Knoxville journal. [volume] (Knoxville, Iowa) 1874-1986, 1875-06-03
Are Children Ever Nursed by Wolves

The Rev. Dr. Ellinwood, Secretarv 30
the Presbyterian Board of Foreign M;s
siOns, in letter from Cawnpore' India
to the New York Eoangelist, has the fol
lowing paragraphs:
Our interest was greatly excited at tho
Secundra Orphanage by one inmate
known as the "Wolf-boy." Within ton
years two boys, said to have beer found
living with wild wolves. have heau
brought to Mr.. Erhardt for supnort
One Of them died about two years since.
having proved too untamable to endure
human habits. The one still remaining
was found when apparently about seven
years OF age, and he has been about eight
years at the Orphanage.
The story OF his capture is this: Some
native farmers, being greatly troubled
by the incursiOns OF wolves, followed
them to their dens, and proceeded "to
smoke them out" by building fires in the
entrance. At length the whole wolf
family emerged, old and young, and
among them this boy, running rapidly
on hands and feet. The story seemed to
be cOrroborated by the fact that, when
brought to the Orphanage, he still bore
the marks Of the fire through which he
had passed. He also walked like quad
ruped, and would receive at first only
raw flesh, which he ate as all the car
nivora do, gnawing it at the side of his
mouth. As we saw him he was standing
erect, and had learned to submit to
clothing. His expressions were OF course
unintelligible, and sounded more like
those of an animal than like human
voice, though he was scarcely more
bestial in appearance than many of the
lowest grades of idiots. There was how.
ever, a restless motion of the head and
crashing of the teeth which appeared
decidedly canine.
That children have been nourished
and reared by wolves is not to be cred
tied without the very strongest evidences.
The missionaries at Secundra, how
ever, and, so far as | know, all other in
telligent citizens in the neghborhood, re-
gard the proof in these two cases as
entirely valid. Nor are these the only
"wolf- boys" who are claimed to have
been found in India. Max Muller, of
London, on seeing some accounts of
these curious freaks of nature, opened a
correspondence some months since with
various persons in India on the subject.
AS result there have appeared thus
far six cases which seem to be well at
tested by missionaries and by officers in
the civil and military service.
There is no country where such things
would be more likely to occur than in
India. The prevalence of wild animal
life, even IN well-settled districts, is sur.
prising. We saw in one instance not
less than thirty huge apes in one band
only few rods from the railway. Deer
or gazelles were frequently seen feeding
within easy shot of laborers in the field
On two occasions goats were carried OF
by wolves from the mission compounds
in which we were spending the night
According to recent census of the
northwest provinces 1900 lives were de.
stroyed in one year by wild animals,
mostly wolves. The great majority are
children who are snatched away at night
fall from the vicinity-sometimes from
the very doors of their rude homes.
With these facts no further light can
be given on the subject of the wolf.
boys.
Whether the maternal instinct of a
wolf, when not particularly hungry,
might in one of 10000 cases take such a
freak as to protect child which she had
intended to eat, and allow it to share her
prey, is question for each theorist to
decide for himself. 1t is worthy of note
that all these children are idiots. If we
suppose that they were originally sound
their wolf regimen has reversed the OAR
winian process and borne them back to
bestiality both in body and in mind.