DOGS THAT TALK LIKE MEN.

Oamaru Mail, Volume XXXIX, Issue 10777, 27 May 1911, Page 3 (Supplement)

DOGS THAT TALK LIKE MEN.

(by Godwin Huystedt.i

Nol lonix ago a i'iifrom llam>'iri_" under tin- Atlantic the in-

t'.rmation that a dog owned by a gamekeeper on tile Kaiser's royal preserve-; at *i heerhutte had been taught to talk.

It inu-t he admitted that oie's lir.-t----impulse is to confront sueii a despatch with a cold stare of incredulity. The earliest message, however, was follow* -1 by others, which left no room for doubt as to the accuracy of its statements. The name of this remarkable dog is Don, and its owner rejoices in "the patronym of libers. A gamekeeper i-, much alone. It was in his solitary moments that Ebers developed a h.ibit of conversing with his tour-footed friend. The various steps of Don's education have not yet been described, but Ebers, when he found the dog giving voice to sounds which resembled human speech, undertook to cultivate its apparently rare faculty, with the result that it has to-day a vocabulary of seven words.

That there might be 110 reason to suspect imposition in the case of Don, a commission of scientists, among whom were Professor Pfuungst, of the Psychological; Institute of Berlin, and Professor Vorseler, of the Hamburg Zoological Gardens, Jjaid a visit to Gamekeeper Ebers. Their investigations satisfied them beyond a doubt of Don's power of talking. His vocabulary is describe consisting of not less than four words of two syllables. • Hardly less important, perhaps, than the fact that he can. talk at all, is is that he understands-the meaning of what he says. When 'he is hungry he says "Haben hunger." Kucken (cakes) are a favorite article of food, .and he asks for tliein in faultless German. He caii say ja and nein, and when there are disturbing, noises, particularly the barking of other dogs, he does not- hesitate, to shout loudly "Ituhe" (be quiet). • Yet Don is not the first among the four-footed ones to develop powers of speech. At about the time the German dog's achievements Tvere first announced to the world, there appeared in the - newspapers an account of an American dog similarly gifted, although to a lesser degree. This animal waited for the - hour of dissolution to exercise its talent. Then, on the death-jbed, it said "Mamma" quite plainly. There struggles to the surface of the writers' memory a story from a very old and interesting book. In a distant country a nation and its ruler were in distress because there had settled among tliem an alien race travelling toward a mysterious destiny, and so numerous that the owners of the land feared they themselves would be crowded out. Hut the aliens'were strong and warlike, not easily to be driven at the point of the sword. The ruler of the land therefore called upon a certain prophet of great renown to launch a few curses against these uitlanders, which the prophet was willing to do ill return for the consideration promised to him. It happened that the Supreme Beiug, having other plans, forbade the prophet to follow any such course as he had .in mind. But the prophet was stubborn. He thought that lie might take a chance on launching a curse or two just this time, especially as the quid pro quo was attractive. Accordingly he bestrode his ass, which was what they rode upon in that '-day and country, and started for the rendezvous with the ruler of the infested land.

Me had progressed some distance along the road when the ass shied and pulled out into a field beside which the road ran. Its rider y seeing 110 occasion for this unusual manoeuvre, beat the beast and reined him back into the path. Presently the pair came to a stretch of highway hemmed in oil either side by high vineyard walls, and here again "the inexplicable capers of the ass were resumed. Not being able to jump into a field, it shied against a wall and crushed its rider's foot. Naturally the prophet beat the ass again. As a third and crowning performance, the beast of burden, at a spot where tlie way was so narrow that there wasno turning, fell down beneath its rider. By this time the latter was thoroughly | angered. Gripping his staff, lie proceeded to give the animal a memorable lambasting. Fancy his astonishment when the prostrate ass looked up and remarked —in the speech of the land, of course —with perhaps a twinkle of humor in liis eyes:— "What have I done that you should have trimmed me three times in one morning?" The staff hung in mid air. The owner of- the ass, when finally he had j found his voice, replied: I "You have been playing jokes on me ever since we started. It has irritated me so much that if I had a sword with me I would kill you. - ' •'Haven't I always served you faithfully?" inquired the ass in a hurt tone. "That's true," replied Balaam —for such was cur hero's name. Before the interesting conversation could be continued further, Balaam discovered what liacl caused bis beast of burden to misbehave so greviously. An angel scut by the Supreme Being became visible to the master, as lie had been to the beast, and' explained that he had lieeu commissioned to dissuade Balaam from bis errand. As may be easily imagined. Balaam felt some colli shivers trickle down his spine when lie was informed that if the ass had not turned aside the angel would have killed the rider. This ancient and curious tale may easily carry a different meaning for every reader. It is not scientific truth. No university commission vouches . for it. It- is inserted here without comment merelv as bearing, in a vaguely general way, "on the subject of speech among the lower animals. Running our fingers down the records of the centuries, however, we come to another instance which may easily be accepted as authentic. It is vouched for bv Leibnitz, scientist, metaphysician. "a man of remarkable intellect, whose name should be dear to every college student as that of the discoverer of differential calculus. Among the literary remains of Leibnitz occurs the

following: Near Zcitz. in Jlisnia, I have seen a countrymou's dog, of the common figure and middling size,_ in which a child discovered some disposition to speak. He had heard, it utter some sounds which .he thought resembled German words, and on this ground took it into his head to teach him to speak. The tutor, who had nothing better to do, devoted to this object all his time, and at the end of a feu jcars the dog coidd pronounce about tnirty words. Of this number were the French words, the, cafe, chocolat, and assemblee. It is to be remarked that the dog was more than three years old when his scholarship began. He talked only echo; after his master had pronounced a word, he seemed to repeat- it onlv throngli necessity, and m spite of himself, though no force was used.*' .. i George J. Romanes, an Ivighsh scientist wlio died as recently as 1894, and during his too brief career lent valuable aid to the propagation ot the Darwinian gospel, fouud an Irish terrier i which had been taught to say: •'How are you, grandma " In Dumfries for -January. IS'29, may be found reference to a dog which pronounced the word William Cl Scheitlin. the father of animal t>sycholo"v, writings in 1840. mentions many cas'es of talking dogs, and points out that several kinds of mammals have been known to learn human speech. The cleverest, next to the dog, is the sea calf, one of which was taught to pronounce such words as "baba. JMen stags have acquired the power of commoner than speaking dogs arts those which sin#. They have* been known to -imitate melodies, and trcnuentlv" their haying at the moon niav he reduced to sliaps and flats, which would seem clearly to indicate an apnreciatiou of harmony, thonjih clemental- Indeed, Darwin and Romanes agree that no other animal has such refined • perception of tonality as the dot', with the possible exception of certain species of apes. Komanes and Gross tell of dogs which could follow a singer tlirongh the variations of a tune. That dogs understand a great deal of what is said to tliem is well understood bv anyone who has been fortunate enough" to "own these animals. It remains only to hit upon the best method of instruction to .rourd into perfection man's best fonr-footed friend.