572 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
to my hips, as my dog had never been taught to 
retrieve and would not fetch a bird to me. As 
I was trying to think of some means of getting 
the bird, imagine my surprise at seeing my dog 
voluntarily wade in and swim out to the bird, 
which he gently picked up and brought to me. 
Was it reason or instinct that impelled the dog 
to suffer great discomfort by wading out in the 
icy water to get the bird for me? In this case 
I had not urged nor said a word to him, so it 
must have been by some mental process that he 
concluded I could not get the bird, and that it 
would be lost unless he waded in and brought it 
out himself. 
In training a very high-strung young pointer 
I found it necessary to attach a long check cord 
to his collar in order to keep him under control. 
While this cord was attached he went through 
his lessons perfectly and in every way was a very 
model of obedience, but just as soon as I un¬ 
fastened the cord he dashed away like a wild 
mustang and paid no more attention to my com¬ 
mands than to the winds of heaven. Was it rea¬ 
son or instinct that controlled this dog’s actions? 
When a boy we owned a very intelligent hound 
and often just after my mother or sister had 
placed the family’s supply of meat upon the 
dining-room table, this hound would run to the 
front part of the house and there raise a false 
alarm by loud and continued barking, and, as 
soon as the members of the family went to learn 
the cause of the trouble, he would hurry back to 
the dining-room and clean off the table in a few 
minutes. Such a nuisance did this get to be that 
as soon as this dog began to raise a racket 
around meal times, some member of the family 
would catch hold of him while another went to 
investigate, or he would be unceremoniously 
bounced out the back door without any one in¬ 
vestigating. This same animal could be very pro¬ 
fuse in his demonstrations when he expected 
something good to eat, and my sister and I use! 
to encourage him to expect food so that he would 
lick his chops and our faces, but as soon as we 
withdrew the prospect of food and said, “Did 
you ever get left?” his whole manner would 
change and he would bristle up and we would 
get a good pinch on the leg or arm from his 
teeth. Did he comprehend the meaning of the 
remark? Was it reason or instinct that warned 
him we were only fooling him? 
When a boy, an old fellow who lived in our 
town kept a herd of twelve or fifteen cows, one 
of which was a particularly good looking young 
Jersey. These cows were pastured about a mile 
and a half from where their owner lived and 
were daily taken back and forth along a road 
flanked on either side by large well-kept country 
places, which were inclosed by ornamental 
picket or iron fences. Each fence had a small 
gate for pedestrians and a large gate for vehi¬ 
cles. This large gate was the usual old-fash : 
ioned broad affair with two heavy iron hinges at 
one end and a simple spring latch at the other. 
Often have I seen the young Jersey go from 
gate to gate on this road, poke one horn between 
the pickets and work away until it sprung the 
latch, and then with a quick shove of the head 
throw the gate wide open. The rest of the herd 
would then rush in and greedily devour the ten¬ 
der grass in the inclosure until driven out by 
the gardener or stableman, but the young cow 
would never go in. When the herd was driven 
out of one place they would continue on down 
[April ii, 1908. 
the road a short distance, when the same per¬ 
formance would be repeated. How can we ex¬ 
plain this young cow’s actions? How was she 
able to locate the latch on the different gates, 
and why didn’t she go inside the inclosure her¬ 
self? Often in driving out the cattle the men 
used a heavy stick or whip. Had she at some 
previous time received a beating, and did she 
reason out that if she entered these grounds 
again she might receive another beating? 
Can Mr. Burroughs explain why the average 
tramp cat of the city streets will scurry for cover 
at the sight of a couple of half-grown boys, and 
will allow a couple of little girls or grown-up 
people to pass close by without showing much 
alarm? How is the cat able to distinguish be¬ 
tween the boys and girls and adults? How does 
it know one will harm it while the others will 
not? Is it not possible the cat reasoned it out 
in its own peculiar way? If a man were to go 
through a similar performance, running away 
from an enemy and remaining to greet a friend, 
no doubt we would declare reason dictated his 
course of action. 
One evening, a couple of weeks ago, I took 
my dogs out for their usual before-bedtime 
stroll. As 1 approached a neighbor’s house be¬ 
yond which was a field, I noticed the dogs cast¬ 
ing about in an animated manner and I at once 
concluded a cat was close by. On the lawn of 
the house were numerous detached pieces of 
snow, very irregular in shape and size, with wide 
stretches of bare ground showing between. 
Watching the dogs, something attracted my at¬ 
tention to what I thought was a small piece of 
snow, which on a more intent inspection I dis¬ 
covered was a pure white cat squatted close to 
the ground. One of my dogs approached within 
four feet of the cat, but it never moved a muscle 
and the dogs finally gave up the hunt and moved 
on to the field. Did the cat reason that its color 
harmonized so well with the surrounding patches 
of snow that it might fool the dogs if it re¬ 
mained perfectly quiet, or was it instinct that 
controlled its actions? There was absolutely no 
reason why it should remain where it was, as it 
was only four or five feet from a stoop and wide 
porch, both of which afforded excellent refuge, 
and the dogs at times were a dozen or fifteen 
feet away in the opposite direction. 
In conclusion, Mr. Burroughs states that “in 
reasoning alone we stand above them on a 
height which they have never in any instance 
approached,” which fact, I think, everybody will 
concede, but to come out flat-footed with the 
statement that animals are without the capacity 
to reason is entirely too broad an assumption. It 
must be remembered that it has taken many cen¬ 
turies to bring the human mind to its present 
state of development, and in my opinion it would 
be as fair to condemn an animal for failing to 
solve some problem with which we suddenly 
confront it, as to expect the savage or untrained 
mind to compete with the reasoning powers of 
some learned jurist or university professor. 
Give the animals the same opportunities we have 
enjoyed for countless ages and they will no 
doubt develop reasoning powers of a much 
higher order than they now possess. Whether 
they can ever equal man nutst remain an open 
question. Do not pass final judgment upon them 
because they fail to meet some condition or 
problem suggested by our higher intellect. 
John H. Hendrickson. 
Introduced Partridges in Michigan 
Saginaw, Mich., March 25.— Editor Forest (l 
S tream: We have had a very severe winter 
this district and more snow than we had in 
great many years, consequently there has be 
a good deal of question as to whether the Hu 
garian partridges—so called, but they are real 
the common partridge of Europe—that I put 0 
here the year previous would live through t 
winter. As I have already told through Fore? 
and Stream these birds bred very well. Qu 
a number of flocks of them were seen previoj 
to Christmas. I have received reports regarj 
ing them since the snow has gone off and t 
danger of winter extermination is past, and 
must say the reports are extremely gratifyii. 
We had less than a hundred pairs to begin wi 
and they were distributed in seven or eigl 
localities. Without having positive evidence 
have heard in a roundabout way that those j: 
out south of Freeland, and those at Ringwol 
near St. Charles, this county, have done wl 
and thrived. Henry Owens, of Freeland, ss: 
they have one flock at least of twenty or twenj 
five. About the first of March they were sej 
helping themselves to corn from a neighbol 
crib. At Cairo there was a flock of nine bir^ 
a while ago. Joseph Wachalac, of Merrill, wa 
had but four old birds in the beginning, repoji 
two coveys, one of sixteen or seventeen that s 
has been able to keep track of right along. Thl 
birds fed in a field where the corn had not bej 
husked. 
At the quarries in Bay Port Supertlitendql 
McIntyre reports having counted forty-six a f i 
days ago and he is confident there were a gnj 
many-more. They were looking fine and stroi. 
This planting was sixteen or eighteen birds. 1 
the fall Mr. McIntyre reported there were ov 
one hundred young ones. W. C. Cornwell ■ 
ports that those he has at his farm near Cl*j 
liavd thrived, as a flock of ten of them have i| 
turned to the woods near his summer call 
where the old ones were liberated the year !• 
fore. 
Now. if the pot-hunter will only leave tin) 
alone the success of these birds seems assures 
but we have so many game butchers here a I 
so little regard is paid to the law that it is wi 
fear and trembling that anyone undertakes 1 
proposition of this kind. 
Within the last week I have heard the folio’ 
ing stories: An old Saginawian, whom I n: 
in Chicago, said that during the winter he hi 
counted nine different deer with Michigan tn : 
on them exposed for sale in the markets in tj 
outlying districts of Chicago. This was duri! 
December and January. 
Another said he was recently waiting fori 
train in a northern Michigan town when he w 
approached by a young fellow who asked hi 
if he did not want to buy some fish. He to: 
him to the back of a shed and showed him t 
basket of fine large brook trout. 
Another said he was looking at some woe- 
land in northern Michigan and the man be hi 
gone to see advised him to take a gun along, j 
they were going down near the lake, and he srI 
he would take his hound and run a deer out 1 
the point. When he remonstrated against tb 
the fellow informed him that he would shooti 
deer in the red coat whenever he wanted to, a I 
furthermore he would shoot any game wardi 
