How could Kamala and Amala have become animals to all intents and purposes? Their limbs and body, though those of a human being, underwent modification to such an extent that the acquired animal movements became natural to them. This is because they were thrown into the company of the wolves from their very babyhood. They had not had the opportunity of making use of their limbs in the human world as human children. As babies they had no example before them to copy, except that of the animal. They saw the wolves and copied them. To do this, their limbs underwent deformity in adapting themselves to the requirements of the circumstances and the life they had to lead with the wolves.
This is a new case. Although both human and animal powers were persent in them — in brain, in heart, in limbs, and in body (unlike a puppy dog possessing only the animal side); yet they grew in the animal side only, and their locomotion was accordingly modified to suit their environment. They grew up as animals pure and simple.
Kamala and Amala's attachment to Mrs. Singh became greater than that of any pet in the house, because the human side of their faculties began to grow, though very, very slowly, much slower than another human child of that assumed age of one year and less than a year, respectively. Their intelligence lay almost dormant. It showed indications of its presence on the first occasion when they were first seen peering out of the mouth of the tunnel of the wolf den. This was October 9 and 17, 1920. It was certainly there, but not sufficiently developed and cultivated. It lay almost in a dormant state, because they were thrown out of touch with the human beings from their very infancy and were living all alone with the animals only.
Now at this stage their animal side developed to give them a fixed animal character, with a body so modified to adapt themselves to the society, circumstances, and surroundings — in a word, the environment — and the human side lay in a passive state, almost in a subconscious state. If they were to grow in humanity, they would have to fight with the fixed animal character formed during those years with the wolves in their cave and in the jungle, i.e., the whole animal environment. Theirs was not a free growth, as in the case of a human child of that age, in human society and environment. It was a hampered growth, consequently very, very slow in all its progress.
They had to eliminate some of their habits which were not required now. They had to make an effort to adapt themselves to the new environment they were placed in. Again, those animal developments, which modified their body, taste, and other senses to a great extent, were no longer required now. They were to give up and stop any further growth in them in the present environment. A new life, which is the sum total of the development of the human senses, was opened out to them. At first it stopped all growth in them for some time, because they had to fight with the acquired animal instincts from their infancy which had been given a purely animal development by their environment. The environment had changed, and they had to adapt themselves to a new sphere of life.
Chapter IX
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Their human articulation was nil when they were found. They were mutes. No sound came from their mouths.
December 10, 1920
The only sound we heard from them was a peculiar cry, or howling, in the dead of night. We heard this just when they recovered from their illness on the tenth of December, 1920. This cry was a peculiar one; it began with a hoarse voice and ended in a thrilling shrill wailing, 1 very loud and continuous. It had a piercing note of a very high pitch. It was neither human nor animal. I presumed it was a call to their companions, the wolves, or the cubs. It was intended to make them aware of their whereabouts. Almost every night they used to cry regularly three times, once at about ten o'clock in the evening, once at one o'clock, and once at three o'clock in the morning. There was a difference of pitch in the two voices — Kalama's voice was stronger and bolder, more sharp and shrill. Amala's was weaker, changeful, and thinner. But both had a fine thrill of reverberating notes, very high, and piercing. It could be heard from a good distance, and more so on a still night when everyone was asleep and no other sound was audible except the screeching of the owl, the chirping of some night bird, and the sounds of the animals prowling in search of prey or drink. This sound was different from the growling or roaring of a ferocious animal meeting its prey. It was simply a call to signify their existence in a particular area. They went on crying like this for some time continually every night, and then stopped crying at regular hours. Later they used to cry now and then, but always at dead of night and never during the day. Kamala always began and Amala took it up and continued even when Kamala had stopped. At first it startled everyone in the Orphanage, but soon we became familiar with it.
December 12, 1920
Besides this shout, Amala uttered a noise, "Bhoo, Bhoo," when she was thirsty and wanted her drink. It was first heard on this date. She used to crawl on hands and knees and produce that noise while approaching the place where drinking water, or milk, was kept. She used to come to the place and stand on her knees to reach the drink.
December 17, 1920
She was caught meddling with the utensil on this day. Kamala and Amala had no other articulation except these sounds.
Mrs. Singh was anxious from the very beginning, since they were admitted into the Orphanage, to bring out their articulation of speech. She treated them as babies just trying to prattle. She used to sit by them, whether in health or in sickness, to attend to them. She was always trying to bring her soothing influence to bear on them. At first they tried to keep away from her. They would go into the corner and behave in a fashion which expressed their dislike for her company.
Time passed this way, and they persisted in avoidance. During illness they were helpless, and grudgingly permitted her attendance to them. She continued with untiring effort to talk to them. At first, they did not pay any attention whatever. Then she thought of a plan — she commenced taking up prattling babies of the Orphanage and talking to them in their presence. These babies prattled with her before them. But Kamala and Amala moved away, and took another corner at a distance in the same room. If she again moved to them in that corner with the babies, they would resent it and again move away to another corner. She found that they were getting irritated, so she left off approaching them. She sat with the babies in the middle of the room, and went on talking to them. Kamala and Amala appeared quite indifferent, but at the same time, took notice of the babies especially, by stealthy looks. Whenever a baby moved away a little for something or other, their eyes followed them at once, but immediately turned away to their favorite corner, appearing as if they did not care what was going on. It appeared from their conduct that they kept a watch on all that was going on between Mrs. Singh and the babies in the middle of the same room in which they were.
Kamala receiving biscuits from Mrs Singh's hand
December 13, 1920
This was seen on the thirteenth of December, 1920, for the first time.
At first this infantile conversation did not please them, but stealthily they watched everything that was going on. Mrs. Singh tried other devices; while she would be talking, she would display some biscuits by opening a tin, and distribute a few among the babies. The babies commenced to eat.
The noise of chewing attracted the wolf-children's attention, and both of them turned sharply to look. They turned their eyes away at once to the corner, but could not keep long without looking at the babies, turning round again to find out what they were doing. This they repeated in quick succession, showing their appetite for the biscuit. This was assumed by her, and she approached them and gave them a biscuit each. They would not take them from her hand, so she placed them on a stool near them, and they took them immediately. This practice went on for some time.
August 3, 1921, and August 13, 1921
They learned to take biscuits from her hand on the third of August, 1921, and later even approached her to receive them on the thirteenth of August, 1921, but did not like to stay near her long. They went back to their corner forthwith.
Sometimes she would bring in milk and would be dealing it out in cups to the babies in the middle of the same room. Kamala and Amala at first did not come, but gradually they fell in with the babies by coming to her for it and returning to their corner at once, carrying the cup in one hand and crawling on their knees and the other hand.
In this way, Kamala and Amala commenced coming to Mrs. Singh when any food or drink was to be distributed among the babies.
Then she would show pictures to the babies and tell them short stories connected therewith. The babies, although they could not talk or talked very little, except mere prattling, would listen to her very attentively and see the pictures connected with the story. All this did not interest the wolf-children, but it was noticed that whenever the names of the food or drink with which they were familiar were uttered, they used to turn at once towards the pictures hung on the wall close to them and the babies.
Mrs. Singh got the clue now: she devised means to bring them round.
July 15, 1921
Sometime after, she introduced a game with the babies. She would prepare tea and distribute it among the babies with biscuits or bread. Kamala and Amala joined in on the fifteenth of July, 1921, for the first time. Unfortunately, there was no actual tea; only the biscuits were real.
July 16, 1921
The next day (the sixteenth of July, 1921) they did not come when tea was being distributed in the game, but came all right when the biscuits were being given away after the tea distribution.
Here it is distinctly seen that they disbelieved the teacup and did not come for it the next day, but came for that of which they were certain. It shows a sign of the intelligence they had, and we believed that this intelligence could be cultivated.
When we found they expressed a desire by their attitude and behavior for any food or drink, we at once attended to them sweetly and affectionately, pointing out to them the particular food or drink they were accustomed to in the Orphanage, all the time asking them and naming the food or drink, holding it up before them at the same time. They used to pick out that which they wanted.
Mrs. Singh used to take a collection of food stuffs, such as biscuits, sweets, and some fruits, and go to the dormitory with the babies. She used to open the foods out in the room and ask the babies their names, one by one. Among the babies some could prattle and talk a little; she would hold up one of them before them. Some among them could give the names, but if they failed, Mrs. Singh would give the names herself and make them repeat the name several times. Kamala and Amala would be watching in the same fashion as before, but would not come till the food was being distributed. They heard and stealthily watched everything that was going on. They used to refuse what they did not want by not extending their hand; but they extended their hands for what they wanted. Fruits they did not care for; sweets, milk, and biscuits they liked. The best they liked was milk, and sweets much less.
Early in the morning Mrs. Singh used to massage them with mustard oil, and she would talk to them affectionately all the time thus engaged. At first the wolf-children resented it, expressing their dislike in their features. But the love expressed in tone and action was gradually understood, and the influence of the constant touch in the act of passing the hand all over the body for a pretty long time, from 4:00 to 5:00 a.m. daily, produced a soothing effect.
Early in the morning, when she went to massage them, Mrs. Singh used to ask them how they were. Mostly the babies would be up by then, and as soon as she entered the dormitory they used to jump out of their beds and go to her near Kamala and Amala. After putting the question to Kamala and Amala by turns, she would ask the same question of each baby as he or she came towards her from his or her respective bed. There would be some babies who could answer every morning. When one of them answered, she would take it up and coax others to say it, if they could prattle it out. If they failed, she would make the baby who had answered to repeat it several times. She took great care not to tire the babies. If she found they were getting tired, she would at once change the conversation to a game, or anything she thought would interest them. All the different treatments will be dealt with later on.
Kamala playing with dogs and pets
This change to a game would be to whatever they liked. It used to be a sort of game in the presence of the wolf-children: such as tickling them, taking them on her lap, caressing them, and coaxing them in a manner which they liked and wanted to have repeated. Kamala and Amala used
December 17, 1920
This attention was noticed on this date. This bringing in the pups was intended to be a medium towards their progress in the cultivation of human faculties, and this association helped to give them courage to associate with us because of the pups which played with us in the same room, in their presence. But it had a bad effect as well: they paid more attention to the animal inmates of the Orphanage, the pups, than to the babies, and even far less towards my wife or me. But we could not help it, because we found that this was the only means to assure Kamala and Amala that we were the friends of the pups and that the pups liked to associate with us. Thus we waited to create in the wolf-children some interest in us through this example from the pups. This example we wished them to copy, and behave fearlessly in our association. Thus we wanted to reassure Kamala and Amala, and create in them an interest through the examples of our association with the babies, the dogs, and the pups. It did not visibly produce any hopeful effect at once, but we went on for several months, till Amala and Kamala fell ill on September 4 and September 6, 1921, respectively.
