92 Child Jound in a Savage State. 



CHILD FOUND IN A SAVAGE STATE- 



Many of our readers mud recolleft the particulars refpe£l- 

 ing Peter the wild boy, found in the woods in Hanover, who 

 was afterwards rnaintained in this country at the expence of 

 Government, and who died fome years ago : they will alfo be 

 able to recolleft the wild girl found in the woods of Cham- 

 pagne in France : both of which inftances were employed, 

 among others, by Lord Monboddo to fupport his whimfical 

 idea that mankind originally went on all-fours. Another 

 vnftance of a wild individual of the human fpecies has re- 

 cently occurred, as appears b^- the following extra6l of a latter 

 from the adminiftrator of the hofpital of Saint Afrique, which 

 we copy from a late French journal : — 



*' The attention of the inhabitants of this commune has 

 been attrafted this morning by a very lingular phenomenon. 

 A child, caught in the woods of Lacaune by three huntlmen, 

 was brought to our hofpifal, of which I ani one of the admi- 

 niftrators. On their approach, this child, which v/as quite 

 naked, betook itfelf to flight, and climbed up a tree. When 

 brought to Lacaune, it made its efcape ; but it was again 

 caught in the woods in the neighbourhood of Saint Sernin, 

 and carried to the houfe of C. Cimftans, Saint Elleve, com- 

 miflioner of government. The foldiers who attended it thi- 

 ther affured me, that it was caught in the manner above re- 

 lated. It is certain that it feeds only on potatoes and nuts. 

 If you give it bread, it fmells it, bites it, and then fpits it out: 

 the cafe is the fame with other kinds of aliment. From thefe 

 fafts there can be no doubt that it has lived a long time in 

 the woods. But how was it able to withfiand, while quite 

 naked, the feverity of the prefent winter in the woods of 

 Lacaune? This is the highelt aiid coldeft mountain in this 

 part of the country, and the cold was greater this year than 

 in 1795. This child feems to be only ten or twelve years of 

 age at moft. It is well fliaped, and its eyes are black and 

 lively. It is always endeavouring to efcape. This morning, 

 having fuffered it to go out into the fields contiguous to the 

 hofpital, it began to run as fad as it could, and, if it had 

 not been clofely followed and caught, it would have foon 



gained 



