Wild Boy by Mary Losure

the same habits”: Ibid., p. 44.
    Clair’s age and origin: baptismal records for the village of Connac, May 9, 1736, Archives Départementales de l’Aveyron.
    “He was constantly occupied . . . the most practiced man,” “He opened the pods . . . movement,” “As he emptied . . . nearby coals,” and “When he felt . . . cooking oil was stored”: Bonnaterre in Lane,
Wild Boy
, pp. 39–40.
    “I saw him . . . without being caught”: Ibid., p. 41.
    “a captain of the auxiliary . . . sausage on the plate”: Ibid., p. 40.
    “His affections . . . satisfying his needs”: Ibid., p. 39.
    “Suspicion of imbecility”: Ibid., p. 41.
    “This child . . . reflects on nothing,” “no imagination, no memory,” and “This state of imbecility . . . and determination”: Ibid., pp. 41–42.
    “Unfortunate boy” and “I claim him . . . forthwith”: February 1, 1800, Bonaparte to Aveyron commissioner J.-P. Randon, Ibid., p. 14.
    Chapter Six
    “Provided that the state of imbecility . . . kind of education”: Bonnaterre, Ibid., p. 47.
    “Whenever we changed . . . dearest affection”: Ibid., p. 41.
    old maps of the time: Arbellot, p. 46.
    “putting his chin . . . up to his mouth”: Bonnaterre in Lane,
Wild Boy
, p. 47.
    “During our trip . . . attempts at escape”: Ibid., p. 44.
    Description of Clermont: Young, Arthur.
Arthur Young’s Travels in France During the Years 1787, 1788, 1789
. Matilda Betham-Edwards, ed. London: George Bell and Sons, 1909. Library of Economics and Liberty. www.econlib.org/library/YPDBooks/Young/yngTF.html . Entry for August 11, 1789 (¶4.75) “Clermont is in the midst of a most curious country, all volcanic; and is built and paved with lava: much of it forms one of the worst built, dirtiest, and most stinking places I have met with. There are many streets that can, for blackness, dirt, and ill scents, only be represented by narrow channels cut in a night dunghill. The contention of nauseous savours, with which the air is impregnated, when brisk mountain gales do not ventilate these excrementitious lanes, made me envy the nerves of the good people, who, for what I know, may be happy in them.”
    pestered by “curious people . . . along our route”
[l’importunité dae curieux qui se portaient en foule sur notre route]
: Bonnaterre to Aveyron official, September 2, 1800, in Gineste, p. 145.
    “He refused to eat . . . any medicine” and “He recovered very well in a few days”: J.-J. Virey in Lane,
Wild Boy
, p. 46.
    “arrived . . . Bonnaterre”:
Gazette de France
, August 9, 1800, in Shattuck, p. 190.
    “As yet we know . . . visited promptly” and “down to . . . first thoughts”:
Gazette de France
, August 9, 1800, in Lane,
Wild Boy
, p. 18.
    “in the hands . . . deaf-mutes”:
Gazette de France
, August 9, 1800, in Shattuck, p. 190.
    Chapter Seven
    “Many people . . . past life”:Itard, p. 4.
    “a certain amount of ill-natured treatment” from “children his own age”: Ibid., p. 11.
    “He detests children . . . without fail”: Virey in Lane,
Wild Boy
, p. 42.
    “He likes solitude . . . as much as possible” and “If he is afraid . . . and remain alone”: Virey, Ibid., p. 43.
    “The Savage of Aveyron, currently at the Institute for Deaf-Mutes”
[Le Sauvage de l’Averyon, actuellement à l’Institution des Sourds-Muets]
: Archives Départementales de l’Aveyron.
    “annoyed and victimized . . . just as much”: Itard in Shattuck, p. 29.
    “he stood at the window . . . countryside” and “Sometimes he dreams . . . during the day”: Virey in Lane,
Wild Boy
, p. 45.
    “young savage of Aveyron”
[le jeune sauvage de l’Averyon]
: Bonaparte to Abbé Sicard, August 29, 1800, in Gineste, p. 144.
    One person who saw the wild boy . . . door and windows
[Il a . . . un balancement . . . qui ressemble à celui de l’ours de la ménagerie . . . ses yeux se portaient d’une manière inquiète vers la porte où les fenêtres.]: le Courrier des spectacles
,