120

XXI. ALTERATIONS IN CHARACTER 122

XXII. A VARIETY OF ANSWERS 126

XXIII. ULSE'S FIRST INSTRUCTION 144

XXIV. LAST WORDS 149

CONCLUSION (BY PROFESSOR H. F. ZIEGLER) 152

THINKING ANIMALS (BY DR. WILLIAM MACKENZIE) 157

In recording the remarks made and answers given by these dogs I
have--wherever it seemed possible to do so without loss of a certain
distinctive charm--inserted the English translation _only_; here
and there, however, where, for instance, the conversation between
mistress and dog has turned on the spelling of a word it has been
necessary to give the entire sentence in German. There are also some
quaint remarks of which I have been loth to omit the original, these
being sure to appeal to anyone acquainted with idiomatic German.

THE TRANSLATOR

LOLA

THOUGHT CAPACITY IN ANIMALS

It was in the year 1904 that the first experiments towards
understanding an animal's ability to think were brought into public
light. Wilhelm von Osten then introduced his stallion Hans II to all
who seemed interested in the subject, and the most diametrically
opposed opinions were soon rife with regard to the abilities of this
horse, to which von Osten maintained he had succeeded in teaching both
spelling and arithmetic.

The animal's mental activity was said to lie in a simple form of
thinking, called into being and intensified by means of a certain
amount of instruction. Von Osten, who had been a schoolmaster, had
previously spent some fourteen years in testing the intelligence of two
other horses before he ventured to make his experiences public, and the
performances of these animals were not only remarkable, but of
far-reaching importance.

Hans I, aged twelve, died in 1905. He had never appeared in public,
since his abilities had been relatively modest. He had, nevertheless,
been able to count up to five, as well as carry out quite a number of
verbal instructions. It was Hans II, however, that convinced his
master--as early as 1902--of his ability to comprehend a far greater
range of the German alphabet (when written), as well as to recognize a
certain number of colours.

Instances, denoting signs of evident reflection and memory, had led to
Wilhelm von Osten turning his though