In a true story called The Wolf Girl of Devil’s River, Del Rio, Texas, a little girl who was seen wolfpack hunting alongside them.
What if animals adopted us and raised us instead of humans? Would we retain our humanity or would we simply mutate into a snarling beast? Stories of misbehaving children make us ponder what it is to be human and the relative merits of nature vs nurture. These kinds of stories are well recognized in every country. A strange and mysterious story of a feral child who was purportedly raised by wolves and went on to become a legend has its roots in the southwest areas of both the United States and Mexico. Here, we’ll share a true account about the Texas town of Devil’s River’s wolf girl.
You may reach Devil’s River by travelling northwest through the desert from Del Rio, Texas. Where Dry Creek and Devil’s River meet, a trapper by the name of John Dent and his wife Molly lived in the 1830s. Dent went in search of beaver, which were plentiful there. Out of the undergrowth, he and Molly built a cottage, and close by, they built an arbor for shade. When Molly Dent was going to give birth to their child, John Dent rode his horse to their furthest neighbors. He announced to the man and his wife, “My wife is having a baby.” Could you help us? They promised to show up right away.
A strong storm formed as they prepared to leave, and John Dent was killed by a lightning strike. It took them till the following day before the man and his wife found his cabin. Then Molly Dent died as well. She seemed to have given birth before she died. The neighbors, however, did not discover the infant. Because there were wolf prints everywhere, they came to the conclusion that the wolves had consumed it. They interrogated Molly Dent and then departed.
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First Sighting of the Wolf Girl
A strange rumor began to spread several years after her death. While some insisted the tale was true, others insisted it couldn’t be. The story begins in a little community, 12 miles from Molly Dent’s tomb. Wolves came rushing in from the desert one early morning and killed a few goats. At the period, such assaults were widespread. However, a young boy claimed to have seen a naked young woman with long blonde hair rushing with the wolves.
A year or two later, a woman found some wolves eating a goat they had just slaughtered. She claimed that they were eating the goat alongside a young woman with long blonde hair who was not dressed. When they saw her, the wolf and the girl both fled. The girl, according to the woman, first crawled on all fours before getting to her feet and racing as fast as the wolves. People started to wonder if this wolf girl was a Molly Dent child. Had a wolf mother abducted her as soon as she was born and raised her with her pups? If so, she would be between the ages of 10 and 11.
Howling Cries of the Wolf Girl
As the tale was being told, some men began seeking for the girl. They searched nearby, in the gorges of the desert, and along the riverbanks. They claim to have come upon her one day as she travelled through a ravine with a wolf by her side. When the wolf ran away, the girl hid in a crack in one of the canyon walls. She bit and scratched the men like a frightened animal to prevent them from capturing her. She began screaming and howling like a scared young wolf and a young girl as soon as they were able to get her under control.
Her kidnappers tied a rope around her, mounted a horse, and led her to a little ranch house in the middle of the desert. They promised to give her to the sheriff the next day. They released her from her restraints and placed her in an empty room. Out of fright, she hid in the shadows. They left her and locked the door. She screamed and howled again after a short while. The males were afraid they might go nuts from listening to her when she eventually stopped talking.
As night fell, wolves howled in the distance. Every time they paused, the girl allegedly reacted by howling. Wolf howls might be heard, according to the folklore, coming from all directions and getting louder and closer. Horses and other cattle were suddenly attacked by wolves as though a signal had been given. The men fired their weapons and rushed into the shadows. High up in the wall of the room where they left the girl, there was a tiny window. Over it, they fastened a plank. She moved the board, crammed herself through the window, and then disappeared.
Years passed with no sign of the girl. Then, one day, a group of men riding horses manoeuvred around a bend in the Rio Grande not far from Devil’s River. They claimed to have seen a young woman with long blonde hair feeding two wolf pups. She saw the males and took the puppies and ran into the brush. On their horses, they pursued her, but she soon scattered. They searched all over, but they were unable to locate her. That is the final known deed of the wolf girl. There in the desert, close to the Rio Grande, is where the story comes to an end.
Ghost of the Wolf Girl
Strange stories lingered into more modern times, but as people’s recollections of the Wolf Girl vanished, they became a sort of regional mythology. It appears that, if the Wolf Girl ever existed, she hasn’t really gone anywhere even after passing away because there have been sporadic reports of seeing her ghost prowling through the wilderness; typically described as a white apparition with long hair that runs around on all fours before dissipating into thin air.
Conclusion:
The girl would have turned seventeen in that year. She then permanently disappeared into the countryside. Throughout the 1850s and 1860s, soldiers in Camp Hudson, Texas, reported hearing screaming and wailing at night. Right now, it’s hard to say what happened to Mollie Dent’s daughter.
Also Read: Super Pack of 400 Wolves that Terrorized the World
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