Daily press. [volume] (Newport News, Va.) 1896-current, 1907-10-13
Animals, Large and Small,
Thar Lead In Their Glass

one. foot in every five feet of adj.
vance.
Now as to voice Suppose we line
up all the hairy creatures of the earth
and let each below or scream or roar
its loudest in turn. To see whose voice
would carry the farthest. The giraffe
and numler of Others would not
even attempt to join In for they are
voicelcss and can only look nathcti.
cally at their more fortunate coin
rades. Let us suppose the lions roar
has rumblci across the plains and
tseetops. and the wild ass has sent
It's CRY alma 1t as far: then one after
another each take its turn. the Gle
plant with a terrific blast of its trum
pet tone making all the competitors
which have preceded him uneasy. At
last hideous black monkey with men.
dent beard and sullen face swells out
it's throat and sends ont Il howl which
in volume ana power quickly decides
the question. The bowling monkey
of the South American iunelcs has
won easily The consolation nrize he.
longs TO the bats. which can squeak
but so weakly that we hardly know
whether we have heard anything or
not
with the sounds of the nature faker
war still ringing in our ears. ii is with
trembling that our thoughts turn to
the consideration of the most intel.
ligcnt mammal. II has been said. and
with truth. that this problem mus,
remain an enigma until we know the
wild creatures much more Thoroughly
than we do now: and vet such time
must come quickly or not at all. for
man and his devasting civilization ia
SO raDidly monopolizing the earth that
the limits of the wilderness are eve,
becoming more .hemmed in. more 70
stricted. SO for the present purpose
snspending any Judgment as infuenc.
ed by their habits and home life Ie,
us consider them canlidlN from ON
own viewpoint. Instances are MANY
whc-e the dog and horse have l.een
cited as showing high ordeiN OF in
telligencc; but constant association
with man and his artificial surround
ines for many generations make i'll
impossible for us to class these among
wild animals. A wolf or wild ass
may be caught and tanned to GER
tain degree: but one never knows
when its inner nature will break forth
and throw off all restraint
Which Are Intelligent.
There is just one wild animal in the
world Which is-if we may use the
te philosophic enough quickly to
real!1c the power and infinite superb
Gritty OF mans will. and this is the
elephant. One of these mighty ami
mails can be caught when fully adult
brought in from. n long life among
he wildeS- iungles. and in compare
lively shC. time will become lbso.
iutely tractable submitting itself to
its master, not automaton like or in
n ssullen, spigitless way. us leopards
20 through their tricks, but with al
most remarkable willingness which
enables the animal to learn and exc.
cute most intricate duties, such as
joining in military tactics or in thel
capture of other elephants, OF in pill
Ing and arranging teak lumber. ana
in host of other ways. When wei
consider what ashock to the deepestl
instincts of an animal such as an ele
phant. capture and dominance by pu.
NY man must be. after untold genera
lions of life as master of all the jun
gle, we shall realize better the mar
vel of its philosophic acceptance oil
this radical chance. If we do not ex-l
pain 1t on basis of rational nercep
tion of the new perspective of life. |
we must credit the elephant with
fatalistic disposition hard to correlate
with the life of Wild animal.-C. |
William Beebe. in New York Times.