Hödag Invitational Road Rally

THE HODAG CAPTURE

It was not until three years later that a determined Eugene Shepard captured a live Hodag. In the autumn of 1896, Shepard and a group of lumberjacks surprised a Hodag in its den and asphyxiated the monster with a heavy dose of chloroform. Shepard then transported the Hodag to the Rhinelander fairgrounds and confined it to a pit resembling its den "in order that the animal would not discover the deception being practiced upon him."

Days before the opening of Oneida County’s first fair, Shepard announced that he would proudly exhibit his recently captured beast.

The Hodag, displayed near the entrance gate of the fair proved the event’s main attraction. On Monday and Tuesday, the first two days of the fair, "the tent was filled with a crowd of curious people throughout the day." On Wednesday, "a large number of spectators gave up their dimes to see this strange animal and hear its history as told by Eugene Shepard himself."

Entering a dimly lit tent, and separated from the beast by a curtain and a good distance, the fair-goers witnessed the beast move and growl. Very few left the fairgrounds not believing in the authenticity of Shepard’s Hodag. From this introduction, the Hodag and its boastful owner toured county fairs and even the Wisconsin State Fair in Madison.

Furthermore, Shepard displayed his monstrosity in a shed at his Rhinelander home for all to view. In this capacity, the Hodag attracted thousands of curious spectators and brought a disproportionate amount of attention to a small frontier community in the uppermost regions of the Wisconsin River Valley.

Eventually, the Hodag was discovered to be an elaborate hoax, its body, a carved stump covered with an ox hide; its horns and spikes derived from oxen and cattle; its movement controlled by wires; and its growl supplied by Shepard’s sons hidden in the monster’s lair.

This discovery, however, took nothing away from the Hodag’s popularity and people from across the state and region continued to travel to Rhinelander to view Shepard’s concoction.

Although the original creature was destroyed by a fire near the turn of the century, the Hodag continued to gain popularity. By the 1920s, an extremely popular postcard portraying the Hodag’s capture circulated throughout the region.

Soon Rhinelander became known as the Hodag city, and its inhabitants proudly touted its unique identity and the piece of local color on which it was based.

To the casual observer, Shepard’s Hodag ploy was a practical joke pulled by Rhinelander’s most celebrated prankster. A more in-depth investigation of the circumstances surrounding the Hodag’s creation, however, reveals a far more serious side of the beast.

In addition to comprising a known jokester’s most successful ploy, Rhinelander’s Hodag was, and continues to be, a very serious, preconceived promotional project. To be sure, the Hodag played an important role in making Rhinelander what it is today - the regional industrial center of Northern Wisconsin with an odd twist of local color.

The city did indeed attract industry, while the county attracted agriculture. Rhinelander bridged the gap between lumber boomtown and industrial center as the surrounding countryside converted its cut-over lands into farming fields.

In this transformation, the Hodag played its part. In addition to being the most unique aspect of Rhinelander’s local color, the Hodag is a living reminder of what Rhinelander once was and how it evolved into what it is today.

Decades after that fateful autumn of 1896, Eugene Shepard explained why he captured the Hodag:

By no means is all the progress to be credited to the Hodag, but the Hodag did his bit! Not only hundreds but thousands of people came to view the Hodag...and not one of them went away without having learned a little more about northern Wisconsin, and it is safe to guess that each one of those thousands told others what they had seen and heard. In this way, the beauties, opportunities, and resources of northern Wisconsin spread, and many who came out of curiosity only have come to make their home with us. Long Live the Hodag!

While amusing Shepard and others, the Hodag brought people to Rhinelander. In doing so, the town promoters felt the Hodag fulfilled a crucial step in the process of booster-assisted city growth. Perhaps the most intriguing aspect of the Hodag is that it continues today, over 100 years later, to fulfill a similar promotional role.