A FREAK OF NATURE. |
THERE were recently exhibited in Berlin and Paris two individuals who attracted much attention among scientific men, owing to a very singular development of hair upon the face and neck. In Paris they received the appellation of hommes-chiens (dog-men), from the resemblance of the adult's face to that of a Skye terrier. The portrait here given of Andrian Jeftichjew hardly does justice to this striking resemblance, though in other respects it is a faithful representation of the man's curiously hirsute countenance. Andrian is about fifty-five years of age, and is said to be the son of a Russian soldier. In order to escape the derision and the unkind usage of his fellow-villagers, Andrian in early life fled to the woods, where, for some time, he lived
Fig. 1.
Andrian Jeftichjew.
in a cave. During this period of seclusion he was much given to drunkenness, and even yet he is said to live chiefly on sauer-kraut and schnapps. His mental condition, however, observes a medical journal, does not seem to have suffered, and he is, on the whole, of a kindly and affectionate disposition to his son and those about him. It may be of interest to state that Andrian is an orthodox member of the Russo-Greek Church, and that, degraded as he is intellectually, he has very definite notions about heaven and the hereafter. He hopes to