TO
MARCELLUS E. FOSTER
WHO BELIEVED


NOTE

The author wishes to acknowledge his indebtedness to his
fellow-naturalist and friend, Mr. Franklyn Everett Fitch, for carefully
reading the entire manuscript and making many scholarly and valuable
criticisms and corrections.


CONTENTS

CHAPTERPAGE
Foreword[xiii]
IAnimals That Practise Camouflage[1]
IIAnimal Musicians[18]
IIIAnimals at Play[32]
IVArmour-Bearing and Mail-Clad Animals[46]
VMiners and Excavators[61]
VIAnimal Mathematicians[88]
VIIThe Language of Animals[99]
VIIIIn Their Boudoirs, Hospitals and Churches[120]
IXSelf-Defence and Home-Government[130]
XArchitects, Engineers, and House-Builders[150]
XIFood Conservers[170]
XIITourists and Sight-Seers[181]
XIIIAnimal Scavengers and Criminals[199]
XIVAs the Allies of Man[210]
XVThe Future Life of Animals[234]

ILLUSTRATIONS

Recreation is as common among animals as it is among children (in Colours)[Frontispiece]
The Indians claim that the mother bison forced her calf to roll often in a puddle of red clay, so that it might be indistinguishable against its clay background[6]
The zebra is one of the cleverest of camouflagers. The black-and-white stripes of his body give the effect of sunlight passing through bushes[7]
Monkeys are the most musical of all animals. When they congregate for "concerts," as some of the tribes do, the air is filled with weird strains of monkey-music[20]
Cats, unlike dogs, are very fond of music. And it has been proved that their music-sense can be developed to a remarkable degree[21]
A happy family of polar bears. The young cubs wrestle and tumble, as playfully as two puppies. This play has much to do with their physical and mental development[34]
Dryptosaurus. The prehistoric animals, too, undoubtedly had their play time, with games and "setting up" exercises[35]
The mother opossum is never happier than when she has her little ones playing hide-and-seek over her back[38]
This young fox came from his home in the woods daily to play with a young fox-terrier. He is now resting after a romp[39]
Naosaurus and Dimetrodon, two extinct armour-bearers who should have been well able to protect themselves[50]
An armour-bearer of prehistoric times whose shield was an effective protection against enemy horns[51]
To the polar bear the ice and snow of the Far North means warmth and protection. The mother bear digs herself into a snowbank, where lives quite comfortably throughout the winter[84]
The sharp claws of the ground squirrel are efficacious tools in digging his cosy underground burrow[85]
The coyote can readily distinguish whether a herd of sheep is guarded by one or more dogs, and will plan his attack accordingly[94]
The zebu, the sacred bull of India, in spite of its domestication, has an agile body and a quick, alert mind[95]
Roosevelt's Colobus. These horse-tailed monkeys chatter together in a language exclusively their own, yet they seem to have no difficulty in making themselves understood by other monkey-tribes[112]
A tamed deer of Texas, whose constant companion and playmate was a rabbit dog. Between the two, there developed, necessarily, a common language[113]
Water-loving animals, like the beavers, seemingly take great pride in their toilets. Their fur is always sleek and clean[122]
Great forest pigs of Central Africa. Like the common domesticated hogs, they will seek a clay bath to heal their wounds[123]
The Rocky Mountain goat has many means of defence, not the least of which is his agility in climbing to inaccessible places[134]
Wild boars are among the most ferocious of animals. By means of their great strength alone they are well able to defend themselves[135]
Brontosaurus. The animals that seemed best equipped to defend themselves are the ones that, thousands of years ago, became extinct[144]
This prehistoric monster was equipped not only with a pair of strong horns but with a shield back of them as well[145]
The beaver is the greatest of all animal architects. His skill is equalled only by his patience (in Colours)[158]
The skunk mother tries to keep on hand a good supply of such delicacies as frogs and toads, so that her young may never go hungry[172]
The porcupine and the hedgehog have a unique method of collecting food for their young. After shaking down berries or grapes, they roll in them, then hurry home with the food attached to their quills[173]
The black bear is not one of the great migrating animals. The thickness of his coat must therefore change with the seasons[188]
Rabbits seem to have a well-devised system in their road-building, running their paths in and out of underbrush in a truly ingenious manner[189]
The mongoose, a scavenger of the worst type, feeding on rats and mice and snakes, and even poultry[202]
Diplodocus. The prehistoric animals, also, undoubtedly had their scavengers and criminals[203]
The Esquimo-dog is man's greatest friend in the Far North[218]
Chipmunks are among the most easily tamed of man's wild friends, and they even seem fond of human companionship[219]
Men cruelly take the lives of these denizens of the wildwood, rejoicing in their slaughter, but the animal soul they cannot kill[244]
Two pals. There is between man and dog a kinship of spirit that cannot be denied[245]