A Sportsman 289 



This Hans, a Russian stallion nine years old, jet 

 black in color, with bright eyes, and small, expressive 

 ears, which seem to act in responsiveness to his actions 

 and attentiveness, has never been touched by a whip, 

 and is as human in gentleness and affection with his 

 owner and master as an animal could be, is rewarded 

 for his intelligence simply by a judicious giving of 

 carrots, of which he is very fond. He has never been 

 publicly exhibited by his enthusiastic owner and in- 

 structor, Herr Von Osten. Being given the name of 

 the day, say Wednesday, he will readily strike four times 

 with his right foot, for the day of the week, and being 

 told that it is the twentieth day of the month, and be- 

 ing asked what day of the month it will be a week after- 

 wards, will strike twenty-seven times. From half a 

 dozen pieces of cloth or paper of various colors, he will 

 pick out and designate any particular one named by 

 color. It is a simple feat for him to give the correct re- 

 sult of adding several simple numbers together. He will 

 give immediate answers to questions of how many times 

 six will go into thirty, and what number of times 

 six will go into eighteen, and what is the seventh 

 part of thirty-five, and the answer of similar sums, 

 of adding two numbers together, say four and five, and 

 deducting six. And in vulgar and decimal fractions 

 he seems quite at home, as in questions of this char- 

 acter, and will answer how much must you deduct 

 from four to obtain one and three-twelfths, giving first 

 the whole number of two, and afterwards nine strokes 

 for twelfths. This and many other arithmetic sums 

 too numerous to mention. 



Had not Hans been submitted to the most critical 

 examinations by scientific savants — the last being a 



