CHAPTER XV 



INSTINCT OR REASON 



Discussion of an Old Question. Incidents of a Remarkable Character Cited 

 to Show a Higher Impulse to Action than Mere Instinct 



Whether the actions of all forms of animal 

 life below mankind are guided by instinct or 

 directed through the possession of some de- 

 gree of mentality as well as instinct, is a 

 question discussed for ages past, and upon 

 which much has been written by distinguished 

 observers and students of Nature's work. For 

 many years of my younger life I was one of 

 the many, if not the majority, of people who 

 looked upon the lower forms of life as being 

 devoid of all consciousness, acting wholly 

 under an impulse of instinct, and it was not 

 until I had reached mature years, and ex- 

 perienced closer contact with Nature, and in- 

 dulged in deeper thought, that I came to a 

 modification of my views, and finally reached 

 the conclusion that there was a possibility if 

 not probability that all animal life except the 

 very lowest is endowed with more or less men- 

 tal power. 



I take it that when we talk about animal 

 instinct we have in mind the definition given 

 the word by Webster here quoted: 



"Instinct, noun, (1) Natural inward impulse; 

 unconscious, involuntary, or unreasoning 

 prompting to any mode of action, whether 

 bodily or mental, without a distinct apprehen- 

 sion of the end or object to be accomplished. 



"(2) Zool, Specif., the natural unreasoning 

 impulse by which an animal is guided to per- 

 formance of any action, without thought of 

 improvement in the method." 



Paley said, "An instinct is a propensity 

 prior to experience, and independent of in- 

 struction." 



Whately said it "is a blind tendency to some 

 mode of action, independent of any considera- 

 tion on the part of the agent, of the end to 

 which the action leads." 



It would seem to follow then that in what- 

 ever way instinctive action is manifested it 

 would with individuals of the same species 

 be the same in all cases under the same im- 

 pulses and circumstance. 



Whether or not there exists in the lower 

 orders of animal life any degree of conscious- 

 ness and power of reasoning, it must be ad- 

 mitted, is a question not yet determined by any 

 findings or observation accepted as a scientific 

 fact. However, I am inclined to the thought 

 that the majority of thinkers are disposed to 

 a negative opinion holding that the acts of 

 the individuals of the lower form of life are 

 wholly instinctive without the guidance of 

 reason. 



It seems to me that without the power of 

 reasoning the individual could have no con- 

 sciousness of its being or its existence, no 



realization of suffering pain from inflicted in- 

 jury, nor could it entertain any apprehensions 

 of injury or fear of death. 



If I could bring myself to this way of think- 

 ing I could resume the use of the rifle and 

 shotgun in quest of game with zest, enthusiasm 

 and that enjoyment of exhilarating sport that 

 comes to all field sportsmen. 



Having indulged the hunting passion in me 

 from my boyhood days until very recent years, 

 my opportunity for the study and observation 

 of the habits and characteristics of numerous 

 forms of animal life has consequently been 

 somewhat extended, and the conclusions I 

 have reached and questions raised in my mind 

 are founded upon my experiences and obser- 

 vations, free of connection with any theoretical 

 dogma or sympathetic propaganda of dumb 

 animal protective associations. My conclu- 

 sions may be of no value. I know they are 

 unscientific, as they are in part no more than 

 deductions based on human experience. Be- 

 ing unable to communicate with animals we 

 can form opinions only from observed actions 

 measured by our own experiences. But this 

 statement should be attended with some 

 modification', for there is at least one con- 

 dition that may befall many forms of animal 

 life where an individual, afflicted by injury 

 or put in extreme distress, can and does utter 

 sounds that are unmistakable in giving ex- 

 pression to its sufferings, communicating the 

 fact to almost every living thing within the 

 reach of its voice. This truth had much to 

 do in rousing my thoughts and directing them 

 to consideration of this question. 



When an animal is badly injured, or is 

 sore,ly distressed by circumstances that 

 threaten pain or death it usually utters 

 sounds that one may never have heard before, 

 but they are instantly recognized as expressive 

 of agony, distress and fear, and frequently 

 every other animal that hears the sound mani- 

 fests recognition of its meaning. A jack rab- 

 bit that ordinarily makes no vocal sounds 

 whatever, when in sore distress will utter 

 cries not unlike that of a child. There is no 

 mistaking the significance of such cries. The 

 "death cry" of a horse is wholly unlike any 

 sound uttered by it under ordinary conditions, 

 but humans and all other animals seem to 

 recognize and understand its meaning. Similar 

 peculiarities are found in birds as well as ani- 

 mals, something every boy who has robbed 

 birds' nests will verify. How quickly the cry 

 of distress of the mother birds excites all 

 other birds in the vicinity and brings them 

 circling around. This responsive action shows 



