Fearsome critters  

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Fearsome critters was a collective term coined in early lumberjack folklore to describe a variety of mythical beasts that were said 'to inhabit' the frontier wilderness of Anglo-America.

Origins

Most of the fearsome critters were inventions of oral tradition, either as a jest for teasing newcomers and gullible cityfolk or as sheer entertainment in tall tales. Some of them, such as the Hidebehind, were derived from Algonquian legends. A few turned out to be based on descriptions of actual creatures: the Glutton, for example, is now recognized as a description of the wolverine, while the Fisher-Cat was a description of a type of marten. (In some rural areas the term, now often shortened to "fisher", is still used in reference to martens.) In a typical fearsome critter gag, a person would casually remark about a strange noise or sight they encountered in the wild earlier. Subsequently, another abettor would suggest that whatever it was, was in fact the work of some peculiar named beast. This is when the listener would inquire, "What's a, etc.?" and the game would commence, as Henry H. Tryon recorded in his book, Fearsome Critters (1939) --

"Sam would lead with a colorful bit of description, and Walter would follow suit with an arresting spot of personal experience, every detail being set forth with the utmost solemnity, and with exactly the correct degree of emphasis. At the end, so deftly had the cards been played that the listener was completely convinced of the animal's existence. This method of presentation is widely used. For the best results, two narrators who can "keep the ball in the air" are necessary, and perhaps an occasional general question is tossed to someone in the audience, such inquires being invariably accorded a grave, corroborative nod.

Other times fearsome critters were the product of elaborate hoaxes (commonly utilizing taxidermy or trick photography) or used as explanations for the difficulties and dangers that were a part of the desolate environment of the 19th-century lumberjack community. Others trades such as cattle and agriculture had their own creatures, but neither showed the popularity or prominence as those of the timber industry. Fearsome critter stories have been collected by historians, folklorist, and backwoods enthusiasts.

Nomenclature

Frequently the creature's name indicates some aspect of its behavior, such as the Come-At-A-Body or the Hidebehind; in other instances the name is derived from an older word such as the Fibbertigibbet (a witch's familiar's name) or Harpy-Hag (a monster of English folklore). It was common, since each time a creature was carried through word-of-mouth from one lumbercamp to the next, that it would begin to adopt new or lose old traits. The effect of this was that portrayals of a certain critter would differ wildly from region to region. These consistency problems were correct when woodsmen familiar with binomial nomenclature, used in classifying plants and animals, applied the same method to fearsome critters. For instance, Henry H. Tryon described a fiend, known as the gumberoo, as having eight pairs of springy legs, three bowed rear legs, and a pair of monkey-like forearms. The same creature was previously described by William T. Cox, twenty-nine years earlier, making no mentioned of these features, and with the accompanying illustration clearly depicting the beast as quadruped. However, Tryon lists the brute's scientific name as, Formax rotor. While in Cox's work the gumberoo is known as, Megalogaster repercussus, thereby making a distinction between two variants of the same creature.

Other fearsome critters have multiple representations, such as the hodag with four distinct varieties. Some creatures are just renamed each time, like side-hill gouger, which is known by at least ten other names.

List

Beasts

• Argopelter, a beast which amuses itself by hurling twigs and tree branches at passers by.
• Axehandle hound, reputedly subsisted on axe handles left unattended; mentioned in Jorge Luis Borges' Book of Imaginary Beings.
• Cactus cat, feline of the American southwest with hair like thorns that intoxicates itself by the consumption of cactus water.
• Glawackus, a fierce brute resembling either a panther, lion, or bear.
• Hidebehind, a brute which would seize unwary lumberjacks and devour them, and was said to be so swift that it could hide behind the nearest tree before a man turned around.
• Hodag, a favorite varmint of the Wisconsin swamps affixed with horns and spikes complimented by a maniacal grin.
• Jackalope, a rabbit with the antlers of an antelope.
• Shwnidygon, deadly to humans and sheep, a beatle like creature, of similar size to a black pat cockroach, never been photographed, native to Canada, introduced to Wales, UK approx 1900.
• Sidehill gouger, a beast legged for hillsides having legs on one side taller than the other thus always traveling in a circular path.
• Snipe, a famous ruse of many a camp comprising of a wild goose chase for the animal.
• Splintercat, a legendary cat in the Pacific Northwest that uses his incredible speed and stiff forehead to smash into large trees, knocking the branches off and withering the trunks
• Squonk, the most melancholy of creatures which because of its deformed countenance refuses contact with all life and will dissolve in tears if ever gazed upon.
• Teakettler, a small varmint which makes a noise like the sound of a tea kettle.
• Wampus cat, a half-woman, half-cat, who supposedly haunts the forests of East Tennessee.
• Whangdoodle

Fish

• Fur-bearing trout, a species of trout which grows a thick coat of fur for warmth in its cold climate.

Serpents

• Hoop snake, a snake which bites its tail to enable it to roll like a wheel.
• Joint snake, a snake that can reassemble itself after being cut to pieces.

See also

• Snipe hunt
• Fearsome Creatures of the Lumberwoods
• Drop bear