VI 
Northern Trails. Book I 
seems hardly worth while to argue about either wolves or men 
with such a naturalist, or to point out that Descartes’ idea of 
animals, as purely mechanical or automatic creatures, has long 
since been laid aside and was never considered seriously by any 
man who had lived close to either wild or domestic animals. 
The second critic’s knowledge of wolves consists almost entirely 
of what he has happened to see when chasing the creatures with 
dogs and hunters. Judging by his own nature books, with their 
barbaric records of slaughter, his experience of wild animals was 
gained while killing them. Such a man will undoubtedly discover 
some things about animals, how they fight and hide and escape 
their human enemies ; but it hardly needs any argument to show 
that the man who goes into, the woods with dogs and rifles and 
the desire to kill can never understand any living animal. 
If you examine now any of the little books which he con¬ 
demns, you will find a totally different story: no record of chas¬ 
ing and killing, but only of patient watching, of creeping near 
to wild animals and winning their confidence whenever it is pos¬ 
sible, of following them day and night with no motive but the 
pure love of the thing and no object but to see exactly what 
each animal is doing and to understand, so far as a man can, the 
mystery of its dumb life. 
Naturally a man in this attitude will see many traits of animal 
life which are hidden from the game-killer as well as from the 
scientific collector of skins. For instance, practically all wild 
animals are shy and timid and run away at man’s approach. 
This is the general experience not only of hunters but of casual 
observers in the woods'. Yet my own experience has many times 
shown me exactly the opposite trait : that when these same shy 
animals find me unexpectedly close at hand, more than half the 
time they show no fear whatever but only an eager curiosity to 
