Miracle guy from Kostroma: Who really was the ” boy with a dog’s face»
When the famous Barnum circus came to America in 1884, its chief star was “The most striking example of all possible miracles in the last 50 years.” This “example” was a boy from Russia, covered from head to toe with hair. At that time, such performances were not uncommon, but it was really unusual to see children in them.
As the Barnum circus ad told us, the boy was found by hunters in a remote Russian village. There the boy lived with his father, who was also hairy, but very fierce. My father had attacked the hunters like a wild dog, and they had no choice but to shoot him. The child was rescued and taken from this backward area to beautiful America.
In fact, there was a certain amount of truth in this story, but, of course, not so much. The boy’s stage name was Jo-Jo, and his real name was Fedov Evtischev (according to other sources — evtihiev). He really was a native of the Russian hinterland and it really was discovered by hunters near Manturovo Kostroma province. However, both father and son were quite nice and quiet people who lived far from populated areas and did not seek much contact with other people.
Adrian — that was the name of father Fyodor-could barely speak, and if he could, it is unlikely that he would have done it well — Adrian had only 5 teeth. Fyodor had 4 teeth, but over time he still learned to speak more or less in Russian and German, and after he was transported to America, he learned a few phrases in English, too, which brought the local audience to delight.
Somehow, then the hunters persuaded Adrian to take the infant Fedor and move to the capital. There they were placed in the” Golden cage ” — provided the most luxurious conditions, the best apartments, delicious food, but at the same time put a permanent guard at the door. Adrian tried to run away several times, but each time he was returned and admonished that he would be better off here. Do not forget to add alcohol to it.
When Adrian and Fyodor were brought to England, they were put up in the most expensive hotel, where various doctors began to visit them in their rooms. Experts agreed that Adrian was about 50 years old, and his son — about three. Nothing could be found out about Fyodor’s mother; Adrian only said that she was dead. Although one of the hunters who brought the Evtischevs to England, said that the inhabitants of the village near which they found Adrian and Fyodor, once saw a hairy woman with a baby, but she did not approach people.
Little Fyodor liked that so many people came to see him and his father. It amused him that they had so little hair on their heads. The boy was very cheerful and cheerful, easily went to contact, so that even in the Newspapers of that time, he was written about as a very nice guy.
Despite its friendly nature, the main number of Theodore was not so nice. The boy was dressed up in a stylized military uniform of the Russian Empire, put on a chair in the middle of the arena, and when the audience got close enough to him, he began to growl like a dog. The audience usually jumped back in surprise, and immediately after that began to applaud for such a bright show.
After 10 years, Adrian finally got drunk and died, presumably from cirrhosis of the liver. With Fyodor, when he was 16 years old, Barnum signed a contract and took him to America, where he became part of the circus and toured throughout the country. For twenty years, the guy traveled all over the world with the circus, until one day, while in Greece, he caught pneumonia and died. Later, famous creative personalities, including Robert Heinlein, Disney, Tom Veits and the writers of the X-files, turned to the image of Fyodor Evtischev more than once.
