ANIMAL CHIVALRY By Woods Hutchinson ANIMAL CHIVALRY By Woods Hutchinson ANIMAL CHIVALRY.” One of the most delightful things about our own species is its colossal, but quite unconscious, conceit. Until within the past few generations it would scarcely have even occurred to us to doubt that we were the central figure of the universe and that our fate was the chief concern of the gods. With an equally naive self-satisfaction we have quietly arrogated to ourselves the sole possession of a moral sense. We cannot - deny to our animal cousins the possession of many, indeed nearly all, of the primitive virtues—affection, courage, loy- alty, and faithfulness to the death; but we do deny them the moral credit for them, on the ground that they are the result of ‘‘ mere instinct.” The position is one which, for the sake of our own peace of mind, it were best not to pry into too curiously, as we should, I fear, find ourselves face to face with the discomforting fact that not only are many of the best and noblest things of which we are capable done purely on instinct, but also some of our worst and cruellest actions from a sense of duty, or for “conscience' sake.” So that, before an impartial bar, we might well find difficulty in proving that the practical conduct of many animals does not somehow manage to reach as high an average as our own, even though they be utterly devoid of, in Arnold’s celebrated phrase, The sense in us for conduct, the sense in us for duty. I am not so presumptuous as to desire to raise this wide and wrathful question in any formal way, but merely to direct attention to the very small corner of it pertaining to the pos- session by animals of a sense of chivalry, of noblesse oblige, of duties towards the weak and defenceless, and letting a few instances speak for themselves. * Originally printed in the "Contemporary Review.” 3 4. ANIMAL CHIVALRY. I do not refer to the impulses rising out of the sense of guardianship over the family and loyalty to the herd or pack upon the part of the male, or devotion to the young on the part of the female, as I think that no one who has been admitted to terms of intimacy with many artimals will feel any hesita- tion in his own mind as to the existence of a very distinct and high sense of duty in this regard in the animal mind, and a keen sense of shame at failure to live up to it. It is with the more Bayard-like feelings, of less intensity but wider range, that I am here concerned. These may be roughly grouped under three heads,-the attitude of animals towards the young or the defenceless females of their own and other species, towards “the ladies,” and towards men. Although many painful instances are on record of the ruth- less destruction by animals of the young and females of other species, or even of their own, yet there is, I think, little ques- tion that in the main there runs a sort of unwritten law through the animal kingdom, that infancy, and even childhood, are entitled to certain rights of immunity which must be respected. Indeed, I think most exceptions to this rule would be found to depend on some curious connection in the animal mind between size and strength, for most of them are in the cases of small animals, between whom and their young victims there is not so much discrepancy in size. In fact, the balance may be in favor of the victim. Certainly the smallest animals, such as stoats, weasels, martens, etc., are the worst offenders in this respect, and dogs, who can be easily urged to chase a lamb or a calf, will turn aside from and refuse to attack blund kittens or very young rabbits. - The attitude of animals towards the young of their own species is, we think, almost uniform, most of us having prob- ably seen instances of it. I was once the proud possessor of a fine English setter, a dog of handsome presence, and a most Hibernian delight in the ‘‘ fog o fightin’,” and extremely jealous, to the degree of quarrelsomeness, of every rival that came about the place. He would face any dog, and, indeed, had thrashed and been recognized as the master of most in the neighborhood; but, if a young puppy or kitten were suddenly ANIMAL CHIVALRY. 5 presented to him, he would turn tail and flee in apparently abject terror. Upon several occasions I tried the experiment of holding him with one hand by the collar and presenting the sprawling and whining object with the other, and it was really comical to see how he would shrink and shut his eyes, turn his face aside and whimper, just as if I had been thrusting a burn- ing brand into his face. If he came into the house and found a puppy (of which there were usually one or two in stock in those days) sprawling upon the hearthrug, he would turn and bolt as if he had seen a snake, and refuse to return until he thought the coast was clear. And several of my hounds appeared to possess this curious “puppy-dread '' in less degrees. Obviously there is a possibility of mixed motives in this feeling, which would strongly suggest, for one thing, that there was a long-standing, instinctive tradition in the canine tribe that young puppies are strictly taboo to adult males other than their parents, and that even the very appearance of evil or possibility of temptation must be avoided. I am afraid we must also include a remembrance, either derived from personal experience or crystallized from a succession of ancestral epi- sodes, and handed down as an instinct, of what is likely to happen if the doting mother suddenly appears upon the scene. To this day it is notoriously unsafe for any stranger or even casual acquaintance, human or canine, to interfere, even in the friendliest manner, with young puppies when their mothers are present. I have seen many dogs flown at for approaching too near a nest of puppies, but I have never seen one of them offer any resistance, let alone retaliation, even though quite sharply bitten. It is, of course, also possible that the feelings of the big dog are merely comparable to those of the average bachelor when suddenly brought into the presence of a wee infant and asked to “ hold the baby,” or left alone and defenceless before one. Or have we here an ancestral basis for this well- known and widespread embarrassment in our own species? One thing I feel quite clear of, and that is, that the dog dis- tinctly understands that there are reasons why he should avoid o ANIMAL CHIVALRY. all contact with a very young puppy, entirely unconnected with his ability to defend himself against it or its mother. This, I think, is clearly shown by the next stage of development in his attitude, when the puppy becomes able to run about, and he may be permitted to be seen in its company without exposing himself to the suspicion of having sought it for unfriendly purposes. There are few prettier sights in the world than to - see a great, dignified, battle-scarred wolf-hound lying in the - sun, with an impudent little doll’s-door-mat-on-four-legs of a terrier puppy yapping in his face, tugging at his ears, and tumbling all over his back. If you can come upon him un- awares, so that he does not know you are watching, you will see that he is not merely submitting with passive tolera- tion to these indignities, but is actually entering into the sport of the thing, taking the puppy’s head, and even half his body, into his great mouth, flattening him down gently with a stroke of his huge paw, and I have actually seen them get up and follow the little chap as he toddled about the yard, as if loth to relinquish the sport. - But some dogs’ sense of personal dignity is so great that, if they once see you are watching, their attitude changes at once. They assume an attitude of the most superior indifference, and either affect barely to tolerate Master Puppy’s familiar- ities, as the excusable foolishness of youth, or send him about his business with a low growl, or a blow from their muzzle if this be not sufficient, much to the little fellow’s dismay and perplexity. Generally, however, they will go on playing with him, but, as a rule, never quite so cordially as before, for fear you will think them lacking in dignity. It is quite unnecessary to adduce instances of this delight- ful, grandfatherly attitude on the part of big dogs towards puppies, for examples can be seen on every hand. The puppy is a privileged character everywhere in the canine world, and, no matter where he may enter or what he may do, he º will either be passed over unnoticed, or his abject apology and explanation that he is only a puppy promptly accepted. And this flag of truce is extended even to their natural enemy, the cat, while in the kitten stage. I have never had the slightest i ANIMAL CHIvalry. 7 difficulty in bringing up kittens to cathood, on terms of intimacy, even of warm friendship, with from two to a dozen dogs, any one of whom would have instantly flown at a strange cat, merely by introducing them as very young kittens. Two of the most keenly cat-hating dogs that I ever knew —a fox-terrier and a bull-terrier of notable prowess—actually adopted a kitten of their own to raise! I found her down in the veranda one night, a ball about the size of my fist, from which radiated in all directions fur and furious spittings. I picked her up and brought her into the house, and told both the dogs to go up and speak to her (an attention which she promptly requited by a “spat” on the nose), then left them to themselves. In a very short time she found out that they did not mean to hurt her, smoothed down her rumpled little back and tail, and they all became the best of friends, the dogs expecting their regular game of play with the kitten when they came in at night, just as a busy man might his “children’s hour.” It was a pretty sight to see the fluffy little thing throw herself headlong upon the great square head of the bull-dog, pat at his eyes, bite his ears until he fairly winced, and fes- toon herself round his neck. Their friendship remained unbroken until they were separated at the close of the year, while all that time both these dogs were the terror of every other cat in the neighborhood. But in my association with dogs I have found that it is only a very morose and ill-tem- pered dog who will seriously attack young kittens, and usually even he requires to be urged on by the “higher ” (?) animal, man. As for the positive side of their sense of obligation to the young, especially of their own species, the evidence is over- whelmingly clear. I have several times seen a young and foolish puppy, just torn from the maternal care and placed in a strange house, like a new boy at a boarding-school, adopted by some one of the older dogs, taught his manners, protected from imposition by the bullies, and given a guarded Christian education generally, extending over months. A bull-terrier puppy of mine was thus adopted by an old and rather short- tempered fox-terrier of redoubtable fighting prowess. But, as 8 ANIMAL CHIVALRY. the puppy grew up, a curious bouleversement took place. The display of chivalry and forbearance became reversed, for Pukka’s idea of education, like the traditional human one, included a considerable number of vigorous corrections of the puppy “for his own good.” And he never could seem to grasp the fact that this did not continue to be just as appro- priate when the bull-terrier was nearly twice his own size. And now the obligation of size asserted itself on the bull- dog's part, and it was positively amusing how, when he had submitted to as much as he thought just and reasonable, in the way of correction for his offences, he would quietly knock his infuriated little schoolmaster over and put his paws on him until his righteous indignation had moderated. But, alas! even bull-dog forbearance has its limits, although, con- trary to general impression, they are extremely good-natured and mild-tempered dogs, unless carefully “savaged '' by their masters. And one day Pukka's attack went beyond all bounds. The slumbering demon of five generations of pit- trained gladiators woke in the younger dog. In an instant his teeth were locked in one of the fatal bull-dog holds upon the neck of the terrier. When once this has happened, the bull-dog has no further control over, or responsibility for, his actions; he knows only one thing, -to hang on until the fight is over, or he is forcibly torn off. Fortunately one of my friends was within hearing of the fray, and rushed up and separated the dogs, or the quarrel would have come to a sud- den end. After this I was obliged to give away the older dog, because within a week he was as overbearing as ever, and ‘‘Tadpole' as forbearing, but I never knew at what moment the limits of endurance on his part might again be reached. It might also be mentioned in this connection that, as a rule, no dog of size or courage will condescend to attack a smaller or obviously weaker dog, unless the remarks and actions of the latter become insulting beyond endurance. The little dog seems to realize this thoroughly, so that it may almost be taken as a general rule that the smaller the dog the more quarrelsome and abusive he is. My little fox-terrier would fly at half the dogs he met, ANIMAL CHIVALRY. o apparently knowing that the big ones would either pay little attention to him or let him off easily, without making pursuit, and feeling a well-founded confidence that he could give a good account of most of the small or medium-sized ones in a rough-and-ready street fight, which, as a rule, never lasts more than one or two rounds, and in which all the advantage is on the side of the aggressor. My bull-terrier, on the other hand, would avoid almost every attack that was made upon him, if it were possible to do so without displaying positive cowardice. Even where he judged it necessary to do something, instead of trying to take hold, he would content himself with a single, wolf-like slash of his great canines, often without even slackening his stride, as he raced after my buggy, and this was usually enough for most dogs. A splendid great Dane, of almost lion color and size, would usually absolutely refuse to fight with small or even medium- sized dogs, or, if he did, would content himself with knocking them over and holding them down with his huge paws. This, by the way, was excellent policy also, for his assailant was thus not only defeated, but made to look ridiculous as well,— a thing far more keenly dreaded and vividly remembered by most dogs. But even chivalry has its drawbacks. It is not advisable, as a rule, to go out walking with dogs which vary widely in size, for, if you do, the little dog will start the quarrels and the big one promptly join in, to assist his friend, and you will have no end of complications on your hands from the combination. This sense of obligation to interfere actively on behalf of the younger or weaker members of their species is widely spread throughout the animal kingdom. In attempting to capture young pigs, which have escaped from their pen, and - are running at large among the herd of perhaps fifty or sixty full-grown hogs, it is necessary to be most circumspect in your method of picking up a youngster, for, if once his shrill little squeal of distress is raised, you will have the entire herd down on you at once, bristles up, tusks gnashing, and fierce, barking war-cry ringing. It would be most unwise to await 10 ANIMAL CHIVALRY. the onset, for a half-wild pig, when his blood is up and that danger-cry is ringing in his ears, is one of the most reckless and ferocious fighters that can be met with. The only thing to be done is to dash for the nearest fence with your shrieking burden, or drop him before you reach it, if the herd is gaining on you. As soon as the danger-cry ceases, your pursuers will stop suddenly, stare about them in a dazed and puzzled manner, and then proceed to work off their surplus excitement by a series of indiscriminate free fights one with another. Cattle have the same curious susceptibility to the cry of a frightened calf, especially in their half-wild condition, up on the ranges. To startle suddenly a young calf from its nest in the long grass or the sage-bush upon the plains is one of the riskiest experiences that can fall to your lot, if on foot and at any distance from your horse or wagon. The little goose is almost sure to do one of two things, either to trot confid- ingly towards you and shamble along after you as though he were your dog, which means that he does you the compliment of mistaking you for his mother; or, with head and tail erect, and rigid with terror, he will give voice to an appall- ing succession of barking ‘‘ blarts,” totally unlike his ordinary dinner-cry to his mother. And every horned creature within three-quarters of a mile will go fighting-mad at once and come charging and bellowing down upon you. And woe betide you unless you can reach your horse or wagon before they arrive on the scene. If the youngster chooses the former alternative and honors you with his confidence, he is simply adding to your embarrassment and postponing your calamity, for, even though he remains per- fectly satisfied with his adopted protector, yet if his mother happens to heave in sight in the course of your little prom- enade across the prairie, the only view she is capable of tak- ing of the matter is that you are trying to steal her baby, and she will act accordingly with great promptness. Your only policy is to walk quietly and quickly away in the direction of safety, fervently hoping that his mother may be grazing in the other direction. You may not even attempt ANIMAL CHIVALRY. 11 to drive the little fellow back, for, if you once fairly succeed in calling his attention to you, and he discovers his mistake, then the danger-cry will be raised at once, and you will have not merely the mother, but all the herd within hearing of it, to reckon with. All very young calves or lambs, both upon the northern plains and the southern pampas, have this curious instinct for following practically any large moving body, -a horse, a man, a wagon, or even, it is declared, in some cases, one of those curious round weed-bushes, known as ‘‘ tumble weeds” as they roll slowly across the plain, before the wind. After a few days or weeks at the outside this completely disappears, and the instinct of flight takes its place. A friend of my brother’s had a most perilous adventure of this description from rousing a calf in a little valley scarcely a mile from his own ranch-buildings. As the little stupid insisted on following him, he turned and made for the house with a shivery feeling running down his spine, and about half- way to safety the mother appeared upon the scene. Of course she charged at once, but he fortunately kept his wits about him and ran for the nearest “blow-out,’’ or eddy- pit, scooped in the loose sand of the hills by the force of the prairie winds. He gained the perpendicular border of this with only about twenty yards to spare, and leaped over the edge, hoping that the cow would not venture to follow him, on account of the nearly precipitous drop of some twenty feet, but would go round and attempt to attack him from the oppo- site or sloping side of the pit. By digging his heels vigorously into the bank he succeeded in arresting his descent about five or six feet below the top, and, when the infuriated cow had managed to check her wild charge, just in time to stop herself from coming over on top of him, he found himself in a comparatively safe position, as the bank below was much too steep for her to charge up. Here he remained for about half an hour when, thinking that the cow had forgiven the mistake and gone back to her calf, he cautiously scrambled up the edge again, only, however, to find the indignant lady waiting for him about fifty yards 12 ANIMAL CHIVALRY. away, so that the appearance of his head and shoulders was the signal for another charge, and, as he had not even his re- volver with him, he was perfectly helpless. It was only sev- eral hours later—when some of his own riders, attracted by his shouts for assistance, rode up and drove away the infu- riated animal, who was disposed to resist even this superior force—that he was rescued from his humiliating position. Among our bird-cousins the response to this cry is almost equally prompt. By far the most effective means of bringing birds about you for the purpose of cultivating their acquaint- ance, after you have settled yourself, field-glass in hand, with your back against a tree-trunk, is to place your lips to the back of your hand in the kissing position and suck in the air vigorously while keeping them firmly pressed, this giving rise to a half-squeaking, half-whistling sound that closely resem- bles the cry of a young bird in distress. It is astonishing how quickly this will sometimes cause an apparently deserted thicket to become fairly alive with birds, all in a state of anxious excitement. The attitude of dogs and other domestic animals towards the babies or children of the family to which they belong, and which they probably regard as adopted into their own family circle, is a familiar illustration of this same feeling. Nor is this simply a matter of affection for the particular individual; on the contrary, its purely impersonal and, if we might use the term, abstract character is sometimes most curiously shown. One of my brothers, when a young man, owned a handsome Newfoundland answering to the name of “Skukkum,” the same being Chinook Indian for “good,” and amply deserved. When my brother married, Skukkum was graciously pleased to approve of his choice, and extended a courteous but distinctly condescending friendship to the new member of his family, evidently thinking that perhaps, after all, three might be com- pany, in spite of the proverb. But he drew the line at four, and, when the first baby came, his courtesy gave way. He not only absolutely refused to come and look at the little tot and be introduced to the new member of the family, but, if it was brought into the room, would instantly either leave it or ANIMAL CHIVALRY. 13 march off to the farthest corner and lie down with an air of offended dignity. - And yet the moment that the baby was placed in his per- ambulator and started out through the garden gate, for a con- stitutional down the street, Skukkum would promptly range up alongside of the carriage and escort it through the entire trip, keeping a most vigilant eye upon any stranger, canine or human, who ventured to approach his charge without a cordial greeting from the nurse-maid. The minute, however, that the gate was safely reached again, he considered his duty done, and relapsed at once into his former attitude of jealous contempt. He evidently felt that, no matter how much he might disap- prove of the baby personally, and even feel free to express this feeling within the privacy of the family circle, yet the young- ster was nevertheless de jure a member of the family, and entitled not merely to defence, but to respectful attention be- fore the eye of the outside world. As the baby grew older, he soon came to like him for his own sake, and they were the best of friends. The broad and beautiful catholicity of the maternal instinct in animals, throwing its mantle of protection over even the young of their legitimate prey, may also be claimed as a sort of female chivalry. Nor, fortunately, is there need to multi- ply instances of it, as it has attracted affectionate admiration from the dawn of history. I have known young squirrels, young rabbits, and even young chickens, adopted for longer or shorter periods by mother-cats, and every collection of pets can furnish one or more instances of strange and often incongruous foster-chil- dren. Even the disappointed instinct of maternity will assert itself in this regard, for an orphaned mother-hound of my pack was only prevented with great difficulty from appropriating the puppies of a younger and more fortunate sister. And I have twice known sour, old-maid cats carry off vi et armis the kittens of “the favorite of the harem;” though in these last two instances there was, I fear, as often, alas! in even the most pious of human actions, a suspicion at least of a strain of the green-eyed monster as well. 14 ANIMAL CHIVALRY. I think it is quite possible, indeed probable, that the innu- merable old folk-lore stories, told in every region of the world, among the most widely divergent of races, of deserted infants being adopted and nourished by wolves, panthers, deer, and other wild animals, of which the Romulus and Re- mus myth is the most famous example, had an actual founda- tion in fact. Indeed, a number of instances are on record of actual wild or “wolf’’ children within historical times, and, although many of these must be discounted as simply in- stances of a well-known form of insanity, a few seem to have been genuine. When we remember the far greater frequency with which infants were left to take their chance in the open in earlier times, on account of the now almost incredible risks of war, famine, and pestilence, to say nothing of the cheerful custom followed by many tribes of deliberately exposing their weaklings, it would be strange if, out of the innumerable opportunities for this sort of adoption, some successful in- stances had not occurred. So that we may cast aside our scruples and believe in the irresistible “ Mowgli' to our hearts’ content. Animals, I am thankful to say, have never yet succeeded in absolutely steeling their hearts against the cry of infantile distress. Man alone has reached this pinnacle of virtue. And it is not the only elevation of the same sort of which he has a monopoly. - The toast of the “ladies” would be cordially received at any canine banquet, and the courtesy with which the privileges of the sex are respected is a most creditable feature of canine conduct. I do not, of course, refer merely to the elaborate display of politeness and fine manners seen everywhere during the period of courtship. - Courtesy to and respect for the weaker sex goes far beyond this. No self-respecting dog will bite a female, except in the extremest need of self-defence; though I am sorry to say that the lady herself, as a rule, has no scruple whatever about pun- ishing, to the full extent of her power, any individual of the opposite sex that happens to be inferior to her in size or strength. And indeed, like the woman in the crowded 'bus, ANIMAL CHIVALRY. 15 she is inclined to demand her privileges as rights. A vixen- ish female will make more trouble in a pack of hounds than any three of the sterner sex, for, whenever dissatisfied, she hasn’t the slightest reserve about speaking out at once, and, as her cause is extremely likely to be championed, upon general principles, by some chivalrous male, a free fight is frequently the result. So strong is this unwillingness to “strike a female '' that it really becomes a most annoying obstacle in attempting to clear a neighborhood of wolves, as few male dogs will attack a she-wolf, or in some cases even follow her trail. I well remember an exasperating experience of this sort in the early days of my wolf-hunting. A she-wolf had been clearly marked down, in a certain wild tract of dense hazel-brush, by the fearful havoc which she was making among the lambs of the farmers in its neighborhood. In response to their Mace- donian cry, an older hunter and myself united our packs and rode over to draw the thicket. Leaving our friends posted in the open country around, we proceeded to ride down through the middle of it, to direct the movements of our pack. Work- ing my way through the thickest of the tangle, my mare sud- denly snorted and reared so violently as almost to unseat me. I saw at once that she had scented something, and, looking quickly down the slope of the hill in front, I was just in time to catch the flash of a grey back and brush as it leaped across the valley of a little stream below me. It was only the work of a minute to swing the hounds on to the hot scent, and away they all went in a compact body, and with the ringing chorus. which stirs the heart of the hunter as no other sound can. Up the hill and over the next ridge they swept at full speed, with the scent breast-high, and we were just galloping off to our respective run-ways, in the hope of getting a shot, when all at once the chorus ceased as suddenly as it had begun. We listened anxiously for several minutes, thinking that they had turned up a side valley and we would soon catch the cry again, but not a sound could we hear. I was completely puz- zled, but my companion swore picturesquely and remarked in a resigned tone that this was just what he expected; the sons of 16 ANIMAL CHIVALRY. unmentionable maternal ancestors had caught up with the wolf, found that she was a vixen, closed the episode on the spot with apologies, and were now on their way back to us. Sure enough, in ten or fifteen minutes back they trotted, look- ing much ashamed of themselves, but quite determined to have nothing more to do with that trail. My friend assured me that they would often refuse even to take up the trail of a vixen in the first place. And I found that it was the custom with most hunters to run at least one bitch-hound in every pack, simply because she would have no hesitation whatever in attacking at once any vixen or even half-grown cub which might be come up with. When once the fight is started, then the rest of the hounds will join in to help their friend. Something of the same deference to the gentler sex may be seen among horses. Although a horse will promptly attack any other horse which may interfere with him, either in the field or in harness, he will very seldom attack a mare. Farm horses, which cannot be worked alongside of another horse on account of their savage tempers, may be safely yoked in double harness with a mare. Mares, on the other hand, will attack either their own or the opposite sex without the slightest hesitation whenever they “feel dispoged,” yet I have never seen serious or retaliatory resistance offered by the latter. It is usually quite safe to stable a mare alongside of a strange horse in a double stall, when stable-room is at a premium, but most risky to “double up '' two strange horses in this way.