The Human Side of Animals | Page 2

defend themselves 135
Brontosaurus. The animals that seemed best equipped to defend
themselves are the ones that, thousands of years ago, became extinct
144
This prehistoric monster was equipped not only with a pair of strong
horns but with a shield back of them as well 145
The beaver is the greatest of all animal architects. His skill is equalled
only by his patience (in Colours) 158
The skunk mother tries to keep on hand a good supply of such
delicacies as frogs and toads, so that her young may never go hungry
172

The porcupine and the hedgehog have a unique method of collecting
food for their young. After shaking down berries or grapes, they roll in
them, then hurry home with the food attached to their quills 173
The black bear is not one of the great migrating animals. The thickness
of his coat must therefore change with the seasons 188
Rabbits seem to have a well-devised system in their road-building,
running their paths in and out of underbrush in a truly ingenious
manner 189
The mongoose, a scavenger of the worst type, feeding on rats and mice
and snakes, and even poultry 202
Diplodocus. The prehistoric animals, also, undoubtedly had their
scavengers and criminals 203
The Esquimo-dog is man's greatest friend in the Far North 218
Chipmunks are among the most easily tamed of man's wild friends, and
they even seem fond of human companionship 219
Men cruelly take the lives of these denizens of the wildwood, rejoicing
in their slaughter, but the animal soul they cannot kill 244
Two pals. There is between man and dog a kinship of spirit that cannot
be denied 245

FOREWORD
"And in the lion or the frog-- In all the life of moor or fen-- In ass and
peacock, stork and dog, He read similitudes of men."
More and more science is being taught in a new way. More and more
men are beginning to discard the lumber of the brain's workshop to get
at real facts, real conclusions. Laboratories, experiments, tables,
classifications are all very vital and all very necessary but sometimes

their net result is only to befog and confuse. Occasionally it becomes
important for us to cast aside all dogmatic restraints and approach the
wonders of life from a new angle and with the untrammelled spirit of a
little child.
In this book I have attempted to bring together many old and new
observations which tend to show the human-like qualities of animals.
The treatment is neither formal nor scholastic, in fact I do not always
remain within the logical confines of the title. My sole purpose is to
make the reader self-active, observative, free from hide-bound
prejudice, and reborn as a participant in the wonderful experiences of
life which fill the universe. I hope to lead him into a new wonderland
of truth, beauty and love, a land where his heart as well as his eyes will
be opened.
In attempting to understand the animals I have used a method a great
deal like that of the village boy, who when questioned as to how he
located the stray horse for which a reward of twenty dollars had been
offered, replied, "I just thought what I would do if I were a horse and
where I would go--and there I went and found him." In some such way
I have tried to think why animals do certain things, I have studied them
in many places and under all conditions, and those acts of theirs which,
if performed by children, would come under the head of wisdom and
intelligence, I have classified as such.
Life is one throughout. The love that fills a mother's heart when she
sees her first-born babe, is also felt by the mother bear, only in a
different way, when she sees her baby cubs playing before her humble
cave dwelling. The sorrow that is felt by the human heart when a
beloved one dies is experienced in only a little less degree by an
African ape when his mate is shot dead by a Christian missionary. The
grandmother sheep that watches her numerous little lamb grandchildren
on the hillside, while their mothers are away grazing, is just as mindful
of their care as any human grandparent could be. One drop of water is
like the ocean; and love is love.
The trouble with science is that too often it leaves out love. If you agree
that we cannot treat men like machines, why should we put animals in

that class? Why should we fall into the colossal ignorance and conceit
of cataloging every human-like action of animals under the word
"instinct"? Man delights in thinking of himself as only a little lower
than the angels. Then why should he not consider the animals as