72 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



larger and stronger than himself. As they approached, the rum- 

 blings of rage and revenge could be again heard, which grew louder 

 as they came nearer. The cow took in the situation at once and 

 was now terror-stricken. As her assailants rushed into the yard, 

 she dodged them and rushed out at lif e-and-death speed, and away 

 toward the rest of the stock in the field, with her pursuers close 

 in her track. 



Now, I submit that this is one of the cases which furnish in- 

 controvertible proof that animals do reason. No amount of mere 

 instinct could avail that steer in conceiving and carrying out the 

 complex " plan of campaign " which he adopted to take revenge 

 on the selfish and cruel old mother who refused to share her ration 

 with him and punished him besides. The plan he so readily adopt- 

 ed required not only feeling to prompt it, but thought and reason 

 to carry it out. The end to be attained was the punishment of his 

 assailant, which he was not able to inflict himself, and he adopted 

 the means necessary to accomplish the end. This was thought 

 and reason, and not only so, but there was language as well, for 

 what else were the threatening sounds he uttered and which the 

 mother well understood ; and how else could he have communi- 

 cated his grievance and desires to his companion in the field ? It 

 will also be noted here that the steer exhibited in this case not 

 only a measure of what is called man's highest faculty — reason — 

 but a good deal of another passion which often rankles in the hu- 

 man breast — viz., revenge. It would be no loss to us to allow the 

 " lower animal " to monopolize this " animal propensity." 



The horse, as we all know, is even more of a reasoning animal 

 than the cow. I knew of a horse who would leave his pasture 

 under cover of darkness, and go some distance off over several 

 fences into a field of grain, where he would help himself, and in- 

 variably return before daylight to his own pasture without dis- 

 turbing a single rail on any of the fences he jumped. Others 

 have had a similar experience. Here is not only reason, but a high 

 degree of shrewd cunning worthy of a James or a Scotland Yard 

 detective ! I once had a wise, motherly old brood-mare who had 

 lost an eye. In the case of her first foal after that loss I noticed 

 that she would at first hurt the young colt when it happened to 

 be on her blind side and she would make a move in that direction, 

 sometimes knocking it down and hurting it with her feet. But 

 very soon I perceived that when the colt was out of her sight on 

 her blind side she would not stir till she first looked around for 

 it to ascertain if it was in danger, and when she would not be 

 able to get her head round far enough to see it, she would move 

 slowly and with the utmost caution till she could see it. Here 

 were manifested not only intelligence, but what the phrenologists 

 call cautiousness, locality, and philoprogenitiveness. 



