The Hartford republican. (Hartford, Ky.) 18??-1926, 1916-03-24
WHY PEOPLE FEAR SNAKES.
Dread of Reptiles Due to Early Ex-
perience of the Race.

Is the fact that most of us are in
stinctively afraid of snakes--even Of
the harmless kinds-an evidence that
the human race originated on the
continent of Asia, where serpents of
all sorts have always been abundant
and generally venomous? asks sci
ence.
This adherence Of serpents is real
ly deep-seated animal instinct,
which has survived long after the
conditions that gave 1t origin.
Rational persons who are inform
ed on the subject know that the
great majority of the snakes to be
encountered in this country are en-
tirely harmless, being without We
nom or fangs; and, indeed, the writ
er has determined, to his own salts
faction at least, that in this particu-
lar region the only one of the snake
family that is a menace to human
life, is the now rarely encountered
Crotalus horridus, using the term in
gereric sense.
And yet, any intelligent person
when unexpectedly brought into close
proximity to any kind Of a snake,
large or small. venomous or nom
venomous, or even a semblance Of
a snake, is suddenly seized by pan
ic of horror and fear, with an i'm
pulse to spring away out OF the SER
penis reach as quickly as possible
in a sort of blind terror.
The probable origin of this in
stinctive horror of serpents that still
dominates the mind of civilized man
was during the countless generations
when early man was slowly climbing
up from his animal ancestry to his
present eminence as Homo sapiens.
Being without fire and without cloth
ing or shelter, he was peculiarly de-
fenseless in an environment beset
by deadly serpents, against this,
probably the greatest danger and
greatest menace to racial surval that
he had to encounter. Hence his in
stinctive horror of the serpent
form.
The idea that India was the "cra-
die" of the white race at least, with
its serpent environment threatening
racial existence for very long pc
Rod of its primitive development,
appears to receive some degree Of
confirmation from the fact that
among the inhabitants of India at
the present time the annual mortali-
ty from attacks of serpents exceeds
10000, Notwithstanding the efforts
of the British authorities to suppress
the evil.
The serpent-instinct in man has a
close analogy in a similar instinct
that characterizes the domestic horse
of the present time, to which allu-
sion has been made by writer's on the
subject. 1t is a familiar fact to ev-
cry one who has to do with horses,
the proneness of the horse to ex-
hibit an insane and uncomfortable
fear of any unfamiliar wayside OBJ
ject. Indeed, the phenomenon is
such a commonplace that probably
very few persons have given a
thought in explanation Of what APP
pears to be wholly unaccountable
mystery.
The suggestion that has been offer
ed with compelling force to account
for this curious horse-instinct is on
parallel lines with that offered above
to account for mans serpent-instinct.
both of which in the nature OF ami
NAL instincts are intense and deep
seated, and have long survived the
conditions that gave rise to them.
In the case of the horse, for a
very long period Of his racial devel-
opment he was subjected to one dan
ger exceeding all Others in magni-
tude by which survival was con-
stantly threatened. This danger
was embodied in the predacious
! beasts that infested the horses ear
ly environment. mainly of the feline
family that lay in wait concealed by
bushes or other cover for the oppor-
tunity to spring upon him and de-
your him. The horse had no means
OF defense against this danger ex-
cept alertness in eluding the spring
of his enemy and feetness Of foot to
escape pursuits, The individual