DO THE LOWER ANIMALS THINK?
By G. V. KILGORE
Many suppose that the lower animals do not think and reason. This supposition arises from the doctrine of the immortality of the soul. Those who believe that doctrine say that only immortal beings have the power of reason, and that as man has this power, the souls of men must be immortal. But the actions of lower animals very often prove that they do think and reason, and therefore it must be acknowledged, either that other beings besides immortal ones have the power to reason, or else that dogs, horses, cats, etc., have immortal souls. The latter position will not be taken by any Christian, and if the former is proved to be true, then none can claim that man is immortal because he can think and reason. Two anecdotes have been related to me lately, which I have good authority for believing to be true; and they show that horses and dogs have memory, and exercise the power of thought. Many such might be given to show the same fact. A farmer had a very fine colt, which he kept in his barn haltered in a certain stall. Every time the man led the colt to water, he would let him go and play, and the colt formed the habit of taking a regular circuit, after which he would go directly to the stable3, take the pin out of its place, open the door, and go into his own stall. When the colt was large enough to be used, some one stole him. Two years afterward, the real owner put up for the night at a farmhouse about one hundred miles from home; and there he saw his colt. He said to the man who then had him, “That is my colt.” “No; I bought him,” was the reply. They contended for some time, and finally the real owner said, “You must go home with me, and if the colt does not do what I tell you, then he is not mine.” And he told him of the colt’s habit. “Well, I will go,” said the other. They both went; and at the proper time the colt was led out to water, as he had been two years before. After he had drank, the man let him go, and away he ran around his old circuit to the stable door, pulled the pin out with his teeth, opened the door, and went into his own stall. “Well,” said the other man, “he is your colt.” The other anecdote is this: A minister usually took his meals at a certain house near his appointment, and the family always cooked a chicken for him when he came. One day he happened along; and the little dog, recognizing him as he came to the door, slipped out by him quietly, and in a short time brought a chicken to the door ready to be dressed for the preacher. Such things prove that the lower animals have minds. The colt above referred to excelled his master in proving to whom he belonged; and men are no more ready to remember that horses eat corn than this little dog was to remember that the preacher ate chickens.