The Opelousas courier., 1902-02-15
MAN A RATHER POOR LOT.
Seine Of His Faculties Com pared with
Those Of other Animals.

S0D33 OF h1A Faculties
Those Of Other Animals.
Man is O vain sort of an animal
at sill times" observed o thoughtful
citizen yesterday, "and in his process
OF naming and classifying things
around him he has attempted to leave
reminders Of himself in every possible
place, and he has generally succeed
ed, for ones eyes may not escape 1ali'
ing on something named after some OF
his attributes. But when We come tc
think of it, when We come to look ma
ture squareiy in the face, man Is MOI
the only thing in the land which a
lay claim to highly developed senses.
Take the human eye. Unquest1on'
ably the little bundle of nerves In the
eye which make INSTALLATION possible
and which present the mind with
Photographic reinementS which no art
has yet equalled, is M Of the physio-
logical marvelg, and opens up an end
less field for speculation In the realm
Of psychology, that unsolved riddle OF
science in whose presence even n
giants have covered and skulked IN
hopeless ignorance. Yet this eye, dis
corning with so much delicacy when
the picture is no farther than the wal
Of ones room-thfs eye with It's cir
cumscribed Wits would be looked up
on withn14lgnifed scorn by yon soar
ing eagle IL he only knew how much
faHher he could see than a human be
a
"Take the human ear. We may not
hear 80 we'll as the rats and mice that
burrow under the palaces In which we
live, or the squirrel that capers yon-
der in the forest, and countless other
things enc might mention. We may
diYerentiats with greater accuracy
and trace refnements in sound which
these lower creatures may not trace;
but when 1t comes to the matter OF
catching the sound at long range,
their earS seem to have been more
perfectly constructed.
"It is conceded that no human voice
has ever been heard which could equal
in sweetness of tone the lays which
one may hear in the orchard. No hui
man being yer sang more sWeetly
than Patti, but she never sang SO
sweetly as the m~eadoWlark when he
pours his gurgling love song out on
the summer air, or oriole when he
shades his Bilvsred octave from the
bending bough.
What device for measuring water
pressure has man invented whichs
will compare with the nerves which
string the sides of the fish? 1t Is a
sense which Is not represented in the
human category. Man must resort TO
artiacialties in order to learn the air
pressure and the degree of heat or
cold. But 1t is different with the fish,
for he can always tell just what the
water pressure Is, and he knows how
much he can stand, and he acts ao-
cordingly.
Take the olfactory nerves. Man
Is all right when it comes to altar
of roses, violet perfumeries, and this
and that sort, but you may pick out
the measliest old hound in the swamps
Of Mississippi, and If he knew how
much superior his sense Of smell was
to mans, well he wouldn't want to be
caught in O mans company.
mo, I am not running my own creed
down. / am Just relating a few things
which ought to make US all natural
lovers, for the many deserving beau
ties that we wot not Of In these hurry
ing times, and among them may be
counted the things mentioned. Prove
It? Prove nothing. I am just telling
you."-New Orleans Times-DemocraL