WAYS OF NATURE 



doiibtedly be made in favor of the dog. I have else- 

 where said that the dog is almost a human product ; 

 he has been the companion of man so long, and has 

 been so loved by him, that he has come to partake, 

 in a measure at least, of his master's nature. If the 

 dog does not at times think, reflect, he does some- 

 thing so like it that I can find no other name for it. 

 Take so simple an incident as this, which is of com- 

 mon occurrence: A collie dog is going along the 

 street in advance of its master's team. It comes to 

 a point where the road forks ; the dog takes, say, 

 the road to the left and trots along it a few rods, 

 and then, half turning, suddenly pauses and looks 

 back at the team. Has he not been struck by the 

 thought, " I do not know which way my master is 

 going : I will wait and see " ? If the dog in such 

 cases does not reflect, what does he do ? Can we find 

 any other word for his act ? To ask a question by , 

 word or deed involves some sort of a mental pro- 

 cess, however rudimentary. Is there any other ani- 

 mal that would act as the collie did under like 

 circumstances ? 



A Western physician writes me that he has on 

 three different occasions seen his pointer dog be- 

 have as follows : He had pointed a flock of quail, 

 that would not sit to be flushed, but kept running. 

 Then the dog, without a word or sign from his mas- 

 ter, made a long detour to the right or to the left 

 around the retreating birds, headed them off, and 

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