Dresden enterprise and Sharon tribune. (Dresden, Tenn.) 1907-1997, 1921-06-17
Something to
Think Ab0ut
YOUR SUPERSTITION
By T. Il. WALKER

IF YOU read the cable news you saw
4 a few days ago an item from Bonn
Day which said that the stock and exs
change markets Of that city had been
closed and that a general religious
strike was In prospect. because two.
European boys had killed two pigeons
in the streets of the city.
The natives considered the pigeons
sacred and the strike resulted because
the police did not take the actiOn
which the natives thought should have
followed the destruction of the birds
atsEgs I
From the beginning of history tfiete-
is a record OF animal worship by hui
man beings.
The carvings and crude paintings OF
the earliest Egyptian periods, which
are the first picture record that we
have, show the esteem In which the
lower forms Of life were held.
The cat was especially venerated BY
the anclents and In the tOmbs OF
Egyptian rulers and nobility are found
wonderful carvings Of cat heads, somer
times pictured as being on human
bodies. r,gfa
The tops Of funeral Jars which were
placed In the tomb to contain either
food or toilet preparations for the use
Of the dead had covers Of cat heads
wonderfully true to nature. The
( Metropolitan Museum In New York
has numerous examples Of these jars
shGa j
The bull was a sacred animal 2Or
centuries aud some modern savage
populations stfll worship 1t and lead
It, gOrgeouSly decorated, In all their
state ceremonials Greek and Roman
mythology and history are filled with
references to the sacredness Of the
bull and 1t figures largely in both
painting and sculpture.
In India, 40 matter how near to
starvation a man may be he will not
take food from dog nor kill 1t to
eat, although dogs are recognized as
a staple article of food in the Philip
pines and other parts of the world.
To kill dog In India would be al
most sacrilegious.
We cannot hold ourselves as wholly
immune from animal worship. TO the
owl we ascribe a wisdom wholly alb
sent from that dull and witless bird
His brain power is not to be compared
with that of the crow, one of the most
intelligent Of. the feathered tribes.
We ascribe great wisdom to the fox
whose achievements are not nearly
equal to those Of the beaver, the most
interesting Of all the animal kingdom.
The reason for the ancient venera-
ton of theganlmais and the lnoderR
regard in Bombay for the welfare Of
pigeons Is that the people belleyS that
they have some peculiar power Of pro
lection from disaster or bad luck"
The human mind, when it does not
have any proven thing to believe, Il
always willing to substitute supersti-
ton
The sufferer from rheumatism after
he has found other remedies inef-
fective, will resort to carrying a horse
chestnut in his pocket. The gambler
puts his lucky coin on the table as
soon as fortune begins to run against
him. Half the baseball teams in the
country pay salary to mascot and
transport MIN about the country for !
his presumable effect on the winning
Of games
If you spill the salt, you throw a
pinch of It over your shoulder to allay
the unhappy results which you half
believe may follow You viii not walk
1nder a ladder and If you go out of
The house and have to return for some
hing you think you must sit down
before you 10 out again.