San Francisco History: Bummer and Lazarus, SF’s first power couple
Tail Tuesday
Tail Tuesday
Hi there, and welcome to Engineering Our Social Vehicles. I’m your host- Paul Logan. Today is Tail Tuesday. If you’re new around here, pull up a chair and settle in: time for a tale. On Tuesdays around here, we like to talk about things with tails. Today, we’re going to talk about Bummer and Lazarus, two inseparable OG Bay Area celebrities.
San Francisco’s first power couple
Bummer and Lazarus were the darlings of early 1860’s San Francisco. Their antics were catalogued by Samuel Clemens, better known as Mark Twain, and depicted in caricature by Edward Jump. They were rumored to be close companions of Norton I. Emperor of the United States, and Jump often depicted them as such, though no documentation exists of the pair’s exploits in the imperial court.
The two made their living as rat-catchers. They were fixtures at Martin’s Saloon— a favorite among the newspapermen of Market St— which may explain their celebrity. Their antics were reported over the years in the Californian, Daily Alta California, Daily Morning Call, and Daily Evening Bulletin.
Bummer, the gentlemen of the two, rescued Lazarus after a fight with a much larger opponent left him with a seemingly fatal leg-wound. Not to be deterred, Bummer nursed his new friend back to health, and Lazarus returned from death’s door in a matter of days- earning him his nickname.
However, Lazarus proved a ne'er-do-well and fair weather friend. When Bummer was shot in the leg only a few months after rescuing Lazarus, his friend left him in the street to die. This drama suited the press, who reported vividly on Lazarus’ betrayal. The press had a field day when Lazarus later returned after Bummer’s recovery, only to have the two make up and resume their friendship.
A Bay Area obsession
The pair were so beloved by the population of San Francisco that when Lazarus was imprisoned for vagrancy by a city official, a mob of angry citizens demanded his release. A petition was circulated to exempt them from the law. The city supervisors released Lazarus and declared that he and Bummer were exempt from city ordinance.
The duo’s antics continued in the papers— a week after Lazarus was released from custody they were reported to have stopped a runaway horse. Bummer was reported to have slain a sheep. The pair became notorious for sneaking into shops to ransack them after being locked in by the owners.
In one episode Henry Rippey— a local drunk — kicked Bummer and was immediately arrested by the city to avoid mob justice. When Rippey’s cellmate David Popley heard what he was in for, he “popped him in the smeller.”
Alas, all great tales must come to an end. In October of 1863 Lazarus was either kicked by a fire engine horse (as reported by the San Francisco Kaleidoscope) or poisoned (there was a $50 reward offered for the capture of the poisoner). The Daily Evening Bulletin featured a long obituary titled Lament for Lazarus praising the adventures of the pair. It was suggested he be buried “in a place of honor” amongst the other great men of the city.
Bummer followed suit 2 years later in November of 1865 and was eulogized by Mark Twain in the Virginia City Enterprise and Californian. The two were commemorated in 1992 with a brass plaque placed in Transamerica Redwood Park by E Clampus Vitus.
Here are Twain’s final words for the city’s favorite dynamic duo:
The old vagrant 'Bummer' is really dead at last; and although he was always more respected than his obsequious vassal, the dog 'Lazarus,' his exit has not made half as much stir in the newspaper world as signalised the departure of the latter. I think it is because he died a natural death: died with friends around him to smooth his pillow and wipe the death-damps from his brow, and receive his last words of love and resignation; because he died full of years, and honor, and disease, and fleas. He was permitted to die a natural death, as I have said, but poor Lazarus 'died with his boots on' - which is to say, he lost his life by violence; he gave up the ghost mysteriously, at dead of night, with none to cheer his last moments or soothe his dying pains. So the murdered dog was canonized in the newspapers, his shortcomings excused and his virtues heralded to the world; but his superior, parting with his life in the fullness of time, and in the due course of nature, sinks as quietly as might the mangiest cur among us. Well, let him go. In earlier days he was courted and caressed; but latterly he has lost his comeliness - his dignity had given place to a want of self-respect, which allowed him to practice mean deceptions to regain for a moment that sympathy and notice which had become necessary to his very existence, and it was evident to all that the dog had had his day; his great popularity was gone forever. In fact, Bummer should have died sooner: there was a time when his death would have left a lasting legacy of fame to his name. Now, however, he will be forgotten in a few days. Bummer's skin is to be stuffed and placed with that of Lazarus.
— Mark Twain
You didn’t read that wrong- though a Jump cartoon caused rumors that a massive crowd attended Lazarus’ funeral, he didn’t have one. Bummer and Lazarus were taxidermied, stuffed, and displayed behind the bar in their iconic haunt, Martin’s Saloon:
Oh, did I forget to mention they were dogs?
Dogs about town
TWO DOGS WITH BUT A SINGLE BARK,
TWO TAILS THAT WAGGED AS ONE
— S.F. Bulletin
The most famous writer in American history published articles about a pair of street dogs not just once, but many times. Here are some of the many cartoons that were published of the two over the years:
Jump’s depiction of Lazarus’ funeral:
Jump’s send-off to Bummer.
Another Jump cartoon depicting the pair:
Emperor Norton actually threw a fit in public and demanded this cartoon be stricken from publication:
The plaque in Transamerica Redwood Park, still there today:
Conclusion
I hope you’ve enjoyed this jaunt down San Francisco’s memory lane. We salute you, Bummer and Lazarus! Forever in our hearts. Never Forget. America.
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Great writing about a great pair of dogs. Thank you!