The Jeffersonian. [volume] (Stroudsburg, Pa.) 1853-1911, 1875-06-24
Children Nursed by Wolves.

The Rev. DIR. Ellinwood in letter from
Cawnpore, India, to the New York Ecan-
getlst has the following paragraphs
Our interest was greatly excited at the
Secundra orphanage by one inmate, known
as the "Wolf Boy" Within ten years
two boys, said to have been found living
wild with wolves, have been brought to
Mr.. Erhardi for support. 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 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
a quadruped, and would receive at first
only raw flesh, which he ate as wall the
carnivora 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 unintelligi-
bic, 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, however, restlsss motion Of
the head and gnashing of the teeth, which
appeared decidedly canine.
That children have been nourished and
reared by wolves, is not to be credited with
out the very strongest evidences.
The missionaries at Secundra, however,
and so far as [ know, all other intelligent
citizens in the neighborhood, regard the
proof in these two cases as entirely valid.
Nor are these the only "wolf boy who are
claimed to have been found in India Max
Muller, of London, on seeing some accounts
of these curious freaks of nature, opened
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 attested by
missionaries, and by officers in the civil and
military service There is no country
where such would things be more likely to
occur than in India The prevalence of
wild animal life, in well-settled districts,
is surprising. We saw in one instance not
less than thirty huge apes in one band only
q few rods from the railway. Deer or
gazelles were frequently seen feeding with
in easy shot of laborers in the field. On
two occasions goats were carried off by
wolves from the mission compounds, in
which we were spending the night. Accord
ing to a recent census Of the northwest
provinces, 1000 lives were destroyed in
one year by wild animals, mostly wolves
The great majority are children who are
snatched away at nightfall 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 the wolf,
when not particularly hungry, might in
one of 10000 cases take such freak as to
protect child, which she intended to eat,
and allow it to share her prey, is a ques-
ton for each thcorist 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 Darwinian process, and borne
them back to bestiality, both in body and
in mind.