Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1878-04-16

in which the feeling OF curiosity and aStonlsh-
win once introduced snake into a cage con-
tanning number OF those animals, and the re
suits of his experiment. he refers to in the
Descent of Man." and also in the - Express
sion of the Emotions in Man and Animals" as
illustrative of the extent TO which those quail
ties are developed in that branch of the ami
NAL kingdom.
Reading his statement, the writer conceived
the idea that the results obtained We're capa-
Ss o
pertinent for himself. The monkey house at
the Philadelphia Geological Garden afforded
in a newspaper, the corners of which were
twisted together in such manner that they
would readily come undone and the package
was then set on the floor of a cage containing
forty or fifty monkeys of a great variety of
species. 1t was instantly spied by a female
CynOcephdluS, who was The principal leader in
stantly amused themselves: she seized the pa
per by one corner and set off across the cage,
dragging it behind her, evidently intending to
have good time with it,
Before she had gone more than few feet
the paper became unfolded and the snake
slipped partly out. She instantly dropped the
ner with her head over her shoulders, keeping
an eye behind her, much as Lots wife must
have looked back on the fascinating terrors
OF the cities OF the plain. No sooner did the
rest of the monkeys perceive the dreadful OBJ
ject in their midst than they approached step
by step, and formed In circle of six or eight
| quietly coiled up on the floor. None dared,
however. to touch it or to go beyond the eStab-
arge Macaque, the acknowledged leader of
an occasional snatch at the paper, apparently
| it appeared to be all the others meanwhile
looking on in breathless attention.
AT this point; a string which had previously
| gently pulled. The serpent heightened slight
ly, and the moneys fled up the sides of the
cage, ehattering and screaming like magpies;
when they got to a safe distance they halted
| for observation, and after some moments, see
ing no further sign OF danger, they gradually
reiurned,one by one, to their former position
| the large ones in the front rank, and the
smaller ones, crowded out by superior
strength, forming behind and looking over
| their shoulders.
This was continued for some hours without
| the slightest change in the disposition of the
monkeys, all of their actions showing most
lntoletaDe iear OF the snake, mingled with an
them to remain away from it. This was SO
universal that not one of the monkeys in the
| cage was entirely free from it.
| The Sna Ike was finally taken out and several
Other animals belonging to the same class
were put In its place, but with very different
results Of a tortoise, for instance. and a
small dead alligator, they were at first rather
shy, but they at length began TO touch them
and in ten minutes they were playing with
| them and passing them from one to another
| with the greatest curiosity.
The same snake was then shown in turn, to
animals. belonging to number of other or
| ders: Carnivores, Rodents, Ungulates. Eden
tates and Marsupials. but none of them paid
it any special attention, with the exception of
peccary (DicOtples ldbiatus), which, finding
| 1t to be dead, seemed disposed to make a meal
| of it.
Turning from the monkeys and watching
instead, the visitors to the Reptile house, it is
| evident that the instructive fear and horror of
the snake, which is so common as to be almost
universal with man, is closely allied to that
which has been seen to exist among monkeys
| Women rp9llIv hpUalnn nc hnir ,nti
are more quickly responded TO by gestures
than is usually the case in the other sex, and
was specially fortunate, short time after the
occurrence detailed above, in having an op-
| pOrtunity of observing the effect produced by
| the collection of snakes upon a lady who was
deaf and dumb-by the fact of her disabilities
she was shut out, to very great extent from
| the lntiuence-repreSSing so far as the express
sion of the emotions is cOncerned-Of free as
SOclatlOn with others, and the nature of her
feelings was thereby rendered more evident.
| was not at all surprised to trace in her ac-
tons and gestures which reSembled closely
those which had observed on the part of the
monkeys: they evidenced the same fear, the
same attraction and the same repulsion, and
after watching for a long time, with an express
| sion of the most intense disgust, the cage OF
| bOaS, she was at last led away by her friends
| protesting that she wanted to stay.
Now if it be asked why this instructive feel
ing should be developed in the prinateS alone
| 1t is probable that as the early dawningS of
| intelligence in the common ancestor of man
and monkeys began to surpass the power of
|
| animals, he would most liable to conceive
| great dread of that enemy which inflicted
| upon him wounds of 4 very different sort from
| those which he received from his own kind or
| nom animals which approached more or less
| to his own form. and which also produced
| effects SO subtle in their character and opera
| ton that they would be apt to leave lasting
| impressions on those animals which were fire.
| quenty subjected to witnessing them: 1t
| should be remembered, also, that the home of
| the monkey and the spot where, in all probabiI-
| lty, the earlier primateS first saw the light is
| in those regions of the earth which are most
| infested by numerous and venOmOuS SerDentS
| These facts will at once suggest to all who
put their faith in the theory OF gradual devel-
opment that the fear of the serpent became
| instructive in some far distant progenitor of
| man, by reason of his long exposure to danger
| and death in horrible form, from its bite
and that it has been handed down through the
| dlverging lines of descent which had their ex-
| preston today in Homo and PithecuS. How
| strongly marked it is in the latter the expert
ment detailed above, corresponding i'm each o f
| its results with that of Mr.. Darwin, bears ties.
timony; and for the evidence OF its influence
on the mind of the former, turn to the story of
the serpent in Paradise to the signs and SYM
boS OF many ancient mythOlOgieS. and to the
feeling which few men can deny to themselves
when they are brought into association with
even the most beautiful and harmless member
of the order Ohidid.