WHY CHILDREN RUN AWAY 
Nomadism a Racial Trait, Inherited in Connection with Sex—Evidenee from the 
Lower Animals and from Children—A Study of the 
Inheritance of Temperament 
Review of a book by CHARLES B. DAVENPORT 
Director, Department of Experimental Evolution (Carnegie Institution of Washington), 
Cold Spring Harbor, Long Island, N. Y. 
HEN a child runs away, the 
\ \ / mother usually ascribes its 
truancy to mere ‘“naughti- 
ness,’’ or bad companions, 
or maybe original sin. 
But the child’s motive, according to 
Dr. Charles B. Davenport,' is the same 
as that which makes its parents visit 
Europe, or its Uncle John start off on a 
fishing trip. The causes ascribed for 
these various actions are usually quite 
different from the real cause, which is 
the primitive racial instinct to wander— 
an instinct so deep-seated that it is 
found in lower animals as well as in man. 
We all have it, presumably; but some 
of us have it so hedged around by 
conventionalities, and the habits of 
civilized society, that we never really 
feel the call of the wild, or the blind 
impulse to start off somewhere—no 
matter where. Others are so impelled 
by this instinct that only lock and key 
can keep them in one place. 
“It is a familiar observation,’’ Dr. 
Davenport begins, ‘‘that persons differ 
greatly in their capacity for remaining 
quiet and satisfied for. a long period in 
one place. One occasionally meets a 
woman who, though living within 30 
miles of a metropolis, has, in the 80 
years of her life, been there only once. 
At the other extreme are the tramps 
and gypsies who travel constantly or 
with only slight intermissions, and 
many of whom have repeatedly visited 
all quarters of the globe.’ On the 
other hand, there are those who do not 
travel constantly but who, leading a 
settled life, occasionally are impelled to 
jump over the traces, to run away, 
sometimes in a trance or dazed condition. 
In short, the impulse to break camp 
and “‘hit the trail”’ is a very widespread 
one. Dr. Davenport describes all its 
forms by one name—nomadism, and 
drives the point home by quoting James 
Russell Lowell: ‘“‘The American is 
nomadic in religion, in ideas, in morals, 
and leaves his faith and opinions with 
as much indifference as the house in 
which he lives.” 
Most of us Americans will probably 
be disposed to plead guilty to nomadism, 
of the literal kind, at least. Our ances- 
tors must have had a certain amount of 
it, or we would not be here. Americans 
probably represent a selection of the 
more nomadic individuals of Europe, 
and it is no shock to learn that we are 
all at heart nomadic. A tendency to 
wander is indeed characteristic of pri- 
mitive man and most animals. It is 
one of the traits, Dr. Davenport says, 
which sharply sets us off from most 
plants—although the botanist might 
tell a different story. 
But look at our poor relations, the 
anthropoid apes—they seldom sleep 
twice in the same place. Or take the 
birds—the migratory habits of some 
species are notable. Others, on the 
contrary, are permanent residents of a 
place, seldom traveling more than a 
few miles, particularly if they are 
ground birds on a small island. 
This difference in the migratory 
habits of birds suggests to Dr. Daven- 
1 The Feebly Inhibited: Nomadism, or the wandering impulse, with special reference to 
heredity; Inheritance of temperament. 
by the Carnegie Institution, 1915. 
Pp. 158, price $1.50. Washington, D. C. Published 
169 
