Part 2

They found Buster Brown in the entrance hall And a cat climbing up the building wall With Tige below looking up at puss And Buster’s mother trying to stop the fuss. “Good afternoon,” said TEDDY-B, “Is this Buster Brown and Tige I see?” (Tige gave Buster a knowing wink Which put him wise and made him think.)

“The Roosevelt Bears! I’ve heard of you; TEDDY-B and G! How do you do! You’re the jolliest bears I ever saw.” And Buster shook each by the paw While Tige seemed glad that he was near And put on a smile from ear to ear.

“You come with us,” said Buster Brown, “We know this place, upstairs and down; There are people here in smiles and tears Who haven’t changed for a hundred years. We’ll make those laugh who look so sad And the merry ones we’ll make them mad.”

But Buster’s mother made him stay Right where he was in wax and clay; And Tige looked round for a place to hide As the Roosevelt Bears passed on inside.

They saw the eagle which stole the child And carried it up in the mountains wild. They stopped for a moment to see the King And to ask Madame Patti if she would sing.

They saw Emperor William in a soldier suit, But to all their questions he was deaf and mute; So TEDDY-G, to make him look gay, Turned the tails of his moustache the other way.

At the Roman Forum, TEDDY-B spoke out And asked Mark Antony what ’twas all about: This Roman crowd and Cæsar slain And why they were doing the thing again.

And thus they went from place to place Looking at people of every race And crimes committed and prisoners hung And no complaint from any tongue.

At the lions’ den TEDDY-G was wild; A lion had killed a little child: “I’ll go right in and smash his face.” But a man who was there to guard the place

Spoke up and said, “That lion in there Is not afraid of a Roosevelt Bear;

He’s made of wax, and that savage look He wears all the time like a picture book.”

But TEDDY-G replied that he, If he owned the place, would let folks see That lions who did such things as they Shouldn’t live at all in wax or clay.

Then on they went upstairs to guess How Ajab played his game of chess.

Said TEDDY-G, “See if you can Play checkers with this wooden man; And while you play I’ll take off the lid And find out where the man is hid.”

Three games were played and TEDDY-B Won every one so fast that he Made the wooden eyes flow free with tears, The first time in a hundred years.

TEDDY-G looked at him from head to heels, And his side door opened to see the wheels, And the man’s mainspring and his wooden heart He examined with care and took apart, But he couldn’t find out high or low How this man of wood made the checkers go.

TEDDY-B was polite and said “Good-bye;” And the man got up and wiped his eye, And held out his hand as well ’s he could, (It had several pieces all made of wood) And said, “Your playing was pretty good.”

As the Bears passed out of the Wax Musee A paper was handed to TEDDY-G Which read like this in printing bold:

“Resolved, _That mothers should never scold, For boys are wax and scoldings stick And impressions can’t be rubbed out quick._

Resolved, _That the world was made for play, And that boys and bears should have their way, When fun is needed the blues to down._”

Signed by Tige and Buster Brown.

The four took hands to skip and sing, And dance around in a jolly ring. Folks crowded near inside and out To see what the fun was all about. A thousand shoppers on the street Paused as they passed the Bears to meet.

A speech was asked from TEDDY-B As he stepped to the door the crowd to see: “The U. S. boys and girls are ours; They’re made of sunshine, love and flowers, We’re bound with them to scatter blues And we’re here to-day to spread the news.” When TEDDY-B these things had said He Buster’s Resolution read, While Tige and Buster inside the door, Became wax again as they were before.

The Roosevelt Bears visit WEST POINT

The day was fine and the Bears were free To take a River boat to see The Palisades and Tarrytown And to view the Hudson up and down.

A request had come from a young cadet Of West Point school, whom the Bears had met, To dine at the West Point Army Mess, And to see the boys in their army dress, And to sleep on an army barracks cot, And to try their luck at a target shot,

And to ride bare-backed in the hurdle shute, Or to join a band with drum and flute, Or to hear good stories of army fights After taps are sounded to put out the lights. So they sent a wire to the cadet to say That they would call that very day.

They made the trip with but one mishap: The wind blew off a newsboy’s cap As he walked around on the steamer deck Calling out the news of a railway wreck And selling his papers and chewing gum To the crowd of tourists “going some.”

TEDDY-G made a jump as he saw it go And he and the cap went down below. Like a diver he struck the water right And quick as a wink was out of sight.

“Man’s overboard,” was called aloud; And a cheer went up from the tourist crowd As they saw in the water in a little while The face of a bear with a pleasant smile.

The boat was stopped and a rope thrown out, And in answer to the captain’s shout TEDDY-G called back, “The water’s fine; I’ve got the bait; pull in your line.”

It didn’t take them long to get TEDDY-G on board, all dripping wet; The children laughed, he looked so queer, With the newsboy’s cap hung on his ear. He bowed to tourists left and right And said something about his appetite. He asked the steward to bring on some meals As the steamer band played “Silver Heels.”

At West Point landing the Bears were met By a double carriage with the young cadet And a cavalry mount to escort them round To see the buildings on the ground. They drove about for an hour or less, Then went to their barrack rooms to dress In soldier suits for the evening mess. TEDDY-B said he’d be Colonel’s aide And inspect the boys on dress parade, While TEDDY-G said he’d march or stand As leader of the soldier band.

The parade dismissed and the supper through, The Bears had nothing else to do But to roll themselves in barrack wraps And to put out the lights at the sound of taps.

At reveille at six next day They were wide awake and bright and gay And dressed and ready for hours of fun With cavalry horse or battery gun.

The boys had fun when TEDDY-B Rode a cavalry horse down a shute to see How to jump the walls and the hurdles take Without a tumble or balk or break.

The horse was tricky, but the Bear was game And he made him clear each thing that came, Whether wall or water or brush or bar. TEDDY-B would have tried a railway car

Or a barn or a tree or a load of hay Or any old thing that came in his way. The finest riding, the officers say, That was done at West Point for many a day.

TEDDY-G took his turn at soldier fun When he loaded and fired a battery gun. He charged in powder and cannon ball; “So simple,” he said, “it’s nothing at all.”

He asked a cadet his hat to keep Till he stepped to the muzzle to take a peep To see if the ball was in all right, And if things in front were out of sight. What happened next no one can tell, TEDDY-G was lifted in air a spell

And whirled around so quick in space He didn’t remember just what took place. “I caught that ball, all right,” said he, When the officer questioned TEDDY-G;

“But I don’t like catching balls like that; My place I think is at the bat. Next time you pitch don’t throw so quick; You struck me like a load of brick.”

Said the officer, “For bravery shown We’ll give you a title all your own; You can drop your Harvard L and D And be known as Colonel TEDDY-G.”

The boys got out the fife and drum And made things all around them hum As they marched ahead of the Roosevelt Bears In army step down the flight of stairs

To take the ferry at half-past four Across the river to the other shore, Where a train was waiting to take them down The eastern bank and back to town.

“Let us go to-morrow,” said TEDDY-G, “And a first-class game of baseball see; That ball they pitched at West Point school Had hardly time enough to cool; It struck my paws so fiery hot I thought for a minute that I was shot.”

The Roosevelt Bears play BASE BALL

The Bears were invited by Muddy Pete To go with him to an East Side street To visit children who never see Either grass or field or flower or tree. They loaded up like old Saint Nick With bundles piled on high and thick; Bouquets of flowers for children sick And toys and candy for those at play, And a hundred other things, folks say, Who saw them on the street that day.

They went around from door to door, Where bears had never been before; Climbed flights of stairs and bumped their heads To cheer up lads who were sick in beds; Threw bouquets into windows high, And picked nice toys and let them fly, And candy boxes and twigs of green, Wherever boys and girls were seen.

But the jolliest sport of the day began When they met an organ-grinder man With a monkey trained to act the clown And pick up pennies boys throw down. TEDDY-G asked the man if he could go With his monkey band for an hour or so; TEDDY-B said he the troupe would join And see that rich folks shelled out coin.

He’d give the monkey double pay: Five cents an hour for half a day. And the organ man may go, said they, And join some other kind of play. “Or if you’re tired,” the two Bears said, “Go home for the day and go to bed; We’ll use your organ and monkey clown And pay you half a dollar down And two dollars more when we are through And return your band as good as new.

With help from Cribs and Muddy Pete We’ll find our way from street to street.” This bargain made, the Bears set out To give the children round about And old folks too along the street The funniest kind of music treat.

TEDDY-G took the crank and just for fun Made marches dance and two-steps run, And polkas gallop and waltzes race And street-songs step at a lively pace. While TEDDY-B climbed up on top Of the music-box stood on its prop And threw the monkey and made him yell And caught him every time he fell.

A boy got a drum for Muddy Pete, And Cribs danced round on two hind feet, And all five laughed and cheered and sang And made things go with slap and bang.

The crowd of children filled the square; Five hundred boys and girls were there; And scores of men stopped work to see The tricks of TEDDIES-B and G Nickels enough and quarters too And silver dollars, not a few,

Were collected that day by the players four To give a fresh air week down by the shore To boys and girls a score or more Who had never seen the sea before.

The afternoon was good and hot And the Bears sat down in a vacant lot To count their cash and rest their feet And eat some lunch with Muddy Pete.

They returned to the organ-grinder man His music-box and collection can And his monkey clown and some money too, Just as he bargained they should do.

They gave the monkey an extra dime For working two hours over time, And a box of nuts as a special treat, The kind that monkeys like to eat.

Seven boys came over to where they sat With bags of sand and ball and bat And baseball gloves and masks of wire And asked if they the Bears could hire.

“We’re going to play,” a lad spoke up, “The Bowery nine for a silver cup, And we’re short two men; good players they; But they couldn’t come to the game to-day.”

“And the Bowery nine,” another said, “Are bigger boys by half-a-head, And good at bat and quick to run; They beat us last time two to one.”

“They don’t play fair,” said another lad, “They count all balls both good and bad; They claimed a foul when I made a base And when I objected they slapped my face.”

“The Bowery nine,” said TEDDY-B, “Is the kind of nine I’d like to see; We’ll join the team and run the game And win that silver cup just the same.”

“Give me some pointers,” said TEDDY-G, “This game you play is new to me.” The Bears were coached in every rule And they both caught on like boys at school.

The Bowery boys, in a little while, Came on the lot in baseball style. They read off rules to the other nine And helped lay out the diamond line.

In size, they said, among themselves, These Roosevelt Bears are number twelves; But the Bowery captain bet his hat That neither Bear could pitch or bat.

“This game,” he said, “is as good as won; We’ll beat those fellows ten to one.”

A Bowery boy went to the bat While the other eight on some lumber sat To watch the play and wait their turn And see the Bears their fingers burn.

TEDDY-B as catcher in mask and pad Met every ball both good and bad With snap and skill so sure and quick, He seemed to know the baseball trick;

While TEDDY-G at the pitcher’s box Put balls to bat like hammer knocks

And with curves so neat and twists so new The fielders hadn’t a thing to do; For not a boy could make a hit And one by one the plate they quit. Said Muddy Pete, “Their cake is dough” As he marked the score, a great big O. “It’s our turn now,” said TEDDY-B, “We’ll let those Bowery fellows see That the team that wins this game to-day Will make their score by honest play.” And of all the batting that was ever done In games that lost or in games that won, In timing hits and in making base, And in running home in the wildest race, This play that day of the Roosevelt Bears Beat baseball records everywheres.

They knocked that ball so hard and high Above the clouds up in the sky, That while it tarried out of sight The Bears went round with all their might

And scored so fast for that silver cup That Muddy Pete could scarce keep up. Nine innings each they didn’t get, For the Roosevelt Bears would be batting yet If the Bowery boys hadn’t stopped the score At naught for them to sixty-four.

The Roosevelt Bears arrive in Philadelphia

The Bears went out to a country place To see a machine take its trial race; Invented by a New Jersey man And made to fly on a novel plan.

This trial trip was to prove that day That machines that fly have come to stay. When the hour arrived to cut the cord There wasn’t a man who would go aboard. The Bears said they would make the trip And every racing record whip If they only knew how to steer the ship. “We’ve sailed before,” said TEDDY-B, “We hit Chicago down a tree From an old balloon that brought us there From a Missouri town at a county fair.” “I’m not afraid,” said TEDDY-G, “I’d like to go to the moon to see If the man up there charges entrance fees And what he does with all the cheese.”

But as they talked the machine got wise And with buzz and whiz it began to rise And broke the ropes that held it tight And went towards the clouds and out of sight With TEDDY-B and TEDDY-G Grabbing at anything they could see:

The one on a bar beneath the sail And the other on a rope to make a tail. They started so quick and went so high They hadn’t a chance to say good-bye.

They had ridden before and lively too, On cow-boy horses and in frail canoe; In an old balloon and a ’mobile car, But this ride that day beat those by far.

They went over town and farm and creek In one straight line like a lightning streak, And it wasn’t forty minutes when They came in sight of William Penn Looking so wise and straight and tall On the top of Philadelphia’s city hall. TEDDY-B called out from where he sat, “There’s a man ahead; I see his hat; His hand is out; he means to try To catch the rope as we go by.” And TEDDY-G in cow-boy style Let out the rope, nearly half a mile, And as it coiled he pulled with might And William Penn he lassoed tight. A crowd of children down below Looked up and saw the Bears let go And come from the clouds like sailors bold, With not a thing but the rope to hold,

And land all right on the old man’s hat, Where both sat down to have a chat And look about and view the town And ask each other how they’d get down.

They looked over the brim to see Penn’s face And ask him questions about the place:

What would happen if they should fall? And how long it took to build the hall?

And what it cost and if he thought it nice To pay so much for expert advice?

And one thing sure they’d like to know Why this Quaker town was considered slow?

A crowd soon gathered round the square; Police and engineers were there,

And business men and children too, And each one wondering what to do; For how to get the two Bears down Was soon being asked by half the town.

The Mayor came out with megaphone And called aloud up the tower of stone And promised Father Penn a dime If he’d give the Bears a high old time.

Not very far from where they sat A door was opened in the Quaker hat And a man put out his head to say That the Roosevelt Bears could come that way, But the door was small and it wouldn’t do For neither Bear could be crowded through.

Said TEDDY-B, “Go to the street And bring a rope six hundred feet And William here will hold one end While we to the square below descend.”

This plan was tried and in half an hour The Bears had landed from the tower And had shaken hands right then and there With every child around the square.

From there they went, the papers say, To a Broad Street bank to draw their pay, Or to cash a check which TEDDY-G Had got in New York as their circus fee.

When they asked for money the man inside Said, “You’ll have to be identified: Perhaps your names are what you say, But prove it you must some other way.”

“Is that check good?” said TEDDY-B, “Well, if it is, I’ll let you see That G is he and B is me.” But before he had time to act the bear The check was taken and the cash was there.

To a shop they went on Chestnut Street And dressed up new from head to feet And got the bill and paid the fee And started out the town to see.

Two little lads named Jack and Will Had bought four tickets for vaudeville; Four seats up front at a children’s show That was given to help poor boys to go To a training school where men are paid To teach young lads a useful trade. The boys had heard of the Roosevelt Bears And they spent their money for the extra chairs That very day on Chestnut Street To give the Bears this special treat.

The boys had followed the Bears a square, Intending to ask if they would care To use up their time that day to go With two little lads to the children’s show. Jack was bravest and walked close behind To see if the Bears were really kind. “You speak to TEDDY-B,” said he, “And I’ll put the question to TEDDY-G.” “All right!” said Will, and he stepped ahead And this to TEDDY-B he said:

“Mr. TEDDY-B, will you come with me Right now a children’s show to see? I have your ticket; it’s paid for too; I bought it specially for you.” “That was good of you; of course I’ll go,” Said TEDDY-B, “to the children’s show; We’re here to make the jolliest kind Of fun for every child we find.” “Me too,” said Jack; ’twas all he said; His courage wasn’t in his head;

But TEDDY-G to answer Jack Lifted him high up on his back And danced a jig right then and there

To show the crowd that a Roosevelt Bear For serious people didn’t care;

They lived for fun and their fun they’d share Free of expense and everywhere.

But the things that happened to Jack and Will That afternoon at vaudeville

Were not on the program of the children’s show; For the Roosevelt Bears, folks say who know,