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Poetry · Chapter

Judge Geo. A. Cooke explained

A brief, humorous poem about Judge Geo.

What happens

A brief, humorous poem about Judge Geo. A. Cooke, a Chicago lawyer who enjoyed hunting raccoons along the Mississippi River until a bee, sharing a tree with a raccoon, stung him on the lip.

Themes in this chapter

  • Humor and Satire

    The poem uses a lighthearted, rhyming anecdote about a judge's hunting mishap with a bee.

Characters to notice

  • George K. Schmidt

    The subject of the poem, a Chicago lawyer and judge who hunts coons.

Key passages

  • The judge used to pack up his grip And hunt coons on the old Mississip’, Till one time a bee, Who shared the coon’s tree, Gave his honor a kiss on the lip.

    Judge Cooke would travel with his bag to hunt raccoons along the Mississippi, until a bee that lived in the same tree as a raccoon stung him on the lip.

    Summarizes the entire poem's narrative.