The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1852-11-06
Perversions of Natural Instincts Wolff
Children.

With the appearance ol hum n being--of boy
about tbirt,en years OF sge--he was IN every re.
spect a wild animal walking on all four., feeding
on grass and moss. and lodging in trees when
captured, he exhibited a strong repugnance To
cloIhiHg. He could not be induced To lie on a bed
frequently tearing the clothes to express his in.
digna,ion and IN absence of his customary lair
Among the boughs Of Il tree, he cruuched in
corner of the room to sleep, Raw food he lie
voured with relish, more especially cabbage
leaves and other vegetables but turned away
fom the sophi-,icnton of cookery. He had no
ar,icul,ta language, exprvssng his emotions only
by the s,unds emitted by various animals. Al
though only five feet three inche. he was remark
ably strong. lie never exhibited an interest in
The females sex and even IN hls old age-fur he
was supposed to be seventy three when he died
II, was onl, in external manners he had ad
vanced Fl m The character Of a wild beast to that
Of good tempered savage, for he WAS still with
on, Consciousness 0i the Great Spirit
In other children that were caught subsso nen,.
" to Petpr-ior that was the name they gave
him--the same character was observable, athnugh
with considerable modlcatiurs. One # them
Young girl Of twelve or thirteen. WAS not M rely
without sympathy for persons oi the male .ex
but she held them all her life in great abhoutuce
Her temper was ungovernahle she was fond II
blood, which she sucked from tholiving animal !,
and was something more than suspected Of The
cannibal propensity. On one occasion she was
seen to dive as naturally as an otter in lake
catch f-h, aud deyour it on the spot Yet The
girl eventually acquired language. va. even Al l.
TO give some ind-lnct account Of her early eaIcrr
in the woods and toward the close of her life,
when subdued by long illness. exhibited few ira
ces Of having once been n wild animal. Another,
a boy of seven or tvelve was caugh, in the woods
of Came. in France lie was impatient capri
Cious, violent, rushing even through crowded
streets like an III trained dog sloyrny aal d..
( gu.iiug IN lis manners; affected with spa3muic
motions of The head and limbs, hitting anj scratch
ing all who dsp'ea.ed him and always. when at
comparative rest balancing lii body llk' = Wild
animal in a menageris His senses were iHrapa
/ bic Of being affected by ANYTHING not al psalihg
I To hi- personal ieelings a Tistol fired Ci,-r 10
his head excited little or no emotion yet he heard
d,ctinctiy the cracking of walnut or the touch
ola land upon the KEY which kept him captive.
I The most delcou, perfumes, or the most fetid
eIhaation., were the same thing to his sense Of
smell because these did not affect, one way or
other. hi- relish for his food, which Was # dis.
gusting nature and which he dragg cd about the
h,or like dog. eating 1t when besmrarcd with
filth. Like almost all the lower animal- be WAS
Z
affected by the changes Of the weather, but on
some oi these occasions, his feelings approached
TO the human N the'r manifestations. hrh he
"a" the sun break suddenly from cloud he sx
pressed hI- i'y by bursting INTO con'uls'e pe'l'
| Of laughter; and one morning, when aw"ke On
seeing The ground covered "'lh snow b" ie'p-d
out Of ted, rushed naked into the garden rolled
himself over ana over N ihe snow ana H'Nihnt
handinli' ol u mo hl' nl"n'h. deV"H'e1 u eager
| w. Sore'mes he showed s'ghs ~ " fu' n'"
ness "rnglng hi' h'ni1 sn'ehns Ut 'rr.l
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