From what I have seen and heard I should doubt whether any
boy who had been many years with wolves, up to the age of eight or
ten, could ever attain the average intellect of man. I have never
heard of a man who had been spared and nurtured by wolves having been
found; and, as many boys have been recovered from wolves after they
had been many years with them, we must conclude that after a time
they either die from living exclusively on animal food, before they
attain the age of manhood, or are destroyed by the wolves themselves,
or other beasts of prey, in the jungles, from whom they are unable to
escape, like the wolves themselves, from want of the same speed. The
wolf or wolves, by whom they have been spared and nurtured, must die
or be destroyed in a few years, and other wolves may kill and eat
them. Tigers generally feed for two or three days upon the bullock
they kill, and remain all the time, when not feeding, concealed in
the vicinity. If they found such a boy feeding upon their prey they
would certainly kill him, and most likely eat him. If such a boy
passed such a dead body he would certainly feed upon it. Tigers often
spring upon and kill dogs and wolves thus found feeding upon their
prey. They could more 'easily kill boys, and would certainly be more
disposed to eat them. If the dead body of such a boy were found
anywhere in the jungles, or on the plains, it would excite little
interest, where dead bodies are so often found exposed, and so soon
eaten by dogs, jackals, vultures, &c.
Pages:
331
332
333
334
335
336
337
338
339
340
341
342
343
344
345
346
347
348
349
350
351
352
353
354
355