The Lady and the Panda (48 page)

160
The bottom line
Elizabeth Smith to Ruth Woodhull Tangier Smith, 8 Dec. 1936.

160
Years before
Floyd Tangier Smith to Ruth Woodhull Tangier Smith, 3 Feb. 1932, Smith Papers.

160
Now he was the one
“Mrs. Harkness Got His Panda, Explorer ‘Ajax’ Smith Charges,”
China Press,
4 Dec. 1936.

160
Her achievement
Smith, document/letter, 12 Mar. 1937.

161
The easiest to dismiss
Phone conversation with Richard Reynolds in which he said he had letters from some missionaries who saw Harkness purchase the panda in Chengdu. Catton,
Pandas
, p. 18, reports of a missionary who said Harkness bought the panda not in Chengdu but in Guanxian. And Smith says he was told the panda was purchased in Chaopo.

161
in pictures
Picture of Harkness with Lady Hosie,
North China Daily News,
29 Nov. 1936; also Harkness's own photos of Wenchuan, at the threshold to Chaopo.

161
and letters
Harkness to Perkins, various dates; Smith, letter to the editor,
North China Daily News,
7 Dec. 1936.

161
the notion occasionally
Morris and Morris,
Men and Pandas,
p. 78; and Catton,
Pandas,
pp. 18–19.

161
He was “terribly cut up”
Elizabeth Smith to Ruth Woodhull Tangier Smith, 8 Dec. 1936. Elizabeth nursed an extra grudge against Harkness. She believed that had the widow not entertained the notion of an expedition, months before, the Smiths would have been saved financial calamity. Her husband, she felt, would have disbanded his camps in order to return to the United States, though given Smith's collecting aspirations, this would seem highly unlikely.

161
By the magic
“Charges Hunters Took Baby Panda by Deception,”
New York Times,
4 Dec. 1936; and wireless to
New York Times
from Shanghai, 3 Dec. 1936.

161
The few American papers
“Baby Panda Here from Tibet,”
New York Sun,
23 Dec. 1936, does not mention Smith by name.

161
On the rare occasions
“Baby Panda Here, Enjoys Its Bottle,”
New York Times,
24 Dec. 1936; and “Mrs. Harkness Returns, Her ‘Baby’ in Her Arms; She Feeds Her Little Giant Panda from a Bottle,” New York newspaper clipping, no ID, 23 or 24 Dec. 1936.

161
“Whether the baby” Shanghai Evening Post and Mercury,
4 Dec. 1936.

162
“I knew her at last”
Smith, document/letter, 12 Oct. 1937.

162
He was stuck fast
Elizabeth Smith to Ruth Woodhull Tangier Smith, 8 Dec. 1936.

162
All of it fueled China Journal,
Nov. 1938, p. 267.

162
“second wind”
Harkness,
Lady and the Panda,
p. 254.

162
Even before she landed
“Baby Giant,”
Time,
7 Dec. 1936.

162
Like most other American
“Baby Panda Here from Tibet” did mention Smith's charges, but briefly, and without naming him.

162
On his arrival
Kiefer,
Chasing the Panda
, pp. 148–50.

163
It was the greatest
“Only One in Captivity: Mrs. Harkness Kidnaps Panda,”
San Francisco Examiner,
18 Dec. 1936.

163
On a crisp morning
Harkness,
Lady and the Panda,
p. 260. Harkness reports that after all the questions, and after dealing with customs, she “went lunchless,” so it must have taken up her morning into the afternoon.

163
They nearly swamped
“Only One in Captivity.”

163
A wall of newshounds
Harkness,
Lady and the Panda,
p. 259.

163
“America was like a boxer” “John Steinbeck: America and Americans and Selected Nonfiction,”
eds. Susan Schillinglaw and Jackson J. Benson (New York: Viking, 2002), p. 25.

163
Everything seemed out of balance The American Experience,
“If you would like to have your heart broken, just come out here,” reporter Ernie Pyle had written from the Kansas-Oklahoma border that summer. WGBH-Boston. “Surviving the Dust Bowl.”

164
“That was fame”
Poore, “Books of the Times.”

164 The Times
had already
Abend, “Rare 4-Pound ‘Giant’ Panda.”

164
It was “the most”
Brookfield Zoo informational paper on the giant panda, 1 Dec. 1939, Brookfield Zoo archives.

164
“control publicity”
Harkness,
Lady and the Panda,
p. 259.

164
She bristled at
Ibid., pp. 259–60.

164
And she hated
“Only One in Captivity”; and Bruce Perkins, (Hazel Perkins's son), interview by author, Cleveland, Aug. 2001.

165
A few days later
“Rare Baby Panda Claws Mistress and Takes a Nap,”
Chicago Tribune,
23 Dec. 1936.

165
At the Palmer House
“Many Zoos Now Seek to Buy Famous Baby from Woman Captor,” Associated Press, 23 Dec.; and official
Guide Book
of the Chicago Zoological Park, Su-Lin and Mei Mei Edition, 1938.

165
Bean made his desire
“Many Zoos Now Seek to Buy.”

165
Su-Lin would be headed for the Bronx New York Times,
2 Dec. 1936.

165
“Don't Close Negotiations”
Harkness to Perkins, 8 Dec. 1936.

165
She made clear
“Rare Baby Panda Claws Mistress.”

165
At 9:47
A.M.
“Baby Panda Here from Tibet,”
New York Sun,
Dec. 23, 1936.

165
otter-fur coat
“Baby Panda Here, Enjoys Its Bottle.”

165
“baby girl”
“Many Zoos Now Seek to Buy.”

165
stepped up to the registration desk
“Baby Panda Here from Tibet,” and “Su Lin, Panda Baby, Checks in at the Biltmore,”
New York Herald Tribune,
24 Dec. 1936.

165
“All that seemed lacking”
Poore, “Books of the Times.”

166
Along with excited friends
Harkness as told to Adamson, “How I Caught the Rare Giant Panda,” part 4; “Baby Panda's Fate in the Balance—May Return to Jungle,”
New York American,
7 Mar. 1937; and “Baby Panda Here from Tibet.”

166
The panda too grew irritated
Harkness, “How I Caught the Rare Giant Panda,” part 4.

166
Harkness was determined
“Baby Panda Here from Tibet.”

167
In a large room
“Baby Panda Here, Enjoys Its Bottle.”

167
“I keep the radiators”
Abend, “Rare 4-Pound ‘Giant’ Panda.”

167
The chain-smoker
“Baby Panda Here from Tibet.”

167
She settled herself
“Su Lin, Panda Baby, Checks In.”

167
A tray with pots Life,
18 Dec. 1936.

167
“knew by heart”
Harkness,
Lady and the Panda,
p. 266.

167
was Su-Lin housebroken
Ibid., p. 266.

167
“smartest panda”
“Su Lin, Panda Baby, Checks In.”

167
To questions of Smith's charges
“Mrs. Harkness Returns.”

167
When another reporter asked
“Su Lin, Panda Baby, Checks In”; and “Mrs. Harkness Returns.”

167
The panda was so adorable
“Su Lin, Panda Baby, Checks In.”

168
His eye patches
Ibid.; and “Baby Panda Here from Tibet.”

168 Time
magazine called
“Su-lin In,”
Time,
4 Jan. 1937.

168
“the most famous animal”
Morris and Morris,
Men and Pandas,
p. 71.

168
The baby panda
Abend, “Rare 4-Pound ‘Giant’ Panda.”

168
The
Sun
reported
“Baby Panda Here from Tibet.”

168
She would tell the press
Harkness, “How I Caught the Rare Giant Panda,” part 4.

168
Charles Appleton
“Su Lin, Panda Baby, Checks In.”

168
A few big guns
“Baby Panda Here, Enjoys Its Bottle.”

168
Throughout the day
Harkness as told to Adamson, “How I Caught the Rare Giant Panda,” part 1; “Led by Tibetan, Mrs. Harkness Finds Prize in Frigid Wilds,”
New York American,
17 Feb. 1937.

169
Though she may have downplayed
“Baby Panda Here from Tibet.”

169
She made clear to the press
“Baby Panda Here, Enjoys Its Bottle.”

169
Once the press
“Baby Panda Here from Tibet.” Also listed in 23/24 Dec. New York clipping with no ID.
New York Times,
16 Jan. 1937, says Appleton tells reporter Harkness's address is 15 East Fifty-fifth Street.

169
she was lonely
Harkness,
Lady and the Panda,
p. 268.

170
Harkness wanted the same amount
“Baby Giant,”
Time,
7 Dec. 1936; also “Su-lin In.”

170
She had said as much
Abend, “Rare 4-Pound ‘Giant’ Panda.”

170
Monkeys could be had
From correspondence and price lists between Frank Buck and the Brookfield Zoo, May and Dec. 1936, Brookfield Zoo archives.

170
The director
“Everything Is Fine 'n Danda! S.F.'s Finally Got a Panda,”
San Francisco Chronicle
morgue, stamped 19 Dec. 1936, but no paper affiliation on clipping.

170
Blair complained
Abend, “Rare 4-Pound ‘Giant’ Panda.”

170
Furthermore, Blair told
John O'Reilly, “Infant Giant Panda Just an Item in Long ‘First of Their Kind’ List of Animals on Exhibition Here,”
New York Herald Tribune,
27 Dec. 1936.

170
The Bronx, apparently
Harkness,
Lady and the Panda,
p. 270.

170
all the windows rolled down
Harkness, “How I Caught the Rare Giant Panda,” part 4.

171
She wondered
Harkness,
Lady and the Panda,
p. 272.

171
Her bank account
Ibid., p. 273.

171
Harkness may have been downhearted
Harkness, “How I Caught the Rare Giant Panda,” part 4.

171
Among others, there were author
Schell,
Virtual Tibet
, p. 241.

171
coming daily to sketch Su Lin
Poore, “Books of the Times.”

171
Brooke Dolan
Harkness,
Lady and the Panda,
p. 275.

171
Theodore Roosevelt, Jr., arrived
Harkness, “How I Caught the Rare Giant Panda,” part 4. This piece does not mention Kermit being there (pp. 271–72), but Harkness's
Lady and the Panda
does. The quotes differ very slightly in the book and the article. I have chosen the article's version.

172
“And this,” Harkness said
Harkness,
Lady and the Panda,
p. 275.

172
As one Harvard
Vicki Croke, “Museum Quality,”
The Boston Globe,
31 March 2001. Quote from Glover M. Allen, Harvard University's Museum of Comparative Zoology.

172
On Saturday evening
“Baby Panda Cries at Debut on Radio: Mrs. Harkness Holds It Up to Microphone at Dinner of the Explorers Club//Its Health Is Guarded//Rare Animal Rests in Air-Cooled Room While Waiting to Start the Broadcast,”
New York Times,
17 Jan. 1937.

172
“They couldn't very well”
Harkness,
Lady and the Panda,
p. 274.

172
Though they were forced
“Baby Panda Cries at Debut.”

172
sea of hundreds
Harkness,
Lady and the Panda,
p. 273, says 500 men.

172
with their cocktails and cigars
“Baby Panda Cries at Debut.”

173
During dinner
Ibid.

173
Before the broadcast ended
Ibid.

173
For the series
Harkness as told to Adamson, “How I Caught the Rare Giant Panda,” part 3; “How Mrs. Harkness Kept the Baby Panda Alive,”
New York American,
28 Feb. 1937.

173
Though ragged
Harkness, “How I Caught the Rare Giant Panda,” part 4.

174
Late in the afternoon
Harkness,
Lady and the Panda,
p. 277.

174
Her friends saw her off
All references of the time are to Grand Central Terminal, not Station. This one is from
New York American,
Mar. 1937.

174
roses and violets
Harkness,
Lady and the Panda,
p. 277.

174
She would stay one week
Ibid., p. 282.

174
He was kept
Harkness, “How I Caught the Rare Giant Panda,” part 4. “Baby Panda's Fate.”

174
Robert Bean, the curator
Robert Bean biography from the Brookfield Zoo archives.

174
took the night shift
Mary Bean to Ruth Harkness, 10 Mar. 1937, Brookfield Zoo archives.

174
Lloyd's of London
Harkness,
Lady and the Panda,
p. 281; and Poore, “Books of the Times.”

174
the most valuable in the world
Pathé News synopsis, 8 May 1937, Brookfield Zoo archives.

174
in a large room
Harkness, “How I Caught the Rare Giant Panda,” part 4; “Baby Panda's Fate.”

174
He would be fed
“Baby Su-Lin's Daily Diet,” 10 Mar. 1937, records of Brookfield Zoo.

175
Carrots, celery, lettuce
Mary Bean to Harkness. 10 Mar. 1937.

175
“but for whom or what”
Harkness,
Lady and the Panda,
p. 282.

175
Harkness returned to New York
Her stationery from 15 Feb. 1937, lists her address as 15 East Fifty-fifth Street, New York City, Plaza 3-3465.

175
“There are times”
Harkness, “How I Caught the Rare Giant Panda,” part 4.

176
kept off exhibit
Harkness,
Lady and the Panda,
p. 285.

176
It would pay Harkness $8,750
“Su-Lin Greets Sister with a Poke on Nose; Then 2 Pandas Kiss and Make Up at Zoo,”
Chicago Daily Tribune,
19 Feb. 1938; and Brookfield Zoo archives. Sowerby, letter to the editor,
North China Daily News,
28 July 1937, says Harkness told him $8,760. “Panda, Pet of Zoo Is Dead in Chicago,”
New York Times,
1 Apr. 1938, says $8,750. “Su-Lin Likes It at Brookfield; So She'll Stay,”
Chicago Daily Tribune,
20 Apr. 1937, reports $10,000.