ANIMAL FRIENDS AND HELPERS
_Fully illustrated. 340 pages._
J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY
PUBLISHERS PHILADELPHIA
[Illustration:
Reproduced by permission of The Philadelphia Museums.
Transport Elephants, Perak, Federated Malay States]
HOME LIFE
IN ALL LANDS
BY
CHARLES MORRIS
Author of "Historical Tales," "History of the World,"
"History of the United States," etc.
BOOK III.
ANIMAL FRIENDS AND HELPERS
_ILLUSTRATED_
[Illustration]
PHILADELPHIA & LONDON
J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY
COPYRIGHT, 1911, BY J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY
PRINTED IN UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
PREFACE
In the earlier volumes of this series, man, as the maker of and dweller
in the home, was dealt with in the varied aspects of his existence. But
man is not the only occupant of the home. He has brought around him
an interesting family of animals of great variety in form and habit,
many of them kept as pets and companions, many aiding him in his sports
and his labors, others supplying him with meat, milk, butter, eggs
and other forms of food. It is a varied and active sub-family of the
household, the barnyard and field with which we here propose to deal,
its inmates varying in size from the lordly elephant to the busy bee,
and in intelligence from the wide-awake dog to the stupid sheep, a
multitude of running, flying, and swimming forms brought together from
every domain of nature and serving man in a hundred ways.
The full story of this wider family of the home would be a long one.
These humbler animals have a life of their own as interesting in its
way as that of man, their master and friend. We cannot tell it all in
the small space at our command, but the little we have here brought
together concerning the varieties and habits of our household animals
must have some considerable degree of interest to readers. This is
especially the case with the many stories that can be told of their
powers of thought and special habits and modes of action, and the
reader will find here many striking anecdotes of animal intelligence
selected out of the multitude that are on record. The story of the
whole animal kingdom is pleasing and instructive, and that of the
domestic animals, those which have come under man's special care, is
specially so, as it is hoped the readers of this work will discover.
Illustrations have been secured from a large variety of sources, a
number, picturing the rarer animals, being reproduced from "Chambers'
Encyclopedia."
CONTENTS
CHAPTER PAGE
I HOUSEHOLD PETS AND COMRADES 13
The Dog, Man's Faithful Friend 15
The Many Kinds of Dogs 19
Anecdotes of Dog Wit and Wisdom 29
The Cat, our Fireside Inmate 42
Other Four-Footed Pets 52
II OUR SINGLE-HOOFED HELPERS 61
The Horse in all Lands 63
Racer and Hunter 69
War-Horse and Working-Horse 74
The Horse Tamer 77
The Arab and His Horse 79
Anecdotes of the Horse 82
The Ass, Zebra, and Mule 86
III CLOVEN-HOOFED DRAUGHT ANIMALS 92
The Ox and Buffalo 94
The Lapland Reindeer 100
The Ship of the Desert 102
The Dromedary 107
The Llama and Alpaca 111
The Arctic Beast of Burden 113
The Elephant in Man's Service 117
Anecdotes of the Elephant 124
IV ANIMALS WHICH YIELD FOOD TO MAN 133
The Cattle of the Field 134
Milk-Giving Cows 136
Beef-Making Cattle 141
In the Bull Ring 145
The Wool-Clad Sheep 149
Wool Shearing and Weaving 156
The Bearded Goat 158
In the Pig-sty 165
V THE BIRDS OF THE POULTRY YARD 175
The Hen and its Brood 176
The Game-Cock and its Battles 182
The Web-Footed Duck and Goose 186
The Turkey and Guinea-Fowl 193
The Swan, an Image of Grace 199
The Proud and Gaudy Peacock 204
The Dove-Like Pigeon 207
The Ostrich and its Splendid Plumes 213
VI WINGED AND TUNEFUL HOME PETS 217
The Canary and its Song 218
The Marvellous Mocking Bird 222
Other Caged Songsters 224
The Parrot as a Talker 230
Other Talking Birds 236
VII OUR COUSIN, THE MONKEY 247
The Monkey as a Pet 248
How Monkeys Take Revenge 250
Imitation, a Monkey Trait 253
The Kinds of Monkeys 259
How Monkeys Teach Themselves 264
Anecdotes of the Ape 270
Feeling and Friendliness in the Monkey 273
VIII OTHER ANIMALS USED AS PETS 283
Pets of the Aquarium 286
Snake Charmers 289
The Mongoose and other Small Animals 297
Hawking or Falconry 309
IX WILD ANIMALS IN MAN'S SERVICE 317
The Dancing Bear 319
The Seal and the Alligator 323
The Stork, Cormorant, and Albatross 327
The Honey-Giving Bee 334
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
PAGE
Bird Dogs "Pointing" Partridges 16
Fox Cubs at Mouth of Den 18
Beagle Hound Chasing a Rat 21
Scottish Shepherd Dog Gathering His Flock 23
The St. Bernard Dog and His Friends 25
A Funny Quartette of Pekingese Puppies 28
Hounds Overtaking a Fox 32
The Dog Guardian. "Can You Talk" 35
A Dog Team Hauling Milk in Antwerp 37
Deerhound, Rossie Ralph 40
The Mother Cat and Her Playful Brood 42
The Canada Lynx, the House Cat's "Cousin" 45
Ready for Business 47
The Hungry Babes and Playful Kitten 51
Rabbits near Their Burrow 55
The Otter, One of Nature's Fishers 57
A Guinea-Pig. Pig Only by Name, not by Nature 58
Friends and Comrades 62
Rosa Bonheur's Famous Picture of the Horse Fair 64
Pure Bred Clydesdale Draft Horse 68
A Roman Chariot Race 70
Thoroughbred Racing Horse 72
Virginia Deer 74
A Logging Team with a Heavy Load 76
The Famous Arab Steeds and Desert Riders 80
A Pair of Prize Mules 86
Mexican Donkey Waiting for the Last Straw 87
The Striped Zebra of Africa 89
The Native Ox Cart of Delhi, India 93
Hauling Sugar Cane in Puerto Rico 95
The White Yak of the Asiatic Mountains 96
The American Bison alone on the Prairie 97
Cultivating Rice Field with the Chinese Ox. Hawaii 98
The Carabao 100
Herd of Reindeer 102
A Sahara Desert Scene 104
A Rug Laden Caravan 107
Camel Hauling Water 109
Yaks Picketed near Camp in India 110
A Llama Train Descending the Mountains of Peru 112
Dog Train Hauling Provision in Northern Canada 114
Alaskan Dog Team--The Winter Mail Carriers 116
Elephant Piling Lumber 120
A Military Elephant on Duty. India 122
A State Elephant of India with Howdah 130
Making Friends with a Guernsey Calf 134
Back to the Pasture After the Milking 138
The Holstein Cow, a Great Milk Giver 140
Ox Team and Native Cart, with Wooden Wheels 142
An Ox-Team on a Florida Plantation 145
Carting Manila Hemp. Philippine Islands 147
Moose in Harness 148
Cattle and Sheep of the Scottish Highlands 152
The Merino Ram, the Great Wool Bearer 155
The Alpine Ibex 160
Milk Goats in the Alps 162
A Pair of Angora Goats 164
The Wart Hog 167
A Fat Berkshire Hog 170
The Razor-back Hog of the South 173
Animals of the Farm and Poultry Yard 174
Feeding the Chickens in the Farm-yard 177
English Dorking Cock and Hen 181
Willie and His Pet Ducks 187
An Assault by Hungry Geese 190
Gander Hissing at an Enemy 192
Driving Turkeys to Market 197
The Black Swan of Australia 201
The Graceful White Swan Swimming 203
The Peacock, the Most Gorgeous of Home Birds 205
Pigeon Types. Carrier and Short Faced Tumbler 212
On a California Ostrich Farm 215
The Mocking Bird 223
The White-Faced Parrot 231
A Gray Parrot on His Perch 235
The Starling 242
Feeding Monkeys at the Zoölogical Garden 252
A Pair of Midget Donkeys 258
The Orang Outang in the Hands of His Keeper 265
An Afternoon Chat 276
The Fantail 287
Hindu Snake Charmers with the Deadly Cobras 294
The Mongoose 298
The Common Hedgehog with His Battery of Spines 303
The Three-banded Armadillo 305
A Friendly Gray Squirrel 307
A Hooded Peregrine Falcon 310
Leg and Foot of Falcon Showing Fastening 314
Grizzly Bear Cub 320
The Harp-seal Afloat on the Ice 324
The Savage Florida Alligator 326
The Stork in Its Feeding Grounds 329
The Cormorant, the Fishing Bird of China 331
The Albatross Swooping Over the Ocean Waves 333
An Opened Bee Hive Showing the Clustering Bees 336
HOME LIFE IN ALL LANDS
I
HOUSEHOLD PETS AND COMRADES
How few of us can go into the house without their coming to meet us:
the frisky dog, with its wagging tail; the sleek and soft-footed cat,
with its mellow purr. On her swinging perch sits mistress parrot,
greeting us with her noisy "Polly wants a cracker." In its gilded cage
flirts the golden-hued canary, singing loudly to bid us welcome. They
give life and joy to the most rustic home, these pets of the household,
our glad though humble friends and guests.
If we go out of the house into the stable-yard or the pasture-field we
meet others of them: the noble horse, the patient and docile cow, the
woolly sheep, the sturdy goat. In the poultry-yard still others meet
us: the cackling hen, proud of her new-laid egg; the crowing rooster,
the quacking duck, the gracefully swimming goose or swan, the peacock
with its splendid tail, even the buzzing bee, flying home laden with
wax and honey.
If all our human friends should desert us, the dog would cling to us
still. Carlo's faith and trust were true in all the ills of life. The
ragged beggar finds a loving friend in his dog. Roger the dog may be
as ragged and forlorn as tramping Joe, his master; he may be a shabby
mongrel of the worst breed, but a true heart beats under his rusty
hide, and he will love and follow his rambling master through thick and
thin.
It is the same with our petted horse, which greets us with a glad neigh
and loves to kiss our hand or face with its soft muzzle. Almost any
animal that we make a pet of will repay us with its love and trust,
though least of all the cat, which has kept half wild through centuries
of taming. But of course we cannot say this of all cats; we must give
Tabby credit for some of the spirit of affection under her smooth fur,
though as a rule she loves places more than she does persons and is apt
to be the most independent member of the household.
If we go abroad into the wilds and woods, what shall we find there?
Living creatures still, multitudes of them, but all ready to flee or
fly from man. They fear him and do not trust him. If strong and fierce
enough they will rush upon him instead of from him and try to kill this
two-legged creature who so often tries to kill them.
But look closer and you will find that many of these wild animals are
near relatives of those that man has tamed. The fierce wolf and cunning
fox are cousins of the trusty dog; the terrible lion and tiger belong
to the same family as the cat we fondle in our laps; the zebra which
no man can tame is not far away in family tree from the faithful horse.
Very many more of these animals might have been tamed if man had cared
to do so. But he picked out those that pleased him most or that he
could make the best use of and left the others to their wild ways.
Now you may see what we are here to talk about. It is our purpose to
set out on a home journey, one that starts from the kitchen or the
parlor of the house and goes no farther than the outer fence of the
farm--if we are lucky enough to have a farm. We are not making this
home trip to call on anybody like ourselves. We are setting out to
visit the cattle and sheep in their pasture-fields, the horses in their
stalls, the poultry in their yards, the pig in his pen, and have a
quiet talk about what we find there. And at the same time we must have
our say about the dog that follows us in our round, and seems to fancy
himself one of ourselves rather than one of those we are proposing to
call upon. He thinks himself "folks," does master doggy. Let us take
him at his own measure and deal with him first, of all.
THE DOG, MAN'S FAITHFUL FRIEND
Where did the dog come from and how long has he made man his companion?
These are questions not easy to answer. Almost ever since there has
been a man there has been a dog to follow at his heels and aid him in
his sports. If we go back far before the beginning of history we find
the bones of man and dog in the same grave. And it is a strange thing
that thousands of years ago there were the same kinds of dogs we see
about us to-day.
[Illustration: Bird Dogs "Pointing" Partridges]
How do we know this, you ask? Why, four or five thousand years ago the
people of Egypt kept dogs, just as we do, and thought so much of them
as to draw pictures of them on the walls of their tombs. If you should
visit these tombs, cut deep into the rocks, you would see here the
picture of a greyhound, farther on a kind of terrier, still farther
one of a wolf-dog, all looking much like our own dogs. So in ancient
Assyria we find images of watch-dogs and hunting-dogs, much like our
mastiff and greyhound. Thus, go back as far as we please in the story
of human life, man's faithful friend keeps everywhere with him.
Where did he come from? That is another part of our question. We all
know that the dog's forefathers must have been wild animals, hunters
and meat-eaters, which were tamed by man and made his comrades. There
are plenty of these wild animals still, wolves we call them, fierce
hunting creatures that run down smaller animals and kill them for food.
They do not bark like the dog, but they are like it in many ways.
Barking is a new form of speech learned by the civilized dog. It is the
dog's trade mark.
Wise men who have made a study of the dog are sure he began as a wolf,
and some dogs have not yet got far away from the wolf. Have any of you
ever seen an Eskimo dog, the kind that drags the sleds of travellers
over the Arctic ice? If you have, you have looked upon a half-civilized
creature that is as much wolf as dog. It will work well--under the
whip; but its great delight is an all-round fight, and if hungry its
master is not safe from its sharp teeth.
In fact, the dogs kept by savage and barbarian people look much like
the wolves of the country around them. Thus the dogs kept by the Indian
tribes of our land are so much like the wolves found in the same
regions that it is not easy to tell them apart.
In southern Asia and parts of Africa is a wild animal called the
jackal. It is smaller than the wolf, but belongs to the same family
and seems to come half way between the wolf and the fox. It is fairly
certain that some of the dogs of India and other countries are tamed
jackals. The jackal is easy to tame, and a tamed jackal will wag its
tail and crouch before its master just like a dog.
[Illustration: Fox Cubs at Mouth of Den. Observe Their Vigilant and
Alert Outlook]
We begin now to see where man found the dog. He seems in very early
times to have tamed the wolves and jackals around him, fed them, won
their love by kindness, and taught them to do many new things. The
wolves hunt in packs just as dogs do, and they are very expert in
taking their prey. It is the same with the jackals. They hunt in packs
like the wolves and are very shrewd and cunning. These wild animals are
fierce, but so are many dogs, though in most cases the fierceness has
been tamed out of our house dogs.
THE MANY KINDS OF DOGS
Any of us who go into a dog show might almost fancy ourselves in a
zoological garden, for we seem to be in the midst of a multitude
of different animals. It is hard to believe that the fluffy little
Lapdog, not much bigger than a well-grown rat, belongs to the same
family as the Great Dane, as tall as a pony and strong as a leopard.
The same is the case if we bring together the slender and graceful
Greyhound and the sturdy Mastiff; or compare the Collie with the
Terrier or the Spaniel; or the ugly Bulldog or funny Pug with the
long-headed Foxhound; or the hairy Poodle or Skye Terrier with the many
short-haired breeds.
Nearly ten times as numerous as the letters of the alphabet, the dogs
bewilder us with their variety, and it is not easy to believe that they
all belong to the same family. Yet this is the case; they are all dogs,
big and little, stout and slender, hairy or hairless alike, all one in
their general make-up and their habits. It is very likely, indeed,
that they came from several species of wolves and jackals, yet there
are certain traits of doggishness that belong to them all.
Shall we not fancy ourselves really in a dog show and walk around and
look at the variety of dogs to be seen! We cannot name them all, there
are too many of them, but we may take a quick glance at the prize dogs
in the show. It is common to divide them into groups, such as hunting
dogs, working dogs, watch dogs, sheep dogs, and toy dogs.
Of hunting-dogs there are many kinds, including the various hounds,
such as the Bloodhound, Staghound, Foxhound, Greyhound, and others.
These either have fine powers of scent or are splendid runners, so that
few kinds of game can escape them. The Bloodhound has very acute scent
and has long been known as a hunter of men. In the past it was used to
hunt fugitives from justice and in our times has been often put on the
track of runaway slaves.
The Foxhound has long been used in the sport of chasing the fox, large
packs of them being kept in England and this country for that purpose.
The Harrier, a smaller hound, is used in hunting the hare. Still
smaller is the Beagle, the smallest of the hounds, but with the finest
power of scent. It is a slow runner, but will keep it up for hours at a
time, and seldom fails to bring down its game.
Other hunting-dogs are the Pointer and Setter, the friends of the
gunner. The Pointer is so called from its habit of standing fixed
when it scents game, while the Setter crouches down when the scent of
game is in the air. The Spaniel is another hunting dog, much liked by
sportsmen. It is a beautiful dog, with very long ears and wavy and
beautiful hair, red and white in color. It is fond of swimming and
knows well the art of fish-catching.
[Illustration: Beagle Hound Chasing a Rat]
Working dogs include such kinds as the Eskimo dogs, that drag the sleds
of the Eskimos and of polar explorers, and the dogs of Kamtchatka,
swift, powerful animals, used for the same purpose. You have very
likely read about the working dogs of Holland, which are used to pull
the milk-carts of their masters. Then there is the turnspit, much used
in past times to turn the spit when meat was roasting before the fire.
In our days there is no use for the turnspit, and not many dogs are
made to work for their living. On the whole the dog is something of an
aristocrat, ready for sport, keen on the watch, but not overly fond of
work.
We cannot for a moment lose sight of the Sheep Dog, the Collie, as it
is called in Scotland, a shaggy, wide-awake fellow, who takes better
care of a flock of sheep than most men could do. He lives with the
sheep, gathers them from the hills and brings them to the sheepfold
when needed, and will let no prowler meddle with the woolly beasts
under his care. The stranger who comes near the flock must be careful
how he acts, if he does not wish to feel the collie's sharp teeth. That
alert sentinel knows his duty and will stand no nonsense.
There are many varieties of the sheep dog. In Asia they have often
to fight for their flocks with wild beasts and robbers, and are very
strong and fierce. Some of them are shaggy, wolf-like brutes, nearly as
large as a Newfoundland dog and not afraid of the biggest wolf. Dogs
like these are also kept in some parts of Europe. Wise and sharp-witted
creatures are the sheep-dogs, knowing and doing their business well. At
a word or even a look from its master the collie will scour around the
hills and dales for miles, rounding up and bringing the scattered sheep
to one place. And in or after the heavy snow-storms of the Scotch
Highlands a dog is often worth a dozen men in saving its master's
flocks.
[Illustration: Scottish Shepherd Dog Gathering His Flock]
Then there is the Drover's Dog or Cur, belonging to the same family,
black and white in color, used in driving sheep and cattle to the city
markets and well trained in the art of doing this. The sheep dogs of
South America are fine animals. Large flocks are kept there and left
alone in the care of these four-footed keepers. Darwin, who often saw
them, says: "When riding it is a common thing to meet a large flock of
sheep, guarded by one or two dogs, at the distance of some miles from
any house or man. It is amusing to observe, when approaching a flock,
how the dog advances barking, and the sheep all close in his rear as if
round the oldest ram."
Now let us take a look at the Watch Dogs, those that take charge of
their master's house, or follow him in his walks, ready to fight for
him whether he goes out or stays in, and to act as a sentinel or guard
of honor for him at all times. The Mastiff is one of the well-known
house guards, a great, strong, faithful sentinel, with heavy head and
powerful limbs, bold enough to fight a bear or even a lion. The British
mastiff is good-natured and will even let children play with him and
tease him, but when kept tied up he often grows surly and dangerous to
strangers. There is a mastiff kept in Tibet which is larger than the
British one and attacks strangers as fiercely as a wolf would do.
Coming a step down we meet the Bulldog, smaller than the mastiff, and
looking sour and surly enough to scare any child. Its face is twisted
into an ugly scowl, and its jaws are like bars of iron. When it gets
its teeth into any animal nothing can make it let go. You may burn it
with hot irons and it will hold on still. We may pity any one, man or
beast, in whom this black bunch of obstinacy sets its teeth. It knows
well how to take hold, but not how to let go.
Coming another step down we see before us the Pug, a queer little house
pet, which somehow is born with the bulldog's face but is as timid and
good-natured as the other is fierce and surly. He is a funny little
brute, ugly enough to turn milk sour. Yet with all his ugliness he
finds loving friends.
[Illustration: The St. Bernard Dog and His Friends]
Among the large watch dogs are the sturdy Newfoundland, which is well
known to us all, the splendid, erect fellow called the Great Dane, and
the noble St. Bernard, kept by the monks of the Alps to seek for and
save travellers who have been lost on the mountain paths or in the deep
snows. When a sudden snow-storm comes on two of these powerful dogs
are sent out together, one with a flask of strong drink hanging from
its neck, the other with a cloak for the freezing wayfarer to put on.
If the traveller has lost his way they guide him to the convent. If he
has fallen and been covered by the snow, they trace him by their keen
power of scent, dig the snow away, and bring the monks by their loud
barking, which can be heard for a long distance in the clear mountain
air.
Many of you must have seen the Dalmatian coach-dog. A handsome animal
it is, white in color, but well marked with round black spots. It is
not fit for hunting, for its scent is not good, but it is a welcome
companion when one is out on foot, on horseback, or in his coach or
carriage. Lively, clean and kindly, very active and fond of running, it
makes an excellent comrade for the walker or rider.
We cannot give the names of all the dogs. There are too many of them.
But it will not do to pass by the smaller ones, those used for sport or
for house service. Chief among the small sporting breeds are the active
Terriers, all of them brave, alert and quick in motion. These are used
in hunting such small prey as the otter, the badger, the weasel and the
rat. To see one of them at work in a room full of rats is to look upon
a living flash of lightning. A single Rat Terrier has been known to
kill a hundred rats, collected in one room, in seven minutes, one quick
bite putting each rat out of business.
There are several kinds of Terriers. One of them is the Dandie Dinmont,
spoken of by Sir Walter Scott in his novels, a beautiful little dog
belonging to Scotland. Then there is the favorite Skye Terrier, of the
same country, with its very long body and short legs, half buried in
its own hair. Between the Fox Terrier and the Bulldog, comes the Bull
Terrier, having in it something of both its parents and able to fight
as savagely as the Bulldog itself.
These are the big and the medium sized dogs, but there are many smaller
ones, used as pets and some so small as to be only a size larger than
the full-grown rat. These are the toy animals, pocket editions of their
breeds, many of them only fit for ladies' pets, to be fed and fondled
and taken out in coach or carriage for an airing. They include the
Poodles, Terriers and Spaniels, the larger ones good for the hunting
field, the smaller fit only for the parlor.
Of the Pug, with its ugly mug, we have already spoken, and may pass
on to the spaniels, often charming little playmates. There are field
spaniels and toy spaniels, the field dogs being good hunters and the
water-spaniels fine swimmers. The toy spaniels are very different
from the hunters and only fit to be fed and fondled. They include the
pretty King Charles, glossy black in color, the Prince Charles, white
with black-and-tan markings, the red and white Blenheim and the red
Ruby Spaniel. There are other breeds, a popular one being the Japanese
Spaniel. The toy spaniel should not weigh more than ten pounds and
have a short, turned-up face like a pug. With their long coats and
small size they are fit only for pets, but are very bright and cheery
little creatures.
[Illustration:
Courtesy of Mrs. A. R. Bauman
A Funny Quartette of Pekingese Puppies]
The Poodles may also be divided into the hunting and the pet dogs.
They are fleecy fellows, often with so thick a coat of hair that it is
not easy to tell where poodle begins and coat ends. The most handsome
of them is the large black Russian Poodle, well fitted for use in the
hunting field. The small white poodle is only fit for a house pet, but
it is a very clever one and can easily be taught tricks of various
kinds.
It has long been the fashion to trim the poodle's coat in an odd
fashion, shaving it all off from the body and hind-quarters except
a few scattered tufts, but leaving it very long and thick on the
shoulders. Very likely the poodle himself does not like to be made
such a show of, especially if there is any bite in the air. Those who
have any feeling for their dogs let the hair grow in the winter and
trim it only in the warm season.
As there are toy spaniels, so there are toy terriers, among them the
pretty little Black and Tan and the lovely little Maltese, with a white
coat as soft as floss silk and long enough to touch the ground. These
toy terriers are scarcely a handful in size, some of them weighing
not more than three pounds. Then there is the graceful and beautiful
Italian Greyhound; of about eight pounds weight, with soft and glossy
coat, fawn and cream colored, and in every way an elegant little
creature.
ANECDOTES OF DOG WIT AND WISDOM
What could we do without the dog? There are many other animals made
use of by man, but the dog, his faithful friend and companion, stands
first of all. It not only aids him in his sports, but clings to him in
all the affairs of life, and has been known to lie down and die on its
master's grave, not willing to leave him even after death.
Not only faithful and loving is the dog, not only fond of play and
sport, but it has a very good brain of its own and is one of the
smartest of all the animals. If it could only talk we would find that a
great deal goes on inside its little thinking organ. How wisely it will
at times look up in our faces, as if to say, "If I could only speak I
could tell you many things worth listening to."
But can dogs think? some of you ask. I am sure that most of you who
keep dogs could answer this question for yourselves. Certainly dogs
very often do things that look much like thinking. There are hundreds
of anecdotes telling us of wise things done by dogs and I propose to
tell you some of these. I think you will find that they answer your
question. I am sure that most of you could tell me of some clever dog
doings. Here are some that seem worth telling.
A farmer friend of mine long ago told me of some curious things done
by a dog of his. He had a bell hung on a post in his yard, with a rope
coming down from it. He would ring it in the early morning to rouse up
the farm hands for their day's work. One morning he was surprised to
hear the bell ring very early, but no one could tell him who had rung
it.
The next morning it rang again. He sprang from bed and looked out the
window to find that his dog was the culprit. It had the rope in its
teeth and was pulling away like an able bell-ringer. The little chap
was lonely and wanted company; he had often seen the men troop out on
the ringing of the bell; so he put two and two together and rang the
bell himself. The farmer had to hang up the rope out of reach to put an
end to this doggish trick.
The same dog had a great fancy for riding in a carriage of his own, and
when one of the men drove up to the door with his cart, and left the
horse standing while he went into the house for orders, doggy would
bark and bite at the horse's shins until he set him in motion, and then
would jump into the cart for a free ride. He was "only a dog," but he
knew how to get what he wanted, and he looked proud enough as he stood
with his feet on the front of the cart, as if he owned all the world he
could see.
Another friend tells me that, when a country boy, he had to go a mile
or two every morning to the post office for letters and papers, his
dog keeping him company. On one morning there was nothing for him
and he started back empty handed. But the dog refused to follow. It
seated itself on the post-office steps and would not budge. He tried in
various ways to make it come, but in spite of all he could do back it
would go to those steps and seat itself as before.
The boy was at his wits' end. At last the thought came to him of what
ailed the obstinate brute. He took a piece of paper from his pocket
and held it up and at once the dog came running up, frisking about him
gladly. If it could have spoken it would have said something like this:
"You and I were sent to bring the papers. If you choose to go home
without them I do not. I know my duty better than that."
[Illustration: Hounds Overtaking a Fox]
The story has often been told that dogs which have been in the habit
of eagerly following their masters on their week-day walks, will not
stir on Sundays. They seem to know from past experience that they are
not welcome on that day. Do these creatures count the days of the week
and know in that way when Sunday comes? Or is there something in the
dress of the family, the sound of church-bells in the air, or other
indications to tell them that this is a day set aside from doggish
sports and duties?
All I can say in the matter is that a village friend of mine, whose
church was too far away for the bells to be heard, had a dog of this
kind, that ran friskily up to go out with him every morning but Sunday,
when it would not stir from its rug. To test the animal he on several
occasions came downstairs in his week-day clothes and went about in his
week-day manner. But the wise creature was not to be fooled. It looked
at him lazily and lay still, its looks seeming to say, "I can count as
well as you and I know this is Sunday. You can't fool me with your old
clothes."
You may see that I am not going abroad for my stories. These are not
anecdotes taken from books, but little matters told me by friends. The
book stories, no doubt, are better, but these are fresher. Here are one
or two that I have heard of a different kind, tales which go to show
the faithfulness of the watch-dog.
One of these is of a gentleman who went out one day, leaving his dog
locked in the house. On his return in the evening he found that he
had forgotten his key and could not get into the house by the front
door. He tried the other doors and windows and at last found an open
window into which he tried to climb. But so savage a bark came from the
care-keeper inside that he backed out again in a hurry.
"Don't you know me, Carlo?" he said, in a coaxing tone.
Carlo knew him well enough and came with wagging tail to the window
to be caressed by its master's hand. But the instant he tried again
to climb in the animal's attitude changed and it became the fierce
watch-dog again.
Try as he would, Carlo simply would not let him come into the house in
that way. It was the burglar's route, and even if this man were his
master he had no right to take it. In the end the baffled gentleman
had to give up the attempt and leave Carlo lord of the premises. The
faithful watch-dog knew not master or man when it came to a question of
duty.
Now let me speak of a dog that had a different sense of duty. It
belonged to a cousin of mine and when left in charge of the house in
the absence of its mistress was quite willing to let visitors enter and
seemed very glad to see them. The trouble began when they tried to go
out. This the dog would not permit. It was ready to attack them with
teeth and claws if they tried it. "Here you are and here you stay till
my mistress comes home," its attitude seemed to say. "Your coming may
be all right, but that is for the lady of the house to decide, and you
shall not go a step until she returns."
Dogs cannot talk, that we all know very well. It is true that there
is at present a dog in Germany which has been taught to speak a
number of words, in a way that makes it easy to understand them. But
no one fancies that even this dog will ever become a good and ready
talker. Yet it is well known that dogs can understand human speech and
sometimes very well.
[Illustration: The Dog Guardian. "Can You Talk?"]
Thus a friend of mine comes home at night, after a day's hard work,
flings himself lazily on the sofa, and says to a visitor: "If Jim there
knew enough I would ask him to go upstairs for my slippers."
Jim, the dog, who has been lying in easy content on his favorite spot,
at once gets up, stretches himself, and trots off up stairs, coming
back in a few minutes with a slipper in his mouth. Off he trots again
and comes back with the other, then lies down once more with an air
of satisfaction. This is an actual incident. Very likely the word
"slippers," joined with his own name, was the key-note to the dog's
action. The two words were enough to tell him what was wanted.
Dozens of incidents of this kind might be given. Here is a good one
that has so often been told that many of you may have read it. A
sheep-dog in a Highland cottage was lying one day before the fire while
his master, a shepherd, was talking with a neighbor. He wished to show
his friend how quick-witted a dog he had, and while talking about a
different matter, said in a quiet tone, "I'm thinking, sir, the cow's
got into the potatoes."
The dog, which had seemed asleep, at once jumped up, leaped through the
open window and scrambled to the cottage roof. Here it could see the
potato field. As no cow was there, the dog ran to the farm-yard, where
it found the animal it sought. It then came back to the house, and
quietly lay down again.
Some time later the shepherd said the same words and the dog sprang up
and went out again. But when the words were repeated a third time the
wise creature came up to its master with wagging tail, and looked into
his face with so comical an expression that the talkers broke out into
a loud laugh. Then with a slight growl, the dog laid down again on the
hearth rug with an offended air, as if saying to itself, "You shall not
make a fool of me again."
[Illustration: A Dog Team Hauling Milk in Antwerp]
This is one of the stock stories of dog wit. Many others like it might
be told. There is no doubt that dogs have ways of making their dog
friends know things they would like to have done. Many stories could
be given to prove this, but most of them are too long to be told here.
Thus we are told of dogs that have got the worst of it in a fight
seeking a stronger friend, telling their story in their own way, and
the two going out together to whip the whipper.
Dogs have their feelings, too, and can easily be insulted. "Low life"
dogs are so used to being cuffed and kicked that a kick does not hurt
their feelings, though it may their flesh. But "high life" dogs are apt
to be very delicate in their feelings, and the mere touch of a whip
hurts their pride deeply. Here is a story of a Skye terrier that went
out every day for a walk in the park with its master's brother. One day
when it hung back to amuse itself with another dog the gentleman, to
induce it to follow, struck it with his glove.
The terrier looked up with an air of anger and dignity, turned round
and trotted off home. The next day it went out again, but after a short
walk it looked up into the man's face, turned on its heels, and trotted
back once more with an air of great dignity. Having thus made its
protest, it would never go out with him again.
Here is another case, having to do this time with unjust treatment
instead of offended pride. Arago, the famous French scientist, was once
detained by a storm at a country inn, and stood warming himself by the
kitchen fire while the innkeeper roasted a fowl for his dinner.
Having put the fowl on the spit over the fire, the innkeeper tried to
catch a turnspit dog lying in the kitchen and put him in the wheel by
which the spit was turned. But the dog would not enter the spit, got
under a table, and showed fight. When Arago asked what made it act that
way, the host said that the dog was right, it was not its turn but
that of its companion, then out of the room. The other turnspit was
sent for, entered the wheel at once and turned away willingly. When
the fowl was half done Arago took this dog out and the other dog now
readily took his turn. He had fought for right and justice and had won.
We must stop here. The stories told about the intelligence of dogs are
so many and of such different kinds that they would more than fill
this book if all were told. We have picked out a few of some kinds.
There are other kinds. Thus dogs do not like to be laughed at. They
have also some sense of humor and will try to play tricks on their
masters. They have a sense of shame and will slink away when caught at
some act of which they should be ashamed. And there are thieves among
them that will steal in a very skilful manner. Thus sheep-killing dogs
are very cunning at hiding the evidence of their nightly raids in the
sheep-field.
I cannot leave the dog without quoting Senator Vest's fine words of
praise of this noble animal. They may be viewed as a classic tribute to
the dog. They were spoken in a law-suit in which the Senator was acting
for a party whose dog had been killed. It was "only a dog," said the
other lawyer. Here is what Senator Vest said to the jury:
"Gentlemen of the Jury: The best friend a man has in the world may
turn against him. His son and daughter whom he has reared with loving
care may become ungrateful. Those who are nearest and dearest to us,
those whom we trust with our happiness and our good name, may become
traitors to their trust. The money that a man has he may lose. It
flies away from him when he may need it most. A man's reputation may
be sacrificed in a moment of ill-considered action. The people who are
prone to fall on their knees and do us honor when success is with us
may be the first to throw the stone of malice when failure settles its
cloud upon our heads. The one absolutely unselfish friend a man may
have in this selfish world, the one that never deserts him, the one
that never proves ungrateful or treacherous, is the dog."
[Illustration: Deerhound, Rossie Ralph]
"A man's dog stands by him in prosperity and poverty, in health and
sickness. He will sleep on the cold ground when winter winds blow and
snow drives fiercely, if only he may be near his master's side. He
will kiss the hand that has no food to offer; he will lick the wounds
and sores that come in encounters with the roughness of the world. He
guards the sleep of his pauper master as if he were a prince. When
all other friends desert, he remains; when riches take wings and
reputation falls to pieces, he is as constant in his love as the sun
in its journey through the heavens. If fortune drives the master forth
an outcast into the world, friendless and homeless, the faithful dog
asks no higher privilege than that of accompanying him to guard against
danger, to fight against his enemies. And, when the last scene of all
comes and death takes his master in its embrace, and his body is laid
away in the cold ground; no matter if all other friends pursue their
way, there by his graveside will the noble dog be found, his head
between his paws, his eyes sad but open in alert watchfulness, faithful
and true even unto death."
The claim for the loss of the dog had been $200, but when the jury
heard this just and masterly tribute to the dog they gave a verdict of
$500. Well they knew that every word of it was true.
THE CAT, OUR FIRESIDE INMATE
When the sun has left the sky and night flings its dusky cloak over
all things out-of-doors, then within the house we draw the curtain,
light the lamp, and gather round the study table with books or games.
And soon from her fireside nook steals up soft-footed puss, seeking a
friendly lap in which she may nestle and purr the hours away.
[Illustration:
From Trueblood's Cats by the Way
The Mother Cat and Her Playful Brood]
This bundle of fur we call by the short name of cat was born in other
climes and trained in other ways than the dog, and is as sly and sleek
as the dog is rough and boisterous. It knows how to make itself at
home and dearly loves a soft spot, but it has never quite got rid of
its wild-life ways and is often as hard to make a friend of as the dog
is easy. Rarely does it follow at man's heels in the dog's faithful
fashion.
When did man first take the cat into his house and make it one of
his pets? That is hard to say. If we go back to the early days of
civilization we find the cat an inmate of man's house as well as the
dog, and quite as much at home. It was kept in Egypt several thousand
years ago and thought so much of in those far-off days as to leave the
dog almost out of sight.
The people of that old land loved and worshiped the cat, made it into
a mummy when it died, and any one who killed a cat was punished as if
he had committed a great crime. That was the golden age of the cat, for
one of the goddesses was said to have a cat's head, and the cat had a
sacred city of its own, the city of Bubastis, where a festival in its
honor was held every year and attended by more than half a million of
people.
The people of Greece and Rome also thought much of the cat--perhaps
because it helped them to get rid of the rat, which was as great a
pest then as it is now. In later Europe also the cat was a favorite,
and it was the custom at Aix, in Provence, to get the finest male cat
that could be found, dress it like a baby, and seat it in a splendid
arm-chair for the people to bow down to and worship.
The time came at length when the cat lost its good name and people
began to look upon it as an imp of evil and the companion of the witch
and the sorcerer. A black cat was the worst of all and its life was
a hard one. In those evil days for the cat it became the fashion to
fling cats from the tops of high towers, and at Metz, at the festival
of St. John, cats were thrown by the dozen into a blazing fire and
burned alive.
But better days have now come to pretty puss, and she is cared for as
much as the dog, making the house her nest while the dog lives largely
out-of-doors. It is chiefly at the late hours of the night that the
cat goes abroad. I need not tell any of you what follows. You have
all heard the music of a cat concert and felt as if you would like to
treat those midnight howlers as the witch-cats were treated of old.
Caterwauling we call it, and of all the noises of the night it is far
the worst.
Where did the cat come from? That no one can tell exactly. There are
wild cats in many parts of the world, we find them in Asia, in Europe,
in Africa, in America, but none of them just like our household cat.
The fact is that cats differ in different parts of the world and they
may have come from several species. The Gloved Cat of Nubia comes
nearest to the house cat in size and the shape of the head and tail,
but in other ways is unlike it. So, on the whole, we are still in the
dark about the origin of the cat.
One thing we do know, and this is that the cat has kept more of its
wild ways than the dog. In its nightly rambles it is like the wild-cat
of the woods. And even in the house it is a little too ready to show
its claws. It will scratch where a dog would not think of biting. It
is said that the cat loves places much more than it does people, and
in moving from one house to another it is hard to get the cat away. It
loves its old haunts more than its old friends.
The cat walks on its toes like the lion and tiger and all its other
wild relations. But its claws do not touch the ground. They are drawn
up into a sort of sheath and kept sharp for use as a soldier keeps his
sword sharp in its scabbard. The paws being covered with fur, its step
is silent and its movements are quiet and cautious, as many a mouse has
found out.
[Illustration: The Canada Lynx, the House Cat's "Cousin"]
We might not care so much for the cat if it were not of use to us in
killing those pests of the house, the rat and the mouse. No matter how
well fed she is, pussy dearly loves her mouse, and if on the track of
one she is not to be turned aside. She will crouch for an hour at
a time watching a mouse-hole, never moving a hair until the victim
appears; then a single bound and all is over for the little creature.
Even if the cat is asleep, no mouse can pass it with safety. Its ears
and nose do not seem to sleep.
Once caught, the mouse is played with in a manner that seems cruel to
us. The cat makes a game of letting its prey run away, but takes good
care it does not reach its hole. This, no doubt, is one of its wild
traits, handed down from its ancestors and never tamed out of it. We
are told by one observer that a cat will catch and eat twenty mice in
a day--this, of course, where mice are plentiful. But when a cat gets
a taste for poultry or rabbits it is spoiled as a mouser. And though
it is said that cats do not like to get wet, their fondness for fish
is greater than their dread of water and they have been known to go
fishing in a stream.
It is not easy to make a treaty of peace between the cat and the dog.
Do they hate each other or are they jealous of their position in the
house? The cat is not a match for the dog and makes haste to get away
from the chasing cur, yet when driven into a corner it will put up a
good fight for its life, and many a dog has been sent yelping away from
its sharp claws. But this state of warfare does not always exist and it
is not uncommon for cats and dogs to live together on friendly terms.
[Illustration:
Lippincott's Primer
Ready for Business]
If we go around the world we shall find cats everywhere and of many
kinds. There are not nearly so many varieties of them as there are
of dogs and they do not vary much in size like dogs, yet some breeds
of cats differ greatly from others. Thus the cats from the Isle of
Man--Manx cats they are called--have no tails, while their hind legs
are very long and strong and they are covered with a thick coat of fur
instead of hair. Let us compare this with the showy Angora cat, with
its tail like a great white plume and its long white hair. And they
differ as much in character, for the Manx is a hardy animal and the
Angora is a delicate parlor cat, its health needing to be carefully
looked after.
Then there are the Malay cat, with a tail only half the full length;
the royal Siamese cat, fawn colored, with blue eyes and small head; the
Carthusian, with long, dark, grayish-blue fur; the South African, with
red stripes along its back; the Cyprus, striped and very tall, and the
handsome Persian cat with its long silky hair.
As races are apt to be mixed, cat fanciers make color their chief point
of value. The principal colors are white, black, blue, blue-gray,
smoke-color, orange, and tortoise-shell. A true tortoise-shell tom-cat
brings a big price. The color of the eyes is very important. Blue
eyes are a sign of deafness. Some white cats have red eyes. As for
the hair, cats are divided into two classes, the long-haired and the
short-haired, the Persian and Angora being notable for the length of
their hair. Most common among our cats is the soot-colored or gray,
known as the "tabby," which has black stripes going round its legs,
neck, and tail, and also down its sides. These show a return to the
wild-cat in color, though tabby is as tame as her rivals.
The cat is not lacking in brain power nor in affection, for in many
cases it shows warm love for its mistress. There are various anecdotes
of cat logic, of which a few may be told. When crumbs have been thrown
out to feed the birds a cat will often hide in the shrubbery, waiting
for a chance to spring on them as they feed. One writer speaks of a
case where the cat went farther in its logic. The crumbs thrown out had
been covered by a light fall of snow, and the cat was seen scratching
the snow away. Then she took up the crumbs, laid them on the snow, and
hid behind the bushes to wait for the hungry birds.
A cat trick which shows good reasoning power has often been seen, that
of opening latched doors, a thing which dogs very rarely do. Thus a cat
will spring from the ground, catch the latch handle with one paw and
with the other pull down the thumb-piece, at the same time scratching
with its hind paws at the door post to open the door. The cat that does
this must have seen men pull down the latch for the same purpose and
reasoned out that it could do the same.
Also there are cases of cats learning to sound knockers and ring bells,
with no one to teach them. Thus a Mr. Belshaw writes: "I was sitting in
one of the rooms on my first evening there, and hearing a loud knock
at the front door was told not to heed it, as it was only the kitten
asking for entrance. Not believing this, I watched for myself, and
very soon saw the kitten jump up to the door, hang on by one leg, and
put the other forepaw right through the knocker and rap twice." Here
the cat is not trying to open the door herself, but to bring some one
to open it for her.
Dogs have been known to do the same thing, but not so often as cats,
and there is a story of a dog which had seen the cat do this, and after
that sought the cat when he wanted to get in, without trying to do the
trick himself. One story is told of a cat's ringing a bell by pulling
at an exposed wire.
Though the cat's display of thought is not as varied as the dog's, it
is very good so far as it goes. Here is a story of a different kind. An
oil lamp was being trimmed and some of the oil fell on the cat's back.
Afterwards a cinder from the fire fell on it and set it in a blaze. The
animal at once sprang for the open door and ran up the street with her
back blazing for about a hundred yards. Here was the village watering
trough, into which she plunged and put out the fire. The trough had
eight or nine inches of water, and puss was in the habit of seeing the
fire put out with water every night. In this case it is plain that the
animal, as soon as the fire scorched her back, knew very well how to
deal with the danger.
After all this, who will say that a cat does not think? Here is another
story, told of her cat by a London lady:
"I once had a cat which always sat up to the dinner-table with me,
and had his napkin round his neck and his plate and some fish. He
used his paw, of course; but he was very particular and behaved with
extraordinary decorum. When he had finished his fish I sometimes
gave him a piece of mine. One day he was not to be found when the
dinner-bell rang, so we began without him. Just as the plates were
being put round for the entrée puss came rushing upstairs with two mice
in his mouth. Before he could be stopped he dropped a mouse on to his
own plate and then one on to mine. He divided his dinner with me as I
divided mine with him."
[Illustration: The Hungry Babes and Playful Kitten]
Such is the cat, a sedate, warmth-loving creature, dearly loving to be
petted, yet far less dependent on man or woman than the dog. If left
to itself in the woods, the cat knows well how to take care of itself
where a dog would often be helpless. As for love of play, we do not
find much of it in the cat but we find plenty in the kitten, which is
a regular little rogue, lively, playful, frisky, brimful of fun and a
cute little creature in all its ways.
OTHER FOUR-FOOTED PETS
Looking around us for our household pets after the dog and the cat, we
find that Bunny, the rabbit, comes next. Bunny is a darling pet of the
little ones, who dearly love to fondle this pretty bundle of fur. They
are sometimes too kind and the poor little thing suffers from their
fondness. That is the sad way with children's pets, they are at times
loved to death.
But the rabbit is kept for something else than a child's plaything. It
is often raised for food, much like the hen and the duck, and its furry
skin brings a good price. Thus the Angora rabbit, the most beautiful of
them all, has splendid snow-white fur four inches and more in length,
which is made into many things useful to wear. Stockings, gloves,
shawls, and even stuffs for clothing are made of it. Under-garments
made of the Angora fur are said to be very good for gouty persons.
The pretty little Angora is so often kept as a pet by the ladies of
France and some other countries that it is called "the ladies' rabbit."
It is not always full white, for the Russian Angoras have jet-black
noses, ears, legs and tails, which make them look very comical.
You would be surprised if you could see all the kinds of rabbits
brought together, for there are many more of them than you would think.
A splendid one is the little Silver rabbit, whose skin is used by the
fur-makers and brings a big price. Some of them are silver-brown and
others silver-yellow in color, but these are not common.
The Dutch rabbit is the smallest of all the bunnies, and when the
colors are good it is very pretty. It may be black, yellow, steel-blue,
and of other colors, these hues being oddly combined. Other rabbits of
small size are the Polish and the French papillon (or butterfly). The
one called the Polish is really an English rabbit, and little folks are
very fond of it, with its red eyes twinkling out of its snow-white fur.
This fur is of high value. The papillon is white, with black, yellow,
gray, or blue spots, and is quite pretty.
Then there is the Japan rabbit, also called the tricolor or
tortoise-shell. It has black, yellow and whitish markings and rings
round its body, while its head is often half yellow and half black.
You can see from what has been said that color has much to do with the
difference in rabbits. The ears form another point. They are generally
long and stand straight up, giving the rabbit a wide-awake look, but
there is a lop-eared rabbit with ears so long and heavy that they hang
down on each side and nearly touch the ground.
The king of all the rabbits in size is the Giant rabbit of Flanders.
Two others known as giants are the Blue Giant of Vienna and the Blue
Giant of Beveren (Flanders). The flesh of these Blue Giants is very
good and their fur brings a high price. That of the Blue Giant of
Beveren is very thick and close and is of great value. This animal
weighs from seven to ten pounds.
We are familiar in this country with the Belgian hare. It is not a hare
at all, though it looks like one, but is really a rabbit, and is a fine
strong species, weighing six or seven pounds and excellent for the
table. It is a little wild, but soon grows gentle with those who care
for it. It used to be sent in great numbers to the United States.
You may see from what has been said that there are many varieties of
the rabbit. Of those used for food much the best is the Norman rabbit,
which weighs nine or ten pounds and is sold in the markets in Paris and
other cities of France. The black-and-tan is one of the most beautiful
of the rabbits, from its splendid color, but it is very shy and hard
to tame. The last we need speak of is the Havana rabbit, of brown or
chocolate color, now much raised in Holland.
When the rabbit is taken good care of it is very healthy and those who
raise it for the market for its fur find it of much value, since it
increases in numbers very rapidly. Many of the young die, it is true,
but enough live to keep up a large family.
[Illustration: Rabbits near Their Burrow. The Young at Play, the
Mother Alert for Danger]
A good rabbit home may be made of a number of boxes of about the same
size, raised four or five inches above the ground and facing the sun if
they are kept in the open air. Casks or barrels may also be used, with
a door at one end of the barrel, covered with netting to keep out rats
and mice.
It is amusing to see the care with which the mother rabbit makes her
nest when she is about to have young. Some soft straw and hay is put in
the box or cask and this she carries into one corner of her home, makes
a hollow in it, and lines this with fur pulled from her breast, to make
a warm, soft nest for the little brood. When the young are born she
must be given something juicy, such as a turnip or carrot, or perhaps
a little warm milk or water, for if left thirsty she grows feverish
and is apt to eat the little ones, not knowing what she is doing. She
cannot bear thirst and it makes her do strange things. There may be new
broods of young five or six times a year, and if only three or four of
each brood live there will be a good many by the year's end.
There are many other animals which are at times kept as pets by man,
though the dog, cat, and rabbit are the most common. The Ferret is
often kept, though not as a pet. It is a half wild little brute, hard
to tame and used for hunting, for some kinds of which it is very
useful. It is a sort of white weasel, long and slender, so that it can
make its way through rat holes or rabbit burrows. A brave little thing,
it is not afraid to attack the largest rat, and is good at clearing a
house of rats and mice. It is also used to drive rabbits from their
burrows. Nets are set to catch the prey or they are shot as they rush
out. But a muzzle is put on the ferret, for if it can kill the rabbit
and drink its blood it may stay for days in the hole. At other times a
long string is tied to it, so that it can be pulled out. The ferret is
sometimes used to chase and catch fowls. Once caught, a single sharp
bite on the neck puts an end to the life of the fowl.
[Illustration: The Otter, One of Nature's Fishers]
The ferret is a blood-sucker, and this makes it dangerous when it has
once tasted blood. It has been known to attack a child in its cradle
when the mother was away, and will bite its master if not given enough
food or ill-treated in any way. It is an ugly tempered little brute,
usually unfit for petting. But Mr. Romanes tells of one kept by him
that was fond of being petted and would follow him like a dog when he
walked out. It was also taught tricks, such as begging for food and
leaping over sticks, and those it never seemed to forget.
The Guinea-pig, which is often kept as a home animal, has none of the
fierce ways of the ferret. In spite of its name, it has nothing to
do with the real pig, but is one of the gnawing animals, a timid and
stupid creature, that first came from South America. Large numbers of
them are found on the banks of the La Plata River, being there known as
the Cavy. They burrow in the ground and feed on fruits and herbs.
[Illustration: A Guinea-Pig. Pig Only by Name, not by Nature]
What people like in the Guinea-pig is its pretty coloring. The wild
form is of a grayish-brown color, but as kept on the farm its color is
white, with patches of red and black. It is of no use to man except as
a pet, for it is not fit for food and is too stupid for anything else.
It has been said to drive off rats and mice, but this is a false notion.
What can we say of the Hedgehog as a pet? Not much, though it is often
kept. It is no more a hog than the Cavy is a pig, but is not one of
the gnawing animals, for it lives chiefly on mice, game, birds, frogs,
insects and worms. This makes it very useful in a garden or in a house
in which roaches are a pest. The odd thing about the hedgehog is its
armor of sharp spines. When attacked by a dog or other animal it at
once rolls itself up into a ball with the spines pointing out in all
directions like those of the porcupine. Thus the little creature is
quite able to take care of itself. The dog may roll it about with his
foot but is afraid to bite into its spines.
The Weasel has also been tamed and been found a lovable little animal.
The Otter is another tamable creature and can be taught to catch fish
and bring them to its master. Dr. Goldsmith tells us of one that would
go to the fish pond when told to do so, drive the fish into a corner,
seize the largest and carry it in its mouth to its master.
There are many other animals that have at times been kept as pets,
among them such a queer one as the Kangaroo, with its very long hind
legs and very short fore-legs and its habit of jumping instead of
walking. A pet kangaroo of which we are told was a very man-like
or monkey-like creature in its way of eating, using its fore-paws
like hands to take food from its dish. What it most enjoyed was a
rabbit-bone, which it would take in its right paw and pick clean,
eating it with great relish.
It was very fond of tea, but liked to have it well sweetened. If the
milk was left out it would lash its tail, draw up its tall figure
angrily and bound away with a long leap. Kanny had a very sweet tooth
and liked sugared almonds best of all titbits.
Other odd pets we have heard of were a couple of Prairie dogs, brought
from Texas to Scotland and kept in a village garden. They proved very
friendly but needed to be locked up in a strong box at night, for
they would gnaw into shreds the mats and rugs and everything open to
their sharp teeth. But they were loving little things and had a way of
showing affection by a gentle pressure of their teeth on the hands of
their friends. If a stranger touched them in a timid way he was apt to
get a pinch but if a firm hold was taken they seemed to like it.
These are only a few of the animals that have been kept as pets.
Cardinal Wolsey made a friend of an old carp, Cowper, the poet, loved
to play with his hares, and Lord Clive, the soldier, kept a pet
tortoise. Others of less note have made pets of snakes, frogs, lizards,
and various other animals. We have not tried to name them all and have
said nothing about so common a pet as the monkey, for we must keep this
funny fellow for a chapter of his own.
[Illustration]
II
OUR SINGLE-HOOFED HELPERS
Is there anywhere, has there ever been, a finer or more useful animal
than the horse, the swift racer of the plains, the noble lord of the
desert, the mainstay of the city and farm? To us the horse is as
familiar a friend as the dog. We see this fine animal everywhere that
man lives, now valued for his speed, when he flies away over the racing
field "with the wings of the wind;" now admired for his beauty and
stately form, when he draws the coaches of kings and nobles; now for
his great size, as the huge draught animal; now for his small size, as
the dainty little pony. It is sad to say also that we often see him as
the old, worn-out drudge of the streets, hard-worked, half-fed, and
slowly dying in harness.
Go back as far as we can in history it is the same story still. The
horse is man's friend and helper, carrying him in the battle-field,
working for him on the farm, bearing him in his travels. But if we go
back beyond history we come to a time when the horse was free and wild.
It was not yet tamed by man, but was hunted and killed for food. In
the caves that were the homes of early man great numbers of horses'
bones are found, left from the feasts of old-time savage men.
[Illustration: Friends and Comrades]
The wild horse has not gone from the earth. Troops of them still live
on the vast plains of northern Asia, and they are found also in the
forests of the south of Russia, small, wiry animals, full of life and
spirit. These are called Tarpans. Centuries ago wild horses were to be
found in Spain and parts of Germany, but these have all been caught and
made to work for their living. America has its wild horses also, plenty
of them in South America, but they are not natives of the soil. Some of
the horses brought over from Spain by the early settlers escaped from
their masters and became free and wild in the great grassy plains.
These are known as "mustangs" or "cimmarones," and no use is made of
them except by the Indians, who kill and eat some of them and tame
others.
THE HORSE IN ALL LANDS
No matter where we find horses they are very much the same. They are
not like dogs, of which there are so many kinds. Of course there is
much difference in the size of horses and also in their colors, but
little difference in other ways. If we travel together over the earth
and see the horses of the various countries we shall find them very
much alike. Yet such a journey is well worth taking, for it will show
us many things we ought to know.
The horse family, as very likely you know, differs from all other
animals in having only one toe. It comes from animals that had a number
of toes, but these have all gone but one, and the nail of this toe has
grown into a thick, horny hoof which keeps the foot from being hurt as
the horse gallops over its native plains. Its home is on broad, grassy
levels, soft to the tread. But when used by man it has to travel much
on hard and stony roads which would soon wear out its hoof. So to save
this it has to be shod with iron. The hoof is so thick that the iron
shoe can be nailed to it without touching the flesh.
There are a number of animals much like the horse, but unlike it in
several ways. These animals we shall speak of further on. One of the
special points by which one knows the horse is the long hairs which
cover the whole length of its tail. Another is its splendid, flowing
mane. It has also longer legs and smaller head and ears than the other
members of its family. Altogether a fine horse is one of the handsomest
of all animals. And among them all it is one of the most useful to man.
[Illustration: Rosa Bonheur's Famous Picture of the Horse Fair]
Now let us start on the journey abroad we laid out and see some of the
world's horses. If we go first to the grand plains of northern Asia,
the broad, level country called the steppes, the people of which are
always travelling about with their flocks and herds, we shall find
ourselves in the native land of the horse. In far-off times this was
the great region of the wild horse and here very likely it was first
made a slave of man.
All the time on the move, as these shepherd people were, driving their
cattle and sheep from pasture to pasture, the horse was fitted for
their use by its strength and speed, and very long ago it must have
been caught and made to bear the saddle and bridle and carry man on its
back. No one can say how long ago this was, but these people are now
the great horsemen of the earth. They live with their horses, sleep
with them, and love them even more than they do their children.
The Mongols of the steppes have almost lost the art of walking. They
live so much on horseback that their legs have become curved instead
of straight and when they walk their bodies bend forward as if they
were riding. The time was when great hordes of these wild horsemen
swept over the south of Asia and a great part of Europe, capturing and
killing the people wherever they came. Thus the horse has been of great
use in war.
The horses of the steppes are of middle size but are very strong and
can go long without food and bear very hard work. They have quick,
alert ears and eyes full of life and spirit, and can easily travel from
forty to sixty miles in a day. Their color is light bay, cream color,
white spotted with red, or sorrel, and some of them are quite pretty.
Here let us step aside to the British island and tell the story of a
famous horse, Black Bess, belonging to a famous rider, Dick Turpin,
the highwayman. Once when Dick was chased by the soldiers, this noble
animal carried him from London to York, a distance of one hundred and
five miles, in eleven hours. And this was done over rough roads and
without a stop to eat or drink. As she entered the gates of York the
splendid beast fell dead. You may learn from this what the horse is
able to do.
If we wish to see the noblest and finest of all horses we must go from
the grassy steppes of the north to the sandy deserts of Arabia, where
for thousands of years has been kept the splendid Arab breed, the pride
of their masters and the swiftest and most beautiful of the horse
tribe. Many of these have been brought to Europe to give their blood
to the racing stock. Black Bess, Dick Turpin's noble horse, had much
Arabian blood. But the best of these horses are not sold out of their
native land, for a true Arab horseman would almost rather sell his soul
than his horse.
Persia also has its noble breed of horses, kept for desert travel and
of the same type as those of Arabia. The mountain horses of the Balkans
are of a similar type, beautiful in color, often a golden brown, with
dark brown manes and tails, and soft, glossy coats. Like the Persian
and Arabian they have delicate but strong bones, large muscles and much
power of work and travel.
Russia, with its vast plains, is the great country for the horse. Most
of these are the horses of the steppes, which we have spoken of, but
the Russian peasants have many millions of working horses, tall, stout,
strong beasts, with powerful legs and solid hoofs. They are not only
strong, but willing and ready, and are good for riding as well as
drawing.
Germany comes next to Russia in the old world in numbers of horses, and
is noted for its fine, large, handsome carriage horses. From the days
of George I. of England, to Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee in 1897,
eight of the splendid horses of Hanover were used to draw the royal
coach on all state occasions, and fine, stately animals they were.
France has several fine breeds of horses, from the heavy Norman Coach
horse to the powerful French Draft horse and the well-known Percherons,
much used in this country. In England the hunting and racing horses
stand first. These, known as Thoroughbreds, are in great part of the
Arabian stock and there are no finer animals to be found for the
race-track. Of the many other large breeds in Europe we shall speak
only of the great draft horses of Belgium, known the world over for
their fine shape, great muscles and vast strength.
Coming down now from these elephant-like horses it is a long step to
the pony, the toy animal found in the cold countries of the north. Best
known among these are the Shetland ponies, from the frosty islands
north of Scotland. These tiny creatures, sometimes less than three
feet high, are ridden by children and used in circuses. But the chief
use in their native land for these poor little ponies is in the coal
mines, to draw the coal carts. Once taken into a mine, they never see
the light of day again, some of them living fifteen years in these dark
prisons.
[Illustration:
From Davis' Practical Farming
Pure Bred Clydesdale Draft Horse]
Another small, pony is the Norker horse of Norway, a strong little
creature, noted for its power of mountain travel and of swimming. The
ponies of Iceland are much like these, with thick coats of hair. These
get their food in winter by scraping away the snow with their hoofs and
eating the thin coat of grass and moss below.
Sweden also has its ponies, as also the mountain regions of Britain and
other northern countries; but ponies are not confined to cold regions,
for we find them as far south as Italy and Greece, and in the Grecian
islands known as the Cyclades is a breed of ponies said to be still
smaller than those of the Shetlands.
If we now cross the sea and come to our own country, the United States,
we find no native breed of horses, all those we have being of European
stock. This may seem strange when it is known that America was one
of the native homes of the horse. The ancestors of the horse dwelt
here, from little, five-toed animals of the size of a fox to the large
one-toed animal of the recent age. All over America horses once spread,
from the Arctic Seas to Patagonia, but when white men first reached
this soil not a horse remained. They all had gone, no one knows how,
and the continent had to be supplied again from European stock.
RACER AND HUNTER
The horse has long been used in many ways by man; in cart, wagon, and
plough; on the race-track and in the hunting field; in war and in
peace. It has been man's great aid and helper, and through all the ages
until less than a century ago it was the fastest means of travel or of
sending news. Up to about 1830 all land travel was on horseback or by
coach, or else on foot. Then the locomotive came and brought a great
change. It was later still when men began to send news by lightning
express over the telegraph wire. In early days in our country the
mails, which now go so fast, were carried by old men on horseback, who
spent the time in knitting stockings as they jogged along slowly over
the rough roads.
[Illustration: A Roman Chariot Race]
The horse has long been used not only in travel but also in sport, as
a hunter and racer. When we read the story of ancient days and of the
old Greeks and Romans we find many tales of chariot races. These old
nations had great oval buildings, with thousands of seats, and a long
oval race-track around which the horses had to run several times to
finish the race.
These were not horseback races, like those of to-day, but races with
chariots like those used in war. Each chariot was drawn by four swift
horses and driven by a man who stood upright with reins and whip in
hand and drove his horses at full speed round the track. The great and
rich people took part in these races and many thousands of lookers on
cheered them wildly as they sped onward like flying eagles. If any of
you should like to read a good story of an ancient chariot race you can
find one of the best in General Lew Wallace's novel of "Ben Hur."
In the Middle Ages riding was done on horseback, and when carriages
and coaches were brought into use people despised those who rode in
them, calling them weak and lazy. So in those days the racing was on
horseback, as it still is in most cases. Many of these races went on
in the open country, through rough fields and over streams. They were
called "clock races," for the prizes were little wooden clocks, or
clock towers. These were afterwards made in silver, and from them came
the name of "steeplechase," by which such races are now called.
Regular race-courses began in England in the reign of James I., after
1600, and in later years many Arabian horses were brought to that
country and racing became a common sport. One of the most celebrated of
those early racers was Eclipse, a horse never beaten and never needing
whip or spur. Since then there have been many famous racers, and racing
has become very popular in all parts of Europe. A bad feature of it
is the habit of betting on the speed of horses, by which many men have
lost all their money.
[Illustration: Thoroughbred Racing Horse. A Trained Horse of This
Breed is the swiftest of all Animals]
Racing was early brought over to this country, and was common in the
South in the times of the colonies. It is still kept up. The trotting
horse has been developed in the United States until now we have the
best trotters in the world. In the British islands, as you may know,
the racing horses are made to run, or gallop, quite a different pace
from the trot.
The trotting horses of this country began with a fine English horse
named Messenger, born in 1780, of Arabian stock. In 1806 it was
thought splendid when a horse trotted a mile in 2.50 (2 minutes and 50
seconds). There are now trotting horses which can make a mile in less
than 2 minutes. Running is a faster pace and a mile can be made in less
time, but Americans like trotting better.
Shall I say something about the use of the horse in hunting? This has
long been a common sport in England and Ireland, much more so than in
this country. The owners of large estates in the British islands often
keep large packs of hounds, trained to chase the fox or the deer, and
known as fox-hounds and deer-hounds. Their stables are also filled with
horses, trained to run at full speed over rough country and jump high
fences and wide ditches.
The hunting of deer and hares is an old form of sport, centuries old,
but now fox-hunting is liked better, and great care is taken to protect
the foxes for the use of the hunters. Fox-hunting is very hard work for
horses and only a good horse can be used as often as twice a week in
a fox-chase. There is a story of a deer hunt by the king's hounds and
horses where the chase was kept up nearly five hours over wild country.
It was so hard on horses and men that many of the riders had to give
up, two horses died in the field and seven others during the week. A
run of this length over rough ground, with all sorts of obstacles in
the way, will kill or badly injure the strongest horse.
Trained hunters can do wonderful feats of jumping over fences and
ditches, but this leads to many accidents, and the injury or death of
horse or rider in the hunting field often takes place.
[Illustration: Virginia Deer]
WAR-HORSE AND WORKING-HORSE
In far past times the horse was used in war far more than in our days.
Men can now kill one another fast enough without the use of horses, but
large numbers are still used in the army, to haul wagons and guns and
for those who fight on horseback. In ancient days no saddle was used,
soldiers riding their horses bareback, though the great men of the
armies rode in war-chariots. The old Roman horsemen did not use bits
or bridles, but guided their horses by a headband which pressed on the
nose, the reins being fastened to rings on this band. In later Roman
times the saddle was used, but the Germans they fought with still rode
bareback or used the skin of an animal for a saddle. They did not use
stirrups. It was the same with the great Tartar riders, who came from
the steppes of Asia and conquered great part of Europe and Asia.
In the days of chivalry, when the knights wore steel armor and used
heavy harness, large and strong horses had to be ridden, but in later
days much lighter horses served for the soldiers' needs. Those who have
read of Napoleon's wonderful campaigns know how much use he made of his
cavalry, and many horses are still used in war, though not so many as
of old.
If now we leave the story of the war-horse and the racer and hunter
and come to that of the working-horse we meet with an animal in which
strength and pulling power are of more account than show and speed.
For ages past the horse has worked faithfully for man, in the farming
field, along the country road, on the streets of the cities; hauling
the plow and harrow in the field, the wagon and cart along the road,
the carriage, car, dray and other wheeled vehicle in the street. And
its life has often been one of much suffering, and still is in some
countries, for there are nations in which the poor, patient horse is
treated with great cruelty.
[Illustration: A Logging Team with a Heavy Load]
But in these days man has much less need of the horse than of old. Once
it did nearly the whole of man's hauling. Now the powerful locomotive
takes its place. In city streets the electric car saves the horse from
much of his former labor, and the automobile and auto-car are taking
the place of the horse for riding and hauling. Yet horses are still
in use in large numbers and it will be long before man gives up this
useful friend and helper.
THE HORSE TAMER
The taming of wild horses is no light task. It is one that needs the
greatest skill and daring. The lasso, a long, strong rope with a noose
at its end, is the weapon of the tamer, with which he can bring down
the strongest and wildest animal. Chasing the wild horse on a tamed
one, trained in the art, the skilled rider, when near enough, will
fling his lasso with wonderful skill and rarely fails to catch the
fleeing animal in its strong noose. The horse he rides knows well its
duty, which is to pull back on the rope and check the flight of the
frightened creature.
To bring the wild captive to the ground is only half the labor. It must
be saddled and bridled and ridden until it is worn-out and its wild
spirit gives way. It will plunge and rear, whirl round and kick in all
directions, even roll over and over, in a mad effort to throw the rider
from its back. Only when completely subdued will it yield, but once
tamed it may become a very faithful friend and servant to its tamer.
Bucking is one of the ways a wild horse seeks to get rid of his rider,
and it takes a man of great skill to keep on the back of a bucking
horse. Lowering its head between its fore-legs, it gives a wild leap
upwards and comes down with a smash of its hoofs on the ground. The man
that can keep in the saddle through two or three of these jumps must
make himself part of the horse.
The men who do this are splendid riders, and the cowboys of the plains,
who have to take care of the great herds of cattle, almost live on
horseback. Such a man can often bend over from his horse, reach down,
and pick up a small object, such as a glove, from the ground while
riding at full speed.
Every young horse has to be broken to harness before it is fit for
work. The freedom which it has been given in its youthful days must
come to an end, and this it does not like. For a race-horse the
breaking is done when it is about a year and a half old, but for a
working or coach horse it is left until it is three or four years old.
The horse-breaker must be gentle and patient or he may spoil the temper
of the horse. He must get the colt used to be touched and to feel the
halter. After that he leads out the young animal with rein and halter.
The next thing is to teach the colt the feel of the bit. A bit may
be put into its mouth every day while it is in the stable, so as to
accustom it to the feel of the metal. It is then taken out and driven
with long reins fastened to the bit, and taught to move to the pull of
the rein. After this the horse can be harnessed and put to work.
All this takes much time and trouble and it is only done with fine
horses, other horses being broken with less pains. But if the animal is
high-bred a quick breaking may spoil its courage or ruin its temper.
THE ARAB AND HIS HORSE
Would you not like to hear some more about the Arabian horse, the
noblest and best of his race? I have told how all our best racers are
of Arab stock and how dearly the Arab loves his horse. A child of
the desert, often having to go long and far without food and under a
blazing sun, the horse becomes very hardy.
It may be tied by all four legs to stakes set in the ground and kept
there for many hours, the sun burning hot, yet if now its legs are set
free and its master springs upon its back it is as full of life and
spirit and as eager for a wild ride as if it had been taken fresh from
the stable.
The comrade of its master by day and night, his support and comfort,
ready to go without food or drink in his service, the horse and its
rider grow more like two lovers than like master and servant. The
poverty of the Arab may at times force him to sell his horse, but it is
like selling a part of himself.
"My eyes! my soul! my heart!" he will say, "must I be forced to give
thee a new master, and not keep thee myself? I am poor, my antelope;
I brought thee up in my dwelling as a child; I did never beat or chide
thee."
Then he will embrace the noble animal, wipe its eyes with his
handkerchief, rub its glossy skin with his sleeve and remain long
talking to it as if he was parting with his dearest child.
[Illustration: The Famous Arab Steeds and Desert Riders]
"When I was at Jerusalem," says Chateaubriand, "the feats of one of
those steeds made a great noise. The Bedouin to whom the animal, a
mare, belonged, being pursued by the governor's guards, rushed with him
from the top of the hills that overlooked Jericho. The mare scoured at
full gallop down an almost perpendicular declivity without stumbling
and left the soldiers lost in admiration and astonishment. The poor
creature, however, dropped down dead on entering Jericho, and the
Bedouin, who would not quit her, was taken, weeping over the body
of his faithful companion. Ali Aga showed me, in the mountains near
Jericho, the footsteps of the mare that died in the attempt to save her
master."
Here is one more story of the Arabian horse. "When the envoy," says
Sir John Malcolm, "was encamped near Bagdad, an Arab rode a bright
bay mare, of extraordinary shape and beauty, before his tent until he
attracted his attention. On being asked if he would sell her--
"'What will you give me,' was the reply.
"'That depends upon her age; I suppose she is past five.'
"'Guess again,' said he.
"'Four?'
"'Look at her mouth!'
"On examination she was found to be rising three. This, from her size
and fine shape, added much to her value.
"'I will give you fifty tomans,' said the envoy. (The toman is worth
about five dollars.)
"'A little more--if you please.'
"'Eighty--a hundred.'
"He shook his head and smiled. The officer at last came to two hundred
tomans.
"'Well,' said the Arab, 'you need not tempt me farther. You are a rich
elchee (nobleman); you have fine horses, camels, and mules, and I am
told you have loads of silver and gold. Now,' he added, 'you want my
mare, but you shall not have her for all you have got.'"
ANECDOTES OF THE HORSE
The horse has a mind of its own, and now and then lets us see that it
can think, but it does not seem to have as good brain-power as the dog
or the cat. There is much reason for this. The horse eats grass and
does not need to think how to get its food. The dog and cat eat meat,
and in their wild state have to catch other animals for food. To do
this they have to use tricks and plans which need thought and thus
their minds are kept busy.
Also they are in danger from other animals. Take the fox, which is a
sort of cousin of the dog. When chased by men and dogs it has many ways
of getting away from them besides running. This is not the case with
the horse, which is one of the best of runners and trusts to its heels
instead of its brain to escape from its enemies. So in its wild state
it does little work with its brain.
The horse is a timid animal and easily scared. And when in a state of
fright it seems to have no power of thought. All it does is to run in a
mad way, rushing along over roads and streets without heed of where it
is going, and sometimes knocking out its brains against a post or wall.
You will not find a scared fox or wolf show such lack of sense as this.
They never get into a wild panic like the horse.
Thus there is very little in the life of the horse to make it think.
Yet it can think to some extent, as may be seen from a few anecdotes.
It can also be taught to do tricks that need some brain-power. I think
you will like to read some stories of horse-thought.
The horse has a good memory, as any one can see when riding over roads
which it travelled long before. There are many stories of men trusting
to their horses when they were in a dangerous place, and in this way
being brought out all right. A friend of Darwin, the naturalist, wrote
him this in a letter:--
"I want to tell you an instance of long memory in a horse. I have just
driven my pony down from London here, and though she has not been here
for eight years she remembered her way quite well, and made a bolt for
the stables where I used to keep her."
This is only one out of many cases that could be told. A horse driven
by a doctor or milkman does not need to be drawn up before certain
houses. It knows just where to stop. There is a story told of a
gentleman who was in the habit of stopping his horse to give money to
every beggar he met on the road. He loaned or sold this horse to a
friend, who soon wrote to him asking him to take his horse back again.
"I cannot pass a beggar on the road but the old fellow will stop and
will not start again until I have given the man something. If I have
no money I have to pretend to give before I can get him to move on."
Some horses have the sense to help themselves in various ways. One of
these learned how to step out of its halter when the coachman had left
it for the night. Then it would pull out the sticks in the pipe of the
oat-bin so as to let all the oats run down over the stable-floor. Of
course, it had seen the coachman pull out these sticks and knew that
this was the way to get a free lunch. The same horse would also turn
the water-tap to get a drink and pull the window cord to open the
window on hot nights.
Not many horses are as smart as this, yet numerous tricks played by
horses could be told. There is one told of a horse which, when turned
into a field where there was a pump, soon found out how to get water.
He would take the pump-handle in his mouth and work it with his head
until he had all the water in the trough he wanted to drink. Of course,
he had seen men work the handle in this way.
A number of stories could be told of horses which went themselves to
the blacksmith shop when their shoes were out of order. One is of a
Shetland pony which came to a blacksmith shop a long distance from its
home and thrust its head in the door. The blacksmith drove it away but
it soon came back again. Then the smith looked at its feet and found
that one shoe was gone. He made and put on a shoe and then waited to
see what the animal would do.
"For a moment it looked at the blacksmith as if asking whether he was
done. Then it pawed once or twice to see if the newly-shod foot was
comfortable, and finally gave a pleased neigh, lifted its head, and
started homewards at a brisk trot. The owner was much surprised to find
the horse at home that evening, fully shod, and could not understand it
until the smith had told him the story of his pony's wit."
One of the smartest tricks we have met with is told of a mule, an
animal which is not supposed to have the sense of a horse. It belonged
to a gentleman living at Iowa City, and was an expert at getting into
mischief. It took every chance when the yard-gate and barn-door were
open to slip in and steal a mouthful of oats. One morning it was found
in the barn with the gate shut and latched and no one could tell how it
got there. This went on for some time, until a watch was set and the
smart mule was "caught in the act."
This is the way it worked. It would reach over the fence with its head
and lift the gate latch. Then when the gate swung open it would go
through into the yard and back up against it, pushing it to till the
latch caught. This done, it went to the barn, pulled out the pin that
held the door, and walked calmly in. The owner says: "I am of the
opinion, had not discovery of the trick prevented, it would soon have
occurred to him to retrace his steps before daylight, in order to avoid
the clubbing which the stable boys gave him in the morning."
[Illustration: A Pair of Prize Mules]
THE ASS, ZEBRA AND MULE
The animal called the ass is a near relation of the horse, one best
known to us under its common name of Donkey. It is like the horse in
some ways and not like it in others. The ass is much smaller than
the horse, being nearer the size of the pony. It has a heavy head,
thick lips, long ears, and a tail not covered with long hair like the
horse's tail, but with a tuft of hair at the end like that of a cow. A
decided difference is in its voice, the bray of the donkey being an
ear-splitting sound, not at all like the neigh of the horse.
The wild ass is found through all parts of Central and Southern Asia
and also in Northern Africa. It is spoken of in the Bible. The book of
Job praises this animal for its love of liberty. Job says of it: "He
scorneth the multitude of the city, neither regardeth he the cry of
the driver. The range of the mountains is his pasture and he searcheth
after every green thing."
[Illustration:
Reproduced by Permission of Amer. Conservatory
Mexican Donkey Waiting for the Last Straw]
That is a good picture of the wild ass, for it seems to like every
green thing. It eats the bitter herbs of its favorite regions, the
mountain spinach, the dandelion, the thistle, and the witch grass, and
drinks the salt water of the Caspian Sea as readily as fresh water.
It is taller and stouter than the donkey, very active and able to
bear fatigue. Its winter coat resembles that of a camel, being long
and fleecy, but in summer its hair is soft and silky and silvery white
beneath.
The Tartars and Persians kill and eat this animal, but it has sharp
eyes and keen ears and is a swift runner, so that it is hard to shoot.
When taken young it is easily tamed, and if well fed grows to be a
strong and handsome animal which sells at good prices.
Such is the fine animal which has been turned into the dwarfed and
stupid donkey of Europe. To be dull and obstinate is not native to
this animal. Its lack of sense comes in great part from the way it is
treated and its being taken to a climate too damp and cold for it. In
the warm, dry regions of the south it is a finer animal and gets better
care, and here the people often pet and love their donkeys.
In China and Persia there is a fine race of asses, used only for
riding, and these are so thick in Bokhara that the streets are often
crowded with them. They are of many colors, white, black, brown,
blue-gray, etc. The donkeys of Egypt also are handsome animals, with an
easy gait that makes them much liked for riding. Still handsomer are
those of Upper Egypt and Nubia, which are such fine creatures that they
sell for more than horses.
In the western states of this country and in the Spanish republics is
a very small donkey, called the Burro, much used as a carrier of loads
in the mountain regions and in the streets of cities. There are also
great numbers of wild asses in parts of South America, Patagonia having
very many of them. They were once so abundant in the Cape Verde and
Canary Islands that they were hunted and killed like beasts of game.
Aside from their flesh, which is much liked when they are young, the
skin is of value, being made into parchment, vellum and shagreen.
[Illustration: The Striped Zebra of Africa]
The Zebra, one of the most beautiful of animals, from its handsomely
striped skin, is a member of the horse family, but one of which we do
not need to speak, since it is found only in a wild state. It has in
some cases been tamed and trained to harness, but it is an obstinate
and hot-tempered brute, so that few have tried to tame it.
Another striped animal of Africa rather like the zebra, is the Quagga,
but this has been hunted and killed till now none of them can be found.
Its name came from its cry ("quag-ga quag-ga"), as different from the
neigh of the horse as from the bray of the ass.
A cross has been made between the zebra and the horse, which has been
named the Zebrule or Zebroid. These have proved strong and easy to
train for harness and saddle. There are several of them now in the
government collection of animals at Washington, and some time they may
prove useful.
But the best cross-breed is that between the horse and the ass, well
known to us all as the Mule. The breeding of mules has been carried on
from very old times and is now common in many parts of the earth. It
yields an animal which is cheaper to keep than the horse and better
fitted for many kinds of work.
I hardly need tell you what the mule is like, for all of you have often
seen this ugly and at times very obstinate, but hard-working brute.
The mule is much like the horse in size and shape, but it has the long
ears, the tufted tail, the thin, wiry legs, and the narrow hoofs of the
ass. And while its coat is like that of the horse, its voice comes
near that of the ass.
The mule is like the ass also in being strong, hardy and not given to
disease. Even when thirty years old it often shows no sign of age. Thus
it is useful for more years than the horse, eats less, and is fit for
work not suited to the horse.