At Knott’s Berry Farm in Ghost Town, near the stables and beneath the windmill stands an odd creature known as the Catawampus, or “Species Extinct.” Here is a link to Part 1 of my journey of discovery to learn more about this odd creature. Here is a link to Part 2 of my journey. Here is a link to Part 3. Below is Part 4 of my journey, read on…
Professor Ananias’ career as a scholar in the field of rare animals was in ruins – even though he had seen a herd of Catawampus, he only had his drawing, and that drew nothing but skepticism and scorn from other scholars.
So, he left the world of academia and headed back west on the railroad, eventually working on the railroad as a fireman and then an engineer.
At first, he was on the Durango & Rio Grande Western Railroad in Colorado’s Rocky Mountains, traveling the narrow-gauge railroad line that serviced the mines and loggers there. But eventually, he hooked up with the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway, ending up based out of Barstow, California.
The Catawampus as seen once upon a time at Knott’s Berry Farm.
Once there, he spent his spare time roaming the hills and mountains in a vain effort to find the Catawampus again. He would also listen to the town gossip and talk to others to see if anyone had heard of them.
No one really lived in Calico anymore, though there were a few prospectors in the hills. But none of them knew anything about the wooden creature.
One night, after getting back into town after steaming in from Arizona, he stopped off at one of the old watering holes (a bar) where he met two old codgers.
This is the entry from Professor Ananias’ journal about that meeting:
I met two older, bearded men, one was called Whiskey Bill (and he deserved the name judging by the quantities of that liquid he could down) and Handsome Brady (though how he got that name had to have been a joke!).
Statues of those famous western characters, Handsome Brady and Whiskey Bill.
I was sitting at the bar having a brandy when I overheard them talking to one of the ladies from a place called “Goldies,” and were trying to come to some sort of arrangement. During their discussion with the lady, they said that if they could come up to her place, they would take her out tomorrow to see the Catawampus. My ears perked up on hearing that.
After the lady denied their advances, I could see they had nothing else on for the evening, so I purchased a bottle, and walked over, setting the bottle in the middle of the table.
“Mind if I join you?” I asked.
Their eyes showed they had been around in the west for a long time. But they lit up when they saw the bottle.
“If y’all are sharin that, why shor,” said Whiskey Bill.
I set three glasses on the table, opened the whiskey and poured. Bill grabbed his glass and drank it down like a thirsty camel. I refilled it immediately. Bill started to drink that one, but stopped when Handsome Brady cleared his throat.
“What can we do for you stranger?” Brady asked.
I leaned forward and spoke in a low voice.
“I couldn’t help but overhear you mentioning a creature called a Catawampus.”
Handsome picked up his drink, looking at Bill while he slowly sipped. Bill’s eyes got a little larger, he took a short sip from his glass. Bill coughed.
“Uh, that was just talk, you know, for the lady.”
“Really?” I asked. “So, you haven’t seen one of the wooden creatures?”
Handsome seemed to choke on his drink. He set it down.
Handsome asked, “How do you know they’re made of wood?”
I looked around, no one in the bar was paying attention to us at all, but the two seemed unwilling to talk.
“I’ve heard about them too, years ago in Calico.”
They looked at me with disbelief in their eyes.
“I was there when it was booming, I’d hoped to get proof of their existence.”
Whiskey Bill asked, “What kind of proof?”
“Maybe capture one alive and take it back east to my old college.”
They both laughed.
Brady said, “If you can manage to catch one, they’ll just stop movin, and then people will think you’re nuts cuz all you’ll have is some pieces of wood.”
Bill added, “We seen a couple, we had ‘em cornered in a box canyon. They just stopped moving, they stopped their mooing – for all anyone could’ve known, they were just a prank played by some youngsters to make them look like they was livin things.”
I nodded and took a drink myself.
“Still, you’ve seen them?”
The two nodded.
“Where?”
“In the foothills on the other side of Cajon Pass,” Brady said.
I started to get up.
Bill asked, “You going to try and find ‘em?”
“Yes.”
“Well best of luck to you sir.”
I started to take the bottle, saw them both staring at me. I put the bottle back down.
Bill said, “I knew you was a gentleman when I laid eyes on you.”
I felt reborn as I walked out of that bar and headed to my place to get some sleep, I had a run across the desert, but now wanted to get on a run to Victorville, as that was much closer to the pass.
Editor’s note: This is part four of a multi-part series. Here is a link to Part 1. Here is a link to Part 2. Here is a link to Part 3. Here is a link to part 5.