Folklore's Favorites

By Paisley Kirkpatrick

Since we've lived in Tomahawk, Wisconsin, we've seen statues of the Hodag everywhere in Rhinelander, located eighteen miles northeast of us. I learned the Hodag is a folkloric animal of the state of Wisconsin, but was stunned when our daughter visited us for the first time and saw one of the many colorful statues. She blurted out everything one would want to know about the Hodag. She'd seen the folklore of this mysterious beast shown on one of the Mysteries of the Museum television show.

The Hodag was introduced to the public in 1893. Newspapers reported the discovery of a strange-looking animal. It had the head of a frog, the grinning face of a giant elephant, thick short legs set off by huge claws, the back of a dinosaur, and a long tail with spears at the end. Eugene Shepherd, a well-known Wisconsin land surveyor, instigated the prank. He gathered a group of local people to kill the horrid beast with dynamite.

The photograph released to the media showed charred remains of the beast. It amazes me that nobody reading the articles in the newspapers caught on to it being a hoax, especially when it was described as the fiercest, strangest, most frightening monster ever to set razor-sharp claws on the earth. They reported it had become extinct after its main food source, all-white bulldogs, became scarce in the area.

In 1896 Shepard alleged that he'd captured yet another Hodag. This time he and several bear wrestlers captured one alive by poking chloroform on the end of a long pole into the cave where they'd located the creature.

Thousands of people came to see the Hodag at either the first Oneida County Fair or Shepard's display in a crudely built shack next to his house. Shephard connected wires to it and would occasionally make the creature move. This action would usually send the already-skittish viewers fleeing from the display.

As reports of the remarkable living creature appeared in local, statewide, and then national newspapers, a small group of scientists from the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. announced they would travel to Rhinelander to inspect the apparent discovery. Their mere announcement forced Shephard to admit that the hodag was a hoax.

There are statues around the area of Rhinelander. The beast is painted in bright combinations of color, but always with a fierce glare. The town's water tower has 'Hodag' printed on it. Vacationers can buy t-shirts with Hodag printed on it. I found a statue at the YMCA and was able to get a photo of it. During fair time the butcher shop even had 'Hodag' sausages - quite hot and spicy.

My favorite sighting came this past Christmas season. Someone cut Santa and his sleigh out of plywood and painted it. They made one slight change - instead of the reindeer they had Hodags pulling the sleigh. Unfortunately, it was not in a place where we could take a photo of it. I imagine it must have delighted everyone who noticed it on the lawn of a person with a great imagination.

There are a couple of other folkloric characters who supposedly live in Wisconsin's Northwoods. Paul Bunyan's exploits revolved around tall tales of his superhuman labors. The character originated in the oral tradition of North American loggers. Customarily, he was accompanied by Babe the Blue Ox.

On occasion, the Abominable Snowman shows up in wild tales. He is an ape-like entity, taller than an average human, this is said to inhabit the Himalayan region of Nepal. Hunters in our area swear to have seen this creature in our Northwoods.

Whether these folktales do harm or in fun way can give people a reason why situations occur, I like them.