New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1898-11-20

the deer Cboth wapti and black tailed dccr)
come 10 the houses 10 be fed. and even eat the
flowers from the wndOw-bOxes. Brown bears
hang round the hotels and come daily TO cat
the refuse cartcd into the woods close by. and
many OF the smaller rodents are absolutely
fearless. In menageries and geological gardens
the fear of man is lost mainly By constant and
daily contact, with no power to escape, ana ny
the remembrance that it is man who provides
their food. But here the conditions are alb
normal. and II would De useless to draw con-
illusions from the behavior toward man OF ami
mails In captivity. and apply them to the soiu-
ton Of the earlier problem OF the innate or ac-
quired character Of their fear Of human beings
1t is. however matter Of general knowledge
that where man is weak and beasts strong ana
numerous as in the country beyond the Fam
best and Shire rivers. the bodness OF the ami
mails leads 10 serious disasters In the present
day the only frequent reports Of attacks Of lions
and leopards on men for food. and not in SELF
defence or fright come from these districts
though the story is as old as the rebuilding OF
Samara
II. as seems probable. the animal fear Of man
was acquired. and is not natural to their minds
1t is not very clear how the very early tribes
or men, when the larger carnivorouS animals
were far more numerous than now. escaped
destruction and survived long enough 10 inn
press on the animal world tho Of fear by
which man now dominates il. Regarded merely
a conflict between one class OF animal and
another. the result should no; have been doubt
full Man ought to have disappeared from the
face OF the earth. or. in any case. to have
retreated 10 remote stronchods in regions not
frcqrcnted by the beasts. That he did not do
so. but turned the tables on the better-cquipped
offensive creature. is fair presumptiVe evidence
that original man never was on level with
the animals in intelligence but was equipped
with the predominant brain-pcwer which has
put him ahead in the race ever since.
THE MONKEYS POWER OF DEFENCE
Primitive man literally speaking lived by
his wits" for he could have owed his survival
To Little else. He was not. for example. nearly
50 we'll equipped as the monkeys for physical
defence or flight, though their survival is not
altogether easy TO explain on purely physical
grounds. Their power of using their arms and
hands as a OF swinging rapidly from
branch 10 branch gives them an advantage over
all the trce-c!imbing eats. Their habit OF throw
ing missiles is also very dsconcertinG to other
animals though this art is only practised by
certain monkeys But their rapid and intel-
gent combination for defence, menace ana look
out duty has contributed quite as much 10 tneIr
survival their speed and activity. In tropical
America even the monkeys are hard put to IT 10
escape the attacks OF such active and formidable
fees as the harry eagle and the ocelot.
But it cdnno, ne proved that even the most
debased physically weakest Of mankind has
ever been the natural prey OF that natural
enemy" which. according to Sir Samuel Baker.
is the nightmare of nearly every species OF non
carnivorous animal The causes which make
exceptions to this rule are temporary and mar
roWlv local. Even the Grecnlandcrs ana the
FsIuimaus arr the masters Of the Polar bear,
and probably alwPy5 hare been. though little
better armed than primitive man. and the pyg
mics If the Central African forests are mighty
hunters 1t ma, even he that the neighbor-
hood Of fierce animals aided the carly develop
ment Of man. for the least developed races are
largely found in such places as Terra del
Fueco where in the absence ~ savage beasts.
savage man had no inducement 10 arm ana
equip himself
But man has had an even more potent ally
than his own ingenuity which from remote an
uquity has invested him in the mind Of the
animal world with something Of the surernatu-
raj. Ne is ever accompanied by the one ele-
ment which the animal mind cannot create.
cannot understand. stands in constant. awe Of,
and breads by night. when its courage Is great
.~t and that Of man leaS. steady. Fire, that
pillar nj cloud ami fame which prcccJes not the
aggregate human host but the smallest frag-
ment of the invading army, the constant and
dreaded harbinger # human presence, spring
ing up. as the beasts must think. automatically
from the earth wherever man rests his body,
guarding him in sleeping and waking, always
associated with his abode. has for ages terri
fed the beasts.
Since the first appearance Of man in any
given region Of the earth he has been teaching
the beast to fear him. and it is not until to-
day when he is absolutely their master and
has. in many instances. totally destroyed them
that he thinks Of restoring on tiny scale, and
on a few spots on the earths surface. the state
Of nature" and allowing these creatures which
he dares to experiment with. once more to lay
aside their acquired terror. which makes them
fee his presence.