Stupid as the life of a cow may seem to be, yet there has been known
to the writer some cows which were far from being dull and prosaic.
Our same Hoosier friend had such an animal, whom he called Daisy. She
was very docile and affectionate, and would come, even when grazing in
the most delightful pasture of clover, whenever her name happened to
be mentioned. Daisy was a pretty creature, and very exemplary in her
conduct. When her companions would break into a field of corn, where
they had no right to be, she would not follow their wicked example,
but remained where her master had placed her and the rest of the herd,
showing them, as it were, that she did not approve of such wilful
waywardness. No member of the bovine family of animals ever showed a
greater fondness for love than Daisy. The master could put his arms
around her neck, and lay his face against the side of her own. That she
approved of such familiarity was evident, for she would show that she
did by placing her lips against his in true lover-like fashion. But
there came a time when this attachment to the master became dissolved.
On account of the bad behavior of the herd in general, and to make it
a law-abiding community, it was resolved that each member should have
its horns sawn off close up to the skull. This, it was thought, would
improve the temper of the herd, and make it less troublesome to manage.
No fear was entertained, however, for Daisy, who was already as good as
she could be, but Daisy must undergo the same cruel punishment for the
sake of uniformity in this particular in the herd. It had, however, the
opposite effect upon Daisy from what it had upon the rest of the herd,
for it made her sullen and morose, and from that time she resented all
familiarity upon the part of the master. She seemed to view him as her
worst enemy. All attempts to settle her grievances were viewed in a
suspicious manner, and the matter of reconciliation had at length to be
abandoned.
Beasts, there is no doubt, were intended to be the servants of man, and
there is nothing in his hands half so powerful in the accomplishment
of this end as thoughtful kindness. Inflexible decision, combined with
gentleness and sympathy, are irresistible weapons in his power, and no
animal exists, I firmly believe, which cannot be subdued if the right
man undertakes the task. By this mixture of firmness and kindness
many a wild beast of a horse has been in a half-hour rendered gentle
and subservient by Rarey, obeying the least sign of his conqueror,
and permitting himself to be freely handled without displaying the
slightest resentment.
That there is something more in memory than a mere production of a
material brain must seem probable from the examples given. In several
cases the animals were without any brains at all, but in others, where
a brain did exist, its material particles must have been repeatedly
changed, while the ideas impressed upon the memory still remained in
full force.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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