Remember always, in all you do, that you are dealing with an animal
whose brain power is far less than that of an ordinary child, and be
_patient, kind and persevering_. Never allow yourself to believe the
animal does not possess intelligence. _Believe_ he has it, _hope_ he has
it, _trust God_ that he has it and work in that belief, hope, trust, and
you will accomplish wonders. Faith, hope and love are the abiding and
moving powers of life. With them there is no limit to what can be done,
for they belong to the infinite.
A SCIENTIFIC INVESTIGATION
It is natural that, to those who are skeptical as to a horse’s brain
capacity, there should be some doubt as to the reality of Captain’s
performances. Suggestions of trickery, of Captain’s being controlled by
visual or aural cues that are unobserved and generally unobservable by
the public, arise in the mind. The skeptic denies, positively and
unquestionably, any assertion of the animal’s intelligence. He laughs
and scoffs at the idea that the horse really thinks, adds, subtracts,
multiplies or counts; that he knows colors; that he has any idea
whatever of tone values, or, indeed, can tell one note from another. He
believes in suggestions, or cues, or even that, unconsciously, Mr.
Sigsbee hypnotizes the horse and thus personally directs all his
actions, and he does not seem to see that these involve the explanation
of mysteries as deep as the one of animal intelligence.
The first thing, however, is to be assured that the horse actually does
the things it is asserted he does, and that, as far as the trained and
scientific observer can detect, there is no conscious deception. In the
case of Captain this has been done by Dr. G. V. Hamilton, a
veterinarian, whom the _Santa Barbara_ (Calif.) _Press_ asserts is
“nationally recognized as an expert in these avenues of investigation.”
After witnessing a public performance he conducted a series of private
tests and from the _Press_ of February 27, 1916, I quote the following
account from Dr. Hamilton’s pen:
Several days elapsed between the visit at which I took the notes
recorded above and my private interview with Captain and Mr.
Sigsbee. This enabled me to plan various tests which might
enable me to check up on the following possibilities:
In performances of this kind it is at least possible for a
confederate to conceal himself behind the curtains, under the
stage or elsewhere, and to direct the activities of the animal.
A short whip or stick might easily carry a long, thin, black
wire, which would be invisible from the front of the stage.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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