Seen One Of These Lately...?

Sometimes there are stories and fables passed down for years and years about things that it might be better to avoid, know what I mean?

What Is A Pukwudgie?

 If You See One It’s Best To Stay Away

Even before Europeans arrived in the New World, the stories of pukwudgies were already old. The Wampanoag, Mohican, and Algonquin Indians believed pukwudgies had once lived in harmony with humans but had turned against them. They lived in the wild woods and marshes of the Eastern Seaboard, and, according to the legends, it was best to leave the Pukwudgies quietly in peace.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s poem The Song of Hiawatha refers to the “mischievous Puk-Wudgies.” The Indian word means “person of the wilderness.” A human who annoyed a pukwudgie might just be the victim of some unpleasant trickery, but they might also be pushed from a cliff, shot with arrows, or have their children stolen. Pukwudgies could create fire, luring people into deep woods to their doom. Like leprechauns, the legendary little people of Ireland, pukwudgies were capricious.

How dangerous they were varied from region to region. Legends of the pukwudgies (sometimes called bagwajinini) stretched from Canada to southern New England and west to the Great Lakes. In some places they were benign, even helpful to humans. In others they were mischievous, but harmless. And in other regions they were murderous.

They ranged in size too, from three feet to knee-height. They could disappear at will and in some places could transform into dangerous animals like cougars.

Pukwudgies are often tied to specific locations, even today. Many reported sightings come from the woods of Massachusetts. In fact, the police in Freetown, Massachusetts have put up a Pukwudgie Crossing sign near the Freetown State Forest.

Freetown is a state park located in Fall River, Freetown, and Lakeville, Massachusetts. Of course, Fall River is infamous as the home of Lizzie Borden. Pukwudgies are also rumored to live near the haunted Moundsville State Penitentiary in Indiana, and Round Rock in Texas, home to Bigfoot. Whether pukwudgies are a sign of further paranormal activity or simply seen by those who would like to believe is unclear, but their status as one of the oldest mythical creatures in North America is uncontested.

I will be the first to say tht I've have never seen one, or even heard of them before this article. I'm pretty sure I don't want to, either!

Coffee in the kitchen this morning. Rain and cold are moving back in.