The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1892-03-03
THE WILD BOY OF P|NDUS
An Instance Of the Great Rapidly
With Which Man May
!. Retrograde.
Relapsed Human Beings Have
Boon Found i'll Three Very
Distinct Forms.
children Carried oiT and Kept by Ani,nals
Running W~tld-Victims of y
e .. Mental Malady.

But meantime. let a. give, as we ind it
recently quoted in ths Anthenian paper, a
tale which comes from Yhessaly, OF the
wild boy on Mount Pindus: tDemstriades,
worthy-of-honor, the warden Of the kings
foreat On Mount Pindus, was out shooting
on the mountain. Reing tired, he left the
chase of the deer and turned up a Path
which led through n steep glen to some
shepherds huts, where he hoped to drink y
CUP OF the milk of Pindua, milk which is
famed to be the best of amy. While he was
walking quietly up the path he heard q
~rustling in the underwood, and stayed to
listen. Through this branches he saw an
unknown animal moving very quickly in
tho same direction as himself, and made
ready to FIRE at it, but was stopped by
shouts of the shepherds ON tho hillside
above, who called to him not to shoot. Ho
then followed this strange creature, which
had the form, indeed, Of a man, and was
wholly naked, bnt ran very fast, sometimes
on It's feet, but more often on sll-fours.
and reached the sheep-cote before him.
There he found it eagerly drinking the but
termilk from q trough into which it had
run while the chseses FROM the morning
milking wero being pressed. When it saw
him near, it ran into the wood; and the
chief OF ths shepherds told him its story.
He is a boy he said, : W%allaohian. the
son Of a Wallachian, who lived at Castania.
ON Mount Pindus. The man went back to
Nallachia to seek work, and there he mar
risd. He lived there some time, but after
wards came back to Mount Pindus. Six
years he was absent, and he brought back
four or Eve children. Then he died, and
left his wife and children to the "6ve
roads, Ii. O., to fortune.) The woman saw
tania. 50 she distributed them among
her n%sighbors and went back to her
swn country. Bat one of them ran
away from the person with whom
he was left. and has lived III this part of the
forest fer four years. He lives, sven as you
lives well, and drinks our buttermilk daily.
In winter 10 lies in the caves, and lives on
roots and nuts. He has learned no form of
speech, neither has he q name. The forest
warden determined MOTTO leave him endure
another winter OF the mountain, so babe
aAd fastened q rope to him and took him
back to Trikalae, where he clothed him,
and has done what he can to civilize him.
He always keeps him with himself or under
the care of some one who can talk, because
he socms unable to learn to speak any
word. though he initiates the voices of
many wild Creatures. MOI does he learn to
undsrstand the names of things. But an
imal sounds he mimics we'll, and he has
learned to ride. As his real name is not
known, his guardian called him Soiron.'
Ralapsed man is found in three forms
one. the most marked and least human. is
that which snsuss when he has, as II child,
been carried of arc %kspt-oftan for several
years-by q wild animal. This is the acute
form Of relapse, and exhibits all the mp
toms OF the Pindus boy. With several 9th
ers. among them a wholly carnivorous ap-
f%erocity, and a temper quito impossible to
harmonize. The second and nilder form
oceurS when q young child has rnn wild or
been deserted and manages to keep itself
alive without human aid, to which form the
case of the Greek boy belongs. Tne wild
boy of Hanover, found in the last century,
ate nothing but roots and nuts, and was
without speech. Thu third form, now very
rare in Europe, bat not uncommon in the
Ardennes and other districts whore the
wolf still lives. 10 clearly the result of the
mental malady of lyeanthropy, sufferers
touched by the holy stole OF st. Hubert, who,
if less potent than his votarles imagine to
drive the latent poison of hydrophobia
from the tainted blood, can still minister
to a mind diseased, and with mystic and
oonsoling rites cures sufferers who xhibi
beyond a doub allthe worst traits by which
relapsed man is marked in the completest
form OF retrogression. What those char
actsriktics are may be judged from the Curl
GUS complete instances of the capture of
children living in wolves den in the prov
lnce OF Dude. collected, 1t is believed, by
leading part in the suppression of the
thugs of India. In the first case, whlcL
occurred near the Goomteo river, in q dis
triot whore wolves abound and ara never
killed by tho natives from fear Of the Ill luck
which their dsxth will bring upon the viii
leave her den, followed by three whelpa and
u little Eov.
The boy seemed on the best possible
terms with the old dam and the three
Who'll s, and the mother wolf seemed to re-
gard All four with equal care. They all
wsnt down TO tho rlysr and drank, after
which they were chased by the trooper, but
they escaped over rough ground into a
cen, the boy running on all tours quito as
fast as the young wolves. Tho man then
got assistance and dug the whole party out;
the wolves and boy boltcd together, ana
tine boy was caught, fastened to a rope and
led to the village. He could not speak, bat
growlsd n snarled like a Young wolf,
and trlcd to bolt into every holo or shelter
that was passed. After four days he was
sent to an English officer, Capt. Nicnoletts.
though kindly treated, ha never learned to
speak. ran away from grown up people,
tl4w st children and tried TO bite them, and
ran to eat his food on all-fours. But he
wss friendly with a pariah dog. and would
let IL shnre his food. He would
suck up u whole pitcher of but
tetnllk without drawing breath ap-
parently. He never laughed or smiled,
and destroyed all clothes given
him. Two and a half years after his cap
turs he dlsd, and just before his death
spoke once or twice saying his head ached,
&nd p~ronounclng the word for water. An
other child caught in 4 VOLTS den in the
sans ne,ghborhood was even moro savage,
lie would oaly cat law flesh, on which he
put his bands rs q dog puts his f~orefeet.
1ie DRANK III the manner mentioned before
and habitus.iy ran on all fours, from
which his knees aud knuckles were
quite hard. Though reclaimed bv bis
h,osner, be was quite ~untamable. and
at last lived In tina village streets
like a pnriah dog. going every night into
the jungle. A third boy, caught near Has.
hnpur. could walk upright. but preferred
to GO on ali-tours. and ran 60 fast in that
position that no one could catch him. II,
could not tnlk, but was induced to weal
clothes. But he still remained SO inhumnr
That few people would keep him for am
time, and for three nights III succession
wolves were seen to come up and Rwak,
him. In each cnse the boy played with tn,
wolves, who capered round hin and Ticket
Lim.-london Spectator.
Tree. Ordered DESTROYED.