Historic Cryptid Headline: July 12, 1900 - Monster With Many Horns. Tall Story From Wisconsin
Northern Wisconsin Advertiser
July 12, 1900
“Monster With Many Horns. Tall Story from Wisconsin”
A recent issue of the Timberman tells of the alleged capture of what it calls a black hodag. The capture is said to have been effected by one E.S. Shepard, who is described as a well-known timber-land cruiser and estimator of Rhinelander, Wis. Mr. Shephard is said to have seen the strange creature near the line of the Rhinelander and St. Paul railroad. He was hunting at the time, and as is presumably common among hunters in the wilds of Northern Wisconsin he had his camera with him, probably in the hope of getting a snapshot at the monster. This black hodag is declared to have killed many domestic animals in the past. It was on one of its semiweekly visits to Lake Goodyear when Mr. Shephard saw it. The animal came to that place at intervals to feed on mud turtles and water snakes.
After getting a photograph of the monster the timber cruiser summons some lumbermen, and the party went in pursuit of it. They are said to have traced it to its nest in an old abandoned iron mine. The pursuers with due regard for their safety affixed a sponge saturated with chloroform to a pole and dropped it down in front of the brute’s nose. It would also appear to be common for Wisconsin hunters to carry with them chloroform and sponges when out after game. Anyway, the hodag was stupefied and when in this condition was carried to Rhinelander where a nest similar to its own was fixed up for it. So ferocious is the creature however, according to the veracious chronicler, that it is found necessary to keep it constantly under the influence of drugs. Several dogs which attacked the hodag were promptly killed for their temerity, and it is added gravely that after killing them with furious blows and crushing the life out of them with his claws he proceeded to tear them in pieces, and, after sopping them in mud, devoured them with great gusto. While thus feeding the animal emitted the most unearthly howl imaginable somewhat resembling the bellowing of a mad bull mingled with the roar of a lion, only considerably louder.
This is not all that is wonderful about the hodag, whose scientific name we are informed is ‘bovine spiritualis.’ It appears that this creature of the bovine species also lays eggs several of which were found in its nest. Unfortunately the narrative does not say how many. “It is estimated,” says the gifted fabricator, “that the eggs will soon hatch out and much care is being taken by his keepers to observe the monster’s habits, and that none of them will escape to prey on the domestic animals in that section, as the old ones have been doing in the past. It is hoped that the dreaded hodag can be finally exterminated, and as evidence exists of only this one family it is probable that the humane object can soon be successfully accomplished.
“Historic Cryptid Headlines” showcases actual articles involving cryptids that were published within United States newspapers back in the 1800s-1900s. The articles posted here are written exactly as they appeared during their original publishing date.
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