(aside) On Shackleton's Antarctic expedition (1915???), when they got stuck on the ice and had lost their ship, the crew were each given a 2-lb. limit on personal gear over and above clothes on their backs and an extra pair of socks. Except for the fella who had kept them all sane (???!!??) during the Antarctic winter aboard ship, who had brought what they called a zither-banjo. He was ordered to bring it along. Musta been all Mudcatters from Maine. They turned the ordeal into a Mudcat Gathering.

~Susan