300 THE MINDS AND MANNERS 



large alligators in our Reptile House to battle for supremacy 

 and in these contests several fatalities have occurred. Some 

 of these occurrences are not of the criminal sort; but when a 

 twelve-foot alligator attacks and kills a six-foot individual, 

 entirely out of his class and far too small to fight with him, 

 it is murder. An alligator will seize the leg of a rival and by 

 violently whirling around on his axis, like a revolving shaft, 

 twist the leg completely off. 



Among sea creatures, the clearly denned criminal instinct, 

 as exhibited aside from the never-ending struggle for existence 

 and the quest of food, is rarely observed, possibly because 

 opportunities are so few. The sanguinary exploits of the 

 grampus, or whale-killer, among whales small enough to be 

 killed and eaten, are the onslaughts of a marine glutton in 

 quest of food. 



Among the fishes there is one murderer whose evil rep- 

 utation is well deserved. The common swordfish of the 

 Atlantic, forty miles or so off Block Island or Montauk Point, 

 is not only one of the most fearless of all fishes, but it also is 

 the most dangerous. His fierce attacks upon the boats of 

 men who have harpooned him and seek to kill him are well 

 known, and his unparalleled courage fairly challenges our 

 wonder and admiration. But, unfortunately, the record of 

 the swordfish is stained with crime. When the spirit of 

 murder prompts him to commit a crime in sheer wantonness, 

 he will attack a whale, stab the unfortunate monster again 

 and again, and pursue it until it is dead. This is prompted 

 solely by brutality and murder lust, for the swordfish feeds 

 upon fish, and never attempts to eat any portion of a whale. 



It can easily be proved that wild animals in a normal 

 state of nature are by no means as much given to murder, 

 either of their own kind or other kinds, as are many races of 

 men. The infrequency of animal murders cannot be due 

 wholly to the many possibilities for the intended victim to 

 escape, nor to difficulty in killing. In every wild species 



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