War!

We'll never know how the world looked when there were no endangered species of animals.  When did we humans start taking more than we needed for survival and therefore upset the balance of nature?

Meriam C. Cooper, author of "The Warfare of the Jungle Folk: Campaigning Against Tigers, Elephants, and Other Wild Animals in Northern Siam," together with the photographer, Ernest B. Schoedsack, spent a year "in the far jungles of Siam, observing, trapping, and picturing wild animals - shooting them only when necessary, to save my life or that of my companions" (National Geographic, February, 1928, p. 233).

First, where is the country of Siam located?  Now called 'Thailand,' a name we recognize, the country is in Indochina, bordered on the east by Laos, the southeast by Cambodia, the west by Myanmar (formerly called 'Burma') and on the south by Malaysia.  Wikipedia reports that Thailand is "the world's 51st-largest country in terms of total area. . . and is the 20th-most-populous country, with around 64 million people."  (This is one of the main reasons I want to read all my old National Geographics: to find out what and where are the nations of the world now, in 2013, and how the world has changed since my grade-school Geography studies in the 1950's.)

In 1928, Siam was a tropical country of mostly jungles and rivers.  The jungles were full of tigers, elephants, leopards, "pythons, wildcats, mongooses, bears, anteaters, monitor lizards, sloths, and a variety of other small animals" (p.250).  Most of this article concerns the author's quest to find and trap man-eating tigers.  These killer tigers were a great problem in Siam, "for the records show several hundred people to have been killed and eaten by tigers . .in the past few years" (p. 236).  Trapping a tiger was extremely dangerous work!  This adventure reads like a novel.  The natives are terrified of tigers; not many will help in the search.

"No one who has seen only the zoo tiger can have any conception of the beauty, strength, and energy of the full-grown male of the wilds.  Its great muscled shoulders, gorgeous coat, huge white teeth, its swiftness in exploding into action - all animated by the cruel spirit reflected in the glare from its blazing eyes - give it the semblance of the God-Devil which so many of the natives believe it to be" (p. 237).  Awesome!  Respect the tiger!

At last, a tiger is trapped!  It turns out to be a tiger well-known for man-eating, and given the name, Mr. Crooked.  The familiar tiger had a crooked foot due to previously being shot in a foreleg.  After Mr. Crooked was trapped, a larger cage was built with small logs.  The tiger was tricked into entering it.

Then the caged tiger was floated down the river in a large canoe.  This venture was not without difficulty.  Mr. Crooked tried to escape by gnawing a hole through some of the inner logs.  Repairs were made several times.  There were unsuccessful attempts to calm down the tiger by giving him chloroform.

The fate of the tiger, Mr. Crooked, was not documented but we can be sure he was killed.  He turned out to be "a lady - a medium-sized female. . .At last her bones were bought by Chinese. . .and her whiskers became charms against ill luck" (p. 250).

After a different adventure helping to corral a herd of elephants, the author and photographer's year in Siam was concluded.  They returned to America following an interview with the young King of Siam.

Educated in England, the King spoke perfect English and bellieved in the value of democracy: "But the time is not yet, in this country, for such a goveernment.  It is necessary to raise our people to a higher stage of civilization first" (p. 268).

I found this to be a delightful glimpse into another world and look forward to the next adventure!