The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1882-10-21
The Habit Of Killing,

creature of habit" and we believe it is
true to a greater extent than most of us
would be willing to admit Just why
bad habit should be perpetuated and
practised when no one is protited BY it is
something that might be difficult to ex-
plain; still we all know that such things
do occur and are occurring constantly
among all classes of people and among
all nations. Among the most detestable
habits which are almost universally
practiced by our rural population is the
habit of killing the small as we'll as the
large animals inhabiting the fields and
forests. About the first lesson the boy
ON the farm receives from his parents is
how to dispatch q snake, and from this
he goes on killing toads, frogs, Lizards.
and then, as his skill increases in throw
ing stones, he aims at the birds, making
mark of everything of the kind that
comes within reach. When a little older
he is furnished with gun and ammuni-
ton, and all his spare hours (and many
thatcould be better spent in study are
devoted to this all-prevailing habit of
killing something. We do not believe
that these destroyers of animal life in
tend to do mean act, but the force of
habit is strong upon them, and not one
in thousand ever gave the subject a
moments serious thought as to whether
they were doing wrong or right. Boys
have grown to men, all the time killing
innocent creatures that come in their
way, and it is no wonder that children of
such parents should inherit their bad as
we'll as good traits of character. Ii the
insects increase on the farm and in the
forests, the farmer seldom seeks after
the cause, and, if asked why such things
occur, will probably say that he sup
poses these pests are sent to punish man
kind for their sins. In this he comes
very near the truth, for the sins com
mitted by the farmer and his sons in
killing birds and reptiles are many, and
the increase of noxious insects is one of
the direct results.
What is termed instinct in animals is
merely hereditary experience, and it is
a noted fact that where man has not for
generations hunted and killed animals
Unfortunately, they are not afraid of
him. We have only to pass from our
older States to the newer to note the effect
of constant hunting upon the habits of
the wild animals. The squirrels. chip
hunks, and other similar small animals
in the western mountain regions may
be said to be quite tame, and they will
often come within 4 few feet of travellers.
or sit perfectly sit until a person actually
thrusts out his hand to catch them
Hundreds of these little creatures fire.
quent the mining camps and habitatons
of the pioneers in the West, and run
about as Familiarity as many of our do
nestle animals. They soon learn, how
ever, the source of danger, and the crack
of a shotgun or the whiz of a stone are
signs that they do not forget. The birds,
also, show little or no fear and it is often
very amusing to see how much curiosity
they will display in peering into Il camp,
or watching the movements of a stranger
among them. The aborigines, with
whom these animals have been so long
familiar, never attempt to brighten, and
only kill for food. But man, who claims
to be civilized is not satisfied to destroy
life when his necessities demand it. but
practices it for what he calls sport or
what should be designated as pure wan
ton murder, and punished as such by
law. The 'lion and the lamb will
never lie down together in peace so long
as this habit of killing is practised by
any boy, and the so-called sportsman
is permitted to roam over the country
destroying animals without let or him
drance from the Government or shame
in the eyes of his fellow men.
We do not expect that our readers
will all agree with us on this subject of
killing animal without cause, but we
hope few at least will, and when a
starting point is made there is hope of
progress. The difficulty in breaking up
any old and common habit among men
is to induce those who practice it to stop
and think why they do such things. To
illustrate this point we will refer to an
instance which occurred recently while
we were travelling in the wilds of the far
West. We had for Il companion a gem
tleman from Texas, who was both high
ly educated and refined, and while walk
inc down a mountain road a large snake
appeared a few feet in front of US. Our
companion Immediately reached for
stone to hurl at the reptile, which we
saw was of harmless species As there
was no good reason for killing it, we
cried out: Hold! why kill the fellow"
and then stepped forward and picked
up the snake in our bare hands, as it
was too good an opportunity of teaching
our friend useful lesson. The snake
showed neither fear nor anger, but al
lowed us to handle him with impunitv,
not even darling out his tongue with rage
as nearly all species in our older States
will do when interfered with. Our COM
panion was somewhat surprised at the
turn of affairs, but was honest enough
to own that he had always been in the
"habit" of killing all snakes that came
within his reach without regard to size,
color or species. He also said that he
could give no better reason for killing
snakes than that everybody else did it,
and he supposed twas all right. In this
reply we Have about all the good reasons
which can be urged in favor of the ndis-
eliminate destruction of animal life
which is constantly going on among
farmers and other residents of our rural
districts.
We certainly have no objection to the
destruction of pestiferous animals and
insects, or of animals required for food,
but do object to killing promiscuouslv.
Poisonous rpDtilnS should bo do-+,o,,yJ