Alice Hoffman had people around her at all times. She
had a live-in assistant, secretary, maid, cook, and other support staff with
her at her homes in New York, Paris and Bogue Banks. They also accompanied her on
travels by car, train, or steamship. Whether at home or abroad or on a trip, she
also often had her favorite pistol and a parrot named Polly.
An Iver-Johnson pistol was
listed in an inventory of personal possessions dated 1917. She mentions in her
unpublished autobiography[i]
in a chapter discussing living on Bogue Banks, “I have a pistol on each side of
my bed, and should not hesitate to use them both, if any one made the attempt
to molest me.”
Mention of the pistols again
comes up in a chapter about her trip to Japan and China in 1924-1925. Upon
disembarking at Kobe after a three-week voyage from Seattle, the Japanese
authorities confiscated her weapon.
Several weeks later when she
left Japan for China, her pistol was returned. After six days at sea, she
arrived in Tientsin (Tianjin) China and proceeded by rail to Peking (Beijing).
Her arrival in China was simple compared to Japan. “We simply walked off of the
boat, without incurring the smallest hindrance…no one making the slightest
effort to examine our effects!”
Never one to make life easy
or unencumbered, she was accompanied on the Asian trip, that covered a period
of nearly six months, by her usual entourage as well as her parrot Polly. Polly
had her own traveling cage and associated supplies. On some portions of her
journeys, by rail or ship, Polly was welcomed and accommodated without a fuss,
other times not so.
Even though Polly is mentioned in several places in Alice
Hoffman’s autobiography, including a chapter devoted to the bird, no
description or type of parrot is included. Pictured here are large (above) and
small (below) examples of the species.
On one particular leg of the
trip she was unable to persuade the conductor, whether by word or other
inducements, to allow Polly to travel in the passenger car. After that
experience, Alice wrote,
“I decided that nothing would
induce me to allow her travel in the baggage car again.” On a train trip in
Japan, she hid Polly behind the train engineer’s compartment door, and when
approached by authorities inquiring about a reported bird, she “assumed the
most innocent expression…and appeared as unconcerned as possible.” After the
authorities left and the train left the station, Polly came out from her hiding
place and entertained the whole car with witty comments on the trip.”
Polly caused issues in Europe
also. Alice reported that Polly developed an extensive vocabulary, both English
and French. She tells of a journey in Europe, “as I was boarding the steamer,
Polly’s exuberance of spirits attracted the attention of the steward who was
guarding the gangway and who insisted that Polly must have a ticket. This cost
me $5.00!!”
When Alice lived in Paris,
she had a French chef in her employ who was fond of the parrot and taught it
many French phrases, which Polly used at times whether appropriate or not.
While Alice was living in her
apartment on 57th Street in Manhattan, Polly escaped out an open
window. “I was walking through the hall which lay between the dining room and
drawing room with Polly on my shoulder when she dashed.” Alice alerted building
managers in a two-block area. Polly roosted on a windowsill a day later and was
returned to the Hoffman residence.
(Not Alice Hoffman)Period correct image from
Library of Congress collection, 1920, Dorothy Tierney
From Alice’s autobiography,
we can piece together a timeline that indicates Polly was a part of Alice’s
life from the early 1910s (after Alice’s divorce) to the late 1930s, perhaps
longer. Parrots have a lifespan of 50 to 95 years. Being aware of this fact
caused Alice to give due consideration as to who to leave Polly to in her will.
“I had a good deal of anxiety in deciding whom to leave her to when I made my
will.” Before those conditions came to pass, Polly died on Bogue Banks, after
an illness of unknown origin or name.
Post Author: Walt Zaenker
To contact the author or the History committee
[i]
Alice Green Hoffman papers, Collection No. 127, East Carolina Manuscript
Collections, J. Y. Joyner Library, East Carolina University, Greenville, N. C.,
draft of unpublished autobiography. All
the quotes in this article are from this source.