The Central Nevadan. [volume] (Battle Mountain, Nev.) 1885-1907, 1888-03-01
Lost Instincts and Rare Faculties.

If the doctrine be true that man Is
really the heir Of all the various spe.
cies and genera of the animal Kingdom,
it seems little hard upon US that, even
by way of exception, we inherit none
of the most marvellous instincts Of those
species and genera, and have TO be
content with those greater but purely
human faculties by which even the
most wonderful Of the animal instincts
have been somehow extinguished. Sir
John Lubbock maintains with good
deal Of plausibility that there are in.
sects, and very likely even higher ami
mails. which perceive colors Of which
we have no glimpse, and hear sounds
which to us are inaudible. Yet we
never hear Of human retina that in
cludes in its vision colors dependant
on vibrations Of the ether which are
too slow or too rapid for our ordinary
eyes. nor Of human ear which is en-
tranced with music that to the great
majority Of our species is absolutely
inaudible. Again we never hear Of
human being who could perform the
feat which We were told only the other
day in bloodhound. In dark night
it followed up for three miles the trail
of thief with whom tho bloodhound
could never have been in contact (he
had just purloined some rolls of tan
from the lanyard in which the dog was
chained up), and finally sat down un-
der the tree in which the man had
taken refuge. Why, We wonder, are
those powers of discriminating and
following the track Of a scent which SO
many of the lower anima,s possess,
entirely extinguished in man, il man
be the real heir Of all the various gen.
era which show powers inferior to his
ownl We see no trace in animals Of
that high enjoyment of the fner scents
which make the blossoning Of the
spring flowers so great delight to
human beings, aud yet men are en-
tlreiy destitute Of that almost unerring
power Of tracking the path of an odor
which seems to be one Of the principal
gifts OF many quadrupeds and some
birds 1t is the same with the power
OF dog or cat to find its way back to
home to which it is attached, but
from which it has been taken by .
route that IL can not possibly follow on
Its return, even If it had the power of
observing that route, which usually it
has not had. Nothing could be more
conyenient than such power to lost
child. But no one ever heard OF q
child who possessed it. Still more en-
viable is that instinct possessed by 80
many birds Of crossing great tracts of
land and sea without apparently any
landmarks or seamarks to guide them,
and OF reaching quarter of the globe
which many OF them have never visited
before, while those who have visited it
before have not visited it often enough
10 learn the way-at least by any rule
which, IN like circumstances, would he
OF any use to human intelligence.
The migratory birds must certainly be
In possession of either senses or in
stlncts entirely beyond the range Of
human imagination, and yet no one
ever heard Of the survival Of such a
sense or instinct in any member of our
race. 1t may be said, indeed, that
men have either inherited or repro
duced the slave-making instinct Of
some Of the military ants, though that
unfortunate aud degrading instinct