Part 7

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.

My experience with laboratory animals leads me to believe that it would be possible for a shrewd animal trainer to direct a dog’s or a horse’s activities by means of eye, facial muscle and bodily movements which are of a too slight excursus to be apparent to ordinary human observation. It is not to be forgotten, in this connection, that some dogs are notoriously dependent on their masters for directive cues, and that this may be characteristic of horses of a certain type.

It is conceivable that repetition of a given routine over a period of years might enable a horse to stereotype a highly complex set of habits.

On the morning of my appointment with Mr. Sigsbee I found the horse in his stall, unattended. A colored groom, who seems to be the only person, other than Mr. Sigsbee, to have any responsibility for Captain, shortly appeared. He discussed the horse with me without manifesting either suspiciousness or constraint. A little later Mr. Sigsbee came to the stall and asked me to decide how and where to make the tests. He seemed to be wholly unaware of the possibility that my tests might seriously impair the “show” value of his animal. I decided to work with the horse on the stage, and to have Mr. Sigsbee with me. Captain is a nervous, highly excitable animal, and I had previously seen him make a poor showing when not in good condition, hence my desire to have the familiar presence of the master.

A careful examination of the stage revealed no evidence of provision for the concealment of a confederate, so I had Captain led upon the stage and began my tests, which were given in the following order:

1. I asked him, “How do you walk when you go to see your girl?” Captain gave an appropriate response, although his master was not within the horse’s field of vision, and did not carry his whip. Mr. Sigsbee who seems to have a great affection for his horse, now interpolated, “What do you give me for sugar?” Captain “kissed” him.

2. At my request Mr. Sigsbee asked Captain to play “Nearer My God to Thee.” I stood between horse and master while the former played the chimes with but one mistake. He received no direction for this after the initial command. Mr. Sigsbee then told me that Captain knew how to run the scale, so I asked for that. The horse made one mistake, due to his failure to strike the trip hammer opposite one of the metal tubes with sufficient force. When he had passed from the low to the high end of the chimes his master commanded him to “come right back,” and this was promptly obeyed. Still no visual cues. As a matter of fact, the horse seemed to pay almost no attention to Mr. Sigsbee with its eyes, as it were, but kept its ears in almost constant movement.

3. The leather blindfold was now applied. There is not the slightest doubt in my mind as to the entire adequacy of Captain’s blindfold for purposes of excluding visual stimuli. At my request Mr. Sigsbee stood facing me and called for 2, 9, 3, 1, and 7 separately and in the order given. The horse stood where I had previously decided to have him stand, and I made sure that no directive stimuli were reaching him either from the stage or from the rear and sides.

He stamped twice for “2,” nine for “9,” etc., until this test was completed. The only mistake occurred when, in response to the command to “give us three” he stamped three times and struck his toe on returning his foot to the standing position. His master accused him of this mistake and Captain gave us three clean-cut taps.

4. I gave the command, “Give me your right foot,” “Give me your left foot,” “Put your head down and bite your right knee,” and “Scratch your head.” He responded appropriately, although it was necessary for me to repeat these commands to satisfy the inquiry contained in Captain’s wiggling ears. Mr. Sigsbee stood by my side, a wholly negligible factor for the moment. I am thoroughly satisfied that Captain’s activities were solely directed by my commands.

5. Captain, still blindfolded, was given the following problems by his master, from whom I had concealed my program. It seemed to be difficult for the horse to follow my unfamiliar voice, and since Mr. Sigsbee was invisible to the horse and wholly under my control I decided to employ him as interlocutor:

“Divide ten equally between your two feet, the first half with your right foot, the second half with your left foot.”

Captain stamped five times with his right foot, then pawed tentatively, apparently in doubt as to the correctness of his answer, and awaiting a cue. He received no cue, and soon withdrew his right foot to the standing position and tapped five times with the left foot. His master accused him of inaccuracy, telling him that he “got one too many” with his right foot. Captain corrected his mistake by giving us a clean-cut and accurate response.

“Divide twelve equally between your two feet, the first half with the right foot, the second half with your left foot.”

This command elicited a perfect response.

“How much is three times three?”

A perfect response was again obtained. Captain gave nine taps with his right forefoot.

“How much is two times two?” I gave this command.

Captain tapped four times, stopped, and began to paw in a doubtful manner. His master scolded him for this, and he tried it again, but again at the end of four taps, hesitated and pawed. Mr. Sigbsee told him he knew better than that, and commanded him to try again. I gave the problem clearly, and obtained a correct and clean-cut response.

6. Mr. Sigsbee was instructed to give the following commands:

“Pump.”

“Reverse.”

“Laugh.”

“Say ‘Yes’.”

“Wiggle your ears.”

“Scratch your head.”