Wolves in Le Tôt
The departmental archives and newspapers of the time report the presence of wolves around Clères throughout the 18th and 19th centuries:
For example, in the parish registers of Montville, one can see the burial on September 14, 1702, in the churchyard of Montville, of the remains of a 4-year-old child, devoured by a carnivorous beast .... "
In 1871, Father Bertaux, the parish priest of Frichemesnil, recounted that two rabid wolves were killed. One bit pigs in their stables and two or three people from Bracquetuit, the other a wagoner who finally managed to beat him by smothering him after a 3/4 hour fight. He went on to say that that same year a troop of loggers saw the beast in the woods of Clères. The talk is all about wolves and rabid dogs. One attacked a strong boy, "gulped" his arm and broke it. It's a scourge for the country.
The mayor of St Georges sur Fontaine also laments that those wild beasts do not just attack flocks of sheep and destroy poultry: they attack horses and men, even during the day. He himself was the victim of a huge wolf that attacked the horse he was riding: he was knocked off, and owed his salvation only to his vigorous defence.
Again: 14 Prairial year 4 (June 2, 1796). "The wolves have caused some havoc in the canton of Quincampoix and especially for the neighbours of the green forest, the woods of Préaux and The Houssaye, which serve as their hideouts.... ». The answer of the administration of 19 prairial year 4 (June 7, 1796) was "... we are surprised, citizens, that the farmers of your canton do not rush to unite. We have invited citizens Tirebarbe and Frémont, wolf hunters living in Pavilly to come and hunt these animals .... (ADSM L 468. Township of Quincampoix).
It was not over: in 1798-1799, several wolves or cubs were killed in the village of Montville. Several horses were devoured, farmers called for hunts to be ordered as soon as possible and for the citizen Duhalley, a wolf hunter, to go there to try to destroy these animals.
In 1835, thirty sheep were devoured in the towns of St Victor l’Abbaye and Montreuil en Caux. In 1837, wolves were seen in the countryside of the canton of Clères. A huge wolf was killed in the Varat woods, and a she-wolf at Mount Cauvaire in 1842.
In 1842, a beating was organized by two of the guards of the land of Clères, with the help of many inhabitants of the countryside... "At one o'clock in the afternoon, an old wolf of enormous size and two pregnant she-wolves, were killed in the woods belonging to M. de Béarn, and brought to the home of Mr. Toutain, manager of the land of Clères. A fourth wolf, which was seriously injured, could not be taken; but the next day this animal was found dead in Claville." (Journal de Rouen. 15 February 1842)
One could almost laugh: in Clères, in February 1842, during a beating, "beaters are relentlessly hitting scythe blades with sticks, a bell is rung, horns, clarinets, an oboe are blown, cymbals are hammered. Three violins complete this strange rural orchestra! This pseudo-musical din manages to scare away five wolves, but none are killed."
(Jean Claude Marquis. Wolves, Wizards, Criminals ... Various facts in Seine Inférieure in the 19th century. 1993)
"A magnificent three-year-old wolf has been killed in recent days in the woods of Tot (commune of Clères), by Mr Pascal Alexandre, private guard of Mr. du Beaumelay. This is a real good fortune for the farmers of the land, some of whom have their farms at the edge and even in the middle of these woods .... We have probably killed one of the last wolves in the country .... (E. Christmas. Journal de Rouen - April 17, 1864).