Peninsula enterprise. [volume] (Accomac, Va.) 1881-1965, 1908-02-22
TIGERS OF INDIA.
Those That Kill Men Are as Scarce as
Human Murderers.

Human Murderers.
Tn a recent lecture at the Society or
Arts. I'm London. Reginald Gilbert +.
q. S., proposed that In future the gov
eminent rewards In India should Do
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
ernment Of India and by local govern
ments in India. Tigers may be rough
IL 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 ana
droyes Of wild pigs. which destroy the
crops of the cultivators. They operate
only ON the margin Of cultivation, Tor
tigers. though the fact Is not generally
known. do not walk about the streets
In India seeking whom they may de-
vour. as lions actually do In parts oil
Africa. The only tiger ever knew
that acted in this manner was discover
ed after his death to have been suf1er'
ing from some abnormal pressure OF
the brain, so that he was not account
able for his actions.
ut may be taken as an myariaple
rule that tigers live just where cultiva
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 moi
only to the monkeys and the birds, VINO
announce his movements from the tops
of the trees, but to the villagers them
selves. who can discriminate perfectly
we'll and can inform any sportsman
who wants to know which animals are
| their rare enemies among the many
who are their frequent friends.
"Tigers are not vegetarians; neithe
are we. and if we are homogeneous 81
are they, unlike the Kulin Brahmans o
Bengal, and when more than two tiger
are seen together the sportsman ma.
conclude that he is intruding upon
| family party. The deerstalker Is
gentleman sportsman whose life l
spent in we'll doing. for he kills tn
deer that eat the crops, that feed tn
cultivator, who pays the land tax
which keeps up the Indian empire
Cattle lifters no doubt have much o
the poacher in their composition, bu
they generally only prey upon the fee
bier or less valuable members of
herd. and the villagers are willing tina
they should take toll in recognition o
the good they do In destroying the GRO
destroyers. A herd together can re
pulse tiger, and only straggler:
calves or weaklings fall victims.
MAN eaters are responsible for quit
a small number Of the deaths fror
wild animals in India, and, as the trut
should be told regardless of the fee
ings of party politicians, they are ger
orally females. This is confirmed b
Mr.. Sydekhar in his recent worl
though l would join issue with biz
when he lays it down that tigers car
not climb. know for fact that the
possess this accomplishment But tn
point is that they should not be exte
minated wholesale"