Book: The Human Side of Animals

R >> Royal Dixon >> The Human Side of Animals




Rogue elephants are common in India. Even their trumpeting shows a
ferocity and unbalance that terrifies the natives. Often these criminal
elephants are sufferers of mental ailments. A respectable, law-abiding
elephant herd will not allow a thug or rogue to live in their midst.
They recognise him as dangerous for their society, and combine to force
him entirely away from their homes.

Certain criminal animals have a strange antipathy for members of their
own tribe, or for other kinds of animals. Such is common among monkeys,
cats, horses, and dogs, and many terrible crimes are committed because
of these antipathies. Every one has witnessed the terror of a dog that
has been insulted, and elephants will carry an old grudge for fifty
years and finally seek the most terrible revenge.

Often violent outbursts of temper on the part of a tame animal are
caused by a change in the temperature or atmosphere. Even animals have
days when they feel ugly and grouchy. Those that live in very hot
climates are especially subject to fits of rage and anger. The approach
of an electrical storm causes many of them to lose their self-control:
herds of cattle often stampede just preceding a cyclone. They, like
human savages, seem terrorised at the unknown. Not a few wild animals
have actually run in the way of an automobile or passing train to
attempt to stop it. Fear and rage are often caused by the appearance of
a curious object. A bull, for example, when he sees a red rag, will
madly rush at it, seemingly altogether oblivious of the man holding it.
The matadors are safe only because the bull is insane from rage.

Many scientists of fame, like Lombroso, have demonstrated that strong
drink is the cause of much crime among animals, the same as it is among
men. In the pastures of Abyssinia the sheep and goats get on regular
"drunks" by eating the beans of the coffee plants. They fight and
carouse at such times like regular topers. Elephants are incorrigible
when drunk, while dogs and horses have to be put in strait-jackets to
prevent them from killing themselves.

Wicked animals always seek their own kind, and often band together for
evil purposes. Figuier tells of three beavers that built for themselves
a nice little home near a stream, and they had as a neighbour a
respectable hermit beaver. The three called on their neighbour one day,
and he received them cordially, and hastened to return their visit, when
they pounced upon him and slew him, like human murderers, who had
trapped their victim.

From all these we learn that Nature is filled with life-saving and
life-furthering adaptations. Just as in the human drama we find deceit,
disguise, mask, trickery, bunco and bluff, all forms of cheating and
clever deceptions, so it is precisely the same in the animal world,
though man is little informed on Nature's real ways.




XIV

AS THE ALLIES OF MAN

_"Who, after this, will dare gainsay
That beasts have sense as well as they?
For me--could I the ruler be--
They should have just as much as we,
In youth, at least. In early years,
Who thinks, reflects, or even fears?
Or if we do--unmeaning elves--
'Tis scarcely known e'en to ourselves.
Thus by example clear and plain,
We for these poor creatures claim
Sure sense to think, reflect, and plan,
And in this action rival man:
Their guide--not instinct blind alone,
But reason, somewhat like our own!"_


The wonderful world in which we live is full of animal life. In the
great forests, under the ground, on the steep mountainsides, in the
depths of the oceans, rivers, streams, from the frigid north to the
torrid south, in the parched deserts, are animals of every size, colour,
and form, all of which are, in their general form, adapted to their
peculiar places in nature. Their lives and habits undeniably demonstrate
proofs of divine wisdom, intelligence, and beneficence. In fact they
show an aptitude in many arts and sciences second only to that shown in
man.

The reason that animals are often held in such low esteem by the world
of science, is because people are apt to look upon them as natural
mechanisms and overlook what they are doing and feeling. The propounders
of false statements which attribute every act of an intelligent
animal--second only to man and his faithful ally--as due to instinct
only, deal with metaphysical reasoning. They have never considered the
innumerable and irrefutable facts of animal life which no acuteness of
analysis and pure thinking can ever explain. Most of these narrow,
bookish men deny to animals capabilities which every country schoolboy
knows they possess. It is no exaggeration to say that animals exist
which sing, dance, play, speak a language, build homes, go to school and
learn, wage warfare, protect their homes and property, marry, make laws,
build moral codes, in fact, do everything that is generally attributed
to man.

In comparing man and animals scientists are prone to ascribe to man as a
whole the faculties which only the best trained and most talented
possess. They fail to consider our cannibal brethren, such as are found
among the Dyaks on the Island of Borneo, whose chief articles of
adornment in the house are heads of murdered men, and whose savage and
fiendish ways would put to shame a civilised animal. They forget how
long man lived on this earth before he even learned to make fire by
chipping flints.

Since the beginning of time animals have been the friends and allies of
man. From the very earliest ages they have in innumerable ways been
associated with historical events, and with the laws, customs,
superstitions, and religions of all nations of the universe. Love,
devotion, gratitude, the sense of duty, as well as all the lower
passions of hatred, revenge, distrust and cunning are their heritage.
Only an egotist who has known them in books only, and knows nothing of
their mentality and brain power, would dare say that they are governed
solely by instinct. Cases of animal suicide, following some deep
disgrace among them, are not uncommon.

From the Bible we learn that God frequently employed animals as agents
to dispense His providence. Bullocks, sheep, goats were used by the Jews
in their religious services, while a disobedient prophet was killed by a
lion. Balaam was rebuked for his cruelty by an ass; and David even
called upon the animals to aid in praising Jehovah! That we may learn
real gratitude for common mercies Isaiah says: "The ox knoweth his
owner, and the ass his master's crib," etc. When the city of Nineveh was
threatened, God had pity on it, because there were many cattle there.
The Saviour compared his own earthly condition with that of certain
animals: "The foxes have holes," etc. He called himself the 'Good
Shepherd,' and his followers were sheep who knew his voice. John the
Baptist referred to Him as the 'Lamb of God'; while John, the beloved
disciple, when on the Isle of Patmos, saw the "throne of God in heaven,
and before it a lion, a calf, a man, and a flying eagle."

The first beginnings of co-operation between men and animals must have
begun by the approach of certain less timid animals, which felt that
better conditions for them and more food could be obtained near human
habitations, and perhaps, more protection from dangerous animals. Or it
may have begun through the stupidity of certain animals who failed to
realize the danger of man's proximity.

It seems that the secret ambition of all animals is to become the allies
of man. This is demonstrated by the fact that most of them have gone
near the villages and towns, and, consequently, there are comparatively
few remaining in the heart of the big forests. Under the true state of
conditions man should live in harmony with these animal brothers, with
mutual trust and respect existing between them. That would mean, of
course, that man would have to show a little more kindness to them. For
while he is their true sovereign, he abuses the privileges of his
sovereignty in untold ways, and up to the present time only a few
animals, like the dog and horse, have been fully recognized as his
allies.

All the others, with few exceptions, have shown a desire to become more
closely united with man, and yet during the thousands of years of man's
rulership over the beasts, he has been able to make allies of only about
sixty. This regrettable fact speaks for itself--showing that man has
long abused his trust.

Warfare, as it is waged to-day, demonstrates that notwithstanding man's
vast number of scientific aids, animals are still invaluable. The
innumerable mechanical and electrical devices unknown ten years ago,
such as enormous rapid-firing guns, walking "Willies," wireless
machines, traction engines, smokeless and noiseless powder,
silent-sleepers and tear-bombs, all of these have greatly increased
man's power of offence and defence, yet with all these ultra-modern
improvements, animals are absolutely essential in waging a successful
war.

In military circles there is an ever-increasing demand for well-trained
army horses, sound in mind and body and educated in modern campaigning.
Above all, an army horse must be dependable, must love his
soldier-master and must know absolute obedience to orders. Every army
horse has to pass an examination and prove his worth before he is
enlisted into the service.

The largest of the mountain guns used in Italy against the Austrians
were drawn up the steep mountains by mules. Another 75-millimetre gun
for mountain warfare is taken to pieces, into four parts, and each piece
is separately packed on a mule.

The United States cavalry has the best trained war horses in the world;
many of them actually understand the complicated commands of their
masters. These horse soldiers have the insignia, U. S., branded on the
hoof of the left forefoot, and the other animals in camp, on the
shoulder.

When a horse arrives at a regiment he is assigned to a troop according
to colour, size, weight and mental efficiency, and later he is
permanently assigned to a man. Under no conditions is he interchanged or
even ridden by another than his master, and it is astonishing the
tremendous affection that oft-times springs up between the two; in many
instances horses have been known to seek out their masters among
hundreds of soldiers.

On the European battlefields, near which there are few or no railroads,
animals have been the principal means of transportation, elephants,
camels, horses, mules and oxen being chiefly used for this purpose. The
Italian armies have used numerous teams of mountain-trained bullocks to
draw loads up the mountains, and, while they cannot ascend roads as
steep as those which the mules climb, they are very valuable for heavy
loads. These bullocks work faster than an army mule, for a mule will
never hurry. As the old darkey once said, "De mule warn't born fer to
hurry; not even a torpedo would make him move one step farster!"

Elephants have been used to a small degree in the armies of Europe.
While they are splendid workmen, they are dangerously subject to
stampede, and one stampeding elephant can do much harm in an army.

The British army has used quite a few trained elephants from India in
their ranks. They are especially employed to rout the enemy from small
forests. Breaking through bushes, crushing underbrush, and pulling up
small trees is their specialty. They make splendid bulwarks for
soldiers, and when an army is marching through a forest, are invaluable
in clearing the way. A British officer declared that one trained
elephant is more valuable than a half-dozen traction engines.

Far the most interesting and curious use to which an animal is subjected
is the use of camels chosen and trained because of their strange
colouring and height. Small groups of them have been stationed among
clumps of acacia trees with a spy mounted on the animal's neck. This is
the safest place a person could be, for the camel or, in like manner,
the giraffe, standing with only his head above the small trees, looks
precisely like a bit of the foliage in the distance.

Camels are especially good for desert warfare, because they can go
without water so long and can easily carry loads weighing from 400 to
500 pounds. In the last Afghan campaign the British lost over 50,000
camels and in the Great War they have had more than 60,000 in army
service in Egypt. Camels are especially used for transportation
purposes. The British capture of Jerusalem was greatly aided by these
desert allies. Large numbers of oxen have been used in the French army.
They do not balk at autos and know no fear of shells.

One of the greatest allies of the animal kingdom in warfare is the dog.
These allies are trained to aid relief parties on the battlefields, and
many of the ambulance men have their splendidly trained dogs for seeking
out wounded soldiers among the dead. They are also trained as guards and
watch-dogs and they become marvellously clever when used near the firing
lines. They carry water in the trenches and are trained in packs to
dismount enemy motorcyclists by pulling them from their machines. Dogs
also make splendid scouts, and excellent and reliable messengers when
not required to go too far.

These faithful friends of man, according to Buffon, are far more easily
taught than man, and more easily led "than any of the other animals, for
not only does the dog become educated in a short time, but even adapts
himself to the habits of those who control him." According to
circumstances, a dog may become a soldier, messenger, water-carrier, or
guard.

[Illustration: THE ESQUIMO-DOG IS MAN'S GREATEST FRIEND IN THE FAR
NORTH.]

[Illustration: American Museum of Natural History, New York

CHIPMUNKS ARE AMONG THE MOST EASILY TAMED OF MAN'S WILD FRIENDS, AND
THEY EVEN SEEM FOND OF HUMAN COMPANIONSHIP.]

Not the least among the uses of war dogs is the curious practice of
sending them into the enemies' lines of cavalry to convey fire in order
to terrorise the horses and throw them into confusion. This practice has
been quite common in the past. Each dog is dressed in a cuirass of
leather and on his back is carefully strapped a pot of boiling, blazing
tar. Nothing so terrorises horses as the sight of approaching fire.

A small but valuable ally to man is the ferret. This little creature has
come into prominence more particularly during recent years, when the rat
infested trenches have made his services invaluable. These Hun-like
rats, devouring and devastating in their thirst for human blood, would
have forced the abandonment of many a front line trench but for the aid
of these trained ferrets, thousands of which have been daily employed on
the battle fronts.

The immense services rendered by carrier pigeons in the battle of the
Marne, not only to the military authorities, but also to the public at
large, will cause the civilised world to pay more attention to the
importance of these birds in the future. They carried all kinds of
messages to and from Paris during this memorable battle; in fact, they
have been used in all the battles as invaluable messengers.

Small animals, such as mice, canary birds, guinea pigs and rabbits are
used in trench warfare, because they are more sensitive than man to
poisonous gases. It sometimes happens that hundreds of men must be
rescued from a trench by three or four men. Each rescuer carries with
him a canary bird in a small cage attached to his shoulder. And as long
as these birds show no signs of distress the men are safe from gas
poison. The birds soon become attached to their masters and seem to like
the adventure of the trenches.

As time goes on, it is to be hoped that we will understand our animal
brothers better, and that our old attitude toward the so-called "brutes"
will be entirely changed. Heretofore we have greatly abused the zebra,
for example, because of his wild disposition, ferocious humour, distrust
of all power except that in his own legs, and his pronounced aversion to
work.

Why should we reproach him for his wildwood philosophy? It is perfectly
natural that any animal of his experience with man, and with sufficient
brains, would have only contempt for all mankind. His native home is in
Africa, and his human associates, if they are human, have been the
Hottentots, the Namaquois or the Amazoulons--the most impossible and
hideous people on the earth. Since his babyhood days he has seen nothing
but cannibalism and carnage among the savages; and since his
transportation to Europe by a strange occurrence of horrible
circumstances, he has been the subject for all kinds of barbarous
punishments which man has seen well to heap upon him. The zebra is not
of the mental calibre to be suddenly seized with love for the human
species and its civilisations! And the human species is astounded and
thinks the zebra stupid and wicked. He may be both, but his wisdom is
undeniable when it comes to trusting humanity, and his wickedness is
small in comparison to man's terrible cruelties. He should be awarded a
medal for wisdom! For man is far the greater ass of the two!

He roams the wild prairies where the fields need no ploughing. There he
finds an abundance of grass and fresh water along the streams. No loud
cursing and swearing ever greets his ears, nothing but the sweet song of
the wild birds. And his children romp and play with him, free as the
winds that blow. Of course, he has enemies even there, and so he uses
camouflage by painting himself in attractive stripes, so no one can see
him at a distance. Even Solomon should have praised his wisdom!

In the beginning God created man, and not long after gave him as his
policeman, the dog. And the obedience, friendship and devotion of the
dog to his master has been unending. The dog discusses no questions of
right or wrong, his only duty is to obey. This he does without a murmur.
He is the greatest testimony to man's civilisation, the first and the
greatest element of human progress. Through his co-operation man was
elevated from the savage to the state of the civilised. He made the
herd possible. Without him there could have been no herd, no assured
subsistence of food and clothing, no time to study and improve the mind,
no astronomical observations, no science, no arts, no automobiles, no
airships, no wireless telegraphy--nothing. The East is the home of
civilisation, because the East is the home of the dog.

A young hound knows more about tracking game or scenting the enemy after
six months' practice than the most skilled savage after fifty years of
study. The dog has so aided mankind as to give him more time for study
and self-improvement. Thus began the arts and sciences. An interesting,
and we believe original observation, of the influence of the dog on
peoples is that wherever the dog is found, especially among the shepherd
peoples, such as the Chaldeans, Egyptians, Arabs, Tartars, and Mongols,
cannibalism is unknown. This is due to the fact that the dog enables
them to maintain the herds which supply them with milk, food, and
clothing, thus preserving them from the criminal temptation of hunger.

The Indians of North America never refrained from roasting their enemies
until they made allies of the horse and dog. Humboldt proves the lively
regret held by one of the last surviving chief lieutenants of the
war-like Tecumseh whom he asked about a certain American officer who
took part in the fight. "Uh!" replied the Indian, "I eat some of him."
"Do you still eat your enemies?" asked Humboldt. "No," replied the
Indian. "Big dog catch heap meat for me!"

Surely no animal could be more uncivilised or cannibalistic in its
desires than man! Spinoza believed, however, that benevolence in animals
consisted only in their kindliness and friendly feeling for each other
and that we should expect nothing more of them. A good cow, so he
thought, was one that was kind to her calf, however ferocious she might
be toward human children. But we do not accept this standard of
goodness, nor believe that animals' kindness extends only to their own
tribes. Their lowest standard of life is no worse than the cannibalism
existing among the lower tribes of uncivilised man, which is one of the
highest ideals of tribal life. The greatest hero among our savages is
the one that can put the most enemies to death.

Many animals seem to have a social instinct and a moral sentiment toward
man. They try to break the old bonds of distrust between their master
and themselves. This is especially true of the puma, second to the
largest of the big cats of the Americas, which seems to love the society
of man, and seeks not only to be near him, but to protect him from the
attacks of the much-dreaded jaguar. A civil engineer tells the story of
an experience he had while journeying up one of the big South American
rivers by boat. At their nightly encampments one of the passengers on
board was an old miner who insisted on sleeping in a hammock suspended
between two small trees. His weight was sufficient to bring the hammock
almost to the ground at its lowest curve. One morning, his friends
inquired how he had slept, and he complained that "the frogs and small
animals had made so much noise under the hammock that he could not
sleep." One of the Indian servants roared with laughter, as he said,
"Uh, 'tiger' sleep with old man last night. He watch him!"--tiger being
the Indian term for the puma. Careful searching revealed the footprints
of an immense puma, and that he had evidently lain directly under the
hammock. The noise which had kept the old man from sleeping was the
purring of the animal, pleased over the privilege of sleeping so near a
man. These Guiana Indians know the ways of the forests, and have a
special liking for wild animals. This entire absence of fear in the puma
is the same as exhibited by the tame house cat.

Many animals seem fond of human companionship, and are easily tamed. My
sister raised a small red deer in Texas, and he became so perfectly
tame that he would follow her wherever she went, and would even take
food from her hand. In Yellowstone Park the deer are so tame they will
come into the yards to get food, while the brown bears approach the
hotels like tramps, and many of the smaller animals are perfectly
fearless. At the Bronx Zoological Gardens, and the London Zoo, the
animals have lost all fear. They seem to realise that they have no power
to escape and depend entirely upon man for their daily food. But, of
course, their conditions are artificial, hence such conclusions as we
may draw as to their normal attitude toward man do not necessarily
indicate the innate character of their wild kinsmen. We occasionally
find, for instance, that in unsettled regions like parts of Mexico and
South America, where animals are plentiful and man's influence largely
absent, they are found to be particularly ferocious, yet even then lions
and leopards rarely attack men unless disturbed in some unusual way.

Quite a few naturalists and scientists believe that the animals' love
for man was acquired and not natural. But if this be true, how did the
very early tribes of men escape destruction at the hands of the wild
beasts which were far more numerous than at present? The animal kingdom
was evidently impressed by the power of man at a very early stage of
its development, but in just what manner or what period of time this
came to pass is not known.

If we regard the conflict as merely between two great groups of animals,
surely the animals should have won, and man would have disappeared from
the face of the earth. The fact that he did not, and that he became
master of the animals, is presumptive evidence that man exceeded the
animals in intelligence.

Primitive man could have lived in no other way than by "his wits." For
he was not nearly so well equipped for defence as are the monkeys of
to-day. Their greatest power is in the ability to use their arms and
hands in swinging rapidly from branch to branch. This gives them an
advantage over all tree-climbing cats. They are very proficient in
throwing stones and other missiles. This is dumbfounding to other
animals. Of course, their intelligent and quick-witted methods of
defence, menace, guard-duty, and loyalty to tribe makes them great
warriors, and enables them to survive even the onslaughts of their
greatest enemy and nightmare of every non-carnivorous animal--the harpy
eagle!

Through the necessary adjustments growing out of the close relationships
of men to animals, the mental faculties of both have been greatly
stimulated and advanced. The least developed races seem to be in such
places as Tierra del Fuego, where there are no savage animals, and,
therefore, no inducement for man to arm and defend himself. The Pygmies
of Central Africa are mighty hunters, otherwise they could not survive.
Even the Esquimaux are masters of the great polar bears and other
northern animals.

In the wilds of Africa, where animals have had a terrible struggle for
existence, not only against disagreeable climatic conditions, but all
kinds of fellow-foes as well, we find the nkengos have attained a
civilisation that almost equals that of our savage brothers. And these
pale-faced little beings, with their wrinkled, care-worn, parchment-like
skins, remind one of ill-treated, white, human-dwarfs. Their name,
nkengo, means wild animal-men, and when tamed they actually make
excellent family servants for men.

Copyright (c) 2007. knowncrafts.net. All rights reserved.