Hodag Capture Stories
Hodag Capture Stories
The New North (Rhinelander Wisconsin) October 28, 1893
Capture of a Hodag By the Snake Editor
Since the Hodag was seen the other day there has been considerable many hunters out all aspiring to capture one, and those who were lucky enough not to see one are to be congratulated, but not so with the party that started out Sunday morning, among whom were the best hunters of the poverty hill and log town districts. They were well armed with heavy rifles and large bore squirt loaded with poisonous water.
They came upon their game in a tamarack swamp and but few of the dogs would even attempt to tackle the brute, those that did are scattered about the place in small fragments. The party commenced a regular fuse lade until their guns got too hot to longer hold in their hands and they then drew their knives and galled in followed by a great crowd who were well armed. The rest of the party had commenced piling up birch bark around the brute and thrown a few sticks of dynamite and by this time the fight got pretty hot, as the hodag had become so infuriated that he began slashing down the timber which was falling in every direction, and made it dangerous for the now furious hunters, and the black tar coal smoke which the Hodag’s breath had turned into, mixed with the sickening odor of the mangled dogs, was beginning to suffocate the now very much excited party. The roars emitted from the brute as the fire reached him, which had now become so hot that his claws were red hot, were deafening. Occasionally the loud ? and awful report of a big stick of the ex? mingled with the clatter of the rifles, howling of the dogs, falling trees and yells of the besieging blood thirsty hunters and the hissing sounds of the big squirt guns worked by men who swore that they would have the honor and destruction of killing the first black hodag in the state, and all was over save the finishing process of burning the brute, the usual nine hours to put a quietus on the muscular action of their dangerous tails that nature has armed with the most deadly hooks imaginable.
Capture of the Black Hodag and His Mate
The Bovine Spirituallis, identified by Prof. Jones of Philadelphia and classified as one of a prehistoric race of animals, was discovered and captured by Mr. E. S. Shepard, a well known timberland cruiser and estimator of Rhinelander, Wisconsin, in the year 1895.
Mr. Shepard had been hunting for a specimen of this heretofore undiscover beast, after he had knowledge of their presence in the locality, from which he might obtain a photograph as it appeared in its native lair. Its haunts were in dense swamps and rocky ledges at the head waters of Rice Creek, on Section 37, Town 37, Range 7. Luckily one day he had his camera with him and succeeded in obtaining a snapshot of the old male animal while it was out on one of its foraging expeditions and in the act 7 sniffing the air and listening for trouble. The beast. it seems, was sneaking along on an old animal trail that led from its den among the ledges skirting the swamp and marshy shores of the creek, where he was accustomed to feed on water snakes and mud turtles and then steal swiftly hack to the nest. After the photograph was taken, the nest was discovered.
Upon its discovery, Mr. Shepard blocked up the mouth of the cave with rocks as heavy as he could move and summoned to his aid a crew of lumber jacks from a nearby camp with ropes and tackle and cut out a road wide enough for a team and go-devil, upon which they conveyed a strongly constructed cage to the den. A sufficiently large opening was made into which a long pole was thrust; on the end of this was bound a sponge saturated with chloroform and soon the animal was rendered unconscious. Shepard went in, secured a rope around the Hodag’s horns, and he was then dragged out, put into the cage, hauled to Rhinelander, and placed in the den that had been prepared for him, as nearly like the original as could be made. Most of the moss and sticks and the thirteen eggs were carefully conveyed to the new den and placed therein, so as to preserve the scent, and the old male was put in and guarded.
Soon after this, Mr. Shepard captured the female and brought her in and placed her in the den with her mate and in time the eggs were hatched. At the present time these young animals have increased to quite a for midable herd. Mr. Shepard is training these beasts for war purposes and, as they have a hooked horn on the end of their tails, they should be able to hook a German soldier out of the trenches nicely.
They are nocturnal in habits and can see on the darkest night. This band of fierce fighting animals will soon be on the firing lines with the American forces on the European battle fields and will be handled by the now famous crew of lumberjacks from Paul Bunyan’s Camps on Round River.
family of Side-hill Gougers have been trained for the mountain work in Italy and have already been sent to the front. They are the common enemy of the Austrian in this country and will give no quarter, nor ask for any ; being animals, they of course know nothing but the laws of animal welfare and will match well with their enemies. Old Paul Bunyan is not much better and he will have charge of this blood-thirsty band of animals. Old Paul has trained them to hunt Austrians. He, too, is a great fighter and as fearless as the Gougers themselves. They are meat eaters and will sustain themselves with half a chance.
Per E.S. SHEPARD
Rhinelander, Wis.
"The Pines"