Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1906-04-25
POWER OF THE HUMAN EYE.
Animals Upon Which it is Safest to MAXI
Experiments.


Il is poular belief. more or less loosely !
formulated that there is something so
terrible and majestic in the human eye |
that man has only to fix his gaze on the |
most terrific denzens OF the forest to in |
spire them with awe. Numerous instances,
and some well authenticated, are on record |
of unarmed men, who have met the lion
or the tiger in his native iungles, fixed
their eyes on his and compelled him to
turn tail.
There is, then, some foundation for the
popular belief, but If man having
questioned faith in the awe-inspirng
power of the human eye proposes TO put
II TO the test in his own person, con-
siderable discretion is to be recommended
3 says Forest and Stream, not only in the
selection of his beast, but also in the Sc
lection of his locality. For example, he
should not make his first experiment with
"a rampageous bull in a l0-acre enclosure
at any considerable distance from the
fence; nor would we strongly recon-
mend a trip to the Rocky Mountains, with
, the object of experimenting with a full
grown grizzly, ior both bulls and bears are
hghting animals, and have the habit of
/ meeting their foes face to face.
The measure is successful only with the
cat iamily-lions, tigers, &c, and by no
means to be relied upon with them. Hope
of success depends upon the fact that the
members Of the cat family are not TO any
extent fighting animals; they do not hunt
in packs and quarrel over their prey; they
very rarely quarrel with each other over
/ the females at mating season. and IN
| striking their prey they never attack in
/ front.
It is beautiful provision of nature that
/ the lion the tiger, the panther, the leopard
and the whole family Of Felidm, are
/ prompted by irresistible instinct to seize
their prey from behind springing on it
/ with their whole weight, closing their
/ powerful jaws on the neck Of their victim,
and dislocating it with one wrench, while
their fierce claws penetrate the flesh and
paralyze the muscular powers. The tiger
pursues the same method, whether his
prey is a full grown buffalo or timid
fawn.
The slender doe, with her fawn at her
heels, goes into cover for her midday
siesta and confronts the lurking tiger;
she barks stamps her foot and endeavors
to bounce him; the tiger fixing his eyes on
hers, crawls little nearer paralyzed with
terror the poor beast is incapable OF flight
but unable to sustain the basilisk glance
any longer, she turns, as if to essay retreat
At that instant the tiger springs grasps
her neck in his viselike jaws, and the VIC
tim dies without a pang.
If the tiger comes Unexpectedly on
powerful animal like wild buffalo and
il offers battle the tiger declines it, but
il hungry he will take advantage of what
cover there is and manpuvre to get at the
tail end of the buffalo and then make his
fatal spring.
With civilized men the tiger is more
wary. for he stands in more awe of their
appliances than of the brute strength of
the buffalo. Many hunter going through
the iungles has passed with an easy spring
of the tiger lying in wait for him, and
before he has gone another POO Yards the
same tiger has again been in position, and
vet has wanted the courage to spring; even
q man-eating tiger II familiar with fire.
arms. might hesitate to spring on a man
that had the courage to confront him.
In the Jungle he would not attempt it;
il brought face to face with man he would
crouch. and if the man did not turn to fee
the tiger would disappear as suddenly as
if the earth had swallowed him, but in a
very few minutes he would have secured
tho desired vantage ground and made
his fatal spring.
This is not because the tiger is a coward
nor because the human eye is capable of
dominating him. When it becomes a ques-
tion of fighting there is no sign OF quail
ing in lion or tiger, but when it is a mere
question of taking their prey the destruc-
tive instinct is purely pleasurable one,
the enjoyment of which would be maued
if they attacked in front, and provoked
their prey TO battle; and it is a morciful
provision of nature that they show no
such tendency.