his f ore

, ,

f eet o n his shoulders licking his f ace with every mark

,

o f the most lively j oy , and menacing his keepers wh o ,

O ff ered to remove him and to w ards whom not a moment

,

be f ore he had been sho w ing every mark o f f ondness .

A third separation however seemed to be too much

, ,

f o r t his f ai t h f u l animal s temper He became g loo my

’
.
,

de sponding re f u sed his f ood and f o r a long time his

, ,

li fe appeared to be in d anger I I is health however .

, ,

returned ; but he no longer s u ffered the caresses o f an y

but his keepers and towards s trangers m anif ested t he
,

original savageness o f his species .

’
 ANE C D O I E S
' ‘

O F AN I M AL S .

had bo u nded the road at a few yards d istance f o r a

considerable length the owner who was seated behin d
, ,

with his back to the horses espied a wol f rush o u t o f

,

the angle o f the wood , and give chase to the sledge at

the top o f hi s speed T he man shouted to the boy w ho
.

”
was driving F arkas ! f arkas ! ( a wol f ! a wol f l )
,

I t z e het ! it z e het ( drive on ) and the lad looking ,

round in terror b eheld the animal j ust clearing the

,

gripe which ran along the road they had p assed .

Quick as lightning with shout and whip and wi th all

, ,

his might he urged the horses to gain the village

,
.

A way they fl ew at their f ullest stretch as if sensible ,

o f the danger beh ind them conveyed to them by the

,

exclamation o f the lad and the dreaded name o f the

,

animal which he shouted in the ir ears The man turned .

his seat and urged th e boy still more energetically to

l ash the horses to their very utmost S peed He did .

not need any f urt her incentive but pushed o n the nags
,

with f rantic exer t ion The sle d ge flew over the slippery
.

road wi th f ear ful speed ; b ut the wol f urged yet more

his utmost pace and gained f ast upon it The village
, .

was distant about two hundred yards below the brow o f

the hill N othing but the w ildest pace could save them
.
,

and the man f elt t hat the wol f would inevitably spring
up o n them be fore they could get to the bottom B oth .

shout ed wildly as they pursued their impetuous c areer ,

the sledge swerving f right f ully from o n e side o f the road

to t he other , and threatening every m oment to turn
over The man then drew his t hick bunda ( sheep skin )
.
-

over his head ; he looked behind and s a w the fierce ,

panting beast within a few yards o f him ; he though t

he f elt his hot breath in his f ace ; he ensconced his head
aga in in his bunda ; and in another moment the wolf
 W O LV E S . 39

s pr ang upon his back and gripp e d into the thick sheep
,

s kin that covered hi s neck W ith admir able presence

.

o f mind the bold hearted peasant now threw up both his

-

hands , and graspin g the wol f s head and neck with all ’

his strength hugged him w ith an iron clutch to his

,
”
shoulders . I t z e het 1 n o w shouted the cool f ello w , and
holding his enemy in a death grip they s wept into the
v illage dragging the fierce brute af ter them in spite o f
, ,

his f rantic e ff orts t o disengage himsel f The shouts o f .

t he boy and man with the m ad speed an d noise o f the

,

horses brought the V illagers o u t to see what was the

,

matter “ ”
F arkas ! f arkas ! shouted both and the
.
,

peasants immediately seeing their perilous p osition ,

gave chase with their axes , calling o u t t o the man to

hold o n bravely A t length the boy succeeded in
.

slackening the spee d o f the animals , the sledge stoppe d ,

and the peasants rushing o n dispatched the f erocious ,

creature upon the man s b ack whose arms were s o

’

s ti ff ened with the immense muscular exertion he had so

long maintained that he could hardly loose them f rom

,

the neck o f the dead wol f .

’

A clergyman in the neighb ourhood o f E au x b on n es ,

in the B asses Pyrenees was not as f o rt u n at e as the

,
l

S lo vac k peasant ; f o r as he was returning f rom visitin g

the sick i n January 1830 he was beset by hungry ,

wolves , and torn to p ieces by them ; the f ragments

which they lef t and t he bloo d upon the snow, alone
,

t elling his f ate .

The N orth A merican wolves are not so gaunt as

those o f E urope havi n g shorter legs thicker f u r
, , ,

shorter muz zles broader heads more bushy tails and

, , ,

being altogether more compact Their habits , how .

ever are much the same

, A f armer in N ew Hampshir e
.
 ”
110 AN EC D OTE S OF ANI M AL S .

was o n e n ight awakened by a n oise in his hog pen -

.

On lookin g o u t he saw what he supposed to be a f o x

o n the lo w , mping roo f o f the sty He w ent o u t b u t .
,

f ound that the animal was a grey wol f which instead ,

O f maki n g o ff fiercely attacked him rushing down the

, ,

roo f t o war ds him ; an d be f ore the man had time to

move back the wol f ha d bitten his arm three times
, ,

wi th his quick and repeated snaps lacerating it from ,

the elbow to the wrist Then h owever he leaped f rom

.
, ,

the roo f to the ground and by s o doing lost his ad ,

vantage ; f o r the man succeeded in seizing him o n

each side o f the neck w it h his hands and held him ,

firmly in that p osi t ion till his w i f e wh om he called o u t , ,

’
came u p with a large butcher s kni f e and cut the ,

beast s t hro at It was three months be f ore the man s

’
.
’

arm was healed every incision it was said , piercing t o ,

the b one 1
.

A white wol f always attends the bull called bu ffalo , ,

o f Western A merica besides which the same country ,

aff ords other varieties A mong them are the Coyotes

.
,

or Medicine W olves o f the Indians , who show them

,
,

great reverence They are small sagacious and cun

.
, ,

ning ; a ssemble in packs , and hunt i n troops o f f rom

three to thirty alo n g the runs o f deer and antelopes ,

an d run down their quarry When game has been .

killed by hunters they sit patiently at a short d i s

,

t ance while larger wolves prowl around p ounci n g o n

, ,

the pieces thrown to them by the men and w hich the ,

small ones dr o p instantly They keep watch round .

a camp at n ight and gnaw the skin r O pes o f horses

‘
,

and cattle .

When the Coyotes o r small white wolves , o f Mexic o

,

G r o s s e s C an ad i an N atu r a list
’
.
 ANE C D OTE S O F ANI M AL S
!

make an y resistan c e when set u po n b y them Sir Johu

‘

Richardson tells us that a wol f wounded by a musket

,

ball returned af ter d usk and carried o ff a dog f ro m

, ,

amo n g fi fty others who howled piteously but did not

, ,

dare to try and rescue their companion .

Several wolves will combine and f orming a semi

,

circle creep slowly towards a herd o f deer if there be

, ,

a precipice near and hemming them i n gradually so as

, ,

not t o alarm them suddenly, drive them t o the edge o f

the precipice Then they all at once set up the most
.

terrific yells , and taking flight the poor deer leap over
,

the precipice where the wolves f ollow them at their

,

lei sure by a sa f er path to f eed o n thei r ma n gle d

,

carcases .

On o n e occasion a troop o f nine w hite wol v e s

endea v oure d to prac t ise the same trick upon Sir
John Richardson , evidently intendin g t o dri v e him
into the river Ho w ever when he rose up they halte d
.
, ,

and o n his advancing , made way f o r him t o go to

the ten t .

The lovers o f t ragic histories will find many o f the

m ost fear f ul ki n d among the legends o f all c ountries
where wol v es abound , all probably f oun d ed o n f act , but
mostly inter woven w ith romance There cannot be an y
.

thing much more shocking than that o f the solitary

traveller galloping into a village p ursue d by these
beasts , and k n ocking at the doors earnestly entreating,

f or re f uge The inhabitants were mostly buried in S leep ;

.

some f ew heard and d id not move others had a dim ,

con fused notion o f what was passing and also remained ,

in their beds ; while others again did not hear anything

The next mornin g the sad event w as told by findin g t he
’
tra veller s c loak a nd a f ew bones .
 F O XE S .

FOX E S .

S T E AL I N G alon g in the dark o f evening the cunning and ,

,

rapacious F ox ( C ams V u lp es) leaves his hole in the

'

earth and roams in search o f his prey The poul t ry

, .

yards rabbit warrens and the haunts o f game tell o f

,
-
, ,

his skil ful depredations ; b ut he is not at all di ffi cult in

his appetite .T o be sure , when he can get ripe grapes ,

he has a f east I f young turkeys and hares are not t o

.

be had he puts up with a young f awn a wild duck , o r

, ,

even wea sels mice frogs o r insects He will also walk

, , , .

down to the sea S hore and su p upon the remains o f

-
,

fishes or arres t the crabs and make them alter their S ide
,

lo n g course so as to crawl do wn his throat Reynard .

also has an eye to the f uture f o r he n ever lets an ything ,

escape which comes within his Sharp bite ; and as there

must be a limit to the quantity which any animal can
contain w hen he cannot possibly eat an y more he in
, ,

various spots well marked by himsel f buries the remain

, ,

der f o r the morrow s meal Wi t h only his toes touching

’
.

the earth , he prowls about wi t h noiseless steps ; his

nose and ears alive to the f aintest sound o r odour ; his
cat like eyes wi t h linear pupil gleaming like coals o f
-
, ,

fire ; and he suddenly springs upon his victims bef ore

they are aware o f his vicinity H is bus hy tail is the .

envied trophy o f the huntsman , who calls it a brush .

His colours are w hite black red , yello w bluish o r

, , , ,

variegated and in cold climates he al w ays turns white

in winter The father takes no care o f his children ; but
.

the mother per f orms her duty with the most exemplary
devotion f o r f our months .

T he f o x is generally a solitary , suspicious a nimal ;

 AN EC D OTE S O F ANI M AL S .

even when a s much tamed as he can be , he seem s

to think he is going to be decei ved and ill trea t ed -
.

Perhaps he ju d ges o f others by himsel f He lives .

very o ften in a burrow calle d an ear th belonging t o ,

s omebody else fo r he has very lax morals concerning

,

property and a great idea that right is estab lished

,

by possessio n I f he should be caught and put in

.

confinemen t he is very f erociou s, o r dies o f ennui ;

,

b ut he is much too c o y and clever to be e asily en

trapped His cry is a sort o f yelp which however
.
, , ,

he is much too cau t ious to utte r when he is earning

his living .

Occasionally the f ox has been caught in a trap , and

there is the history o f o n e who escaped and le f t o n e o f
his f ore f eet behind him A f ter a lapse o f time his
-
.

tr ail was to be seen in various places and was o f course

,

easily recognised This conti n ued f o r two years when

.
,

he w as chased by Mr St John and easily killed A h

. . .

other who was unearthed b y the dogs , instead o f ru n

n ing a f ter the usual f ashion o f these beasts turned ,

suddenly u pon each dog that came up and j umped over

him This could not last long , although it puz zled t he
.

dogs v ery much ; he w as taken an d then only was the

,

reason f or his m an oeuvre discovere d by find ing that he

had only three f eet .

Mr St John relates the f ollowing history o f the

. .

cunnin g o f a f o x ‘
Just a fter it was d aylight I saw
a large f o x come very quietly along the edge o f the
plantation He looked with great care o v er the tur f
.

wall into the field and seemed to long very much t o get
,

hold o f some o f the hares that were f eeding in it b u t ,

apparently knew that he had no chance o f catching o n e

by dint o f running A f ter considering a short time he
.
,
 AN E C D O TE S O F AN I M AL S .

they leaped the wall than he spr ang back again ove r ,

it a nd by this cunning device gave th em the slip an d

, ,

g o t sa f e away f rom his pursuers ’

.

A n A merican gen tleman o f Pit tsfleld , accompanied

by two blo odhounds f ound a f o x and pursued him f o r ,

nearly two hours when suddenly the dogs appeared at

,

f ault Their master came up to them near a large log

.

o f wood lying o n the ground and f elt m uch surpri s e ,

at their making a circuit o f a f ew roods without any

obj ect in vie w every trace o f the f o x seemed to have
been lost While the dogs stil l kept yelping On looking
,
.

about him the gentleman saw the f o x stretched upon the

,

log apparently li feless He made several u nsu ccess f u l

, .

e ff orts to dir ect the attention o f the dogs towards the

place and at length he approached so near as to see
,

the animal breathe E ve n then Reynar d did not S how

.

any alarm but his pursuer aimed a blow at him wi t h

the branch o f a tree upon which he leaped f rom hi s ,

lurki n g pl ace and was taken

-
,
.

One o f t he drollest incidents in f o x hunting was that -

at N ewry in Irel and when being pursued very hotly

, , , ,

the f o x leaped o n to t he top o f a turf stack where he -

,

laid himsel f down quite flat A t last o n e o f the hounds .

perceived him and he was obliged again to run A fter

,
.

this he climbed up a stone wall whence he sprang o n to ,

the roo f o f a cabin near by and mounting to t he chimney ,

t O p f rom thence inspected his enemies

,
A n old hound, .

however f ollo w ed him and was o n the point O f seizing

, ,

him when Reynard dropped down the chimney into the

,

lap o f an old woman who was smoking her pipe at the ,

c orner The hound did not dare to f ollow but the

.
,

sportsmen came up and enterin g the cabin f ound it in, ,

p ossession o f t he f ox the frightened woman and chi l

 147
'

Fox ns .

dren huddled into one corner and the fo x ( who was ,

taken alive ) grinning at them .

In all ages o f f able the fox has been the principal

hero The most ancient f ables o n record , those o f
.

L okman the A rabi an f rom whom jE s0 p took m ost o f

,

his gives him a very conspicuou s place among the cra f ty

,

courtiers o f the lion T he chie f phrase o f which the

.

wily fl att erer makes use as he bo w s wi t h a ff ected

,

humility to his sovereign is Oh F ather o f Beauty ,

, ,
‘
,
’

by which indirect compliment he generally gains his

wishes The early German writers have also cho sen
.

him as the principal hero o f various histories ; and the

’
poem o f Reynard the F ox will live as long as pr inters
‘

and illustrators exercise their art and talent .

The A rctic F ox is smaller t han ours even the sole s

of his f eet are covered with f u r like those o f the hare
, ,

an d he is al t ogether more thickly clothed He has .

o ften been supposed to be pied in colour , but this is

o nly in process o f turning to the hue o f winter He is .

in these climates a much more gregarious animal and ,

several f amilies live in the same ear th Bishop Heber .

mentions o n e in Indi a, which feeds chiefly o n field mice -

and white ants ; and this probably is the species o f

w hich the natives s ay tha t he can turn n ine times
wi thin the space o f his own length He is abo u t hal f .

the siz e o f the E uropean .

Much valuable fu r is derived both from E uropean

and A merican f oxes w here there is a great variety o f
,

colour not d epen d ing o n temperature

, .

In Ireland there is a smal l animal called a f o x which

does not eat flesh but contents itself with vegetable ,
,

and is so per fectly h armless th at it roams about 1m

molested e v en by dogs .
 AN EC D OTE S O F AN I M AL S .

H Y /E NA S .

T H E RE cannot be a much more uninterestin g animal

than the h ard hided , knock kneed Hy aena which is pre
- -
,

eminently A f rican although he is f ound in the E ast ;

, ,

having according to the O pinion o f some naturalists

, ,

migrated thither in the wake o f carav ans He has a .

f erocious ill natured look yet the first impression made

,
-
,

by his appearance can only be expressed by the word

’
sneaking He is o f a tawny colour , more or less dusky
.

till it approaches black , and is generally spotted o r

striped He has a mane continued all along the spine ;
.

his ears are long and erect ; he is digitigrade ; his claws

are strong and not retractile he possesses a glan d
which sends f orth a disagreeable O dour ; and his ey es
have a pupi l which is contracted at the t o p an d round
at the bottom , which gives them a sin gular expression .

The great peculi arity o f f orm in the hy aena is t he

disproportionate smallness about his hind quarters ; b e
sides which the v ertebr ae o f his neck very o f ten become
st iffened , in consequence o f the s train put upon them by

the power f ul muscle s o f that part and o f the j aws S o .

firm is the hold which they take that nothing will make ,

the m leav e what they have once seized They devour .

bones as well as muscles rej ecting only hoo f s horns ,

, ,

an d skull ; and this power must have existed in f ormer

ages f o r in the caves which they inhabite d and in t o

, ,

which they dragged their prey their f ossil remains are ,

f ound wi th those o f gigantic mastodons etc on which ,

.
,

their teeth had made impression This stiff ness Of the .

neck has caused many to imagin e that it was composed

o f o n e j oint only and le d the A rabs to m ake hy a
,
ena s

the symbols o f obstinacy .

1C U
'
ANE C D OTES O F ANI M AL S .

customed to pass the walls o f the f ort to f etch water

a fter sunset at the dinner hour o f this o ffi cer and
,
-
,

made so much noise that they disturbed him so he ,

ordered them to take another path The next evening .

t he noise recurred and the same order was repeate d the

,

next morning o n which the women protested they had

gone quite another way On the third evening whe n
.
,

the laughing and talking were apparently r ec o mmen c

ing a serje an t sallied f orth to bring the delinquents
,

into the f ort ; but to his surprise there were only

, ,

three hy aenas to b e seen whose imi t ation o f hum an ,

sounds had deceived all t hose who had heard them o n

’
the preceding occasions .

It was l ong supposed that the hy aena w a s incapable

o f attachment ; but Mr B urchell brought o n e w ith
.

him f rom S outh A frica to this country w hich loved ,

his master , and was j ealous o f other animals Colone l .

Sykes procured o n e in India who f ollowed him ab out

like a dog played with the sailors o n b oard ship with
,

the greatest goo d humour and n ever f orgot his first ,

owner He was placed in the Z oological G ardens

.
,

where although Colonel Sykes paid him rare v isits he

, . ,

al w ays recognised him amids t the crowd One day .

when the hy aena was asleep this gentleman suddenly ,

called him by his name The p oor beast as suddenly

.

started to his legs looked up rubbed his head against

, ,

t he bars o f his cage bounded abou t uttering shor t

,

cries looked sorrow f ul at Colonel Sykes when he went

,

away and repeated these mani festations o f j oy when

,

he returne d .

The Spotted H y mn a has been called the H y aen a

'

C apen s zs f rom the belie f that it only inhabited So u t h

A frica ; but it is f ound as frequently in G uinea as the
striped v ariety and has j ust th e same propensities
, .

N ear the Cape ho w ever it does more mischie f because

, , ,

colonis t s have settled themselves there and their f arms ,

a ff ord more valuable prey They are said to pre fer .

making an attack on strong vigorous an imals b ec au se

'

, ,

they r u n away and the hy aenas can f ollow the m ; b u t

,

the weaker animals turn round an d f ace their enemy ,

which al w ays intimidates them .

Mr Steedman a South A f rican traveller gives an

.
, ,

u nmitigated bad character to the spotted hy a enas an d ,

s ays that such is their pre ference f o r human flesh tha t ,

they will even pass by t he cattle and seize o n children

as o ld as eigh t years .

The S t r aan d Wol f o f th e D u tch or the Villo se ,

Hy aena o f D r A ndre w Smith who has done so muc h

.
,

fo r the natural history o f Southern A frica , is less com

mon than the other species and o f t en f eeds o n the shore
, ,

f rom its pre f erence f o r t hose dead animals which are

cast up by the sea I f however it be pressed by
.
, ,

hunger it commits j ust as many depredations as t he

,

o thers . It is extremely cunning conceals itsel f by day ,

among the mountains o r thick patches o f f orest , and

preys at a great di stance f ro m its habitation .

Mr Pringle confirms Mr Steedman s accounts o f the

. .
’

terrible havoc o ccasioned by the hy aenas o f South

A f rica and says that in the district o f S omerset they
,

destroyed s e v enty f oals in one year belonging to th e

f armers He however believes t hat they never attack
.
, ,

human beings by n ight o r by day, and that they come

in packs and play t he part o f f our f ooted vultures , even -

devouring their o w n kindred if they should chance t o

be killed ; but no o ther beasts o f prey will eat the m,
f rom the o ff ensive rankness o f their flesh .
 AN EC D OTE S O F AN I M AL S .

The den o f a spotted hy een a that was kept in the

Tower about twenty years ago , required some repair .

The carpenter nailed a thick oaken pl ank u pon the

floor , about seven f eet long , putting at least a doz en
nails into it each longer than his middle finger A t
, .

o n e end o f this piece o f wood there was a small pr ojec

t ion , and not having a proper chisel with him by which

he might remove it the man returne d to his shO p t o
,

f etch o n e
. While he was absent some persons came
to see the animals a nd the hy aena was let down by the
,

keeper into the part o f the den in which t he carpen t er

had been at work D irectly the beast saw the proj ect
.

ing piece o f wood b e seiz ed it with his teeth tore the ,

plank up and drew o u t every nail with t he utmost

,

c ase ; which a ction will give a goo d idea o f the museu

lar strength O f this creature .

It is impossible to say why there should be such con

flic t in g accounts o f the hy aena given by those whose
veracity is u ndoubted N o o n e dreads them o n t he
.

G old Coast but they seem t o be the terror o f all the

,

inhabitan ts at and to the north o f the Cape also in ,

A byssinia w here Bruce called the m the plagues o f

,
‘

their lives and we can scarcely f orbear a smile when

we read that one o f them sto od by his bed side with a -
,

purloined bunch o f candles in his mouth , having f ound

his way to hi m even through t he streets o f G ondar .

THE C A T TRIB E —L ION S .

I M U ST be allowed t o give a somewhat more lengthened

description than I have besto w ed o n other animals t o
the F elid ae o r Cat tribe , because the same charac t ers
,
154 AN E C D OTES or ANI M AL S .

they never set the heel to the groun d their f ootstep s ,

are noiseless unless they choose them to be other w ise

, .

It is with their formidable claws and still more f o rmid ,

able teeth that they tear their prey to pieces

, .

N one o f the f eline tribe will eat vegetables unles s

domesticated an d even then but rarely ; and in their
,

wil d state unle s s pressed by hunger they will only eat

, ,

w hat they themselves have killed They have an ah .

ho rr en c e o f anythi n g which is d ecomposed The f u r .

,

with the exception o f the lion s mane an d that o f the ’

c at is short close and so ft capable when dressed o f

, , , ,

receiving a high polish Many are striped and spotte d .

with black and the larger kinds are generally O f a

,

warm f ulvous colour The domestic cat is however

,
.
, ,

O ften white black , grey and brindled ; some leopards

, ,

ar e black ; and there is a small beauti f ul wild cat marked ,

like the p anther A ll are very w ary and cunning and

.
,

seldom f ace their f ees They lie in ambush fo r them .

,

and suddenly spring upon them seeming to take a ,

pleasure in prolongin g the ir tormen t s They are very .

sensible to caresses and a ffection but a blow o r angry ,

wor d rouses them to f ury They are certainly capri .

cions and sometimes , wi t hout any apparent cause ,

,

burst into fits o f ill temper ; there f ore are by no means

-

t o be trusted even in the midst o f love and d ocility

,
.

The backward carriage o f his head his majestic stride , ,

and the deliberate manner in w hich he looks at his

enemy have cau sed the L ion to be called the king o f
,

b easts He is only occasionally seen in the f orests and

.
,

inhabits plai n s where rocks or low j ungle a ff or d him a

,

s helter He ho wever retreats be f ore the advance o f

.
, ,

men and has n o w deserted many o f thos e regions wh ere

,

he was once undi sputed lord o f the co untry The L io n .

 L ION S .

of A merica is altogether diff erent ; there f ore it m ay be ,

said that only Central A sia an d almost a ll A f rica are .

traverse d by him F ormerly the e as tern boundary o f

.

E urope scarcely f ormed a limit to his presence The .

A rabian literature is f ull o f allu ions to him an d the s

,
’

Holy S criptures constantly attest his presence in Syria

during the times in which they were written .

The beauty o f the lion s mane is well known A o

’
.

cording to Mr G ordon Cumming its colour varies wi t h

.
,

age being fulvous and bright when young black when

, ,

the animal is in his f ull strength and grisly with O ld ,

age There has been however a species recently dis

.
, ,

covered in G uzera t which has but little o r no mane it

,

also has shorter limbs and tail the latter having a ,

larger brush at the end It is bold com mits great

.
,

havo c among the cattle and is supposed to have been

,

d riven out o f Cutch by the practice adopted by the

natives o f burning their grass A nail o r prickle at the .

en d o f a lion s tail is o ften f ound but has nothing to do

’

w ith the caudal vertebr ae It is probably a har d ened

.

piece o f skin o r a mass o f agglutinate d hairs in the

, ,

m anner o f horn It comes o ff with only a slight touch

. .

L ions come to their f ull strength at five years , but

live a long time ; f or instance , o n e f rom the G ambit .

was proved to b e sixty three years o f age They sleep

- .

by d ay and f eed by night lap their drink and delight, ,

in coming f orth in the midst O f f urious storm when ,

they add their mighty roars t o those o f the elements .

Seldom does a tempest rage in tropical A f rica but it s

f ear f ul sounds are increased by the din o f wild animals ,

that o f the lion being heard above all others Countless .

are the histories o f his depre dations and numerous ar e ,

the daring and g allan t exploits p er f ormed b y E u rc ipean s

 AN EC D OTE S O F ANI M AL S .

against this noble game The f ollowing is an ab rid g .

ment o f a narrative f rom the pen o f the Marchione s s

o f Hastin gs and publishe d in the M isc ellany of N atu r al
,

H is to ry hersel f being t he heroine o f the chase

,

The field was taken in quest o f three lions supposed ,

to be lurki n g near the tents T he ground was flat and .

ploughed When we came to the edge o f the j ungle

.
,

w e halted a li t tle ; the p eople came round in crowds ,

and in a f ew minutes the trees were covered with men ,

placed there by F raser f o r O bservation When we were .

sent f o r we f ound F raser by the side o f the great canal

, .

He had received intelligence o f both a lion and a tiger ,

and he desired Barton and myself to go down upon an

elephant watch the bed o f the canal an d m ove slowly
, ,

to the south while he advance d in a contrary direction

, .

The rest o f the party were to beat t he j ungle above ,

which was too thick to admit the passage o f an elephant

through it We f ell in with F r aser where the canal
.

was a little wider and n either o f us had been success

,

f u l though we had searched every bush with o u r eyes

,

in p assing along He desired us to wai t till he had

.

m ounted t he bank to look af ter the rest o f the elephants .

He had hardly gone away be f ore a lioness crossed the

narrow neck o f the canal j ust be f ore us and clambered , ,

up the O pposite bank I fired , but missed her and she.

,

ran alo n g the ba n k to the westw ard We turned round .

,

an d had the mo r t ific at io n o f seeing her again go through

the water at which o u r elephant became re fractory

, ,

wheeled about and was so unsteady as to prevent us

,

f rom firing W e f ollowed her up to the thicket put the

.
,
’
elephant s head into it and we heard the lioness growl ,

ing close to us Just as we were expecting her charge

.

a nd had prep ared o u r guns round wheeled the elephant ,

 ANE C D OTES O F A NI M AL S .

upper part o f it where h e amused himsel f by playing

,

with him and then f ell asleep The carpenter f u lly

, .
,

trusting to the vigilance o f the keeper pursued his work , ,

an d when he had finished called to him to inspect wh at

,

he had do n e The man made no ans w er The carpenter

. .

calle d again and again , but to no purpose ; and being

alarmed , went to the upper part o f the den and looked ,

through the railing S eeing the lion and his keeper

.

sleeping side by side he uttered a loud cry , The lio n .

s uddenly awakened , started up look e d f uriously at the,

carpenter an d placing his paw o n t he breast o f his

,

keeper lay down to sleep again The carpenter w as

, .

dreadf ully f rightened and ran o u t telling what he had

,

seen S ome o f the attendants went and opened the

.

door, which the carpenter had secured with several bars ,

and contrived to w ake the keeper , who o n O pening his ,

eyes did not appear to be i n the least f rightened at his

,

sit u ation He took the paw o f the lio n sh o ok it an d

.
, ,

quietly led him down t o the lo w er part o f his residence .

It is f rom Mr Pringle and Mr G ordon C umming

. .

that we derive the most stirring adventures wi t h lions

and I pro fit by the advantage a ff orded me by their
p ages The first was a relation o f mine by marri age ;
.

and I have enjoyed f requent c onversations with him

concerning his travels rendered the more extraordinary
by his lameness w hich proved the energy o f that mind
,

which could thus s u rmount bodily infirmity .

Mr Cumming still lives to tell his o wn tales ; and no

.

o n e can hear o r read his words w ithout seeing that he

h as o n e o f those ardent spirits which loves d anger f o r

the s ake o f d anger an d that his indomitable courage
,

an d hardihood f rom his ea rly ye ars when he killed the

, ,

deer o n his f ather s domains prepared him to be what

’

,
 L ION S . 159

he n o w is the most success ful o f all men in his war f are

,

with wild animals .

In a note to the P o etic al Remain s of Ai r P r in gle I .

,

find the f ollowing remarkable esc ape L uc as Van

B uren usually carried a h u ge elephant gun , as long
and unwieldy as himse lf ; b ut le ft it at home o n e day
when he had most need o f it He w as riding across .

t he open plains near the L ittle F ish river , o n e morn ing

ab out daybreak , w hen observing a lion at a distance ,

he endeavoured t o avoid him by makin g a circuit .

There were thousands o f S pringboks scattered over

the extensive flats ; but f rom the open n ature o f t he
c ountry the lion had probably been unsuccess f ul in his

hunting . L uc as soon perceived th a t he w as not dis

posed to let him pass witho ut f urther parlan ce and that ,

he was rapidly approachin g to the encounter B ein g .

Without his g un , the f armer little disp osed t o cultivate

,

his ac quaintance turned his h orse o ff at right angle

, ,

an d galloped f o r li f e B ut it was t o o late ; the horse

.

was f agged and bore a heavy man upon his back the
,

lion was f re s h f urious with hunger , and came down

,

u pon him like a thunderb olt In a f ew minutes he

.

brought man and horse to the ground L uckily the .

man was n o t hurt and the lion w as too much o ccupie d

,

with the horse to pay any attention to him Hardly .

kno w i n g ho w he escaped he contrived to do s o and

, ,

reached the nearest house His remarks when he r e

.
,

lated his adventure were concerning the audacity o f the

,

lion in attacking a Chris tian man ; but his chie f vexation

was ab o u t the saddle He returned to the spot the
.

n ext day , an d f o und the horse s bones picked clea n

’

lion and saddle having both disappeared L ucas said .

he could excuse the beast f or killin g the horse as he ,

had allowed himsel f to escape ; but the ab straction o i '

16 0 ANE C D OTE S OF AN I M AL S .

the saddle fo r which he added the lion could n o t

, , ,

possibly have any use raised his spleen and called , ,

do w n a shower o f ab use whenever he related the story .

’

’
‘
We had says Mr Pri n gle been to tea with
,
‘
.
,
’
Captain Cameron s f amily t o whom as w e were only , ,

three miles distant, we con sidered ourselves next door

neighbours ; and a s the weather was fine we rode ,

home by moonlight j estin g all the way about w ild

,

beasts and Ca ffres and not at all suspecting that a lion

,

w as do gging us through the bushes all the way home .

‘
About midnight I was awakene d by an unusual
noise in the cat t le f old and looking o u t saw all o u r
-
, ,

horned cattle spring over the high thorn f ence and ,

scamper round the place F ancying that a hyaena .

,

which I had heard howling when I went to bed had ,

alarmed the animals I sallied f orth to have a shot at it

, .

I however could not find any cause f o r the disturb ance

, , ,

and calling a Hottentot to drive b ac k the cattle and

shut them in , I again went to bed The next morning .

Captain Cameron rode o v er t o s ay his her dsman had

discovere d that a large lion had f ollowed us up t ha
valley and then o n f urther inspection we f ound he had
,

visited the f old and carried o ff a sheep He appeared .

to have retreated t o the mountains an d we d id not ,

pursue him .

The lion however w a s not dispo sed to let us o ff so

, ,

easily He returned that nigh t and killed my f avourite

.
,

riding horse a little more than a hundred yards f rom

-
,

my door I then c onsidered it right to take measures

.

f o r de fence and calle d f orth a party f or his pursuit ;

,

the Hottentots sayin g that as he had only eaten a

small part o f the horse he would be in th e vicinity ,
.

Seventeen horsemen mulattoes and Hottentots , an d

,

a number o f stro n g hounds , s oon assemble d .

 ANE C D OTE S OF AN I M AL S .

scratch upon the back a nd a se v ere brui se and we re ,

ne w ed the chase We f ound the enemy standing at bay

.

under a mimosa tree The dogs barked round him .

,

but were a f raid to approach ; for he gro wled fiercely ,

and brandishe d his tail i n a manner that showed that

he meditated mischie f T he Hottentots by takin g a .

circuit reached a precipice above him another party o f ,

us o c cu p ied a p osition on the other side o f the glen so ,

that the lion was between two fires He became con .

fused , we battere d a way at him and he f ell pierced , ,

with many wounds He appeared to be f u ll gro wn , a nd

.

six years o ld measuring eleven f eet f rom the nose to the

tip o f the tail His f ore leg belo w the knee was so
.
-
, ,

thick that I co u ld not span it with both hands ; his

head was almost as large as that o f an ordinary ox .

His flesh which I had the curiosity to taste resembled

, ,

very white coarse beef, and was insipid rather than

,
’
disagreeable .

The ensuing histories are from Mr G ordon Cummin g s .

’

p en . A ‘
bu ff alo was wounded and two hunters in ,

p ursuit o f him were j oined by three lions who also gave ,

chase and ge t ti n g bef ore the gentlemen S prang upon the

, ,

bu ff alo The latter being very large struggled much

.
, , .

The hu n ters fired upon the li ons , and as each ball struck ,

the latter seeme d to think the bloo d which flowed came

’
f rom the b u ff alo s b ones ; consequently two were eas ily
secured b ut the th ird had the sense to walk away
,
.

‘
The oryx sometimes fights the lion and is vic t ori ,

o u s ; but the bodies have been seen lyin g c lose together ,

the lion having been pierced through by the horns o f

the gemsbok and as he could not draw them o u t again
, ,

each died f rom the mortal blow inflicted b y a t least

 L IO N S . 63

‘
Hendr ick a nd Ruyte r lay o n o n e side o f the fi r e
under o n e blanket a nd John S tefolu s o n the other the
,

fire w as very small and the night was pitch dark a nd

,

windy S uddenly the appalling and murderous voice o f

.

an angry bloodthirsty lion burst upon my e ar within

,

a f ew yards o f u s f ollowed by the shrieking o f t he

,

Hottentots A gain and agai n the terrific roar o f attack

.

w as repeated We hear d John and Ruyter shriek , T he

.

lion the lion ! ” Still f or a f ew minutes a ll thought he

was only chasing o n e o f the dogs round the kraal ; b ut
the next instant John S t ef o lu s rushed into the midst o f
us almost speechless with f ear , his eyes bursting f rom
their sockets , and shrieked o u t , The lion 1the lion ! he
“

has go t Hendrick ; he d r agged him away f rom the fire ;

I struck him with the burning brand upon his head but ,

he would not let go his hold Hendrick is dead ! L et.

us take fire and look f or him ! The rest o f my people

rushed about shrieking and yelling as if they were mad
, .

I w as angry with t hem f o r their f olly, and told them if

t hey did n ot stand still and keep quiet , the lion would
have another o f u s ; most like ly there was a tr 0 0 p o f
them The dogs were let loose and the fir e increased
.
, .

’
Hendrick s name was shouted ; but all w as then still .

I told the men he was dead an d h ad e verything bro u ght

,

within the cattle f old , lighted a fire and closed t he

-
,

entrance as well as we could W e sat with o u r guns in

.

o u r hands till daylight expecting a lion every moment

, .

The dogs f ought o n e another then got scent o f the li on

, ,

and barked at him till day broke , he now and the n

driving them back ; and he lay all the night within f orty
yards o f the p arty ha v ing dr agged the man into a li t tle
,

hollow a t the b ack o f the bush He h a d grappled him .

w ith his claws , and bitten him in the b reast and should er ,
 ANE C D OT E S O F A N I M AL S .

all the while f eeling f o r his neck a nd when he got hol d ,

o f that dragged him into the shade

, The p oor man .

”
cried , Help me help me O G od ! Men help me !
“
, , ,

Then all was still except that his comrades heard the
,

cracking o f his b ones T he beast d i d not heed t he

.

beating about the head with the bur n ing wood The .

lion dragged the remains o f him a w ay the next morning ,

’
b ut in the hollo w was f ound o n e o f poor Hendrick s
legs the shoe still o n the f oot w ith f ragments o f his
, ,

coa t T he next day came the li on s turn ; f o r the party,

.
’

by killing him avenged the dea t h o f poor Hendrick

, .
’

It has o ften been said that the human voice has great
p ower over the fierces t animals ; and I do not think
a stronger proo f o f it can be met with than in t his
adventure o f Mr G ordon Cumming s
. I fired at the ’

nearest lioness ha v ing only o n e shot in my rifle The

,
.

b all told badly The lioness at which I had fi r ed wheeled

.

right roun d and came o n lashing her t a il showing he r

, ,

teeth and making that horrid murderous , deep growl

, ,

which an angry lion gen erally utters Her comrade .

hastily retreated The instant the lioness came o n I

.

sto od up to my full height holding my rifle and my , ,

arms e x tended high above my head This checked her .

in her course ; but o n looking round and missing her

comrade , an d observing Ruyter slowly adv ancing , she
w as still more exasperated , and f ancying that she was
near bein g surrounded , she made another f orward
movement growling terribly This was a moment o f
, .

great dan ger I f elt that my only chance o f sa fety was

.

extreme s t eadiness ; so , stan d ing motionless as a rock ,

w ith my eyes firmly fixed upon her , I called in a clear ,

commanding v oice Holloa old girl what s the hurry ?

, ,
’

take it ea sy 1 Hollo a , holloa ' She once more halte d

16 6 A x s c n or n s o r AN I M A L S .

The li on then lef t the man and rushed o n them, when

they again checked his attack by tur ning the horses
r ound He next crept u nder the belly o f a mare and
.
,

seized her by the f ore legs but with a power f ul kick

-
,

she m ade him let go his hold In revenge and b y o n e .

,

strok e O f his p aw he tore O pen the body o f the mare

, ,

and retir ed : A f ter this he tried to get round the horses

O the men ; but when o n the point o f making a sprin g ,

he was happily ki lled by a musket b all , the b all pene

t r at in g behind the ear
’
.

It is singular says Mr S parr man in his Af r zc an

’ ’
‘
,
.

T r avels ‘
that the lion is reported f requen t ly although
, ,

provoked to content hi mself with sometimes only woun d

,

ing the human species or at least to wait some time ,

bef ore he gives t he f atal blow to the unhappy victim h e

has go t under him A f armer had the mis f ortune to
.
’

s ee a lion seize two o f his oxen at the v ery instant he

had taken them o u t o f the waggo n but they f ell dow n ,

dead , ha ving had their backs broken A f at her an d .

two sons were in se arc h o f a lion when he rushed upon ,

them , threw o n e O f them under his f eet ; but he received

no grea t hurt , f o r the two others shot him dead o n the
S pot A nother f armer had lain some time under a lion
.
,

received several bruises f rom the beast and was a good ,

deal bitten by him in o n e arm ; b u t the noble ani mal as

it were gave him his lif e N evertheless , others say that.

if a lion once tastes human blood he f o r ever a f ter ,

thirs t s f o r it S O stro n g is this opinion in Indi a that

.
,

an O ffi cer who was asleep with his lef t hand o u t o f bed ,

was awoke by his pet lion lickin g him O f course the .

rough tongue brought blood , and he tried to withdraw

his hand The lion gave a slight growl up on which
.
,

the Officer took a loaded pistol f rom under his pillow

 L IO N S . l 67

a nd shot him dead , feeling convinced if he escaped then ,

he should never again be saf e .

I might multiply my stories o f destruction an d escape s

till they alone would f orm a volume b ut I would rather ,

give a few instances o f the gra t itu de o f this m agnificent

creature ‘
One day relates Mr H ope the company
.
‘
,
’
.
,

attended the D uchess o f Hamilton to see her lion f ed ;

and w hi le they were teazing and provoking him , the
porter came and said that a sergeant with some recruits
at the gate begged to see the lion Her G race aff orded .

permi ssion The lion was growlin g over his prey T he

. .

s ergeant advanced to the cage called N ero N ero

“
, , , ,

don t yo u know me 1
’
? and the animal instantly raised his
head rose le f t his f ood and wagging his tail went t e
, , ,

the bars O f his cage The man patted him an d the n

.
,

said it was three years since they had seen each other ,

that he had taken charge o f the lion f rom G i b raltar ,

and he was glad to see the poo r beast show so much

gratitude The lion indeed seemed to be per fectly
.
, ,

please d went to and f r o rubbing himsel f against the

, ,

place where his O ld friend sto od and li cked the ser ,

g ea n t s hand
’
as he held it o u t to him .
’

A lion which f o r its extreme beauty was to be sent

,

t o Pari s from Senegal f ell sick be f ore the departure o f

,

the v essel , and was let loose to die O n an open space o f

ground A traveller there as he returned home f rom a
.
,

hunting excursion f o und him in a very exhausted state

, ,

an d compassionately poured a quantity O f milk down

his throat Thus re freshed the poor beast r ec overed
.
, .

F rom that time he became so tame and was so attached ,

t o his bene factor that he a f terwards ate f rom his hand

,

and f ollowed him like a d o g, with only a string tied

r ound his neck .
 ANE C D OT E S O F AN I M AL S .

M F elix o n e O f the keepers O f the animals O f t he

.
,

menagerie in Paris became so ill that another person

,

was ob liged to per f orm his duty A male lion whom .

,

with a female he himsel f had brought to the place

, ,

r emained co n stantly at o n e end o f his cage and re f used ,

to eat anything given him by the stranger at whom he ,

O ften roared He even disliked the compan y o f the

.

f emale and p aid n o attention to her

,
The animal was .

supposed t o be ill and yet no o n e dared to approach

,

him A t length M F elix recovered and intendin g to

. .
,

surpris e the lion showed his f ace between the bars

, .

In a moment the beast made a bound leaped against ,

the bars caressed him with his pa w s licke d his f ace

, , ,

and trembled with pleasure The f emale al so ran to .

him but the lion drove her back as if she were not to
, ,

snatch any o f the f avours f rom F elix and he w as about ,

to quarrel with her The keeper then entered the cage

.

and caressed them by turns an d a fter that O ften went ,

to them a nd had c omplete control over them T hey

, .

would O bey all his commands , and all their recompense

was t o lick his hands .

A curious circumstance took place a t N ew Orleans

in the year 1832 when a bear was let down into the
,

cage o f an Old A frican lio n , supposing it would be torn

to pieces Many people were assembled to see the
.

barbarous exhibition The bear placed himsel f in a .

fighting p osture , and flew at the lion ; but to the great ,

disapp ointment O f all present the lion placed his paw ,

u pon the bear s head as if to express his pity , and tried

’

to make f riends with him He took the bear under his .

protection , su ff ered no o n e to approach close to t he

cage and did n o t sleep till he was exhau sted so closely
, ,

( li d he wat c h over his new f riend He su ff ered t he .

 ANE C D OT E S O F AN I M AL S .

and never had given any signs O f f erocity She there f ore .

a ff ords a nother example that it is not saf e to trust these

animals O f course the poor h orse was dr ead f ully torn,
.

and the O xpressions o f his agony were most a ffecting .

The lioness however , had missed the vital parts

,
.

The Pum a o r C o u agar O f N orth and S outh A m erica

is generally called a lion but he has no mane o r t u f ted
,

tail and when young his pale f aw n coat is striped with

,

blackish brown T hese marks however d i sappear with

.
, ,

age He is the largest o f the f eline tribe o n that co n

.

t inen t and is v ery destructive to smaller animals

,
He .

rarely attacks man and o n some occasions evinces as

,

much courage as the true lion ; and a curious obser v a

tion h as been made by travellers that he becomes less ,

bold as he approaches to the north One given to .

Pro fessor J amieso n O f E dinburgh seeme d to delight in

playing with a tub o f water He also played w i t h dogs
.

and monkeys without the slightest interruption to their

go o d understandin g ; b ut if a goat o r a f owl came in
sight t hey were snapped u p immediately He made
, .

his escape o n e night in L ondon an d o ff ered no resist ,

ance when caught by a watchman He is hunted o n .

the Pampas by dogs and the Indians secure him with

,

the bolas o r the lasso He climbs trees w ith great

.

f acility His skin makes excellent gloves and many

.
,

persons c onsider his flesh dainty f oo d .

Mr W ate rt on in o n e o f his essays makes some

.
, ,

remarks and relates a story which ought to be in serted

in every book which treats o f f eline animals Theref ore .
,

and although many others have quoted them I do not ,

apologiz e f o r inserting an abridgment O f them here .

He says all animals o f the dog tribe must be combated

with might and main , and with unceasing exertion , in
 L IONS . 17 1

their att a cks up on man ; f o r f rom the moment they

obtain the mastery , they worry and tear their victi m
as long as li fe remains in it On the contr ary , animal s
.

o f the cat tribe having once o v ercome their prey cease

, ,

f o r a time to inflict f u rther inj ury upon it T hus , .

d ur ing the momentous intervals f rom the stroke which

h as laid a man beneath a lion to the time when a lion
shall begin to devo u r him the man may have it in his
,

power to rise again either by his o wn exertions o r by

, ,

t he f ortunate intervention o f an armed f riend B ut .

then all depends u pon quiet o n the part o f the man until ,

he plunges his dagger into the heart o f the animal ; f o r

if he tries to resist , he is sure to f eel the f orce o f his
adversary s claws and teeth w i th redo ubled vengeance
’
.

Many years ago Colonel D u ff in India was laid low

, , ,

by the stroke o f a Bengal tiger On coming to him .

sel f he f o un d the animal standing O ver him R ec o l

, .

leeting that he had his d irk by his side he drew it o u t ,

o f t he case in the most cautious manner p ossible and ,

by o n e hap py thrust quite through the hear t he laid

t he tiger dead at his side .

The particular instance however to which Mr, , .

W aterton alludes and which was t old him by the par

,

t ies themselves I n o w briefly give

,
The weather was .

intolerably sultry A ft er vainly spending a consider

.

able time in creeping through the grass and bushes ,

w i t h the hope o f discover ing the place o f the lion s

’

retreat they (the party ) concluded that he had passed

,

qui t e through the jungle and gone o ff in an opposite

d irection . Resolved not to let their game escape, L ieu
tenants D elamain a nd L ang returned to the elephant,
an d immediately proceeded round the j ungle expecting ,

t o dis c o ver the route which they c o nje c tur ed the li o n

 AN EC D OT E S O F A NI M AL S .

had taken Captain Woodhouse however remained

.
, ,

in the thicket a nd as he could discern the print o f the

,

animal s f oot o n the ground he b oldly resolved to

’
,

follow up the track at all hazards The In d ian game .

fin d er who continued with his commander at first espied

, ,

the li on in the covert and pointed him o u t to the Cap

,

tain who fired , but un f ortunately missed his mark

, .

There was now no alternative le f t but to retreat and

load his rifl e Having retired to a di stance he was
.
,

j oined by L ieutenant D elamain who had dismounted ,

f rom his eleph an t o n hearing the report O f the gun .

Thi s unexpected meeting increased the C aptain s hopes ’

o f ultimate success He p ointed o u t to the Lieutenant

.

the place where he would probably find the lion , and

s ai d he would be up with him in a moment o r two .

L ieutenant D elamain o n going eight o r ten pace s

,

down go t a sight o f the lion and discharged his rifle

,

at him This ir ritated the mighty king and he rushed

.
,

to w ards hi m Captain W oodhouse now f ound himsel f

.

placed in an awkward situation He was aw are that if .

he retraced his steps in order to put himsel f in a better

position f o r attack , he would j ust get to the point to
w hich the lion was making ; wheref ore he i n stantly re
‘

solved to stand still in the hope t hat t he lion would pass

,

by at a distance O f f our yards o r so without perceiving ,

him as the intervening cover was thick and strong In

,
.

this however he was deceived ; f o r the enraged lion saw

, ,

him as he passed , and flew at him with a dread f ul roar .

In an instant as though it had been done by a strok e

,

O f li ghtni ng the rifle was broken and thrown o u t O f the

,
’
Captain s hand his le f t leg at the same moment bein g
,

seized by the claws and his right arm by the teeth o f

, ,

his desper a te a ntagonist L it u ten an t D elamain ran u p

.
 ANE C D OT E S O F AN I M AL S .

b easts had al ways been conspic uo us f rom a d ist an c e,

o f about a dozen yards fired at the lion over the per

so n o f the prostrate warrior The lion merely quivere d

.
,

his head dropped upon the ground and in an instant ,

he lay de a d o n his side close to hi s intended victim

, .

T IGERS .

T I I E T igeris exclusively a n A siatic a nimal, and his

ran ge extends not only over the more southern part o f
that continent but to the larger islands o f the A rchi
,

pel ago where he is p articularly destructi v e He is

,
.

as tall as the lion but not qui te so po w er f ul He is ,

,
.

however more agile m ore grace f ul , and more insidious

, ,
.

He crouches and mostly springs in the same manner as

the lion and other f eline ani mals ; he is more f erocious ,

and will even fight wi th the lion He seems to delight

.

i n blood itsel f ; f or he will kill sever al victims , suck

their blood , an d lea v e their carcases to be devoured at
another Opportunity .

The colour o f the tiger i s a b right or ange tawn y,

white underneath and broad black stripes o n t he back ,
,

sides , and tail His head is rounder than that o f the

.

lion and he takes the most enormous leaps He is to

, .

be t amed to a certain extent but never tr usted He

,
.

prowls both night and day and in some places the d e

,

vastation he has caused is terrific N othing can exceed

.

the tragic tales which are told o f him in the countrie s

where he exists in numbers ; and in one p art of India
it is said that at le ast three hundr e d lives were taken
e very year with in a district containing seven v illages ,

i n dependent o f an enormous number o f sheep , goat s ,

 TI G ER S . 17 5

an d cattle Ho r ses will not stand in his presen c e with

.

any steadiness ; and the elephant is restless when in

his vicinity This sagacious animal o f ten manages to
.

shake him O ff and if he have taken hold o f his t runk ,

he tramples o n him with his f ore feet , and so destroys -

hi m . I f he cannot di slodge him f rom his body he lies ,

down upon him and attempts to kill him by rolli ng his

,

p onderous weight upon him Seldom however , is the .

,

tiger the aggressor unless he be driven to it by hu n ger

,

o r m addened by pain and desp ai r , and then he struggles

till he dies He hides himsel f with such caution and

.

skill that travellers are laid hold o f without being

,

aware o f his vicinity The bride has been snatche d

.

f rom her camel the S portsman from his elephant, and

,

the child f rom it s mother There is a tradition in .

India, however that when tigers have f ed o n human

,

flesh they be c ome mangy .

Tigers are mu ch more easily caught in traps than

lions ; and those most used are m ade so as t o f all upon
t hem when they seiz e t he bait In S umatra the n atives.

poison the carcases which are le f t fo r them , o r they

fasten these baits t o a stake o r tree , and place a vessel
filled with arsenic and water near by o f whi ch the tiger ,

invariably drinks a f ter making a f ull meal

,
.

A tiger is e asily startled by a sudden noise as the ,

well kno w n story o f M rs D ay and her umbrella will

- .

prove ; b ut I have a nother and more recent instan c e o f

this which o c curred to my brother He was o n e evening
,
.

o n his return to his o w n house f rom that O f a brother

O fficer with whom he had been dining , and he was met

,

by his servants who entreated O f him to make haste

,

home f o r there was a tiger prowling round ; a nd in

,

f act a j ackal was close to him who so O ften acco mpanies

,
17 6 ANE C D OT E S OF A N I M AL S .

the tige r when seeking his prey My brother had been .

two o r three years in In d i a and yet had never seen o n e

,

o f these animals ; so he told his men they might return ,

but he should stay f or he much wished to see a tiger

, .

They in vain tried to dissuade him ; but f ancying the

beast was close by they all r an a w ay and lef t him t o his
, ,

f ate . He s at down quietly by the bank o f his garden ,

an d had not been there long when the tiger actually

appeared .He stopped looked very gr and and seemed

, ,

doubt f ul whether he should make an attack o n the

motionless person be f ore him ; and there never was a
more beauti f ul animal than he appeared to be He .

uttered a sort o f growl , and crouched down as the cat ,

o ften does when tormenti n g a mouse and my brother

almost gave himsel f up f o r lost He f ancied that he had
.

been hidden and that the tiger c ould not perceive him
,

as he passed but he took O ff his grenadier cap which ,

was large and covered with bear s s kin and putting it

,
’

be f ore his f ace roared in it as loudly as he could The

, .

noise and the action s o surprised the tiger that he ,

turned round and leaped into the neighbouring thicket .

My brother hastened away and met his servants , who ,

,

now the dan ger was e ver were coming to protect their
,

master wi th drums and torches .

The tiger has been kno w n to snatch without springing,

o f which the f ollo w ing ane cdote told me by a f riend , is ,

a confirmation He was going up o n e o f the ri vers in

.

A ssam at the time when o u r troops took p ossession o f

,

t hat country , in a covered boat , and his principal servant

re t ired o n to the roo f O f the covering to smoke at his ,

ease The river was narrow the banks very high and
.
, ,

they were going on at a leisurely pace , when my f riend

heard a slight sc u file over his head , then a scream ,
 ANE C D OTES O F AN I M AL S .

various s ourc es and some O f the narrators we r e actors

,

in the scenes described —A tiger had sprung upon the

shoulder o f L ieutenant C o ln et t s elephant who in this
’

si t uation fired at him and he f ell Conceivin g him to

, .

be disabled the L ieutenant descended f rom the elephant

,

f o r the p urpose o f despatching him with his pi stol ; but

in alighting he came in contact with the tiger who had ,

only crouched f or a second spring and who catching , ,

hold O f him by the thigh , dragged him some distance

along the ground Having s ucceeded in drawing o n e
.

o f a brace o f pistols f rom his belt L ieutenant Colnett ,

fired and lo dge d a ball in the b ody O f the tiger when

, ,

the beast became enraged shook him violently without

,

letting go his hold , an d made O ff towards the thickest

part o f the j ungle with his prey In the struggle to .

disengage himsel f f rom the clutches o f the animal the ,

L ieutenant caught hold o f the tiger by both his ears ,

and succeeded a fter some time in throwing the beast

o n his side when he availed himsel f O f his momentary
,

release to draw f orth the remaining pistol a nd placing ,

the muz zle at the breast O f the tiger shot hi m through ,

the heart He then returned to his elephant which he

.
,

mounted without assistance f eeli n g at the moment little

,

pain f rom his wounds although he received no f ewer

,

than thir ty five from the e ff ects o f which b e long a f ter

-
,

wards continued to su ffer .

A very large royal tiger des c ended from some heights .

A fter he had settled himsel f a p arty advanced and he

, ,

seemed anxious to charge b ut sho w ed great reluctance

,

to quit the spot where he had rested Several balls .

struck him in the flanks and a musket ball having

,

pierced his side obliquely p assed through his liver and

, ,

he d i d n o t rise ag ain His skin measured ten f eet f our

.
 TI G E RS . l 79

inches an d a hal f, and he was ten ye a rs o f age ; f o r he

had ten lobes t o hi s liver and it is by the appearanc e
,

o f the tiger s liver that the natives ascertain the age

’
.

I have quoted the a b ove anecdote not t o prove the ,

’
t ruth o f the circumstance as regards the tiger s liver ,

but as a tradition among t he inha b itants .

The people o f Chittagong were alarme d by the ap

ea r an c e o f a tigress who was first discovered among
p ,

s ome cattle that were grazing at t he mout h O f the river .

On the first alarm t he natives o f the vicinity assemb led

with all spee d and a d vance d against her Irritated b y .

this she Sprang f uriously on t he person nearest to her

, ,

an d wounded him severely The immediate att ack o f

.

the crowd however was success f ul in rescuing the man

, ,

f rom her grasp .On this the tigress finding hersel f ,

hemmed in on all sides and seeing no way o f avoidin g

,

the multitude except b y the river took to the water ,

an d swam about five miles closely purs ued b y the,

natives in their boats until she landed under a tree in

,

a dockyard Here she laid hersel f down apparen t l y

.
,

much f atigued b u t b e f ore the people in the yard could

get the ir firearms ready , she had in a great degree
recovered her strength Several shots w ere fired at her
.
,

and two O f them penetrated her body o n e o f whic h ,

lamed her Rendered d esperate b y th is she advanced

.
,

against her new O ppo n ents and singli n g o u t a E uropean

,

gentleman in the yard who was provided wi t h a cutlass

, ,

she sprang upo n him b e f ore he could make use o f his

weapon knocked him down with her f ore paw seized

,
-
,

his head in her mouth bit o ff a considerable part o f the

,

skin o f his f orehead an d wounded hi m in severa l places

, .

A fter this she sprang upon a n ative f ractured his skull , ,

and otherwise l a cerated him so dread f ully t hat he died

 ANE C D OT E S O F A N I M AL S .

n ext day She then entered a thicket close by , where

.

she was allowed t o remain unmolested On the mor ni ng .

o f the f ollowing day she had got ab out a mile f arther

f rom the water side and near to a Sepoy v illage

,
Here .

she was surrounded by about a thousand natives ,

w hen although she was very lame she sprang f uriously
, ,

o n several o f them , and wounded o n e p oor woman

s o dread f ully as to o ccasion her death A f ortunate .

sh ot however, laid the animal prostrate

, .

There is an acc o unt o f a tame tiger which was

brought f rom China in the Pitt E ast Indi aman who
‘ ’
,

was s o f ar domesticated as t o admi t o f every kind o f

f amiliarity f rom the p eople o n board He seemed to .

be quite harmless and as play f ul as a kitten He fr e .

quently slept with th e sailors in their h ammocks and ,

w ould s u ff er two o r three o f them to rep ose their heads

upon his back , as upon a pillow while he lay stretched
upon the deck In return f o r this he would however
.
, , ,

n o w and then steal their meat Having o n e day carried

.

o ff a piec e o f bee f f rom the carpenter the man f ollowed ,

the animal took it o u t o f his mouth and beat him

, ,

severely f o r the thef t , which puni shment he su ffered

wi t h all the p atience o f a dog He would f requently.

run o u t u pon the b o w sprit climb about like a cat and

, ,

per f orm a number o f tricks with astonishing agili ty .

There was a d o g o n board with whom he o ften played

in th e most amusing manner He was only a month or
.

s ix weeks o ld when he was taken o n board and arrived ,

in E ngland be f ore he had completed a year .

’

The tiger is not as f ond o f his children as the lion is ,

and o ften abandons the f emale while she is rearin g her

young The tigre ss will destroy her O ffspring as the cat
.

does but t he following is an instance o f her a ff ection ,

 ANE C D OT E S O F AN I M AL S .

b lood , f ell in its way Hitherto it had been studiously

.

kep t f rom animal f ood ; but the instant it had dipped

its t o n gu e in blo od some t hing like madness seemed to
‘

have seize d upon the animal A destructive principle .

hi t herto dormant was awakened It darted fiercely and .

wi t h glaring eyes upon its prey tore it to pieces with ,

f ury a nd roaring in the mos t f ear f ul manner , rushed

, ,

at once into the j ungle .

’

I am not sorry to end this account o f the ti ger with

an O ld story which places the fierce beast o f prey in
,

rather a more amiable light than most o f the previous

histories . A tigress o f great beauty f rom Benga l
‘
, ,

being extremely docile o n her passage home f rom C al

o utta ,
was allo wed to run ab out the vessel , and she
became exceedingly f amiliar with the sailors On her .

arrival in t he Thames however her temper became , ,

very irascible and even dangerous She was place d

,
.

in the Tower , where she f o r some time continued to

exhibit a sulky and savage disposition One day t he .

perso n who had charge o f her o n board the s hip visited ,

the To w er , and begged permission o f the keeper to be

allowe d to enter her den to which he at last agreed , ,

though with much re luctance N O sooner did the .

tigress recognise her O ld friend than she f a wned up on ,

him , licked and caressed him , exhibiting the most

extravagant signs o f pleasure ; and when he le ft her ,

she whined and cried the whole day a f terw a rds .

L E OP AR D S , P AN T H E RS ,
E TC .

T II E F ells L eop ar d as and the F ells P ar d u s o f a uth ors ,

represent the L eopard and Panther ; but it has been

 LE OP A R D S , PANTHER S E TC , . 183

impossible to establish any characters which mark the

di ff erence between them Size colour f orm and posi
.
, ,

tion o f spots have been resorted to b u t age and lo cality ,

have set all rules aside ; and there f ore , in treating o f

them I shall use the term indiscriminately Their
,
.

extreme beauty an d their greater docility make them

m ore interesting than the tiger nevertheless they, like
others o f the f eline tribe should not be treated t o o u n
,

reservedly Their intern al anatomy and dentition agree

.

wi t h those o f t he tiger b u t they are O f smaller an d

,

s lighter m ake are na t ives o f the E ast but particularly

, ,

abundant in most parts o f A frica They are exceed .

fugly active and grace f ul ; swim climb trees o r sli d e , ,

along the ground like a snake and are very apt to spr ing
,

upon their victims f rom the branches o f trees Their .

c oat is o f that beauti f ul shade o f tawny which f orms

s o good a contrast with their black r osettes o r spots .

My first personal acquainta n c e wi t h leopards and

panthers was made o n the leeward coast o f A frica ; and
o n e o f the latter brought by Mr Bow d i ch and mysel f .
,

in a living state to this country at first delighted the,

men o f science because in his remarkably beauti f ul

,

c oat they hoped to find characters which would mark

the di ff erence between these t w o animals ; but as we .

pro duced skin a f ter skin they began again to doubt

, ,

an d the problem still remains unsolved My history .

o f the A shanti panther has been so O ften repeated in

various works that I should hesitate to introduce it

,

here had it not more than once been presented t o th e

,

p ublic in a f orm which did not originate with mysel f .

The only other account f rom my o wn pen was supplied

to Mr L o n d o n f o r his M agaz in e of N atu ral H istory , t o
.

which I now make a f ew a dditions .

 ANE C D OT E S O F A N IM AL S .

The panther to which I allude w a s o n e o f two cub s

f ound in o n e o f the f orests o f the kingdom O f A shanti .

They were both taken to the king , and when Mr H at .

chison ( the resident le f t in K umasi by Mr B owdich ).

came to headquarters his Maj esty desired this o n e to

,

be presented to the G overnor He had su ff o cated his

.

brother in a fit o f romping being much the larger o f the

,

two ; but he was extremely docile and good tempered -

,

and was led by a chain only being let loose when eat ing
,

w as going f orward , o n which o ccasions he received his

share B ut he helped himself to a f owl once o r twic e ;
.

and as he al w ays gave it up t o hi s master , he was

o ccasionally employed to secure provisions when t he
n atives surlily re fused a supply He was o n e day sit
.

ting behind Mr Hutchison with his chin o n the latter s

’
.
,

sho ulder , when this gentleman re f reshe d himsel f by

pouri n g some lavender wa t er o n his handkerchie f In .

an instant the panther tore it o u t o f hi s hand as if ,

in a state o f ecstasy , nor ceased to roll over it till t he

cambri c w as in f ragments .

The day a fter his arrival at Cape Coast he was led

into the hall where we were all dining , and he received
o u r salutations with apparent pleasure O n one occa
.

sion he stood o n his hind legs and put his f ore paws o n
- -

the shoulders o f an O fficer , who hastily retreated ; and it

w as amusing to see the u nconquerable d read o f him
w hich a ssailed men who were undaunted where men only
were con c erned We named the p anther S ai a fte r
‘ d
’

the king and he was kept in a small cour t ; his claws

,

and teeth were file d and no live f ood was given to him
, .

A b oy was appointed t o watch him He was per fectly

.

harmless ; and the only violence he evinced was when a

servant p ulled his f oo d f rom him , and he then t o r e a
186 AN EC D OTE S or ANI M AL S .

him , and only tried by caresses to evince his happiness .

He was very f ond o f hiding himself under o n e o f the

so f as in the hall where a rustling noise a protruding
, ,

paw, o r an o ccasional peep from behind the cover alone ,

b etraye d his presence The G overnor was once enter.

tai n ing s ome o fficers f rom E lmina w hen in the midst , ,

o f an animated discussion they both turned p ale and ,

s topped speakin g Their host looked up

. I beg your .

’
pardon said one o f them , but are you aware what
,
‘

S ai said my
’
animal is n o w lying under that so f a
’

uncle come and speak to these gentlemen

,
The pan .
’

t her walked up to them and both darted behind the ,

G overnor nor did they f eel com f ortable when S aI was

‘ '

ordered back to his hiding place I bantered o n e o f -

.

them about his f ears when I met him at dinner and he ,

co nf essed that he had never been more frightened O n e .

’
o f the drollest circumstances attending Sa i s presenc e
’

at the castle occurred to a woman who swept the floor

o f the great hall every day be f ore d inner was laid with ,

a little hand broom called a prah prah She was en

- -
.

gaged in her usual o ccupation without knowing that ,

S aI w as there an d stooping almost o n all f o urs ; when

’ ’

with a sudden impulse o f f u n the panther j umped upon

her back and stood there wagging his tail N atu ra lly
,
.

supposing she was going to be devoured the po or ,

prah prah woman screamed so violently as to bring

-

the other servants w hereupon they being O f the same

, ,

O pinion as hersel f and thinking their turn might come

,

next ran away ; nor was she released till the G overnor
, ,

hearing the noise came to her assistance ,

.

Be fore S ai w as put o n board the vessel in which we

‘

w ere t o sail together we had become the best f ri en d s

,

p os s ible ; and I an d my uncle coaxed him into the cag e

 L EOP A R D S P ANTHERS ETC
, ,
.

made for his accommodation He was put into a canoe

.
,

the men belonging to which were so alarmed when he

moved that they upset the canoe and the p oor animal
, ,

was plunged into the sea W e were watching him f rom

.

a window in the c astle and gave him u p f o r lost ; but

,

some o f the sailors o f the vessel seein g the disaster ,

stepped in to a boat and rescued him He was so su b .

due d by his ducking and the uncom f ortable dampness

,

o f his cage f o r no o n e d ared to O pen it to wipe it o u t

, ,

that he rolled himsel f up in a corner and only a f ter an , ,

interval o f some days w as rouse d b y my voice W hen

, .

I first spoke he raised his head hel d it first o n o n e side

, ,

then o n the other and when I came f ully in v iew j umped

, ,

upon his legs and appeared f rantic with j oy He rolled

, .

himsel f over and o v er howled opened his enormou s

, ,

j aws and see med as if he could tear his c age to pieces

,

in or der to get close to me G radually however his.

, ,

v iolence subside d ; he was a mply caress e d ; and f rom

that time ate everything which was O ffered to him .

Perhaps he had su ffered f rom sea sickness I indulged -

.

him twice a week with some lavender water put into a

cup made o f sti ff paper but never allo w ed him to hav e
,

it when his claws were pushed f orth ; so that he learned

to retract them at my bidding .

While we lay f o r weeks in the river G aboo n he w as ,

never su ff ered to leave his cage because the deck was ,

c onstantly filled with black persons t o whom he always ,

mani fested a decide d aversion I have already men .

t io n ed his rage at seeing a chimpanz ee and monk eys

and only secondary to this was the approach o f pig s,
w hom he seemed to long to devour .

On the voyage to E ngland direct I thought he would ,

have been starved to death ; f o r we were boarded b y

18 5 AN EC D OTE S OF AN I M A L S .

pirates who took almost all o u r provisions a way, o f

,

course in cluding o u r live stock and if it had not been

f o r the numerous parrots in the vessel , S ar must have
’ ’

met with a melancholy death Some died daily a s we .

came into colder climates and he was allowed o n e each

,

day It was j ust enough to keep him f rom starving ;

.

and this sometimes made him seiz e it s o ravenousl y ,

th at he d id not give himsel f time to pluck o ff the

f e athers These in process o f time f ormed a hard su b
.

stance within the intestines which made him very ill , .

He ref used e v en his small portion o f f ood, and I thought

would have died ; b ut I made some pills o f calomel ,

butter and flour, and put them very f ar down his

,

throat while his particular attendant o n e o f the cabin

, ,

b oys hel d his j aws O pen

,
The b oy slept in the cage
.

with him all night ; and the next morni ng I ad min is

t er ed a f urther d ose whi ch e ff ected his cure
,
.

Having a f ter a long absence f rom E ngland no

, ,

accommodation f o r such a n inmate we as speedily as ,

possible sought a home f o r him He was presented t o .

the D uchess o f York who boarded him at E xeter

,

Change t ill she hersel f was going to Oatlands I visited

,
.

him more than once and it was only by stratagem that

,

I could get away without his f ollowing me One morn .

ing the D uchess called and played wi th him when he ,

appeare d to be in perf ect health In the eveni ng when .

,

her coachman went to f etch him he was dead , and his ,

mala d y said to be inflammation o f the lungs .

The panther is considered as a s a cre d animal on the

G old Coasts and the priests demand a fine f o r each one
,

that is killed ; consequen t ly they a nd leopar ds ( if there

,

be a ny diff eren c e ) are n u merous and occasion ally commi t ,

mu c h mischie f They leap o v er high w al ls or stock ade s,

.
190 ANE OD OT E S O F AN I M AL S .

caught him the ensuing night The fine was paid , an d .

the skin was given to me The poor child had a piec e

.

o f her scalp taken o ff a triangular morsel h ad been

,

bitten f rom her shoulder and her throat h ad a gash o n

,

each side o f her windpipe A ll these wounds appeared .

as if they had been cut w ith a kni fe N one o f them .

were mortal but she had not strength t o encou n ter the
,

weakness they e n gendered Her f a t her brought her in .

a canoe to headquarters f or the attendan ce o f an E n glish

surgeon ; but she expired as she was carrie d ashore .

A party o f us had gone to St Mary s near the mou th .

’

o f the river G ambi a ; and in the evening a b right moon

light induce d us to take a walk It w as n o t very pru .

dent ; b u t we star t ed the commandant a Quaker lady ,

,

and mysel f to the outskirts o f the f orest My f emale

, .

comp anion a f t er we had advanced some distance beg an

, ,

to think o f danger and I in mischie f rustled among the

, , ,

branches o f the thicket in order to alarm her still more .

We proceeded as f ar as a spring under a huge B aobab ,

where we sto od f o r some time till the monkeys began ,

to pel t us f rom the tree over o u r heads A slight move .

ment in the bushes also seemed to s ay it was t ime t o

dep art and then expatiating o n o u r o wn f o o lhar d i
,

ness , we went o n and reached home in sa fe ty The

, .

next morning we were in f ormed that an enormou s

leopard had been caught in a trap close to the spring ,

hal f an hour a f ter we had been there an d his f oo t s t eps ,

had traced u pon mine o n the sand We never c ould .

understand , humanly speaking what saved us, unless it ,

w ere the long w hite plumes which waved f rom the hat
o f the commandant These traps are general ly pit f alls
.
-
,

bai t ed too O ften with a li ve kid whose cries entice the ,

b east o f prey .
 L EOP A R D S P ANTHERS ET C
, , . 19 1

The Jaguar is the leopard o f A merica and is also ,

very destructive at times Hunger however is the

.
, ,

prompter ; a nd Baron Humbold t relates a story o f a

native woman whose children used to play daily with
o n e which came f rom the f orest close by She dis .

covered it in consequence o f the cry o f o n e o f the

children who received a scratch in play from their com
,

p anion who was a little t o o r ough Had b e required a

,
.

supper , the wound would probably have been more than

a scratch D A z ar a ho w ever says he is a v ery f ero
.
’

, ,

c io u s animal causing great destruction amo n g horses

,

and asses He is extremely f on d O f eggs and goes t o

.
,

t he shores f requente d by turtles an d digs them out o f ,

the sand .

T wo o f the early settlers in the Western State s o f

A mer i ca a man and his wi f e closed their wo o den hut
, , ,

and went to p ay a visit at a di stance leaving a f reshly ,

killed piece o f venison hanging inside The gable end .

o f this house was not boarded up as high as the ro o f ,

but a large aperture was le f t f o r l ight an d air By .

taking an enormo us leap a hungry j aguar attracted

, ,

by the smell o f the venison had entered the hut an d ,

devoured part o f it He w as disturbed by the return

.

o f the owners and took his d ep arture

,
The venison .

was removed The husband went away the n ight a f ter

.

to a distance and le ft his wi fe alone in the hut She

, .

had not been long in bed be fore she heard the j aguar
leap in at the O pen gable There was no door bet w een
.

her room and that in which he ha d entered and she ,

knew not how to protect hersel f She however screamed .

, ,

as loudly as she could and made all the violent noises

,

she could think o f which served to frighten him away

,

at that time ; b ut she knew he would come again , and

 ANE C D OTE S O F AN I M AL S .

she must b e prepared f o r him She tried to make a

.

large fire b ut the woo d was expended She thought

, .

o f rolling hersel f up in t he bed clothes but these would

-
,

be torn o ff The idea o f getting under the low bed

.

stead sug gested itsel f but she f elt sure a paw woul d b e
,

stre t ched f orth whi c h wo ul d drag her o u t Her hus .

b and had taken all their firearms A t last, as she .

hear d the j aguar thi s time s c rambling up the end O f the

house , she in despair go t into a large store chest , the
lid o f which closed with a spring Sc arcely was she .

w ithin it, and had dragged t he lid down inserting her ,

fingers b etween it and the side o f the chest when the ,

j aguar d iscovered where she w as He smelt round the.

chest, tried to get his head in through the cra ck , but

f ortunately he could not raise the lid He f ound her .

fi n gers and began to lick them ; she f elt them bleed but ,

did n o t dare t o move them f o r f ear she should b e su ffo

c at ed . A t length the j aguar leaped o n to t he lid , and
his weight pressing down the lid , f ractured these
fingers Still she could not move He smelt ro und
. .

again he pulled he leaped on an d O ff till at last get

, , ,

ting tired o f his vain e ff orts he went away The poor

,
.

woman lay there till daybreak and t hen only f eeling

,

sa f e f rom her enemy , she went as f ast as her strength

’
would let her to her n earest neighbour s a distance o f ,

two miles where she procured help f o r her wounded

,

fingers which were long in getting well On his re

,
.

t urn her husband f ound a male and f emale j aguar in the

,

f orest close by with their c u b s and all were destroyed

, , .

A s a proo f that these animals are as soon startled as

the tiger we are told o f an Indian who saw a fier c e
,

looking j aguar standing directly i n his p ath at a dis

19 4 ANE C D OT E S or AN I M AL S .

male are always black , their tail s are b ushy ; they sprin ,3

f uriously upon whoever approaches and utter unearthly ,

cries Mr St John when walking up to his knees in

. . .
,

heather over broken groun d , came suddenly upon a wild

cat She rushed out between his legs every hair Stand
.
,

ing up He cut a goo d sized stick ; and three Skye

.
-

terriers gave chase till she took re fuge in a c orner spit ,

ting and growling On trying to d i slodge her she fl ew

.
,
’
at Mr St J ohn s f ace over the dogs heads ; but he
. .
’

struck her while in the air an d she fell among the d ogs
,

who soon despatched her even tho ugh they say tha t a
,

wild cat has twelve instead o f nine lives I f o n e b e .

taken those in the neighbourhoo d are sure to be also

,

secured as th ey will all in th e manner o f f oxes as

, , ,

semble round the body o f their relative .

D omestic cats o ften run away to the wo ods and su b

si st o n their o w n hunting ; b ut these are not to be
taken f o r the real wild cat The f emale o f the latter is.

the smaller o f the two ; and retires into the fissures o f

rocks , o r takes possession o f some large bir d s nest ’

when she is ab out to ha v e young O nes They are .

f ound all thro u gh G ermany Russia Hungary and the , , ,

north o f A sia where their f u r is much mo re valued

,

than it is here probably o n account o f the length and

,

quality o f the hai r .

O u r house cats are by most naturalists supposed not

to h ave descende d f rom the above wild species Pro .

f es so r T emmin c k ascribes their origin to the N u bian

cat f ound in th a t c ountry by M R ii ppell ; but Mr
, . .

Bell d iffers f rom him .

Cats were numerous in E gypt where they were much ,

prized and honoured with being embalmed In A bys

, .

si n la t hey form part o f a m arriage dowry f or f ear the ,

 C A TS . 19 5

mice shoul d eat up the other portions N evertheles s

.

it will be perhaps more like the tr u th if we give o u r

c ats a n A siatic origin When they run wild Mr St
.
, . .

J ohn says , they are O ften irreclaimable , and do in

credible m ischie f There are instances , ho wever , o f
.

their returning to their homes , bringing game with them .

One known to the above gentleman used every w inter

evening to bring in a wood c ock ; another brough t
-

back rabbits and hares The latter w as constantly

.

caught in traps which accident did n o t cure hi m o f his

,

wanderings ; an d he never struggled but sat quietly ,

till some o n e came and e ffected his release .

A ll cats sleep lightly, raise their back , bristle up their

hair and swell up their tail when angry Those which
, .

have been domesticated are very inquisiti v e concer ni ng

things rather than persons ; smel l and inspect a n ew
piece o f f urniture several times ; are attached to houses ,

and are extremely f ond o f scents especially certain kinds

,

emanating f rom plants They seldom eat t he rats whic h

.

they kill altho ugh they devour mice I f they should

,
.

swallow a shrew which is v ery rare , they almost imme

,

d iat ely reject it . They will sit hour a fter hour watch
ing at the mouth o f a hole ; and a fter seizing their prey ,

bring it to their f avourites in the house t o Sho w their

“

prowess , and stru t about with a great air o f sel f satis -

f action. T hey generally have a great dislike to water ;

but they have been known t o surmount this wh en they
could catch a fish, f o r which species o f f o od they have a
great pre f erence The accusation that they play with
.

o u o n e minute an d scratch y o u the next is too true

y .

The change is n o t an act o f treachery b u t arises f rom

,

excitement .

I know n o t whence it is derived , but f o r c enturies c at s

19 6 ANE CD OT E S or AN I M A L S .

have b een connected with supe r stition and so r c ery T h ey .

have always been regarde d as attendants upon witches ;

and witches themsel v es h a v e been said to borrow their
s hap es when o n their mysterious eX ped it i o n s I was .

once told that L ord Cochrane was accompanied by a

f avourite black cat in a cruise through the northern sea s .

T he weather had been most unpro p itious no day had

p asse d without some untowa r d circumstance ; an d the
s ailors were not slow in attrib uting the whole to the

influence o f the black eat on board This c ame to L ord .

’
Cochrane s ears and knowing that any a ttem p t to rea
,

s o n his men o u t o f s o absurd a notion was per f ectly

useless he o ffered to sac r ifice this obj ect o f his r egard

, ,

and have her thrown overboard T his howe v er , f ar .

,

f rom creating an y satis f action only alarmed the men

,

still more They were sure that the tempests she woul d
.

then raise would b e much worse than any they had yet
encountered ; and they implored his lordship to let her
remain unmolested There was no help and they
.
,

could only hop e if she were n o t a ff ronted , they might

,
’
at the en d o f their time reach E ngland in saf ety .

Black cats were always more especially con n ected wi t h

superstitious f eelings ; and I was once accosted by a
peasant s wi fe who with a phial in her hand to c ontain
’
, ,

it requested I would giv e her a f ew drops O f blood f rom

,

the tail o f my black kitten not only to bring luck t o

,

her hearth but to keep pestilence f rom her doors E v en

,
.

lately a working woman told me not to turn a stray

black cat f rom my house f o r if I did , I should ne v er
,

have any prosperity a fterwards Captain Brown tells us

.

that o n Hallowe en it was usual i n Scotland f o r f amilies

’

to tie up their cat in order to preserve it f rom being used

,

a s a pony by the witches that night Those who n e .

e
 ANE C D OT E S O F A NI M AL S .

in the search , a nd he dragge d out a cat f rom the close

stove ( f o r it was in G ermany) which had taken re f uge
,

there , and been wholly u nperceived by the man servant -

.

’
This gentleman s daughter inherited the same antip athy ;
and neither the tenderest f eelings towards other dumb
’
creatures , nor the strongest e ff orts o f a mind o f unusual
s trength could sub due the uncom f ortable and distress
,

ing sensatio n which thrill ed through her when a c at

w as in her presence .

Where every ho use h as a cat man y two , where every

,

f emale cat at least twice in each year brings f orth a

li tter o f f rom three to five kittens which are not all ,
“

d rowned , some idea may be f ormed o f the untellable

number o f cats in L ondon ; but it is only the dwellers
in what is called a quiet o u t o f — the w ay street in the
- -

metropolis who can f orm an y notion o f the noise and

caterwaulings o f this part o f the population A ll cats .
,

o n first taking p ossession with their owners o f a house,

are obli ged to enter into an a lli ance O ffensive and de

f ensive wit h the O lder inhabitants o f the neighb ourhood .

In some instances the amicable arrangements though ,

less noisy are the most troublesome ; o f which I was

,

convinced in o n e o f my dwellings The back overlooked

.

a number o f gardens some o f which were large ; and

,

to enj oy these su ff iciently a small leaded terrace was

, ,

t hrown o u t f rom the back drawing room window -

.

Here all the c at s o f all the gardens the street and , ,

the O pp osite square used to hold their c on versaz ion i ;

,

an d I presume that my cats were p articularly amiable ,

f or o f ten , if the drawing room windo w had been lef t

-

open during o u r absence , we f ound a select f ew per ,

h aps five or six , sittin g within its pr ecincts , as if in

 C AT S .

E very cat that comes t o a new area in L ondon ,

a ppears to m e t o be obliged to fight til l he gains

u n disturbed possession o f it ; at least so it has been
the c ase with my cats A very fine b old , p ower f ul
.
,

tabby did this t wice wi th per fect success ; b u t a f ter

repeated combats , althoug h victo r ious the struggle ,

made him fierce and o c casionally sullen A nother , who .

was a very beauti f ul creatur e b ut much weaker u sed

, ,

t o come in with his handsome e ars slit his cheeks swollen , ,

his f u r torn O ff his f rolic and vivacity gone ; and he

,

s at crouching by the fire all day A t n ight he was

.

r oused by the fierce defiance o f his enemies ; and the

c ontest c ontinued till he died f rom his exertions .

One c at belonging t o me had a curious m anner o f

sho wing her disappointment o r anger whichever it migh t ,

be ; fo r the instant she was a ff ronted she walked away ,

and seated hersel f with her back to the o ff ending parties .

A child o f hers w as an instance o f the e ff e ct o f j udicious

e ducation f o r f air and gentle treatment t rans f ormed her
,

f rom a violent outrageous kitten to a w ell behaved cat ;

, ,
-

and it was curious to see the instantaneous effect which

the voi c e o f his preceptress pro duced Cats will learn .

all sorts o f antics and f orm all sorts o f contradictory

,

attachments young birds puppies rat s , and mice fre

, , ,

quen t ly being the obj ects My mother ia law had both

.
- -

a f avourite canary and an equally beloved cat The .

f ormer lived in her bed room ; and when alone she

-
,

su ff ered him to fly about the room , f o r she could there

excl ude the latter Chance however d iscovered that
.
, ,

puss was as f ond o f the canary as she was ; and to her

s urprise on raising her head from her work o n e morning
, ,

she s aw the bird per ched upon the cat s body wi th out
’

f ear , and the cat evidently delighted A f ter that there

.
200 AN E C D OT E S OF AN I M AL S .

was no f urther res t r aint and the two pets were d a ily
,

companions Their mistress ho w ever received another

.
, ,

f right ; f o r puss gave a slight growl and seizing the ,

bird in her mouth leaped on to the bed , her tail swelled

,

o u t her hair erect and her eyes as big as f our

, , The .

bird was o f course given up f o r lost : but the do or

bein g accidentally le f t ope n a strange cat had come in ;
,

and it w as f or the preservation o f the bird that the cat

had seized him and as soon as the intruder was driven
,

away , she set the prisoner at liberty Cats have o ften .

been trained to act as game fin d er s without o ff ering -

,

the slightest damage to their capture They have given .

the alarm when thieves have been breaking in ; and

mani f ested great proo f s o f reflection and thought w hich ,

may be called reason without degradi n g this act o f the

,

intellect One belonging t o my sister invariably goes

.

to her ro om when she rings her bell but does not o ffer ,

t o stir when any oth er bell in the house is sounded .

A nother in the service o f a f riend wa s in the habit o f

, ,

going into the garden catching a bird and bringing it

, ,

to t he cook appearing to ask her to dress it ; and yet

,

it was perfec t ly her o w n suggestion .

A brother o f mine had a f avouri t e tortoi s e shell cat , -

named Monkey who al w ays s at o n his shoulder whe n

,

he was shaving and evince d every sign o f deep attach

,

ment He le ft her under the care o f some f riends when

.

he went abroad ; and two years a fter t hese ladies were ,

surprised the evening he w as expected home at the ex ,

treme restles sness o f the animal She heard the arrival .

o f the carriage at the garden gate be f ore they d i d ; and

ere the hell was rung she was f urious to be let o u t t o

,

meet him Her j oy was indescribable ; and the next

.

morning she took her place o n his shoulder as usual,

202 AN EC D OTE S or AN I M AL S .

My wi f e rose f rom her seat went so f tly to the door

, ,

which stoo d aj ar , to obser v e what was going o n The .

cat led the dog to the c upboard whi ch contained th e

partridge p ushed O ff the plate which co vered it a n d
, ,

t aking o u t my intended supper laid it be f ore her canine

,

f riend who d evoured it quickly

’
.
,

The f ollowing anecdote almost places the eat o n a

level w ith the dog — A physician o f L yons was ‘

requested to inquire into a murder that had been

c ommitted o n a woman o f that ci t y In consequence o f .

this request he went to the habit ation o f the deceased

, ,

where he f ound her extended li feless o n the fl oor ,

weltering in her blood A large whi te cat was mounted

.

o n the cornice o f a c u pb oard a t the f ar end o f the ,

apartment , where he seemed to have taken ref uge He .

s at motionless with his eyes fixed o n the corpse and ,

his attitude and looks expressing horror and aff right .

The f ollo w i n g morning he was f ound in the same sta ‘

tion and attitude ; and when the room w a s filled with

’
o fficers o f j u stice neither the clattering o f the soldiers
,

arms nor the loud conversation o f the company coul d

, ,

in the least d e ree divert his attention A S soon ho w

g
.
,

ever , a s the s uspected persons were brought ih his ,

eyes glared with increased f ury his hair bris t led he , ,

d arted into the middle o f t he a partment , where he

st epped f o r a moment to gaz e at them , and then preci

p it at ely retreated under the bed The countenances .

o f the assassins were disconcerted and t hey were ,

now, f o r the first time abandoned by their audacious

,

e ff rontery .
’

There are several instances o n record o f cats finding

their way back to their f ormer abodes under circum
st a n c es o f gre a t di fficulty ; and the f ollowing ap p ears t o
 C ATS . 203

me to be o n e o f the most strikin g o f them and quote d ,

f rom a letter When livingat F our Paths Clarendon , ,

Jamaica I wanted a c at and had o n e given to me which

, , ,
’
was nearly f ull grown It was brought f rom M organ s
.

Valley E state where it was bred and had never been

, ,

removed f rom that place be fore The distance was five .

miles It w as put into a canvas b ag and carried by a

.
,

man o n horseback Between the two places there are

.

t w o rivers o n e o f them ab o ut eighty f eet broad and two

,

f eet and a hal f deep running strong ; the other is W ider

,

and more rapid , but less deep Over these rivers are no
.

bridges T he cat was shut up at F our Paths f o r some

.

d ays and when considered t o be reconciled to her n ew

,

dwelling she was allowed to go about the house The

,
.

day a f ter O btaining her liberty, she was missing ; and

upon my next visiting the estate she was brought from ,

I was quite amazed to learn that the cat had come back
again D id she swim over the rivers at the f ord where
.

the horse came through with her or did she ascend the ,

banks f o r a considerable distance in search o f a more ,

shallo w place , and w here the stream was less power ful ?
A t all events she must have crossed t he rivers , in
O ppo sition t o her natural habits
’
.

The f ollowing anecdote has been f orwarded to me ,

and supplied by a lady who to my regret, will not ,

allow me to pub lish her name

A n o ld woman o f the v illage has a pet cat wh o is ,

a ffirmed to be as sensible as a Christian by her ad

mirin g mistress One night the o ld lady f elt v ery ill
.
,

and le f t the candle burning to enable her to take a

certain medicine, if necessary She was awake and .
,

s aw her cat fid get about the candle as if she though t ,

it wr ong th a t it should b e le f t a light ; and at last , n o t

 ANE C D OTE S O F AN I M AL S .

being able to bear it any longer she converted her paw ,

into an extinguisher and the n quietly took up her

,
’
abode on the o ld lady s pillow by her side .

A S in gular mal f ormation in the cat has been per

et u at ed , till a race o f tailless cats is now in existence
p ,

and which is certainly no improvement o n the original

stock ; f or nothing c an be more gracef ul than the atti
’
tudes o f the cat s tail or more expressive o f it s f eelings
,

o f j oy o r anger .

S Q U IRR E L S .

A P E C UL I A R f ormation of
the incisors o r f ront teeth , ,

groups a number o f smaller a n imals together under the

name o f Ro dentia, f rom the L atin word r od en s w hich ,

signifies gnawing These teeth act as files , so that the

.

f ood o n which their owners principally live is reduce d

b y f riction to a state which fit s it f o r digestion As .

the edges o f these teeth become worn by constant use ,

they incessantly grow f rom the root I f one be broken .

,

that O pposite to it in the other j aw, being deprived o f

,

its habitual wear and tear grows so f ast that it not

,

only annoys its owner but has caused his destruction

,

by e ff ectually closi n g the mo uth Their lower j aws can.

only move back w ards and f orwards Some exclusively .

eat v egetables others eat all thi ngs and others again
, ,

pre f er flesh Some carry their f oo d t o t heir mouths

.

with their paws and climb trees ; and in m any the

,

hinder limbs are so much longer than those in f ront ,

that they leap instead o f walk They are widely and .

numerously spread o n the sur f ace o f the ear t h and ,

theref ore bear strongly o n its history ; but it is n o t

 ANE C D OT E S O F ANIM AL S .

bef orehand made a v ery elaborate nest o f moss le av es , ,

and interlacing fibres , in the hole o f a tree o r the f ork

o f two branches They exclusively e a t v egetable f ood
.
,

and are o ccasionally themselves eaten by the larger

birds o f prey .

Sir F r ancis Head gi ves us the f ollowing account o f

his meetin g with a squirrel in Canada I w as waiting
the appro ach o f a large flock o f wild f owl ; but a little
villain o f a squirrel o n the bough o f a tree close t o me ,

seemed to have de t ermined that even n o w I S hould not

rest in quiet ; f o r he sputtered and chattered with so
much vehemence that he attracted the atten tion o f my
dog This was truly morti fying f o r he kept his eyes
.

fixed o n the squirrel Wi th my hand I threatened the

.

l ittle beast ; but he actually set up his back and defied

me becoming e v en more passio n ate than bef ore till
, ,

all o f a sudden as if purposely to alarm the game he

, ,

dropped pl u mp within a couple o f yards o f Rover s n o se ’

.

T his was t o o much f o r the latter to h ear ; so he gave a

bounce and sprang upon the impertinent squirrel wh o ,

in a second was out o f his reach cocking his tail and

,

showing his teeth , o n the identical b o u gh where he had

s at be f ore
. A way flew all the wild f owl , and my spor t
w as completely marred My gun went involuntarily to
.

my shoulder to shoot the squirrel ; but I f elt I w as

about t o commit an act o f sheer reve n ge o n a courageous
li ttle animal which deserved a better fate A s if aware
,
.

o f my hesitation he nodded his head with rage and

,

st amped his f ore paws o n the tree, while in his chir

-

ruping there was an intonation o f sound which seeme d

like contempt What business had I there trespassin g
.
,

o n his domain and f rightening his wif e and little f amily ,

fo r whom he was ready to lay do w n his li fe ? T here he

 R AT S . 07

w ould sit in spite o f me and make my ears r ing with

,

the sound of his woo whoop till the spring O f li f e

-
,
’
should cease to bubble in his little heart .

It i s f rom Captain Brown s p ages that I extr a ct the

’

f ollowing — A gentleman procured a squirrel f rom a

‘

nest f ound at W oo dhouse near E dinburgh which he

, ,

reared and rendered extremely docile I t was kept in .

a box below in an aperture where was suspended a

,

m m by w hich the animal ascended and descended .

The little creature used to watch very narrowly all its

m aster s movements ; and whenever he was preparin g to
’

go out it ran up his legs and entered his p ocket from

, ,

whence it would peep o u t at passengers as he walked

along the streets , never venturing however , to go o u t , .

B u t no sooner would he reach the o utskirts o f the city ,

than the squirrel leap ed on t he groun d ran along the ,

road ascende d to the tops o f trees and hedges with

,

the quickness o f lightning and ni b ble d at the leaves

,

and bark ; and if the gentleman walked on it would ,

descend scamper a fter him and again enter his p ocket

, , .

Whenever it heard a carriage o r cart it became muc h

alarmed and al w ays hid itsel f till they had passed by
,
.

This gentleman had a dog between which and the,

squirrel a certain enmity existed Whenever the dog .

lay asleep the squirrel s h owed its teasing disposition

,

by rapidly descending f rom its box , scampering over

the dog s b ody and then quickly mo unting its rope
’

, .
’

RATS .

S O M E persons pro fess to think that the Ro dents c alle d

Rats a re beauti f ul an imals ; and I presume that , pre
20 8 ANE C D OTE S or AN I M AL S .

j udice ap a r t the sleek skin the sharp head the long

, , , ,

slender tail , and the keen look o f their bright black

eyes ought to be attractions ; but th ose who ha v e been
,

annoyed w ith these a ni mals as I have bee n can scarcely ,

regar d them with any t hing but dislike O verspreading .

the whole world as they do it is no wonder where they , ,

are not vigorously checked and where f ood i s abundant

, ,

t heir numbers should amount to something f right f ul .

On a visit to Sierra L eone I was all day at the G o v ern

,

ment Ho use and going to an upper room to make my

,

toilette I heard a pattering o f little feet close to me

, ,

and turning my head I saw between the floor and the

,

shrunken do or o f the next apartment a whole army o f

rat s on a peregrination and giving such an idea o f
,

number that , uninitiated as I then was ( it being o n my

first j ourney to A f rica ) I was per f ectly appalled and
, ,

most thank f ul that I returned that night to sleep in my

sa f er cabin o n board ship Thi s however was but th e
.
, ,

beginning ; and in the next vessel which I entered they

were so numerous th at the n ext time S he returned to
,

p ort she was su n k f or a time as the only means o f ,

getting rid o f them Between these crea t ures and the

.

cockroaches , I thought my poor child and myself mus t

b e devoured .

T here is a f acility given to the human mind to ao

commodate itsel f to all circumstances f o r which perhaps ,

we are not sufficiently thankf ul an d it never was more

strongly mani fested than in my o w n case f o r both f ear ,

and apprehension vanished with habit, and I became r e

c o n c iled to those animated creatures which at first seemed

to be the bane o f my existence When living in Cape .

Coast Castle I used to see the rats c o me in troops past

,

my door, walking over my black b oys as they lay there ,

210 ANE C D OTE S or AN I M AL S .

These were the brown rats w hich in f est every part o f

the world but very much increased in size by their
,

residence in a ho t climate .

Besides these brown rats a bush rat as it is called

, , ,

inf ests the f orests and is about as large as a young pig

, .

When I first saw this and f elt mysel f surrounded as it

,

were by f am iliar an imals increased to s uch magnitude

by multitudes previously unknown t o me and others o f ,

which I had only heard and yet none o f us were de

,

v o u red
,
I could not but f eel with ten f old depth the
’
Creator s c ommand t hat man should have the dominion
,

over them all His o w n s t rength alone c ould never

.

enable him to walk amo n g them u nharmed .

The principal characters which d istinguish the rat

remain in all countries but there are several S pecies
, .

The black rat is that which first inhabited this island ;

b ut it has been nearly driven out by the brown which ,

is without any f oundation termed the N orway rat It

, , .

came f rom Indi a Persia , etc , and is said to have ap

,
.

p e ar ed in E urope a f ter a great earthquake in 1 7 2 7 .

A ll are so eminently carnivorous that they do not make

the least ceremony O f devouring eac h other in times o f
scarcity ; so that o n o n e o ccasion already S poken o f , ,

w hen I and my co mpanions stood a chance o f bei n g

starved ourselves we f elt sure that the violent screams
,

and struggles we heard going on among the rats behind

t he pl anks arose f rom the meals which the strong were
,

makin g upon their more f eeble brethren .

Rats are nocturnal in t heir habits an d like t o live in ,

subterranean o r mysterious ab odes They are f ound in .

islands lying in the midst o f the ocean till the moment ,

o f their discovery to us supposed not to have been

,

v i sited by man ; and yet the question still rem a ins n u

 RA TS . 11

s ettled whether the differences which exist in rats were

,

caused by locality o r whether they were so from the

,

begin ni ng There is now no known spot f ree from the

.

N orway rat and the greater the number o f course the ,

more impudent they become In Ceylon I am told .

, ,

where they are innumerable they perch o n the top o f a

,

chair o r screen and sit there till something is thrown

,

at them at which they slowly retreat A noise is

,
.

heard in the verandah close by you , and yo u see a

party o f rats disputin g with a d o g f o r the possession
o f some obj ect A traveller in Ceylon saw his dogs
.

set upon a rat and making them relinquish it he took

, ,

it up by the tail the dogs leapin g a f ter it the whole

,

time He carried it into his d ining room to examine it

.
-

there by the li ght o f the lamp during the whole o f ,

which period it remaine d as if it were dead—limbs

hanging an d not a muscle moving A fter five minutes
, .

he threw it amo n g the dogs who were s t ill in a state

,

o f great excitement ; and to the astonishment o f all

present it suddenly j umped upon it s legs and ran

,

a w ay so f as t that it ba ffled all its pursuers .

One evening when at Bathurs t St Mary s I w as

, , .
’

sittin g at work in an upper room and in the mids t o f ,

the stillness heard something breathing close to me .

There was no other per s on in the chamber except my

child who was asle ep in bed A lthough startled I d i d
,
.
,

not move ; b ut casting my eyes round I saw a huge rat ,

sitting upon the table at my elbow watching every ,

m ovement o f my fingers I could scarcely help laugh

.

ing at his cool impudence and supp o se I had been too

,

much absorbed by thought o r employment to n otice his

approach I gradually laid down my work , and slipping
.

quietly o u t o f the roo m as if I had n o t perceived him ,

 AN EC D OT E S O F AN I M AL S .

called the ser van t si It was supposed that there were

nests o f rats in the chimney — f o r that G overnmen t
,

House had been wisely pro v ided with the possibility O f

h aving fires in the rooms during the rainy season —and ,

the hunt began I j umped o n to the bed not only to

.
,

be o u t o f the way but to keep the rats f rom the place

,

w here my child w as T wo o f the men f ur nished w ith

.
,

sticks routed the enemy f rom their hi ding places and

,
-
,

f our others s quatted at the corners o f the room holding ,

a c lo th spread between their hands They said it was .

most likely the rats would run round the walls , and
they should there f ore catch them in the O pen cloth The .

event proved them to be right ; the f rightened animals

rushed to them , were immediately enclosed and their ,

necks were wrung in a moment A fter this hunt was .

ended they were thrown over the verandah into the

,

garden to the numb er o f at least fi fty In the morn

,
.

ing however they were all gone b ut the f ootmarks o f

, , ,

the G ener cats told how they had been removed S ome .

squeaks the nex t day in the chimney betrayed the pre

sence o f some very young ones an d a fire o f d amp ,

grass being lighted their destr u ction was completed by

,

su ff o cation This w as perhaps cruel but it was n ec es

.
,

sary in self de f ence ; and I shuddered to think o f ho w

-

I and my daughter might in o u r sleep have been

attacked by these animals It is not to be wondered
.

at when surrounded by myriads o f obnoxious animals

, ,

ho w any tender f eeling towards that par t o f creation

became blunted A t the moment o f which I speak
.
,

v aluable books , dried plants papers containing the data

,

o f scientific O bservations concerni n g the sur vey o f the

r iver G ambia to a considerable distance , were destroye d

d u ring the illness o f the observer by rats and insects .
2 14: AN EC D OT E S O F A NI M AL S .

cannot be better exemplified than in the rep ort given t o

the F rench G overnment relating to the removal o f the
horse slaughter houses situated at Mont faucon , to a
-
,

gre a ter distance f ro m Paris o n e great objection being

t he disastro us consequences which might accrue to the
inhabitants o f the neighbourhood if these voracious ,

creatures were suddenly deprived o f their usual suste

nan c e It is well known that the mischie f which they
.

occasion is not c onfined to what they eat ; but t hey

undermine houses b urrow through dams destroy drains
, , ,

and commit incalcula b le havoc in every place and in ,

every thing .

The report states that the carcases o f horses kille d

o n e day and amounti n g to thir t y five would be f ound
,
-
,

the next mornin g with the bones picked clean A perso n .

o f the name o f D u sau ssois belonging to the establish

,

ment made this experiment A part o f his yard was

,
.

enclosed by solid walls at the f oot o f which several

,

h oles were m ade f or the entrance and exit o f the rats .

Into this enclosure he pu t the b odies o f three horse s ,

and in the middle o f the night he st epped up all the

holes as quietly as he could He then summoned sever al
.

o f his workme n, and each armed with a torch and a

,

stick , entered the yard a nd caref ully closed the door

, .

They then commenced a general massacre in doing ,

which it was not ne c essary to take aim, f o r where v er

the blo w f ell it was sure to knock over a rat none being ,

allowed to escape by climbing over the walls T his .

experiment was repeated at intervals o f a f ew days and ,

at the end o f a month r ats had been destroye d .

In o n e night they killed 26 50 A nd yet this cann ot

.

give an entirely adequ ate id ea o f their number f o r the ,

y ard in question did n o t c over more than a twentieth

 R AT S . 2l 5

part o f the S pace allotted to killing horses T he rats .

in this place have made b urrows f or themselves like ,

catacombs ; and so great is their number that they

have not f ound room close by the slaughter houses -
.

They have gone f arther and the paths to and f rom

,

their dwellings may be traced across t he neighbouring

fields.

The Zoological G ardens in the Regent s Park are ’

greatly in fested by rats ; b ut they are t o o cunning to

stay there during t he day time w hen they might be
-
,

more easily caught S o they in t he mornin cross the

.
g

canal to the O pposite shore and ret urn in t he evening

,

to commit their depredations .

The Water rats o r Voles eat fishes f rogs , and toad s

-
, , , ,

besides other f ood and d o infinite mis chie f to banks and

,

dams , which they undermine Their smell is so acut e .

t hat they will not approach a trap over which a hand

h as passed ; and they are particularly abundant in all
places where h errings are c ared leaving them when the ,

season is over The thing o f all others which attracts

.

rats o f all kinds is a piece o f roast bee f o f which they

,

are so f ond that they have been known to kill a com

,

panion who had eaten some that they might devour ,

the contents o f his stomach .

D r Carpenter was told by a trustworthy eye witness

.
-

t hat she s aw a number o f rats sa f ely convey some eggs

down a flight o f stairs f rom a store room t o their o w n
,
-

dwellings They stationed themselves o n each stair

.
,

and each egg held in the f ore pa w s w as handed f rom

,
-
,

o n e rat to another the whole way The rats wh o dipped .

their tails into a j ar o f treacle into which they co u ld ,

not dip their paws , and su ff ered their comp anions t o

lick them a fter w ards is a well known story
,
-
.
2 16 A NE C D OT E S OF AN I M A LS .

Rats have O f ten attacked children wh o h ave been le f t

in a room by themselves ; and inf ants have even lo s t
their li ves f ro m the blood which their bites have caused
to fl o w .

The f ollowing instance o f sagacity deserves to b e

recorded D uring the great floo d o f 4th o f September
1829 when the river Tyne was at its height , a number
,

o f people were assemble d o n its margin A swan ap .

p e a red with a black spot u pon its plum age which on its ,

nearer approach proved t o be a live rat It is probable .

t hat the latter had been borne into the water by some
O bj ect and observing the swan had taken re f uge o n it s
, ,

b ack f o r sa f et y A s soon as the sw an reached the land

.
,
’
the rat leaped o ff and ran away .

Two ladies , friends o f a near rela t ive o f my o wn f rom ,

wh om I received an account o f the circumstance were ,

w alking in Regent Street and were accosted by a man,

who requested them to buy a beauti ful little dog covered ,

w i t h l ong white h air w hich he carried in his arm s

, , .

S uch things are n o t uncommon in that part o f L ondo n ,

and the ladies p assed o n without heeding him He .

f ollowed and repeate d his en t reaties stating that as i t

, ,

was the last he had t o sell t hey should have it at a ,

reasonable price They looked at the animal ; it was

.

really an exquisite little creature and they were at last ,

persuaded The man took it h ome f or them received

.
,

his money and le f t the d o g in the arms o f o n e o f t he

,

ladies A short time elapsed and the dog which had

.
, ,

been very quiet in spite o f a restless bright eye began , ,

to S how symptoms o f u neasiness and as he ran about ,

the room exhibited some unusual movements , which

,

rather alarmed the f air purchasers A t last to their .

,

reat dism ay the new dog ran sq u eaking u p o n e o f

g ,
218 ANE C D OTE S OF AN I M AL S .

plaited blades o f wheat split into narrow strips with

,

their teeth and in them will O ften be f ound nine little

mice These nests are suspended to some stalks o r
.

thistles .

I can bear witness to the p ossibility o f taming mice ,

f or I kept six in a box f o r several months which were ,

s o well f ed that they did not attempt to gn a w their

d w elling I had a sort o f little cart c onstructed f o r

.

them with bone buttons f or wheels and a p ackthread

,
.

harness ; and on being taken o u t o f the b o x they r e ,

m ained per f ectly quiet till the harness w as put upon

them an d when that was done they started at f ull gallop
, ,

alon g the t O p o f a square piano O f course care was .

,

taken t o t urn them b ack when they reached the end ;

but they soon learned to turn o f their o w n accord and ,

per f o rmed their j ourney with as much regularity as

w ell t r ain ed horses
~
D eath deprived me o f my steeds
.

b u t I suspect it was in consequence o f the inj u dicious

cr amm ing which I besto wed upon my f a v ourites .

D uring an illness o f some weeks duration , mice were ’

t o me a source both o f amusement and annoyance ; t he

f ormer c ertainly predominated A wainscot ledge ran
.

round the room in which I lay and it was their deligh t

,

t o sc amper a fter one another upon this proj ection ; but

as th e head o f my curtainless bed was close to it they ,

s o f re quently diverge d on to my f ace that I was obliged ,

t o have it dra w n at least a yard f rom the wall S ome .

t imes also they dragged away my pocket handkerchie f -

,

which f rom n o t being immediately missed was not r e

, ,

covered till su n dry holes had been nibbled in it A .

smal l table stoo d by my bed side having o n it a basin

-
.

f all o f cold tea which f ormed my n ight bever age

,
On .

o n e o c c asion my light was extinguished , and I heard a

 M IC E . 2 19

sc ratching against the legs o f the table I guessed the .

cause and tried to f righten the climber away ; but I

,

suspe c t he mounted by the bed clothes f or I presently -

,

heard something fl O p into the tea A ll was S ilent, an d .

concluded the intruder was drowned ; but o f c ourse ,

whatever my thirst I did not attempt to d rink When

,
.

daylight came there sat a p oor m ouse holding up his

,

little chin j ust above the liqu i d Had he moved he .

,

must have b een su ff ocated ; and he had been all those

hours in this p osition It was impossible t o take away
.

a li f e so hardly earned , an d he was allowed to rejoin

his companions .

The headqu arters o f my mice seeme d to be a large

closet in o n e co rner o f the r oom f rom which they c o n ,

st an t ly issued and to which they retreated o n the least

,

alarm ; f o r it was al w ays accessible in consequence o f ,

the door not closing properly They o f ten appeared to

.

me to hold a council f o r they would sally f orth in a

,

body n o t giddily and as if by chance but with all t he

, ,

gravity o f diplomatic characters and f orm a circle when, ,

de liberations commenced They were carried on in a

.

language bet w een a s queak and a chatter and oc c asion ,

ally o n e would rise and place himsel f in a nother p art

o f the circle
. I would have given a great deal to have
understo od what was going o n ; but as I could n o t ,

I occasionally disturb ed them by laughin g when they ,

huddle d back to the closet and when I gre w stronger ,

I sometimes dashed a pillow in among them , which

made the p oor senators breathless with agitation , an d
scu ffl e under the f urniture till they thought they might
,

gain the closet in sa f ety I little imagined the deeds

.

committed in that d omicile or I might no t have been

,

s o indulgent to them It was no less than gn a wing

.
220 ANE C D OTE S or AN I M AL S .

holes in some valuable antelope monkey an d leopar d

, ,

skins which were to have been sent to my frie n ds by

,

the next departing vessel .

When I was allowed to eat, my appetite was kindly

tempted by dain t ies sent to me by f riends and which ,

were place d u nder tin covers on the top o f a chest o f

drawers The endeavours o f my rodent companions to
.

get at these were excessively droll ; but as f ast as they

clambered an inch o r two up the sides t he slippery ,

metal cau s ed them to s lide down again ; and they

thought if they could b u t get to the top o f the cover ,

they should succeed S o they mounted upon each other s

’

shoulders and accomplished the f eat but not their pur

,

pose —,
instead o f getting inside down they came in a
,

b ody ag ain ; but they became so used to my laughter

that they did not mind it Many o f them combined
.

together to push the cover o ff the dish but it was to o

firmly retained by the rim t o be moved One day they
.

t hought they had triumphed , f o r t he c over w as n o t

quite put down in one place A summons was evidently
.

given and presently a number o f little paws were in

,

ser red to raise it still higher ; b ut instead o f doing this ,

the c over slipped o n to their p aws , and it was very

ludicrous to see their pain and mo rtific ation A f ter .

this they so f ar abandoned the attempt that only o n e

would b e occasionally seen walking round , as if by ,

reconnoitering the f ortress again his genius would

,

suggest a success f ul termin ation to the enterprise .

In an A merican scientific j ournal there is a well

authenticated account o f a strange and overpowering
sensibility to music as evinced by a mouse It say s
,
.

that o n e evening as a f ew o ffi cers o n board a Briti s h

,

m a n o f w ar , in the harbour o f Portsmouth , were seated

- -
 ANE C D OT E S O F AN I M AL S .

The trunk o f which I have j ust spoken is f ormed

, ,

o f numberless muscular fibres amounting to at leas t ,

which take various directions , and cross each

other in so many ways that the whole f orms o n e o f the
most flexible organs that can be conceived It can b e .

contracted raised , depressed , curved turned o r twis te d

, , ,

round any object at the will o f its possessor ; and can

lay hold o f and pick up the most minute and the
thinnest substance aided in such in stances by the pr o
,

lo n gat io n o f its upper edge into what is called a finger ,

w hich protects the nostrils and acts as a f eeler

,
This .

trunk serves as a reservoir f o r holding liquid which can ,

be put in the mo n th at pleasure by inserting the end

between the j aws o r f or retaining it as lo n g as may be
wi shed when it is discharged over any obj ect whi c h the
,

elephant desires to inundate He occasionally po u rs it

.

upon his o w n bo dy , thereby not only coolin g an d re

f reshing himsel f, but getting rid O f the numerous i nsect s
which lodge themselves in his hide The trump et li ke .
-

noise f o r which elephants are remarkable pro c eeds f rom

their trunk and it serves in other way s to express their
f eelings f or with it they besto w their caresses
,
A .

tame elephant in the J ardin des Plantes took a great

, ,

f ancy to a little girl who used to walk in the menagerie

every mornin g with her nurse be f ore it was O pen to
the public It constantly happened that she and the
.

elephant would meet toge t her ; and not o n ly w as his care

to avoid trampling upon her most excessive but i f she ,

were going the same way he would gently insinuate the

,

end o f his prob oscis under her arm lovin gly rest it ,

there and walk by her side G reat pains are t aken by

,
.

t hese animals to guar d their trunks f rom inj ury ; and

they constantly raise them as high in the air as they
 ELE PH A N T S . 223

c an , to preve n t their comin g in contact with any hurtf ul

substance With them foo d is procured and conveyed
.

to the mouth and they pull d own not only branches ,

o f trees b u t in many instances the trees themselves

,
.

The immense skull and neck and in f act the size ,

o f the body required t o sustain the weight o f this

,

ponderous organ and the tusk s w ith which they are

,

provided give elephants a clumsy heavy look The

, , .

proportions o f the head cause the eyes to look small .

The weight o f the hea d itself is however much dimi , ,

n ished by t he hollo w c avities in f ront which make it ,

almost a vain attempt to try to kill an elephant by

shootin g him in t he f orehead f o r the balls lodge in ,

these cells They s o protect the brain which is the

.
,

seat o f f eeling that f ear f ul b u tt in gs are practised with

,

impunity by these animals .

The teeth o f elephants are remarkable ; f o r they con

sist o f only on e large grinder o n each S ide and in each
ja w,
which looks like a bundle o f smaller teeth f astened
t ogether by intervening and surrounding plates o f
enamel These grin ders change f requently d uring the
.

li f e o f the ani mal perhaps even six o r eight t imes as

, ,

long as the j aw gro w s ; an d the new arrivals do not

come f rom belo w but are f ormed behind the O ld o n e
,

and push it o u t There are no other teeth , properly s o

.

called ; but in the upper jaw are t w o tusks which supply

the ivory o f commerce and which are changed once ,

during the li fe o f the animal Their enormous weight .

and siz e are a lmos t f ab ulo u s and combined with the , ,

trunk make us cease to wonder that the whole body

,

should have strength alone as it s attribute and b e ,

e ntirely wanting in grace One o f these tusks sold .

,

at A msterdam weighed 350 pounds ; an d with such

,
224 AN E C D OTE S OF ANI M AL S .

weapons as these aptly called d ef enses by the F rench ,

,

they are able to uproot enormous trees and catching ,

their heaviest f oes upon them hurl them to the gro und , ,

o r t r an sfix them so as never to rise again The c ar s .

are large an d hang flapping over the shoulders and

, ,

are very sensible t o the touch The hearing seems to .

b e much more alive to grave than to acute sounds .

F our ungrace f ul , sti ff columns f o r legs suppor t the

clumsy b ody On e ach f ore f oo t there are five toes
.
-
,

an d o n each hind f oo t f our ; each toe sho uld S ho wa

-

h o o f, b u t sometimes the skin envelopes and conceal s

.

them The sole is nearly round and the skin o f a f o ot

.

exhibited by Mr G ordon Cumming is so large tha t

.
,

a child o f three years o f age could easily seat itsel f

w ithin it The tail is small in circum f erence flattened
.
,

at t he end an d has thi ck stiff bristles at the extremity

, .

These tails are sometimes used as whips ; and at the ‘

c ourt o f A shanti when decorated with gold they f orm

, ,

part o f the insignia o f the court The S kin is generally .

d ark colo ured and rough having a f ew scattered hairs

,

upon it Proo f s however have been f ound that a race

.
, ,

o f elephants thickly c overe d wi t h hair once existed .

White elephants are occasionally met with and it has ,

been asserted that they are wor shipped Others have .

c ontradicted this and declare that they are only kept

as a piece o f royal state .

The usual height o f elephants is from nine to ten

f eet but many h ave been known to attain f ourteen
,
.

T he skeleton o f that sent to the Cz ar Peter by the K ing

o f Persia , and which is seen in the museum at St .

Petersburgh is sixteen and a hal f and there are records

, ,

o f elephants attaining the enormous height o f twenty

f eet. When we think o f the mount a i n ous animals , as I

 AN EC D OTE S OF ANI M AL S .

park as it w a
’
,
s called supposing they should s ee him
,

issue from his stable A ll at once however a c epio u s

.
, ,

shower would assail them ; and la d i es with their trans

p arent bonnets and gentlemen with their shinin g hats
, ,

were f orced to seek shelter under the neighbouring trees ,

w here they looked up at the cloudless sky and wondered

from whence the shower could come W hen they di .

’
r ec t ed their eyes to wards the elephant s p ond they saw ,

him standing in the midst , evincing an awkward jo y at

the trick he had playe d In process o f time his pastime
.

became generally known and the moment the water ,

rose f rom his trunk his beholders ran away which he ,

also seemed to enj oy exceedingly getting u p as f as t as ,

he co uld to behold the bustle he had created This .

same elephant had been landed f rom the vessel which

brought him from the E ast I n dies at B ordeaux, and
the sailo r lad who had taken charge o f him during the
voyage was app ointed t o c onduct hi m through F rance
to Paris The rough and sometimes paved ro a ds c u t
.

the poor animal s f eet , an d a shoemaker was employed

’

to make him f our boots T here was not much skill .

required , as no shape was ne c essary ; but they answered

the purpose and were a f terwards hung up in his stable
, ,

t o the great delight o f the younger v isit ants to the

Jardin who O f ten went ex pr ess y to see the e lephant s
,
’ ’

boots When he and his guide s t opped f o r the night a

.
,

mattress used to be t hrown do wn o n t he floor f o r the

latter ; but a f ter a f ew nights the eleph a nt discovered
ho w com f ortable it was ,and under pretence o f sharing
t he accommodation at length nightly pushed A uguste
,

O ff and stretched his o w n huge carcase upon t he mat

,

t ress.

Constant di ff erences between the A siatic and A frican

 EL EPH AN T S . 227

e lephants ha v e established them into se pa r a te species .

The ena mel o f the grinders is s o placed in the latter as

to f or m lozenges ; and in the f ormer parallel fl u ted ,
-

ribbons The c ars o f the A frican animal are much

.

l arger and the S hape o f hi s f orehead is more c on v ex

,
.

A lthough it w as f rom this co untry that the Romans

obtained all their cle v er , well trained elephants the
-
,

natives n e w never think o f making them use f ul C o n .

n ec t ed with this I was once much amused by the pro

,

posal seriously suggeste d , that if we E nglis h would

,

g o among the savage tribes o f A f rica, an d tame some

o f their elephants they w ould be s o convinced o f o u r
,

superiority that they would without hesi t ation submit

to o u r dominion This came f rom a learned king s

.
’

counse l, and w as seriously uttered to on e o f his Ma

j y
est
’
s G o v er n ment without exci t ing surprise in any
b ut my experienced sel f In o u r human impatience we
.

are apt to think the progress we so much desire comes

s lowly ; but c ou ld such an i d ea be n o w entert a ined ?

A curious propensity in the Indian elephant has been

repeatedly noticed I mean the separation o f a male
.

elephant f rom all his companions in order to le a d a

solitary existence I am rather o f O pinion with some o f
.

the natives that he has been turned away by them f o r

,

his o wn misdeeds B ut I kno w no t if this will equally

.

apply t o the racoon the only other animal I believe,

, ,

concerning who m the same h abit is recorded A t all .

e vents the hermit eleph a nt is particularly fierce and

,

mischievous ; and it becomes a matter o f p olicy o r even

necessity to catch him The Indians hunt him d own ,
.

accompanied by t wo trained f emale elephants who draw ,

near to him as if unconscious o f his presence and begin ,

t o eat the surrounding f ood as a matter o f course If .

 ANE CD O TE S O F A N I M AL S .

he j oin them they la v ish thei r ca r esses u p on him ; an d

,

while he is returning their blandishments the hunters ,

creep so ftly t o his f eet , and having tied them to gether ,

f asten him to a tree o r let him go loose with merely ,

the shackles round all his l egs O f cou r se he is in a

.

d read f u l rage especially when the females desert him

,
.

B ut hu n ger thirst and ineff ectual struggles at last

, ,

sub due him He is led away , and generally tr ained ;

.

but if his violent e ff orts should e ffect his liberatio n , he

plunges into the f orest whither the hunters pruden t ly
,

do not agai n go to e ffect his capture S ome f em ale .

eleph ants are also used to de coy wild males into eu

closures , where they are secured and there is a whole
sale metho d o f surrounding a herd by a n umber o f
men w ho , by means o f various noises musketry , fire
, ,

w orks , drums , and tr umpets , drive the eleph ants int o

p ens co n structed f o r t he purpose , and supplied w ith
w ater , w here the poor creatures a r e made to stay some
time Th e e lephants become ve ry f u rio us and as the
.

stro n ge st e n closures might gi v e way to thei r o v er

p o wering strength , senti n els a r e placed all r ound who ,

li gh t fires , an d make all the noises which the prisoners

mo st d rea d til l they again become q u iet
,
.

E lep han ts af ter being domestic ated f o r years w ill

, ,

r eturn to t he f orests an d resume their w ild habits , but

they n ever f o rget their education Their f ormer keep ers
.

h ave recogni se d them among t hei r u ntamed companions ,

c alled them , an d w ithout hesit a tion they have w alked
f ro m the mi d st o f their brethren , an d quietly return ed
to their f ormer habits af ter a l apse o f ten years A ll .

are extremely sensible to the praises and caresses o f

those who attend to them f or whose sak e they will
,

make the most wonder f ul exe r tions T hey ar e use f ul

.
 ANE C D OTE S O F ANI M AL S .

into it The attitude was so grotesque and implorin g

.
,

t hat it was impossible to deny him In their nat ive .

condition elephants eat the young jui cy roots and

,

bran c hes o f trees the latter o f which they beat two o r

,

three times be f ore they take them and they th en tuck ,

t hem into the le f t si d e o f their mo n ths They als o .

d evo ur grass and bulbous roots which they pull up with,

their probos c is The vast numbers in which the herds

.

assemble give some extent o f the vegetable riches which

can support such colossal eaters f rom generation to
generat ion The weight o f an ordinary one will be 7 0 00
.

lbs and the min d becomes b ewi ldered in thinking o f

.
,

the qu antity required f or the daily sustenance o f thou

sands o f such animals They open paths through
.

f orests which wo uld be impenetrable to others , and

seem to exercise much j udgment in choosing their route ,

j t he large b all elephants taking the lead crushing the ,

j ungle te aring down the bran ches and uprooting the

, ,

trees The f emales and the young sometimes amo u nt

.
,

ing to three hundred m arch a fter in single file a nd the

, ,

way thus made is as sm ooth as a gravel walk They .

o ft en c arry branches o f trees with which they flap the

,

insects from their bo dies as they walk along .

A s ettler s wi f e c omplained to Mr Pringle very

’
.

bitterly o f the destruction o ccasioned to her husband s ’

cr eps by the ele p hants which she with re ason said

,

were too big to wrestle with and they occasionally ,

seemed t o commit mischie f f rom mere wantonness In .

the same place a troop came down o n e dark and rainy

night t o the o utskirts O f the village ; but knowing that
i t w as sometimes dangerous to encounter them , the in
habitants did not go o u t although they he ard them
,

making a terrible bellowing and uproar It appeared .

 E L EPH A N TS . 31

the next morni n g that on e o f the elephants had f alle n

into an unfinished trench which h ad no w a ter in it an d ,

did not kno w how to get o u t again It is supposed .

that his companions had pulled him o u t with their

trunks , f o r there were clearly defined marks Of their
havin g stationed themselves on each side some kneel ,

ing and some standing and that thus he had bee n

,

hoisted up .

The remarkable escape o f L ieut Moodie is o n e o f t he

.

most extraor d inary encounters o n record A servan t .

i nf ormed him that a large troo p o f elephants was in the

v icini t y and that a party had gone o u t to attack them
,

s o he started to join in the hunt but losing his way in

t he j ungle he did not overtake them till they had driven
,

the elephants from their first station On leaving t he .

j ungle he was going through a meado w on the banks o f

,

the G u alan a t o the S pot w here the firing had b egun ,

when he was suddenly warned o f some danger by t he

cry o f T ake care both in D utch and E nglish H e
‘ ’
.

heard a cr ackling behind him occasioned by the elephants

b reaking through the wood , which was accompani ed by
their s creams A large f e male elephant and three o f a
.

smaller size dep arted from the rest and cam e towards
him ; but not being in a goo d position f o r firing Mr ,
.

Moodie re t reated f rom their direct path t o get abetter

place f rom which to take aim and hoped they w ould not
,

observe him They however r apid ly pursued him He

.
, ,
.

reserved his fire as a last reso urce and turning o ff at a

,

right angle , mad e f or t he banks o f the river int ending ,

to take re fuge among the ro cks o n the other side B e f ore .

this however they were close upon him screami n g so

, , ,

tremendously that he was almost stunned by their noise .

H e turne d upon th em , and fired at t he head o f the

232 AN E C D OTES or ANI M AL S .

largest The p owder had become damp the gun hu n g

.
,

fire t ill he w as in the act o f taking it f rom his shoulder ,

w hen it w ent o ff and the ball grazed the side o f the

,

large elephant s head She st epped f or an instant and

’
.
,

then rushed f u riously f orward Whether struck dow n .

o r n et he co u ld never say but L ieut Moodie f ell

, ,
. .

The animal had only one tusk which misse d him as she ,

r ush e d u pon him but it ploughed up the earth w i thin

,

an inch o r two o f his bo d y She then caught him by .

the middle with her trunk threw him between her f o r c ,

f eet and battered him wi t h them f o r a short time ; o n e

,

o f these huge f eet once pressed him s o much that his ,

b ones bent under its w eigh t He d id not lose his r e .

collection and he const antly was able t o twitch himsel f

,

o n o n e side and so avoid several blows

,
T w o o f his .

party came up and fired at her o n e b ullet alone touch ,

ing her in the shoulder Her young ones then retreated

.
,

and she le f t her victim finally knocking him with her

,

hind feet as she w ent o ff He got u p picked up his

-
.
,

gun and staggered aw ay as f a st as he could She

, .

t u r n ed round looked a f ter him , and he then lay dow n

,

in the long grass and s o eluded her observation

, .

A soldier o f the R oyal A f rican C orps did not escape

as Mr Moo d ie d id ; f o r an elephant caught him wi t h
.

his trunk carried him some distan ce thre w him down

, , ,

brought his f our f eet toge ther and trod and stamped ,

upon him till he was dead He le f t the body then .

,

returned to it knelt down upon crushed and kneaded

, ,

it once more ; then he seiz ed it w ith his trunk , b ore it

to t he j ungle an d thre w i t among t he b ushes
, .

O n e o f the s t ro n ges t instincts o f t he elephant is to

try t he s trength o f ev ery t hing be f o re he ventures upon
it ; and it is almost impossi b le to ind u ce him to trust
234 AN EC D OTES or AN I M AL S .

on e o f these elephant executioners T he w ord o f com .

mand Sl ay the wretch

, was given to him ; upon
which he raised his trunk , pretended to twist it round a
body then slowly raised o n e o f his f ore f eet, and placed
,
-

it where the limbs o f the victim would have been then

he stoo d motionless with his trunk in the air He was .

ordered to complete his work and he placed one f oot as

’
if o n the man s ab domen , and another as if o n his hea d ,

with apparently su ffi cient f orce to destroy lif e The .

elephant had n o t done this f o r thirty five years and yet -

,

recollected the whole They attain a great age and

.
,

have been known to live more than a hundred years .

Maj or Rogers who had killed one thousand f our

,

hu ndred elephants shot one on whom the ball only made

,

a flesh wo und The creature in a f ury uttered its trum

.

pet like shriek seized the Maj or with his trunk , c a rried
-
,

him to a d eep hole dashed him into it and trampled

, ,

u pon him breaking his right arm in two places and

,

several o f his ribs He must have been killed if the

.

hole had been large enough to give the elephant roo m

to exercise his whole strength He became senseless ; .

but when he came to himsel f f ound the elephant gone , ,

and friends about him He knew what had happened .

,

and said he h ad always made u p his mind in case o f ,

s uch an accident to remain quite passi v e , as a ff ordi ng

the best chance o f escape—and his plan ans w ered

,

N othi n g done to elephants by way o f insult te asi n g , ,

or unki n dness is ever f orgotten o r f orgiven by them ,

and they are sure to take an O pportunity o f revenging

themselves On the other hand , kindness is equal ly
.

remembered and appreciated ; an awkward proo f o f

which o ccurred to a lady who , when she frequently went,

t o see a male elephant carried to hi m bread , apples ,

,
 EL EPH ANT S . 235

an d brandy To sh o w his gratitude f o r these he took

.
,

her up with his trunk o n e day and seated her o n his

,

back A s she c ould not en j oy this testimonial o f his

.

f eelings she uttere d the most piercing shrieks a nd

, ,

implored the assistance o f those around His keepers .

,

however advised her not to stir ; and there she was

,

obli ged to wait t ill he agai n encircled her w ith his trunk ,

and put her on the ground in sa fety O f the attach .

ment o f elephants to each other a proo f was given by

,

two in the Jardin des Plantes who had been with d itfi
,

culty separated during their j o urney thither f rom Hol

land They were place d in two apartments divide d by
.

a port c ulli s The male so on f o und o u t that this was

.

f astened only by a perpendicular b elt which he soon ,

raised , and then rushed into t he o ther room The j oy .

o f the two meeting can s carcely be described Their .

cries o f jo y shook the w hole building and they ble w ,

air f rom their trunks resembling the blasts from smiths ’

bellows The female moved her ears with great rapidity

.
,

and entwined her trunk round the body o f the male .

She kept the end m otionless f o r a long time close to his

ear and a f ter holding it again round his bo d y applied
, ,

i t to her own mouth T he male encir cled her with his

.

t runk and shed tears They were a fterwards kept in

.

the sam e ap artment , and their attachment was neve r

interrupted .

The indignation o f elephants at being laughed at o r

deceived has been mani f ested very o f ten and sometimes ,

they punish the o ff enders with death ; at others they

seem per fectly to understand in what way their retali a
tion will take most e ff ect without inflicting so serious a
reproo f .

A n arti s t in Paris w as anxious to dra w on e o f tho

 AN EC D OTE S O F AN I M AL S .

elephants o f the menagerie there with his trun k in the

air and his mouth wide op en A f ter throwing f r u i t .

and vege t ables in f o r s ome time to m ake him repeat the

attitude his keeper only pretende d to do so f earing to
, ,

give him t o o much f ood The elephant at last became

.

irrita t ed and per f ectly understoo d that the artist w as

,

the cause o f his annoyance He there f ore turned roun d

.

upon him and dashed a quantity o f water over the

,

paper o n which he was dra w ing It is chiefly in ani .

mals o f greatest intelligence that we find the greates t

a ff ection an d grati t ude E lephants have sometime s
.

re fused to eat and have pine d to death when separated

,

f ro m their f avourite keepers , and they are never oblite

rated f rom their memory Their humanity is als o .

f requently c onspicuo us and we are told o f o n e who ,

o n being ordered to walk over the bodies o f some sick

persons at first re f used to advance and then on bein g

, , ,

goaded by his driver gently took t he poor man up with

,

his trunk and laid them o n one side so that he c ould ,

not do them any injury .

The f ollowing is another f ear f ul instance o f their

power a nd v engeance related by Mr B urchell a S outh
,
.