The Strange Instincts of Cattle. 337 
spot, whereupon the fighters separate and march 
off in different directions, or else cast themselves 
down and deprecate their tyrant’s wrath with 
abject gestures and whines. If the combatants are 
both strong and have worked themselves into a 
mad rage before their head puts in an appearance, 
it may go hard with him: they know him no longer, 
and all he can do is to join in the fray; then, if the 
fighters turn on him, he may be so injured that his 
power is gone, and the next best dog in the pack 
takes his place. The hottest contests are always 
between dogs that are well matched; neither will 
give place to the other, and so they fight it out; 
but from the foremost in strength and power down 
to the weakest there isa gradation of authority ; 
each one knows just how far he can go, which com- 
panion he can bully when he is ina bad temper or 
wishes to assert himself, and to which he must 
humbly yield in his turn. In such a state 
the weakest one must always yield to all the 
others, and cast himself down, seeming to call 
himself a slave and worshipper of any other 
member of the pack that chooses to snarl at him, or 
command him to give up his bone with a good 
orace. 
This masterful or domineering temper, so common 
among social mammals, is the cause of the persecu- 
tion of the sick and weakly. When an animal 
begins to ail he can no longer hold his own; he 
ceases to resent the occasional ill-natured attacks 
made on him; his non-combative condition is 
quickly discovered, and he at once drops down to a 
place below the lowest; it is common knowledge 
