The Canton times. (Canton, Miss.) 1893-1906, 1896-04-24
BABIES WITH WOLF MOTHERS.
Supposed Origin of the Famed animal
Mon" OF India.

garded as harmless bit Of fiction, hike
so many of the stories which the an
cient Romans told so cleverly. The
ancient Romans themselves probably
believed, to greater or less degree,
the statement that these twins were
stolen when infants from their home
and brought up by she wolf. A wiser
age has agreed that the thing was quite
impossible.
Three objections have been offered
against believing such story. First.
a wolf would not be able to break into
human habitation and obtain booty
in the shape of baby without attract
ing attention.; second, even il she were
successful in this attempt she could
not carry the baby away alive; third,
even il she carried it away alive she
could not rear it, for her other cubs, or
| 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 it 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 abb
solutely necessary.
The way in which the wolf-children,
as Mr.. Nelson sails them. are obtained,
is as follows: A young she wolf has a
litter of cubs, and after 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 weak place in a
fence Fences ale generally constructed
of thatching grass and bamboo), which
incloses the habitation and grounds of
some poor villager. The wolf shifts
around for awhile, just as 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 baby, but rather to possess her
self of any helpless animals that may
chance to be in the Enclosure.
Whileprowlipg about inside she looks
into hut, where, perhaps, woman
and infant are soundly sleeping. In
moment she has pounced upon the
child and is out of reach before it's 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 house without being no.
ticed, but it must be remembered that |
in India country houses are not locked |
or otherwise secured. In fact, the |
poorer peoples houses in the country |
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 wild animal, especially for the
wolf, who is very cunning, to steal 81
lently in and quickly carry off a victim.
When.the 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, no doubt, what oc-
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
o playmate, and the entire family of
children proceed to enjoy themselves
in very gratifying manner. The hui
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
ner own proper offspring. There is a
peculiar scent about wolves, just as
here is about foxes and most other ami
mails. The baby, lying among the cubs,
'oon acquires this scent, and from that
the she-wolf thinks it one
# her own and feeds it, and brings it
Up and protects it accordingly.
1t is interesting to follow the career
# the baby wolf as he develops into
At first he has fine time,
wing wild life, not bothered by
tudies or clothes, which is the kind of
ife all properly constituted children
owe to live. But as he grows up he be-
ONES lean and savage. and covered
nth hair, walking on his knees and ell
ows. 1t is undoubtedly the occasion
! appearance of such creatures as this
hat has given rise to the story of the
xistence of race of wild, or animal"
hen in Indian. Y. World.
Aged Musicians. I
The recent death of Ambrose Thorn v
) at the are of IS recalls to n French | .