52 THE INDUSTRIES OF ANIMALS. 



or most daring sometimes succeeds in carrying away 

 the fly from its rightful captor. Where, however, a 

 large colony have been long in undisturbed possession 

 of a ceiling, when one has caught a fly he rapidly 

 throws a covering of web over it, cuts it away, and 

 drops it down to hang suspended by a line at a 

 distance of two or three feet from the ceiling. The 

 other spiders arrive on the scene, but not finding the 

 cause of the disturbance retire to their own webs 

 again. When the coast is thus clear, our spider 

 proceeds to draw up the captive fly, now exhausted 

 by its struggles.^ 



]Var and brigandage. — When Man attacks animals 

 of another species, either to kill them and feed on their 

 flesh, or to steal the provisions which they have 

 amassed for themselves or their young, this is called 

 " hunting," and is considered as perfectly legitimate. 

 When men turn to beings of their own species either 

 to kill them or to rob them, several different cases are 

 distinguished. If the assailants are few in number, it 

 is called "brigandage,"' and is altogether reprehensible ; 

 but if both assailant and assailed are considerable in 

 number, the action is called "war," and receives no 

 reprobation. 



There are hunters among animals as well as among 

 ourselves, and we have seen their various methods of 

 procedure ; but there are also brigands and warriors, 

 and our superiority even in this department is not so 

 absolute as might be imagined. 



Independently of ordinary brigandage, which is a 

 brutal and simple form of the struggle for life, mani- 

 fested every time the animals find themselves before 

 a single repast, there are interesting facts to be noted 



^ W. H, Hudson, Xaluralist j?t La Plata. 1S92, p. 1S9. 



