INTELLIGENCE IN ANIMALS TO THE EDITOR.

Otago Witness, Issue 2623, 22 June 1904, Page 53

INTELLIGENCE IN ANIMALS TO THE EDITOR.

Sir, — Have animals memory? On that point there can bo r.o doubt. Being a subject of whic'i I often read in the Witness, thoug-h mjscJf not a close observer of animal life. I bhall relate in plain language what I think is positive proof that animals have both irteliect and memory, though, like us humans, ■=ome -differ materially from others both in ir.telk-tt and stupidity and stubbornncM that they will not be taught. I shall give a record of a dog which was given to mo by a storekeeper vhile I was working oil tho Melbourne-to-Bendigo railway in 1560, at a place called Harcourt, in Victoria. The dog- had been scared by his former master often firing a revolver to fri«hti-n him. when the dog would run. away ami take shelter with my brother a.n<li me, as wo were living close by. and the. animal became so nervous at anything tha~< w,t= m-de to ci-ack before him that he would' run away; cvon the click of a knife when, closing would frighten him. Whore we top working on tho rnihvay there. wa< a pool o water, into which T used t- thiow 'touts for the Jos to ilive- after and bring ov 1 -. Eventually we kit Havcourc, and went ie

Bendigo, and remained there for several • months, when I had occasion to return to Harcourt, and, passing the pool of water, X jvas astonished to see the dog rush in and •dive his head under the water in search for the stones which had been thrown in many fcionths previous, and had entirely slipped nay memory, showing beyond doubt that tho past was still fresh in the memory of the dog. Afterwards we left for a new rush at Wood's Point, but did not go that far. as my brother and I took a contract to build a liouse for a squatter of the name of Chinery "beyond Mansfield, but on the 1 way thither I started to train the dog to carry thinga in his mouth, which he did freely for a time, but he always ran before us at a distance, and would then go up to a gum tree and lay the article down and walk away, when I would again make him take it ; but I had not done this more than three or four times when he no doubt saw that it was a mistake to leave it before me where I could see it, so after that ho dragged it some jlistance behind, and would put it down bejiind a gum tree. This is another proof of the animal's reasoning.

While building the house at the station, I used to train him to carry the billy to • the river for water, but suddenly he would Throw it down and run into the -bush and etayaway all day, returning at night, so I gave up all hope of training him to carry anything for longer than it suited him. •When we finished our job and shouldered our swag, the dog apparently saw that he liad no home to .go to, and when we Jeft .1 gave him the' billy to carry, first wrapping a pieoe of cloth round the handle to make Tit soft for his mouth, and he jumped at it as if eager to carry it, and to my astonishment het never refused to carry it after•ftrards;»and when, we took a apell on the road she would put down the billy and lie beside it, but immediately we took up our swags for another start, he would jump up and take his billy without being asked to do so. .Sometimes I would take the billy from him to give bjm a spell, when, after a while, he would come up and poke his nose against the iilly, as much as to say he would take it again. We then went to another rush, JRutherglen by name, and while working with us we had another mate staying with ua in the samo tent. On© day this man and I ]iad a bit of a wrestle for fun, the dog jumping about us in a playful manner, when he accidentally touched my forehead with his teeth. I then gave him a slight slap on the ear, and he instantly turned and tore the shirt off the man, no doubt thinking I was in earnest, and I had to chain him up et once.

In all our travels, Jack — for that was his same — would always pick up anything that ■was left on the ground after a meal, either a tin or a bottle, without being asked to do co. Once in a grocer's shop in Rufcherglen, I asked Ja/:k to fetch a bottle, of which ■there were dozens of diverse contents, when Kb sniffed about, and picked out one in the centre containing champagne, though. I do not think he had any knowledge of its contents, for he was a strict abstainer from anything 1 excepting water. The only way I can account for his selection was that it ihad a big cork, and so was easier for him to grip. In New Zealand I was engaged in building a woolshed on Vanlow's station for "Messrs Wilson and Pagen, when one day I ■went out pig-hunting with Jack; but before I left I had occasion to do something at tlie woolshed. I had my sheath-knife rolled up in a piece of paper, and put it down, but forgot it when leaving. When about half a mile away I missed it, and turned to go back, the dog following at my lieel, as I had him trained to keep behind me, as he was dangerous amongst sheep ; and tg my astonishment I saw he was carrying the knife in his mouth. This is a true ■tatement of Jack's career, though only half told. — I am, etc.,

Peteb Lahsex.

Yarrow street, Invercargill.