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| March 1766 letter from Étienne Lafont. |
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| Second and third pages of Lafont's letter, describing the death of eight-year-old Jean Bergougnoux, “seized and carried off ” while tending cattle. |
It seems
between sixteen and twenty-two people were set upon during the first half of 1766. In March and April, three children perished: an eight-year-old boy, an
eight-year-old girl, and a six-year-old girl.
In a lighter account from March 1766, Jean-Pierre Pourcher, who would become the great-grandfather of Beast historian Abbé Pierre Pourcher, is said to have been journeying in the vicinity with a fellow named Antony after a fair when the Beast suddenly made an appearance. Pourcher insisted his companion was responding to a necessitous call of nature at the time. The creature left after being smacked with sticks by the two men, but it moved so fast Antony believed he’d been attacked by two beasts.
The estates of the Gévaudan met once more in March 1766, with, to their chagrin, a Beast again monopolizing the agenda. Discussion centered around the government’s directives and strategies concerning wolf poisoning.
In a lighter account from March 1766, Jean-Pierre Pourcher, who would become the great-grandfather of Beast historian Abbé Pierre Pourcher, is said to have been journeying in the vicinity with a fellow named Antony after a fair when the Beast suddenly made an appearance. Pourcher insisted his companion was responding to a necessitous call of nature at the time. The creature left after being smacked with sticks by the two men, but it moved so fast Antony believed he’d been attacked by two beasts.
The estates of the Gévaudan met once more in March 1766, with, to their chagrin, a Beast again monopolizing the agenda. Discussion centered around the government’s directives and strategies concerning wolf poisoning.
