SOURTOE
Came Capt. Dick to Dawson Town
He had run the mighty Houtilinque.
Now Capt. Fields and Skipper Farr
"He may've run some famous rivers,
"I know a prospector who lost his toe:
"Deadly Gangrene soon set in.
"Now I can get that gruesome toe
Bartender Pete agreed to fix the awesome drink.
The Eldorado was to be the spot,
As he pulled it out with silver tong,
A jagged nail, a ghastly yellow streaked with green,
As he grasped the frosted glass with shaking hand,
He gagged, then with a gasp and frown,
He turned a sickly shade of green
SOURTOE CERTIFICATE
In recognition that _________________
in the presence of witnesses, drank an
authentic Sourtoe Cocktail, thereby
following in the wayward (even staggering)
footsteps of Capt River Rat, has proven
to be a person capable of almost anything,
and is therefore fully entitled to bear this
certificate with such rights & privileges as
may at any drunken moment be decided upon.
In witness whereof I have hereunto set my
hand (or my seal, or made my mark, or
whatever I was capable of at the time).
Signed: ___________________
From a small New Brunswick Town.
A captain's cap was on his head.
A "River Rat" am I he said.
Also tried the rapids called the Rink,
And bragged all over Dawson Town
To be a river man of great renown.
Were sitting in the Eldorado bar.
There were Skipper Mendlesohn and Capt. Blanchard.
Said Skipper Farr, "We'll test that braggard."
But never skippered Yukon paddle-wheelers."
Says Capt. Fields, "I have a thought:
We'll give that "River Rat" the name he sought.
Froze it in the deadly cold and snow
He ran rum with a fast dog team
(From the Yukon to Alaska it would seem).
He cut it off, his life to win.
To remember the gruesome task he'd done,
He pickled it in a jar of o.p. rum!"
and fix a drink called the 'Sourtoe.'
We'll convince that bragging 'River Rat'
All Yukon captains have a drink like that."
"To see if Capt. Dick's the man he seems to think."
To be a real Yukon captain, each claimed was so;
One had to drink a Yukon Sourtoe.
And Capt. Dick was called for the horrid plot.
The fearsome thing was in a darkened jar,
As Bartender Pete slapped it on the bar.
A gasp went up from the gathered throng.
The very sight of the horrid thing
Was enough to shock the gathered ring.
The vile thing glistened with a sickly sheen.
Then Dick turned pale and seemed to shrink
When the loathsome thing splashed in his drink.
A mighty hush fell over the gathered band.
The glass he raisd to quaking lip
And with a shudder took a mighty sip.
He tilted back the glass and drank it down.
A mighty roar went up from the rest.
"Capt. River Rat can navigate with the best."
As he turned to leave the scene.
He was heard to say as he bolted for the door,
"Upon the Yukon River I must take a tour!"
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Capt. Dick
"Capt. River Rat"
Yukon River Tours