Animal Intelligence Part 31

Mr. W. J. Fleming writes me concerning a vicious horse he had which, while being groomed, frequently used to throw a ball of wood attached to his halter at the groom. He did so by flexing his fetlock and jamming the ball between the pastern and the leg, then throwing the ball backwards 'with great force.'

I myself had a horse which was very clever at slipping his halter after he knew that the coachman was in bed. He would then draw out the two sticks in the pipe of the oat-bin, so as to let all the oats run down from the bin above upon the stable floor. Of course he must have observed that this was the manner in which the coachman obtained the oats, and desiring to obtain them, did what he had observed to be required. Similarly, on other occasions he used to turn the water-tap to obtain a drink, and pull the window cord to open the window on hot nights.

The anecdote books contain several stories very much alike concerning horses spontaneously visiting blacksmiths' shops when they require shoeing, or feel their shoes uncomfortable. The appended account, vouched for as it is by a good authority, may be taken as corroborative of these stories. I quote the account from 'Nature' (May 19, 1881):--

The following instance of animal intelligence is sent to us by Dr. John Rae, F.R.S., who states that the Mr.

William Sinclair mentioned is respectable and trustworthy. The anecdote is taken from the 'Orkney Herald' of May 11:--"A well-authenticated and extraordinary case of the sagacity of the Shetland pony has just come under our notice. A year or two ago Mr. William Sinclair, pupil-teacher, Holm, imported one of these little animals from Shetland on which to ride to and from school, his residence being at a considerable distance from the school buildings. Up to that time the animal had been unshod, but some time afterwards Mr. Sinclair had it shod by Mr. Pratt, the parish blacksmith. The other day Mr. Pratt, whose smithy is a long distance from Mr. Sinclair's house, saw the pony, without halter or anything upon it, walking up to where he was working. Thinking the animal had strayed from home, he drove it off, throwing stones after the beast to make it run homewards. This had the desired effect for a short time; but Mr. Pratt had only got fairly at work once more in the smithy when the pony's head again made its appearance at the door. On proceeding a second time outside to drive the pony away, Mr. Pratt, with a blacksmith's instinct, took a look at the pony's feet, when he observed that one of its shoes had been lost.

Having made a shoe he put it on, 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 pawed once or twice to see if the newly-shod foot was comfortable, and finally gave a pleased neigh, erected its head, and started homewards at a brisk trot. The owner was also exceedingly surprised to find the animal at home completely shod the same evening, and it was only on calling at the smithy some days afterwards that he learned the full extent of his pony's sagacity."

In 'Nature,' also (vol. xx., p. 21), Mr. Claypole, of Antioch Cottage, Ohio, writes as follows:--

A friend of mine is employed on a farm near Toronto, Ontario, where a horse, belonging to the wife of the farmer, is never required to work, but is allowed to live the life of a gentleman, for the following reason. Some years ago the lady above mentioned fell off a plank bridge into a stream when the water was deep. The horse, which was feeding in a field close by, ran to the spot, and held her up with his teeth till a.s.sistance arrived, thus probably saving her life. Was this reason or instinct?

Mr. Strickland, also writing to 'Nature' (vol. xix., p. 410), says:--

A mare here had her first foal when she was ten or twelve years old. She was blind of one eye. The result was, she frequently trod upon the foal or knocked it over when it happened to be on the blind side of her, in consequence of which the foal died when it was three or four months old. The next year she had another foal, and we fully expected the result would be the same. But no; from the day it was born she never moved in the stall without looking round to see where the foal was, and she never trod upon it or injured it in any way. You see that reason did not teach her that she was killing her first foal; her care for the second was the result of memory, imagination, and thought after the foal was dead, and before the next one was born. The only difference that I can see between the reasoning power of men and animals is that the latter is applied only to the very limited s.p.a.ce of providing for their bodily wants, whereas that of men embraces a vast amount of other objects besides this.

Houzeau (vol. ii., p. 207) says that the mules used in the tramways at New Orleans prove that they are able to count five; for they have to make five journeys from one end of the tramway to the other before they are released, and they make four of these journeys without showing that they expect to be released, but bray at the end of the fifth. This observation, however, requires to be confirmed, for unless carefully made we must suppose that the fact may be due to the mules seeing the ostler waiting to take them out.

Mr. Samuel Goodbehere, solicitor, writes me from Birmingham the following instance as having fallen under his own observation:--

We had a Welsh cob pony or Galloway about 14 hands high, who was occasionally kept in a shed (in a farmyard), partly closed at the front by a gate which was secured by a bolt inside and a drop latch outside.

The pony (who was able to put his head and neck over the gate, but could not reach the outside latch) was constantly found loose in the yard, which was considered quite a mystery until it was solved one day by my observing the pony first pushing back the inside bolt, and then neighing until a donkey, who had the run of the yard and an adjoining paddock, came and pushed up the outside latch with his nose, thus letting the pony at liberty, when the two marched off together.

The following is the only instance that I have met with in any of the horse tribe of that degree of sagacity which leads to the intentional concealment of wrong-doing. In the case of elephants, dogs, and monkeys we find abundant evidence on this head, which therefore renders the following instance more antecedently credible, and, as it is also narrated on good authority, I do not hesitate to quote it.

Professor Niphon, of Washington University, St. Louis, U.S., says:--

A friend of mine living at Iowa City had a mule, whose ingenuity in getting into mischief was more than ordinarily remarkable. This animal had a great liking for the company of an oat-bin, and lost no opportunity, when the yard gate and barn door were open, to secure a mouthful of oats. Finally the mule was found in the barn in the morning, and for a long time it was found impossible to discover how he had come there. This went on for some time, until the animal was 'caught in the act.' It was found that he had learned how to open the gate, reaching over the fence to lift the latch, and that he then effectually mystified his masters by turning round and backing against it until it was latched. He then proceeded to the barn door, and pulling out the pin which held the door, it swung open of its own accord. From the intelligence which this animal displayed on many occasions, I am of the opinion that had not discovery of his 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. It may be added that this animal had enjoyed no unusual educational advantages, and his owners found it to their interest to discourage his intellectual efforts as much as possible.[192]

_Ruminants._

Concerning sympathy, Major-General Sir George Le Grand Jacob, C.B., &c., writes me of instances which he observed of doe ibexes raising with their heads the bucks which he shot, and supporting them during flight.

A vivid and intelligent cla.s.s of emotions, in which sympathy and rational fear are blended, seem to be exhibited by cattle in slaughterhouses. Many years ago a pamphlet was written upon the subject, and more recently Mr. Robert Hamilton, F.C.S., without apparently knowing of this previous publication, wrote another pamphlet, conveying precisely similar statements. These are too long to quote _in extenso_; but from a letter which the latter gentleman writes to me I may make the following extract:--

The animal witnessing the process of killing, flaying, &c., repeated on one after another of its fellows, gets to comprehend to the full extent the dreadful ordeal, and as it mentally grasps the meaning of it all, the increasing horror depicted in its condition can be clearly seen. Of course some portray it much more vividly than others; the varying intelligence manifested in this respect is only another link which knits them in oneness with the human family.

Pride is well marked in sheep and cattle, as shown by the depressing effects produced on a 'bell-wether' or leading cow by transferring the bell to another member of the herd; and it is said that in Switzerland the beasts which on show days are provided with garlands, are evidently aware of the distinction thus placed upon them. With some amount of poetic exaggeration this fact is noted by Schiller, who says in 'Wilhelm Tell,'--

See with what pride your steer his garland wears; He knows himself the leader of the herd; But strip him of it, and he'd die of grief.

With regard to the general intelligence of ruminants I may first quote the following:--

The sagacity with which the bisons defend themselves against the attack of wolves is admirable. When they scent the approach of a drove of these ravenous creatures, the herd throws itself into the form of a circle, having the weakest and the calves in the middle, and the strongest ranged on the outside; thus presenting an impenetrable front of horns.[193]

The buffalo of the Old World manifests sagacity very similar. As Sir J.

E. Tennent informs us,--

The temper of the wild buffalo is morose and uncertain; and such is its strength and courage, that in the Hindu epic of the 'Ramayana' its onslaught is compared with that of the tiger. It is never quite safe to approach them if disturbed in their pasture, or alarmed from their repose in the shallow lakes. On such occasions they hurry into line, draw up in defensive array, with a few of the oldest bulls in advance; and, wheeling in circles, their horns clashing with a loud sound as they clank them together in their rapid evolutions, they prepare for attack: but generally, after a menacing display, the herd betake themselves to flight; then forming again at a safer distance, they halt as before, elevating their nostrils, and throwing back their heads to take a defiant survey of the intruders.[194]

When tamed this animal is used for sporting purposes in a manner which displays the spirit of curiosity of deer, hogs, and other animals. Thus, Sir J. E. Tennent continues:--

A bell is attached to its neck, and a box or basket with one side open is securely strapped on its back.

This at night is lighted with flambeaux of wax, and the buffalo bearing it is slowly driven into the jungle. The huntsmen with their fowling-pieces keep close under the darkened side, and as it moves slowly onwards, the wild animals, startled by the sound and bewildered by the light, steal cautiously towards it in stupefied fascination. Even the snake, I am a.s.sured, will be attracted by this extraordinary object; and the leopard, too, falls a victim to curiosity.[195]

Livingstone says of the African buffalo, that he has known the animal, when pursued by hunters, to 'turn back to a point a few yards from its own trail, and then lie down in a hollow for the hunter to come up,'--a fact which displays a level of intelligence in this animal surpa.s.sing that which is met with in most Carnivora.[196]

Livingstone also says:--

It is curious to observe the intelligence of game; in districts where they are much annoyed by fire-arms they keep out on the most open spots of country they can find, in order to have a widely extended range of vision, and a man armed is carefully shunned... .

But here, where they are killed by the arrows of the Balonda, they select for safety the densest forest, where the arrow cannot be easily shot.[197]

Jesse, who had many opportunities of observing the fact, says:--

I have been much delighted with watching the manner in which some of the old bucks in Bushey Park continue to get the berries from the fine thorn trees there. They will raise themselves on their hind legs, give a spring, entangle their horns in the lower branches of the tree, give them one or two shakes, and they will then quietly pick them up.[198]

The same author elsewhere says:--

Few things, indeed, can show more forcibly the powerful instinct which is implanted in animals for their self-preservation than the means which they take to avoid danger. I saw an instance of this lately in a stag. It had been turned out before a pack of hounds, and, when somewhat pressed by them, I observed it twice to go amongst a flock of sheep, and in both cases to double back, evidently, I should imagine, with the intention of baffling the pursuit of the dogs. It would thus seem that the animal was aware of its being followed by the scent, and not by sight. If this be the case, it affords another proof that animals are possessed of something more than common instinct.[199]

This author also says that he has 'frequently observed the buffalo at the Zoological Farm on Kingston Hill' display the following proof of intelligence. Being of a ferocious disposition, a strong iron ring was fixed through the septum of his nose, to which a chain about two feet long was attached. At the free end of the chain there was another ring about four inches in diameter. 'In grazing the buffalo must have put his feet on this ring, and in raising his head the jerk would have produced considerable pain. In order to avoid this the animal has the sense to put his horn through the lower ring, and thus avoid the inconvenience he is put to. I have seen him do this in a very deliberate manner, putting his head on one side while he got his horn through the ring, and then shaking his head till the ring rested at the bottom of the horn.'[200]

The following is quoted from Mrs. Lee's 'Anecdotes' (p. 366), and is rendered credible not only because her own observations are generally good, but also because we shall subsequently find unquestionable evidence of the display of similar intelligence by cats:--

A goat and her kids frequented a square in which I once lived, and were often fed by myself and servants--a circ.u.mstance which would have made no impression, had I not heard a thumping at the hall door, which arose from the b.u.t.tings of the goat when the food was not forthcoming, and whose example was followed by the two little things. After a time this remained unheeded, and, to our great astonishment, one day the area bell used by the tradespeople, the wire of which pa.s.sed by the side of one of the railings, was sounded. The cook answered it, but no one was there save the goat and kids, with their heads bent down towards the kitchen window. It was thought that some boy had rung for them; but they were watched, and the old goat was seen to hook one of her horns into the wire and pull it. This is too much like reason to be ascribed to mere instinct.

P. Wakefield, in his 'Instinct Displayed,'[201] gives two separate cases of an intelligent manoeuvre performed by goats. On both occasions two goats met on a ridge of rock with a precipice on each side, and too narrow to admit of their pa.s.sing one another. One of these cases occurred on the ramparts of Plymouth Citadel, and was witnessed by 'many persons;' the other took place at Ardengla.s.s, in Ireland. 'In both these instances the animals looked at each other for some time, as if they were considering their situation, and deliberating what was best to be done in the emergency.' In each case one of the goats then 'knelt down with great caution, and crouched as close as it could lie, when the other walked over its back.' This manoeuvre on the part of goats has also been recorded by other writers, and is not so incredible as it may at first sight appear, if we remember that in their wild state these animals must not unfrequently find themselves in this predicament.

Mr. W. Forster, writing from Australia, gives me the following account of the intelligence of a bull:--

A rather tame bull, bred of a milch cow, used to puzzle me by being found inside a paddock used for cultivation, and enclosed by a two-railed fence, of which the lower rail was unusually high. At last I saw the animal lie down close to the fence, and roll over on his back, with four legs in the air, by which proceeding he was inside the paddock. I never knew another beast perform this feat; and although it must have been often done in the presence of a number of cows, not one of them ever imitated it, though they would all have unquestionably followed the bull through an opening in the fence, or by the slip-rails.

Mr. G. S. Erb, writing from Salt Lake City, gives me an interesting account of the sagacity displayed by the wild deer of the United States in avoiding gun-traps, which, except for the cutting of the string, to which the teeth of the animal are not so well adapted, is strikingly similar to the sagacity which we shall see to be displayed in this respect by sundry species of Carnivora. He says:--

My method was this: I would fell or cut down a maple tree, the top of which they are very partial to; and as the ground was invariably covered with snow to the depth of 12 inches, food was scarce, and the deer would come and browse, probably from hearing the tree fall. I would place a loaded gun 20 feet from the top of the tree at which it was pointing; I would attach a line the size of an ordinary fish-line to a lever that pressed against the trigger; the other end of the line I would fasten to the tree-top. By this means the deer could not pa.s.s between the tree and the gun without getting shot, or at least shot at; but I never succeeded in killing one when my line was as large as a fish-line, _i.e._ about one-sixteenth of an inch in thickness. Commencing at the body of the tree on one side, the deer would eat all the tops to within 12 inches of the line, and then go around the gun and eat all on the other side, never touching the line. I tried this at least sixty times, always with the same result. Then I took a black linen thread, and had no difficulty in killing them, as it was so small and black that they could not distinguish it.

_Pigs._

There can be no doubt that pigs exhibit a degree of intelligence which falls short only of that of the most intelligent Carnivora. The tricks taught the so-called 'learned pigs' would alone suffice to show this; while the marvellous skill with which swine sometimes open latches and fastenings of gates, &c., is only equalled by that of the cat. The following account of pigs in their wild state shows that they manifest the same kind of sagacious co-operation in facing an enemy as that which we have just seen to be manifested by the bison and the buffalo, although here it seems to be displayed in a manner still more organised:--

Wild swine a.s.sociate in herds and defend themselves in common. Green relates that in the wilds of Vermont a person fell in with a large herd in a state of extraordinary restlessness; they had formed a circle with their heads outwards, and the young ones placed in the middle. A wolf was using every artifice to snap one, and on his return he found the herd scattered, but the wolf was dead and completely ripped up.

Schmarda recounts an almost similar encounter between a herd of tame swine and a wolf, which he witnessed on the military positions of Croatia. He says that the swine, seeing two wolves, formed themselves into a wedge, and approached the wolves slowly, grunting and erecting their bristles. One wolf fled, but the other leaped on to the trunk of a tree. As soon as the swine reached it they surrounded it with one accord, when, suddenly and instantaneously, as the wolf attempted to leap over them, they got him down and destroyed him in a moment.[202]

In Bingley's 'Memoirs of British Quadrupeds' (page 452) there is an account drawn up at his request by Sir Henry Mildmay, concerning the docility of the pig. The Toomer brothers were King's keepers in the New Forest, and they conceived the idea of training a sow to point game.

This they succeeded in doing within a fortnight, and in a few more weeks it also learnt to retrieve. Her scent was exceedingly good, and she stood well at partridges, black game, pheasants, snipes, and rabbits, but never pointed hares. She was more useful than a dog, and afterwards became the property of Sir Henry Mildmay. According to Youatt,[203] Colonel Thornton also had a sow similarly trained. The same author says that a sow belonging to Mr. Craven had a litter of pigs, one of which, when old enough, was taken and roasted, then a second and a third. These were necessarily taken when the mother returned in the evening from the woods for supper. But the next time she came she was alone, and, 'as her owners were anxious to know what was become of her brood, she was watched on the following evening, and observed driving back her pigs at the extremity of the wood, with much earnest grunting, while she went off to the house, leaving them to wait for her return. It was evident that she had noticed the diminution of her family, and had adopted this method to save those that remained.'[204]