REACTION OF THE LOWER ORDER OF ANIMALS 
TO HUMAN EMOTIONS 
In the beginning of this discussion we would like to call 
attention of the reader to the fact that Uncle Dave has been 
dealing with the deadly rattler for lo! these many years, hav¬ 
ing suffered no harm from them to this good hour. As recorded 
elsewhere, they have had opportunities on many occasions to 
bite him but on no occasion (since they became well acquainted) 
showed the least desire to do so. Some might insist upon it 
being plain good luck, whatever they mean by the term, but 
we are as confident that nothing of the sort is involved. He 
goes about hunting and capturing these reptiles fearlessly, per¬ 
fectly composed, with unruffled feelings, and with undisturbed 
emotions. In other words, his temperament is perfectly ad¬ 
justed to that sort of work. Maladjustments in dangerous 
work may be overcome but much danger is incurred by such 
person before such goal is attained. Wild animal trainers say 
that if a person is afraid of the animals they should never 
enter the cage with them; that if they do so the animals imme¬ 
diately sense the situation. Whether they get this feeling to¬ 
ward man because of some extra sense not possessed by mem¬ 
bers of the human family, or whether they are enraged be¬ 
cause of the objectionable odor given off by the secretions 
coming from certain glands, which are stimulated into action 
when a person becomes angry or frightened, we may not know 
with certainty; but we do know that there is a vast difference 
in the reaction of animals toward different people, and that 
those who are unafraid and who are not easily angered handle 
animals with much greater success than the type first men¬ 
tioned. Without hesitation we place Uncle Dave among those 
first mentioned. 
Naturalists such as Henri Fabre, Raymond L. Ditmars, and 
John Burroughs have opened a fascinating field of research in 
their studies of the nature and habits of insects, birds and 
animals, and their reactions to the influence of mankind. The 
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