180 DARWINISM STATED BY DARWIN HIMSELF. 



was often the first warning whicli the travelers received 

 that the ice was becoming thin and dangerous. Now, 

 did the dogs act thus from the experience of each indi- 

 vidual, or from the example of the older and wiser dogs, 

 or from an inherited habit, that is, from instinct ? This 

 instinct may possibly have arisen since- the time, long 

 ago, when dogs were first employed by the natives in 

 drawing their sledges ; or the Arctic wolves, the parent- 

 stock of the Esquimau dog, may have acquired an in- 

 stinct, impelling them not to attack their prey in a close 

 pack, when on thin ice. 



Archbishop Sumner formerly maintained 

 that man alone is capable of progressive im- 

 provement. That he is capable of incomparably greater 

 and more rapid improvement than is any other animal, 

 admits of no dispute ; and this is mainly due to his power 

 of speaking and handing down his acquired knowledge. 

 With animals, looking first to the individual, every one 

 who has had any experience in setting traps knows that 

 young animals can be caught much more easily than old 

 ones ; and they can be much more easily approached by 

 an enemy. Even with respect to old animals, it is im- 

 possible to catch many in the same place and in the same 

 kind of trap, or to destroy them by the same kind of 

 poison ; yet it is improbable that all should have partaken 

 of the poison, and impossible that all should have been 

 caught in a trap. They must learn caution by seeing 

 their brethren caught or poisoned. 



Our domestic dogs are descended from 



" wolves and jackals, and though they may not 



have gained in cunning, and may have lost in wariness 



and suspicion, yet they have progressed in certain moral 



