PART V. 



Savage Survivals in Higher 

 Peoples 



(Continued.) 



1. The Play Instinct. 



The play instinct itself is not vestigial in higher 

 peoples. Th^ instinct has its uses today the same 

 as it had in the ages of savagery. But the gen- 

 eral form of play among higher animals is ves- 

 tigial. 



Play is nature 's schooling. It is preparation for 

 life. The young of nearly all the higher animals 

 play. And when they play they practice on the 

 things they will do in actual life when they are 

 older. Young dogs and wolves scuffle and chase 

 each other when they play, because in after life 

 they will be attacking and pursuing other animals 

 a great deal in their business. A kitten likes to 

 play with a spool or a ball. A spool is a * ' mouse. ' ' 

 Young goats and sheep run and leap in their play. 

 Their schooling (at least in the wild life) is to pre- 

 pare them for getting away from the flesh-eating 

 animals which later will chase them. Fishes play 

 by darting and dipping, and monkeys by swinging 

 and rollicking in the trees. 



When we play we go to school — to the oldest 

 school in this world — to a school which existed 

 long before there were any school-houses or 



