26 ANIMALS AT WORK AND PLA Y 



Slavery is one of the early developments of the 

 social instincts in man, so the ' fagging ' instinct in 

 the Highland stag must be credited to it as a sign 

 of progress. On the other hand, the same high 

 authority who has recorded this selfish instinct in 

 the stag, hastens to add an anecdote of another 

 character, which shows that deer have a sense of 

 obligation in society which is probably more common 

 among animals than is believed. 'Sometimes an old 

 stag takes compassion upon a youngster. The writer 

 saw a pretty instance of this on the West coast in 

 the season of 1885. Three stags had been moved 

 in a young plantation. The two best jumped the 

 three-foot wire fence, but a third, a two-year-old 

 stag, got frightened, and refused. The two waited 

 for him for some time, while he walked and ran up 

 and down ; at last the larger of the two a good 

 royal came back to the fence. The little one ran 

 towards him, and the royal trotted away ; but no, 

 the little one could not make up his mind to jump. 

 Back came the royal over the fence, went close up 

 to the little fellow, and actually kissed him several 

 times. With the glass, not five hundred yards away, 

 we could see them rub their noses together. Then 

 the royal led down to the fence, but still the little 

 stag would not have it. At last the royal tossed 

 his head in the air, and seeming to say " Well, you 



