1871, p. 353.), 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, shew 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 look-out 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 experience 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, whilst 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 that the poor pinioned goose,
described by Audubon, which started on foot at the proper time for its
journey of probably more than a thousand miles, could have felt any joy
in doing so. Some instincts are determined solely by painful feelings,
as by fear, which leads to self-preservation, and is in some cases
directed towards special enemies. No one, I presume, can analyse the
sensations of pleasure or pain. In many instances, however, it is
probable that instincts are persistently followed from the mere force
of inheritance, without the stimulus of either pleasure or pain. A
young pointer, when it first scents game, apparently cannot help
pointing. A squirrel in a cage who pats the nuts which it cannot eat,
as if to bury them in the ground, can hardly be thought to act thus,
either from pleasure or pain. Hence the common assumption that men must
be impelled to every action by experiencing some pleasure or pain may
be erroneous. Although a habit may be blindly and implicitly followed,
independently of any pleasure or pain felt at the moment, yet if it be
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