March 17, 1916] 



SCIENCE 



389 



and we have no evidence that they were ever 

 more abundant or widely distributed. I^To one 

 believes that the Indians originated in the re- 

 gion now inhabited by the poisonous lizards. 



One who has seen young children playing 

 with snakes, even with rattlesnakes, may well 

 be skeptical about an instinctive horror of 

 serpents. Mothers in some regions have found 

 it advisable to deliberately teach their chil- 

 dren to fear snakes, in order to prevent them 

 from handling the dangerous species. In 

 other cases the fear probably comes from asso- 

 ciation with those who had acquired the ser- 

 pent horror. On the other hand there are 

 many boys and men, and some women, who 

 seem to be quite devoid of any such horror. 

 The argument that one unexpectedly brought 

 into close proximity to any kind of a snake 

 " is suddenly seized with a panic of horror and 

 fear," has very little weight, because it is not 

 universally so and the same is usually the case 

 when one is brought suddenly into close prox- 

 imity with almost any kind of an animal. 

 Does woman's proverbial fear of a mouse indi- 

 cate an instinct engendered by ancestral resi- 

 dence in a region where such small animals 

 were dangerous? Many beginners in biology 

 exhibit as much horror of a worm or a cater- 

 pillar, in proportion to its size, as of a serpent. 



The " instinctive horror of serpents " does 

 not appear to be established by satisfactory 

 evidence. Junius Henderson 



To THE Editor of Science: Mr. Dabney's 

 very interesting letter in Science for January 

 Y, 1916, leads me to inquire: if the fear of 

 snakes, by man, is an indication that there 

 were many snakes surrounding him in primi- 

 tive days, what does the fear of Indians by the 

 American mule indicate ? Was the mule devel- 

 oped in a region where he was surrounded by 

 wicked Indians who abused him? 



Fremont mentions this abnormal fear of 

 Indians on the part of our ordinary mules and 

 it has been noted by others, including myself. 

 Fremont says: 



A mule is a good sentinel, and when lie quits 

 eating and stands with his ears stuck straight out 

 taking notice it is best to see what is the matter. 



For my part I noticed that our mules were 

 as good as or better than most watch-dogs in 

 giving warning of the near presence of 

 Indians. Often before Indians were either 

 seen or heard by any of our party the mules 

 would snort with terror, halt, shy about, and 

 " point " in the direction of the Indian with 

 ears sharply bent forward and a general activ- 

 ity that might land a poor rider on his head. 

 Wow, why was the mule so much more afraid 

 of Indians than horses were ? I do not remem- 

 ber any of our horses being in the least fright- 

 ened. Perhaps it was the smell of the Indian 

 the mule detected, for their scent is very keen, 

 but if it was the scent, why did the scent dis- 

 turb them? 



When we had Indians travelling with us, as 

 was frequently the case, the mules became ac- 

 customed to their presence and were apparently 

 unmindful of them, yet when an Indian was 

 assigned to ride a mule there was a circus at 

 once and it took half the camp to get him on. 

 Once on, however, the mule being always a 

 mighty wise being, ceased his antics and was 

 calm as a kitten till the Indian got off and 

 tried to remount, when we had the circus all 

 over again. Wo human being can fathom the 

 wisdom of the mule, of that I am positive, but 

 possibly some reader of Science may be able to 

 explain the mule's fear of Indians by some 

 other hypothesis than that the Indian was 

 cruel to him in the mule's original, primitive, 

 habitat. Finally, if the fear of snakes desig- 

 nates the location of our primitive home where 

 was the primitive home of the mule reasoning 

 from his fear of Indians ? 



F. S. Dellenbaugh 



New York 



SCIENTIFIC BOOKS 



Robert of Chester's Latin Translation of the 

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 sion. By Louis Charles Ivarpinski, Uni- 

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 Series, Vol. XI. Wew York, The Macmillan 

 Company, 1915. Pp. viii + 164. Price $2. 

 In mathematics, as in art, letters, religion. 



