Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1902-09-20
WOMEN AND MICE.

An enterprising young journalist OF
Washington-one Of the restless, investi-
gative kind, who want to know the why's
and wherefores of everything-recently
devoted his energies to seeking al ex-
PLANTATION of the reason why the relations
between women and mice are so strained.
A number of scientific men, whose
knowledge is baked by nothing, unless,
indeed. it be the idiosyncrasies Of the
weaker gender" undertook to answer
the question, though there is much con-
1ict of opinion to be found in their views.
Professor Niece. in the Bureau of Eth
noIogy. hints that woman's fear of mice
is all inheritance from the monkey-wo-
man Of an ancient epoch. The monkey
woman, be it said, always sought an ex-
these little rodents, and her fears in
time became instructive with her.
This instinct has descended unto the
present petticoated generation. But so
long as We are even intima ting that the
ladies are related to the Sjmian species.
let us avoid any imputation of ungallant-
~ by quoting the other fellow, and al
lowing him to get the blame Says he:
1.-The instinct goes back to our protohu-
man ancestors, and We may take 1t for
granted that wGman's remote monkey
like progenitrix was afraid Of mice I'm
questionahiy the earliest human beings,
properly so called. lived in trees ard
fed upon fruits. They did not seek to
kill animals, but tried to get away from
them. The mouse, which ate their stored
provisions, was the one particular ami
NAL from which they could not escape"
DR.. D. Z. Salmon. Chief of the United
States Bureau CT Animal Industry, pru-
IDENTIFY steers clear Of any reference to
monkey women, when he discusses the
subject. He explains matters as follows:
Primitive human beings lived in caves.
Caves are usually infested by swarms of
mice. 1t is easy to realize that the wo-
men of the caverns must have suffered
great annoyance from these little animals
which scampered over them in the night,
while they were sleeping with nothing
but leaves or the skins of beasts to cover
them. Thus, at length, they became very
nervous on the subject, and this nervous
ness came to be hereditary in their SEX"
Professor Otis T. Mason, of the Smith
sonian Institution, and DR.. Leon
ard Stejnegar, of the National
Museum, says that the trouble
is all matter Of clothes-that if the la
dies wore pantaloons 90! perish the
thought) they would be as bold in the
presence of a mouse as they are in the
presence of their husbands.
Several other scientists concur in this
view about clothes. though one learned
scholar knocks the theory in the head by
declaring that many men also are afraid
of mice, and that he knows a poor,
wretched male creature who will jump
in a chair when he sees one
A famous expert in fishes epigram-
matically says: "a woman does not like
to feel that she is a suitable hiding place
for a mouse to run to-
There are scientists who say that women
are afraid of all small animals, so we
have variety Of suggestions which leave
the mystery as profound as it was be-
fore Certain it is. however. that even
a most casual or unwilling observer cam
not fail to note what are the most popu-
lar tints for ladies' hose when a mouse
unexpectedly appears among group Of
women.