40
THE SUNDAY OREGOXIAX, PORTLAND, FEBRUARY 18, 1906.
THE ROOSEVELT BEARS
Copyright. 1806, by Seymour Eaton. All nights Reserved.)
BY PAUL PIPER
VIL THE BEARS IN A BALOON
The balloon sailed up above tbe crowds
And the county fair and beyond the clouds.
Tbe sky around -ferae clear and blue, -
The eartb below was lost to view. "
No sound was heard; the air was still;
The space about was too big to fill
With sound or house or town or hill.
Distance was gone and direction too;
The bears had nothing left to do;
There wasn't a thing to fasten to.
The sun alone and dazzling bright
Seemed to be laughing at their plight
The first to speak was TEDDY-G:
"The earth has dropped somewhere," said he,
"Fell through those clouds; I saw it go;
And where it's gone I want to know."
"Don't ask me," said TEDDY-B,
"I never learned astronomy;
"We're off for good; dear knows how far;
The sky will have another star.
I suppose we'll have an orbit soon
And revolve around the sun and moon ' .
And have day and night and Spring and Fal' '
And roll about like a rubber ball;
Or play with Jupiter or the planet Mars,
Or ride on comets through the stars.
Scholars will Jook through telescopes,
And tell our weight and count these ropes,
And measure time back to our birth,
And say we're peopled like the earth."
"Don't lose your head," said TEDDY-G,
"For here's a chart which tells how we
Can steer this ship with greatest ease
And land at any point we please.
The earth's down there, I know, somewhere,
For I saw the town and the county fair;
A birdseye view as the clouds went by
And covered up the under sky."
The bears sat down to read the books,
And to study maps and examine books,
And to Jearn the way to go up or down,
And how high they were above the town,
And how to anchor and the thing to do
If a storm, came up and the wind it blew.
It was nearly dark when TEDDY-G
Said he'd like to walk around and see
What the sky was doing and move his feet
And shake himself and get things to eat.
"We're on short allowance," said TEDDY-Bj
"Like shipwrecked sailors out at sea.
You can have five cakes and two chicken's legs
And an apple pie and six hard-boiled eggs
And a loaf of bread and doughnuts three
And a pound of nuts and a cup of tea."
"That's all right,' said TEDDY-G,
"I'll make it do till the night is through,
But at breakfast time let this shipwrecked crew
Land on a planet or a twinkling star,
Or any place where there's a dining car.
The air is pure at this skyward height
But it doesn't feed one's appetite."
They sailed along at a rapid rate;
There were no delays; no place to wait.
The sun bad gone clear out of sight;
The moon was up and the night was bright.
The earth below went sliding by:
They could see the fields and a great big Y
Where rivers joined ;and cities four
With a hundred million lights or more.
When TEDDY-B said he'd bet his paw
That the biggest town was Omaha.
It grows day and night without a rest
And is the smartest place in the Middle West.
"We're traveling north," said TEDDY-G,
Or north by east, for a star I see:
The northern star, the central hub,
I learned its place when but a cub."
And thus they chatted through the night
Counting cities that came in sight,
-t "
J'
' 'V XVmLv ' ' . The storm had cleared ; it was growing dark
v i s U V&M yfti 'W fl If - V When passing over Lincoln Park
S l WUilll II r .T V Their anchor caught in a maple tree.
y ... mWl lghll I I ' "Let us get out," said TEDDY-G,
. ' ' SmJjfll Mfc'Ja II If 't f "Chicago is good enougb for me;
"The first to speak was TED dropped somewhere,' said he." CfL '
In Canada or Hudson's Bay
In another night and another day."
But the wind it changed ten points at least.
And the balloon sailed south or south by east.
Some clouds came by and hid their view,
And there was nothing left for them to do
But to curl up warm in the basket small,
And wait for the old balloon to fall. r
They ate some breakfast and took a nap,
And were called at five by a thunder clap.
The bears jumped up with startled look;
They twisted ropes and threw out a hook,
And pulled down flags and tightened, strings,
And looked aloft and did other things
The sailors do in an ocean breeze
When the ship is rolled by angry seas.
"I believe I was dreaming," said TEDDY-G,,
"Two hunters were shooting at you and me;
Those fellows we caught on the mountain side
Before we started on our Eastern ride."
"That shot was lightning," said TEDDY-B;
"Look down below and a storm you'll see." '
" A storm below! Good gracious me I
Will it rain up hill ? " said TEDDY-G.
They pulled some ropes as the directions read1 ,
And down they went like a lump of lead,
Clean through the clouds where the storm had been
To the biggest lake they had ever seen.
"Throw out the sand," said TEDDY-B,
"Unload the ship or we're in the sea."
And off went traps and ballast bags,
And telescopes and wraps and flags,
. And boots and gloves and coats and caps,
And guide books ten and rolls of maps.
The balloon went up but it fell again
And ducked the bears in Lake Michigan.
The wind was high and the balloon it flew
Like a lifeboat sail with a shipwrecked crew,
Or up and down and round and back
Like a scenic railway without a track.
"There's trouble ahead," said TEDDY-G,
"A thunder storm on the lake I see;
The clouds are gathering as black as night;.
Another storm will smash our kite."
Not quite so scared was TEDDY-B ;
"Chicago's your thunder cloud," said he;
''Look hard and see the buildings poke
Their lofty heads through the city's smoke;
We're sailing south; we've turned about;
We'll land at eight if the gas holds out,"
They sailed along for an hour or more;
Hungry as bears and wet and sore. .
Or climbing up the basket ropes.
Or viewing the moon through telescopes.
At break of day there came in view
A pair of cities and a river, too;
And waterfalls and parkways wide,
And little lakes on every side.
"Those towns I know," said TEDDY-B,
(A map spread out upon his knee)
"With their parks and hills and buildings tall
Are Minneapolis and St. Paul."
"If that is true,"'said TEDDY-G, v
"Let us change our course or wc shall be
i 1
"They slid down ropes and hit the ground,
And landed in Chicago safe and sound."
I'd rather ride in a Pullman car,
Or go on foot or stay right here
And eat and sleep for about a year."
"I'm your chum," said TEDDY-B;
"There are children here I want to see.
I have heard of folks who love to rise
And soar in clouds and beyond the s'sies,
Or build fine castles in the air:
But it doesn't suit a country bear.
The thing's all right for an experiment,
But for steady life give me a tent."
They slid down ropes and hit the ground
And landed in Chicago safe and sound.
.(Continued Next Sunday:)
3 '
I