THE DESCENT OR ORIGIN OF MAN 143 



boons in Abyssinia" plunder a garden, they silently follow 

 their leader; and if an imprudent young animal makes a 

 noise, he receives a slap from the others to teach him 

 silence and obedience. Mr. Galton, who has had excellent 

 opportunities for observing the half-wild cattle in South 

 Africa, says,'" that they cannot endure even a momentary 

 separation from the herd. They are essentially slavish, and 

 accept the common determination, seeking no better lot than 

 to be led by any one ox who has enough self-reliance to 

 accept the position. The men who break in these animals 

 for harness watch assiduously for those who, by grazing 

 apart, show a self-reliant disposition, and these they train 

 as fore-oxen. Mr. Galton adds that such animals are rare 

 and valuable; and if many were born they would soon be 

 eliminated, as lions are always on the lookout for the 

 individuals which wander from the herd. 



With respect to the impulse which leads certain animals 

 to associate together, and to aid one another in many ways, 

 we may infer that in most cases they are impelled by the 

 same sense of satisfaction or pleasure which they experi- 

 ence in performing other instinctive actions; or by the same 

 sense of dissatisfaction as when other instinctive actions are 

 checked. We see this in innumerable instances, and it is 

 illustrated in a striking manner by the acquired instincts 

 of our domesticated animals; thus a young shepherd-dog 

 delights in driving and running round a flock of sheep, 

 but not in worrying them; a young fox-hound delights in 

 hunting a fox, while some other kinds of dogs, as I have 

 witnessed, utterly disregard foxes. What a strong feeling 

 of inward satisfaction must impel a bird, so full of activity, 

 to brood day after day over her eggs. Migratory birds are 

 quite miserable if stopped from migrating; perhaps they 

 enjoy starting on their long flight; but it is hard to believe 



'» Brehm, "Thierleben," B. i. s. 76. 



*" See his extremely interesting paper on "Gregariousuess in Cattle, and in 

 Man," "MacmiUan's Mag.." Feb. 1871, p. 353. 



