Into the Wild: The Real Boy Mowgli

2024 Author: Seth Attwood | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 15:55

Rudyard Kipling, the author of books about a boy raised by animals, was inspired by the stories of real feral children who lived far from civilization.

Life in the forest, without people, surrounded by animals and plants, like Tarzan's or Mowgli's, can become a plot for a novel, or maybe someone's reality, already without a touch of romanticism. Especially when it comes to children. History knows about a dozen examples of children and adolescents found in the forest in various countries, hiding from people for years and living among wild animals.

They ate plant-based foods and raw meat and generally suffered from numerous illnesses, both mental and physical. One of the most famous examples is Dina Sanichar, a boy whom hunters accidentally found in the forests of India. At that time, the child was 6 years old. Sanichar lived among people for more than 20 years, but he did not really socialize, did not learn to speak and retained his "animal" habits.

Royal favor: Peter at court

Georg took the child with him and put him in the care of Caroline. In 1726 he was baptized and named Peter. The future queen Caroline took care of the upbringing of the feral boy. He was appointed a teacher, Dr. John Arbuthnot, who became famous at court not only for his medicine, but also for his talent as a satirist.

Arbuthnot tried to teach Peter to talk, but he never succeeded. Throughout his life, Peter has learned only a few words: his name and the name of King George. Otherwise, he continued to make inarticulate sounds. Peter was never used to walking on two legs and sleeping in bed, preferring to curl up on the floor in the corner of the room.

He didn't like to wear clothes. According to court legend, the "savage" was horrified when his long stockings were first removed, probably because he thought that the servants were pulling off his skin, not a piece of clothing.

The very concept of being in society remained unclear to him. However, Peter was a real star at George's court. Aristocrats, maids of honor, high-ranking courtiers, philosophers, writers and scientists came to Kensington Palace to see this unprecedented and curious phenomenon. Peter was something of a "human pet", a real curiosity.

He still moved on his arms and legs, jumped on tables, pulled visitors by their clothes and hair, fumbled in his pockets in search of watches and small objects, and made inhuman sounds. The table manners also left a lot to be desired. But, despite the almost zero socialization, Peter was very loved by both courtiers and members of the royal family. He possessed an extremely disposable, kind and friendly character, and therefore savage habits frightened few people, except perhaps shocked.

Peter became the hero of epigrams, ballads, poems and pamphlets, they wrote about him in the newspapers, and the great minds of the time, such as Daniel Defoe and Jonathan Swift, hoped to use his example to get an answer to the philosophical question of the Enlightenment: what, in the end, will win - savage nature or ennobling by education and culture?

Genetic disease is the cause of all troubles?

Interest in Peter gradually faded away, and it was decided to find a house for the "court savage" away from the courtyard, bustle and prying eyes. The care of him was entrusted to Mrs. Tichborne, one of Caroline's maids of honor. Peter was given an annual allowance of £ 35, with a guardian to manage the money.

At first he was settled in the house of a certain farmer James Fenn, and after the death of the latter, Peter began to live with the brother of the deceased, Thomas Fenn, on a farm called Broadway in Hertfordshire. In 1751, he suddenly disappeared, probably ran away. His guardians had posted a missing "5'8" dark hairy man who could not speak but spoke to the name Peter "in a London newspaper.

It turned out that all this time the foundling was in captivity - first in prison, and then in the workhouse. He was arrested by the authorities, who mistook Peter for a homeless beggar. When they saw the ad in the newspaper, they brought the man back to the farm and received a solid reward. Since then, Peter has worn a leather collar with a medallion engraved with his name and address in case he suddenly disappears again.

Modern researchers of the history of the "court savage" are inclined to the version that he could suffer from Pitt-Hopkins syndrome, a disease in which facial features take on certain distinctive features, which can be observed in the paintings from the image of Peter.

In particular, it is a large and oblong mouth, deep-set eyes, wide nose bridge and other characteristic features. In addition, this syndrome in adults is expressed in some developmental features, for example, in speech difficulties. "Wild Boy" lived a fairly long life, about 70 years. He died on February 22, 1785. Peter was buried with honors in the village of Northchurch, and his grave is on the list of protected heritage to this day.