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| An immense sculpture of a wolf looms over modern Saugues, France. |
There were fewer attacks in June, about a dozen (still, an
average of four per week!). The Beast took the lives of four—two male, two
female: three children (one may have been a young teen), and a 45-year-old
woman, with two decapitations. Three deaths occurred within two days, June 20
and 21. The Beast roved the areas of Auvers-Nozeyrolles, Saugues and Le
Malzieu, and Venteuges.
French functionaries had deemed it time for the d’Ennevals
to step back and allow a third hunter to take over: King Louis XV’s own trusted
gun-bearer and lieutenant of the hunt, 71-year-old François Antoine, who was
joined by one of his sons and royal gamekeepers sent by various princes, among
other assistants. After a two-week
journey to the Gévaudan area from court, Antoine (who was actually an
acquaintance of the senior d’Enneval) hunted with the father and son on June 23
and met with Lafont to discuss his requirements and offer rewards for wolves
killed, with greater monies for the Beast.
