Clever Collies. 129 



season comes in as the lessee will shoot during his time 

 of occupation. Indeed, so intelligent is this dog that too 

 often he is trained to evil deeds, and becomes a confirmed 

 poacher. Worse, too, has happened to him, for he has been 

 turned into a sheep stealer. His wicked owner during 

 the daytime was in the habit of looking over any flock 

 of sheep from which he wished to make his thefts. 

 Those selected, were pointed out to his dog, and, in the 

 night, the faithful collie was sent into the field or on to 

 the common, and never failed to drive from the flock 

 those very sheep that had been pointed out to him during 

 the day. This went on for a considerable time till the 

 fellow was caught, tried, I believe at Carlisle, when, on 

 being found guilty, he confessed to the part his well-trained 

 and sagacious dog had in the crime. The man was hanged, 

 but what became of the dog the chronicler does not state. 



There are admirers of the sheep dog who believe he can 

 tell almost to a word what is said to him. " I'm thinking, 

 sir ! the cow is in the potatoes," says the shepherd to Mr 

 Charles St. John, and, though no aspiration is laid upon the 

 words, up jumps the dog, which had seemingly been asleep, 

 but with one ear open, runs out at the door, comes back, 

 looks up in his master's face as if to say, " All right, you 

 have been making a fool of me ! the cow is not in the 

 potatoes," and curls himself up once more. Who could 

 say that this dog did not understand the words his master 

 used, although they came out during the general conversa- 

 tion? 



Mr. J. H. Walsh (" Stonehenge ") in his Dogs of the 

 British Isles, tells a story very much to the same point. 

 He says : 



" A curious case, which a short time ago happened to 



K 



