Detroit evening times. (Detroit, Mich) 1921-1958, 1941-05-18

he was soon able to give a con-
nected account of himself. II
began with vague recollections
of living in a house with a father
and mother.
Then the father went away and
the mother cried, until one day
a great lot of men came. MAX
ing a terrible lot Of noise, the
house burned up and he went
away with the noisy men who
didn't want him. He wandered
around from farm to farm, some
times getting a meal and a place
to sleep overnight before they
drove him on his way to nowhere.
Howl long this period of
wandering lasted nobody was
able to make much of a guess
but 1t finally came to a pause at
a farm. somewhere the other side
of some water. Here his arrival
had caused a heated argument
between the peasant and his dog
on one side who were for chas-
ing the visitor off the premises,
and on the other the wife and
the children who wanted to let
the poor waif stay.
The result was a compromise,
in which the boy wayfarer was
permitted to remain and act as
swineherd, in return for food
and the right to sleep in the hay
of the barn.
But the barn caught fire. This
was blamed on Clemens and after
that he was compelled to sleep
with his charges, the pigs. Things
began to disappear around the
farm, in spite Of the fact that
the swineherd was forbidden to
enter any Of the buildings and
uhe farmer christened him Dirty
Thief"
The peasant grew more and
more angry at the boy, forbade
his wife or family to go near
MN on any pretext and finally.
IN the hope no doubt that II
would make him run away
stopped giving him any food.
Clemens had to compete with
the pigs for the garbage and
Stops that were poured into the
trough. and though the animals
tolerated this new competition, it
was not enough for the boy.
He learned to get milk from
a mother sow and TO forage in
The fields where he had been
taught carefully that he and his
pigs must never enter. Occasion
ally being caught in these pilfer-
ings increased his unpopularity
with the peasant who was having
a hard enough time TO get a
living.
The end Of the child's pig-sty
career came when he was caught
in the kitchen. devouring the
family's precious sugar loaf. For
this the Infatuated farmer gave
Clemens such a beating that he
went wandering again for a few
weeks until the Overdyke
Orphanage took him in.
1t is the theory Of those who
have studied the pig-chlldren
that the sight of a human child
taking refuge in the degradation
of a pig-sty among the most
contemplate animals of the farm
was too much even for the hard
est heart. The Swine-girl of
Saltzburg and probably many
other similar cases are believed
to have taken sanctuary in a pig
gerry and been allowed TO remain
there and live as pigs.
Clemens became a fairly docile
young man. except when scolded
for his many careless faults,
which sometimes made him fly
into paroxysms Of rage. In one
of these he seized an axe and
tried to kill a kindly old man
whom he had just persuaded to
take him out Of the asylum and
into the mans home.
When the authorities came to
take him away Clemens viewed
their approach with a sullen
frown. Suddenly he grinned,
Jumped up and began to dance.
much to everyone's surprise. The
reason was that his keen ear had
caught the notes of a distant
bugle and. as always, at the
sound of music he was impelled
to jump up and jig.
Though unable 10 learn TO read
or write he easily caught a tune
by ear and seems to have had
the makings of musician.
A MOTHER Overdyke case was
~ the bird-boy who slept in the
forest by day and approached hui
man habitations only by night to
steal food. The youngster was
z,,.Nu T., - o,-,,fthn NC-t- anC hniIph