Werewolf - The Beast of Gevaudan 2.

(i) Steelzer/CrZ/Triumph



                     The Beast from Gevaudan.



                         part _two_



    The attacks on children continued for several weeks
and reached such a scale that one could talk about a massacre.
The wolf was never seen at the scene of his crime. He was seen
only victims, and even then too late... Now it was clear
that Doneval had failed.  More decisive ones were needed
measures.



    The king's next choice fell on Lieutenant Antoine de Botaire,
experienced and competent officer. He started by asking
nobles and their best hunting dogs. Having recruited a pack, the lieutenant departed
to Gevaudan with magnificent hounds and a squad of penners. And through
for two weeks, at the beginning of August, he relieved Doneval and his son.
The hunters did not hide their doubts that the royal
the lieutenant will be luckier than them.



    As if expressing contempt for the new enemy, the huge wolf attacked
another blow.  First, he bit to death an old woman who was sitting at
spinning wheel  Her body, badly torn, was found by a child,
whose cries apparently caused the wolf to run away.  In a few
Over the next few weeks, the wolf killed five more with monstrous cruelty.
children and a young woman - he seemed to challengeBoteru.

    Naturally, the locals were delighted when the hounds
They raised a huge wolf sleeping in the forest. Lieutenant Bother himself
shot at the beast and wounded it. Showing considerable courage,
the hunters spurred their horses and rushed to the fallen predator. But
Before they got close, the wolf jumped up and started running.

    Another hunter fired, and this time the animal fell dead.
He was examined carefully.  It was the biggest wolf that
the lieutenant has ever seen.  He had an extremely long
tail, and several stripes were found in the wolf's belly
red matter indicating that this wolf ate
people.



    The attacks on people stopped, His Majesty congratulated and
awarded Lieutenant Bother and his men. With a clear conscience
they went to relax in the luxury of Versailles. But in the meantime already
an ominous and tragic afterword was written to this story.
Having bided his time, the cunning killer - after a significant break -
attacked again.



    December began, and the unfortunate residents of Gevaudan realized that
they are still at the mercy of the inexorable and merciless
enemy.  The next victim of the beast was a young man who,
however, they managed to escape.  Then they followed one after another
death of two girls.  In desperation, residents decided to fight it themselves.
a monster, butas before, this struggle did not bring results.
And in the spring of the following year, 1766, it became clear that the cannibal wolf
more active than ever: the cunning beast waited until the lieutenant
Boter and his team finished their work, perhaps he even
left this area, and again returned to his "hunting grounds"
land"

    The wolf became so bold that in search of defenseless victims
came very close to the houses. At the end of March he dragged the boy away
eight years old, playing near the house, and his father, distraught with grief,
went in search of his child and found him torn to pieces
the remains are one and a half kilometers from the house. The next victim was
old man, and although he was severely wounded, he was lucky because
the intervention of a passing resident saved his life.

    Then there was not a lull for some time, but at the height of
In the summer the attacks resumed.  The beast killed two more children,
herding sheep, and the sad list of nightmarish attacks grew to
autumn. Residents again decided to take desperate measures to destroy
a terrible enemy who seemed like a gloomy creature of the forests
Gevaudan.  For example, they laid out poisoned food, which
the wolf might be interested.  This could very well help in the fight against
some ordinary animal, but the huge wolf was too
cunning to fall for such simple bait. Peasants
set traps and traps, but they allremained empty and
even the few skeptics who believe that this is an ordinary wolf,
wavered in their convictions.

    Yet deliverance was near. Residents themselves got rid of
this monster that will transform every lonely village, every
forest path, every lawn into a terrible place. Beast of Gevaudan
dominated the forests of this area for more than two years, showing
contemptuous indifference to all attempts to catch him.

    Perhaps it was this indifference that led to his death.
A local aristocrat, the Marquis d'Apche, having lost hope of help
king, decided to organize several raids on the cannibal. Local
residents responded enthusiastically to this proposal. Although
Many wolves were shot, but there was no man-eater among them.



    On June 19, 1766, the Marquis staged another raid, which
At least three hundred people gathered.  Back in the churches
prayers were said, and it must have seemed to many that this
the hunt is doomed, like all previous ones, to failure. But the raid
began, and the forest was filled with screams, sounds of horns and rare
shots from hunting rifles.



    One hunter named Jean Chastel was in the forest nearby
from the town of Son d'Auvers.  It's already past noon,
the beaters advanced. Chastel was a little tired.



    SuddenlyThere was a crash and a giant wolf jumped out onto the lawn.
Taking quick aim, Chastel pulled the trigger, and the beast collapsed like
knocked down, convulsively twitching his paws. Hunter with excitement
ran up to the corpse and, to his great delight, saw that it was
unusual wolf. It looked like the hunters had finally gotten lucky, and
they killed the cannibal.

    Looking at it in vain, the hunters were convinced that the wolf was
really huge, although it weighed less than the large wolves killed
on previous hunts. His fur had a distinct reddish tint,
and this was a feature of the wolf, which killed so many people. And
finally, when the animal was opened up, they found in its stomach
the humerus of a girl who died the day before.

    The cannibal was stuffed and sent to the king so that Jean
Shestel was able to receive a reward.  But unfortunately the scarecrow
unexpectedly quickly deteriorated, and the king, laughing at
Chastel ordered the remains to be buried as quickly as possible.

    The residents themselves paid tribute to Chastel: they collected
a significant amount of money and handed it over to the person who freed
Tsevodan from a misfortune that tormented him for more than two years.



    During this period, more than sixty people died a terrible death.
people and many residents were maimed or wounded. Beast
killed by Chastel was undoubtedly a cannibal, so-so attacks
stopped immediately.



    But something in this story remains unclear.  For example,
Was the attack carried out by one animal, or were there several of them? Where from
and this beast, if it attacked alone, such an incredible cunning,
and how he managed to avoid all the traps, escape from
raids carried out over large areas by famous experienced
wolf hunters?..