Mussoorie, 4 Aug: John Lang was one of the popular short story writers during the British Raj in India. He has, recently, found renewed fame because of his association with Mussoorie and his strong advocacy of the Indian point of view at a time when the British were become supreme in the sub-continent.He got many of his pieces published in Charles Dickens's magazine, 'Household Words'.
Wolf Nurses was published in Household Words in February 1853. It could have been the inspiration for Kipling's 'Mowgli'.Most of Lang's stories that appeared in Dickens's periodical were later on published in a book form, in 'Wandering in India.'On 'Wolf Nurses', an Australian writer has a fascinating tale to tell. Sharing this, Victor Crittenden, author of John Lang: Australia's larrikin writer, says, "All the stories in Dickens's magazine'Household Words' were printed without any author given. We know the stories were by John Lang because Dickens kept an Office Book for the payments of author's stories published in 'Household Words'.""This Office Book survives and is in the Library of Harvard University and it has been republished in recent times. John Lang was paid for quite a number of stories which were published," he adds.
The Garhwal Post has reprinted the rare short story, which was first published over 150 years back, by arrangement with the John Lang Project (Australia).
Garhwal Post
5 August, 2006
Dehradun
(Uttaranchal, INDIA)
Shory Story: Wolf Nurses
By John Lang
The story of Romulus and Remus being suckled by a wolf is accepted as fabulous: but the following statement is strictly true.
In the Kingdom of Oude, some ten years ago, a male child of about eighteen months old was missed by its parents. It was supposed to have been carried away and devoured by the wolves, which are very plentiful in that part of the world. Every winter numbers of children are destroyed by these animals, not only in Oude, but in our own provinces in the north-west.
About seven years after the child was missing, a man who gained his livelihood by shooting in the jungles saw a wolf and several cubs, and with them an animal such as he had never seen before. It was like a boy, but ran upon all fours. The man followed the animal, but was unable to keep pace with it; he traced it, however, to a den, and a few days afterwords succeeded in taking the animal alive. It barked, or rather snarled and growled like a wolf, and attempted to bite itscaptor. The she-wolf and her cubs followed the man for some distance, and several times showed symptoms of a desire to rescue the animal; but, as the man was armed, they did not venture to attack him, and at last they returned to the jungle.
The animal was exhibited in Lucknow, and caused some sensation. It was eventually handed over to one of the authorities (an English officer) who had a cage made for it. That it was a human being no one could doubt, though it never stood erect, and never uttered any sound except a growl, or a hoarse bark. It refused every description of food that was cooked for it, and would only eat raw flesh, which it would devour voraciously. Clothes were made for it; but it tore them off with itsteeth. A rank smell issued from the pores of its skin, and its skin was covered with short thin hair. The smell was that of the wolf, by whom it had been brought up. It was very partial to hard bones, and would chew and digest them as a dog would. In a word, this animal had adopted all the habits of its foster-mother - the she-wolf. Crowds of natives every day came to look at the strange creature, and at last the woman who had lost the child was among the spectators. By certainmarks upon the animal, she recognized in it her missing offspring; but she was by no means anxious to have it restored to her. On the contrary, she regarded it with extreme horror and disgust.
Every means were resorted to, to tame the boy; but without effect. Shut up in his iron cage, he seemed to pine, and would never touch food until forced to do so by the pains of hunger. It would have been dangerous to let him go out of the cage; for he was as savage as any wild beast of the desert. Numerous attempts were made to teach him to speak; but he uttered no sounds beyond those already mentioned. He lived for about a year, and became in that time a perfect livingskeleton. Just previous to his death he said a few words, which the man who had charge of him understood to be these, "Seer durd kerta."(My head aches).
This is not the only instance on record of a wolf having brought up a young child, whom it had carried away from its parents. Some fourteen months ago an animal was taken in the district of Mozuffernugger, and brought to the station of Meerut. It was a boy of about five years ofage, and a more revolting sight it would be difficult to conceive. The palms of the hands, and the soles of the feet were as hard as the hoofs of a horse. His movements were as nimble as those of a monkey, and not unlike those of that animal. Several English dogs which saw this child showed a disposition to attack and destroy it (this was, of course, prevented), while the child in return snarled at the dogs, and shewed its teeth, as though it were upon these weapons that it wouldrest its defence. This boy, too, like the one taken in Oude, refused to eat anything but animal food-uncooked; nor would it touch even that in the presence of a human being.
In the provinces subjected to British rule, a reward of 5 rupees (10 shillings) is given for every dead wolf, by the magistrate under orders from the Government. The natives, however, usually contrive to bring them alive to a station, where they allow gentlemen's dogs to worry them to death - for a consideration in money - previous to taking them to the magistrate and claiming the reward. The sport is no doubt a very cruel one - tied up as the wolf generally is - but people have little sympathy for a beast who will often enter the hut of a villager, by night, and carry away a child from its mother's side. These depredations have of late years become less frequent than theywere formerly, and ere long, it is but reasonable to suppose, they will be of very rare occurrence - albeit the utter extinction of the race may be regarded as hopeless.
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