A Hundred Anecdotes of Animals
rising to follow her, she returned, and with signs of inexpressible fondness went round them, pawing them successively. Finding at last that they were cold and lifeless, she raised her head towards the ship, and growled a curse upon the destroyers, which they returned with a volley of musket-balls. She fell between her cubs, and died licking their wounds.

    A sow, which was a thin, long-legged animal (one of the ugliest of the New Forest breed), when very young conceived so great a partiality to some pointer puppies that a gamekeeper upon a neighbouring estate was breaking, that it played, and often came to feed with them. From this circumstance it occurred to the gamekeeper that, having broken many a dog as obstinate as a pig, he would try if he could not also succeed in breaking a pig. The little animal would often go out with the puppies to some distance from home; and he enticed it farther by a sort of pudding made of barley-meal, which he carried in one of his pockets. The other he filled with stones, which he threw at the pig whenever she misbehaved, as he was not able to catch and correct her in the same manner he did his dogs. He found the animal tractable, and soon taught her what he wished by this mode of reward and punishment. They were frequently seen out together, when the sow quartered her ground as regularly as any pointer, stood when she came on game (having an excellent nose), and backed other dogs as well as he ever saw a pointer. When she came on the cold scent of game, she slackened her trot, and gradually dropped her ears and tail, till she was certain, and then fell down on her knees. So staunch was she, that she would frequently remain five minutes and upwards on her point. As soon as the game rose, she always returned to her master, grunting very loudly for her reward of pudding if it was not immediately given to her.

    A little girl about three years of age was observed for a number of days to go to a considerable distance from the house with a piece of bread which she obtained from her mother. The circumstance attracted the attention of the mother, who desired her husband to follow the child, and observe what she did with it. On coming to the child, he found her engaged in feeding several snakes, called yellow heads, a species of rattlesnake. He immediately took her away and proceeded to the house for his gun, and returning, killed two of them at one shot, and another a few days after. The child called these reptiles in the manner of calling chickens; and when her father observed, if she continued the practice they would bite her, the child replied, “No, father, they won’t bite me; they only eat the bread I give 
 Prev. P 26/44 next 
Back Top
Privacy Statement Terms of Service Contact