Jasper County Democrat, Volume 18, Number 20, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 12 June 1915 — WAS A FAMOUS HOAX. [ARTICLE]

WAS A FAMOUS HOAX.

'i errible Beast Captured by Westerner Had Even the Scientists Guessing. After the lapse of more than 30 years E; tS. Shepard of Rhinelander, Wis, and his fellow-townsmen are still getting many a laugh out of the famous “Hodag” hoax, with which Shepard, in the early logging days, perpetrated one of the biggest practical jokes on record. • Thousands of persons from all points of the compass and nearly every state in the Union were at one time or another i'taken in” by Shepard, the victims of his predilection lor practical jokes including even noted scientists, who came all the way from Washington to what was then the thickly timbered wilderness of northern Wisconsin, attracted by the strange tales concerning the ferocious “Hodag.” The “Hodag” is no more—or, at

least, if he still survives he Is well buried among the many carious articles that stack every room in the handsome stone "den” that Shepard has built adjoining his residence, The Pines, just outside the town of R hinelander. But me “H odag ”... stories still live, and wherever old settlers gather they are recounted with many a laugh. Shepard told a lot of them himself to members of the Wisconsin bankers' party which toured northern Wisconsin recently by special train. E. S. Shepard is an early-day “lumber cruiser” who is said to have made and lost several fortunes. Be that as it may, he has always haa enough money to indulge to the limit his rather expensive taste for practical joking, and the “Hodag” was the most famous of his pranks. The “Hodag” was a most forbid-ding-looking beast, quite unlike anything hitherto discovered in the animal kingdom, yet bearing some slight resemblance to various others, as for instance, its hqrns, which were much like those*, of the ordinary cow. The discovery and ( capture of the “Hodag” by Mr. Shepard in the north Wisconsin forests was widely heralded in the press, and straightway sightseers began to descend upon the Shepard homestead. Shepard discoursed to his visitors at length upon the terrible struggle that ended in the capture of the

i rize, describing its great ferocity, and—after he had instilled a wholesome ,ear into the hearts of wouldLe spectators—led them out to a solidly built* shed on the premises and permitted them to peer at the great “man-eater” through a knot hole that gave them a faint view o/ the dimly lighted interior. The slightest movement in the vicinity of the shed seemed to arouse the animal to fury, and persons peeping through the knot hole could see the strange shape, with the ridge of huge spurs on its back, swaying backward and forward to the accompaniment of rattling chains, while its great eyes glared in the darkness like those of a giant cat. Few people sought closer acquaintance with the fearsome beast, and those who did were promptly refused permission to enter the “cage,” Shepard declaring he had no desire to see his visitors torn to pieces. Finally came scientists and circus men, who insisted, in the interests of science, on getting a closer view of the beast. Then the truth came out. The “Hodag’* was an inanimate thing carved from logs anti decorated with luminous eyes, the horns of a deceased cow, formidable spines and claws and various other things that aided in enhancing its fierce appearance. It had been “created” by Mr. Shepard himself. He had cunningly mounted the thing so that it

could be made to sway by the manipulation of hidden ropes, and an ugly dog, chained in an invisible corner of the shed, furnished the growls and the clanking of chains necessary to complete the effect—the said dog readily responding to the prodding of a long pole in the hands of a small boy. The “Hodag” made Shepard famous throughout the length and breadth of Wisconsin. The “beast’' was exhibited at one of the early state fairs, and was a feature of many other public exhibitions, and the inhabitants of northern Wisconsin never tire or recounting stories of £hepard and his “Hodag.” 'Another of Shepard's great hoaxes was his “discovery” of “scented moss” in the Wisconsin pineries. Hundreds of tourists were led to the scene of the “discovery” by Shepard and carried home big patches of the sweet-smelling moss as souvenirs before the story got out that Shepard bought by the gallon the perfume that gave the moss its delightful odor, sprinkling it over the moss patches in the early morning hours in order that “the wonderful product of the northern forests” might be in the best of working order when the tourists, led by their fun-loving guide, arrived on the scene.—Wide, World Magazine.

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