great art, fufficiently capacious for lodging the whole tribe; covering the bottom with withered grafs, which fome cut, and others carry. The wild dogs of Congo and 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 themselves of that quality in procuring food; witnefs their address in robbing an orchard, defcribed by Kolben in his account of the Cape of Good Hope. Some go into the orchard, fome place themselves on the wall, the reft form a line on the outfide, and the fruit is thrown from hand to hand till it reach the place of rendezvous. Extending the enquiry 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 distributed by weight and mea

* 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.

VOL II.

X

fure,

fure, in order to accommodate the internal frame of animals to their external circumstances.

On fome animals an appetite for fociety is bestow'd, tho' in appearance not neceffary either for defence or for food. With regard to fuch, the only final cause we can discover is the pleasure of living in fociety. That kind of fociety is found among horfes. Outhier, one of the French academicians employ'd to measure a degree of the meridian toward the north pole, reports, that at Torneo all bulky goods are carried in boats during fummer; but in winter, when the rivers are frozen and the ground covered with fnow, that they use fledges drawn by horfes; that when the fnow melts and the rivers are open, the horfes, fet loofe, rendezvous at a certain part of the foreft, where they feparate into troops, and occupy different pasturefields; that when these fields become bare, they occupy new ground in the fame order as at first; that they return home in troops when the bad weather begins; and that every horfe knows its own ftall. No. creature ftands lefs in need of fociety than a hare, whether for food or for defence..

Of

Of food, it has plenty under its feet; and for defence, it is provided both with cunning and swiftnefs. Nothing however is more common in a moon-light night, than to fee hares fporting together in the moft focial manner. But fociety for pleafure only, is an imperfect kind of society; and far from being so intimate, as where it is provided by nature for defence, or for procuring food *.

With

* Pigeons must be excepted, if their fociety be not neceffary either for food or habitation, of which I am uncertain. Society among that fpecies is extremely intimate; and it is obfervable, that the place they inhabit contributes to the intimacy. A crazy dove-cot moved the proprietor to transfer the inhabitants to a new house built for them; and to accustom them to it, they were kept a fortnight within doors, with plenty of food. When they obtained liberty, they flew directly to their old house; and seeing it laid flat, walked round and round, lamenting. They then took wing and difappeared, without once cafting an eye on their new habitation. Some brute animals are fufceptible of affection even to those of a different fpecies. Of the affection a dog has for his master, no perfon is ignorant. A canary bird, fo tame as to be let out of its cage, perched frequently on another cage in the fame room inhabited by a linnet; and the birds becamegood friends. The linnet died: the canary bird

With refpect to the extent of the appetite, no focial animal, as far as can be discovered, has an appetite for affociating with the whole fpecies. Every species is divided into many fmall tribes; and these tribes have no appetite for affociating with each other; on the contrary, a ftray sheep is thruft out of the flock, and a stray bee must instantly retire, or be stung to death, The dogs of a family never fail to attack a ftranger dog, bent to destroy him. If the stranger submit, they do him no harm * Every work of Providence contributes to fome good end: a fmall tribe is fufficient for mutual defence; and a very large tribe would find difficulty in procuring fubfiftence.

How far brute animals are by nature qualified for being useful members of civil fociety, or for being happy in it, are questions that have been totally overlook

was inconfolable, and forbore finging above a year. It recovered its fpirits, and now chants as much as

ever.

* Columella, treating of goats, obferves that it is better to purchase an entire flock, than goats out of different flocks, that they may not divide into different parties, but feed cordially together.

· ed

ed by writers. And yet, as that branch of natural history is alfo neceffary to my plan, I must proceed; tho' I have nothing to lay before the reader but a few scattered obfervations, which occurred when I had no view of turning them to account. I begin with the inftinctive conduct of animals, in providing against danger. When a flock of fheep in the state of nature goes to reft, fentinels are appointed; who, on appearance of an enemy, stamp with the foot, and make a hiffing found; upon which all take the alarm: if no enemy appear, they watch their time, return to the flock, and send out others in their ftead. In flocks that have an extensive range in hilly countries, the fame difcipline obtains, even after domestication. Tho' monkeys fleep upon trees, yet a fentinel is always appointed; who must not sleep under pain of being torn to pieces. They preferve the fame difcipline when they rob an orchard: a fentinel on a high tree is watchful to announce the very first appearance of an enemy. M. Buffon, talking of a fort of monkey, which he terms Malbrouck, fays, that they are fond of fruit, and of sugar-canes; and that

while