In the days before modern infrastructure and wildlife management, lone travelers and remote families were vulnerable to nature’s harshest predators, including the wolf. While these animals often avoid humans, desperation and hunger can drive them to kill. The following historical accounts, published in newspapers between the 1880s and 1930s, describe the tragic fates of people believed to have been attacked and eaten by wolves.
1. Woodsman’s Bones Found
It was reported out of Missouri in 1910 that a woodsman had been attacked and devoured by wolves.
The report states:
“James Smith, a woodman, was eaten by wolves in the woods… after fighting a desperate battle for his life.
“The wolves attacked him while he was alone, awaiting the return of a brother. When the latter returned he found his brother’s bones in the center of a circle of five dead wolves, while an empty repeating rifle showed that he had been overpowered before he could reload the weapon.”
Source: The Madison daily leader. Madison, S.D. March 4, 1910.
2. A Father Finds Devastation
One of the most heartbreaking accounts was published in 1908 and tells of a father who discovered wolves tearing apart his missing son in northern Minnesota.
The newspaper report reads:
“A number of boys were in the habit of going to school, returning together, and one child, a boy of eight, was kept after school, necessitating his return home alone. He failed to reach home and as darkness settled down, his father started with a lantern to hunt for him.
“He heard the growling of wolves not far distant. Going into the brush to where the noise had come from he found his don dead, mangled, torn and nearly half devoured, with two large gray wolves standing over him.
“The animals retreated on his approach and the remains of the boy were taken to his home for burial.”
Source: The Herald-Advance. Milbank, S.D. January 3, 1908.
3. After-School Attack in France
Children walking home from school were particularly vulnerable. A tragic report from France, 1914, details one such attack:
It reads:
“The long-continued cold, especially in the central districts of France, is bringing numbers of wolves frantic with hunger out of the woods. A little girl, returning from school, was devoured by wild animals, the searching parties finding only a torn [dress] and a few bones. Hunting parties are being organized everywhere.”
Sources: New York Tribune. New York, N.Y. January 26, 1914.
4. Knocking on Miners’ Doors
In 1911, it was reported that wolves had grown so desperate with hunger that they approached the doors of isolated mining cabins.
The Evening Star reported:
“Several residents of the west coast of Prince of Wales Island have been killed and eaten by wolves during the last year.”
A visitor to the region said “the wolves, having killed off all the deer, have become desperate with hunger and now come up to the doors of the miners’ cabins.”
Source: Evening Star. Washington, D.C. January 10, 1911.
5. Trapper’s Bones Surrounded by the Dead
Miners weren’t the only men being attacked by wolves. There are numerous reports of trappers being attacked and devoured by wolves.
For example, this report from 1885:
“[The] secretary of the Chicago lumber company just returned from the logging camp near Metropolitan, Michigan… [and] says that the night before he left the camp the mercury had dropped to 43 degrees below zero. This was the climax of four days of very extreme weather. That night an old trapper and hunter named Tom was returning from hunting, [and] was killed and eaten by wolves within two miles of camp. The wolves there are more numerous and bolder than usual, on account of the scarcity of small game. His friends searching for him next morning found his closely gnawed bones, 13 dead wolves lying near him pierced by his rifle balls, and his Winchester rifle by his side with one chamber still loaded.”
Source: Press and Daily Dakotaian. Yankton, Dakota Territory, S.D. January 26, 1885.
6. Skis, Torn Clothing, and Wolf Tracks
Winter in the wilds was a dangerous time for any lone person to travel by foot, or by skis, as in this case from 1912, Michigan:
“Mrs. Selma Makkinen, wife of a farmer living near Alston, is believed to have been killed and eaten by wolves. Last night she set out on skis from a neighboring farm to return home but did not arrive and today searchers found her skis, and parts of her clothing near tracks indicating the recent presence of a large pack of wolves.”
Source: Norwich Bulletin. Norwich, Conn. March 16, 1912.
7. First They Froze to Death
And finally, we come to this horrifying news article reported in 1932 where a mother and her children froze to death and were then eaten by a pack of wolves.
From The Coolidge Examiner:
“Frozen to death in the Durango mountains, and their bodies eaten by wolves, was the fate of eight members of the Juan Moreno family, which recently left Miami for Mexico.
“…Mr. and Mrs. Moreno and their 7 children were motoring to their old home near Durango, when they ran out of gas.
“Leaving his family in the car, Mr. Moreno started afoot on a 15 mile journey to obtain gasoline. In the meantime a blizzard came up and the mother and children were frozen.
“When Mr. Moreno returned to the car after the blizzard abated, he found that the bodies of his wife and children had been eaten by wolves.”
Source: The Coolidge Examiner. Coolidge, Ariz. February 19, 1932.
