Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-12-29
THE EYESiGH7 OF SAVAGES
BOERs KEEN VISION RESPONSIBLE
FOR british MIsHAPs.
Marked characteristics in This Re-
gard of Native Tribes i'm South
Africa-NobIe Savage Scared.
From the London Sp ..ctator.

hiEICA-NoDic SaNdSe SCaESu.
From the London Spectator.
That men who can sec well will learn to
shoot better than men who do not see well
is a fact so patent that we do not wonder
Sir Redvers Buffers remark about the SUI
perior eyesight of the Beers attracted public
attention. He thinks, it is said that the
Boer has the "eyesight of the savage, and
sees two miles further than the English
man, and of course that fact, If it is proved,
furnishes a sufficient explanation of many
British m;shaps in the South African cam
paign, and accounts for losses of life which
might otherwise be attributed to reckless
disregard of necessary precautions. But
we do not quite understand the deduction
so generally drawn from Sir Redvers' state
ment that savage eyesight is naturally bet
ter than the eyesight Of civilized men.
Why should it be better? There is no diff
ference of structure in the eyeball, and the
difference In health is rather in favor or
the civilized man. The latter no doubt,
very often loses something of the keenness
of his sight from much reading and the use
of artificial light, but Tommy Atkins is no
philosopher reads little more than the saw
age and burns no midnight oil. The truth
is the Boer, like the savage, habitually
trains his eye. the sailor does, to look
into the far distance, and acquires from
that training, and the habit of close at
tention to all signs of movement on the
part of his quarry, a power OF quick per-
ception which seems to those without IL
almost miraculous. He sees game or an
enemy minutes before Tommy can just as
a sailor sees sail or a smoke minutes pc
fore a landsman can, but there Is no oil-
erence of original or natural powers. rom
my could be trained, II we took surncieht
trouble to train him, and allowed Sufflclent
time, Just as well as The Boer, and very often
fs pnl hpn he
any other way dependent upon the acute
ness of his sight. Let any one VINO doupts
this just take walk with an ornlthoioSist,
and remark what the latter sees, ana dt
what distance when compared with him.
self.
An Important Question.
The matter is of some interest. not only
because the private soldier has to be taught
to shoot as well as any enemy. but because
it bears upon the very large question
whether civilization necessarily dlminlshes
the physical powers Of the average human
being If it does, that is great drawback
to civilization, because 1t precludes the
hope of man ever developing kind OF arls-
tocracy with the powers of body ana nina
increased to a point far beyond present ex-
perience. That Is the dream, the rather
lofty dream, as it seems to us, Of the dons
who foster athletics as we'll as reaulhg IN
their pupils; but If the reading spoils
physical as much as II develops mentai
power, that is a dream impossible OF real
ization. But does study necessarily have
the effect of spelling sinews? That 1t does
SO is very natural idea. because the saw
age seems so much more agile ana IS pc
sides trained by his mode Of life, which the
Civilized man is not; but we do not know
that there is any solid evidence for the no
lion. The big. black, bounding beggar,
as Rudyard Kip!ing called him. can outrun
the citizen or outwaik him in long march,
or throw him In a wrestle for life, but the
trained runner will outstr!p the savage.
the gamekeeper will walk with him till he
drops from fatigue, ard the Cumberland
wrestler will like nothing better than to
throw him over his head The whole differ
ence is that the savage Is always, from the
habits of his life In condition which the
citizen only reaches after weeks Of careful
training have restored him to the full eXer-
else of his natural powers. Just give saw
age who has never been accustomed to
carry weight, say red Indian Of the North
American forest. the weight to carry under
which the British soldier habitualiy
marches. and see which of them will give
in first. though the savage has even then
the advantage Of having walked every day
to his full power all his life. If it were not
SO, man, an animal, would differ from all
other animals. for it is notorious that no
wild horse can keep pace with racer, and
no wild dog can escape a hound. The
Kanaka. 1t is true, of the South Seas can
usually swim much farther than any civil
ICED man, but then, what civilized man
passes Nall MS ille IN swimming IN water
just warm enough to give his lungs fair
play? There is. We admit. one faculty in
which the savage appears hopcless!y to
distance his rival. He retains, appears
to retain. the superior sense of smell which
belongs to SO many animals, or perhaps. in
different degrees, to all. detec ting, for ex-
ample, the odor of water or of land from q
great distance; but then, smell Is the one
serse which the civilized man, it may be
from instinct of self-defense, never Gull
tivates at all. but permits to die unused 1t
is, Of course. possb' that in clear. dry
air like that of South Africa the eye ac-
quires a certain keenness which is wanting
to the eye used for generations to humid
atmosphere; but that. If 1t occurs Is not
due to any defect imposed by the conditions
of civilization. 1t is more like the extra
thickr ess Of. skull which enables the negro
to resist the direct rays Of an African sun
without diScomposure or brain disease.
The Desire for Simplicity
The truth is, we believe that civilized
man. when cultivated up to a certain point,
acquires a latent spite against civilization
as essentially based upon a system of
rather wearisome restrictions He longs
for more freedom, or. as he calls It, SIM
plicity Of life, and being half inclined to
revert to savagery, wishes to credit the
savage with all the attractiveness he can.
So strong was this feeling in the last CEN
fury that the Estate Of nature" which is
really the state Of the brutes was repre-
sented through an entire literature as wor-
thy Of admiration Serious thinkers In
France especially, actually believed in the
noble" savage. and even in some in
stances ventured to pain him as the gen
TEST" Of human beings He is, as a matter
Of fact. neither gentle nor noble. Allowing,
Of course, for a very few individual excep-
lions. he is more caprcious. revengeful,
lustful and cruel than the lowest Of CIV