206 The Carnivora. 
found out all this long ago, and had proved the correctness 
of his knowledge times without number, and, by his actions, 
had taught me the habits of a wounded duck. His object— 
I say it without the shadow of a doubt, because I have 
observed it so often—was to flurry the bird, by cutting off 
its retreat down stream, and force it to land. Then, after 
giving it time, and assuming, as his experience justified, 
that the bird had got ashore, he hunted down each bank 
in succession for the trail, which he knew must betray the 
fugitive. 
I was quite ignorant of this habit of a wounded duck, 
until I learned it from the movements of this dog. So also 
were many old duck shooters, until I called their attention to 
it. The total disappearance of a duck from a small and 
shallow pool, only a few square yards in extent, had often 
perplexed me. Other dogs I had seen hunt such a pool for 
a long time fruitlessly, while it was certain the duck would 
have been seen if it had risen to the surface. One day, in 
Australia, the mystery was solved. I saw the duck sneak 
out of the water when the dog had crossed it, and crouch 
quite flat at a short distance from the bank. There was 
absolutely no cover. I walked close up to the bird, and 
stood looking at it. It lay perfectly motionless, trusting to 
conceal itself by ‘absolute quiescence, but, as T stooped 
leisurely to pick it up, it dashed off into the water again 
and dived. It very soon re-emerged close to the opposite 
bank, and crept ashore. Then I took the dog round, and 
it was secured. After this, I always let him alone, and 
watched his business-like and confident method. After beat- 
ing the pool, he quietly hunted round it, and picked up his 
game. In my volume of “Zoological Notes,” pages 275-6, 
the stratagems adopted by wild fowl in concealing themselves 
are fully detailed. The point I wish to enforce here is, that 
Carlo I. made himself master of all these wily tricks, and, 
in doing so, must have exercised the faculties of comparison 
and reflection, and of generalisation of ideas, as fully as any 
