OF WILD ANIMALS 231 



forgotten; but the total number is a small one. There was a 

 herd of mountain sheep on Pinacate Peak, a big flock of sage 

 grouse in Montana, various flocks of ptarmigan on the summits 

 of the Elk River Mountains, British Columbia, and out of a 

 long list of occurrences that is all I will now recall. 



It is fairly common for the members of a vast assemblage of 

 animals, like the bison, barren-ground caribou, fur seal, and 

 sea birds on their nesting cliffs, to assume such security from 

 their numbers as to ignore man; and all such cases are highly 

 interesting manifestations of the influence of the fourth law 

 when carried out to six decimal places. 



The Eighth and Last Law. Whenever in a given spot 

 all men cease to kill us, there may we accept sanctuary and dwell 

 in peace. 



This law comes as Amendment I to the original Constitution 

 of the Animal Kingdom. The quick intelligence of wild animals 

 in recognizing a new sanctuary, and in adopting it unreservedly 

 and thankfully as their own territory, is to all friends of wild 

 life a source of wonder and delight. With their own eyes 

 Americans have seen the effects of sanctuary-making upon 

 bison, elk, mule deer, white- tailed deer, mountain sheep, 

 mountain goat, prong-horned antelope, grizzly and black 

 bears, beavers, squirrels, chipmunks, rabbits, sage grouse, 

 quail, wild ducks and geese, swans, pelicans brown and white, 

 and literally hundreds of species of smaller birds of half a 

 dozen orders. 



In view of this magnificent and continent-wide manifes- 

 tation of discovery, new thought and original conclusion, let 

 no man tell us that the wild birds and quadrupeds "do not 

 think" and "can not reason." 



The Exceptions of Captivity. When wild animals come 

 into captivity, a few individuals develop and reveal their worst 

 traits of character, and much latent wickedness comes to the 

 surface. A small percentage of individuals become mean and 

 lawless, and a still smaller number show criminal instincts. 



