3.9 The Gevaudan beast
An army of dragoons to defeat the Beast that makes the earth of Gevaudan tremble…
The Beast appeared in June 1764, in the north of the county of Gévaudan.
But where is the county of Gevaudan? The area that was formerly called Gévaudan became the Lozère department which together with the Saugues canton, is now part of the department of Haute Loire.
Trouble is coming to the Gévaudan …
Soon the animal called the Beast of Gevaudan will spread panic in this austere, rural region.
A harsh climate
‘Nine months of winter, three months of hell!’ A saying that characterises this bleak 1,000 to 1,500 meters high region.
Wildlife
The area is full of wildlife both fauna and mammal; wild boar, deer (roe deer, reindeer, etc.), chamois, groundhog, fox, squirrel, badger, lynx, hare rabbit, hare and of course the wolf which then was very common.
The coming of the dragoons
On the evening of November 3 1764 the French army was the first to respond to the threat of the Beast. They dispatched Captain Duhamel with 56 dragoons including 17 on horseback to Mende to hunt the wolf.
The victims
The Beast will first attack children whose main task is to look after the livestock.
The invincible Beast!
It avoids all traps, and escapes from all the hunts conducted against it by the greatest specialists in the field, sent by King Louis XV in person. The Beast is unpredictable, it travels far and survives all attempts to kill it. In short it appears invulnerable.
A demon living in the land of Gevaudan
Haranged by the religious remarks of the bishop, the desperate peasants believe that the Beast is a demon that only God can destroy.
Jean Chastel, the savior
At last, after four years of devastation, on June 19, 1767 the Beast is killed by the bullets of Jean Chastel, a peasant and child of the country of Gevaudan, bringing to the end all attacks. It is officially recorded that the Beast caused the death of at least 80 people, including 70 children together with nearly 170 other attacks.
Was it really a wolf? Or another animal … there are many hypotheses on the subject; was it a mad wolf, a lynx, a wolverine, a feline stranger to Europe, a hyena … what do you think?
