The Beast of Gevaudan
Wolf or Werewolf?
Back in the year 1764 a great wolf appeared and rampaged the people of Gevaudan, France. The beast killed more than 100 people. Enjured over 30 and slaughtered countless sheep and livestock for about 3 years. Most of the wolf's survivors went mad from shock. The ones who didn't go insane described a savage monster.
"When reading the different statements from those attacked and descriptions of the wounds the beast gave it's victims, it is easy to understand what a terror it must have been for the people of Gevaudan...... It was much larger than a wolf, almost as big as a cow, and with a huge head. Its nose was long and pointed, sort of redish in color. It had short ears and very big teeth. The fur was short and light gray in color. The chest was white, and along its back was a black stripe. The big paws had razorsharp claws, and the tail was as thick as that of a wolf. Furthermore it was very agile and extremely strong. It was sometimes sighted in locations very far apart on the same day. When hunting it crawled almost with its belly to the ground. One shepherd claimed it could stand up on its rear legs and was strong enough to lift a fullgrown sheep with its arms. Dogs fled in terror from it as most other animals. The only animals strong and big enough to make a stand against it were bulls. It was also said that it was afraid of firearms. Maybe because it had been shoot a couple of times. (The Patrik Pages, http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Cavern/9638/gevaudan.html)"
After several failed attempts to destroy the beast rumor spread and soon the legened of wolf spread to every part of France. Antoine de Beauterne, a well known wolfhunter, claimed to have killed the beast in September, 1765. When the beast didn't match up to the descriptions given by the people of Gevauden, many refused to believe this was the beast of legend, and of course the attacks continued.
"After he had eaten or maimed eighty people and got a price of 10,000 livres on his head, an army of 20,000 men and hundreds of dogs was sent after him. During the next year he brought his total [of humans maimed or eaten] to 120; a larger expedition was sent out...Finally Louis XV called the entire standing army and every noble within 100 leagues of Paris. Twenty-eight hundred dogs, and 43,000 men hunted him from August until September, when he was finally caught and killed, and during that time he sustained himself upon a few more Frenchmen (Murphy 1947:25)."
By the time the beast was finaly killed in June of 1767, the legend had changed the beast from a wolf to a werewolf. Jean Chastel, the slayer of the beast embalmed the creature and allowed people to pay to see it. When word spread to the King it was decided to display the wolf in the royal palace. Due to poor embalming the body was so baddly decayed that when it reached the palace the King ordered it buried. One week after the creature was finaly brought down, Jean Terrisse killed a similar creature believed to be it's mate during a hunting party led by marquise Labesseyre-Saint-Mary. After the death of the two wolf creatures, the attacks finaly stoped. However the legend did not. Some stories claim the beast was a man who had committed the killings, and some even claim it was a gang of men dressing up in furs to scare and attack the citizens.
Special thanks go out to chaos@pobox.alaska.net for his help in getting me on the search for Gevauden...
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