The united opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1881-1970, 1908-04-10
TIGERS OF INDIA.
Those That Kill Men Are as Scarce as
Human Murderers.

Those That Kill Men Are as scarce as
Human Murderers.
In a recent lecture at the Society OF
Arts, in London, Reginald Gilbert, E.
z. S., proposed that in future the gov
eminent rewards in India should be
paid for killing man eating tigers only
and not for killing tigers. j. D. Rees
in letter to the London Times says:
81 have twice brought this matter be-
fore the house of commons, asking that
inquiry should be made into the indis-
criminate offer of rewards by the gov
eminent Of India and by local govern
ments in India. Tigers may be rough
" divided into three classes the deer
stalker, the cattle litter and the man
eater, the latter being no more COM
mon among tigers than murderers
among men. and all of them in their
degree keep down the head Of deer and
droves Of wild pigs, which destroy the
crops of the cultivators. They operate
only on the margin of cultivation, for
tigers, though the fact is not generally
known. do not walk about the streets
In India seeking whom they may de-
your, as lions actually do in parts OF
Africa. The only tiger | ever knew
that acted in this manner was discover
ed after his death TO have been suffer
ing from some abnormal pressure OF
the brain, so that he was-nQt account
able for his actions.
at may be taken as an invariable
rule that tigers live just where cul1va-
ton presses up to the forest edge,
where they are the best friends Of the
cultivators. whose crops are devastated
wholesale in such situations. There Is
no difficulty whatever in combining the
reward TO man eaters, as the tiger is
parsonage everywhere well known not
only to the monkeys and the birds, who
announce his movements from the tops
of the trees, but to the villagers them
selves, who can discriminate perfectly
well and can inform any sportsman
who wants TO know which animals are
their rare enemies among the many
who are their frequent friends.
"Tlgers are not vegetarians; neither
are we, and If we are homogeneous so
are they, unlike the Kulin Brahmans or
Bengal, and when more than two tigers
are seen together the sportsman may
conclude that he is intruding upon
family party. The deerstalker Is
gentleman sportsman whose life Is
spent In well doing, for he Kills the
deer that eat the crops, that feed the
cultlvator. who pays the land TAX
which keeps up the Indian empire.
Cattle filters no doubt have much OF
the poacher in their composition, but
they generally only prey upon the Fee
bier or less valuable members or a
herd, and the villagers are willing that
they should take toll in recognition or
the good they do in destroying the crop
destroyers. A herd together can re-
pulse a tiger. and only stragglers,
calves or weaklings fall victims.
MAN eaters are responsible for quite
a small number OF the deaths from
wild animals In India. and. as the truth
should be told regardless Of the feel
ings OF party politicians, they are gen.
orally females. This Is confirmed by
Mr.. Sydekhar in his recent work,
though / would join issue with him
when he lays 1t down that tigers can
not climb. know for a fact that they
possess this accomplishment. But the
point is that they should not be exter-
minated wholesale"