-^ New Light on the Tragedy of Civilisation 



in sport or science ^ ; it is not the man who brings us 

 the first knowledge of many of the inhabitants of the 

 wilderness, and first arouses our interest in them ; it is 

 not such as these who should be regarded as the destroyers 

 of the fauna of a foreign land. Rather this is the work 

 of all those powerful influences that everywhere combine 

 to this end during the introduction of civilised life. It 

 has indeed been already proposed, in all seriousness, by 

 some men of science to completely extirpate the wild 

 animals of East Africa, in order thus to circumvent the 

 tsetse fly and other minor pests that may perhaps com- 

 municate disease from the wild to the tame cattle. And 

 this, too, before it can be said with any certainty whether 

 these cases of infection do not arise only from a number 

 of very small animals which it would be impossible to 

 exterminate ! 



Our most important task is now to obtain an accurate 

 knowledge of the fauna of foreign lands. For this purpose 

 we must collect materials which will render the study of 

 this wild life of other lands possible to our scientific 

 institutions ; which will place them in a position to give 

 to a wide public an idea of all these rich treasures, and 

 thus awaken an intelligent love for them in the hearts 

 of the pioneers of civilisation. 



And then we must devise practicable measures of 

 protection. This is a wide field of labour. The hunter 



^ Cf. my book With Flashlight and Rifle, p. 736, where a 

 statement by Professor P. Matschie, the Custodian of the Royal Zoological 

 Museum at Berlin, will be found, bearing out the truth of what is here 

 remarked. 



