The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1896-04-23
BABIES WITH WOLF MOTHERS.
Supposed Origin of the Famed ~Animal
Men, Of India

enQ hemuS mas been universally Re
garded as q harmless bit OF fiction, Like
80 many of the stories which the an
Gent Romans told so cleverly. Th,
ancient Romans themselves probably
believed, to a greater or less degree
the statement that these twins were
stolen when infants from their home
and brought up by a she wolf A wiser
age has agreed that the thing was quite
impossible.
Three objections have been offered
against believing such a story. First,
q wolf would not be able TO break into
a human habitation and obtain booty
in the shape of a baby without attract
ing attention; second, even If she were
successful in this attempt she could
not carry the baby away alive; third,
even if she carried it away alive she
could not rear it, for her other cubs, OF
her husband, would eat it up.
An English traveller In India has,
however, discovered evidence which
shows that there is very good ground
to believe IN the she wolf matter, as far
as ii relates to the early youth OF
Romulus and Remus, builders of Rome.
He declares that there is no doubt that
wolves carry off live babies, and, in
some Though rare) cases, rear them to
healthy and respectable manhood.
Female human babies are never raised
in this manner, it is said, for the reason
that they are timid, and because the
mother wolf does not care to have any
more women in the family than are alb
solutely necessary.
The way in which the wolf-children,
rs Mr.. Nelson sails them. are obtained,
is as follows: A young she wolf has a
litter of cubs, and after q time her In
stinct tells her that they will require
flesh food. So she steals out at night
in quest Of prey.
Soon she espies a weak place in a
fence fences are generally constructed
of matching grass and bamboo), which
incloses the habitation and grounds Of
some poor villager. The wolf shifts
around for awhile, just as a dog would
that is not certain of his surroundings,
and finally makes up her mind to enter.
Her purpose in thus trespassing upon
private property is not, probably, to
steal a baby, but rather to possess her
self of any helpless animals that may
chance to be in the Enclosure.
WhileprowIing about inside she looks
into a hut, where, perhaps, a woman
and infant are soundly sleeping. In a
moment she has pounced upon the
child and is out of reach before its cries
can attract the villagers. Arriving
safely at her den under the rocks, she
drags the little one among the cubs.
You may, perhaps, be surprised that
a wolf should find it such an easy mat
ter to get into a housewithout being no
ticed, but it must be remembered that
In India country houses are not locked
or otherwise secured. In fact the
very often have no door at all, and as
the natives sleep ON the ground on
mat or rug, it is not so very difficult
for a wild animal, especially for the
wolf, who is very cunning, TO steal ST.
lently in and quickly carry off victim.
When tsle she-wolf arrives at her den
the fate of the poor baby is very soon
decided. If the cubs are hungry, and
If they are old enough TO eat flesh food,
they divide the stranger among them
selves, with possibly portion for the
mother. This is. 10 doubt. what &C.
ours in most cases. But if, as occasion
ally happens, the cubs are not hungry,
or not old enough to want anything
but milk, the baby that has been so
brought to them is made
q playmate, and the entire family of
children procaed to enjoy themselves
In very gratifying manner. The hu-
man baby soon becomes accustomed to
the others, being cuddled In there by
the soft, fluffy feeling of the baby
wolves, and by their agreeable pranks.
The mother, for her part, is not long
in regarding the newcomer as one of
her own proper offspring. There is a |
peculiar scent about wolves, Just as
there Is about foxes and most other ami |
mails. The baby, lying among the cubs,
soon acquires this scent, and from that |
the she-woIf thinks it one |
Of her own and feeds it, and brings it
up and protects it accordingly.
1t is interesting to follow the career
If the baby wolf as he develops into
At first he has fine time,
living a wild life, not bothered by |
studies or clothes, which is the kind of |
ife all properly constituted children
Owe to live. But as he grows up he be-
comes lean and savage, and covered
With hair, walking on his knees and ell
BOWS. 1t is undoubtedly the occasion
Il appearance of such creatures as this
hat has given rise TO the story of the
existence of race Of wild, or animal"
men in indian Y. World.