Such harmlefs animals as are unable to defend themselves fingly, are provided with an appetite for fociety, that they may defend themselves in a body. Sheep are remarkable in that refpect, when left

mountainous parts in China, which even at prefent are infefted with tigers. When men and cattle are toge ther, a lion always attacks a beaft, and never a man. If we can rely on Bofman, a tiger in Guinea will not touch a man if there be a four-footed beast in fight. M. Buffon obferves, that the bear, though far from be ing cowardly, never is at eafe but in wild and defart places. The great condor of Peru, a bird of prey of an immenfe fize, bold and rapacious, is never fe en but in defarts and high mountains. Every river in the coaft of Guinea abounds with crocodiles, which lie bafking in the fun during the heat of the day. If they perceive a man approaching, they plunge into the river, though they feldom fly from any other animal. A fox, on the contrary, a pole-cat, a kite, though afraid of man, draw near to inhabited places where they find prey in plenty. Such animals do little mifchief; and the little they do, promotes care and vigilance. But if men, like sheep, were the natural prey of a lion or a tiger, their utmost vigour and fagacity would scarce be fufficient for felf-defence. Perpetual war would be their fate, without having a fingle moment for any other occupation; and they must for ever have continued in a brutish state. It is poffible that a few cattle might be protected by armed men, continually on the watch; but to defend flocks and herds covering a hundred hills, would be impracticable. Agriculture could never have exifted in any shape.

to

*

to nature a ram feldom attacks; but the rams of a flock exert great vigour in defending their females and their young Two of Bakewell's rams, brought to Langholm in the Duke of Buccleugh's eftate, kept clofe together. The one was taken ill, and died, the other gave clofe attendance, stood beside the dead body, and abftained from food for fome days: nor did it recover its fpirits for a long time. The whole fociety of rooks join in attacking a

* M. Buffon has beflowed lefs pains than becomes an author of his character, upon the nature and instincts of animals. He scarce once ftumbles upon truth in his natural history of the fheep. He holds it to be ftupid, and incapable to defend itself against any beast of prey ; maintaining, that the race could not have fubfifted but under the care and protection of men. Has that author forgot, that sheep had no enemy more formidable than men in their original hunter-ftate? Far from being neglected by nature, there are few animals better provided for defence. They have a fort of military inftinct, forming a line of battle, like foldiers, when threatened with an attack. The rams, who, in a natural state, make half of the ftock, join together; and no lion or tiger is able to resist their united impetuofity. A ram, educated by a foldier, accompanied his mafter to the battle of Culloden. When a cannon was fired, it rejoiced and run up to it. It actually began the battle, advancing before the troops, and attacking fome dogs of the highland army.

VOL. II.

X

kite,

kite, when it hovers about them. A family of wild fwine never feparate, till the young be fufficiently ftrong to defend themselves against the wolf; and when the wolf threatens, they all join in a body. The pecary is a fort of wild hog in the ifthmus of Darien: if one of them be attacked, the reft run to affift it. There being a natural antipathy between that animal and the American tiger, it is not uncommon to find a tiger flain with a number of pecaries round him.

The focial appetite is to fome animals ufeful, not only for defence, but for procuring the neceffaries of life. Society among beavers is a notable inftance of both. As water is the only refuge of that innocent fpecies against an enemy, they inftinctively make their fettlement on the brink of a lake or of a running stream. In the latter cafe, they keep up the water to a proper height by a dam dike, conftructed with fo much art as to withstand the greatest floods: in the former, they fave themselves the labour of a dam-dike, because a lake generally keeps at the fame height. Having thus provided for defence, their next care is to provide food

and

and habitation. The whole fociety join in erecting the dam-dike; and they also join in erecting houfes. Each houfe has two apartments in the upper there is space for lodging from fix to ten beavers: the under holds their provifions, which are trees cut down by united labour, and divided into fmall portable parts (a). Bees. are a fimilar inftance. Ariftotle (b) fays, "that bees are the only animals which "labour in common, have a house in 46 common, eat in common, and have "their offspring in common.' A fingle bee would be ftill lefs able than a single beaver, to build a house for itself and for its winter food. The Alpine rat or marmot has no occafion to store up food for winter, because it lies benumbed without motion all the cold months. But thefe animals live in tribes; and each tribe digs. a habitation under ground with great art, fufficiently capacious capacious for lodging the whole tribe; covering the bottom with withered grafs, which fome cut, and others carry. The wild dogs of Congo and

(a) See the works of the beaver described most accurately by M. Buffon, vol. 8.

(b) History of animals, b. 9. c. 40.

Angola

Angola hunt in packs, waging perpetual war against other wild beafts. They bring to the place of rendezvous whatever is caught in hunting; and each receives its fhare*. The baboons are focial animals, and avail themfelves of that quality in procuring food; witnefs their addrefs in robbing an orchard, defcribed by Kolben in his account of the Cape of Good Hope. Some go into the orchard, fome place themfelves on the wall, the rest form a line on the outfide, and the fruit is thrown from hand to hand till it reach the place of rendezvous. Extending the inquiry to all known animals, we find that the appetite for fociety is with-held from no fpecies to which it is neceffary, whether for defence or for food. It appears to be diftributed by weight and meafure, in order to accommodate the internal frame of animals to their external circumftances.

Society among the more robuft animals that live on grafs would be useless. So

However fierce with refpect to other animals, yet fo fubmiffive are thefe dogs to men, as to fuffer their prey to be taken from them without refiftance. Europeans falt for their flaves what they thus procure.