back and sailed about while the ducklings were enjoying their swim. This took place day after day, until the ducks were large enough to take care of themselves. A gentleman busily at work in his garden had his attention attracted by a robin, who was acting in a curious manner. Feeling some curiosity to know what was the cause, he followed the bird and was led directly to her nest. There he saw a black snake which was in the act of robbing the nest. After the snake was killed, the bird showed great joy; flew down and pecked at the dead animal with every appearance of hatred, and then lighted on the gentleman's arm and poured forth her delight and gratitude in song. With respect to mammals, it is hardly possible to see how any body can deny that they often reason. Who can not think of instances of the intelligence of dogs? or of a horse? or of the elephant? A very few anecdotes must here suffice. A retriever was observed by a workman busily collecting grass and leaves and carrying them in his mouth to one place. On examining the spot he found a hedgehog closely rolled up. When the dog had collected a sufficient quantity of grass to prevent the spines wounding him, he took the bunch in his mouth and trotted off. Darwin' tells a story of another retriever which most conclusively shows reason. "Mr. Colquhoun winged two wild ducks, which fell on the opposite side of a stream. His retriever tried to bring over both at once, but could not succeed; she then, though never before known to ruffle a feither, deliberately killed one, brought over the other, and returned for the dead bird." He also quotes Rengger in regard to American monkeys. Rengger states, "that when he first gave eggs to his monkeys, they smashed them, thus losing much of their contents; afterward they gently hit one end against some hard body and picked off the bits of shell with their fingers. After cutting themselves only once with any sharp tool, they would not touch it again, or would handle it with the greatest care. Lumps of sugar were often given them wrapped up in paper, and Rengger sometimes put a live wasp in the paper, so that in hastily unfolding it they got stung; after this had once happened, they always first held the packet to their ears to detect any movement within."3 A baboon in London had the habit of 1 Wood, Man and Beast, loc. cit., p. 49. Descent of Man, Ist ed., I, p. 46. Descent of Man, Ist ed., I, 45, 46. adopting animals. Once a young kitten scratched him. He was astonished and looking at the kitten's paws, immediately bit off the claws. Animals, monkeys especially, use sticks and stones as instruments and weapons. A party of baboons in Africa were attacked by men at the entrance of a narrow pass in the mountains. The animals were up on the mountain side, and rolled the stones down into the pass so thick and fast that for a time it was completely blockaded. The orang in Borneo knows how to handle and throw sticks in the same manner, and even makes himself a bed in the tree to sleep at night, covering his head with leaves.1 Humboldt refers to the horses and mules used in crossing the Andes. "Thus the mountaineers are heard to say, 'I will not give you the mule whose step is the easiest, but the one which has the most intelligence.'"' It is hardly possible in the limits of an article like this, to do justice to our subject, but we are sure that what little has been said, will show to a fair and impartial reader, that animals certainly do possess a large amount of reason. There may be those who prefer to think that instincts are given to animals in a perfect form, by the Almighty. These seem to think that in taking the matter out of the Creator's hands directly, and placing all animal life under the control of natural laws, that we thereby detract from His power. But not so. For He made the laws by means of which animal life has progressed on the globe, and after the establishment of these laws, He holds Himself aloof from interfering. It is more degrading to the grandeur of the Infinite to suppose He has been compelled to interfere constantly with the works of His hands, than to suppose that He has, in the first place, established laws immutable and unchangeable, and endowed the first germs of life with the possibilities which have led to such grand results as are visible in the animal kingdom. 1 Wallace, Malay Archipelago, N. Y. ed., p. 52, 70. 'Travels in Equatorial Regions of South America, I, 249. PROGRESS OF ANTHROPOLOGY IN AMERICA DURING THE YEAR 1880. THE BY PROFESSOR OTIS T. MASON. 'HE definition given to anthropology in the last year's sketch, published in the NATURALIST, May, 1880, is still retained. And the restricted area of this summary must also preclude any reference to the vast body of literature which has accumulated upon this subject in all the civilized countries of Europe. By American anthropology, however, we would be understood to mean both the subjective and the objective view of the term— publications (1) upon the anthropology of the American races, wherever they may have been printed, and (2) works by American anthropologists, whatever may have been the special branch of the science upon which they wrote. The subdivisions of anthropology are somewhat arbitrary; indeed, those adopted here represent specialists rather than sharp lines of scientific demarcation. It is very convenient, however, to group the titles of papers in the following order: 1. Anthropogeny. II. Archæology. III. Biology. IV. Comparative psychology. v. Ethnology. VI. Linguistic anthropology. VII. Technology. VIII. Sociology. IX. Religion. X. Instrumentalities. 1. Anthropogeny.—The appearance in an English translation of Ernst Haeckel's "Genesis of Man," during the year 1879, marked an epoch in anthropology. No such contribution to ontogeny and phylogeny appeared in 1880, but the statements of Haeckel have been taken up in detail, examined, attacked and defended with great spirit. American scholarship continues to occupy a very humble rank in this department of our subject, as the following titles will show: GILL, THEODORE-(Washington, D. C.) On the Zoological Relations of Man. Tr. Anthrop. Soc., Washington. 1, p. 15. [A résumé of the doctrine of evolution.] HOLMES, NATHANIEL-(St. Louis, Mo.) Geological and geographical distribution of the human race. Tr. Acad. Sci., St. Louis, IV, I. [A summary.] PARKER, DR. A. J.—On the brain of a Chimpanzee. N. Y. Med. Record, Jan. [An original investigation.] WARD, LESTER F.-(Washington, D. C.) Pre-social Man. Tr. Anthrop. Soc., Washington, 1, 68. [An application of the doctrines of Haeckel to the origin of intellectual and social phenomena.] WINCHELL, ALEXANDER (Ann Arbor, Mich.)-Pre-adamites; or a demonstration of the existence of men before Adam: together with a study of their condition, antiquity, racial affinities and progressive dispersion over the earth. Chicago: S. C. Griggs & Co., 1880, 1 vol., pp. 500, with charts and illustrations. 8vo. [Outside of its controversial aspect, a valuable contribution to anthropology.] II. Archæology. The subject of archæology is a favorite among the divisions of anthropology in America. The Smithsonian Institution, conjointly with the National Museum, represents the country at large. In Massachusetts the Archæological Institute of America, the Peabody Museum, and the American Antiquarian Society have all made most valuable contributions to archæological knowledge. In New York city the American Museum of Natural History is making rich collections. Mr. Terry's fine private cabinet is now on exhibition there. Nothing is published by them as yet. The Philadelphia societies are not idle in the matter of archæology, although they have lost an earnest worker in Professor Haldeman. The Bureau of Ethnology at Washington, under the direction of Major J. W. Powell, while engaged more especially in the living problems of humanity, has made very exhaustive investigations relative to the Pueblos. The Anthropological Society of Washington has published its first volume of Transactions, which, although bearing date of 1881, is really a part of the work of 1880. Proceeding westward, we find the Western Reserve Society of Cleveland, the Cincinnati Society of Natural History, the Madisonville Literary and Scientific Society doing excellent work in Ohio. The St. Louis Academy of Missouri and the Davenport Academy of Iowa are not a whit behind the older societies of the East in their zeal and efficiency. In several of the Western States, notably Indiana, Wisconsin and Minnesota, the State geological and statistical reports contain much that is valuable in archæology. Nor is this all; private wealth is lavished upon local museums so indiscriminately, that frauds begin to multiply unpleasantly. In the discussion of instrumentalities, a catalogue of journals publishing archæological papers will be given. The following is a list of papers and works published upon the subject: ABBOTT, C. C. (Cambridge, Mass.)—Flint Chips. Peabody Mus. Rep., II, pp. 506-520. Aboriginal remains in the valley of the Shenandoah river. Science, p. 262. AMEGHINO FLORENTINO-Armes et instruments de l'homme préhistorique des Pampas. Rev. d'Anthrop., 1880, pp. 1-12. American Antiquarian Society Proceedings, No. 75 and No. 76. [Papers by Valentini on Mexican paper and on the Landa alphabet.] American Antiquarian. [Published by the Rev. S. D. Peet, with a corps of able assistants. Archæological papers by Babbitt, Beauchamp, Brown, Hovey, Love, Peet and Whittlesey.] Anales del Museo Nacional de Mexico. [Papers on Mexican antiquities, by Chavero, II, 1-46, 107-126, illustr. Anales de Cuauhtitlan, appendix, pp. I-32. BACON, A. T.-The ruins of the Colorado valley. Lippincott's Mag., Nov. CASE, THEO. S. (Kansas City, Mo.)—An excursion to the birthplace of Montezuma. Ks. City Rev., Nov. [This periodical devotes a great deal of space to archæology and other branches of anthropology.] CHARNAY, DÉSIRÉ-The ruins of Central America. No. Am. Rev., Sept., Oct., Nov., Dec., 1880. [This expedition, fitted out by Pierre Lorillard, of New York, in conjunction with the French Government, represents a phase of archæology, which may be called the Prescott School, against which Mr. Morgan and those who agree with him, are working.] Collett, John—“ A Vincennes mound ” and “The Worthington mound." Indiana Rep. of Stat. and Geol., 1880, pp. 387–396. DAWSON, J. W. (Pres. McGill College, Montreal) -Fossil men and their modern representatives. An attempt to illustrate the character and condition of Prehistoric men in Europe by those of the American races. Montreal, Dawson Brothers, 1880. J vol., VIII, pp. 348, illustr., 12mo. The same author has also published "The chain of life in geological time," and "The antiquity of man and the origin of species." FARQUHARSON, R. J. (Davenport, Iowa)-Prehistoric trephining in America, and GANNETT, H.-Prehistoric ruins in So. Colorado. Pop. Sci. Month., March. KERR, W. C.-The mica veins of North Carolina. Tr. Am. Inst. Min. Engineers, LEWIS, H. C.-Antiquity of man geologically considered. Science, Oct. 16. See also Proc. Acad. Nat. Sc. Philad., Nov. 24, 1879, for a discussion of the antiquity of the Trenton gravels. Low, CHARLES F.-Archæological explorations by the Literary and Scientific Society of Madisonville, O., Part III, Jan. to June 30, 1880. MACADAMS WILLIAM (Otterville, Ill.)—Antiquities of Western Illinois in several journals. A full list in Smithson. Rep. for 1880. MACLEAN, J. P.-Mastodon, mammoth and man. R. Clarke & Co., Cin. See also |