Bummer and Lazarus

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Bummer
Lazarus

Bummer and Lazarus were two stray dogs that lived in San Francisco during the 1860s . Because of their mutual devotion, as well as their exceptional rat hunting skills , they quickly gained general public notoriety. Today they are part of the cultural history of California .

Life

prehistory

Bummer ("Rumtreiber") was a Newfoundland hybrid who lived from 1860 in the vicinity of Martin & Horton's Saloon in Montgomery Street ( Financial District ), a popular meeting place for journalists, and who quickly became known as a rat killer. This ability saved him from the fate of his predecessor in that territory, Bruno, who had been poisoned with strychnine . According to newspaper articles from the 1890s, Bummer was brought to San Francisco from a stay in Petaluma by journalist Ned Knight . The name "Bummer" should also come from him. Bummer was known to most of San Francisco's journalists since his arrival. After a few days, however, the dog is said to have preferred freedom to going to bars with his master. In 1861, Bummer rescued a promenade mix that had been attacked by a larger dog and seriously injured in the leg. According to tradition, Bummer shared his food with the animal and warmed it during the night so that the dog quickly recovered from its injuries and was therefore given the name Lazarus . From then on, Lazarus accompanied Bummer constantly and soon also proved to be an excellent rat hunter. Once, the two are said to have killed 85 rats in just twenty minutes.

"Career"

San Francisco "originals" including Bummer and Lazarus

The local press quickly became aware of the couple and reported regularly on the activities of the two animals. Bummer was mostly portrayed as a “gentleman” with an almost tragic background - abandoned by luck, but looking hopefully into the future; Lazarus, on the other hand, was assigned the role of the devious and unreliable friend who only thinks of himself when in doubt. This humanized role assignment seemed to be confirmed when Bummer was shot in the leg a few months later and Lazarus then left him with another dog. The fact that Lazarus returned to him after Bummer's recovery did not change this assessment.

In the summer of 1861, the dogs helped a police officer arrest a violent thug. And at the end of June 1862 the newspapers reported that the two dogs had stopped a runaway horse.

Contrary to their public reputation, the two dogs could also be aggressive. According to an early description, Bummer was considered a sheep killer and was involved in numerous fights with other dogs, in which Lazarus supported him. Both were also known for breaking into local shops unnoticed, ravaging them in search of something to eat or a place to sleep, and violently defending themselves if discovered. In June 1862, Lazarus was picked up by a newly hired dog catcher, whereupon an angry crowd demanded his release. The city administration complied with this request and publicly stated that Bummer and Lazarus were from now on exempted from the city ordinance to combat stray dogs.

Emperor Norton I.

"Three Bummers"

In memories Bummer and Lazarus are associated with another original from San Francisco, the self-proclaimed "Emperor of the United States" Joshua Norton , whom they always followed. So wrote magazine author Samuel Dickson in 1947:

“Bummer, Lazarus and Emperor Norton were inseparable. At every theater premiere, three seats were reserved for the emperor and his dogs in the first row of the box, free of charge, of course. "

There is no contemporary evidence of this, however. The basis of this legend is in all probability a contemporary drawing by Edward Jump entitled "Three Bummers", which shows Norton, Bummer and Lazarus together in front of a buffet. The picture was then publicly exhibited and widely admired. Norton himself was anything but pleased with the portrayal: He saw it as "a denigration of imperial dignity".

The death of Lazarus

Lazarus' funeral

According to older accounts, Lazarus was poisoned in October 1863 after he was said to have bitten a boy. The $ 50 reward offered by San Francisco citizens did not lead to the identification of the perpetrator. Samuel Dickson, on the other hand, reports that Lazarus was run over by a volunteer fire department car . The Daily Evening Bulletin published a detailed obituary entitled "Lament for Lazarus", which read: "Two dogs with only one bark, two tails that wiggled like one."

Lazarus was stuffed and found his place behind the counter in Martin's saloon. The legend that Lazarus was carried to the grave by countless citizens of San Francisco and buried next to well-known greats of the city, however, is demonstrably wrong. In all likelihood, this idea is also based on a contemporary drawing by Edward Jump entitled "The Burial of Lazarus", which depicts a funeral procession with numerous well-known San Francisco personalities. In the picture, Emperor Norton gives the funeral oration while Frederick Coombs , who believed himself to be the reincarnation of George Washington and was thus Norton's bitter rival, digs the pit.

Bummer's death

The bummer laid out

Bummer went quickly a new partnership with a young bull terrier one that Lazarus Jr. was called. But slowly the old animal was forgotten. In October 1865, Bummer fell ill and his weakened body swelled greatly. He died after being kicked by a drunk man who was arrested and fined $ 25 for animal cruelty. The Daily Alta California newspaper published an " Elegy on Bummer": "Noble Bummer is asleep". Even Mark Twain wrote an obituary entitled "Exit 'Bummer.'" In it he emphasizes that Bummer died surrounded by his friends who "fluffed his pillow and wiped the sweat from his forehead". Twain believed that Bummer had outlived himself, that time had passed over him. “He died rich in years and honors, full of infections and insects.” Bummer was also stuffed and initially found his place next to Lazarus.

reception

Plaque

In 1906 the two stuffed dogs were donated to the Golden Gate Park Museum by a private collector and exhibited there. Two months later, the museum was badly destroyed in the great earthquake of 1906 . In 1910 the carcasses were destroyed. In 1992 a commemorative plaque was placed on the Transamerica Pyramid , the tallest skyscraper in the city, for the two dogs on Montgomery Street .

The story of the two drifters was also artistically processed, with the focus on animal friendship, valued as exemplary, or their legendary relationship with Emperor Norton. As early as the 1860s, the dogs were shown in the San Francisco Metropolitan Theater in Burlesque Life in San Francisco . In 1938 the episode Lazarus And Bummer was broadcast as part of the Death Valley Days radio series . In the 1956 feature film Around the World in 80 Days , you see Emperor Norton briefly in a San Francisco scene, accompanied by the two dogs. In 2007 the musical Emperor Norton, the Musical premiered, in which Bummer and Lazarus are played by two actors.

Samuel White Baker published the short story Bummer and His Poor Acquaintances in 1884 . The author Grace Hibbard wrote the short story Bummer and Lazarus in the early 1890s , which was allegedly also translated into German. Bummer, Lazarus and Kaiser Norton had a kind of cameo appearance in the Star Trek novel Ishmael by Barbara Hambly, first published in 1985 (German 1990). The three are also characters in four books by Christopher Moore that are currently set , as well as in Ellen Wight's novel Tales of the Express (New York 2008).

literature

  • Anne Bancroft: The Memorable Lives of Bummer & Lazarus (Citizens of San Francisco). Los Angeles: Ward Ritchie Press, 1939.
  • Malcolm E. Barker: Bummer & Lazarus. San Francisco's Famous Dogs. San Francisco: Londonborn Publications, 1984. ISBN 0-93023-507-X
  • Samuel Dickson: Tales of San Francisco. Stanford CA: University of Stanford Press, 1992 (first 1947). ISBN 0-80472-097-5

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b San Francisco Dogs. In: Daily Alta California v. 18 January 1861.
  2. ↑ a b c d e Bummer and Lazarus. In: The Morning Call v. July 3, 1892.
  3. ↑ The Remarkable Story of Two Dogs. In: San Francisco Call v. June 6, 1897.
  4. ↑ a b An Instance Of Gross Ingratitude. In: Daily Alta California v. April 12, 1861.
  5. ↑ a b c d e Samuel Dickson: Bummer and Lazarus , in: Ders .: Tales of San Francisco. Stanford CA 1992, pp. 338-348 (first 1947).
  6. ↑ California Magazine 10 (1985), p. 117; Mark Derr: A Dog's History of America. New York 2004, pp. 147f.
  7. ^ Arrest By Dogs. In: Daily Alta California v. August 10, 1861; Dogs Stopping A Runaway Team. In: Daily Alta California v. June 24, 1862.
  8. ↑ A Good Sheep Dog. In: Sacramento Daily Union v. November 16, 1860; The Street Dogs. In: Daily Alta California v. September 12, 1861.
  9. ↑ Canine Burglars. In: Daily Alta California v. October 3, 1862; Damages By A City Guest. In: Daily Alta California v. July 13, 1863.
  10. ↑ a b Malcolm E. Barker: Bummer and Lazarus ( Memento of the original from August 8, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. in the Encyclopedia of San Francisco 2003.  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.sfhistoryencyclopedia.com
  11. ↑ A Vacant Throne. In: Daily Alta California v. January 9, 1880.
  12. ↑ Robert E. Cowan et al. a .: The Forgotten Characters of Old San Francisco. Los Angeles 1964, p. 77.
  13. ↑ As Natural As Life. In: Daily Alta California v. October 27, 1863.
  14. ^ Formed A New Partnership. In: Daily Alta California v. January 12, 1864.
  15. ↑ Canines. In: Sacramento Daily Union v. October 27, 1865.
  16. ↑ Bummer is Dead. In: Daily Alta California v. November 5, 1865.
  17. ^ Mark Twain: Early Tales and Sketches. Vol. 2: 1864-1865. Berkeley / Los Angeles 1981, p. 325.
  18. ^ When Bummer Died . In: The Morning Call v. November 4, 1865.
  19. ^ Bummer and Lazarus in the Park Museum. In: San Francisco Call v. February 2, 1906; Havoc at Park Museum. In: San Francisco Chronicle v. April 29, 1906.
  20. ↑ Lawrence Estavan: Theater Buildings. (San Francisco Theater Research, XV.) Part 1. San Francisco 1940, pp. 160f.
  21. ^ Catalog of Copyright Entries. Part 1. [C] Group 3. Dramatic Composition and Motion Pictures. New Series 11: Index 1938. Washington 1939, p. 7514.
  22. ↑ s. Website ( Memento of the original from September 18, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.emperornortonthemusical.com
  23. ^ Samuel White Baker: True tales for my grandsons. New York 1884, pp. 1-32.
  24. ↑ s. Magazine of Poetry 5 (1893), p. 315.
  25. ↑ Bloodsucking Fiends. A Love Story (1995; German 1996 as Long Teeth ), A Dirty Job (2006; German 2006 as Ein Todicherer Job ), You Suck. A Love Story (2007; German 2008 as love at first bite ), Bite Me. A Love Story (2010; German 2011 as a bite says more than a thousand words ).