Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 82.djvu/173

Rh passing through to the Pacific coast at the time. The train was halted at Miles City, and Dr. Boyd was asked whether he would permit the writer to make a test of King Pharaoh's reputed human intelligence, and he readily consented to this. It was stipulated that the trainer should first exhibit the horse in the presence of a body of twenty-five observers, these to be chosen mainly from the educators in attendance at the convention, after which the writer would take control of King PharoahPharaoh [sic], and his trainer and care-takers should leave the building, so that they could not influence the horse in any way during his performances. These conditions were agreed to by Dr. Boyd.

King Pharaoh is a small pinto stallion. He has an unusually large head for his size. The trainer called special attention to this trait before beginning his performance with the horse. He also dwelt upon the remarkable success which King Pharaoh had had in all of his exhibitions. He mentioned the people of prominence who had "studied" him, and who had commended him, putting special emphasis upon the testimony of Ella Wheeler Wilcox and Governor Eberhardt. Whether the trainer intended it or not, it was apparent that his remarks predisposed the observers in the horse's favor. One could see that they were much interested in King Pharaoh's large head, which indicated, of course, in accord with popular belief, that he must be intelligent. "Large head = superior intelligence" is the simple logic of the uncritical observer; and such a person will be partially convinced before he sees the horse in action at all. Then when great men, no matter in what department they may have achieved distinction, testify in favor of anything, the majority of people no longer maintain a genuinely critical attitude toward it. This is the result which the trainer must have known would issue from his remarks, though he may not have made them for this explicit purpose.

It should be stated at this point that the trainer had carefully arranged the setting of the stage before King was brought in. He had placed a blackboard on an easel; and at four or five yards to the left there was a rack ten feet long on which could be placed in upright position ten letters or ten numbers printed on blocks that could be easily knocked down. The letters and figures were printed on both sides of the blocks, so that the horse and the trainer could see them, and the audience could also observe them. Throughout the exhibition the trainer stood between the blackboard and the rack so that the horse would always be in front of him, and he could see what was taking place.

For the first experiment, the writer put on the blackboard the following figures