Evening star., 1901-05-31
THE ENEMIES OF MANKIND
MANY PERSONS ARE KILLED EVERY
YEAR By ANNALS.
Death Rate in India and Africa From
This Cause Very High-Tigers
Are the Most BlOOdthirsty.
From the Chicago Tribune.

From the Chicago Tribune.
While man virtually holds the lives of
the most powerful animals in his hands, he
is by no means secure in his position. but
falls a victim to other animals in what
would be an alarming ratio were the mat
ter at all considered separate and dis
tinct from other fatalities of the human
race.
One reason for this loss of human life is
possibly the security which man feels.
Theoretically. his position is a strong one,
and guided by reason and intelligence, he
proceeds without fear against the largest
and most ferocious of animals. If care
full study of the conditions of animal life
were made with a view to settling the
question of which is the bravest and most
courageous of all the lower animals. one
might well select the common house fly,
which deliberately attacks man-an irrftat-
ed often enraged animal-thousandS OF
times it's size. In the same sense man ex-
hibits remarkable bravery in attacking the
Whale-an animal ninety-1ve feet In length
and weighing hundreds of tons-the largest
and most powerful of living animals: yet
man will rush upon an enraged whale, ana
while floating over its mighty form in an
eggShell Of a boat, drive the insignificant
weapon into its vitals. taking the chances
of avoiding the powerful tail. Such an
attack is the highest expression of human
bravery. yet un0dunteO DS tne 1aIdlltleS
scores of men lose their lives annually
wiped out Of existence IN hand -to-hand en-
counters with the largest of all creatures
In a single year over 100 persons nave
succumbed. directly or indirectly. to this
animal. and every year there Is a list of
fatalities.
Tigers Killed 2OO.O0O.
In one year over 500 men have been
killed by tigers In India alone; and IN the
last 100 years the human population has
been depleted to the extent OF zoe per-
sons who have met their death by the
man-eating tigers OF this region. At the
beginning of the nineteenth century there
was little no protection afforded. and
tigers existed in large numbers and roamed
about almost unmOlssted In nearly every
center of human occupation there was one
or more tigers that defied human beings.
They crept up to villages, bounded into
houses. carrying of men, women and chill
dren with an utter disregard for hunters
that was appalling and which completely
demoralized the people This fact led to
tiger hunting becoming sport; hunters
responded TO the appeals of the natives,
and warfare was declared and carried
so effectuaIly that the animals have been
decimated. and where in 1900 1900 5000
persons were killed annually by them. the
death list today is not more than one or
two day, though ii sometimes increases
to 500 eco year
In India the leopard is a dangerous foe to
man. and in the vicinity of Singapore even
at the present day, leopards kill on an av-
erage one man day, preying upon them
as cat preys upon mouse. For at least
a century well-regulated warfare has been
waged against these animals with a view
to their destruction. the government offer
ing a bounty. and district governments
often duplicating the reward for the scalp
of leopard or tiger. But the injury these
animals accomplish fades into insignificance
before the death list laid at the door of
snakes India appears 10 be the hotbed for
these deadly reptiles. and the most persist
ent warfare apparently has had little ef-
fect upon them, the deadly cobra and
others being as numerous today, seemipgIy
IN the interior as they were a century ago
Ihat the Indian government recognizes the
danger from this source is shown by the
TACT that an army of snake-kiIlers is en-
ployed, and there is bounty paid ON every
deadly snake killed.
Amazing Statistics.
The statistics of this warfare to the
death are amazing and almost beyond be-
lief During the last century 100000 hu-
man beings were killed by snakes in In
dia. and in all the rest Of the world the
loss may be said to be one-fourth of this,
though accurate data is lacking. For years