144 SAVAGE SURVIVALS 



lawful for men to settle their differences by fight- 

 ing. And only those who are behind the times use 

 the fighting method. All higher men prefer rea- 

 son and arbitration in courts of justice. In the 

 course of time, the same thing will be true of na- 

 tions. International differences will be settled, 

 not by battleships and armed men, but by courts 

 of justice and arbitration established by the 

 nations. 



9. The Hunting Instinct. 



The lowest savage has no domesticated plants 

 nor animals. He is a hunter. Like the wild dog 

 and wild cat, he has in his nature an instinct urg- 

 ing him when he is hungry to go out and seek prey. 

 But the savage never hunts for pastime. He hunts 

 for a living. He takes the lives of the beings 

 around him in order to use their bodies for food 

 and clothing. 



The higher races of men get their necessities of 

 life by agriculture, mining, manufacturing, and 

 the like. The hunting instinct is not exercised in 

 the ordinary duties of life. But it exists. And 

 on holidays and vacations, w^hen we are relieved 

 from work and can do as we please, we arm our- 

 selves and go out and kill and kill, until we are 

 satisfied. We kill, not because we are hungry, but 

 in order to exercise or express an instinct which 

 survives in us from our wolfish ancestors. We 

 hunt because our ancestors were hunters. We kill 

 other animals for the same reason that the dog 



