Axehandle hound explained

In American folklore, the axehandle hound (axhandle hound, ax-handle hound, or similar) is a fearsome critter of Minnesota and Wisconsin.

Description

The animal resembles a dog with a body axe-like in shape. It has a head shaped like an axe blade, hence the name, complemented by a handle-shaped body atop short stubby legs. It subsists on a diet consisting entirely of the handles of axes which have been left unattended.^[1] A nocturnal creature,^[2] the axehandle hound travels from camp to camp searching for its next meal.^[3] According to folklore, the axehandle hound strongly dislikes axe handles made from red oak.

See also

• Fearsome critters
• Folklore of the United States

References

• Baughman, Ernest Warren - Type and Motif-index of the Folktales of England and North America, Mouton 1966, page 533.
• Botkin, B. A. - The American People: Stories, Legends, Tales, Traditions and Songs, Transaction Publishers,, page 250.
• Botkin, B. A. - The Pocket Treasury of American Folklore, Pocket Books 1950
• Rose, Carol - Giants, Monsters, and Dragons: An Encyclopedia of Folklore, Legend, and Myth, W. W. Norton & Company,, page 32, 119.

External links

• Description (in Italian)

Notes and References

1. Book: Book of Imaginary Beings. Borges, Jorge Luis. New York. Viking Press. 2005. 0-670-89180-0. 83.
2. Book: Tryon, Henry Harrington . Fearsome Critters . Idlewild Press . 1939 . Cornwall, NY . 5.
3. Web site: Paul Bunyan natural history: describing the wild animals, birds, reptiles and fish of the big woods about Paul Bunyan's old time logging camps | Turning Points in Wisconsin History | Wisconsin Historical Society. www.wisconsinhistory.org.