A Wild Thanksgiving Truce

The story behind a light-hearted illustration depicting America’s greatest conservationist and Boone and Crockett Club’s co-founder

"A Thanksgiving Truce" by J.S. Pughe is a lighthearted cartoon illustration that first appeared in the November 22, 1905 issue of Puck, a popular humor magazine during Theodore Roosevelt's presidency. The image shows the 26th President of the United States sharing a Thanksgiving feast with various four-legged friends. 

Pughe was a skilled illustrator known for his clever depictions of animals. In “A Thanksgiving Truce,” Roosevelt wears his Rough Rider uniform and sits at the head of the large banquet table. At the other end of the table is a bear providing the toast, which is just as entertaining as the art. The caption reads:  "The Bear (with deep feeling) 'Here's hoping that when next we meet, we see you first.'" Surely, Roosevelt would have seen the humor in such a comment. After all, he was a fan of the “strenuous life.” 

Another one of Pughe’s illustrations, “Future Occupations for Roosevelt,” depicts various professions Roosevelt might enjoy following the White House.

Puck magazine was an illustrated political satire magazine that ran from 1876 to 1918. 

Theodore Roosevelt was a frequent subject for Pughe. He knew his subject well enough to include Theodore Jr., Roosevelt's oldest son, sitting at a smaller table with a bear cub, alluding perhaps to Roosevelt’s famous bear hunt, which brought us the Teddy Bear and the concept of Fair Chase. As an avid hunter, Roosevelt was a passionate conservationist. As president of both the United States and Boone and Crockett Club, he successfully lobbied for the relatively new concept of conservation. His efforts while in office created national forests, national wildlife refuges, national parks, and the list goes on. Roosevelt (and numerous Club members) provided a landscape on which wild animals could flourish. Those animals make up the bounty of wildlife that many of us enjoy at our Thanksgiving tables today. That, too, is worthy of a toast!