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Read Ebook {PDF EPUB} Kickle Snifters and Other Fearsome Critters by Alvin Schwartz Kickle Snifters and Other Fearsome Critters. Brief text and illustrations introduce such strange creatures from American folklore as the snawfus, billdad, lufferlang, and tripodero. "About this title" may belong to another edition of this title. We guarantee the condition of every book as it's described on the Abebooks website. If you're dissatisfied with your purchase or if the order hasn't arrived, you're eligible for a refund within 30 days of the estimated delivery date. If you've changed your mind about a book that you've ordered, please use the "Ask bookseller a question" link to contact us and we'll respond as soon as possible. All domestic Standard US shipments are distributed from our warehouses by OSM, then handed off to the USPS for final delivery. US 2-Day Shipping is delivered by FedEx, which does not deliver to PO boxes. International shipments are tendered to the local postal service in the destination country for final delivery ? We do not use courier services for international deliveries. Fearsome Critters of American Folklore. The Fearsome Critters are a group of mythical beings from the Tall Tales told by European colonists in North America, mainly in New England (naturally), and to a lesser degree in forested Midwest states such as Wisconsin and Minnesota, in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Despite that, there are stories of Fearsome Critters spread all across the country, including several notable "species" specific to the southwest. Fearsome Critters are notable for being described primarily by their behavior, not by their appearance, and for often having names that reflect that (Hide- Behind, Come-at-a-Body, et cetera ), meaning that what they actually look like fluctuates wildly from tale to tale in the style of Paul Bunyan— whose loyal friend and partner, Babe the Big Blue Ox, might well be a Critter himself. Genuine belief in the Fearsome Critters was never widespread; even in most of modern America they're relatively obscure, and almost completely unheard-of in other parts of the world. They originated, variously, as exaggerated accounts of native fauna unfamiliar to the European travelers who described them and as a humorous means of describing the strange goings-on in the woods by lumberjacks, carnies, and other outdoorsy types. Fearsome critters are not cryptids, nor are they associated with Native American faiths; the sasquatch and the wendigo are not Fearsome Critters. Some of the notable Critters are: Known by a myriad of other names, including the Guyanoosa and Sidehill Gouger, the Guyascutus is a terrible predator variously described as being like an alligator covered in protective plates, like an armadillo's, or like a deer with the ears of a rabbit and a mouth full of fierce teeth. Its most notable feature, however, is that the legs on one side of its body are much shorter than the ones on the other, so it can move about easily on the steep mountain slopes where it makes its home; therefore, to escape a Guyascutus, one need only run onto even ground. The creature, with its mismatched legs, will be unable to follow. The most famous legend of the Guyascutus involves an old carnival grift. A traveling carnival show rolls into town, claiming to have wild animals from all around the world on display—including, incredibly, a live Guyascutus. The people paid their fees and flocked to see the alleged beastie, at which point the leader of the plan would run before the crowds, looking desperate and beat-up, claiming that the creature had escaped. The people, terrified, would immediately run to their homes, leaving the carnival troupe to ride away with their "earnings". Perhaps the most famous of the bunch (and the subject of more than one popular song), the Squonk is a miserable animal, "The most melancholy of creatures", that allegedly inhabits the coniferous forests of northern Pennsylvania. Because its skin is covered in warts, blemishes, blisters and abrasions, the Squonk is disgusting to look at — and it knows this, which is why it hides underground during the day, hoping not to offend any other creature with its hideous appearance. At night, the Squonks all come out into the open and openly weep; the strange sounds lumberjacks and other frontiersmen heard in the forest at night were attributed to their crying. The Squonk also has a legend surrounding it. This one tells of a man named J.P. Wentling, who wanted to capture a live Squonk and prove its existence to the world. One night he succeeded, trapping the creature in a bag; but when he took it home and opened the bag to show his friends and family, he found nothing but water inside. The Squonk, more miserable than ever, had dissolved into a pool of its own tears. The most famous southwestern Critter, popular in Texas, New Mexico, and southern California. note Douglas, Wyoming, claims to be the hometown of the legend—and does appear to be the origin of the "stuffed Jackalope" taxidermy gag—but stories of "horned hares" date back to medieval Europe. The Jackalope is a wild hare or jackrabbit with the antlers of a deer, reportedly very difficult to catch or even to spot (though U.S. President Ronald Reagan did claim to have caught one once — purely as a joke, we expect). Jackalopes are highly elusive and will run at the very sight of a human, but at night, they all gather in the desert and sing harmoniously with their strange, enchanting voices. Of course, that's only one interpretation; it's occasionally described as a vicious killer rabbit, and residents of snowier parts of the West will sometimes troll tourists by claiming that the snow fences along highways are actually seating for watching Jackalope races. To this day, the "stuffed Jackalope" is a fairly common sight in southwestern bars and taverns. Sadly, any reported Jackalope sighting is much more likely to be a regular rabbit afflicted with the Shope papilloma virus. Kickle Snifters and Other Fearsome Critters by Alvin Schwartz. At the turn of the twentieth century, hundreds of local rumors of natural absurdities sprang into existence. These imaginings were neither legendary in their proportions like Norse or Greek epics, nor, at any time, were they ever intended to inspire any sincere or moral convictions. Rather such stories existed mostly in the practical jokes and tall tales popular among people of a particular trade. Despite their facetious tone, they bear the distinct markings of a rich tradition. Yet legends they are not. In fact, such stories appear in many ways to be an antithesis to traditional legends. Taken together we have placed this class of tales under banner of natura ad absurdum (nature to absurdity), as the tradition may encompass fantastical aspects of any variety (plants, weather, minerals, objects, etc.) in addition to imaginary beings. However, these stories are chiefly remembered for their play on the animal kingdom. It is these extraordinary animals what are known in North America as “fearsome critters.” Fearsome critters flourished at the turn of the twentieth century within logging camps near North America’s Great Lakes region. However, at the time, immigrant presence in the region had practically established the industry as an international affair. Folklorist Charles E. Brown recounted loggers who remarked that logging camps comprise of a, “babel of tongues.” 1 Similarly, Luke Sylvester “Lake Shore” Kearney in his book, The Hodag and Other Tales of the Logging Camps , upholds this characterization by stating that of the Scandinavian, Irish and French loggers, “Each, in his turn, goaded and cursed in his native tongue, using the blasphemy characteristic of his nationality.” 2 An 1880s census taken in Wisconsin showed that foreign born loggers comprised over half of the entire industry, the greater majority being Canadian. 3 Logging camps were separated from mainstream society for months at a time. There, loggers of multiple nationalities would entertain each other through story, song or joke. Likewise, woodsmen would often invent colorful ways to induct new arrivals to camp. A common initiation right for inexperienced loggers was the “snipe hunt” (sometimes “snow snake hunt”). This task involved novice woodsmen, referred to as “greenhorns,” being led deep into the woods at dusk. Subsequently, each participant is given a bag and directed to go out, with their primitive tools, to catch the elusive animal. The joke is that the snipe, which bears no relation to the wading bird, is a purely fictitious enitty; only ever existing in the imaginations of those pursuing it. Afterwards, those participants, who were victims of the gag, would inevitably induct later recruits in the ritual and so on and so forth. Fearsome critters enjoyed much popularity in tall tales told aloud in logging camp bunkhouses. After a hard day’s work, loggers would spin tales to regale their fellow woodsmen. Perhaps unbeknownst to their original creators, these anecdotes would be retold over and over again eventually coming to form a rich folkloric tradition. This same tradition also came to incorporate the modern perspective and knowledge of the storytellers. To illustrate, the hodag of North American traditions is described as having, “stegosaurian dorsal spines,” 4 while the salvager sucker, of the Puget Sound vicinity, is reported to be able to do the work of “a steam derrick.” 5 Just the same, the snow wasset, of the Canadian boreal zone, is reported to “hibernate” during the warmer seasons. 6 Each one of these comparisons is sometjing that the originators of classic mythology would have not have had the knowledge to draw.

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