Illustrative Anecdotes of the Animal Kingdom Part 9

A lady residing in Glasgow had a handsome cat sent her from Edinburgh.

It was conveyed to her in a close basket, and in a carriage. She was carefully watched for two months; but having produced a pair of young ones, at that time she was left to her own discretion, which she very soon employed in disappearing with both her kittens. The lady at Glasgow wrote to her friend in Edinburgh, deploring her loss, and the cat was supposed to have strayed away.

About a fortnight, however, after her disappearance from Glasgow, her well-known mew was heard at the street door of her old mistress in Edinburgh, and there she was with both her kittens! they in the best condition--but she very thin. It is clear that she could only carry one kitten at a time. The distance from Edinburgh to Glasgow being forty miles, she must have travelled one hundred and twenty miles at least!

Her prudence must likewise have suggested the necessity of journeying in the night, with many other precautions for the safety of her young.

ORDER IV.

AMPHIBIA,

AMPHIBIOUS ANIMALS.

This order embraces several species of the seal kind, which are found in all seas, but chiefly in those of the polar regions. Their structure is admirably adapted to their mode of life; the nostrils and ears both closing when the animal dives. Its hind feet alone are used for swimming. Its movements on land are slow and painful, dragging itself along like a reptile.

THE SEAL.

_Miscellaneous Anecdotes._--Mr. Brown furnishes us with the following account: About twenty-five years ago, a seal was so completely domesticated that it remained with a gentleman, whose residence was but a short distance from the sea, without attempting to escape. It knew all the inmates of the family, and would come to its master when he called it by name. It was usually kept in the stable, but was sometimes permitted to enter the kitchen, where it seemed to take great delight in reposing before the fire. It was taken to the sea every day, and allowed to fish for itself, in which it was very dexterous; but when unsuccessful, fish was bought for it. When tired of swimming, it came up to the boat, holding up its head to be taken in.

A farmer in Fifes.h.i.+re, Scotland, while looking for crabs and lobsters, among the rocks, caught a young seal about two feet and a half long, and carried it home. He fed it with pottage and milk, which it ate with avidity. He kept it for three days, feeding it on this meal, when, his wife being tired of it, he took it away, and restored it to its native element. He was accompanied by some of his neighbors. On reaching the sh.o.r.e, it was thrown into the sea; but, instead of making its escape, as one would have expected, it returned to the men. The tallest of them waded to a considerable distance into the sea, and, after throwing it as far as he was able, speedily got behind a rock, and concealed himself; but the affectionate animal soon discovered his hiding-place, and crept close up to his feet. The farmer, moved by its attachment, took it home again, and kept it for some time.

Seals are said to be delighted with music. Mr. Laing, in his account of a voyage to Spitzbergen, mentions that the son of the master of the vessel in which he sailed, who was fond of playing on the violin, never failed to have a numerous auditory, when in the seas frequented by seals; and they have been seen to follow a s.h.i.+p for miles when any person was playing on the deck.

It is a common practice in Cornwall, England, for persons, when in pursuit of seals, as soon as the animal has elevated its head above water, to halloo to it till they can approach within gunshot, as it will listen to the sound for several minutes.

The bottlenose seal is in general very inactive, but when irritated, is exceedingly revengeful. A sailor, who had killed a young one, was in the act of skinning it, when its mother approached him unperceived, and, seizing him in her mouth, bit him so dreadfully that he died of the wound in three days.

THE WALRUS.

This animal is a native of the polar regions, and in many of its habits resembles the seal. It lives in troops, which visit the sh.o.r.e, or extensive fields of ice, as a sort of home. Its food consists of a kind of seaweed, which it tears up by means of its tusks. It is very much hunted for its skin and its oil.

_Anecdote._--In the year 1766, a vessel which had gone to the north seas, to trade with the Esquimaux, had a boat out with a party of the crew. A number of walruses attacked them, and, notwithstanding every effort to keep them at bay, a small one contrived to get over the stern of the boat, looked at the men for some time, and then plunged into the water to rejoin his companions. Immediately after, another one, of enormous bulk, made the same attempt to get over the bow, which, had he succeeded, would have upset the boat; but, after trying every method in vain to keep him off, the boatswain discharged the contents of a gun loaded with goose-shot into the animal's mouth, which killed him; he immediately disappeared, and was followed by the whole herd. Seeing what had happened to their companion, the enraged animals soon followed the boat; but it luckily reached the s.h.i.+p, and all hands had got on board before they came up; otherwise, some serious mischief would, doubtless, have befallen the boat's crew.

ORDER V.

MARSUPIALA,

POUCHED ANIMALS.

This order includes animals with a pouch under the belly, where the young are in some cases produced and nursed.

THE OPOSSUM.

This curious animal belongs exclusively to America, and is familiarly known in the milder parts of the United States. It is about the size of a cat, but its legs are short, and its body broad and flat. The females are remarkable for having an abdominal pouch, to which the young ones retreat in time of danger. The hunting of this animal is the favorite sport in some of the Middle States. Parties go out in the moonlight evenings of autumn, attended by dogs. These trace the opossum to some tree, between the branches of which he hides himself from the view of the hunter. The latter shakes him down, and the quadruped, rolling himself into a ball, pretends to be dead. If not immediately seized, he uncoils himself, and attempts to steal away. The various artifices it adopts for escape have given rise to the proverb of "playing 'possum."

THE KANGAROO.

The following description of this animal, which is peculiar to New Holland, is taken from Dawson's "Present State of Australia:"--

"The country on our right consisted of high and poor, stony hills, thickly timbered; that on the left, on the opposite side of the river, was a rich and thinly-timbered country. A low and fertile flat meadow there skirted the river; and, at the extremity of the flat, hills gradually arose with a gentle slope, covered with verdure, upon which an immense herd of kangaroos were feeding. I crossed over with Maty Bill and a brace of dogs, leaving the party to proceed on their route.

The moment we had crossed, the kangaroos moved off. It is extremely curious to see the manner in which a large herd of these animals jump before you. It has often been a.s.serted that they make use of their tails to spring from you when they are pursued. This is not correct.

Their tails never touch the ground when they move, except when they are on their feed, or at play; and the faster they run or jump, the higher they carry them.

"The male kangaroos were called, by the natives, old men, 'wool man;'

and the females, young ladies, 'young liddy.' The males are not so swift as the females; and the natives, in wet seasons, occasionally run the former down when very large, their weight causing them to sink in the wet ground, and thus to become tired. They frequently, however, make up for this disadvantage by fierceness and cunning, when attacked either by men or dogs; and it is exceedingly difficult for a brace of the best dogs to kill a 'corbon wool man.' When they can, they will hug a dog or a man as a bear would do; and as they are armed with long, sharp claws, they not unfrequently let a dog's entrails out, or otherwise lacerate him in the most dreadful manner, sitting all the while on their haunches, hugging and scratching with determined fury.

"The kind of dog used for coursing the kangaroo is, generally, a cross between the greyhound and the mastiff, or sheep-dog; but, in a climate like New South Wales, they have, to use the common phrase, too much lumber about them. The true-bred greyhound is the most useful dog. He has more wind; he ascends the hills with more ease, and runs double the number of courses in a day. He has more bottom in running; and, if he has less ferocity when he comes up with an 'old man,' so much the better, as he exposes himself the less, and lives to afford sport another day. The strongest and most courageous dog can seldom conquer a 'wool man' alone, and not one in fifty will face him fairly; the dog who has the temerity is certain to be disabled, if not killed.

"The herd of kangaroos we had thus come upon was too numerous to allow of the dogs' being let loose; but, as the day's walk was drawing to a close, I had given Maty Bill liberty to catch another kangaroo, if we should fall in with a single one. After moving up to the foot of the hill, about a quarter of a mile from the river, my sable companion eyed a 'corbon wool man,' as he called it, quietly feeding at a distance, on the slope of the hill. His eyes sparkled; he was all agitation; and he called out, 'Ma.s.sa, ma.s.sa! You tee! you tee! wool man! wool man! corbon wool man!' and off he ran with his dogs, till he was within a fair distance, when he slipped their collars. I was at this time on foot, and the whole of them, therefore, were soon out of my sight. They had turned round the bottom of the hill, in the direction of the river; and, as I was following them down, I heard the dogs at bay, and the shrill call of 'coo-oo-oo,' from my companion, to direct me to the spot; and, on turning the corner of the hill, I met him, running, and calling as fast and as loud as he could. As soon as he saw me, he stopped, and called out, 'Ma.s.sa, ma.s.sa! Make haste! Dingo (dogs) have got him in ribber. Many corbon wool man, all the same like it bullock.'

"All this was said in a breath; and as I could not pretend to run with him, I desired him to go as fast as he could, and help the dogs, till I should arrive. When I got up to the spot, he was in the middle of the river, with about two feet depth of water, while the kangaroo, sitting upright on its haunches, was keeping both him and the dogs at a respectful distance, and had laid bare the windpipe of one of the dogs.

Billy's waddy was too short to reach him without coming to close quarters, and he knew better than to do that; at length he got behind him, and, with a blow on the head, he despatched him. No huntsman could have shown more ardor in the pursuit, or more pleasure at the death of a fox, than did poor Maty Bill upon this occasion. The kangaroo was so heavy, weighing about a hundred and fifty pounds, that he could not lift him out of the water, and we were obliged to leave him till our party arrived on the opposite side."

ORDER VI.

RODENTIA,

GNAWING ANIMALS.

This order embraces a considerable number of small animals, most of which possess a gentle and harmless character. They live upon vegetable matter, and a large proportion use their fore-paws in the manner of hands.

THE SQUIRREL.

Of this lively, pleasing genus, there is a considerable variety, especially in the temperate zone. They are very agile, and use their paws with much grace and dexterity, in handling their food.

_Miscellaneous Anecdotes._--A squirrel, seated in a nut-tree, was once observed to weigh a nut in each paw, to discover by weight which was good; the light ones he invariably dropped, thus making a heap of them at the foot of the tree. On examining this heap, it was found to consist entirely of bad nuts.

A gentleman near Edinburgh took a common squirrel from a nest, which he reared, and rendered extremely docile. It was kept in a box, nailed against the wall, which was wired in front, and had a small aperture at the end, to allow the animal to enter. To the end of the box was suspended a rope, which touched the ground, by which the animal descended from and ascended to its domicile at pleasure. It became extremely playful, and was familiar with every one of the family, but devotedly attached to its master, who generally carried it about with him in his coat-pocket.

The little creature used to watch all its master's movements. Whenever it saw him preparing to go out, it ran up his legs, and entered his pocket, from whence it would peep out at pa.s.sengers, as he walked along the streets--never venturing, however, to go out. But no sooner did he reach the outskirts of the city, than the squirrel leaped to the ground, ran along the road, ascended the tops of trees and hedges with the quickness of lightning, and nibbled at the leaves and bark; and, if he walked on, it would descend, scamper after him, and again enter his pocket. In this manner, it would amuse itself during a walk of miles, which its master frequently indulged in.

It was taught to catch food, roots, and acorns, with its fore-paws, which it accomplished with great neatness. It was also instructed to leap over a stick, held out to it, and perform various other little tricks.