Gwinter - [Fearsome Critter]

Gwinter - [Fearsome Critter] - aka: "Godaphro" "Side Swiper" "mountain-stem-winder" "Yamhill lunkus"  - (see also:"Side-hill Gouger")

• About this critter: a Texan based critter described by cowboys as a herbivore but the ferocity and might of a grizzly bear or mountain lion, but appearing as a miniature-bison mixed with a mountain goat. it lives on hillsides and slopes. Most have short front legs and tall back hill legs (creating a either a permanent bow or sun salute.) some are also said to be reversed, [or otherwise have long left side legs and short right side legs etc.] - The creature is built this way so that it can run up and down sheer inclines easily. - if desperate or threatened its said that the Gwinter will "turn right through themselves like a sock and run in the opposite direction!" - (a feat which it can only do once.) - Best Known for being territorial, the Gwinter is known to charge at cowboys on horseback like a "bat, shot out of a cannon" its said that if one ever starts toward you, don't let it know that you're scared because if you try to run it will get you for sure! -  Best to just stand still until its two steps away from ya then "do-si-do" two steps back and to one big one the left or right. (it can be avoided by striding two steps in the opposite direction.) Causing the Gwinter to fall down hill and break its fragile, rope-thin neck under its own weight.) Cattlemen where said to have developed this technique of dodging em back when the animal was common: Today its thought the Gwinter is extinct or that perhaps there only just one on every mountain in the area. ...Back in the day, it was said that circuses in New York City would pay up to $50,000 for a genuine caged Gwinter!

• History: This critter of course seems to originates  'Tall tales from Texas'. (1934) by Mody-Coggin Boatright. - It's one of many critters described by the cowboys in the "birds and beasts" chapter; along side other famous critters such as the "Milermore bird", the Glyptodont" and "Whiffle Poofle Lizard" - There's really not much more to explain about it that hasn't already been covered in my "Side Hill Gouger." biography - More or less its the same critter but re told in a different place with slight some slight differences, a regional variant if you will. 

However it should be noted that this critters 'joke' is best said aloud! its a phonetic-pun: "Gwinter" is just "going to" said with a heavy southern drawl, used in a sentence: "Shes Gwinter the Store," or "It's Gwinter Explode!!" - Because it was popular to write out accents like this in writing at the time (often resulting in stereotypes) its quite difficult to find newspaper articles about this critter due to the slang associated with the name.

As they're both bovine in nature and share similar stories, I've decided to classify the Gwinter as a 'lunki' referring to the 'Yamhill Lunkus' from 'Yamhill County, Oregon' (As famously mentioned in 'Fearsome critters' [Henry Tyron 1939]) – The creatures stories are more or less exact parallels, they're both bovine gougers, used for farm work, with the exception that Yamhill Lunki dont 'turn themselves inside out' but rather they have 'The ability to twist their legs about so that it could just run like anything in reverse" so I suppose the two should not be entirely conflated! - one could also argue that they the yamhill lunki have longer necks and as stated  in the clipping below, they often charge 'tail first.' – (for another parallel, see also: "Ratchet Owl")

[newspaper clipping 1937]

[More side-hill cows! from pecos bill Kellog steven, 1986]

[art sticker by @SamKalensky (yo, thats me!) part of my fearsome critters collection of stickers, check my shop and follow & support for many more!]