“The coyote skulks among the scrub, the buzzard flaps heavily through
the air, and the grizzly bear lumbers through the dark ravines....”
_A Study in Scarlet_
Dr. Watson was a man of catholic tastes and diversified interests. Not
only was he a capable and experienced physician, but he was a man of
letters, an amateur detective, and an athlete of considerable ability.
No one, as far as I know, has emphasized his interest in zoology.
This trait is more apparent to those acquainted with the biological
sciences, but even the most casual reader cannot but notice the
frequent references to animal life.
The plots in a number of the tales depend entirely upon a zoologic
background. In _The Adventure of the Lion’s Mane_, for example, the
death of a person as well as that of a dog are attributed to the
poisonous sting of _Cyanea capillata_, a huge jellyfish. A swamp adder,
which Watson describes as “the deadliest snake in India,” is used to
kill two people in _The Adventure of the Speckled Band_. In another
tale, the plot hinges upon the fact that a goose has swallowed a rare
jewel, which is eventually recovered from its crop (_The Adventure of
the Blue Carbuncle_). A race horse is answerable for the mysterious
death of his trainer (_Silver Blaze_). In _The Adventure of the Veiled
Lodger_, a lion is responsible for the dilemma of the unfortunate
lodger. The central theme in _The Adventure of the Creeping Man_ has to
do with the antics of a scientist who at times shows apelike qualities.
Finally, in _The Hound of the Baskervilles_, the grisly spectral hound
plays the title role.
Let us consider first some references to the lower forms of life,
such as insects. The naturalist Stapleton, in _The Hound of the
Baskervilles_, was supposed to be an authority on butterflies and
moths, that is, lepidoptera. When he and Watson met one day on the
moor, the naturalist invited him to see his collection, which he
described as the most complete in the southwest of England. Later in
the story, when searching the house for the fiendish Stapleton, Dr.
Watson describes a room fitted up as a small museum with glass-topped
cases filled with butterflies and moths.
The scholarly recluse Nathan Garrideb evidently was another such
collector, for when Holmes and Watson visited his house they found
cases of butterflies and moths on each side of the entrance (_The
Adventure of the Three Garridebs_). One must remind the reader
that butterflies are distinguished from moths by the shape of their
antennae, the former having clubbed antennae, the latter not.
Two allusions are made to the antennae of insects. In _The Adventure
of the Illustrious Client_, the waxed tips of the Baron’s mustache
are likened to an insect’s antennae. The other is found in _The
Hound of the Baskervilles_. Dr. Watson, observing Dr. Mortimer, the
country practitioner, rolling a cigarette, remarks that his long and
quivering fingers remind one of the agility and restlessness of the
antennae of an insect. These descriptions are extremely apt, since the
antennae of insects are nearly always in motion.
In _The Adventure of Black Peter_, Captain Peter Carey was found
one morning harpooned to death in a small shed near his house. Holmes
remarks that the captain had been pinned to the wall like a beetle on a
card.
Let us go higher in the zoological scale. It is evident that Holmes
despised snakes, for he refers to them as extremely repugnant
creatures and remarks to Watson that watching them in a zoo gives him
a most unpleasant sensation (_The Adventure of Charles Augustus
Milverton_). A number of animals which live in the water are
mentioned: namely, fish, jellyfish, sharks, seals, and crocodiles.
For instance, when Holmes introduces his brother Mycroft to Watson,
the latter writes that Mycroft put “... out a broad fat hand like the
flipper of a seal” (_The Greek Interpreter_). And in _The Sign
of the Four_, Jonathan Small had the extreme misfortune of having
his leg bitten off by a crocodile.
Birds are not neglected. In _The Adventure of the Solitary Cyclist_,
Watson tells how he and Holmes on one of their walks enjoyed the music
of the birds. On another occasion, he likens Holmes to a lank bird
(_The Adventure of the Dancing Men_). Watson, in _The Adventure of the
Priory School_, speaks of the plover and the curlew; and in _The Hound
of the Baskervilles_, the raven and bittern are used effectively to
accentuate the utter loneliness of the moor. The ravens croak loudly
behind the tor, and this is the only life stirring over the vast
landscape. When Watson one day asks the naturalist Stapleton what had
caused the bloodcurdling sound on the moor, the latter’s shifty reply
is that they had heard the cry of the last of the bitterns. In _A Study
in Scarlet_ occurs the felicitous expression: “... the buzzard flaps
heavily through the [desert] air....” In _The Adventure of Shoscombe
Old Place_, Holmes makes the pertinent statement, when speaking of
the weakness of Lord Robertson, that even among eagles one may find a
carrion crow.
An occasional reference to the eggs of birds also occurs. Watson
writes, “... a young lady entered the room with a bright quick face,
freckled like a plover’s egg ...” (_The Adventure of the Copper
Beeches_). The cipher Holmes employed in _The “Gloria Scott”_
contained the words, “pheasant hen eggs.”
So much for the lower forms of life; let us move on to the mammals.
Attention is called to several small mammals--in _The Adventure of
the Crooked Man_, a mongoose; and in _The Sign of the Four_, a
stoat and a mole as well as a weasel. The reader may recall that other
names for a stoat are “ermine” or “ferret.”
Large mammals are referred to more often. Dr. Watson writes, in _A
Study in Scarlet_, “The coyote skulks among the scrub ... and the
grizzly bear lumbers along the dark ravines....” Big-horn sheep also
appear: “... there stood a creature somewhat resembling a sheep in
appearance, but armed with a pair of gigantic horns. The big-horn--for
so it was called....” In this same story, bison are also to be found.
Holmes, exasperated when looking for footprints, says, “If a herd of
buffaloes happened along, there could not be a greater mess.” In still
another instance, Watson writes, “... the observer would have come to
the conclusion that one of those great herds of bisons which graze upon
the prairie land was approaching him.” A herd of bison is referred to
again in _The Boscombe Valley Mystery_. Holmes feelingly remarks,
“Oh, how simple it would all have been had I been there before they
came like a herd of buffalo and wallowed over it!” It is obvious that
Holmes was impressed with the immense herds of buffalo which once
roamed over the great plains of our romantic West.
In _The Valley of Fear_, we come across an interesting analogy.
Holmes remarks to Watson that Porlock, although unimportant in his own
right, nevertheless takes on importance through his close touch with
the master criminal Professor Moriarty. He spoke of the relationship of
the two men as that of the pilot fish to the shark, or of the jackal
to the lion; that is, one was insignificant and the other formidable.
In this same story, our attention is called to two other mammals--the
wolf and the caribou. In _The Adventure of the Speckled Band_, we
are introduced to two African animals, the cheetah (reputed to be the
fastest animal on earth) and the baboon. And in _The Adventure of
the Creeping Man_, reference is made to one of the higher apes, the
langur, which is described as a large animal with a black face living
on the slopes of the Himalayas.
When we read about large mammals, big-game hunting comes to mind,
at least to the sportsman. Several allusions to this exciting and
dangerous sport are found in the tales. In _The Naval Treaty_, we
read, “... it has the sort of excitement about it that the sportsman
feels when he lies beside the water course and waits for the big game.”
In _The Adventure of Black Peter_, we read again of the hunter’s
thrill while lying in wait for some unknown large beast to approach the
water hole.
When Sherlock Holmes ironically introduces the terrible Colonel Moran
to Dr. Watson and Lestrade, he says, among other things, that the
Colonel is an outstanding big-game hunter, practically without peer,
and that his bag of tigers remains unrivaled (_The Adventure of
the Empty House_). In _The Adventure of the Bruce-Partington
Plans_, Holmes notes that it was such a foggy day in London that a
thief or murderer could roam the streets and pounce on his prey like
a tiger in the jungle. In another instance, Holmes tells Watson about
Count Sylvius, the famous big-game hunter who had stolen the Crown
diamond. The nonchalant detective facetiously remarks that if the
Count could add him (Holmes) to his bag of big game, it would be an
outstanding triumph (_The Adventure of the Mazarin Stone_).
The numerous allusions to animal life in the tales show clearly that
Dr. Watson was keenly interested in zoology. This is not unexpected,
since he was a physician, and, as everyone knows, a student of medicine
has a broad training in the biological sciences. It is doubtful whether
a man untrained in biologic science could have used the references to
animals as accurately and as effectively as did Dr. Watson.
Where did he obtain his love for zoology? Solely from his preparatory
studies in medicine? Probably not. Dr. Watson was an athlete and an
outdoor man. Such men frequently take a pronounced interest in plant
and animal life, since it is before their eyes a good part of the time.
We may conclude, then, that Dr. Watson was not only a physician, an
amateur detective, an athlete, and a man of letters, but a zoologist as
well. In this age of specialization, it is refreshing to reflect that
Dr. Watson had such a wide range of interests.