American folklore American folklore encompasses the folklores that have evolved in the present-day United States since Europeans arrived in the 16th century. While it contains much in the way of Native American tradition, it is not wholly identical to the tribal ...

, the hodag is a

fearsome critter In North American folklore, fearsome critters were tall tale animals jokingly said to inhabit the wilderness in or around logging camps,Dorson, Richard M. ''Man and Beast in American Comic Legend.'' (Bloomington, IN: Indiana Univ. Press, 1982.) ...

resembling a large bull-horned

carnivore A carnivore , or meat-eater (Latin, ''caro'', genitive ''carnis'', meaning meat or "flesh" and ''vorare'' meaning "to devour"), is an animal or plant whose food and energy requirements derive from animal tissues (mainly muscle, fat and other sof ...

with a row of thick curved spines down its back. The hodag was said to be born from the ashes of cremated

oxen An ox ( : oxen, ), also known as a bullock (in BrE, AusE, and IndE), is a male bovine trained and used as a draft animal. Oxen are commonly castrated adult male cattle; castration inhibits testosterone and aggression, which makes the m ...

, as the

incarnation Incarnation literally means ''embodied in flesh'' or ''taking on flesh''. It refers to the conception and the embodiment of a deity or spirit in some earthly form or the appearance of a god as a human. If capitalized, it is the union of divinit ...

of the accumulation of abuse the animals had suffered at the hands of their masters. The history of the hodag is strongly tied to the City of Rhinelander where it was claimed to have been discovered. The hodag has figured prominently in early

Paul Bunyan Paul Bunyan is a giant lumberjack and folk hero in American and Canadian folklore. His exploits revolve around the tall tales of his superhuman labors, and he is customarily accompanied by Babe the Blue Ox. The character originated in the o ...

stories.

Origins

In 1893, newspapers reported the discovery of a hodag in Rhinelander, Wisconsin. The articles claimed the hodag 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". The reports were instigated by well-known Wisconsin land surveyor, timber cruiser and prankster Eugene Shepard, who rounded up a group of local people to capture the animal. ryon, Henry Harrington. ''Fearsome Critters.'' (Cornwall, NY: Idlewild Press, 1939)/ref> The group reported that they needed to use

dynamite Dynamite is an explosive made of nitroglycerin, sorbents (such as powdered shells or clay), and stabilizers. It was invented by the Swedish chemist and engineer Alfred Nobel in Geesthacht, Northern Germany, and patented in 1867. It rapidly g ...

to kill the beast. A photograph of the remains of the charred beast was released to the media. It was "the fiercest, strangest, most frightening monster ever to set razor sharp claws on the earth. It became extinct after its main food source, all white bulldogs, became scarce in the area."

Hoax

Shepard claimed to have captured another hodag in 1896, and this one was captured alive. According to Shepard's reports, he and several bear wrestlers placed

chloroform Chloroform, or trichloromethane, is an organic compound with formula C H Cl3 and a common organic solvent. It is a colorless, strong-smelling, dense liquid produced on a large scale as a precursor to PTFE. It is also a precursor to various ref ...

on the end of a long pole, which they worked into the cave of the creature where it was overcome. He displayed this hodag at the first Oneida County fair. Thousands of people came to see the hodag at the fair or at Shepard's display in a shanty at his house. Having connected wires to it, Shepard would occasionally move the creature, which would typically send the already-skittish viewers fleeing the display. As newspapers locally, statewide, and then nationally began picking up the story of the apparently remarkable living creature, a small group of scientists from the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Found ...

in Washington, D.C. announced they would be traveling to Rhinelander to inspect the apparent discovery. Their mere announcement spelled the end, as Shepard was then forced to admit that the hodag was a hoax.

Aftermath

The hodag became the official symbol of Rhinelander, Wisconsin. It is the mascot of Rhinelander High School, and lends its name to numerous Rhinelander area businesses and organizations, including the annual music festival, Hodag Country Festival. The city of Rhinelander's web site calls Rhinelander "The Home of the Hodag". A larger-than-life fiberglass sculpture of a hodag, created by Tracy Goberville, a local artist, resides on the grounds of the Rhinelander Area Chamber of Commerce where it draws thousands of visitors each year. Rhinelander Ice Arena houses two hodags, one a full body creature just inside the entrance, and the other one an oversized head that blows smoke and has red eyes that light up, located in the corner just off the ice and which was created by the same artist who designed and built the Chamber Hodag.

References

External links

Hodag History
Video produced by

Wisconsin Public Television PBS Wisconsin (formerly Wisconsin Public Television or WPT) is a state network of non-commercial educational television stations operated primarily by the Wisconsin Educational Communications Board and the University of Wisconsin–Madison. It ...

JFK's Hodag
- newspaper article about Hodag given to John F. Kennedy on his trip to Rhinelander in 1960
What is the Hodag?
{{American tall tales Fearsome critters Wisconsin culture Wisconsin folklore Oneida County, Wisconsin Rhinelander, Wisconsin American legendary creatures