344 THE THEORIES OF EVOLUTION 



selves on the front rank to defend the others; wolves 

 hunt in packs; pelicans fish in concert. "The Hama- 

 dryas baboons turn over stones to find insects, and 

 when they come to a large one, as many as can stand 

 round turn it over together and share the booty." 

 Here is a curious case told by Brehm and cited by 

 Darwin: "An eagle seized a young Cercopithecus, 

 which, by clinging to a branch, was not at once carried 

 off ; it cried loudly for assistance, upon which the other 

 members of the troop, with much uproar, rushed to 

 the rescue, surrounded the eagle, and pulled out so 

 many feathers that he no longer thought of his prey, 

 but only how to escape. This eagle, as Brehm re- 

 marks, assuredly would never again attack a single 

 monkey of a troop." 3 



Feelings of sympathy and pity are sometimes ex- 

 pressed very clearly by animals. Darwin states that 

 monkeys, male and female, always adopt the orphaned 

 progeny of their kindred and care for them very solici- 

 tously, and that ravens and pelicans have been known 

 to feed their blind fellows. 



A large number of similar cases are cited in "The 

 Descent of Man." As usual, Darwin gathers all the 

 available information before drawing a conclusion. 

 His conclusion is that man's animal origin is proved 

 by the history of moral and social sentiments. What 

 is of special significance to us is that, after reciting 



s The Descent of Man, Part I, Vol. II, pp. 139-144. 



