The Hickman courier. [volume] (Hickman, Ky.) 1859-current, 1882-12-01
wOLF-CHILDREy.

---Nttttit ~. tfTtef. tll ". II. LEDGER.
- ~
wOLF-CHILDREN.
In deDlcting the temper and dispo-
sltion of the wolf such adiectiyes as
ruthless. cunning and treacherous' are
invariably used, and with perfect Justice.
II would appear, therefore, at first sight
almost incredible that there should be
many instances on record where children
have been carried away. and instead of
being devOured, as would assuredlv have
been the case had the marauder been a
panther or a leopard, they have been
sackled, tended and reared by them.
Some of these have afterwards been re-
covered and ut this moment there exists
specimen wolf-child at Secundra. a
small missionary station few miles
from Agra; 50 that the story of Romulus
ana hemIs may not be so entirely with
ont foundation as we have hitherto been
led 10 suppose.
Wolves as rule prey upon the fiocks
and herbs of the inhabitants of the viii
lagos in whose neighborhood they have
made their dens, and upon such wild an
imals as they can hunt down and capture.
Amo g these latter may be mentioned the
gszelle-antelope and the black-buck;
and many and ingenious are the devices
t'Nt AN9cit ~ III OIutE 70 aculeNe their
purpose. But in the Northwestern
Provinces of India, about AGRA. in Oude
and Rajpootana. they are also very de-
structive to children. Hindus of all |
eiasses are exceedingly superstitious re-
Garding the destruction of these pre-
datory brTltes, and consider the individ- |
lill who mas been unfortunate enough to |
shed drop of wolf blood. doomed to
suher some grevious calamity Hence.
though a Government reward of three
rupees per head is offered, it is only the
very lowest of all castes-the .Domes or
Dungars, as they are called-who will T.
take the trouble TO snare and DESTROY
wolves. These people lead a vagrant
life, and bivouac in the jungles, and
have no superstitious dread OF killing
any living thing.
The following hypothesis NAV ex-
plain how it comes TO pass that
so cruel and relentless an animal as the ;
wolf should sometimes be found enact
ing the interesting part of foster-mother !
to one of the human species. A female !
with cubs goes prowling about in search
OF food for its young, and sue
ceeds IN ravishing an Indian home of i,
us infant for that purpose. The cub, a,
ior some reason or cther-not over-n- cC
sIuveness, certainly, but perhaps b~ause
their carnivOrous instincts ar as vet of
dormant-mel~y mex the Ia
child all over. This proJ,oty' accord +,
ing to the code of wolfA etiquette, IS ra
to having zen salt with an II
Arab, and the in5At IS henceforth 80 80
adopted by the pasnt' and sucked and % %
brought up witPthe CUBS. Although N
he human te-aency Is 70 go on two I(
eos. we kns.e that even amongst our ~
selves baEes commence by crawling. gr
Now. mn is essentially an initiative a al
seeing the wolves going on th
.ll-fosfs, the alien naturally tries the WI
am method of progression. 1t would SUI
Ipsear. however, that it has found the WI
ands ill-adapted for use in lieu of fore SCI
set. and as a rule the elbows are en- po
loved for that purpose; in consequence es'
this choice, the knees, too. have to pa
e used instead of the feet, and hi
eace horny excresences are usually as ~
'und on both the knees and the elbows. iik
ierhaps the two subjoined true mar 70
'tives of wolf-children that have been eal
lptured in India, may prove interest -.
e. I4'
One morning many years ago, Mr.. .ns m
- who happened at the time TO be Au
agistrate and collector of the Etawah see
strict, was out riding. accompanied by sto
couple of sowars or mounted orderlies. PEI
hey were passing over a portion of !2 liis
;td that lay in the vicinity of the az
vines OF the river Jumna, when two eu eu
lf-grown wolf-cubs crossed their MI, MI
tn; and following them more WI
,wly. came a very remarkable looking an, an'
eature, which shambled along on ali WI
lrs in an extraordinarily uncouth s .he
shion. This turned out to be a wolf ,e pe'
I'D Letting the other two 90 un- ms
,lested, the three men proceeded to 81
mt down the human cub and succeeded y, !"
bringing u to bay. As they wished .iii
take the creature alive, and were alto 70 70
ther unwilling to hurt it in any way, nc
~ found the greatest difficulty in at an'
npting to secure it; for it fought. bit ne ne
1 clawed with extreme fierceness and p,o ioo
rtinacity; indeed, having driven it mn nm
o corner. MIR. H and one of the .,'S D.s
vars had to mount guard, while the mo
Ter native proceeded to the nearest vii m I..l
.e and got stout blanket for the pur- ~ NO
Sc of throwing it over its head; and it 10 10,
S by this means that the capture was am
length effected. All the wav home no.
wolf-child behaved like mad thing. ana
canning and bowling, now piteously, he
" In paroxyism of impotent rage.
vas. however, taken to Mr. HA's yea
Use; but it would not be comforted. slns
for a long time refused all kinds of nis
d, including raw meat. The creature @ nea
! boyof about nine years of age; and i1l LOT
nay here be stated that no female uie'
f-child has ever been heard of or 'en
A. 1t is not easy to assign a suffi-
lt reason for the fact that females
e never been so discovered. unless we %
pose that, being less vigorously con- tie
uted, they have been unable to with .
I'd the terrible hardships of such an .
'tence, and have very soon sickened ing
died. ther
q appearance this boy was exceed +,
|y repulsive; his features were blunt does
coarse and their expression brutal the
and insensible. As for his habits, freis
were exactly those OF wild ami rs II
the
[r. H caused minute inquiries to insts
made throughout the neighbor;ng spi.