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The following tale always reminds me of Webster Marble and his moose.
A Reverend Father, pleading sick, told his Deacon to conduct Sunday masses. As soon as the faithful gathered, the Holy Man slipped from his sickbed, tossed his golf clubs in the car and headed to the links for a solitary game.
On the first par 3, his tee shot bounced on the green and into the cup for a hole-in-one. On the next short hole, his tee shot again found the cup for a second ace.
Instantly, a dark cloud appeared and a thunderous voice filled the air.
"This is thy God. Thou has lied to thy Deacon, deceived thy congregation, and violated my Sabbath."
"Forgive me Lord," cried the trembling Pastor, "for I have sinned. But why did you bless me with two holes-in-one?"
"That is thy penance, " said the Lord.
"But how am I punished by two aces in the same round?"
Answered the Lord, "To whom can thee brag about it?"
It has always been said that Webster Marble killed a moose at Round Lake, Michigan. The mounted head hung above the stairwell in the original Delta Avenue factory and was later moved to the new plant where it hangs today on the north wall of the grinding room. That is all we know for certain about Webster marble's moose.
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I am no expert on moose shooting. I've never shot one. But I am an expert on what I'd do if I shot such a brute.
A head mount of course. But pictures first. Lots of them. One for the local newspaper, another for the TV station, and one each for the two radio stations. Another for my wallet, just behind my credit cart so when I use it, the moose picture would drop on the counter and I could say, "Oh, that? It's the moose I shot." Add five 8 x 10s for the married kid's coffee tables, some Christmas cards, and maybe a tattoo too.
Meat? Plenty. Summer sausage, Italian sausage, bratwurst, breakfast links, slim jims, cube steaks, and enough moose burger to share with anyone who wanted it. "Hi. I'm calling to ask you folks if you'd like some moose meat. What moose? The one I shot, of course."
Stories too. I'd work them into the conversation whenever I could. "You think Shaquille O'Neal is big? You should see the moose I shot." Or, "I'm so hungry I could eat a moose. As matter of fact, I have." Or, "Talking about credit cards, you should see how fast a moose charges."
In short, I'd make a crashing bore and splendiferous ass of myself. But when W. L. Marble shot his moose, he apparently said nothing.
Perhaps Webster really was as shy and unassuming as history tells us. In photos of him with rod, gun, or dog, there are no strings of fish, piles of dead game, or bushels of birds. Webster never, as did L. L. Bean, plastered himself and his dead moose on the inside of his catalog covers.
Theodore Roosevelt, two term President of the United States and the man who led the Rough Rider's charge up San Juan Hill, shot his moose in 1915. He called the moose "... a picture of burly majesty" and "... the lord of all the deer tribe ...". So proud was he of the accomplishment, he named his political organization the Bull Moose Party 1.
Sometimes men are shy by necessity. Michigan moose were placed on the protected species list in 1886; there has not been a hunting season on the creatures in the 121 years since. Webster may have shot his moose legally between 1882 (when he moved to Gladstone) and 1886. But the evidence points to a later date.
In 1909, a sporting magazine photographer visited the new Marble factory to photograph its interiors. The detail on the old black and white prints is so fine that one can read dates on the wall calendars and times on clock faces. In one photo, Webster is shown in his office door, flanked by two magnificent whitetail buck head mounts. But no moose. Nor is there a moose in any of a dozen rooms. Why not? Maybe Webster had yet to shoot it.
An early advertisement for the 1910 Gamegetter Gun contains a tempting clue: ".. can kill a moose at 50 yards." That's quite a feat for a .44 caliber round ball fired from a 12 inch smoothbore barrel. The claim is not testimony attributed to a named hunter (Marble's catalogs were filled with those). The claim was presented as a cold fact. How did Webster know his little gun could kill such a creature? Perhaps because it was he who shot it. Why didn't he admit it? Because it was a protected animal.
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Marble's moose eventually went on display at the factory * and W. L. found an unspoken way to immortalize his trophy. Beginning in the 1920s, a bull moose began appearing in company advertising and catalogs. The figure quickly became MARBLE'S most familiar logo. It continues to this day.
Did Webster legally shoot his moose and then wait nearly two decades to display it? Or did he pluck it illegally to prove the prowess of his Game Getter Gun?
I can't say. But it does please me to think of Webster as capable of an occasional mistake and not immune to temptation. Just like the rest of us.
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© 2007 Arni Dunathan
Arni Dunathan is the author of the newly published collector's guide "The Encyclopedia of MARBLE'S Knives and Sporting Collectables." |
