Snoligoster - [Fearsome Critter]

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Snoligoster - [Fearsome Critter] - (Latin: Dorsohastatus caudirotula.)

• About this Critter: The 'Snoligoster' is a gigantic, glossy-haired, crocodilian snake which was said to be found in and around the swamplands near Lake Okeechobee, Florida. A maneater, it torpedos through the swamplands chasing after its prey, dashing through the marsh using a powerful, bony propeller-like tail. it snags them using its powerful jaws, the serpent flings its target into the air & skewers them on the sharp dorsal spine in the middle of its back. Once several bodies are collected, it digs a hole, scrapes the bodies in, and blends them into an offal bloody milkshake using its tail. it guzzles down it's meal & is then completely satisfied...

**[Note: This critter is not to be confused with the closely named flying "Snallygaster" of Fredrick County, Maryland. (W*ho's name, seems to derive from the German word "Schnelle Geister" meaning 'quick spirits.'***)- Although the words look & sound similar, there is little evidence to suggest an etymological relationship between the two as the Snallygaster started to appear & be reported in papers from the 1900s-1940's – The 'Snoligoster' (the one we're talking about today) gets its name directly form "Snollygoster" which had originated in the mid 1840s as Old British slang, meaning "a shrewd, unprincipled person, especially a politician." - Used in a sentence: "Snollygosters must be thrown out of political office and other positions of power.") - The two beasts are in fact, of different origins: though they basically sound identical when spoken aloud, thus, they should not be conflated. - [PS: i'll be elaborating on ol'Snally another time soon.]

• History: The earliest appearance of the 'Snoligoster' as a creature, is from William T Cox's "Fearsome Creatures of the lumberwoods", published in 1910. - The swamps in Okeechobee Florida were often visited by hunters and trappers, but also runaway slaves and other outlaws, who would often use the swamplands as a hideout. – Cox's entry goes as follows, To put it quite bluntly: Cox's story for this one has some rather archaic, racial political views & wording in the mix. Reader discretion past this point is advised!

"THE SNOLIGOSTER. (Dorsohastatus caudirotula.)In the cypress swamps of the South, and particularly in the region about Lake Okechobee, Florida, woodmen tell of a strange and dangerous animal known as the snoligoster. This creature is of enormous proportions and is credited with a voracious appetite. Worst of all, its appetite is only appeased by the eating of human beings. In form the snoligoster resembles a huge crocodile, but it is covered with long, glossy fur and has no legs or fins, except one long spike on its back. A person naturally wonders how such an animal can manage to travel through the water and mud of the swamp region where it lives, but nature has provided it with a means for driving itself along. On the end of its tail are three bony plates much resembling the propeller on a steamboat. These revolve at a terrific rate, driving the animal like a torpedo boat through mud. They serve other purposes as well, for when a snoligoster catches an unfortunate pickaninny, or even a fullgrown negro, upon which it delights to feed, it tosses the victim up and backward so as to impale him upon the spike fin, where several may be carried until sufficient for a meal have been collected. The snoligoster's tail is then driven into the mud and revolved until a hole is scooped out and the victims scraped off the spike and tossed in, whereupon the snoligoster beats them into batter with its rapidly revolving propeller and inhales them. Mr. Inman F. Eldredge, of De Funiak Springs, Flordia, while hunting for an outlaw negro in the swamps, had a most unusual experience. He caught sight of the negro, dead and impaled upon what at first appeared to be a slender cypress knee, but which presently began to move away. It was then seen to be the spike on a snoligoster's back. Eldredge's first impulse was to shoot the strange beast, but upon second thought he concluded that it was doing a good work and was entitled to live on. The very report of such a creature inhabiting the swamps would deter evil-doers from venturing into these wild places to avoid their pursuers and escape justice."

"Inman F Eldredge" (1883-1963) was in fact the Florida State Forestry supervisor at the time of this books publishing in 1910 (so, we can at least confirm that he was a real person.) - The man's autobiography makes no mention of Cox or the 'snoligoster' so It seems quite likely that his involvement with this was quite likely an exaggeration/name drop on Cox's part. - [Of course, we don't know Inman well enough to speak for his character, i suppose it could have been political commentary, maybe Cox knew something? or perhaps he just wanted to insert a fellow forester in there as a 'hero' in a local story. it's hard to say with 100% certainty. Inman as a person might be worth further investigation, but i guess you'd have to go to floridia archives/librarys as my trail on the man beyond the one news clipping [above] ran cold as of writing.] --But I digress, if the definition of a "snollygoster" has always been "a corrupt politician who shouldn't be in power but is" and the story leaves the snoligoster "in control of the swamps to continue eating runaways and criminals." well then, I'd say the name is fitting and the metaphor is pretty obvious...

...What of the creature itself? well, I found some interesting news articles describing a 'snake-like monster' encountered by hunters on Lake Okeechobee, 9 years prior to cox's fearsome critters! –

• [Possible 'cryptid/native legend' connection?]

]

[full article here.]

...Starting In February of 1901 - various newspapers reported about a "Strange 32-ft Snake-monster" that was killed by a Jacksonville Flordia hunter named "Buster Ferrel" on Lake Okeechobee. - [Note: The article compares this "Strange Monster" to the mythological "horned serpents" spoken of by the local Seminole natives, however the similarities really do end at the location & it being a "Giant Horned Snake." - let's NOT conflate the two: as these horned serpents are often venerated, it seems to be perhaps a bit of appropriation/conflation on the writers part.] - Reprints of said article [from 1902 onward] mention a witness saying the serpent "Glides off into the swamplands at railroad speeds." - [the way the monster is described does sound pretty close to how Cox described the movement of 'Snoligoster.' (The location is correct if nothing else.) So, I'd suppose it is possible that the 'Snoligoster' might have been loosely inspired by the creature described in these articles, with Cox replacing fellow forestry serviceman, 'Inman' with 'Buster' for a laugh??? - The timeline also checks out for the publishing of fearsome creatures, with this being a fairly recent cryptid encounter at the time, i'm sure those interested would be talking about it. if nothing else, this 'encounter' could have inspired the story.] – looking through the above paper, there was seemingly no further follow-up to Buster Ferrel's finding, so who knows if he actually donated the creature's bones to the Smithsonian or not!? - [Its almost funny how commonly these sort of monster articles just end with a 'donation to the smithsonian' with no follow-up.] - The main parallel between this "Snake Monster" and the 'Snoligoster' is of course, the location, time of report and that it is a "Giant Razor-fanged serpent that moves at terrible speeds." any further cryptozoological or critter connection seems to end there! - On that note: a second (but even more likely coincidental) connection is the "Trident tailed" sea monster which has allegedly been sighted offshore since the 1800s! [but do note, that's an ocean monster and not a swamp monster, science says that its more likely a manatee sighting than a sea serpent regardless.]

[Fanciful illustration of the 'snake monster' from the Daily Herald Dec 26 1901.]

Not much more to say other than that southern Florida is of course, home to American crocs & big snakes too. Most modern bestiary's today portray the 'Snoligoster' mostly the same, but now he'll turn 'anyone and everyone into gory-milkshakes' or 'eat their shadows' [which is an interesting parallel to some other creatures of various folklores, however keeping in mind, that bit of lore was added much later on.] it should be needless to say the "fan tail" puts this one in league with the other man-made-object-anatomy-critters.

[Art sticker by samkalensky part of my fearsome critters collection of stickers check my shop and follow for many more! With this one complete I’ve 100%d coxs fearsome creatures 1910! :D ]

Snoligoster - [Fearsome Critter]

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