1875.) and the Lower Animals. 73 
have already referred. Among rooks, some slight, but un- 
mistakable traces of law, and of formal procedure against 
criminals, have been observed. This surely is inconceivable 
in the absence of language. In Guayanaa great number 
of monkeys have been observed assembling upon a huge 
tree.. A large old male, perched near the summit, delivered 
a long chatter, after which the whole assembly burst into a 
tumultuous jabbering and screeching. When this ceased, 
thé orator resumed his harangue, and was again after a 
time interrupted by the whole chorus. Ludicrous as this 
sounds to us, can we consider it as utterly unmeaning? On 
the other hand, can we conceive of any meaning except 
the assemblage had some faint outline of a language ? 
In many instances it would be impossible for animals to 
alter their habits in conformity with changed circumstances, 
unless they were able to communicate information to their 
contemporaries and to their posterity. There are many 
circumstances proving that the lower animals possess 
the power of tradition. Look, for instance, at the dread 
of man shown by birds and mammalia in peopled regions. 
This fear is not innate, as we learn from voyagers who 
have visited uninhabited islands,* such as the Gallapagos 
or the Falklands. In such lonely parts the feathered 
tribes fear a man no more than they do a goat or a sheep. 
But wherever he sets his foot, his habits of promiscuous 
and wanton destruction become known with wonderful speed, 
and he is soon regarded as dangerous, and shunned ac- 
cordingly, long before every individual bird can have per- 
sonally observed the effects of a fowling-piece. Here, 
then, is a new fact, observed, remembered, and circulated. 
But the vague dread with which birds regard man when first 
his real nature becomes known is not permanent. They ob- 
serve him, and note how far and under what circumstances 
he is dangerous, and also when and where he is powerless. 
This knowledge, also, is communicated. A town sparrow 
knows exactly how near it is safe to let a boy approach 
before taking flight. Its conduct, which may be regarded as 
cautious impudence, is a due medium between the unsus- 
pecting confidence of the birds of some untrodden isle and 
the panic terror of those in rural districts. These and 
similar facts, which the field naturalist and the sportsman 
will call to mind in quantity, prove that the lower animals 
can tell each other what they observe and remember. 
Some objectors may urge that the languages of brutes, be 
they vocal or signal, are not ** articulate,” and consequently 
Darwin, Naturalist’s Voyage, p. 398. 
VOL. V. (N.S.) L 
