Portefaix and the Beast of Gévaudan
On 12 January 1765 a group of children from Le Villaret in Gévaudan, led by Jacques Portefaix, drove off the Beast of Gévaudan.
Wikipedia gives 12 January 1765 as the day the beast attacked a boy, Jacques Portefaix, and seven children of Villaret, in the parish of Chanaleilles. After several attacks, the group drove it away by staying together. Étoile.fr, a Lozère tourism guide, gives the same date and calls the children young shepherds who stood their ground.
TheCollector tells it slightly differently: Portefaix, a teenager, was in the woods with six other children when the beast seized one of them. He told the other children to free the boy from its jaws, and all survived.
The story reached King Louis XV. Wikipedia says he gave Portefaix 300 livres and a further 350 livres to split among his companions, and paid for Portefaix's schooling. Étoile.fr says the king offered to pay for Portefaix's schooling.
"On 12 January 1765, Jacques Portefaix and seven children from the village of Villaret, in the parish of Chanaleilles, were attacked by the beast. After several attacks, they drove it away by staying grouped together. The encounter eventually came to the attention of King Louis XV, who awarded 300 livres to Portefaix and another 350 livres to be shared among his companions. The king also rewarded Portefaix with an education at the state's expense."
- The Beast of Gévaudan, Étoile.fr (Lozère tourism guide)
- The Beast of Gévaudan: Hunting the Monster of 18th Century France, TheCollector