1 00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:02,160 Speaker 1: Hey everyone, it's Eaves. I just wanted to let you 2 00:00:02,200 --> 00:00:04,240 Speaker 1: know that you'll be hearing an episode from me and 3 00:00:04,400 --> 00:00:07,040 Speaker 1: an episode from Tracy V. Wilson today. I hope you 4 00:00:07,120 --> 00:00:10,920 Speaker 1: enjoyed the show. Welcome to this Day in History Class 5 00:00:10,960 --> 00:00:13,400 Speaker 1: from how Stuff Works dot com and from the desk 6 00:00:13,440 --> 00:00:15,600 Speaker 1: of Stuff you missed in History Class. It's the show 7 00:00:15,600 --> 00:00:17,919 Speaker 1: where we explore the past one day at a time 8 00:00:18,040 --> 00:00:25,160 Speaker 1: with a quick look at what happened today in history. Hello, 9 00:00:25,280 --> 00:00:28,400 Speaker 1: and welcome to the podcast. I'm Tracy B. Wilson, and 10 00:00:28,440 --> 00:00:33,840 Speaker 1: it's January. Gill Gargnier, known as the Werewolf of Dole, 11 00:00:34,000 --> 00:00:37,080 Speaker 1: was found guilty of likecantherropy and witchcraft on this day 12 00:00:37,080 --> 00:00:41,239 Speaker 1: in after a series of just gruesome attacks on children 13 00:00:41,440 --> 00:00:46,800 Speaker 1: and possible cannibalism. Gill Gargnier lived in the forest north 14 00:00:46,800 --> 00:00:49,240 Speaker 1: of Dole in France, and he was kind of a recluse. 15 00:00:49,400 --> 00:00:52,479 Speaker 1: He had been nicknamed the Hermit of Dole. A lot 16 00:00:52,479 --> 00:00:56,840 Speaker 1: of other hermits this time were reclusive for religious reasons, 17 00:00:56,880 --> 00:00:58,680 Speaker 1: and this wasn't the case for him. He was just 18 00:00:58,800 --> 00:01:02,280 Speaker 1: kind of a loner and an odd ball, living out 19 00:01:02,280 --> 00:01:05,319 Speaker 1: by himself in the woods. He also got married to 20 00:01:05,440 --> 00:01:09,080 Speaker 1: a woman named Apollonia, and we know almost nothing about her, 21 00:01:09,120 --> 00:01:12,000 Speaker 1: including how he met her or why she married him. 22 00:01:12,120 --> 00:01:16,920 Speaker 1: Given his very solitary and kind of odd existence, he 23 00:01:17,000 --> 00:01:19,640 Speaker 1: also didn't have any way of really supporting the two 24 00:01:19,640 --> 00:01:22,440 Speaker 1: of them. They didn't have any animals, they had no garden. 25 00:01:22,880 --> 00:01:25,720 Speaker 1: They were mostly scavenging food and trying to glean it 26 00:01:25,760 --> 00:01:30,400 Speaker 1: from other places. On September twenty nine of fifteen seventy two, 27 00:01:30,440 --> 00:01:33,000 Speaker 1: a girl of about ten or twelve was attacked and 28 00:01:33,160 --> 00:01:37,880 Speaker 1: mauled and killed while out in a vineyard. Allegedly, Guarnier 29 00:01:38,080 --> 00:01:41,160 Speaker 1: was the culprit, and allegedly he took parts of her 30 00:01:41,200 --> 00:01:46,080 Speaker 1: body home to use his food. Another similar attack happened 31 00:01:46,080 --> 00:01:48,400 Speaker 1: in a meadow not long afterward, but this time the 32 00:01:48,400 --> 00:01:51,280 Speaker 1: culprit was chased away before taking any parts of the 33 00:01:51,320 --> 00:01:53,920 Speaker 1: girl's body, and the witnesses said that it was some 34 00:01:54,000 --> 00:01:58,600 Speaker 1: kind of a wolf. Attacks continued. They focused on children 35 00:01:58,640 --> 00:02:02,440 Speaker 1: who were outdoors, either walking or working in gardens or vineyards, 36 00:02:02,480 --> 00:02:05,760 Speaker 1: and then, finally, in one of these attacks, witnesses said 37 00:02:05,920 --> 00:02:09,600 Speaker 1: that it wasn't a wolf that they saw, it was Garnier. 38 00:02:10,200 --> 00:02:12,760 Speaker 1: He was linked back to all of these earlier attacks 39 00:02:12,800 --> 00:02:17,240 Speaker 1: and then arrested and put on trial. About fifty witnesses 40 00:02:17,360 --> 00:02:20,320 Speaker 1: gave testimony at the trial. Some of them said things 41 00:02:20,360 --> 00:02:22,280 Speaker 1: like that they had seen a wolf in the woods 42 00:02:22,840 --> 00:02:24,880 Speaker 1: and then they had seen Guarnier in the woods, so 43 00:02:24,960 --> 00:02:28,160 Speaker 1: they concluded that they were one and the same. And 44 00:02:28,200 --> 00:02:31,080 Speaker 1: then at the trial Guarnier also confessed to these crimes, 45 00:02:31,120 --> 00:02:34,960 Speaker 1: but he had made that confession after being tortured. He 46 00:02:35,040 --> 00:02:36,840 Speaker 1: said that one day he had been out looking for 47 00:02:36,880 --> 00:02:40,080 Speaker 1: food and he met a specter and the specter said 48 00:02:40,560 --> 00:02:43,799 Speaker 1: that he could help Guarnier. He said that the specter 49 00:02:43,840 --> 00:02:45,679 Speaker 1: gave him a salve that would let him turn into 50 00:02:45,680 --> 00:02:48,600 Speaker 1: an animal. He had a few animals to choose from, 51 00:02:48,680 --> 00:02:50,639 Speaker 1: and he decided to be a wolf because that made 52 00:02:50,680 --> 00:02:53,400 Speaker 1: the most sense out of the French countryside. And this 53 00:02:53,600 --> 00:02:56,520 Speaker 1: really fit right in with an existing belief in like 54 00:02:56,680 --> 00:03:00,840 Speaker 1: cantherropy in sixteenth century France. After the trial, he was 55 00:03:00,880 --> 00:03:03,240 Speaker 1: sentenced to be drawn on a hurdle to the place 56 00:03:03,280 --> 00:03:06,200 Speaker 1: of execution and then executed and then his body burned 57 00:03:06,200 --> 00:03:10,440 Speaker 1: into ash. This didn't really get rid of local fears 58 00:03:10,440 --> 00:03:13,520 Speaker 1: of werewolves, though, and a law was passed later in 59 00:03:13,560 --> 00:03:17,800 Speaker 1: fifteventy three that made it legal to hunt werewolves Today 60 00:03:17,800 --> 00:03:20,760 Speaker 1: it's not really clear whether Garnier had anything to do 61 00:03:20,840 --> 00:03:23,600 Speaker 1: with any of these deaths. A survey of the forest 62 00:03:23,800 --> 00:03:26,480 Speaker 1: in the early two thousands did identify the remains of 63 00:03:26,480 --> 00:03:29,280 Speaker 1: a structure that dated to about the same time. It 64 00:03:29,360 --> 00:03:32,079 Speaker 1: might have been his home. There was no sign of 65 00:03:32,120 --> 00:03:36,120 Speaker 1: any human remains there. It's often suggested that he may 66 00:03:36,160 --> 00:03:39,360 Speaker 1: have been experiencing some kind of delusions, especially if he 67 00:03:39,440 --> 00:03:43,520 Speaker 1: believed that confession that he had given under torture. And 68 00:03:43,560 --> 00:03:47,000 Speaker 1: it's also possible that some of these attacks really were 69 00:03:47,040 --> 00:03:51,200 Speaker 1: animal attacks. Wolf attacks have been very rare in other 70 00:03:51,440 --> 00:03:53,920 Speaker 1: times in history and in other parts of the world, 71 00:03:53,960 --> 00:03:57,880 Speaker 1: but in early modern Europe they were a big problem. 72 00:03:57,920 --> 00:04:00,200 Speaker 1: There is more to all this In the October were 73 00:04:01,720 --> 00:04:04,800 Speaker 1: episode of Stuff You Missed in History Class. Thanks to 74 00:04:04,960 --> 00:04:07,560 Speaker 1: Casey Pegram and Chandler Mays for their audio work on 75 00:04:07,600 --> 00:04:09,200 Speaker 1: the show, and you can subscribe to This Day in 76 00:04:09,280 --> 00:04:12,960 Speaker 1: History Class on Apple Podcast, Google podcast, I Heart Radio app, 77 00:04:13,040 --> 00:04:16,200 Speaker 1: and wherever else you get podcasts. Tune in tomorrow for 78 00:04:16,240 --> 00:04:27,479 Speaker 1: its telegram that changed the course of a war. Hey y'all, 79 00:04:27,560 --> 00:04:31,160 Speaker 1: I'm Eves. Welcome to This Day in History Class, a 80 00:04:31,240 --> 00:04:34,240 Speaker 1: show where we one day ship nuggets of history straight 81 00:04:34,240 --> 00:04:43,640 Speaker 1: to your brain through your ear hole. Mm hm. The 82 00:04:43,720 --> 00:04:48,719 Speaker 1: day was January eighth, ninety three. More than seventy years 83 00:04:48,760 --> 00:04:52,080 Speaker 1: after athlete Jim Thorpe won gold medals at the nineteen 84 00:04:52,080 --> 00:04:56,840 Speaker 1: twelve Olympics, the International Olympic Committee restored his medals posthumously. 85 00:04:58,080 --> 00:05:01,760 Speaker 1: James Francis Thorpe, also known a Bright Path, was born 86 00:05:01,800 --> 00:05:04,760 Speaker 1: in what is now Oklahoma. He was a member of 87 00:05:04,800 --> 00:05:07,680 Speaker 1: the Stock and Fox Nation, a tribe of sock and 88 00:05:07,839 --> 00:05:13,000 Speaker 1: Mesquwaukee people's. Thorpe participated in many sports over the years. 89 00:05:13,440 --> 00:05:16,480 Speaker 1: He played football and competed in track and field at 90 00:05:16,480 --> 00:05:20,719 Speaker 1: Carlisle Industrial Indian School in Pennsylvania. In the summer of 91 00:05:20,800 --> 00:05:24,080 Speaker 1: nineteen o nine, Thorpe went to Rocky Mount, North Carolina 92 00:05:24,360 --> 00:05:27,840 Speaker 1: to play minor league baseball for a reported fifteen dollars 93 00:05:27,839 --> 00:05:32,080 Speaker 1: a week. College athletes often used pseudonyms when they did 94 00:05:32,120 --> 00:05:35,640 Speaker 1: this so they could keep their status as amateurs, but 95 00:05:35,760 --> 00:05:38,599 Speaker 1: Thorpe used his own name, and he went back to 96 00:05:38,600 --> 00:05:42,240 Speaker 1: play baseball in the Eastern Carolina League, splitting time between 97 00:05:42,320 --> 00:05:44,880 Speaker 1: Rocky Mount in Fayetteville. In the summer of nineteen ten, 98 00:05:46,040 --> 00:05:49,280 Speaker 1: Thorpe excelled as a football player and track and field star, 99 00:05:49,640 --> 00:05:53,120 Speaker 1: and he began training for the Olympics. In nineteen twelve, 100 00:05:53,279 --> 00:05:56,640 Speaker 1: he headed to Stockholm, Sweden for the Summer Olympics. Chosen 101 00:05:56,760 --> 00:06:01,120 Speaker 1: for the pentathlon and decathlon teams, He won gold medals 102 00:06:01,120 --> 00:06:05,120 Speaker 1: in both events. Later that year, he returned to Carlisle 103 00:06:05,160 --> 00:06:08,599 Speaker 1: to play football. His victories had gained him more faint 104 00:06:08,960 --> 00:06:12,600 Speaker 1: and he noted disliking all the attention. But all the 105 00:06:12,640 --> 00:06:17,520 Speaker 1: positive attention soon turned into negative press. Olympic athletes had 106 00:06:17,560 --> 00:06:22,200 Speaker 1: to follow rules regarding amateurism. Those who previously played professional 107 00:06:22,240 --> 00:06:26,719 Speaker 1: sports could not compete in the game. In nineteen thirteen, 108 00:06:26,839 --> 00:06:30,599 Speaker 1: the Wooster Telegram out of Massachusetts reported that he was 109 00:06:30,640 --> 00:06:33,120 Speaker 1: paid to play baseball in the summers of nineteen o 110 00:06:33,279 --> 00:06:37,640 Speaker 1: nine and nineteen ten, and news spread to other sources. 111 00:06:37,680 --> 00:06:40,440 Speaker 1: This meant that he was barred from competing in the Olympics. 112 00:06:41,440 --> 00:06:44,039 Speaker 1: In a letter he wrote to James Edwards Sullivan, the 113 00:06:44,080 --> 00:06:47,920 Speaker 1: secretary of the Amateur Athletic Union, he said the following, 114 00:06:48,520 --> 00:06:50,880 Speaker 1: I hope I will be partly excused by the fact 115 00:06:50,960 --> 00:06:53,680 Speaker 1: that I was simply an Indian schoolboy and did not 116 00:06:53,839 --> 00:06:57,120 Speaker 1: know all about such things. But his lack of awareness 117 00:06:57,160 --> 00:06:59,359 Speaker 1: of the rules did not fly as an excuse, with 118 00:06:59,400 --> 00:07:03,240 Speaker 1: the Amateur Athletic Union. It revoked his amateur status, and 119 00:07:03,320 --> 00:07:06,839 Speaker 1: the International Olympic Committee stripped him of his medals and 120 00:07:06,880 --> 00:07:11,200 Speaker 1: took his name out of record books. Thorpe soon left Carlisle. 121 00:07:11,600 --> 00:07:14,360 Speaker 1: For the next couple of decades, he played Major League 122 00:07:14,360 --> 00:07:19,720 Speaker 1: baseball and professional football. After he retired from professional sports, 123 00:07:19,760 --> 00:07:23,400 Speaker 1: he took various jobs as an MC actor and public speaker. 124 00:07:24,480 --> 00:07:28,400 Speaker 1: In nineteen forty three, the Oklahoma Legislature adopted a resolution 125 00:07:28,720 --> 00:07:31,800 Speaker 1: that the a a U B petitioned to reinstate his records, 126 00:07:32,320 --> 00:07:35,160 Speaker 1: and there were later calls for the restoration of his medals, 127 00:07:36,000 --> 00:07:38,600 Speaker 1: but he died of a heart attack in nineteen fifty three. 128 00:07:39,680 --> 00:07:42,600 Speaker 1: It wasn't until nineteen seventy three that the A A 129 00:07:42,760 --> 00:07:47,560 Speaker 1: YOU restored his amateur status. In January eighth, nineteen eighty three, 130 00:07:47,800 --> 00:07:52,760 Speaker 1: when the International Olympic Committee presented Thorpe's children with commemorative medals. 131 00:07:53,920 --> 00:07:56,440 Speaker 1: I'm Eve jeffco and hopefully you know a little more 132 00:07:56,440 --> 00:08:00,280 Speaker 1: about history today than you did yesterday. If there's something 133 00:08:00,360 --> 00:08:02,400 Speaker 1: I missed in the show today, you can let us 134 00:08:02,440 --> 00:08:08,640 Speaker 1: know at T D I h C podcast on Twitter, Facebook, 135 00:08:08,880 --> 00:08:12,960 Speaker 1: or Instagram. You can also email us at this day 136 00:08:13,000 --> 00:08:17,280 Speaker 1: at I heart media dot com. Thank you for listening 137 00:08:17,320 --> 00:08:20,600 Speaker 1: to today's episode. We'll see you again tomorrow with another one. 138 00:08:23,080 --> 00:08:25,920 Speaker 1: Mm hm m