l86 WILD TRAITS IN TAAIE ANIMALS. 



follow quietly to the place of execution. In like 

 manner, specially trained goats are constantly 

 used on the ships which bring sheep from 

 abroad. At the unloading-places in the Thames 

 these decoy -goats become ver}^ clever at their 

 business. They will proceed to each part of 

 the ship where sheep are penned, and lead 

 forth the huddled and frightened passengers 

 with very little guidance from their masters ; 

 and they will proceed in this way in the most 

 methodical manner until the whole ship is 

 cleared. 



Not only does the goat show more initiative 

 and greater independence than the sheep, but 

 he also displays more versatility. This indicates 

 that, when free, he must have lived a kind of 

 life involving frequent changes of habit, and 

 must have been prepared to meet a great range 

 of emergencies. Mr Romanes, in his book on 

 'Animal Intelligence,' quotes two "cases of an 

 intelligent manoeuvre performed by goats " which 

 illustrate the expedients to which these animals 

 occasionally have to resort : — 



On both occasions two goats met on a ridge of rock 

 with a precipice on each side, and too narrow to admit of 

 their passing one another. One of these cases occurred 



