St. Paul daily globe., 1892-04-24
WE'RE WOLF BoYs.
They Lived Like Wild AnimaIs
and Never Could re famed.

They Lived Like Wild Animals
and Never Could re famed
Relapscd man IS found in three forms
one. tie mos, marked and least lu-
man. is that which ensHes when he has.
as child. been carried OF aud kept
often for several years-by a Hild AMI
! nal, says the London Spectator. This
| is the acute form relapse, and exhibits
! all The symptoms Of tie Pindus bCY.
| with several others. among them a
! wholly carniyerous appetite. the voice
| OF Wild beast. extreme feTOcity. aud
| temper quite impossible TO hunanize.
| The second ana miIdcr form occurs
| when a Young child has run wild or
/ been deserted. and manages to keep
| itself alive without human aid, TO which
form the case OF the Greek boy belongs.
| The wl.d boy 0f Hanover. found ia the
| last century, was a similar instance. lie
| ran on all-fOurs. ate nothing but roots
! and nuts. and WAS without speech. The
! third form, now very rare IA Europe.
/ but not uncommon ia the Ardennes and
! other districts where the wolf still lives.
| Is clearly the result Of the mental
! malady Of lycaDthropy, sufferers from
! which are yearly brought 10 be touched
/ by tile Holy Stole OF st. Hubert who. VI
! less potent than his votaries imagine to
| drive the latent poison Of hydrOpIObia
! from the taintrd blood. can still minis
! ter 10 mind diseased, ana with mystic
! and cOnsOllng rites cures sufferers VINO
! exhibit beyond doubt all the worst
! traits by which relapsed man Is marked
! III the cOmpleteSt form Of retrO2resslOn.
what these characteristics are may Ice
! Judged from the curious and complete
Instances OF the capture OF children liy-
Ing IN wolves dens in the province Of
Oudc, collected. it is believed. by Cot.
Sleemai, the ablc officer who took
leading part in the suppression of the
Thugs Of India. In the first case, which
| occurred near the GOOnitee river in
district where wolves aboInd, and are
never killed by the natives from fear oil
the ill-luck which their death will bring
upon their village, a native trooper saw
large she wolf leave her den. followed
by three whelps and a little boy.
The boy seemed on tie best possible
terms with the dam and the three
whelps, and the mother wolf seemed to
guard all four with equal care. They
all went down To tic river and drank,
after which they were chased by The
trooper. but they escaped over rough
ground into the den, the boy running
on all fours quite as fast as the young
wolves. the man then got assistance
and dug the whole party OUT; the
wolves and boy bolted together, and the
boy was caught. fastened to a rope, and
led TO the village.
lie could not speak, but grOwled and
snarled like young wolf and tried 10
bolt In every hole and shelter that WAS
reached. After four days he was sent
10 an English officer Capt. NicnOetts.
Though kindly treated.he never learned
TO speak. ran away from grOWn-up peO-
pie, flew at children and tried TO bite
them, aud ran 10 eat his food on all
fOnrs. But he was friendly win pa
riah dog and would let 1t share his food.
He would suck up whole pitcher of
buttermiIk without drawing breath APP
parently. He never laughed or smiled.
and destroyed all the clothes given him
Two and half years after his capt
ure he died, and just before his death
spoke once or twice, saying his head
ached, and prOnOlncng the word Tor
water. Another child caugHt in VOLTS
den IN the same neIghbuThOod was even
more savage. lie would only eat raw
flesh, on which he put his hands as a
dog puts his foreteet. He drank in the
manner mentioned before, and habltu-
ally ran Oh all fOurs, IRON which his
knees and knuckles were quite hard.
Though reclaimed by his mother. he
was quite untamable, and at last lived
in the village streets like a pariah dog,
going every night into the jungle.
A third boy, caught near llasanpur,
could walk upright, but preferred To go
on all fOurs, and ran so last IN that
position that 40 one could catch him.
He could not talk. but was induced to
wear clothes. But lie still remained 50
lnhuman that few people would keep
him for any time, and for three nights
in succession wolves were seen to come
up and awake him. In each case the
boy played with the wolves, VINO
capered round him and licked him.
We will not attempt TO frame Il theory
from the cases we have quoted. No
doubt it will be open To those who hold,
with the late Prof. GarrOd, that man
vas the first of the animals to stand up
right, and that he has not yet learned to
DO this properly. or he would not be
subject to spontaneous injuries from
which quadrupeds are free, 10 seen in
these accounts Instances of a return TO a
primitive state.
Others will fairly argue that the deg
radiation of relapsed man 50 far tran
scendS all knOWns Instances OF man in
his lowest natural state, as merely to be
an example OF cOrruptl0 Optimi peSSima.
But, ia any case, we may nter from the
instances which we have quoted, that
relapsed man walks and runs well, and
by prefe renee on all-fours cannot
speak, lives on raw food, fears his own
species, drin Ks by suction, and what is
perhaps best OF all, never lives to una
turity; for all the captures recorded
have been those of boys, not of men.