WELCOME TRAVELERS OF THE HALLOW WOODS (April 21, 2025)— The jovial jackalope is a peculiar wonder, or leastwise pest, of America's inland frontier having been
But reader be warned! This son-of-a-gun is the possessor of an extraordinary talent for mimicry. With resounding accuracy the quaint little cuss can imitate even the subtle complexities of human voice. Often has the cowboy strayed far outside of his domain stopping dumbfounded as his songs, with the fidelity of their melodies intake and carried on the nighttime air, come back to him somewhat strengthened and improved. 1
Truly, of all the strange tales I have in my wisdom
Reports of horned hares were fairly widespread at the turn of the twentieth century and provided regular evening entertainment in newspapers, long before the proverbial “jackalope” came into being. However, evidence upholds the claim by residents of Douglas, Wyoming that the jackalope is ostensibly a home-grown invention. The earliest credible stories of jackalopes make regular mention of the locality, typically citing it as a sort of cradle to the myth. The earliest captures (circa 1934) of this obviously very genuine, real, and existent animal have been attributed to the Herrick brothers, Ralph and Doug,2 and possibly if I might venture to guess with the assistance of a close associate: Mr. Jim Beam.
However, separating home-sprung stories from the colorful imaginings of latter journalists can at times be a daunting task. Still, there are often clues that can help one divide literary fiction apart from folklore. One such can be gauged in the propensity of professional liars to offer evidence in an effort to backup outrageous claims. In “Life History of the Jackalope,” author Rafe Gibbs makes a decisive point in doing so. In his article he relates the experiences of veteran cowboy and wrangler Phil Hoosier. After expounding on the relationship forged between Phil and a pet Jackalope, he recounts a bit of misfortune that transpired as:
“... one afternoon while Phil was taking a nap in the shade of some willows, a snake dealt a low blow by biting him in the big toe of his right foot. The puncher's boot had a hole in the toe, and the snake had aimed dead center. Soon becoming too ill to stir a muscle, Phil closed his eyes and prepared for the last roundup. After being unconscious for several hours, however, he came to, and noticed that he felt much better. Then he looked down at his toe. It had been poulticed with tobacco! Somehow the jackalope had wriggled a plug of tobacco out of Phil's hip pocket, gnawed off a wad, and applied it to the ballooning toe.”3
Afterwards, an unbeliever dared question the authenticity of Phil’s account. Our hero soon returned, after tramping home, with a tattered-looking boot. Offering his shoddy footwear up as evidence he boldly asserted, “This here is the very boot I had on that day. And don't you never call me another dang liar!” Such proved sufficient enough to satisfy his skeptic, the hole, of course, being the “clincher.”
Doubtlessly, the “hole” truth and nothing but,
Lenwood S. Sharpe, Director
Lumberwoods, Unnatural History Museum
Parts Unknown, The Woods, U.S.A.
1 Walker D. Wyman, Mythical Creatures of the U.S.A. and Canada, (University of Wisconsin River Falls Press, 1978), 71-73.
2 Richard M. Dorson, Man and Beast in American Comic Legend, (Indiana University Press, 1982), 51
3 Rafe Gibbs, “Life History of the Jackalope,” Lincoln Mercury Times, January-February 1955, 10-11.
