Holt and the Teddy Bear
Do you know how the Teddy bear got its name? It all began when President Theodore “Teddy” Roosevelt went on a bear‑hunting trip in Mississippi. His friends wanted the very best guide for the president, so they chose Holt Collier. Holt had been born into slavery and had grown up to become the most skilled bear hunter in the South. He promised he would find a bear for the president—even if he had to “lasso one and tie it to a tree.”
On the morning of the big hunt, Holt gathered his strongest hunting dogs, and he and the president rode into the woods. But this time, finding a bear wasn’t easy. The dogs lost the scent, and it seemed like the whole trip might end with no bear at all.
Holt refused to give up. He kept searching on his own until he heard his dogs barking far away. Using his sharp instincts, he raced toward the sound. Just as he had promised, Holt managed to catch a bear and tie it safely to a tree.
When President Roosevelt saw the bear, his reaction surprised everyone. A newspaper reporter who was there wrote about the moment, and a cartoonist drew a funny picture of the president and the bear. People loved the story so much that toy makers began creating stuffed bears—and they named them “Teddy bears.”
