INSTINCT OR INTELLIGENCE > 



By JOHN THOMPSON, Student in Sam Houston State Normal, Huntsville, Texas 



(Manuscript submitted by Prof. Carl Hartman, Dept. of 

 Botany, Sam Houston State Normal.) 



While hunting near Galveston Bay, in the winter of 1908,. 

 I crippled a large Canada goose and was able to capture him 

 alive. Under proper care, his injured wing soon healed. Later 

 in the season I took him to a pond in the marsh and set him out 

 with a number of wooden goose decoys, hoping to get some 

 geese. 



The day was ideal, and as we were in the line of the birds' 

 flight from the bay to their feeding grounds, it was not long 

 before a flock of Canada geese came in sight, and immediately 

 the lonesome gander among the decoys began to call his wild 

 kindred down, splashing and flapping about in the water in his 

 eagerness. Without any fear or hesitation, the flock circled in, 

 and as they hovered in front of our blind, we fired, killing several. 

 After the diminished flock had flown out of sight and the dead 

 birds had been retrieved, the captive, after calling a little, quietly 

 resumed his feeding. Later another flock came over, and the 

 same thing happened, the geese coming fearlessly down to the 

 decoys. So it was with the next flock, but when for the fourth 

 time one of the long flying wedges drew near, the captive goose 

 did not call at first, although it was plain that he saw his kindred. 

 He swam restlessly back and forth, eyeing the flock, which, 

 alarmed at his behavior, circled the pond at a safe distance, then 

 looking askance in the direction of the blind. Finally his lone- 

 liness seemed to overcome his fear, and at his invitation, the 

 flock sailed down, to be received like their predecessors. 



Finally, when at sunset a fifth flock came honking musically 

 over the marsh, flying low and in our direction, there came the 

 surprise. 



It was late, almost dark, and the geese sighting our decoys,, 

 came straight for us. The big gander eyed them in sullen silence. 

 They made a preliminary circle or two, out of range, and then,, 

 with wings set, came slanting down wind toward the stools. An 

 instant they would be in gunshot — when, suddenly, the decoy, 

 raising himself high upon the water, screamed the unmistakable 

 danger signal of his kind! At once the orderly array of geese 

 was in confusion, and climbing straight up, high out of gunshot, 

 they were soon out of sight and hearing, leaving behind the as- 

 tonished hunters and the lonely captive. 



Does not the above account show a glimmer of reason on the- 

 part of the goose? 



