OCR Text |
Show 84 MEANS 0 1!, EXPRESS! ON CHAP. IV. often recognized, from a distance on the Pampas, the agonized death-bellow of the .catt~0, when caught by the lasso and hamstrung. It 1s sa1d that horses, when attacked by wolves, utter loud and peeuliar scream-.; of distress. Involuntary and purposeless contractions of the muscles of the chest and glottis, excited in the above manner, may have first given rise to .the emission of vocal sounds. But the voice is now largely used by 1nany animals for various purposes;. an~ habit seems to have played an important part I~ Its e1nployment under other circun1stances. N aturahsts have remarked, I believe with truth, that social ani1nals, from habitually u ing their vocal organs as a ~eans of intercommunication use them on other occasions much more freely tha~ other animals. But there are marked exceptions to this rule, for instance, with the rabbit. The principle, also, of association, which is so widely extende.cl in its power, has likewise played. its part. H~nce It follo·ws that the voice, from hav1ng been habitually employed as a serviceable aid under certain conditions, inducin()" pleasure, pain, rage, &c., is commonly used whenev~r the same sensations or emotions are excited, under quite different conditions, or in a lesser degree. The sexes of many animals incessantly call for each other during the breeding-season; and in not a few cases, the male endeavours thus to charm or excite the female. This, indeed, seems to have been the primeval use and n1eans of development of the voice, as I have atten1pted to show in n1y l Descent of Man.' Thus the nso of the vocal organs will have become associated with the anticipation of the strongest pleasure which animals are cap~ble of feeling. Animals which live in society often call to each other when separated, and evir1entl~{ f0el n1nch joy at 1neeting; as we see with a CrrAP. IV. lN ANIMAL. 5 horse, 01: th.e return of his companion, for whon1 he lm been ne1glnng. 'rhe mother calls inc. ~nntly for h t lost yonllg ones ; for instance, a, cow for h 1' nlf; ana th·e young of n1nny animals cnll for their 1noth r ..; . ~Yhen a flock of sheep is scatter cl, tho ow s L1ettt 1ncessa1:tly for their la1nbs, and their 1nutual pleasure at con11ng together is manifest. \Voe betid the 1nnn who n1cddles with the youn()" of the laro-er and fi rcer· • b 0 quadrupeds, if they hear the cry of di:stress fr01n their young. Rage leads to the violent exertion of all th~ muscle~, including those of the voice; and som0 animals, when enraged, endeavour to strike terror into their ene1nies by its power and harshness, as the ]ion does by roaring, and the dog by growling. I infer that their object is to strike terror, because the lion at the same time erects the hair of its mane, and the dog the hair along its baelr, and thus they make themselves appear as large and terrible as possible. IUval males try to excel and chnllenge each other by their voicos, and this leads to deadly contests. ~rhus the use of tl1e Yoice will have becon1e associated with the emotion of anger, however it may be aroused. We have also seen that intense pain, like rage, leads to violent outcrie~, and the exertion of screaming by itself gives son1e relief; and thus the use of the voice will have becon1e associated with suffering of any kind. The cause of widely different sounds being uttered under different emotions nnd sensations is a very obscure subject. Nor does the rule always hold good that there is any n1ai·ked difference. For instance with the dog, the bark of anger and that of joy do not differ much, though they can be distingni hed. It is not probable that any precise explanation of the cause or source of each particular sound, under different states of the mind, will ever be given. We kuow that |