The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1905-04-26
SAVAGES AND BRUTES.
Odd Attitude of the Primitive Man
Toward All Animals.


Toward All Animals.
For the primitive savage animals are
mysterious, problematic beings, pos
sessed ef wide knowledge of the
things of nature They know much
more than they are ready to tell us. In
some way or another by the aid Of
senses much more refined than ours
and 10y telling to each other all that
they notice in their rambles and flights
they know everything for miles around.
And If IL man has been Just toward
them they will warn him of Il coming
danger, as they warn each other, but
they will take no heed of him IL he
has not been straightforward In his
actions. Snakes and birds 1.-THE owl is
leader of the snakesl. mammals and
insects, lizards and fishes all under
stand each other and continually com
municate their observations To one an
other.
Inside this vast brotherhood there
are, of course, the still closer brother
hoods of beings of one blood" The
monkeys, the bears, the wolves. the
elephants and the rhinoceroses, most
ruminants. the hares and most of the
rodents. the crocodiles. and so on, per
fectly know their own kin. and they
will not tolerate any one of their rela-
tiVes To be slaughtered by man without
taking In one way or another honest
revenge This conception must have
had an extremely remote origin.
Even now when II savage is hunting
he Is bound to respect certain rules of
propriety toward the animals, and he
must perform certain eXpatory cere-
monies. after his hunt. Most of these
ceremonies are vigorously enacted even
nowadays in the savage clans. especial
~ as regards those species considered
the allies of man.
1t Is we'll known that two men be-
longing to two different clans or tribes
can become brothers by mixing the
blood of the two obtained from small
inclslons made for that purpose, but
1t was also quite habitual for man to
enter into brotherhood with some ami
NAL The tales continually mention It.
An animal asks hunter to spare 1t.
and If the hunter aceedes to the de-
mand the two become brothers. And
then the monkey, the bear. the doe, the
bird, the crocodile or the bee-any one
OF the socabe animals -wll take all
possible care of the man brother in the
critical circumstances of his life, send
ing his or her animal brothers OF diff
ferent tribes to warn him or help him
out of difficulty. And If the warn
Ing comes too late or Is misunderstood
and he loses his life they all will try
TO bring him back to life, and II they
fail they will take due revenge, just as
IL the man had been one of their own
kin
When | Iourneyed In Siberia | was
with the care which my fungus or
Mongol would take not to uselessly
| kill any animal The fact Is that every
| life Is respected by Il savage, or. rather
| 1t was before he came In contact with
| Europeans. If he kills an animal, 1t IL
for food or for clothing. but he does
not destroy life, as the whites do, for
| the mere excitement of the slaughter.
True, the red Indians have done That
with the buffaloes, but II was only aft
or they had been for long time In
contact with the whites and had got
from them the rifle and the quick firing
revolver. or course there are rascals
among the animals--the hyena. for In
| stance, or the shrewmouse or the man
eating tiger. but these do not count;
they are outlaws. As to the great ami
nal world ns II whole, savage children
are taught to respect 1t and see In 1t
an extension Of their own prince
| Kropotkin In Nineteenth Century.