A STRANGE STORY

Manawatu Standard, Volume LIV, Issue 286, 31 October 1934, Page 9

A STRANGE STORY

INDIAN GIRL’S DEATH. MAY HAVE LIVED WITH WOLVES INFLUENCE OF THE JUNGLE. (United Press Association—By Electric Telegraph.—Copyright.) Received October 31, 10.35 a.m. CALCUTTA, Oct. 30. An amazing parallel to Kipling’s wolf child Mowgli is revealed by the death of a girl, Arya Samaj, in an orphanage at Bareilly, United Provinces. Two years ago, peasants in Uie Garhwal foothills captured what at first was thought to be a wild animal, but what was later found to be a girl about ten years old. They kept her a few days till they found her hunting and eating rats alive, when they handed her to the orphanage, where a careful record of her condition was made. She was obviously accustomed to run on all fours, as her hands and knees were deeply calloused. She was unable to remain upright. At first the girl would eat nothing but raw meat, and growled at anyone attempting to take it from her, but gradually she became accustomed to rice and similar food. She retained the habit of digging in the earth for roots, and preferred food covered with dust. After eighteen months in the orphanage the girl succeeded in standing upright and, though she did not learn to speak, appeared to know the meaning of a few simple words. She died a month ago from dysentery. The orphanage authorities are of the opinion that she had been living in the jungle for eight years, but whether she was actually living with animals is unknown. Several cases of wolf children have been reported in India in recent years.