CAYO HUTU AND THE REEF 67 



chickens and turkeys which were allowed their 

 freedom on deck until coops for their reception 

 could be hastily constructed. Luis and Mulatica, 

 our dogs, resenting their presence, some of the 

 fowl fluttered overboard. There is probably 

 nothing so helpless in the water as a chicken or a 

 turkey. These wretched creatures floated about 

 frightened beyond making any effort to escape. 

 We rescued and then regaled them with com 

 which they immediately ate as though nothing 

 had happened. In a moment they were preening 

 their feathers and uttering sounds of content. 

 This instant recovery to a normal state of calm 

 from a situation of the gravest peril seems to be a 

 characteristic of all animals as distinguished from 

 man. Cattle, wild with fright, will stampede, 

 killing each other in their insane flight, and in 

 another moment will be peacefully grazing. This 

 sudden readjustment of the mind must be owing 

 to lack of imaginative faculties. Man considers 

 the horror of death or thinks of the pain and suffer- 

 ing that is about to be visited upon him. From 

 the very intensity of his imagination he derives 

 a physical shock that unbalances his entire nervous 

 system. 



