WHAT IS INTELLIGENCE? 177 



men and women of prominence, people of real intellectual 

 power, had contributed to swell his profits, and some of 

 these people had even sent him letters testifying- to the 

 'good luck' which his 'lucky stones' had brought them. 

 Personal observation and research have indeed satisfied 

 me that education is as yet far from being an absolute 

 antidote for superstition. 



"I once closely questioned a number of Harvard univer- 

 sity professors and instructors to ascertain their freedom 

 from, or indulgence in, superstitious customs. I found 

 that, with only two exceptions, every one of the highly 

 educated men whom I questioned confessed to having 

 some pet superstition. Several had the habit of 'knock- 

 ing on wood' to avert misfortune after a boastful remark. 

 Others could not pass a pin without picking it up. Others 

 believed it bad luck to go under a ladder. One eminent 

 historian, seemingly as matter-of-fact and hard-headed a 

 man as could be met anywhere, confided to me that he felt 

 quite uneasy unless he was standing in a certain position 

 when he caught his first glimpse of the new moon. Other 

 investigators notably Prof. Dressier, who conducted an 

 extensive census of superstitions in California have 

 found the same state of affairs. It would seem that, no 

 matter how well educated a man may be, he usually has 

 in him a 'superstitious streak.' " 



This indicates prevailing conditions, how the brain cells 

 of the human being are limited in their capacity to com- 

 prehend matters rightly. There is no question about it 

 in my mind, that the cause of the mental weakness in 

 man is the abnormal development of the brain. We find 

 very little, if any, insanity among animals. They pursue 

 their line of work with the keenest intelligence as far as 

 pertains to their business in life. 



I did considerable trapping and hunting in my younger 



