He’s part horny toad...
http://www.texasmonthly.com/story/texas-primer-horny-toad
The horny toad isn’t really a toad. It’s a lizard—strictly speaking, a horned lizard. But if you grew up in Texas, you call it a horny toad. With the exception of the prissy folks at Texas Christian University—who term their mascot a horned frog—anyone who doesn’t say “horny toad” brands himself an outsider...
...That spring, Old Rip slowly became more animated, finally eating and drinking after four or five weeks. He was displayed at events across the nation. President Calvin Coolidge delayed 300 visitors to meet with Eastland’s celebrity. Rip became an item in “Ripley’s Believe It Or Not....”
...The most famous Texas horny toad was Old Rip, who was placed inside the cornerstone of the old Eastland County courthouse when it was built in 1897. Thirty-one years later the courthouse was torn down and, legend has it, there in the cornerstone was Old Rip, none too perky but still alive. Named after Rip Van Winkle, he went on tour and was exhibited to thousands of people, including then-president Calvin Coolidge (it was reputedly one of the few times that solemn gent smiled). When Old Rip died, his body was embalmed, and it is still on display in Eastland. Biologists scoff at the idea that Old Rip lived 31 years; most horny toads live a mere 6 or so...
http://www.tpwmagazine.com/archive/2008/oct/legend/
Texas Parks And Wildlife
Old Rip
Did a horned lizard really survive for 31 years inside a cornerstone?
The legend of Old Rip, Eastland County’s famous horned lizard, spurs a lot of questions. Can a horny toad really hibernate for 31 years? Was the lizard presented to crowds when the courthouse cornerstone was opened in 1928 the same one that had been deposited there in 1897? Did Old Rip, by his own fame, cause the downfall of his own kind?...
..The Texas horned lizard’s adventures started July 29, 1897, when 4-year-old Will Wood caught the reptile and named him Blinky. Will’s dad, Eastland County Clerk Ernest E. Wood, was heading downtown when he decided to use the horny toad to test a theory. The elder Wood had read about the ancient belief that horned lizards could live up to 100 years in hibernation.
Wood offered Blinky and a note to be placed in the cornerstone of the new courthouse. Officials said they placed the horned frog, the note, a Bible and several newspapers and coins in the small vault.
Years passed, and Eastland County’s oil boom brought more people and paperwork. By 1928, the courthouse wasn’t big enough, and voters approved building a new one.
“Mr. Wood stopped me and said they were building a new courthouse and there was a horned frog in [the old courthouse],” says 94-year-old Eldress Gattis of Eastland, one of a handful of surviving eyewitnesses to the cornerstone opening. “He was always kidding, but I don’t think he would go that far with a practical joke.”
Boyce House, editor of the Eastland Argus-Tribune, passed the story along to news agencies. By noon on February 18, a crowd reportedly between 1,000 and 3,000 surrounded the courthouse rubble.
...Texas Christian University sent a biology team to examine Old Rip. An X-ray revealed a broken leg. His horns and spikes were worn down, possibly from trying to escape his prison. His mouth and eyes appeared sealed shut, but it was still hibernation season. Otherwise, he was healthy.
Rip rested peacefully, but not those around him. When cynics claimed Day, Singleton or Pritchard brought a live horny toad in case the original was dead, local businessman Hiram McCandliss offered $1,000 to anyone who could find a horned toad in February – a near-impossible feat since the lizards were hibernating underground. Will Wood attributed the horned lizard’s survival to the Bible enclosed with him...
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