The
Roosevelt Bears
visit
WASHINGTON
and complete their Tour of the East

“Dee-lighted.”

When the Bears arrived in Washington
They set out at once to buy a gun.
They bought three guns and pistols ten
And suits and belts like fighting men.
When dressed complete then off they went
To the house where lives the President.
When they reached the grounds and the entrance gate
No one was near to make them wait.
The news had spread round everywheres
Of this visit planned by the Roosevelt Bears.
A policeman dodged behind a tree
When he got first sight of TEDDY-B.
Detectives wise with eagle eye
Didn’t stop to ask the reason why,
But ducked their heads behind a wall
And got under cover one and all.
A doorkeeper in gold and black
Said, “Wait a minute till I come back.”
And lawyers bold and statesmen brave
Who make the President behave
Moved out of sight as quick as wink;
To offer help they didn’t think;
But they were hunters just the same,
Though hunting bears wasn’t quite their game.
The boys who answer the call of bells
Lost all the breath they use for yells
In crossing lawns in serious fright;
They rein for home with all their might.
And secretaries, three or four,
Got under desks down on the floor
When they saw the Bears at the entrance door.
But one little lad who was playing round
When he saw the Bears, he stood his ground
And stepped up bravely to TEDDY-G
And said, “Who is it you want to see?”
Said TEDDY-G in his kindliest way,
“We have traveled East and have come to-day
To see the hunter who doesn’t scare
And who isn’t afraid of man or bear.”
The Bears by the lad were keenly eyed,
And he said as he beckoned them both inside:
“My Dad’s in here; but wipe your feet;
I think you’re the kind he likes to meet.
They stepped inside, and the man they saw
Looked them over from head to paw
And with outstretched hand and smiling face
He gave them welcome to the place.
Said TEDDY-G, when he caught his breath,
I thought this call meant certain death.
We armed ourselves with loaded gun
When we struck this town of Washington,
For here ’twas said we’d surely see
The man who chased bears up a tree
And with both eyes shut on darkest night
Could hit a bear and win a fight.”
“To stand your ground,” said TEDDY-B,
“Is the thing that we Bears like to see;
If fighting’s trump or simply fun,
We stand, eyes front, and never run;
But those men of yours who guard your fort
Should be taken West for a little sport
And taught the things you learned out there
When climbing mountains chasing bear.”
But he simply laughed at what they said
And joked of stories he had read
In newspapers of things they’d done
On their journey East to Washington.
They talked away for an hour or two
Of hunting trips and friends they knew,
And this country wide and its cities great
From Boston Hub to the Golden Gate.
The Bears were asked to come next day
At an early hour to have a play
On the White House grounds and in children’s tent
And to breakfast with the President.
This visit o’er they started out
To see the buildings all about:
The Capitol with its rounded dome
Where the U. S. Senate makes its home,
And congressmen from every State
Gather in halls to deliberate;
The Treasury with its vaults of gold,
As much as a dozen trains could hold,
And silver too, and crisp bank notes
Enough to load a hundred boats;
The Library with its pictured halls
And books stored high within its walls;
The gardens with their trees and flowers,
And a museum where they stayed for hours;
And last of all, built straight and high,
A shaft that stands against the sky,
Set off with stones which good friends sent
In memory of a president.

Copyright, 1907, by Edward Stern & Co., Inc.

“With outstretched hand and smiling face,
He gave them welcome to the place.”

TEDDY-G said he would like to see
That famous little cherry tree
And get some cherries red and sweet
To take back home to give a treat
To the big raccoon and the mountain goat
And the old cougar and the young coyote,
To make them square and help them try
To tell the truth and not to lie.
So off they went that day at three
Out in the country the farm to see
Where George’s father used to stop
And where the boy learned how to chop.
They found the place as the guide books said
And the cherry stump, but no cherries red;
The stump was there and the hatchet too
And neither looking very new.
Said TEDDY-B when these things he saw
And took the hatchet in his paw:
“Of all the shrines of history
Which you and I came East to see
This spot right here I say is trump;
This hatchet and this cherry stump.”
TEDDY-G said he would like to try
Little George’s axe on a tree near-by,
To prove to the world that he could do
A trick like that and own up too.
And chop he did an apple tree
And left a note where all could see,
“This tree was chopped by TEDDY-G.”
They breakfasted the following day
With the President and had their play
For an hour before, from early dawn,
With boys and girls upon his lawn.
They asked the President if he
Would come out West their home to see;
Said TEDDY-B, “We’ll treat you white
And put you up both day and night
With grizzly bears and panthers wild
And give you sport not quite so mild
As driving Congress with its load,
Or riding horseback down the road.”
“This strenuous life,” said TEDDY-G,
“Is too hard work by half for me;
I’ll start back home this very day
And for a month at home I’ll stay
And rest my eyes and sleep and eat
And get down again on all four feet.”
Said TEDDY-B, “Our journey’s through;
There’s nothing left to see or do.
We were treated well everywhere we went;
And we have seen the President.
And now for home, that’s what I say;
But I mean to journey back this way
To take a boat for London town
To see the king and his golden crown.”
The reporters called that afternoon
When they heard the Bears were going so soon
And begged a column at least of news
About their trip and plans and views.
TEDDY-B wrote out in boldest hand
These lines that all can understand:
“To the boys we say be always gay,
And with jolly play fill every day.
Be brave, be true, be square and white,
And don’t forget to your friends to write.
And to the girls: We’ve no advice;
You’re everyone both sweet and nice.
And to all the people whom we’ve met
Please say we leave, with much regret,
For our mountain cave and brook and tree.”

Signed Teddy B and Teddy G

As their train pulled out an army band
Played airs well known o’er all the land;
And boys and girls waved their good-byes.
And tears filled many children’s eyes.
TEDDY-B called back to the crowd that he
Would come East again each one to see.
And TEDDY-G said he’d do his best
To treat them well if they came out West.