DOG-PSYCHOLOGY 57 



A CANINE ODYSSEUS 



Many adventures have been thoroughly enjoyed by Yel, 

 a magnificent Airedale terrier, the property of Commander 

 Davenport, of Gillingham. Yel joined up when he was 

 barely six weeks old, in 1916, and when six months old 

 embarked for German East Africa. At the Cape the 

 orders were cancelled, and he went to the Cameroons. One 

 day the dog had an exciting encounter with two snakes. 

 He leaped out suddenly from the bush and stood on his 

 hind legs with a very unusual expression in his eye, and fell 

 motionless at his master's feet. While someone fetched 

 some water to revive him, other members of the party 

 investigated the place whence he had appeared, and came 

 across two enormous snakes of a very deadly kind. The 

 snakes were killed. On another occasion Yel unwittingly 

 disturbed a trail of black Driver ants , which fastened them- 

 selves all over him. A native servant picked him up, put 

 him on a horse, and galloped off with him to some water 

 two miles away, water being the only remedy in such a 

 case. Yel never repeated that mistake. Once, when his 

 ship was lying at anchor, the dog fell overboard and was 

 rescued by two seamen, who were rewarded by two bottles 

 of Bass, a very great treat in those parts. Yel's popularity 

 increased immediately, and his footsteps were watched 

 most zealously by many admirers, but he declined to 

 repeat his performance. 



Being of a very genial nature, he made many friends 

 with other animals, among them being some monkeys, 

 chimpanzees, leopard cubs, and some Crown birds. On 

 returning to England he was quarantined for four months. 

 Then he went off with his ship to an Irish base, and from 

 there to one in the North of Scotland. While walking 

 with his master one day he found a horse suffering great 

 pain. He fetched his master to the spot and kept a 

 number of crows from alighting on the poor beast , who was 

 soon put out of his misery. When his master was employed 



