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William T. Cox's
“ T H E    H O D A G    A N D   O T H E R   T A L E S    O F   T H E   L O G G I N G   C A M P S ”
(  90th  A N N I V E R S A R Y    H Y P E R T E X T   E D I T I O N  )
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    The manner of driving the ox was with considerable persuasion, and at the point of a three and one half foot goad stick. At that time, there was no restriction by legislatures regarding the length of the stick. The ox skinner was noted for his unlimited vocabulary, which consisted of a smattering of the English language together with the extensive use of the profane. The poor ox, not being related to Balaam’s ass, had no defense.
    So, on each succeeding winter, there were ox skinners of Irish, French and Scandinavian, depending upon the nationality of the man who happened to be the driver at that time. Each, in his turn, goaded and cursed in his native tongue, using the blasphemy characteristic of his nationality. The hide of the ox was reputed to be proof against the elements, but not invulnerable against the profanity of the several drivers. “Curses come home to roost,” and “a constant dripping will wear away stone.” Such was the case of the ox, whose life under favorable conditions, did not usually exceed six years. Thus, merciful Providence intervened and took him from his toil.
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    The customary burial ceremony of the ox was cremation, so a huge pile of brush was usually gathered and the remains of the ox placed carefully in the center. The belief of those sturdy woodsmen was that seven years of continuous fire was necessary to exterminate the profanity which had accumulated in the body of the ox during his life. Accordingly, the brush pile was very frequently replenished, the fire at times leaping high, while at other times, it smoldered fitfully.
    It was at the end of the seventh year of the cremation of an ox which had led an unusually hard life that an event was to happen, which would cast its shadow upon every man who witnessed it. As the fire died down, there slowly issued from the great pile of ashes, a mystical animal, later to be known as the hodag.
    On this particular day, just at twilight, Eugene Shepherd, a naturalist of the north woods, taking his customary quiet stroll into the forest, strode down a favorite trail, breathing the fragrance of the tall pines and hemlocks. Suddenly, he x
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