DOG GENERAL INTELLIGENCE. 447 



hard biscuits in water till soft enough to eat. She would carry 

 the biscuit in her mouth to the drinking-trough, drop it in and 

 leave it there for a few minutes, and then fish it out with her 

 paw. 



One more instance of the communication of ideas by 

 gestures will no doubt be deemed sufficient. It is one of 

 a kind which has many analogies in the literature of 

 canine intelligence. 



Dr. Beattie relates this case of canine sagacity, of which 

 the scene was a place near Aberdeen. The Dee being 

 frozen, a gentleman named Irvine was crossing the ice, 

 which gave way with him about the middle of the river. 

 Having a gun, he was able to keep himself from sinking 

 by placing it across the opening. ' The dog made many 

 fruitless efforts to save his master, and then ran to a 

 neighbouring village, where he saw a man, and with the 

 most significant gestures pulled him by the coat, and 

 prevailed on him to follow. The man arrived on the spot 

 in time to save the gentleman's life.' 



Numberless other instances of the same kind might 

 be given, and they display a high degree of intelligence. 

 Even the idea of saving life implies in itself no small 

 amount of intelligence ; but in such cases as these we 

 have added the idea of going for help, communicating 

 news of a disaster, and leading the way to its occurrence. 



Having thus as briefly as possible considered the 

 emotional and the more ordinary intellectual faculties of 

 the dog, I shall pass on to the statement of cases showing 

 the higher and more exceptional developments of canine 

 sagacity. 



Were the purpose of this work that of accumulating 

 anecdotes of animal intelligence, this would be the place 

 to let loose a flood of facts, which might all be well 

 attested, relating to the high intelligence of dogs. But 

 as my aim is rather that of suppressing anecdotes, except 

 in so far as facts are required to prove the presence in 

 animals of the sundry psychological faculties which I 

 believe the different classes to present, 1 shall here, as 

 elsewhere, follow the method of not multiplying anecdotes 

 further than seems necessary fully to demonstrate the 



