Saturday, April 03, 2010

MUIRHEAD`S MYSTERIES: A FRENCH WILD MAN FROM THE 18TH CENTURY

I have the following cutting from The Times newspaper for November 7th 1786:

An Account of a remarkable Wild Man. Translated from a Work lately published in Paris.
In the year 1774, a savage or wild man, was discovered by the shepherds, who feed their flocks in the neighbourhood of the forest of Yuary This man, who inhabited the rocks that lay near the forest, was very tall, covered with hair like a bear, nimble as the Hisars (1), of a gay humour, and, in all appearance, of a mild character, as he neither did, nor seemed to intend, harm to anybody. #



He often visited the cottages, without ever attempting to carry off any thing. He had no knowledge of bread, milk, or cheese. His greatest amusement was to see the sheep running, and to scatter them; and he testified his pleasure at this sight by loud fits of laughter, but never attempted to hurt those innocent animals. When the shepherds (as was frequently the case) let loose their dogs after him, he fled with the swiftness of an arrow shot from a bow, and never allowed the dogs to come near him.



One morning he came to the cottage of some workmen, and one of them endeavouring to get near him, and catch him by the leg, he laughed heartily, and then made his escape. He seemed to be about thirty years of age. As the forest in question is very extensice, and has a communication with vast woods that belong to the Spanish territory, it is natural to suppose that this solitary, but cheerful creature, had been lost in his infancy, and had subsisted on herbs (2)


1. I have no idea who or what the Hisars were
2. The Times November 7th 1786

The B52s Love Shack

If you see a faded sign on the side of the road
That says 15 miles to the…Love Shack! Love Shack yeah
I`m Headin` down the Atlanta Highway
Headin` for the love getaway
Headin` for the love getaway,love getaway
I`ve got me a car as big as a whale
And we`re headin on down
To the Love Shack
I`ve got me a Chrysler,it seats about 20
So hurry up and bring your juke box money…

2 comments:

  1. Hisars could be Hussars?


    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hussar

    ReplyDelete
  2. The only reference I can find for Hissar is from the Dictionary of archaeology - it basicly says they were ancestral to the Baluchistan and India.Indo-european speking people from central Asia to Iran.
    Dont know if thats much help as it seems geographically too far from the Russia spanish boarder.

    Tony

    ReplyDelete