THE BAR BIT. HI 



the voice is familiar to a horse, he readily obeys a partial 

 whisper. It cannot be denied, therefore, that an animal 

 like the horse, so intelligent and ready to serve with the 

 greatest patience, could be relieved of a great deal of un- 

 necessary pulling and hauling, if the sense of the owner 

 were of as high an order as the instincts of his horse, 

 to enable him to take advantage of his hearing faculty. 



Before dismissing this subject, we would remind the 

 reader that the hearing of animals of a timid nature, such 

 as the hare, deer, antelope, kangaroo, etc. (that have no 

 offensive or defensive means, and whose only safety is in 

 flight), is very acute. All animals having their ears 

 close together are timid, with acute sense of hearing. 

 The horse is one of this class, and it is surprising to 

 know how he can discern the articulation of a familiar 

 voice at almost the lowest whisper. The loud voice, that 

 can be heard 500 yards off, is unnecessary and confusing 

 to horses, but it is all of a piece with the mistaken idea 

 of bawling at the slightly deaf and to persons speaking 

 another language. The louder the voice the more diffi- 

 cult for some to understand what is said, for the articu- 

 lation is smothered up in sound. The Indian can hear 

 the grass grow, yet the practice is to bawl at him as if 

 noise was equal to an interpreter. If the uninitiated only 

 knew how low and gentle is their natural colloquial tone, 

 and how low it is in their tribal councils, they would be 

 surprised to find that a whisper would suffice, and this 

 would equally serve the horse. Even to each other, most 

 people speak too loud or pitch the key too high. The 

 Spanish language as spoken by the Mexican Indians is very 

 sweet and agreeable, but that by the Cubans is horrible. 

 The ox is guided, controlled and used entirely by the 

 voice, and it is surprising to see how he understands 

 several different and contrary orders given at tlie same 

 time, patiently listening for more while he obeys the 

 first. 



