It was the winter of 1742, and disaster had just struck northeastern Connecticut. Israel Putnam, future general of the Continental Army, awoke one morning to find that 70 of his goats and sheep had been killed during the night — and a great many others wounded — by a marauding wolf well known to the area. This wasn’t the first time that this particular beast had brought calamity down upon these humble Yankee farmers. No, this wolf had a killing spree stretching back years, and it had eluded capture time and again.
However, the wolf had yet to face the determined wrath of “Old Put.” Gathering five of his neighbors, Putnam set out to end the bloodthirsty reign of “Connecticut’s last wolf” once and for all.
Born in Massachusetts in 1718, Putnam is a complicated figure. He is often regarded as one of America’s earliest folk heroes, and stories about his life are almost Herculean in nature.
To be sure, Putnam’s adventures before, during, and after the French and Indian War made him a remarkably well-traveled man for his time. But he also helped seize Native American lands and used slave labor at the farm he had purchased in northeastern Connecticut in 1739. It was here and in the surrounding wilderness that his duel with the wolf took place just three years later.
Putnam and his group of hunters, along with at least one enslaved person, tracked the wolf all day and all night. By the following morning, they had chased the beast into its rock den in what is today part of Mashamoquet Brook State Park. Now, Putnam just needed to finish the job.
However, the wolf had yet to face the determined wrath of “Old Put.” Gathering five of his neighbors, Putnam set out to end the bloodthirsty reign of “Connecticut’s last wolf” once and for all.
Born in Massachusetts in 1718, Putnam is a complicated figure. He is often regarded as one of America’s earliest folk heroes, and stories about his life are almost Herculean in nature.
To be sure, Putnam’s adventures before, during, and after the French and Indian War made him a remarkably well-traveled man for his time. But he also helped seize Native American lands and used slave labor at the farm he had purchased in northeastern Connecticut in 1739. It was here and in the surrounding wilderness that his duel with the wolf took place just three years later.
Putnam and his group of hunters, along with at least one enslaved person, tracked the wolf all day and all night. By the following morning, they had chased the beast into its rock den in what is today part of Mashamoquet Brook State Park. Now, Putnam just needed to finish the job.
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The hunters tried first to smoke the wolf out of its den, but the clever creature would not emerge. Next, they sent a hunting hound into the rock cave, but the dog fled moments later, wounded and without its prey. Cornered and desperate, the wolf was fighting tooth and nail to stay alive.
Putnam then ordered one of his slaves into the den to kill the wolf. The enslaved person sensibly refused, and Putnam allegedly flew into a rage over the fact that he had such a coward in his “employ” (to say nothing of the five other white men who also declined to enter the cave). Realizing that he would have to undertake the task himself, Putnam stripped off his coat, ordered a length of rope tied to his leg, and prepared a torch with which to see inside the hole. In a sequence typical of classic hero legends, Putnam ventured into the cave three times. The first time, he located the wolf with his torch and was pulled back out. The second time, he loaded his musket and fired just as the beast was about to strike. The third and final time, he grabbed the wolf by its ears and pulled the carcass from the depths of the den. |
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Triumphant at last, Putnam led the hunters down to Kingsbury Tavern, where the wolf was strung up from the rafters for all to see. As news spread, well-wishers arrived throughout the day to congratulate Putnam on finally ending the infamous wolf scourge.
Observations
Gray wolves are no longer present in Connecticut, but coyotes — specifically the eastern coyote — are a common sight. According to the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP), eastern coyotes are generally larger than other species because it is thought that they bred with gray wolves at some point in the past.
So, what elevates Connecticut’s so-called last wolf to warrant its classification as a cryptid? For one, it was ferocious. The wolf and its yearly litter of pups were capable of killing dozens of goats and sheep in a single night. Even among other bloodthirsty cryptids, this is excessive. Locals were supposedly able to kill the wolf pups each year, likely due to their inexperience as hunters, but villagers were never able to nab the mother.
This leads to the second unique trait of Connecticut’s last wolf: its paws. Hunters had been trying to catch the wolf for years, with only minimal success. At least once, the wolf had been caught in a steel trap, but it escaped by leaving several of its toes behind. Hunters, then, knew it was the same beast year after year because of the unusual tracks it left in its wake.
Today, the site of Israel Putnam’s standoff with Connecticut’s last wolf is memorialized at Mashamoquet Brook State Park. Hikers can visit the den where the confrontation allegedly took place and where Putnam performed “an act of courage and of public service.” Unfortunately, his actions also deprived northeastern Connecticut of one of its few cryptids.
Sources
“Coyote.” Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, portal.ct.gov/DEEP/Wildlife/Fact-Sheets/Coyote. Accessed 13 April 2022.
Gencarella, Stephen. “Legendary Canines.” Spooky Trails and Tall Tales: Connecticut. Falcon, 2019: pp. 78-82.
McCain, Diana Ross. “Israel Putnam, Original American Folk Hero.” It Happened in Connecticut. Two Dot, an imprint of Globe Pequot, 2008: pp. 18-23.
Philips, David E. “Israel Putnam.” Legendary Connecticut. Curbstone Press, 1992. Originally published by Spoonwood Press, Hartford, 1984: pp. 30-38
Procknow, Gene. “Slavery Through the Eyes of Revolutionary Generals.” Journal of the American Revolution, Nov. 7, 2017, allthingsliberty.com/2017/11/slavery-eyes-revolutionary-generals. Accessed 13 April 2022.
“Putnam and the Wolf.” Mashamoquet Brook State Park, Pomfret, Connecticut.
Observations
Gray wolves are no longer present in Connecticut, but coyotes — specifically the eastern coyote — are a common sight. According to the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP), eastern coyotes are generally larger than other species because it is thought that they bred with gray wolves at some point in the past.
So, what elevates Connecticut’s so-called last wolf to warrant its classification as a cryptid? For one, it was ferocious. The wolf and its yearly litter of pups were capable of killing dozens of goats and sheep in a single night. Even among other bloodthirsty cryptids, this is excessive. Locals were supposedly able to kill the wolf pups each year, likely due to their inexperience as hunters, but villagers were never able to nab the mother.
This leads to the second unique trait of Connecticut’s last wolf: its paws. Hunters had been trying to catch the wolf for years, with only minimal success. At least once, the wolf had been caught in a steel trap, but it escaped by leaving several of its toes behind. Hunters, then, knew it was the same beast year after year because of the unusual tracks it left in its wake.
Today, the site of Israel Putnam’s standoff with Connecticut’s last wolf is memorialized at Mashamoquet Brook State Park. Hikers can visit the den where the confrontation allegedly took place and where Putnam performed “an act of courage and of public service.” Unfortunately, his actions also deprived northeastern Connecticut of one of its few cryptids.
Sources
“Coyote.” Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, portal.ct.gov/DEEP/Wildlife/Fact-Sheets/Coyote. Accessed 13 April 2022.
Gencarella, Stephen. “Legendary Canines.” Spooky Trails and Tall Tales: Connecticut. Falcon, 2019: pp. 78-82.
McCain, Diana Ross. “Israel Putnam, Original American Folk Hero.” It Happened in Connecticut. Two Dot, an imprint of Globe Pequot, 2008: pp. 18-23.
Philips, David E. “Israel Putnam.” Legendary Connecticut. Curbstone Press, 1992. Originally published by Spoonwood Press, Hartford, 1984: pp. 30-38
Procknow, Gene. “Slavery Through the Eyes of Revolutionary Generals.” Journal of the American Revolution, Nov. 7, 2017, allthingsliberty.com/2017/11/slavery-eyes-revolutionary-generals. Accessed 13 April 2022.
“Putnam and the Wolf.” Mashamoquet Brook State Park, Pomfret, Connecticut.
