Teddy and the Bear

 

I have written about the bad luck I’ve had the last couple deer seasons.  Anyone who hunts knows that those things happen.  Even the best hunter has had to munch on “tag soup” at times.

Former president Theodore Roosevelt is lauded by outdoorsmen everywhere as a dedicated hunter, fisherman, and conservationist and as the father of the National Park system.  He founded the short-lived Bull Moose political party and was a proponent of vigorous physical activity.  He loved to box and worked as a range-riding cowboy out west for several years.  He even volunteered to command the Rough Riders in time to lead the famous charge up San Juan Hill.

Everyone knew him as a real man’s man.  He was macho before macho was cool.

What he did on a hunt a little over 100 years ago however would change the world forever…in a very warm and fuzzy way.

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In 1902 Theodore “Teddy” Roosevelt was invited by Mississippi governor Andrew H. Longino to go along on a hunting trip in his state.  Anxious for some relaxation in the fresh air, the president quickly accepted.  In November of that year he found himself on a four day bear hunt in the forest near Smede, Mississippi.

Three days into the hunt other members of the hunting party had seen bears but the president hadn’t spotted one and was faced with going home bear-less.  The next day Holt Collier, one of the guides, cornered an approximately 250 pound bear.  Since the president wasn’t nearby, the man roped the critter, beat it into submission, and tied it to a willow tree.  Then they retrieved the hunter-in-chief.

When Mr. Roosevelt saw the bear he refused to shoot the bound and defenseless animal, exclaiming that it was unsportsmanlike.  In those days when all bears were considered by most of society to be vermin and exterminated on sight the men were dumfounded.  Teddy gave them a rather loud and pointed education in sportsmanship.

“Bully,” Mr. President!

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News of Roosevelt’s actions made it back to the capitol and a political cartoonist named Clifford Berryman drew a lighthearted illustration of the situation.  It was published in the Washington Post on November 16, 1902.  He re-drew different versions of the incident.  At first he drew the bruin as a grown animal, but he later drew it as a big-eared cub.

President Roosevelt’s kindness stole the hearts of people all around the country, including a Brooklyn candy shop owner named Morris Michtom.  Then as now, stuffed toy animals were popular with children and Morris and his wife Rose made some as a side-business.  They sewed some cute cub-like bears and, with Roosevelt’s permission, dubbed them each, “Teddy’s Bear.”  The creation gained popularity so fast that the Michtoms founded the Ideal Novelty and Toy Company.

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Across the Atlantic German toy maker Margaret Steiff earned her living by sewing, including the production of stuffed toy elephants and other animals.  In 1903 an American saw one of her bears and imported several, selling them as Teddy Bears.  By importing them to the U.S., he introduced the idea of Teddy Bears to Europe as well and the stuffed bears soon conquered the rest of the world.  Today, an early Steiff teddy bear is highly desired among collectors.

Since that time, teddy bears have never lost popularity and continue to be a mainstay of toy boxes everywhere.

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So next time your favorite toddler insists that she can’t go to sleep without her beloved teddy bear to keep her company, you can thank a rough, tough big game hunter for giving you a night of peace and quiet.

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Oh, and considering that an unsuccessful bear hunt prompted the invention of the ever popular teddy bear, I wonder if my lack of good luck this past deer season might end up making me rich.

Anybody interested in buying a Scotty Deer?

 

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(above) One of Clifford Berryman’s early versions of the cartoon.

(below) In this later version we can see that the fortunate bear has become smaller and cuter.  Notice the marked resemblance between it and the famous “Teddy Bear”?