THE STUIKE AT SHANE'S. 13 



question but animals do have some means of communi- 

 cating with each otlier. How it is done we do not 

 know. All migratonj birds and foivls hare a piihUc 

 meeting before starting on their Joirrrif^//.^ southward^ 

 and go in Jlocks. It is interesting to watch a public 

 gathering of crows, and see the dignified manner in 

 which they will carry on the meeting until there arises 

 a difference of opinion on some point, and then there 

 commences such a chattering and cawing, and rising to 

 points of order, or for personal explanation, as was 

 never heard outside of a session of congress. But in 

 the end they always come to some kind of a decision — 

 ichich congress does not always do. 



It is said that the eagles of southern Indiana have 

 a place of meeting where they hold an annual gathering, 

 and make an apportionment of the country, assigning 

 to each pair a certain territory over which they may 

 hunt ; and this meeting of eagles has never been known 

 to be guilty of making a ger^-ymander , thereby setting 

 a good example to some of our legislatures. It is not 

 necessary for me to enumerate the many acts of 

 sagacity of our domestic animals to show that they 

 have some means of communicating ideas from one to 

 the other. 



Old Dobbin was a favorite with everything on the 

 farm, and the news of his misfortune spread in a short 

 time, and was a matter of general discussion by all the 

 animals. Even the chickens missed him, for he never 

 objected to their eating a few grains of corn out of his 

 box ; but if they got in his way he would push them 

 gently aside with his nose. 



