The sun., 1908-12-26
AN1MAL LIFE.
Dees II EXHIBIT TendeBCies Toward
spragfoas and gelfsln,prevementT

| To THE EDITOR or TIE eUN-SE! Pro-
fessor 0oldwin Smith, In referring 70 the
law Of evolution asks: HAS any animal
given the slightest slgn Of sef-impTo
or tendency TO progressf"
let us see. What the condition Of animal
life In Indian times was we can only con.
lecture. There was eternal warfare be-
tween the red man and the larger mammals
and the larger birds, but over vast areas
the smaller. tnconspiouous forms had their
world 10 themselves and natures plans
we're being followed How far environment
changed and life changSd with 1t. and
whether or not since the glacial period
waxed and waned old species died and new
forms took their place We know not. The
lark may have carolled In pliocene mead
owe as In our time worn pastures.
The coming Of the white man to America
soon wrought change that 10 as Disgrace
full to the colonist as II was unfortunate TO
the country. The many forms of Wild life
that were so marked feature and so beau
titled the landscape were persecuted until
extinction threatened or actually overlook
them. But some beasts and birds survive,
| having battied against great odds. ana the
question arises. have they not done 80 be-
cause the struggle quckened the wits OF
each succeeding generation. and while this
may alter no bone or diminish or increase
any muscle. or change the color Of peage
or plumage, is 1t not even more than the
slightest sign Of seif-improvement?" 1s
II not "a tendency TO proRress7"
The red fox and the crow are instances OF
what mean, but there are numerous others.
When affairs so shaped themselves that
cunning. which. is intellectually and has
not the slightest connection with instinct
was necessary to the fox Il was developed.
N nj n IN
would have sucoumbed in the struggle for
existence. 1t may be claimed that the fox
was but a plastic mass In the hands Of events
over which 10 had no control; that 1t did as
1t was compelled and not as 1t determined
Nature, 10 is true. made man, and then man
unmade and remade himself and so stands
alone in the scale OF being. Is this a fair
statement? Fair to animals that are less
advanced than man?
have no patience with animal fairy tales
that are paraded under the tab of natural
history, but disgust may dull our concep-
tions and we deny too much When the
fox needed to be cunning he was forced
to use his brain as well as trust to his heels
Cunning Is not an instantaneous Impulse,
but the fruit OF premeditation. The cunning
fox anticipates danger and prepares against
surprises. III this is not true of what use
10 the cerebrum of a fox? Many an animal
goes It blind" Its life Is hit or miss
chapter of incidents. As it lives so II dies,
unaware Of any difference between failure
and success But this cannot be said of
many another, which exhibits a very con-
scious and deliberate ego. The all impor-
tant point Is. did any beast or bird ever say
10 itself: Il viii improve myself will
excel my fellows"2 This Ia Incredible, but
such an occurrence In man. which Is common
enough. may have something very close to
lt In the non-human world
Beasts and birds long ago became afraid
OF man. and afraid OF him In a way wholly
different from their fear of other forms of
animal life. This demonstrates that they
recognize a difference, as when I cannot
approach snipe that will permit COW
almost to tread upon it Fear being The
sum of disastrous eyperiencesl the birds
that soonest learned the lesson OF prudence
left the most descendants. The fearless ones
paid the price OF their foolhardiness and
died out. Such conditions did not call for
anatomical changes, but mental ones. and
this increased mentality that led to the
preservation OF the species is so near the
border line of what Goodwin Smith calls
helf-improvement that Il can be looked
upon only as its forerunner, as birds and all
beasts foreran the man who was to prove
their arch enemy 80 80 = ~.-'sl '.' y
Among the birds that civilization still
permits us to enjoy Is our common crow.
IL is as cunning as any fox, and far ahead
even of parrots In intelIectualty The
rigid rules laid down by theorists as TO in
telligence and it's distribution in the anin,a,
kingdom win In this case hot hold good.
The crow has never had :. friend, and II
long ago accepted man as an enemy and
declared war. The battle has ragged ever
since. and what Is the result? The bird
holds, Its own against greater odds than
ever we're pitted against any other species.
The passenger pigeon was a fool. and is now
extinct. Other birds realized their danger
and deserted their original homes, so were
not fools: but the crov declared It would
stay. man or no man. and did . and has on
out so far. This ordeal must necessarily
have quickened the wits OF the bird, and a
auickening of consciousness could not take
place unconsciously. The Improvement
was recognized as IL progressed, or In other
words was solf-improvement, suggested
and rendered necessary by existing con-
dttions. The crows that gathered IN pre-
glacial forests. that may or may not have
known primitive man. were never the Same
birds as the crows of to-day. They could
have had no such experiences and 80 were
commonplace. In comparison. not to say
stupid
Numerous are the animals that. eseapinp
persecution. have ada pied themselves to the
altered conditions. Was this adaptation
unconscious on their part2 There was
room and to spare when II was In proeress
and did not choice enter into the problem?
Or was 1t mere chance that they staid near
or even in habitations. and with no moro
volition than the autumn leaves that now All
the air?
IL may be nero coincidence, but the
skunk that lived under the doorstep vet
gave no sign OF its presence: the raccoon
that occupied q clothesline box and was
not suspected; the opossuun that lived In
a hollow tree within ten feet of the bouae
and was discovered only by accident t-aII
suggest to me that they considered the sew
eral situations. and realizing their adyan-
tages In the matter OF food supply were
willing to take the chances; yet a fne bit
Of primitive woodland was not fifty wards
away. This may not be self-improvemcn
as Goldwin Smith considers II, but is It not
the initial step in that directlonf
Consider. too. the many small birds that
frequent our dooryards. They have learned
not to fear man to q great extent. Their
danger line. which experience taught them
II was necessary TO establish, has heen
drawn to such extent that the birds and
right minded people become companion
able. ! say right minded" because the
brutality Of children and some adults
showing itself the bird recognizes the fact
promptly and acts accordingly. Is not