Peter the Wild Boy

Peter the Wild Boy was found in July 1724 in a wood near Hameln in Hanover; 'he was walking on his hands and feet, climbing up trees like a squirrel, and feeding upon grass and moss of trees.' He was taken to George I., brought over by him to England in 1726, and placed under the care of the celebrated Dr Arbuthnot, who had him baptised 'Peter.' He was fond of music, but could never be taught to articulate more than 'Ki Sho,' 'Qui Ca,' and 'Hom Hen,' for 'King George,' 'Queen Caroline,' and 'Tom Fen'—the last a Hertfordshire farmer with whom he lived after 1737. He would sometimes ramble away, on one occasion as far as Norwich, so was provided with a brass collar inscribed 'Peter the Wild Boy, Broadway Farm, Berkhamstead.' Lord Monboddo visited him in 1782, and in his Origin of Language describes him as only 5 feet 3 inches high, now about seventy years of age, quite tame, bearded, and fresh and healthy. But on the farmer's death Peter took to his bed, refused food, and in a few days died, in August 1785. See Notes and Queries for 11th October 1884, and works there cited.