Hammer-head or _Scopus umbretta_ of ornithologists. Of the nest, Prof.
Newton says that “it is occasionally some six feet in diameter, a mass
of sticks, roots, grass, and rushes compactly piled together, with a
flat-topped roof, the interior being neatly lined with clay, and a hole
of entrance and exit”. It may be of interest to compare its nest with
that of the South American Oven-birds (_Furnarius_, &c.).
Note 53: p. 221.--_Doves beside falcons._
Those interested in the facts of nature which suggest the danger
of exaggerating the Darwinian idea of the struggle for existence
should consult two articles by Kropotkine, entitled “Mutual Aid Among
Animals”, in the _Nineteenth Century_, 1889. Kropotkine cites from Dr.
Coues, an American ornithologist, an observation in regard to some
little cliff swallows which nested quite near the home of a prairie
falcon. “The little peaceful birds had no fear of their rapacious
neighbour; they did not let it even approach to their colony. They
immediately surrounded it and chased it, so that it had to make off at
once.”
Note 54: p. 223.--_And they know that this is so._
Brehm suggests here and elsewhere what it would be difficult to prove,
that animals which have unconsciously acquired protective colouring,
and which instinctively crouch or lie still instead of trying to escape
by flight, are aware of their adaptation to concealment. There seem to
be but few cases which give countenance to this supposition.
Note 55: p. 227.--_Crocodile Bird._
This is usually regarded as _Pluvianus_ or _Hyas ægyptius_--one of the
“plovers” in the wide sense. Professor Newton observes, however, in a
note to the article “Plover” in his _Dictionary of Birds_ that there
is not perfect unanimity on the matter, as some have supposed that
the “crocodile bird” was a lapwing--_Hoplopterus spinosus_. But the
elder Geoffroy St. Hilaire and Brehm, who both saw the bird enter the
reptile’s mouth, regarded it as _Pluvianus ægyptius_.
Dr. Leith Adams notes (1870) that the crocodile is now rarely seen
below Beni Hassan, and is evidently receding everywhere below the
second cataract. Both Herodotus and Strabo speak of its domestication,
and it is tamed at the present day by certain religious sects in India.
On the lower Nile it is shy and difficult even to shoot.
“A sail, or the smoke and noise of a steamboat, suffice to warn the
crocodiles basking on the sand-banks, or their common companions,
the black-headed and spur-winged plovers (_Pluvianus ægyptius_ and
_Hoplopterus spinosus_), which are frequently seen perched on their
backs, and always prepared to give timely warning of approaching
danger, just as the Father of History noticed them 2300 years ago,
and, strange to say, his well-known story is current among the modern
Egyptians, who, as usual, have put a tail to the narrative. They say,
that in addition to its office of leech-catcher to the crocodile, it
occasionally does happen that the zic-zac--so called from its note of
alarm--in searching for the leeches, finds its way into the reptile’s
mouth when the latter is basking on a sand-bank, where it lies
generally with the jaws wide apart. Now this is possible and likely
enough, but the captain of our boat added, that occasionally the
crocodile falls asleep, when the jaws suddenly fall, and the zic-zac is
shut up in the mouth, when it immediately prods the crocodile with its
horny spurs, as if refreshing the memory of his reptilian majesty, who
opens his jaws and sets his favourite leech-catcher at liberty” (Leith
Adams).
MIGRATIONS OF MAMMALS.
Note 56: p. 237.--_Rats._
The brown rat (_Mus decumanus_) is much stronger than the black rat
(_Mus rattus_), and gains an easy victory. The rivalry between the two
species is one of the examples Darwin gives of his generalization that
the struggle for existence is most severe between allied forms, and
there seems no doubt that the brown rat has often ousted and will even
devour the black rat. The latter is now rare in Britain. It should be
noted, however, (1) that the two species are said sometimes to live
together on board ship, (2) that cases have been recorded where the
black rat returned and defeated its conquerors, and (3) that the black
rat keeps more about houses, stables, and barns, is therefore more
readily exterminated by man, whose efforts were doubtless increased
when a second species appeared on the scene. The case is of some
importance in connection with the generalization referred to above.
Note 57: p. 240.--_Migrations of Reindeer._
Of the reindeer in Spitzbergen, Nordenskiöld writes:--“During the
summer it betakes itself to the grassy plains in the ice-free valleys
of the island; in the late autumn it withdraws--according to the
walrus-hunter’s statements--to the sea-coast, in order to eat the
seaweed that is thrown up on the beach. In winter it goes back to the
lichen-clad mountain heights in the interior of the country, where it
appears to thrive exceedingly well, though the cold during winter must
be excessively severe; for when the reindeer in spring return to the
coast they are still very fat, but some weeks afterwards, when the
snow has frozen on the surface, and a crust of ice makes it difficult
for them to get at the mountain sides, they become so poor as to be
scarcely eatable. In summer, however, they speedily eat themselves back
into condition, and in autumn they are so fat that they would certainly
take prizes at an exhibition of fat cattle.”
Wrangel describes migrations of thousands of reindeer in Eastern
Siberia moving from the mountains to the forests, where they winter.
He mentions his guide’s assertion that each body is led by a female of
large size.
Perhaps we may take the liberty of quoting, with a tribute of
admiration, Mr. F. Marion Crawford’s eloquent description of a wild
rush of reindeer from the inland country to the shore. We confess to
incredulity in regard to the reindeer’s longing to drink of the Polar
Sea, but the splendid vividness of the description may excuse some
slight inaccuracy.
“In the distant northern plains, a hundred miles from the sea, in the
midst of the Laplander’s village, a young reindeer raises his broad
muzzle to the north wind, and stares at the limitless distance while a
man may count a hundred. He grows restless from that moment, but he is
yet alone. The next day a dozen of the herd look up from the cropping
of the moss, sniffing the breeze. Then the Laps nod to one another and
the camp grows daily more unquiet. At times the whole herd of young
deer stand at gaze, as it were, breathing hard through wide nostrils,
then jostling each other and stamping the soft ground. They grow
unruly, and it is hard to harness them in the light sledge. As the days
pass, the Laps watch them more and more closely, well knowing what will
happen sooner or later, and then at last, in the northern twilight, the
great herd begins to move. The impulse is simultaneous, irresistible,
their heads are all turned in one direction. They move slowly at
first, biting still, here and there, at the rich moss. Presently the
slow step becomes a trot, they crowd closely together, while the Laps
hasten to gather up their last unpacked possessions--their cooking
utensils and their wooden gods. The great herd break together from
a trot to a gallop, from a gallop to a breakneck race, the distant
thunder of their united tread reaches the camp during a few minutes,
and they are gone to drink of the Polar Sea. The Laps follow after
them, dragging painfully their laden sledges in the broad track left
by the thousands of galloping beasts--a day’s journey, and they are
yet far from the sea, and the trail is yet broad. On the second day it
grows narrower, and there are stains of blood to be seen; far on the
distant plain before them their sharp eyes distinguish in the direct
line a dark motionless object, another, and another. The race has grown
more desperate and more wild as the stampede neared the sea. The weaker
reindeer have been thrown down and trampled to death by their stronger
fellows. A thousand sharp hoofs have crushed and cut through hide and
flesh and bone. Ever swifter and more terrible in their motion, the
ruthless herd has raced onward, careless of the slain, careless of
food, careless of any drink but the sharp salt water ahead of them.
And when at last the Laplanders reach the shore their deer are once
more quietly grazing, once more tame and docile, once more ready to
drag the sledge whithersoever they are guided. Once in his life the
reindeer must taste of the sea in one long, satisfying draught, and if
he is hindered he perishes. Neither man nor beast dare stand before him
in the hundred miles of his arrow-like path.”--_A Cigarette-Maker’s
Romance_, vol. ii. pp. 23-25.
Note 58: p. 241.--_Migrations of Bisons._
In regard to the migration of the bison or buffalo, Mr. G. B. Grinnell
writes:--“It was once thought that the buffalo performed annually
extensive migrations, and it was even said that those which spent
the summer on the banks of the Saskatchewan wintered in Texas. There
is no reason for believing this to have been true. Undoubtedly there
were slight general movements north and south, and east and west,
at certain seasons of the year; but many of the accounts of these
movements are entirely misleading, because grossly exaggerated. In
one portion of the northern country I know that there was a decided
east-and-west seasonal migration, the herds tending in spring away from
the mountains, while in the autumn they worked back again, seeking
shelter in the rough, broken country of the foot-hills from the cold
west winds of the winter.”--_American Big-Game Hunting_ (Boone and
Crockett Club), edited by Theodore Roosevelt and George Bird Grinnell,
Edin., 1893.
Note 59: p. 250.--_Migrations of Seals._
Much interesting information as to the migrations and habits of seals
will be found in J. A. Allen’s _History of North American Pinnipedia_.
The eared fur-seals (_Otaria_) and others travel periodically to the
breeding-places or “rookeries”, where they spend a considerable time,
but it should be noted that our common seal (_Phoca vitulina_) does not
make seasonal migrations.
Note 60: p. 256.--_Instinct of the Lemming._
A discussion of the strange instinct of the lemming, remarkable in its
apparent fatality, will be found in Romanes’s _Mental Evolution in
Animals_.
Note 61: p. 258.--_Numbers of Springbok._
“I beheld the plains and even the hillsides which stretched on every
side of me thickly covered, not with herds, but with one vast mass of
springboks; as far as the eye could strain the landscape was alive with
them, until they softened down into a dim red mass of living creatures.
To endeavour to form any idea of the number of antelopes which I had
that day beheld were vain, but I have no hesitation in saying that some
hundreds of thousands were within the compass of my vision.”--_Gordon
Cumming._ With this should be compared what other sportsmen and
travellers have in recent years told us of rapidly diminishing numbers.
Note 62: p. 260.--_The Monkey Question._
The position of evolutionists in regard to the relations of man and
monkeys is conveniently stated in Huxley’s _Man’s Place in Nature_.
A criticism of the thorough-going evolutionist position, from the
philosopher’s point of view, will be found in Professor Calderwood’s
_Evolution and Man’s Place in Nature_. A midway position is indicated
in Wallace’s _Darwinism_.
While most naturalists are now thoroughly evolutionist in regard to the
descent or ascent of man, as in regard to other problems, most would
probably agree with Lloyd Morgan’s cautious conclusion:--
“In denying to animals the perception of relations and the faculty
of reason, I do so in no dogmatic spirit, and not in support of any
preconceived theory or opinion, but because the evidence now before us
is not, in my opinion, sufficient to justify the hypothesis that any
animals have reached that stage of mental evolution at which they are
even incipiently rational.”
Probably all naturalists allow that animals who profit by experience
and adapt their actions to varying circumstances are _intelligent_.
But cases which force us to credit animals with general ideas, with
“thinking the therefore”, in short, with reason, are admitted by few.
LOVE AND COURTSHIP AMONG BIRDS.
While admiring the vigorous protest which Brehm makes in this chapter
against the interpretation which regards animals as automata, I
feel that he has hardly done justice to it. In general terms, the
interpretation is that animals act as they do in virtue of an inherited
organic mechanism which responds in a uniform manner to certain
stimuli. That this is true of many animal and even human actions,
especially in early youth, seems highly probable. That it only covers
a small fraction of animal behaviour is certain. But even those who go
furthest in extending the scope of animal automatism, do not say that
an automatic act may not be accompanied by consciousness, they only say
that it is not _controlled_ by consciousness. See Huxley, _Are Animals
automata?_ in his collected Essays: and Lloyd Morgan, _Introduction to
Comparative Psychology_.
Note 63: p. 272.--_Sexual Selection._
For a statement of the doctrine of sexual selection, the original
document--Darwin’s _Descent of Man_--should be consulted. But the
theory has met with strong criticism, _e.g._ on the part of Alfred
Russel Wallace, see his _Darwinism_. See also _The Evolution of
Sex_, by Geddes and Thomson, and Lloyd Morgan’s _Animal Life and
Intelligence_.
Note 64: p. 279.--_Polygamous Birds._
Darwin has discussed the question of polygamous birds in his _Descent
of Man_.
Note 65: p. 281.--_The Widowed Bird._
For one of the finest expressions in literature of the possible
emotions of the widowed bird, we may be allowed to refer to Walt
Whitman’s “Out of the cradle endlessly rocking” (_Leaves of Grass_).
APES AND MONKEYS.
Note 66: p. 285.--_Descent from Monkeys._
Hanumân, the sacred Hindoo long-tailed monkey, plays an important part
in Hindoo mythology. He was the friend of Vishnu during his incarnation
as Rama Chandra, and he aided the god greatly in the search for his
wife Sita, who had been carried off by Ravān. A female slave, who had
tended Sita kindly during her captivity, was married to Hanumân as
a reward, and this pair some Indian noble families proudly claim as
ancestors.
Note 67: p. 286.--_Monkeys on the Rock of Gibraltar._
A letter written in 1880 by an officer in Gibraltar to the _Field_
newspaper and quoted in vol. i. of the _Royal Natural History_ gives
the number living on the Rock at that time as twenty-five, among whom
were only two adult males. There had been several gangs of them at one
time, but they had done so much damage in the town gardens that they
had been nearly exterminated by means of traps and poison. But in 1856,
when their numbers had been reduced to four or five, a garrison order
was issued forbidding further destruction of them, and since that time
they have been strictly preserved and regularly counted. In 1863, four
were imported from Africa, and after a time were admitted as members of
the band. Another attempt was made in 1872 to reinforce their numbers,
but it was unsuccessful.
Note 68: p. 290.--_Habits of Monkeys._
See Mr. Garner’s observations on monkeys (_Speech of Monkeys_, 1893);
Hartmann’s _Apes and Monkeys_ (Internat. Science Series), Romanes’s
_Animal Intelligence_ and _Mental Evolution in Animals_. H. A. Forbes,
_A Handbook to the Primates_ (Allen’s Naturalist’s Library; Lond.
1894). Mr. Havelock Ellis in his _Man and Woman_ (Lond. 1894) has some
interesting notes on the relation of young monkeys and young children
to the adult forms.
Note 69: p. 291.--_Death from Grief._
Instances of death from grief are given in Romanes’s _Animal
Intelligence_. See also a paper by Mr. Garner in _Harper’s Monthly_,
1894.
Note 70: p. 298.--_Speech of Monkeys._
See Mr. Garner’s _Speech of Monkeys_ (Lond. 1893), which tends to
support Brehm’s view. But in reference to Garner’s work, Lloyd
Morgan says, “Of the nine sounds made by capuchins, not one is, so
far as the observations go, indubitably indicative of a particular
object of desire. All of them may be, and would seem to be, in the
emotional stage, and expressive of satisfaction, discontent, alarm,
apprehension, and so forth. Still they may be indicative of particular
objects of appetence or aversion; and experiments with the phonograph,
conducted with due care and under test-conditions, may do much to
throw light upon an interesting and important problem.” After careful
consideration, Prof. Lloyd Morgan says, “At present, however, there is
not, so far as I am aware, any evidence that animals possess powers of
descriptive intercommunication involving perception of relations”.
Note 71: p. 298.--_Right and Wrong in Monkeys._
What is said here should be compared with the discussion of the
subject in Darwin’s _Descent of Man_, Romanes’s _Mental Evolution in
Animals_, or perhaps most conveniently in Lloyd Morgan’s _Introduction
to Comparative Psychology_ (Lond. 1894). According to the last-named
authority the moral sense “involves a thinking of the _ought_; it
involves a more or less definite perception of the relation of a given
act to an ideal standard”. “In none of these cases (cited), is there
sufficient evidence to justify a belief that a standard of conduct
takes form in the animal mind.”
Note 72: p. 303.--_Mutual Aid among Monkeys._
Mr. Darwin quotes this case in his _Descent of Man_, and calls the
monkey “a true hero”. Similar examples of mutual aid will be found in
the same work, as also in a couple of articles by Prince Kropotkine,
“Mutual Aid among Animals”, _Nineteenth Century_, 1889.
Note 73: p. 316.--_Effect of age._
There are some who hold that observation favours the opposite view,
that the young ape is relatively more human and less simian than the
adult. With these, rather than with Brehm, we agree. There is, however,
need of more precise physiological and psychological observation.
Note 74: p. 318.--_Man’s Place in Nature._
It should be noted that the zoologist’s usual statement of his position
is that he believes that men and the higher apes have arisen from a
common stock. See Huxley’s _Man’s Place in Nature_. As the anthropoid
apes are believed to have diverged as distinct types in Miocene times,
the common stock is plainly in the almost inconceivably distant past.
A belief in descent from a common stock does not in the least affect
the demonstrable distinctiveness of man, nor does it explain how the
evolution, whose results we are, took place. See Darwin’s _Descent of
Man_, and Drummond’s _Ascent of Man_.
DESERT JOURNEYS.
Note 75: p. 330.--_Nodules in the Desert._
These seem to be the now well-known manganese nodules. The puzzling
question of their origin is discussed by Dr. John Murray in that
part of the _Challenger_ Reports which deals with marine deposits.
Solymos thus describes them, “Belted by higher hills, I have mounted
one, apparently consisting entirely of a lofty pile of hardened equal
sandstone balls, the size of peaches. They were as nearly globular as
anything in nature--a bubble, a drop, a planet.”
NUBIA AND THE NILE RAPIDS.
For some interesting geological and zoological observations see A.
Leith Adams, _Notes of a Naturalist in the Nile Valley and Malta_
(1870). J. H. Speke, _Journal of the Discovery of the Source of the
Nile_ (1864).
Note 76: p. 358,--_On the Nile and its Cataracts._
See Sir Samuel Baker’s _The Nile and its Tributaries_ (1867), and
Walter Budge, _The Nile: Notes for Travellers in Egypt_ (1890).
Note 77: p. 359.--_Syenite._
Syenite, a hard crystalline rock, resembling granite, and well adapted
for monuments. It is not known in Britain, but occurs in many parts of
Europe and America, as well as at the place to which it owes its name.
Note 78: p. 362.--_Philæ._
Philæ has recently been a centre of attention in connection with the
Egyptian waterworks. See Sir Benjamin Baker, “Nile Reservoirs and
Philæ”, _Nineteenth Century_, xxxv. (1894), pp. 863-72; J. P. Mahaffy,
“The Devastation of Nubia”, pp. 1013-18; Frank Dillon, “The Submergence
of Philæ”, pp. 1019-25; H. D. Pearsall, “The Nile Reservoirs”,
_Scottish Geographical Magazine_ (1895, August), pp. 393-402.
Note 79: p. 370.--_Government of Egypt._
The reader must bear in mind that Egypt has had a somewhat complex
political history since Brehm wrote.
A JOURNEY IN SIBERIA.
Note 80: p. 397.--_Archar Sheep._
Archar or arkal is the Kirghiz name for the Mongolian argali (_Ovis
ammon_). The animal is almost as large as a donkey, has enormous horns
and short coarse hair. It is said to be now restricted to Northern
Mongolia, and some districts of Southern Siberia. The Tibetan argali
(_Ovis hodgsoni_) is closely allied. See Sir V. Brooke, _Proc.
Zoological Society_, 1875.
Note 81: p. 412.--_Splenic Fever._
Anthrax or splenic fever is a rapidly fatal disease due to a microbe,
_Bacillus anthracis_. This was demonstrated by Koch, and corroborated
by Pasteur. The latter discovered how to attenuate the virus, and
secure immunity by inoculation. Cattle, sheep, and reindeer are among
the commonest victims; but, as the narrative shows, man himself is not
exempt.
THE HEATHEN OSTIAKS.
Note 82: p. 426.--_Present state of Ostiaks._
The Ostiak population was estimated in 1891 at about 27,000, and is
believed to be still decreasing. There is some interesting information
regarding them in Erman’s _Travels in Siberia_.
Note 83: p. 433--_Larvæ out of nostrils._
The reindeer is excessively troubled by the attacks of several insects,
related to the bot-flies (Œstridæ), which attack sheep, cattle, and
horses in this country. One lays its eggs in the skin, another in the
nostrils, whence the larvæ emerge. The reindeer have a great horror
of these insects, and are said to become weak and emaciated in their
efforts to avoid them. The disease due to the parasitic insects is
sometimes referred to as “germ”, and may destroy most of a herd.
Note 84: p. 438.--_Brick Tea._
See Note 36.
Note 85: p. 444.--_Shamans._
Some interesting details as to these in Hofgaard’s _Nordenskïold’s
Voyage_. He speaks of the preparatory asceticism: “solitude, watching,
fasting, exciting and narcotic remedies work upon his imagination; he
soon sees the spirits and the apparitions he heard about in his youth,
and believes firmly in them”.... “He is no cool, calculating deceiver,
no common conjuror.” “Sometimes they have been thrashed in order that
they might change a particular prophecy, but Wrangel relates a case in
1814, when their orders to kill a beloved chief, in order to stay a
plague, were at length obeyed. Though Christianity has been introduced
for more than a century, the Shamans have still (1882) much power.”
A scholarly account of the Shamans, which includes much interesting
material in regard to the customs which Brehm describes in this
chapter, will be found in the _Journal of the Anthropological
Institute_, xxiv., August and September, 1894. “Shamanism in Siberia
and European Russia”, being the second part of “Shamantsvo,” by
Professor V. M. Mikhailovskii, translated by O. Wardrop.
NOMAD HERDSMEN AND HERDS OF THE STEPPES.
See F. Burnaby’s _Ride to Khiva_ (1876); H. Lansdell’s _Through
Siberia_ (1882), and _Russian Central Asia_ (1885); A. de Levchine,
_Description des Hordes et des Steppes des Kirghiz-Kazaks_ (Paris,
1840); Zaleskie, _La vie des Steppes Kirghizes_ (Paris, 1865).
COLONISTS AND EXILES IN SIBERIA.
Note 86: p. 514.--_Geology of the Altai._
“In the Altai the mountains are built up of granites, syenites, and
diorites covered with metamorphic slates belonging to the Laurentian,
Silurian, Devonian, and Carboniferous periods. The Jurassic strata on
the outskirts are all fresh-water deposits, and contain coal.”