The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1893-09-21

birds who show this esthetic sense in a
singular manner. One of them is the
bava. He has passion for brilliant
and variegated objects, and he has a
habit of ornamenting the entrance to
| his nest, which is built with infinite
art and elegance, with variety of OBJ
jects, gathered by bits from all quar-
tiers, which happen to strike his fancy.
Among them are brilliantly colored
feathers of other birds, bright bits of
shells, bits of stuff, and the birds
struts about in the midst of all this
with evident pleasure. Insects also
possess a marked esthetic sense.
They prefer certain colors, and
the plants which depend upon them
fof fertilizat ton show an entirely diff
ferent variety OF colors from those Of
| plants whose fertilization is effected by
means of the wind. Musical sounds
also affect different animals in .
marked manner; they have their pref
e9ences and their antipathies. To be
| sure, this esthetic sense is not very ele.
waited, but it is present in documentary
condition; they are not entirely indif-
! fereut to the manifestations which,
| with us, address themselves only to an
| esthetic sense
In similar manner, those who deny
| the religious sentiment to animals de-
! ceive themselves. Without doubt this
religion is of a very inferior order, but,
! to be exact, can that of millions Of
human beings be placed in a very ele-
waited category? Analyze the religious
idea, deprived of all it's pretenseS and
approximations and what do you find?
Fear and love, from which comes sub
mission and many other sentiments,
which, according to the quantity, are
mixed with the two principal ingredi-
ents. Quatrefages writes that 1.-The
domestic animals are religious for they
obey those who appeal to them with
! the rod or sugar" In another place
he says: There is no difference
between the negro who adores a danger
Gus animal and the dog who cringes at
his masters feet to obtain pardon for
fault. Animals run to man for pro-
lection as believer to his God"
OF course, between the religion of a
dog and that of Pascal there are differ
ences, but all the forms of transition
agree: savage man, as well as the man
who believes himself civilized, furnishes
innumerable examples of this, and
shows that here, as in other matters,
the differences are in degree, not in
kind. Animals know the sense CT the
mysterious; they are fetishes; they
ascribe life to the lifeless; and what
more than this, may / ask, comprises
the religion of many of our contempor-
aries? Between paganism or the gross
est, most primitive poly theism, and the
purest Christian religion, the distinc-
tions are few and gradual not at all
specific and fundamental. On the other
hand, between the rudiments of re-
ligion, past and present, the certain
sentiments of the higher animals, the
differences bear the same character; the
source is the same.
The sentiment of the mysterious and
supernatural is manifested by num-
Der of animals and has been observed
with some attention. Herbert Spencer
reports some observations on a large
mastiff which belonged to one Of his
friends The dog playing with cane
which had been turned over to him,
inadvertently struck the ground
very hard with one end of it, and,
naturally, the other end struck with
force against his mouth The animal,
at that unexpected manifesto ton,
showed CONSERVATION. and suspecting
sorcery, concealed himself. 1t was
with great difficulty that he could be
induced to return to his plaything.
His conduct showed very clearly that
the cane. so long as it only exhibited
traits with which he was familiar, was
not considered by him as an active
agent. but as soon as he received an in
jury from it he was led. for the mo-
ment, to class it with animate objects,
and to consider it as capa bic of injur-
ing him anew"
Certain persons have even attributed
to animals remarkable clairvoyance-
Here, one tells of birds which seem to
perceive frightful apparitions in cage
where one of their number is dead:
there. of storks foreseeing fire in the
house where they have been accustomed
TO building their nests, and of their
perching among the trees: and again,
where dogs have had visions. How
ever, we simply content ourselves here
by concluding that the higher animals
certainly possess the rudi,nents of an
esthetic sense and religious senti-
ment Re we des RevueS