The Tote-Road Shagamaw (Latin, Bipedester delusissimus) is a creature whose origins lie in the traditions of late nineteenth-century North American lumberjack oral tradition.
Description[]
Even by the standards of other ‘Fearsome Critters’ (creatures originating through pioneer campfire tales) the Tote-Road Shagamaw of Maine is a bizarre animal. It’s legs end in cloven hooves like those of a moose, yet it’s arms terminate in bear-like paws, and it switches between walking on its feet and its hands every quarter of a mile exactly. This has led to several instances of fisticuffs between woodsmen, as these fellows accuse each other of being unable to tell the difference between the tracks of a moose and those of a bear.
The Shagamaw was first identified by one Gus Demo of Oldtown, Maine, an experienced logger and trapper who deduced that the species had a history of mimicry, and had seen human surveyors tracing perfectly straight lines through the woods. It proceeded to try to imitate these men, but as it could only count to 440 - the number of steps it could take in a quarter of a mile - it had to invert its method of locomotion like clockwork.
Further reading[]
"The Tote-Road Shagamaw" from Fearsome Creatures of the Lumberwoods (1910) by William T. Cox
"The Toteroad Shagamaw" from Fearsome Critters (1939) by Henry H. Tryon