Sidehill Woofus, Jahootie, and other Oddities

When my kids were growing up, I shared with them stories dealing with the odd things in this world; stories which caused Kelly or Shelly to raise their eyebrows as they glanced at each other to determine if Dad was pulling their leg or not.  Like most legends or myths, these were based in fact, otherwise they would have been dismissed out of hand.

Going over the Leakey Mountain

One of the stories dealt with a common sign seen along FM337 between Camp Wood and Leakey, TX.  This was a fun road to drive as it goes over the mountains between the Nueces Canyon and the Frio Canyon and the road is often cut into the limestone hills.

One of the issues common to mountainous roads is that wind and water erosion coupled with mean ol Mr Gravity imposes itself and things fall; often on the roadway.  Because of that, TxDOT routinely posted signs which warned of the potential for hazards, thereby absolving themselves of any liability if you rounded a corner and ran into a 2-ton boulder sitting in the middle of the narrow road.

However, being an old TxDOT'er myself, I knew the REAL reason they put up these signs.  Of course, I felt obligated to share that with the kids, and I share this little known fact with you as well:

Over a hundred years ago, there was a young Indian lad who lived with his family in the hill country of Texas.  On the day this lad was born, a large section of the limestone hills caved off and fell into the Nueces River.  His mother knew of the dangers out in the woods, and was reluctant to let her son out of her sight during the day, always worrying that he would get lost and not be able to find his way home.  This particular Indian lad had heard from his grandfather of the creature that lives in the hill country and spends it's life running along the side of the mountains.  His grandfather told him that this critter had very powerful magic, and that anyone who could surprise the creature and make him turn around, would be a great warrior.  The search for this critter became an obsession with the lad, and one day, the Indian lad simply did not return home.  Days, weeks, months went by and no word was ever received of this adventurous lad.  The Mother, being distraught, prevailed on the Highway Department to post signs on the highways to help look for her lost son.  Her son' name, of course, was Falling Rock.

Another story that was shared was to explain why in an otherwise quiet house, an unexplained sound was heard, or a door was left open, or a cabinet was not shut.  When this happened, we always said "Jahootie" did it.  Like the critter that Falling Rock was looking for, Jahootie was hard, if not impossible to spot.  So, when I asked "Who left this pile of clothes in the floor?," or why one of the socks disappeared after the wash was done, the answer invariably was that Jahootie must have been responsible.

Things like this have been around for a long time. They must be real, otherwise why have so many people looked for so long to find physical evidence of them?  Take Sasquatch for example; it must be real - there's a TV show about it, and I routinely see wood carvings of Sasquatch everywhere from Arizona to Oregon.  And the "Chupacabra" couldn't be a figment of our collective imagination!  Too many people swear they have seen evidence of this creature.    I've never seen a "Swamp Lolly" but my neice Leigh swears it exists, especially in the humid, rainy forests of East Texas (and maybe lurking underneath the moss beds floating on top of the Nueces.)

Well, for at least one of these critters, the Sidehill Woofus, I am here to put this legend to bed and declare it a true fact.  I have physical, photographic proof!  First, however, I should probably refresh your memory on just what the Sidehill Woofus is.

The Sidehill Woofus, is a small Marmot / Weasel / Ringtail - like critter which lives in a mountainous habitat.  It spends it's life running around mountains.  Notice that I didn't say they run straight up and down mountains; no, they run AROUND mountains along the contour.  They generally are intent on their task, and keep their heads and noses low to the ground during their circuit, and their labored breathing makes a small huffing sound as they travel.  The sound has been described as being similar to "woofus - woofus - woofus", hence their name.

Now there are two main branches of Woofusies (or is the plural of Woofus "Woofii"??):  the Northern Hemisphere Woofus and the Southern Hemisphere Woofus.  Naturally, and following the established law of physics, the Northern Hemisphere Woofus runs around the mountain in a CLOCKWISE direction, while the Southern Hemisphere Woofus runs in a COUNTERCLOCKWISE direction.

Over the eons, both branches of Woofii, have adapted to fit perfectly their environment.  The Northern Hemisphere Woofii have heaver, tougher coats, similar to a Carhardt work jacket, to withstand the colder temperatures and the spines often found on plants.  Their southern cousins have a lighter coat which looks a little like bermuda shorts.

The main difference, of course between the two branches is in their LEGS.  The Northern Hemisphere Woofus has longer legs on the left side, and much shorter legs on the right side.  This way as the critter is woofing happily along in a clockwise direction, he/she remains perfectly level on the sloped mountainside.

Now the challenge and goal of Woofii hunters since time immemorial, is 1) to actually find one; and 2) to place yourself hidden directly in their projected path, and 3) time it so that you can jump out and say BOO! right before he/she gets to you.  This startles the Woofus, who jumps straight up, tries to turn through himself, and run away in the other (COUNTERCLOCKWISE) direction.  Now, however, running in a COUNTER clockwise direction, their short legs are on the downhill side, and it is presumed that they look highly comical as they try to run, and take several tumbles down the mountain until they can right themselves and continue in the right direction.

It might be that FALLING ROCK actually succeeded in this task, and that Mr. Woofus, after recovering himself and his dignity, came back and chased the Indian lad completely out of the county.  But who knows?

Anyway, I could always tell that Shelly and Kelly had reservations about my Sidehill Woofus story.  However, as we traveled in mountainous country, BB and I have found physical evidence that they exist; at least we have found the tracks they leave as they travel their circuitous route.

Tracks of the Sidehill Woofus!

This evidence, at least to me, is indisputable.  What else could have made these tracks other than the Sidehill Woofus?  So, as they used to say in chemistry class "QED" (What has to be proven, has been proven.)

Now I still have yet to get a picture of one, but it's only a matter of time.  The problem here in the location shown in these pictures, is the lack of Agarita or any other bush behind which to hide as you wait to intercept the Woofus and say BOO!  But nobody ever said the quest would be simple.

Now BB seems to think that it MIGHT be the track of a distant cousin, the Sidehill Cowfus.  She even took this photo to support her alternate theory.

But I'm not convinced.  This critter is going a little bit too downhill / uphill.  So I'm sticking with my original theory.

Stay tuned for more sightings.