The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1898-12-14


that where man is weak and beasts M
mrrnns, "a in the conntry bcAnnd the
I.mbcsi and Shire River the bnldnc 8
| Of the animals lcud- IT, serious disa,.
ters. In the present day the "nl,
frequent reprrts Of attacks Of linn
and lcopards on men, for fnnd and not
in self defense nr fright, come from
these districts, though The st"ry is a.
| old as the rebuilding Of Simara
If, as seems probable. the animal
fear Of man waI acquired and is noi
natural 10 their minds, it is not very
clear how the very early tribe Of men
when the larger carnivcrOu- animals
were far more numerous than how
escaped destruction and survived lnnp
enough to impress on the animal world
| the sense Of fear by which man now
dominates it, Regarded merely as Il
| conflict between one class uf animal
and another, the result should M,
have been dou,tcd Man ought to
have disappeared from the face of the
earth, or, in any case, TO have retreat
cd TO remote strongholds in regions
not frcqucntcd by the beasts. That
he did not do so, but turned the Ia
blcs on the better equipped offensive
creature, is fair prcsumptivc evidence
that original man never was on level
with the animals in intelligence, but
was equipped with the predominant
brain power which has put him ahead
in the race ever since. Primitive
man, literally speaking, Lived by his
| wits, for he was evidently not nearly
SO well equipped AS the monkeys for
physical ofcnsc or flight, though
their survival is not altogether easy to
explain on purely physical grounds
Their power Of us ng their arms and
hands as Il means Of swinging rapidly
from branch to branch gives them an
| advantage over all the tree climbing
cats. Their habit Of throwing mis-
silcs is also very disconccrting to other
animals. though this art is only prac
ticcd by certain monkeys. But their
rapid and intelligent combnatioa Cor
defense, menace, and outlook duty,
has contributed quite as much TO their
| survival as their speed and activity.
In tropical America even the mon
keys are hard put to it to escape the
attacks Of such active and formidable
foes as the harpy eagle and the occlot
But it cannot be that even the most
dcbascd or physically weakest of man
/ kind has ever been the natural prey"
OF that natural enemy which, ac-
cording 10 Sir Samuel Baker, is the
nightmare Of nearly every species of
non 'carnivcrous animal. The causes
which make exceptions to this rule arc
temporary and narrowly local. Even
the Grcenlander and the Eskimo are
the masters Of the polar bear, and
probably always have been, thougl
little better armed than primitive man,
and the pigmics Of Central American
forests are mighty hunters. 1t may
even be that the ncighborhood of fierce
animals aided the early development
of man; for the least developed races
are largely found in such placcs as
Terra del Fucgo, where, in the absence
OF savage beast, savage men had no
induccment to arm and equip himself.
But man has an even more potcnt
ally than his own ingenuity, which
from remote antiquity has invested
him in the mind of the animal world
with something Of the supernatural.
Tie is ever accompanied by the one
| element which the animal mind can
not create, cannot understand, stands
in constant awe Of and breads bynight.
when its courage is greatest and that
OF man least steady. Fire, that pillar
OF cloud and flame which prcccdcs not
only the aggregate human host, but
the smallest fragment Of tie invading
| army, the constant and dreaded har-
binger of human presence, springing
up, MS the beasts must think, auto
matically from the earth wherever man
rests his body, guarding him in sleep
ing and waking, always associated with
his abode, has for ages terrified 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, aud has in
many instances totally destroyed them,
that he thinks of restoring on tiny
scale and on few spots on the earth s
surface "thc state cf nature and al
lowing those creatures which he darcs
to experiment with, once more to lay
oo;1n Aho,r no.,,:.oJ .o..o