THE MAMMALIA— MAN AND BEASTS. 



43 



casual attachment to the females of their own species, the regard of the mother for 

 her young, and that occasional language of signs by which they communicate their 

 wants or their passions. If a Lion or a Tiger meet his mate at an unfavourable time, 

 they both become furious, and a conflict often fatal to one or to both is the result. The 

 circumstance of their both living by the chase renders them natural enemies to each 

 other. This singular combination of love and hatred is wisely given by Nature to 

 assist in preventing the too rapid increase of the more destructive animals. 



It is the organization of the Carnivora — the possession of teeth, of claws, of short 

 and narrow intestines — that imposes the office of Nature's executioners upon these ani- 

 mals by an imperative necessity. The sharp teeth of the Leopard or Panther might 

 attempt in vain to grind plants : and even when we compel these animals to swallow bread 

 and other purely vegetable substances, the gastric juice of their stomach is unable to 

 dissolve them. On the contrary, the Lamb and the light Gazelle would refuse animal 

 food with disgust. Their teeth are not formed for tearing, and their entire economy 

 is adapted to a vegetable diet. It is thus that we find, in the organization of the 

 animal, the reasons for all its actions. 



This exquisite relation of all the parts of an animal to each other, enables the Na- 

 turalist to describe the whole creature on seeing only a part. Thus, from knowing 

 the size of a tooth, we can judge of the height of the animal which bore it; by the 

 shape of the tooth we can tell whether it be carnivorous or herbivorous. Thence 

 follow the general structure of the body, not only of the stomach and viscera, but also 

 the form of their paws, of claws with the one, or of hoofs with the other, the liveliness 

 of their passions, as well as the habits which attend this kind of life and constitu- 

 tion. 



Besides the claws and teeth, which form the offensive arms of the Carnivora, they are 

 endowed with superior strength, agility, cruelty, and treachery. The source of these 

 quahties must be sought in the nature of their food — in the superior organization of 

 flesh and blood. The herbivorous tribes want offensive arms in general, yet they are 

 seldom of a timid or peaceful disposition. They love to unite together in social bands, 

 to pasture on the plains or by the mountain side, or else to hoard the common fruits of 

 their industry. The carnivorous tribes, Uke tyrants, are unfitted for society by their 

 ferocious and domineering tempers; they dread the rivalship of their own species, and 

 the natural attachment of the sexes is with them but a momentary passion. They can 

 endure hunger much longer than the herbivorous tribes, whose food is always spread 

 out before them; and this power of fasting is necessary to animals obliged by their 

 structure to overpower their prey by violence, to run them down by perseverance, or 

 to surprise them by stratagem. They can fast for several weeks, but as their neces- 

 sities increase they become bolder and more ferocious. The Wolf, with an appetite 

 sharpened by famine, becomes an intrepid and formidable enemy. He then invades 

 the villages, breaks into the stables during the daytime, and even ventures to contend 

 with Man. But when he has found an abundance of nourishment, he gorges himself 

 for several days ; and, with an admirable sagacity, conceals the remainder under ground 

 as a provision for future want. 



This continual use of animal food, and the high state of organization at which all 

 the solid and fluid parts of their bodies have arrived, renders their flesh at once unpa- 

 latable and unwholesome. Their excretions are all fetid, and the slightest check to 

 the vital activity brings on a rapid decay. On the contrary, the vegetable nutriment 

 of the herbivorous tribes imparts to their flesh a high degree of delicacy. Their milk 

 is sweet, agreeable, and nutritious. Thus the herbivorous tribes yield an abundance 

 of nourishment to Man, while he rejects with disgust the flesh of those which are 

 carnivorous. 



Tlie natural antipathy of some of the carnivorous animals for each other, proceeds 

 from their rivalship in the chase. It is thus that the Lion, Tiger, Panther, or Bear, 

 permits no poachers upon his hunting grounds. These despots of the Animal King- 

 dom allow few intruders to share their authority, and clear the forest of all those petty 

 tyrants, which prey only upon small game ; and which, like the inferior noblesse of the 

 middle ages, oppressed the lower ranks, and diminished the population. 



*' It is not among the larger animals of the forest alone," says Goldsmith with his 

 usual elegance, '* that these hostilities are carried on; there is a minuter and a still 

 more treacherous contest between the lower ranks of Quadrupeds. The Panther 

 hunts for the Sheep and the Goat ; the Catamountain for the Hare or the Rabbit ; and 

 the Wild Cat for the Squirrel or the Mouse. In proportion as each carnivorous ani- 

 mal wants strength, it uses all the assistance of patience, assiduity, and cunning. 

 However, the arts of those to pursue are not so great as the tricks of their prey to 

 escape, so that the power of destruction in one class is inferior to the power of safety 

 in the other. Were this otherwise, the forest would soon be dispeopled of the feebler 

 races of animals, and beasts of prey themselves would want, at one time, that subsist- 

 ence which they lavishly destroyed at another. 



" Few wild animals seek theu- prey in the daytime; they are then generally de- 

 terred by their fears of Man, in the inhabited countries, and by the excessive heat of 

 the sun in those extensive forests that lie towards the south, and in which they reign 

 the undisputed tyrants. As soon, therefore, as the morning appears, the carnivorous 

 animals retire to their dens; and the Elephant, the Horse, the Deer, and all the Hare 

 kinds, those inoffensive tenants of the plain, make their appearance. But again, at 

 night-fall the state of hostihty begins, the whole forest then echoes with a variety of 

 different bowlings. Nothing can be more terrible than an African landscape at the 

 close of evening ; the deep-toned roarings of the Lion, the shrill yellings of the Tiger, 

 the Jackal pursuing by the scent, and barking like a dog, the Hyaena with a note 

 peculiarly solitary and dreadful, but, above all, the hissing of the various kinds of 

 Serpents that then begin their call, and, as I am assured, make a much louder sym- 

 phony than the Birds in our groves in a morning. 



" Beasts of prey seldom devour each other; nor can any thing but the greatest 

 degree of hunger compel them to it. What they chiefly seek after is the Deer, or 

 the Goat; those harmless creatures that seem made to embellish Nature. These are 

 either pursued or surprised, and afford the most agreeable repast to their destroyers. 

 The most usual method, with even the fiercest animals, is to hide and croui-h near 

 some path frequented by their prey, or some water where they come to drink, and 

 seize them at once with a bound. The Lion and the Tiger leap twenty fe«t at a 



spring; and this, rather than their swiftness or strength, is what they have most to 

 depend on for a supply. There is scarcely one of the Deer or Hare kind that is not 

 very easily capable of escaping them by its swiftness ; so that, whenever any of these 

 fall a prey, it must be owing to their own inattention. 



** But there is another class of the carnivorous kind that hunt by the scent, and 

 which it is more difficult to escape. It is remarkable that all animals of this kind 

 pursue in a pack, and encourage each other by their mutual cries. The Jackal, Sya- 

 gush, the Wolf, and the Dog, are of this kind ; they pursue with patience rather than 

 swiftness ; their prey flies at first, and leaves them for miles behind, but they keep 

 on with a constant steady pace, and excite each other by a general spirit of industry 

 and emulation, till at last they share the common plunder. But it too often happens 

 that the larger beasts of prey, when they hear a cry of this kind begin, pursue the 

 pack, and, when they have hunted down the animal, come in and monopoUze the spoil. 

 This has given rise to the report of the Jackal's being the Lion's provider; when the 

 reality is, that the Jackal hunts for itself, and the Lion is an unwelcome intruder 

 upon the fruit of his toil." 



It is in barren and unfrequented districts that the carnivorous animals are most 

 fierce and sanguinary, because their prey is scarce, and the possession of it is continually 

 disputed by a host of famished rivals. From these continued scenes of violence their 

 character acquires an unusual ferocity. The Bear of the Alps is a formidable and 

 dangerous animal to the traveller. But the beasts that frequent the plains or fertile 

 valleys find their food more easily, and when found it is less disputed. Their cha- 

 racter being thus softened down by the comforts of life, loses that high degree of 

 courage and asperity which distinguishes the mountain races. 



The carnivorous animals associate in troops only for the convenience of a combined 

 attack; on the other hand, the herds of herbivorous animals seem intended oidy for 

 their mutual defence. Placing the young ones in the centre, and the females in the 

 rear, the males advance to the front, united in a phalanx, and presenting their horns 

 to the enemy, repel his attack with vigour, and generally with success. 



Most of the Frugivorous tribes, such as the Apes, the Makis, and the Loris, ramble 

 about in numerous troops, for the purpose of pillaging the fruits of a district. Like 

 expert marauders, they establish a regular order of pillage. They place sentinels in 

 advance, and, forming a chain, pass the fruit from hand to hand. Upon the sUghtest 

 alarm being given by the sentinels, the whole troop retreats to the woods or moun- 

 tains, carrying off as much as they can hold in their hands and cheek-pouches. 



GENERAL REVIEW OF THE MAMMALIA CONTINUED. 



Domesticated Animals are not Slaves — Methods of Taming Wild Animals — In- 

 Jiiieiice of Mild Treatment — Hunger — Sweetmeats — Caresses — Chastisement — 

 21icir Occasional Revenge. 



Anibials, whether domesticated or in a wild state, always preserve their real cha- 

 racters, and act in a manner suited to their situation. 



The absolute submission which we are in the habit of requiring from our domestic 

 animals, and that kind of tyranny which we exercise over them, have given rise to 

 the belief that they are really Slaves. It is commonly supposed that our superior 

 power compels them to resign their natural fondness for independence, to yield impli- 

 cit obedience to our will, and to perform those offices for which they are adapted by 

 their organization, intelligence, and instincts. We are in the habit of attributing to 

 our own influence the submission obtained from these animals; ive are imagined to 

 be the source of those instincts developed under domestication, and to have com- 

 manded obedience, just as our superior power maintains them in captivity. 



This conclusion is, however, altogether fallacious. Judging from appearances only, 

 we have confounded two things totally distinct in their nature, namely, Domestication 

 and Slavery. Domestication is a state of freedom, and hence the difference between 

 the human Slave and the domesticated Animal is as great as that between Slavery and 

 Liberty. 



The domesticated animal makes use of its natural faculties within the limits marked 

 out by its situation, in a manner exactly similar to the wild animal in the woods. 

 Being never urged to act except by external causes, or by internal instincts, as soon 

 as its will has conformed itself to the constraints of its situation, it makes no further 

 sacrifice. The animal, in fact, is not in reality in a different situation from what it 

 would have been if left to itself. It lives, without constraint, in society with Man, be- 

 cause doubtless it was naturally a sociable animal. It conforms itself to the will of Man, 

 within certain limits, because its herd would have had a leader in the strongest or 

 most active animal, to whom submission would have been naturally paid. If a Dog 

 is by our care rendered a good courser, it is because he was a hunter by nature, and 

 we have only developed one of his original quahties. The same ride is observed in 

 all the different qualities which we impart to our domestic animals. They perform 

 nothing which is not agreeable to their nature; in doing so, they only fulfil the ori- 

 ginal purposes for which they were formed ; they never acquire different qualities, 

 and thus enjoy, under Man, a perfect state of liberty. 



It is true that Man possesses an immense power over the domestic animals, and 

 one which he often abuses. Yet he usually develops qualities natural to the animal ; 

 hence it acquires a degree of improvement unattainable in its original state, and thus 

 its condition really becomes amehorated. Thus we may see the immense difference 

 between Slavery and Domestication. The Slave is not only a social being, with the 

 power of willing, but he is naturally a free being, whose mind cannot confine itself 

 spontaneously to the situation in which he is placed. He knows his condition, consi- 

 ders its consequences, and feels its oppression. The natural power which he pos- 

 sesses of reflecting upon his situation, shows it to him in all its degradation. He 

 feels that he is in chains, that he cannot use his natural free-will, and that he is a 

 degraded being. On the contrary, a domestic animal satisfies all its wants; hence it 

 lives in a state of Nature, and is conformable to the situation in which it is j)laced. 



