Cactus cat: Difference between revisions
Content deleted Content added
what dispute? |
m moved Cactus Cat to Cactus cat: bad capitalization |
||
| (5 intermediate revisions by the same user not shown) | |||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
{{notable}}The '''cactus cat''' is one of the [[fearsome critters]], a group of legendary, imaginary creatures in the folklore and traditions of [[lumberjack]]s and forest workers in the [[United States|U.S.]] during the 19th and early 20th centuries, especially in Wisconsin and Minnesota.<ref>Campbell, W.S. "Fearsome Critters", ''Journal of American Folklore'', 1941.</ref><ref>Lee, H. "The Family Saga and Other Phases of American Folklore" ''Journal of American Folklore'', 1959.</ref><ref name=Encyclopedia>Rose, Carol. W. W. Norton & Company, 2001. '''Giants, Monsters, and Dragons: An Encyclopedia of Folklore, Legend, and Myth''', page 61.</ref> |
|||
{{hoax}} |
|||
The '''cactcus''' is one of the [[fearsome critters]], a group of legendary creatures in the folklore and traditions of [[lumberjack]]s during the 19th and early 20th centuries in North America. Physical descriptions of the creature vary considerably, but the most well-known version comes from an early 20th-century sighting in [[Breckinridge, Vermont]], which describes the cactcus as a bristly, ambulatory vegetable similar in shape to a [[bobcat]]. There is some dispute among [[cryptozoologists]] as to whether the cactcus should be classified as a mammal, or even an animal{{fact}}. The cry of the cactcus is often mistaken for the angry shouting of an old man; for this reason, many cryptozoologists believe that the majority of cactcus encounters go unreported. |
|||
The cactus cat was generally described being a [[bobcat]]-like creature, covered in spines like a [[porcupine]], with particularly long spines extending from the legs and its armored, branching tail. The creature was said to use its spines to slash cacti at night, allowing juice to run from the plants. On later nights, the creature was said to return to drink the now [[fermentation|fermented]] juice. The then drunken creature was said to shriek throughout the night.<ref name=Encyclopedia/> |
|||
==Confirmed Sightings== |
|||
The most famous sighting occurred in the late 1930s in Breckinridge, Vermont and remains the most substantial source of information available to researchers. Rural homeowners in New Hampshire also reported seeing the cactus in the years before [[World War I]], as did customs officers working on the U.S. side of the Canadian border. Sightings have greatly diminished in later decades and seem to indicate the southern migration of the cactcus; in the 1980s, only two sightings were reported, both in [[West Virginia]]. |
|||
As with other “Fearsome Critters”, the description served both to explain the strange noises of the forest at night and provide entertainment in the camps.<ref name=Encyclopedia/> |
|||
==References== |
==References== |
||
{{reflist}} |
|||
* O'Conner, Elizabeth. ''Here There Were Dragons: New England's Forgotten Cryptozoological Phenomena''. St. Paul, Minnesota: Llewellyn, 1994. |
* O'Conner, Elizabeth. ''Here There Were Dragons: New England's Forgotten Cryptozoological Phenomena''. St. Paul, Minnesota: Llewellyn, 1994. |
||
Revision as of 20:12, 22 April 2008
 | An editor has performed a search and found that sufficient sources exist to establish the subject's notability. |
The cactus cat is one of the fearsome critters, a group of legendary, imaginary creatures in the folklore and traditions of lumberjacks and forest workers in the U.S. during the 19th and early 20th centuries, especially in Wisconsin and Minnesota.[1][2][3]
The cactus cat was generally described being a bobcat-like creature, covered in spines like a porcupine, with particularly long spines extending from the legs and its armored, branching tail. The creature was said to use its spines to slash cacti at night, allowing juice to run from the plants. On later nights, the creature was said to return to drink the now fermented juice. The then drunken creature was said to shriek throughout the night.[3]
As with other “Fearsome Critters”, the description served both to explain the strange noises of the forest at night and provide entertainment in the camps.[3]
References
- ^ Campbell, W.S. "Fearsome Critters", Journal of American Folklore, 1941.
- ^ Lee, H. "The Family Saga and Other Phases of American Folklore" Journal of American Folklore, 1959.
- ^ a b c Rose, Carol. W. W. Norton & Company, 2001. Giants, Monsters, and Dragons: An Encyclopedia of Folklore, Legend, and Myth, page 61.
- O'Conner, Elizabeth. Here There Were Dragons: New England's Forgotten Cryptozoological Phenomena. St. Paul, Minnesota: Llewellyn, 1994.