New Ulm review. (New Ulm, Brown County, Minn.) 1892-1961, 1893-07-19
THE FEAR OF SNAKES.
Why Many Children and Some Grown Per.
sons Dislike Them.

Why Many Children and Some Grown Per.
sons Dislike Them.
There are many authenticated in
stances OF children becoming attached e
snakes and making pets OF them. The
solution of question of this kind is
sometimes to be found in the child mind
My experience is that when young Chi
dren see this creature it's strange al.
pearance and manner of progression, Sc
unlike those of other animals known tc
them, affect them with amazement ant
sense of mystery and that they fear i.
just as they would fear any other strangc
thing. Monkeys are doubtless affectej
in much the same way, although in {:
state of nature, where they inhabit fo,,
ests Astounding with the larger construct
ors and venomous tree snakes, it is high
ly probable that they also possess a tr:.
ditional fear of the serpent form. Il
would be strange if they did not.
The experiment of presenting cageo
monkey with aserpent carefully wrapi e6
up in newspaper and watching his be
havior when he gravely opens the par
Gel, expecting to fine nothing more
wonderful than the familiar sponge
cake or succulent banana-well, sue
an experiment has been recorded
half hundred important scientific,
works, and out of respect to ones mas
tiers one ought to endeavor not to smil.
when reading it. A third view nigh!
be taken which would account for ou1
feeling toward the serpent without Ell
Their instinct or tradition. Extreme fea,
of all ophidians might simply result from
vague knowledge of the fact that some
kinds are venomous; that, in some rar.
cases, death follows swiftly on their
bite, and that, not being sufficiently in
telligent to distinguish the noxious FROM
the innocuous-at all events while TN
der the domination of sudden, violent
emotion-we destroy them all alike
thus adopting Herod's rough and ready
method of Kidding his city Of one incon
venient babe by general slaughter Of
innocents.
It might be objected that in Europe
where luminosity to the serpent is great
est, death from snake bite is hardly to bt
feared; tLat Fontana's 5000 experiments
with the viper, showing how small is the
amount of venom possessed by this spe
cies, how rarely it has the power to de
stroy human life, have been before the
world for a century. And although ii
must be admitted that Fontana's work
is not in the hand of every peasant, the
fact remains that death from snake bite
is a rare thing in Europe, probably not
more than one losing his life from this
cause for every $50 who perish by hydro.
phobia, of all forms of death the most
terrible. Yet while the sight of snake
excites in a majority of persons the most
violent emotions, dogs are universal fa-
vorites, and we have them always with
us and make pets of them in spite of the
knowledge that they may at any time
become rabid and infict that unspeaka-
bly, dreadful suffering and destruction
on us.
This leads to the following question.
Is it not at least probable that our ex-
cessive fear of the serpent, so unworthy
of us as rational beings, and the cause of
so much unnecessary cruelty, is partly
at all events, result of our superstitious
fear Of sudden death? For there exists,
we know, an exceedingly widespread de-
fusion that the bite of venomous SER
pent must kill and kill quickly. Com
pared with such ophidian monarchs as
the bushmaster, fer de lance, hamadry-
ad and tic polonga, the viper Of Europe
the poor viper of many experiments
and much mot too readable) literature
may be regarded as almost harmless at
all events not more harmful than the
hornet. Nevertheless, in this cold, north
ern world, even as in the other worlds
where nature Celebrates more potent
juices, the delusion prevails and may be
taken into account here, although its
origin cannot now be discussed. For my
own part I am inclined to believe that
we regard serpents witha destructive
hatred purely and simply because we are
SO taught from childhood. Macmillan
Magazine.