G. E. Anderson
Signed Portrait of R. Pitcher Woodward, Author Who Rode a Donkey Named Macaroni Across the Country Because He Lost a Bet, 1897
Printing-out-paper print
4 1/4 x 6 1/2 inches
With photographer's credit recto and Woodward's signature verso.
With photographer's credit recto and Woodward's signature verso.
Robertson Pitcher Woodward, a Brooklyn Eagle journalist, was so confident that Williams Jennings Bryan would defeat William McKinley in the presidential election of 1896 that he made a highly unusual...
Robertson Pitcher Woodward, a Brooklyn Eagle journalist, was so confident that Williams Jennings Bryan would defeat William McKinley in the presidential election of 1896 that he made a highly unusual wager with a Benjamin Lillard of Popular Science News - If Jennings won, Woodward would pocket $5,000. If Jennings lost, Woodward would pay the $5,000 or procure a donkey and, without a dollar in his pocket, ride it across the United States in one year’s time.
As one can guess, Woodward chose the latter. He lit out for the territory ahead atop a trusty steed named Macaroni. The pair traveled 4096 miles, making it to the Palace Hotel in San Francisco with only twenty-two hours to spare.
His picaresque adventures were serialized in the Brooklyn Eagle under his pen name“Pythagoras Pod,” and then recounted in his 1902 book, “On a Donkey’s Hurricane Deck.” Some chapters in the second half of the book are told from Macaroni’s perspective, who offers the reader cheeky dollops of wisdom such as "there are more people who descend to the level of a Jackass than donkeys that rise to the plane of man.” Some parts of their excursion are left out of the book because, in Woodward’s words, “my donkey ate my notes.
Woodward, ever the showman, recognized photography was a key component to garner publicity for his trek. The present portrait was taken in Springville, Utah. In the book, Woodward mentions he was greeted there by the town’s newspaper editor. On the verso, the card is inscribed by Woodward, which he did in Placerville, CA, another location mentioned at length in the book. (Macaroni describes the scenery on the mountain trail leading into town as “a thing to out-last a donkey’s memory.”)
Not all found his adventure amusing. A reporter for the New York Sunday Herald declared that, "Public sympathy will be aroused, not for the man, who secures what little glory is to be derived from the task, but for the patient donkey that bears the burdens and is unable to intelligibly give utterance to his views of fools and their vagaries.”
Woodward passed away in 1941 at the age of 75. In his later years, he offered some advice to anyone wishing to complete a similar trek. "If ever you are tempted to ride a donkey over land, refrain. Rather creep across backward on your hands and knees, or circumnavigate the globe in a washtub. If you still persist, why, ride a donkey 20 miles in a pouring rain, then follow your own judgment."
As one can guess, Woodward chose the latter. He lit out for the territory ahead atop a trusty steed named Macaroni. The pair traveled 4096 miles, making it to the Palace Hotel in San Francisco with only twenty-two hours to spare.
His picaresque adventures were serialized in the Brooklyn Eagle under his pen name“Pythagoras Pod,” and then recounted in his 1902 book, “On a Donkey’s Hurricane Deck.” Some chapters in the second half of the book are told from Macaroni’s perspective, who offers the reader cheeky dollops of wisdom such as "there are more people who descend to the level of a Jackass than donkeys that rise to the plane of man.” Some parts of their excursion are left out of the book because, in Woodward’s words, “my donkey ate my notes.
Woodward, ever the showman, recognized photography was a key component to garner publicity for his trek. The present portrait was taken in Springville, Utah. In the book, Woodward mentions he was greeted there by the town’s newspaper editor. On the verso, the card is inscribed by Woodward, which he did in Placerville, CA, another location mentioned at length in the book. (Macaroni describes the scenery on the mountain trail leading into town as “a thing to out-last a donkey’s memory.”)
Not all found his adventure amusing. A reporter for the New York Sunday Herald declared that, "Public sympathy will be aroused, not for the man, who secures what little glory is to be derived from the task, but for the patient donkey that bears the burdens and is unable to intelligibly give utterance to his views of fools and their vagaries.”
Woodward passed away in 1941 at the age of 75. In his later years, he offered some advice to anyone wishing to complete a similar trek. "If ever you are tempted to ride a donkey over land, refrain. Rather creep across backward on your hands and knees, or circumnavigate the globe in a washtub. If you still persist, why, ride a donkey 20 miles in a pouring rain, then follow your own judgment."