Maine - Family History & Genealogy Message Board

The Side-Hill Gouger

storknurse — 2006-12-04 12:09:47Z

My father insisted that these lived in the wilds of Maine and loved to tells us about them.

There are two types of side-hills. There's the left-side-hill gouger and the right-side-hill gouger. Each has legs longer on one side than the other from going around the mountain the same way all the time. They have long claws to help them dig into the hillside as they go around and around the same way. They never come down on the flatland because they are lopsided. The only way you can catch them is get them down on a piece of flat ground, because they can't run on flat ground.

Re: The Side-Hill Gouger

storknurse — 2006-12-04 12:09:47Z

We see bighorn sheep here in California but mountain goats would be a surprise here or in Maine. If you remember any other "tall tales" please post them. I have a whole book of them to post one at a time when I have nothing more pressing to do.

Regards,
Sharyn

The Will-am-alone

storknurse — 2006-12-04 12:09:47Z

The Will-am-alone is a quick little animal, like a squirrel, that rolls in its fingers poison lichens into balls and drops them into the ears and on the eyelids of sleeping men in hunting camp, causing them to have strange dreams and headaches and to see unusual objects in the snow. It is the hardest drinkers in the camp who are most susceptible to this poison and hard liquor in combination with the pellets of the Will-am-alone causes the victims upon arising to believe they will surely die.

Re: The Side-Hill Gouger

2006-07-08 01:29:19Z

My dad told a version of the story based on mountain goats which were doomed to always circle the mountain to the left or to the right, depending on which set of legs was longer. I've seen lots of Maine wildlife, but never a goat...