Snawfus

 


The snawfus is a pure white stag with flowering branches for antlers and supernatural abilities. It comes from the folklore of the Ozarks and is found in Arkansas and Missouri. The snawfus is associated with the cool misty winters of the region. It was said to be the origin of the blue haze which shrouded the Ozark mountains in the wintertime by breathing out clouds of blue mist. Legends most often speak of their only being one snawfus, unlike many fearsome critters which are treated like species. Instead the snawfus is more like a spirit, and guardian of the Ozarks' wilderness.

The snawfus was much larger than the average buck, being more akin to an elk in size. Yet in spite of this, it was far more swift than any regular deer, to the point it couldn't be captured or shot down by any means. The snawfus was also able to jump up into the canopy of the forest and walk along the branches. In spite of its size the snawfus could perch on the smallest of twigs. Sometimes it just had magnificent leaping abilities that allowed it to jump up to the treetops. Other times the snawfus was said to have a pair of wings, which were completely silent like those of an owl. Once up in the treetops the snawfus would sing like a songbird, or it would make its distinctive “halley-hoo halley-hoo” call, which would echo across valleys far from the snawfus's actual location. It was even said the call would be louder the further away you were from the snawfus.

The snawfus's branch antlers were said to be either apple, dogwood or peach and have different stories about their origins. In one story the young snawfus had its antler buds damaged by frostbite and couldn't grow antlers. An orchard farmer felt sorry for the snawfus and grafted Arkansas black apples onto the antler buds as a replacement. In another legend a hunter managed to pursue the snawfus but it was able to evade every shot he took. Eventually the snawfus tired and the hunter knew this was his chance to bag the legendary creature. However he was out of bullets. He did however have two peach pits, which he loaded into his hunting rifle. The hunter shot the snawfus twice in the head with the peach pits, but instead of killing the snawfus the peach pits took root and grew into flowering antlers. There's no associated legend for the dogwood version of the antlers.  

Unlike fellow Arkansas fearsome critters, such as the Ozark howler and the gowrow, the snawfus was a timid and non-violent creature that would run from threats. However the snawfus wasn't without danger itself. It would lead any hunter who was foolish enough to pursue it deep into the Ozark wilderness where he would be forever lost. Even seeing the snawful was sometimes dangerous. One sighting was said to lead to your greatest joy, a second sighting would lead to your greatest fear, and a third would lead to death. So the snawfus was a predictor of death, like many other mythological beings, but only on the third sighting.  


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Jimplecute

Image
  The jimplecute is a vampiric reptile from Ozark legend. It is a rarely heard of fearsome critter and shouldn't be confused with the gowrow, the more famous reptile from the region. There are two different descriptions of the jimplecute. The original appearance is of a long serpentine reptile, yet still baring short legs. It has skin the texture of dead leaves, which allows it to hide better in the forests. It even had the chameleon like ability to change color, so to blend in with leaves of different seasons. This jimplecute is able to wrap around its victims like a python to immobilize them while it feeds on their blood. The more modern version of the jimplecute is of a vampiric dinosaur, usually something similar to a raptor. This interpretation comes from the book We Always Lie to Strangers by Vance Randolph, which is a book about Ozarks folklore. There Mr Randolph describes the jimplecute as a prehistoric. Although I think he meant that all reptiles are primitive in his e...
Read more

Nguruvilu

Image
  The nguruvilu is a monster from Mapuche legend in Chile. It looks like an elongated fox, which can coil around like a snake. It's still fur covered like a fox. It has long sharp claws. The name nguruvilu means fox snake in Mapuche. The nguruvilu lives an amphibious life in rivers and can hide itself in the form of common water creatures. It's a dangerous trickster who drags people underwater and drowns them. The nguruvilu can make the water deep or shallow. It can make the river look inviting to lure people in and can also make whirlpools and rapids at will. It delights in drowning lone victims and watches the village morn. The only way to get rid of an nguruvilu is through the efforts of a machi, the Mapuche version of a shaman. At the river's edge the machi will make offerings to the gods and good spirits to protect him. Then he will dive underwater and guided by good magic will capture the nguruvilu in the form of a fish, frog or snake. He then threatens the nguruvi...
Read more

Ophiotaurus

Image
  The ophiotaurus was a monster who's front half was that of a bull, with a snake's tail replacing the back legs. It's only known appearance was from Fasti by Ovid. Although he's retelling a story from the lost Greek poem Titanomachia. The ophiotaurus was a primordial being existed at the beginning of time when the world was forming. At that time animals were not fully formed and so had miss matched parts from the wrong species. The ophiotaurus, as well as the other first animals, were born from the goddess Gaia without a mate. The bull was so toxic that its flesh could kill any being. If its entrails were burned (such as was done in ritual sacrifices) then the smoke would kill the gods. The bull was otherwise peaceful and not inclined to harm other creatures. Because of this the bull was trapped in a triple walled ring, within an endless dark forest, on the far side of the river Styx. During the Titanomachy one of the titans' allies, either Briareus the Hecatonch...
Read more