Hodag
The Hodag is a fictional animal that is part of the folklore of the American state of Wisconsin .
overview
Legends about the Black Hodag were told among the loggers in the area in the early 19th century . These report that the Hodag rose from the ashes of an ox , in some legends it was the ox of Paul Bunyan , a legendary giant woodcutter. The ox named Babe was burned to wash his soul clean of the vulgar, blasphemous language used by the loggers and also by its owner. The ox's soul emerged from the ashes, giving off a foul odor; this created the Hodag: a large horned, green-eyed creature with fangs.
News reports from the period claim that the Hodag had "the head of a frog, the grinning face of a giant elephant, thick short legs with mighty claws at the ends, the back of a dinosaur and a long tail with no spears at the end". In 1896, Eugene Shepard rose to fame and gave the legend new meaning when he claimed to have caught a specimen of the Hodag.
The Hodag is one of the unofficial symbols for the Rhinelander region and the surrounding area. The city's official website calls Rhinelander "the home of the Hodag". The Hodag is the mascot of Rhinelander High School and gives his name and image to the Hodag Country Festival , an annual country music festival that is Rhinelander's largest community event.
Trivia
The Hodag is Monster in My Pocket Figure # 92
Web links
Websites all in English:
- Official website of the University of Wisconsin Men's Ultimate Team
- The (unofficial) HODAG homepage (archive version) ( Memento from January 22, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
- Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel series article on Wisconsin's 150th Anniversary Celebration
- The living legend of Rhinelander Hodag Details about the hoax and the historical events
- Fearsome Creatures of the Lumberwoods (March 12, 2007 memento on the Internet Archive ) (book by William T. Cox)
- Harold the Hodag , Official Mascot of the Hoodoo Ski Area