Wireless to the Jungle

There are so many questions,

     Aye, questions of import,

So many things to settle

     Of every hue and sort,

That many wish “Bwana”

     Would leave the lion’s track,

Would leave the dig-dig digging,

     And come on hot foot back.

O, warrior bold and mighty,

     O, hunter tried and true!

We’re in a peck of trouble,

     And feel the need of you.

Insurgents are uprising,

     Pinchet is on the rack;

You are the great umpire,

     O, Tumbo, hurry back!

And then, O mighty nimrod,

     Provisions are so high!

Fresh eggs are scarce at sixty,

     We’ve had to cut out pie.

‘Tis you alone can save us,

     O, let the kyack yack;

And let the wig-wig wiggle

     And fly, O, Tumbo, back!

Jan. 11, ‘10

Gifford Pinchot (August 11, 1865 – October 4, 1946) was the first Chief of the United States Forest Service (1905–1910) and the 28th Governor of Pennsylvania (1923–1927, 1931–1935). He was a Republican and Progressive. Pinchot is known for reforming the management and development of forests in the United States and for advocating the conservation of the nation's reserves by planned use and renewal. He called it "the art of producing from the forest whatever it can yield for the service of man." Pinchot coined the term conservation ethic as applied to natural resources. Asked how to say his name, he told The Literary Digest "as though it were spelled pin'cho, with slight emphasis on the first syllable.” Pinchot’s authority was substantially undermined by the election of President William Howard Taft in 1908. Taft later fired Pinchot for speaking out against his policies and those of Richard Ballinger, Secretary of the Interior. Pinchot launched a series of public attacks to discredit Ballinger and force him from office in what became known as the Pinchot–Ballinger controversy. That episode hastened the split in the Republican Party that led to the formation of the Progressive Party, of which Pinchot and his brother were top leaders.

Pinchot ran for Senate in 1914 on the Progressive Party ticket and expressed interest in the presidency. After his campaign, Pinchot promoted American involvement in World War I, opposing President Woodrow Wilson's neutrality. The Progressives returned to their old parties and Pinchot rejoined the Republicans.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gifford_Pinchot

Bwana/Tumbo – Nicknames for Teddy Roosevelt while on his year-long African safari.

           Pinchot with TR, 1907