Geoduck (1853?)

[Mark A Mandel]

On Sat, 9 Nov 2002 Bapopik at AOL.COM wrote:

#   The Puget Sound clam was the subject of a celebrated _bon mot_ by
#the late Francis W. Cushman, of Tacoma, representative in Congress and
#the wit of the lower house.  Cushman was a Republican, and his best
#speeches were in support of the tariff.  "Our friends the enemy," he
#said in one of these, "are welcome, if they wish, to return to the
#lean panic years of the Nineties; but as for me and my constituents,
#we want no more hard times.  We remember too well those sad years on
#Puget Sound, where we had nothing to live upon but clams.  When the
#tide was out the table was spread.  We dug clams, and ate clams, till
#our stomachs rose and fell with the tide!"

Cf. the song "Acres of Clams", which I believe Washington adopted as the
state song, minus a couple of the less complimentary verses.

BTW, how did /'gu i d^k/ ever get that <eo> spelling?!

-- Mark A. Mandel