"Wa'al I'll be Durn"

The following poem appears in "The Complete American & Canadian Sportsman's Encyclopedia of Valuable Instruction" revised edition of 1913 by Francis H. Buzzacott. This is a very entertaining and informative little book that belongs in every cabin. The inscription over the author's picture reads, "For 40 years a Trapper, Hunder, & Guide." He was a member of the 1878 British South African Expedition, the 1880 Antarctic Expedition, 1881 Voyage to the Arctic, 1898 Spanish-American War, 1906 Wellman Polar Expedition, the League of American Sportsmen, and National Geographical Association to name a few. The book was published by the American & Canadian Sportsman's Association for the camping, fishing, and hunting enthusiast. Buzzacott apparently liked his fly fishing as the book gives a good account of fly fishing technique, fly patterns, and even this poem. It is unclear if the author wrote the poem.

"Wa'al I'll be Durn."

"You kan't ketch nothin' with them thar things,
With yarn fer bodies, an' feathers fer wings,
You must think Trout is terrible fools
To be ketched with such outlandish tools.

"An' look at that pole - why, that won't do;
A good, big Trout would bust it in two,
An' never think nothin' ov what he did,
As quick as lightnin' away he slid."

"Well, I'll be durn, you can shoot me dead
Ef here ain't a windlass filled with thread,
An' ther littlest sort ov thread at that -
Why, man, that wouldn't hold a gnat!"

"You'll find a good place over there,
Under ther rapids deep and clear,
You'd better take worms an' er hick'ry pole,
Or you won't ketch nothin', 'pon my soul!"

Sixteen beauties, speckled bright,
The basket bore ere the fall of night,
He counted them o'er on the bank of fern,
And all he said was, "Wa'al - I'll be durn."