He could
walk, like other men, on his legs, but could never be taught to
speak. He would utter sounds like wild animals, and could be made to
understand signs very well. He used to sit at a bunneea's shop in the
bazaar, but was at last recognised by his parents, and taken off.
What became of him afterwards he knows not. The Rajah's statement
regarding this lad is confirmed by all the people of the town, but
none of them know what afterwards became of him.
About the year 1843, a shepherd of the village of Ghutkoree, twelve
miles west from the cantonments of Sultanpoor, saw a boy trotting
along upon all fours, by the side of a wolf, one morning, as he was
out with his flock. With great difficulty he caught the boy, who ran
very fast, and brought him home. He fed him for some time, and tried
to make him speak, and associate with men or boys, but he failed. He
continued to be alarmed at the sight of men, but was brought to
Colonel Gray, who commanded the first Oude Local Infantry, at
Sultanpoor. He and Mrs. Gray, and all the officers in cantonments,
saw him often, and kept him for several days. But he soon after ran
off into the jungle, while the shepherd was asleep. The shepherd,
afterwards, went to reside in another village, and I could not
ascertain whether he recovered the boy or not.
Zoolfukar Khan, a respectable landholder of Bankeepoor, in the estate
of Hasunpoor, ten miles east from the Sultahpoor cantonments,
mentions that about eight or nine years ago a trooper came to the
town, with a lad of about nine or ten years of age, whom he had
rescued from wolves among the ravines on the road; that he knew not
what to do with him, and left him to the common charity of the
village; that he ate everything offered to him, including bread, but
before taking it he carefully smelt at it, and always preferred
undressed meat to everything else; that he walked on his legs like
other people when he saw him, though there were evident signs on his
knees and elbows of his having gone, very long, on all fours; and
when asked to run on all fours he used to do so, and went so fast
that no one could overtake him; how long he had been with the
trooper, or how long it took him to learn to walk on his legs, he
knows not.
Pages:
323
324
325
326
327
328
329
330
331
332
333
334
335
336
337
338
339
340
341
342
343
344
345
346
347