uass 
 Book. 
 
 COF/FJGHT DEPOSIT. 
 
Copyright, 1898, by Rockwood, N. V. 
 
 COL. THEODORE ROOSEVELT 
 
A LIFE 
 
 OF 
 
 Theodore Roosevelt 
 
 Frances lYlrPERRY 
 
 AUTHOR OF 
 
 "FOUR AMERICAN INVENTORS," "FOUR AMERICAN PIONEERS," "FOUR 
 GREAT AMERICAN INDIANS," "GREAT AMERICAN PRESIDENTS" 
 
 PUBLISHED BY 
 
 J. M. STRADLING & COMPANY 
 NEW YORK 
 
 0{vM 
 
E:757 
 
 TH£ LIBRARY OF 
 CONGRESS, 
 
 Two Copies Received 
 
 DEC 26 J 903 
 
 Copyright Entry 
 cuss ^ XXa No. 
 
 1 ^ 1. d 
 
 COPY A. 
 
 Copyrighted, 1903, by 
 J. M STRADLING & COMPANY. 
 
 ELECTROTYPED BY 
 
 WESTCOTT & THOMSON. PHILADA. 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 PAGE 
 
 I. Early Influences 5 
 
 II. Study and Recreation 10 
 
 III. In Politics 17 
 
 IV. Ranch Life 27 
 
 V. The Wilderness Hunter 41 
 
 VI. Troublesome Neighbors 51 
 
 VII. Important Offices 63 
 
 VIII. War Threatens 1^ 
 
 IX. Preparations for War 79 
 
 X. In Cuba 88 
 
 XI. After the War 100 
 
 XII. Governor , iii 
 
 XIII. The President 119 
 
PRESIDENT THEODORE ROOSEVELT, 
 
 Mr. Roosevelt's life has been a 
 continual development. When^ he 
 has accomplished one difficult uncler- 
 takmg, he has not been satisfied to 
 rest with that, but he has been eager 
 to press forward to some new work 
 that called into play other energies 
 than those already exercised. 
 
 He is broadly tolerant by nature 
 and training, and is quick to recognize 
 worth in any condition of life. Hav- 
 ing found the red man a true and 
 loyal guide in the Western moun- 
 tains, having seen the black man val- 
 iant under fire, he cannot understand 
 the spirit of those who refuse to shake 
 hands with a man unless his skin is 
 
 white. 
 
 His sound sense, broad humanity, 
 perfect impartiality, and sturdy hon- 
 esty have made friends for him every- 
 where. 
 
A LIFE 
 
 OF 
 
 THEODORE ROOSEVELT. 
 
 I. 
 
 EARLY INFLUENCES. 
 
 The log-cabin and the frontier were known 
 to Theodore Roosevelt in childhood only 
 through books. He belongs to one of the 
 old families of New York City. 
 
 His ancestors were pioneers two hundred 
 years before he was born. 
 
 They were among the first thrifty Hollanders 
 who settled in New Amsterdam. There, gen- 
 eration after generation of Roosevelts lived 
 and worked, gaining wealth and influence, 
 while the Dutch village grew into the great 
 American city, New York. 
 
 They were good citizens, bringing up their 
 children as they had been brought up, to be 
 industrious and useful members of society. 
 
THEODORE ROOSEVELT. 
 
 good fathers, and good members of Church 
 and State. They joined, sire and son, the 
 Dutch Reformed Church. They could be de- 
 pended upon to do their part for their country 
 in war or peace. 
 
 For six generations the family had served 
 the public faithfully as councilmen or assem- 
 blymen. A strong sense of responsibility for 
 the welfare of the community has always been 
 a characteristic of the family. 
 
 Theodore was born October 27, 1858, in the 
 stately old house. No. 28 East Twentieth 
 Street, New York City. This home was not 
 so dear to him, however, as the country place, 
 ''Tranquillity," at Oyster Bay, on Long Island, 
 where he spent the happiest days of his boy- 
 hood. 
 
 He was not a strong child, and was encour- 
 aged to spend much of his time playing in the 
 open air, tramping through the forest, or row- 
 ing or swimming in the blue waters of the bay. 
 
 Thus, very early he came to be interested 
 in nature, to know and love the wild, sweet 
 freedom of the forest, and to notice plants, and 
 birds, and fish, and animals of all sorts. 
 
THEODORE ROOSEVELT. 
 
 When he was a small child, the Civil War 
 was in progress. Of course, battles and sol- 
 diers were talked about on every hand. The 
 heroism of the soldiers made a strong appeal 
 to the little boy in the big city house. 
 
 He heard of their splendid fighting, of how 
 they slept on the ground and had almost 
 nothing to eat, and he wished he could do 
 something like that for his country. 
 
 As he grew old enough to read, his favorite 
 books were stories of war and pioneer life. 
 Boone and Crockett were two of his heroes. 
 If a man could not be a soldier, in his estima- 
 tion the next best thing was to be a pioneer, 
 and fight with the Indians and hunt wild 
 beasts. 
 
 Among his companions he liked best the 
 boys who were strong and daring. He was 
 devoted to his brother, an athletic youth, the 
 faithful champion of Theodore, whose courage 
 so far exceeded his strength that he frequently 
 engaged in a combat to which he was not 
 equal. 
 
 The fact that he was not so strong as the 
 boys he admired was a source of real trouble 
 
THEODORE ROOSEVELT. 
 
 to the youth. He determined to do all in his 
 power to make himself more rugged and 
 robust. 
 
 He denied • himself sweets, and followed 
 faithfully any system of bathing, exercise, or 
 diet which he believed would be beneficial. 
 Indeed, he seemed to take a sort of satisfaction 
 in disciplining himself with military severity. 
 
 At the same time he was fond of fun. If 
 there was any excitement afoot, he was sure 
 to have a part in it. When he made an 
 address to the people of Oyster Bay after his 
 return from Cuba he referred to the time when 
 he w^as a boy in the town, and, pointing to a 
 great tree in which school-boys were perched 
 to see and hear him, said he could remember 
 listening in that very tree to a Fourth of July 
 oration back in the sixties. 
 
 What with plenty of good books and his 
 father to direct his stud)' of natural history, it 
 is probable that the keen, ol^serving lad learned 
 more out of school than he did at his desk. 
 Nevertheless, lie was re(^uired to go to school 
 — first to the pul)lic, later to ])rivate schools. 
 
 His school work, though b)' no means -re- 
 
THEODORE ROOSEVELT. 9 
 
 markable, was thorough and creditable. He 
 was an interesting pupil, because he always 
 had an opinion of his own, and did not accept 
 without thinkino: whatever the teacher or the 
 text-book said. 
 
 Then, too, he always did his best when the 
 lesson was hardest and most of the other boys 
 gave up. 
 
 At home he was carefully trained with his 
 brothers and sisters to be good, to be kind, to 
 be polite. His mother took pains to be much 
 with her children, and to make home a pleasant 
 place for them. 
 
 His father was a judge and a philanthropist. 
 Many a fatherless poor boy in New York knew 
 and loved Judge Roosevelt, and his own little 
 sons were never happier than when they had 
 won his approval. 
 
 To give his father pleasure was motive 
 enough for Theodore to make almost any 
 effort. The father died before the son reached 
 manhood, but the latter did not soon outgrow 
 the reverent love he had felt for his father, nor 
 the wish to live in a way that would have 
 given him satisfaction. 
 
lO THEODORE ROOSEVELT. 
 
 Years after his father's death, when he was 
 congratulated by a friend on a great piece of 
 work he had accomplished for the public good, 
 he exclaimed, " If only my father were alive to 
 see it!" 
 
 The inheritance and the home life of the boy 
 were such as to contribute enduring strength 
 and sweetness to his nature. 
 
 II. 
 
 STUDY AND RECREATION. 
 
 By the time young Roosevelt was ready to 
 enter college he had become as strong and vig- 
 orous as the average youth. He took part in 
 school athletics, and lived much out-of-doors, 
 spending his vacations camping and hunting. 
 
 In his opinion, no pastime was to be com- 
 pared with hunting. He was never so happy 
 as when off on a long hunt. 
 
 Later in life he did not think fire-hunting 
 very good sport, but he never forgot the breath- 
 less delicrht of his first fire-hunt in the Adiron- 
 dacks. 
 
THEODORE ROOSEVELT. II 
 
 Then, the starlit night, the dark water of the 
 lake, the graceful bark canoe, the noiseless dip- 
 ping of the paddle, the sound of splashing water 
 where the deer drank, the leveled rifle, the flash 
 of the jack lamp, and the wondering gaze of 
 the great-eyed deer combined to charm his 
 fancy and give him keen enjoyment. 
 
 One autumn he went to the Maine woods 
 with a single comrade to hunt deer. The boys 
 had a hard trip. The water was so low that 
 they had to carry their pirogue most of the 
 way. 
 
 They saw no deer, but got some small game 
 and had a good outing. They went home re- 
 freshed and ready for work. 
 
 Maine was the scene of many of Roosevelt's 
 youthful hunting ventures. A week spent there 
 tracking the reindeer in snow-shoes gave him 
 particular pleasure. Even in boyhood he would 
 have thought it mere butchery to hunt ordinary 
 deer in the deep snow. 
 
 But to hunt reindeer, which are quite at their 
 ease in snow-covered forests, is apt to be harder 
 for the hunter than for the deer, and he was 
 eager to try his luck at it. 
 
12 THEODORE ROOSEVELT. 
 
 Accordingly, well equipped for the cold, he 
 and a friend went one winter to a logging camp 
 in the heart of a forest where the reindeer win- 
 tered. 
 
 They drove from the railroad to the logging 
 camp, where they were received with the rough 
 but genuine hospitality of the lumberman. 
 Making the comfortable camp their headquar- 
 ters, they penetrated the wintery solitude of the 
 forest, following on snow-shoes the trail of many 
 a deer, but finding none. 
 
 However, the vigorous exercise in the brac- 
 ing air, the good dinners at the logging camp, 
 the excitement of the pursuit of the wary game, 
 the beauty of the white forest, and the ''silver 
 thaw" that marked the end of their stay made 
 the young hunters consider the trip a success. 
 
 When Theodore was seventeen years old his 
 brother went West to hunt buffalo on the Great 
 Plains. He was almost as delighted as if he 
 had been going himself, and presented his 
 brother with the rifle with which he had shot 
 his first deer. 
 
 At the ai'c of eicrhteen Hieodore Roosevelt 
 entered Harvard Colleu'c. Uurinu' the four 
 
THEODORE ROOSEVELT. 1 3 
 
 years he spent at the university his interest 
 was centered in study. 
 
 That boyhood trait of having opinions of his 
 own and beino^- unwillinQ- to be satisfied with 
 what some one else said strengthened as years 
 passed. 
 
 He did not, like many college boys, jot down 
 a few notes from a professor's lecture and then 
 forget the subject until time for examination. 
 A good lecture led him to think and to read. 
 
 Though not satisfied with a conclusion 
 reached without careful investigation, he w^as 
 rarely without an opinion on a subject upon 
 which he had any information at all. His mind 
 worked quickly to form theories concerning 
 whatever facts were presented to it. 
 
 His ready opinions, and the vim and good 
 reason with which he could defend them, made 
 him an interesting character in the class-room. 
 He was recognized as a man who did his own 
 thinking. 
 
 His favorite subjects were history, English, 
 political economy, and the natural sciences. 
 His general reading was more serious than that 
 of many students. Essays, biographies, and 
 
14 THEODORE ROOSEVELT. 
 
 histories were often chosen by him in prefer- 
 ence to stories. 
 
 Boston, Cambridge, and the neighboring New 
 England towns, with their many historical asso- 
 ciations, fostered in him an interest in the early 
 history of America. He explored the crooked 
 streets of Boston for Faneuil Hall and the Old 
 North Church. 
 
 He stood beneath the spreading Washington 
 Elm in Cambridge. The battle-grounds of 
 Bunker Hill, Lexington, and Concord came to 
 be familiar to him. He visited Plymouth Rock 
 and saw the old Plymouth Burying Ground ; 
 dwellings, inns, and meeting-houses, more than 
 a century old, helped to make the past real for 
 him. 
 
 While he cared particularly for United States 
 history, he understood that it was impossible to 
 know that rightly without knowing the history 
 of other nations, and took pains to make him- 
 self familiar with the world's heroes and their 
 achievements. 
 
 He sought in a scholarly way to see events 
 properly related to each other ; to see whatever 
 he studied in its bearing upon kindred subjects. 
 
THEODORE ROOSEVELT. 1 5 
 
 He ranked among the first students in his 
 class. When he graduated, he was one of the 
 few to whom membership to the Phi Beta . 
 Kappa Society was awarded for fine scholar- / 
 ship. While in college he was a member of 
 the Natural History Society, the Art Club, and 
 an editor of the Advocate. 
 
 Theodore Roosevelt had time to do his work 
 well and to do much more. Just as he would 
 not study United States history without study- 
 ing the history of other countries, he would not 
 bury himself in books and neglect the other 
 sides of life. His aim was to give himself an 
 all-round education, physical and social as well 
 as intellectual. 
 
 He had two sunny rooms in a pleasant, quiet 
 house not far from the Charles River, but far • 
 enough from the college to insure his taking 
 some exercise every day. 
 
 His study was well supplied with books. 
 The walls were decorated with pictures of his 
 own choosing, antlers, and other trophies of the 
 hunt. 
 
 He kept a good horse, a stylish high cart, and 
 drove a great deal. He was rarely alone on 
 
1 6 THEODORE ROOSEVELT. 
 
 his drives, and his horse contributed to his own 
 enjoyment quite as much as to his health. 
 
 He joined the Athletic Association and the 
 Harvard Rifle Corps. 
 
 He had plenty of college spirit, and was 
 always on hand to cheer for the Harvard crim- 
 son at the great boat-races and ball-games. He 
 took an active part in manly sports, and had few 
 superiors in sparring and boxing. 
 
 He was a member of the Hasty Pudding 
 Club, and belonged to a fraternity. However, 
 he did not limit his friendships to any particu- 
 lar circle. 
 
 He was quick to appreciate merit wherever 
 he saw it. If a man had any conspicuous merit, 
 Roosevelt could overlook some faults in him. 
 
 He was ready to discuss political economy 
 at length with the man of ideas, even if he 
 wore a shabby, ill-fitting coat ; or to spar with 
 the athlete from the backwoods who, in talking, 
 violated many of the rules for correct speech 
 taught by Professor Hill. 
 
 He could excuse a good writer being what 
 the boys call a ''grind"; if a youth had a cour- 
 ageous heart, he could forgive his puny arm — 
 
THEODORE ROOSEVELT. 1 7 
 
 in short, though he had an extremely high 
 standard and rigidly required for himself de- 
 velopment in all directions, he was tolerant 
 enough with the shortcomings of those less for- 
 tunate than he. 
 
 After receiving the degree of Bachelor of 
 Arts from Harvard in 1880, Mr. Roosevelt 
 travelled for a year in Europe. He climbed 
 the Alps ; he practised his French ; he visited 
 many of the places he had read of in history 
 and literature; he hunted with English friends; 
 and after a pleasant and profitable year, started 
 for home as loyal an American as ever. 
 
 III. 
 
 IN POLITICS. 
 
 On the long homeward voyage Mr. Roose- 1 1 1 
 velt had time to think over the past and con- 
 sider the future. Well equipped, with a strong 
 constitution and a trained mind, he stood with 
 the world before him. 
 
 Should 'he, like some of his college friends, 
 go to the great West and become a ranchman ? 
 The novelty and wildness of the life attracted 
 
1 8 THEODORE ROOSEVELT. 
 
 him. That, however, would be too much Hke 
 a glorious holiday. 
 
 He might do that some day, but just now he 
 must give the head he had been so busy train- 
 ing some harder work to do. 
 
 Should he devote his life to letters and 
 spend the rest of it as he had the last few 
 years, among books and pictures and culti- 
 vated people ? His means wxre sufficient. 
 There was nothing to prevent him doing so. 
 
 There was plenty of work for the scholar to 
 do — already he was thinking of a book he 
 wanted to write. But no ; he would study, 
 he would write the book, but he must do 
 something besides, something that would call 
 into play his love of contest and adventure. 
 
 Should he be a banker and financier and 
 bend his efforts to piling up millions and in- 
 creasing the wealth his forefathers had made ? 
 That was too selfish. 
 
 The young man was interested in people. 
 He had high ideals. He wanted to use his 
 power and spend his life to help make the 
 world better. 
 
 He decided that his half-formed plan to 
 
THEODORE ROOSEVELT. 
 
 19 
 
 study law was best. To a great lawyer many 
 and varied opportunities were open. Accord- 
 ingly, when he reached New York, he began 
 to study law in the office of his uncle, Robert 
 B. Roosevelt. 
 
 Several hours each day he read law indus- 
 triously. During leisure hours he began work 
 on his history of the war of 181 2, which was 
 published in 1882. 
 
 As his father and grandfather had done, 
 Roosevelt took a lively interest in politics. 
 Like them, he was concerned not merely with 
 national political issues, but with city and State 
 government. He attended primaries and vis- 
 ited political clubs. 
 
 He found in control of political organiza- 
 tions a set of men who, instead of trying to 
 secure good government for the city, were in- 
 terested to get weak, easily influenced men 
 elected to important offices so that bribery and 
 law-breaking might continue unpunished. 
 
 These leaders at first gave the stranger from 
 the *' brown-stone district," as thev called the 
 part of the city in which he lived, a cordial 
 welcome. 
 
20 THEODORE ROOSEVELT. 
 
 They had forgotten his father, and suppos- 
 ing the rich young law student to be looking 
 out for a public office, hoped he would be 
 willing to pay them well for helping him to 
 get it. 
 
 He was invited to make a speech. He 
 made one denouncing dishonesty and fraud 
 in politics, and demanding reform in terms so 
 forcible and characteristic that they were not 
 soon forgotten. 
 
 The "bosses," finding that he w^as not of the 
 weak and easily influenced sort, and that he 
 would probably make trouble for them, turned 
 upon him the cold shoulder. He, however, 
 had expected this, and was not to be driven 
 away from the club-rooms. 
 
 He talked with the men in his friendly, 
 genial manner, finding common ground be- 
 tween himself and them wherever it was pos- 
 sible, for he saw how large a part the personal 
 element played in local politics. 
 
 He soon won many friends among the better 
 sort of men \\\\o habitually frequented the 
 clubs, and brought in new members. In this 
 way he gained so large a following that the 
 
THEODORE ROOSEVELT. 21 
 
 Republican Party was obliged to recognize 
 him. 
 
 He was, accordingly, nominated to represent 
 his district in the lower house of the New York 
 Legislature. 
 
 He was called the '* silk-stocking " candi- 
 date, because he belonged to one of the 
 wealthy and aristocratic families of the city. 
 But in spite of ridicule he was elected. 
 
 When the slight, boyish-looking member 
 from New York took his seat in the Assembly 
 room at Albany for the first time, he attracted 
 little attention except from the corrupt politi- 
 cians who hoped to find in him a man whose 
 vote they could control. 
 
 He, on the other hand, was very wide awake 
 to see just what sort of men each of his 127 
 fellow legislators was. 
 
 He found among them Irish, German, and 
 Americans; city men and farmers; educated 
 men and io^norant men ; wise and foolish ; 
 clever and simple; rich and poor; good and 
 bad. The essential question with Roosevelt 
 was. Which were honest and which were dis- 
 honest. 
 
22 THEODORE ROOSEVELT. 
 
 In a short time he had decided to his own 
 satisfaction just what was the moral fiber of 
 each. 
 
 He beHeved many to be thoroughly honest 
 and manly. Others he saw were weak and, 
 though their natural impulses were right, could 
 be influenced to act either generously or sel- 
 fishly. 
 
 Still others, he felt sure, were criminal, 
 shamelessly selling their vote and their influ- 
 ence, and striving to corrupt other assembly- 
 men. 
 
 He did not wish to shrink from or avoid the 
 wicked and the weak. He was too good a 
 fighter for that. His wish was to make war 
 against the wicked, to join the good, and to 
 win and lead the weak. 
 
 Though only twenty-three years old and the 
 youngest member of the Assembly, Roosevelt 
 soon made his presence felt. His voice was 
 ever raised for honesty and the public good. 
 
 The corrupt who had sold their own votes 
 and were acting as agents to buy the votes of 
 others feared and hated the youthful but vigor- 
 ous reformer. 
 
THEODORE ROOSEVELT. 23 
 
 The upright men who, hitherto, either be- 
 cause of timidity or of inability, had remained 
 inactive, looked upon him as their leader. 
 
 He was twice re-elected, serving, in all, 
 three terms, in the years 1882, 1883, and 
 1884. During this time he held the place 
 of leader of the Republican minority. 
 
 He was a tireless worker, never sparing him- 
 self in his efforts to discover the truth and pre- 
 vent fraud. Where it was possible, he did not 
 trust to report, but made original investigation. 
 
 During the discussion of the Anti-tenement 
 Cigar-maker's Bill he visited the tenements and 
 saw with his own eyes the frightful misery and 
 poverty in which hundreds of his fellowmen 
 lived. 
 
 He felt keenly the need of bettering their 
 condition, not by charity, but by making and 
 enforcing just laws, and realized sharply the 
 heavy responsibility of the educated citizen. 
 
 Mr. Roosevelt made a hard fight against 
 the acceptance, by public officers, of money 
 from private citizens for the performance of 
 official duty. 
 
 He secured an investigation by which it 
 
24 THEODORE ROOSEVELT. 
 
 was discovered that the county clerk received 
 upward of $82,000 a year in fees, and the sher- 
 iff about $100,000. Through his efforts fees 
 in the office of register and county clerk were 
 abolished. 
 
 The aldermen in New York had the authority 
 to veto appointments made by the mayor. This 
 gave them a power over the mayor that they 
 often used to the public injury. 
 
 Under this regulation it was impossible for 
 a mayor to appoint officers because of merit 
 and their fitness for the work ; he had to con- 
 sider always what a man's politics were and 
 what political friends or enemies he had before 
 making the appointment. 
 
 Roosevelt, who believed heartily that all offi- 
 cers should be appointed because of merit only, 
 introduced a bill to deprive the aldermen of 
 this power, and, by the exertion of his great in- 
 fluence, secured its passage. 
 
 This he considered his greatest service while 
 acting as an assemblyman. 
 
 During three years he saw many of the 
 evils of party "machines." He saw that their 
 power was so great that a man could scarcely 
 
THEODORE ROOSEVELT. 25 
 
 be elected to office without the help of the 
 machine "bosses." 
 
 He saw that many ambitious men who would 
 otherwise have used their influence for rieht 
 
 o 
 
 and honesty were controlled by the bosses be- 
 cause they feared they would not be re-elected 
 unless they kept the favor of those powerful 
 but unprincipled politicians. 
 
 For his own part he took as his watchword 
 ''Better faithful than famous," and decided from 
 the first, never for one moment to think of what 
 the bearing of any legislative action of his 
 might be on his political future. 
 
 It is needless to say that he kept his reso- 
 lution and was consequently in great disfavor 
 with the managers of the party machine. 
 
 Yet he was so fair-minded that he did not 
 condemn the machine. He saw its utility and 
 that the difficulty lay not in the party organi- 
 zation, which was very complete and effective, 
 but in the fact that it was managed by selfish, 
 dishonest men. 
 
 He could understand better how men of that 
 class, with no high moral standard, could take 
 advantage of their positions to keep their places 
 
26 THEODORE ROOSEVELT. 
 
 and enrich themselves, than he could how men 
 of high principle and good education, could be 
 so indifferent to their duty as citizens as to allow 
 corrupt men to control their party. 
 
 He wished to arouse the young men of New 
 York to a sense of their public responsibility. 
 He was a natural leader and had great success 
 in working with young men. 
 
 During one campaign he organized a com- 
 mittee of twenty to influence good citizens to 
 go to the polls on election day, feeling sure 
 that if good men voted, the right would win. 
 
 His committee was a strange one. On it 
 were some college men, a young college pro- 
 fessor, the proprietor of a small cigar store, the 
 editor of a little German newspaper, an Irish- 
 man, a Jew, and a Catholic. 
 
 But however they might differ in education, 
 social standing, nationality, or religious view^s, 
 they were all young, intelligent, enthusiastic, 
 and devoted to their leader. 
 
 In 1884 Mr. Roosevelt was sent as delegate 
 to the National Republican Convention. Dur- 
 ing the campaign that followed many of the 
 independent Republicans with whom he had 
 
THEODORE ROOSEVELT, 2/ 
 
 been closely associated, left their party and used 
 their influence to secure the election of Mr. 
 Cleveland, who stood for civil-service reform. 
 
 He incurred their severe censure by remain- 
 ing true to his party. That year brought to a 
 temporary close his political career. 
 
 This period, so full of work for the public, had 
 not been without great personal joy and sorrow 
 for Mr. Roosevelt. In 1881 he married Miss 
 Alice Lee, of Boston. In 1883 she died, leav- 
 ing one daughter. 
 
 IV. 
 
 RANCH LIFE. 
 
 The scene of Mr. Roosevelt's activity now 
 shifted from Albany and New York to the great 
 western plains. 
 
 In the early half of the nineteenth century 
 the plains extending from Mexico to Canada 
 and from the Rocky Mountains to the wheat 
 and corn States along the Mississippi, had given 
 pasturage to great herds of buffalo. 
 
 But the buffalo had disappeared before the 
 hunter, and as the land was good for grazing 
 
28 THEODORE ROOSEVELT. 
 
 and seemed of little value for anything else, 
 the whole region was being converted into large 
 stock ranches. 
 
 Mr. Roosevelt had travelled in the West and 
 had seen something of ranch life. Its freedom 
 and adventure suited him. Its very hardships 
 attracted him, for they were of the sort to try a 
 man's endurance, and skill, and courage. 
 
 He had all his life advocated a man's stand- 
 ing on his own merit and receiving only the 
 reward he deserved. He had done this himself, 
 in college and in politics as much as possible. 
 
 But the thought of going to a country where 
 his family, his college education, and his social 
 and political influence would count for nothing, 
 where he must succeed wholly by virtue of his 
 own strength, ability, and spirit, was bracing to 
 him. 
 
 He was eager to prove his arm as strong, his 
 eye as true, his nerve as steady, as another's. 
 Besides, he wanted to learn how much of rugged 
 manliness there was in him to endure with 
 fidelity and good cheer the toil, exposure, and 
 privations of ranch life: how much of the Daniel 
 Boone quality of staunchness he possessed. 
 
THEODORE ROOSEVELT. 29 
 
 Yet he had no idea of Hving in an unneces- 
 sarily primitive manner, or of giving up more 
 than necessary of the comforts, and pleasure of 
 an educated man. 
 
 His ranch was as well equipped and up to 
 date as possible. It extended along both sides 
 of the Little Missouri River, near the village of 
 Medora. 
 
 The ranch home was built in a glade thickly 
 grown with cottonwood trees and underbrush. 
 So wild was the place that deer sometimes 
 came down to the river to drink, and wolves 
 and cougars visited the cattle-pens at night. 
 The nearest human habitation was ten miles 
 away. 
 
 The house was called '' Elkhorn," because on 
 the spot where it stood had been found two 
 great pairs of elk horns closely interlocked, tell- 
 ing the tale of a deadly struggle between two 
 of the native monarchs of the wilderness. It 
 was a long, low building, made of clean-hewn 
 logs and roofed with shingles. 
 
 Not far from the house were the sod-roofed 
 sheds and stables, the cattle-pens, the horse cor- 
 ral, and the kitchen garden. If the house was 
 
30 THEODORE ROOSEVELT. 
 
 closed for a month or two and there was no 
 man to keep the vegetation and the animals in 
 check, they soon made themselves masters of 
 the place. Grasses, weeds, and bushes sur- 
 rounded the log buildings and flourished on 
 the sod roof 
 
 Deer made themselves at home in the glade; 
 Jack-rabbits, ferrets, and other small creatures 
 burrowed their way into the house and built 
 themselves nests in curious places — one chose 
 the oven for its home. The wilderness claimed 
 the place once more. 
 
 Everything was, however, kept clean and in 
 good repair while the house was occupied. 
 
 Here the new ranchman practised the cow- 
 boy's peculiar accomplishments, throwing the 
 ''rope," as the lasso is called by the northern 
 cattlemen, and breaking broncos with a deter- 
 mination that strained shoulders and even 
 broken bones could not shake. 
 
 He enjoyed the excitement of conquering a 
 rebellious horse, of keeping his seat while the 
 animal reared and pitched and plunged under 
 him in vain efforts to throw him. 
 
 The watching cow hands, who had been 
 
THEODORE ROOSEVELT. 3 I 
 
 trained from boyhood to the work, were ready 
 enough to laugh at any mishap that befell an 
 eastern ''tenderfoot." 
 
 But this one bore laughter and jokes with 
 good humor and usually managed to keep his 
 patience and his saddle. 
 
 Certainly he won the admiration of the cow- 
 boys by his pluck and good temper, and their 
 banter was meant and taken in good part. 
 When his cowboy comrade remarked in an 
 audible tone aside, as Mr. Roosevelt mounted 
 for the first time a vicious horse, "The boss 
 ain't no bronco buster," he intended more to 
 amuse the "boys " than the listening stranger. 
 
 The cowboy accomplishments were not easily 
 acquired, and practice in them sometimes made 
 the chief work of the ranchman's day 
 
 But ordinarily he was up at dawn, winter and 
 summer, and in the saddle immediately after a 
 hearty breakfast. 
 
 Often he went off on a hunting expedition 
 to keep up the necessary supply of meat. But 
 for the most part his days were spent "quirt" 
 in hand, on the back of a firey little mustang 
 careering over the plains. 
 
32 THEODORE ROOSEVELT. 
 
 Now he rode simply to tame the wildness 
 of a long unused horse. Again, he went in 
 search of a lost bronco. Sometimes he made 
 a tour of the ranch to see how the cattle were 
 faringf and how the men were doino^ their work. 
 Or he rode merely to make himself more famil- 
 iar with the country where his cattle grazed, a 
 country of buttes, coulees, and canyons. 
 
 The monotony of such a trip was apt to be 
 varied by an encounter with a charging steer; 
 the discovery of an unbranded yearling, or the 
 rescue, by means of ropes, of a cow helplessly 
 stranded in a mud hole or in some pool of 
 quicksand. 
 
 Though such employments were exhilarating 
 to the newcomer, they were humdrum to those 
 familiar with the excitement of a ''round-up." 
 
 On the western cattle ranches, where there 
 are no fences to separate one range from 
 another, the cattle belonging to neighboring 
 ranchmen sometimes herd together. In order 
 that a man may know his own cattle he has 
 them branded with a certain sign or mark. 
 
 Wherever he finds an animal with his mark 
 upon it he may claim it. If an unbranded 
 
 I 
 
THEODORE ROOSEVELT. 33 
 
 animal is found among his cattle, it is branded 
 with his mark. Every spring there is a great 
 round-up, when the cattle belonging to differ- 
 ent owners are separated and the calves 
 branded. 
 
 This is the most stirring time in the ranch- 
 man's year, and though it necessitates hard, 
 dangerous work, is looked forward to with 
 eagerness by the cowboys. Mr. Roosevelt 
 took an active part in the round-up, sharing 
 with the cowboys its hardships and risks. 
 
 Late in May he started with a dozen or more 
 *' cow-punchers " for the appointed meeting- 
 place of the cattle men of that district. 
 
 They took with them a four-horse wagon 
 loaded with food and bedding, in charge of 
 the indispensable cook and teamster, and a 
 large saddle band. Every man must have 
 eight or ten horses for the days of hard riding 
 to come. 
 
 After their winter's rest, '' Dynamite Jimmy,'* 
 '' Fall Back," " Bulberry Johnny," " Wire 
 Fence," "Water Skip," and all the rest of 
 the broncos were wild and almost unmanage- 
 able: 
 
34 THEODORE ROOSEVELT. 
 
 There was a great tossing of manes and 
 kicking of heels as sorrel, pinto, roan, and bay 
 clattered along over the plain. 
 
 Roosevelt, with flapping sombrero, flannel 
 hunting shirt, bright neck-cloth, and leather 
 leggings, with a ''quirt" in gloved hand and 
 a revolver at belt, mounted on his wiry little 
 horse in a gigantic stock saddle with dangling 
 lasso, looked like any cowboy. 
 
 Perhaps the jackets bundled under the 
 *' slickers" or rain-coats behind the saddles 
 of the other riders did not all contain so com- 
 plete a washing outfit and change of under- 
 wear, but that distinction, though significant, 
 was not noticeable. 
 
 When the company reached the camp agreed 
 upon for the meeting-place of the riders from 
 the various ranches in the neighborhood, there 
 was little to do but lounge in the shade, tell 
 stories, and break horses, until all had assem- 
 bled. Then the foreman of the round-up gave 
 his orders, and work began without delay. 
 
 As early as three o'clock in the morning the 
 cook's harsh summons roused the men from 
 their sleep on the ground. 
 
THEODORE ROOSEVELT. 35 
 
 Then, in the dim gray of dawn, there was a 
 lively pulling on of boots, a tying of blankets 
 into bundles, followed by a rush for the camp fire, 
 where each man helped himself to black coffee, 
 biscuit, beans, and fried pork, and ate what he 
 could before the foreman's ^call, " Come, boys, 
 catch your horses !" sounded. 
 
 The first work of the day was to drive the 
 cattle in from the surrounding country. The 
 district was parceled out to bands made up of 
 a dozen riders each, under the direction of a 
 division foreman. The members of a band 
 rode together until they reached the section 
 allotted to them. 
 
 Then the foreman sent out two riders, one 
 to the right, one to the left, to find and drive 
 in all the cattle within certain limits. The 
 rest of the company rode on until they had 
 come to the boundary of the section to be 
 *' cleaned up " by the first riders ; here two 
 more were sent out. 
 
 This continued until every rider had the 
 field for his morning's work assigned him. 
 In open, level country it was easy to find the 
 cattle, but on irregular ground like the Bad 
 
36 THEODORE ROOSEVELT. 
 
 Lands along the Little Missouri long and hard 
 riding was necessary. 
 
 These reckless rides before the sun was up, 
 over green field, up butte, and down coulee, 
 gave Mr. Roosevelt keen pleasure. His pulses 
 bounded as his daring, sure-footed horse cleared 
 a chasm or went plunging and sliding down 
 some slippery ravine. 
 
 When he saw a herd of cattle grazing in 
 a coulee he took the shortest route toward 
 them, shouting *' ei-koh-h-h !" and started them 
 running down the valley to the main stream, 
 where they would be met by other riders and 
 headed toward the camp. Then he would 
 ride on without pausing until he felt certain 
 that there were no more cattle in his terri- 
 tory. 
 
 Often, on coming into camp, he found as 
 many as two thousand cattle herded there. 
 The eight hours of hard riding were only the 
 beginning of the day's work. After a hur- 
 ried dinner he mounted a fresh horse for the 
 round-up. 
 
 Most of the cowboys, on tough, spirited 
 broncos, were stationed at intervals about the 
 
THEODORE ROOSEVELT. 37 
 
 herd to round it up and keep any member from 
 breaking away. 
 
 Then two or three trained men, mounted 
 on good "cutting" ponies, rode into the herd 
 to '*cut" or drive out the cows and calves or 
 any unbranded animal. Each animal that was 
 to be removed had to be driven slowly through 
 the herd in such a way as not to excite the 
 herd. 
 
 When it reached the edge of the herd, wild 
 riding was needed to keep other cattle from 
 leavine the herd with the animal ''cut out," 
 and to keep it from rejoining the herd. 
 
 The cattle separated from the main herd 
 were formed into a new herd; the calves 
 were roped and branded; and when this 
 work was done, the herds were turned loose 
 and started in the direction opposite to the 
 one in which the cowboys were to continue 
 their work. 
 
 The spring round-up lasted about six weeks. 
 When it was over, the time had come for the 
 first round-up of beeves for market This 
 was conducted in much the same way. But 
 now the four-year-old beeves instead of the 
 
38 THEODORE ROOSEVELT. 
 
 COWS and the calves were "cut out" of the 
 herd. 
 
 After the beef round-up the long, monoto- 
 nous trail work of driving the herds to the 
 nearest shipping point began. Progress had 
 to be very slow in order that the cattle might 
 reach the market in good condition. 
 
 In the day-time they were driven in long lines. 
 At night the cattle were bedded down by two 
 cowboys who rode round and round the herd, 
 driving the cattle into as small a circle as pos- 
 sible, and continued to ride until the animals 
 had lain down. 
 
 The night was divided into watches, and two 
 men at a time guarded the herd. They did 
 this by riding round it in opposite directions, 
 trusting their horses to find their way in the 
 dark or to give them warning if any animal 
 started to leave the herd. 
 
 If the cattle were restless, the cowboys shouted 
 and sang, as the sound of human voices seemed 
 to soothe the wild creatures. 
 
 Sometimes, in spite of all they could do to 
 pacify them, the animals would take fright at 
 the cry of a beast of prey or the rolling of 
 
THEODORE ROOSEVELT. 39 
 
 thunder. The whole herd would be on its feet 
 in an instant. 
 
 The mass of flashing hides and horns and 
 staring eyes would plunge forward. Then the 
 cowboys rode like mad, now with, now athwart, 
 the herd, guiding, checking, and at length con- 
 trollincT the terrified cattle. 
 
 Mr. Roosevelt took his part in the round-up 
 and in the trail work, mounted night guard in 
 the rain, and rounded up stampeded herds. 
 
 Later in the summer, however, there were 
 times when cattle work was light, and even that 
 energetic man was glad to keep away from the 
 alkali plains where the gray sage bush and the 
 gray earth baked in the August sun. 
 
 On those days there was no place quite so 
 inviting as the broad, shady veranda of the 
 ranch house. There he sat in one of the big, 
 comfortable rocking-chairs, content for a little 
 while to be idle and do nothing but look oft' 
 under the boughs of the stately, white-barked 
 sycamores, across the river to the green bottom- 
 lands and the brown bluffs rising in the distance. 
 
 During the winter the cattle were left to range 
 at will, so long as they did not ''drift" too near 
 
40 THEODORE ROOSEVELT. 
 
 the land of the Indians. To prevent this, camps 
 were established at intervals along the danger- 
 line, where riders kept guard to drive back the 
 cattle if they ventured too near. 
 
 It was also the duty of these men to drive 
 in and care for the weak or disabled animals 
 after a blizzard and to see where the herds 
 found shelter. 
 
 After serving his turn at a line camp and rid- 
 ing through cruel, numbing cold that found its 
 way through wolf-skin coat and buck-skin shirt, 
 Mr. Roosevelt experienced a sense of real joy 
 when he came in sight of the smoking chimneys 
 of Elkhorn and saw the firelight flash through 
 the windows red on the snowy bushes. 
 
 Thoughts of the roaring logs in the wide fire- 
 place, of the table laden with smoking platters 
 of broiled venison and roast chicken, tureens 
 of steaming potatoes and tomatoes, bowls of 
 milk and wild-plum jelly, and plates piled with 
 flaky bread made by the foreman's wife were 
 doubly pleasant because of the days passed in 
 the cheerless, dug-out line camp. 
 
THEODORE ROOSEVELT 
 
 PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES 
 
THEODORE ROOSEVELT. 4 1 
 
 V. 
 **THE '^LDERNESS HUNTER/' 
 
 While Mr. Roosevelt lived on his ranch he 
 did a great deal of hunting. Besides hunting 
 for sport, he made it his business to keep the 
 ranch table supplied with game. 
 
 Most of the large beasts of prey had been 
 driven from the neighborhood before he came 
 to live there, and he shot no grizzlies later than 
 1884. But after a day's hunt on the plains he 
 usually came home with two or three antelope, 
 and the hills nearby were full of deer. 
 
 Mr. Roosevelt was too true a hunter, how- 
 ever, to be satisfied with game that was near 
 and plentiful. Difficulty and danger added 
 greatly to the zest of the sport. Often he went 
 on a long hunt alone or with some old hunter 
 for a companion. 
 
 When spending several weeks in the moun- 
 tains, he was glad to have two or three good 
 hunters with him, a band of horses to carry the 
 trophies and the camp equipment, and a cook 
 and packer to do the camp work. 
 
 On almost any fine fall morning, when the 
 
42 THEODORE ROOSEVELT. 
 
 ground was still crisp with frost and the sun 
 was only beginning to redden the east, he 
 might be seen riding off on his favorite hunt- 
 ing horse, " Manitou," with perhaps a deer 
 hound or two at his heels. 
 
 On these trips he wore a buck-skin hunting 
 tunic and leggings and a broad-brimmed hat 
 of the same neutral hue, that he might be as 
 inconspicuous as possible. 
 
 He carried with him compass, field-glasses, 
 matches, salt, and a strip of smoked venison, 
 for he knew what it was to be lost in the wil- 
 derness. Usually he could depend upon his 
 faithful Winchester for meat, however. 
 
 He let his horse bound along at a lively 
 pace, but he was not in so great a hurry that 
 he could not enjoy his ride. He was con- 
 scious of the strong, swift motion of the horse, 
 of the freshness and coolness of the air, the 
 rising sun, the long shadows, the wheeling of 
 the Clark's Crows and the Wisky Jacks, and 
 the notes of the late soncr-birds. All this 
 made a good beginning for a day of keen de- 
 light. 
 
 When he neared the place where he hoped 
 
THEODORE ROOSEVELT. 43 
 
 to find game he tethered his horse, and, in 
 moccasined feet, went clambering up some 
 deer trail swiftly and silently, keeping a sharp 
 lookout all the while for signs of game. 
 
 Footprints, the beds of the deer, and freshly 
 nibbled twigs gave him encouragement while 
 he climbed the steep trail through the woods. 
 Occasionally coming out on some high cliff, 
 he searched the landscape with his field- 
 glasses. 
 
 When at length he caught sight of a deer, 
 his eagerness increased and he commenced a 
 cautious approach. After an hour's breathless 
 climbing and crawling he might come within 
 gunshot of the game, only to see it take fright 
 and go bounding safely ofT before he could 
 take aim. 
 
 Then the whole process had to be repeated, 
 — the search for signs, the following of the 
 sign, the cautious, laborious "stalk," — but at 
 last came the moment of triumph, when the 
 lordly buck with splendid antlers stood not 
 one hundred yards away, and he knew, as he 
 took steady aim, that the game was his. 
 
 Mr. Roosevelt is a good shot. He is proud 
 
44 THEODORE ROOSEVELT. 
 
 of his record in shooting running antelope and 
 in hitting at long range, but he declares that 
 his success in hunting is due more largely to 
 '* dogged perseverance and patient persist- 
 ence" than to skill. 
 
 Perhaps the hard work and persistence were 
 necessary to make him appreciate to the full 
 the satisfaction of bringing down the game. 
 
 Certainly, though he enjoyed as much as 
 any man coming into camp with three hardly 
 earned elk tongues hanging at his belt, he 
 took no pleasure in shooting deer swimming 
 in water or floundering in snow. 
 
 He saw little sport in fire-hunting or in 
 hunting the white-tail deer with hounds. He 
 liked to still-hunt the black-tail deer amono^- the 
 wooded hills ; to follow the antelope over the 
 green prairies in spring and early summer; to 
 seek the sure-footed mountain goat among 
 snowy crags ; to track in snow-shoes the broad- 
 hoofed caribou, and to surprise the moose in 
 its watery haunts. 
 
 But none of these pleasures excelled that 
 of elk hunting in the mountain parks of the 
 Rockies. Often he pitched his camp by some 
 
THEODORE ROOSEVELT. 45 
 
 mountain lake or rushing stream, and from 
 there hunted the heights for elk. 
 
 It was good, after a day's hunt, to come into 
 a comfortable camp at night, to sit down to a 
 feast of "roasted elk venison, trout, and flap- 
 jacks with maple syrup," then to lounge about 
 the fire of pitchy stumps telling the experi- 
 ences of the day or recounting former hunting 
 exploits. 
 
 It was pleasant to lie at night in a warm, 
 deer-skin sleeping bag, breathing the keen air, 
 and hearing, above the roar of the green moun- 
 tain torrent, the high, bugle-like call of the elk. 
 But to these men the best part of all was the 
 day's work, the stealthy following of that ring- 
 ing call until within gunshot of the princely 
 buck with his towering antlers. 
 
 These wild scenes made the hunter think, by 
 contrast, of his far-away home. He talked to 
 his Indian guide about his children, and was 
 pleased with the stories the red man told in re- 
 turn about his little papooses. When hunting 
 on his son's birthday, Mr. Roosevelt marked 
 the antlers of the first elk he shot, to be sent 
 to the little fellow for his very own. 
 
46 THEODORE ROOSEVELT. 
 
 A little risk or danger is perhaps a more at- 
 tractive element in a hunt than difficulty, and 
 Mr. Roosevelt has made special expeditions to 
 hunt grizzly bears, cougars, and other beasts of 
 prey. 
 
 If a grizzly is wounded and charges, it fre- 
 quently makes an ugly foe. But sometimes a 
 big grizzly bear gives a good hunter no more 
 trouble than a rabbit. Mr. Roosevelt tells how, 
 on one occasion, after following the track of a 
 bear through the dense forest by the bent and 
 broken twigs, and by the scratches on the 
 trees where the bear had clawed the bark, 
 he came upon a huge grizzly in its bed in 
 the brush. 
 
 The bear, disturbed by the hunter's approach, 
 suddenly rose on its haunches, but finding itself 
 at bay, crouched on all fours with the hair brist- 
 ling up along its neck. 
 
 Before Bruin could spring, Mr. Roosevelt's 
 steady hand and sure aim had sent a bullet 
 between his eyes and into his brain, and the 
 beast fell on his side dead. Not twenty sec- 
 onds had elapsed from the time of sighting the 
 bear until the monster lay dead. 
 
THEODORE ROOSEVELT. 47 
 
 At another time Mr. Roosevelt's first shot 
 pierced the lower end of a great big bear's 
 heart, but the creature turned, blowine blood 
 and foam from his mouth, and with a hoarse 
 roar came bounding and crashing through the 
 bushes toward the hunter. 
 
 The latter got another fair aim as the bear 
 leaped over the trunk of a fallen tree. The 
 bullet struck fair, but the huge creature came 
 plunging on, blind with rage and pain. 
 
 There was not a moment to lose — another 
 shot, a hasty spring to one side, and Mr. Roose- 
 velt saw through the smoke the clumsy brute 
 carried past him by the rush of the charge di- 
 rected at him. Before the thwarted animal 
 could turn, another bullet brought him down. 
 For a man with less nerve than Mr. Roosevelt 
 possessed the experience would have been a 
 perilous one. 
 
 On a hunting expedition made later Mr. 
 Roosevelt shot fourteen mountain lions. He 
 learned much about the habits and haunts of 
 these animals, so that the expedition counted 
 for more than pelts. 
 
 Even in the wilderness Mr. Roosevelt pre- 
 
48 THEODORE ROOSEVELT. 
 
 served his sense of responsibility for the public 
 good. One October, when he was out with a 
 small party for the purpose of hunting ante- 
 lope, the hunt was interrupted by a prairie-fire. 
 The camp was easily and quickly moved to a 
 place of safety. 
 
 Then the party fell to work to put out the 
 fire. The wind was so strong that they made 
 but little headway against it, and when night 
 came it was still burning, looking, he said, like 
 a ** great red snake writhing sideways across 
 the prairie." But now the wind had gone 
 down, and they took up the work with fresh 
 courage and zeal. 
 
 After the fashion of cowboys fighting a prai- 
 rie-fire, they shot a steer, chopped it in half 
 lengthwise, and tied ropes to its legs ; then two 
 of the men mounted their horses, and each 
 taking a rope, rode to the fire line. One 
 spurred his horse across the narrow, but 
 fiercely hot, path of flame, then turning, they 
 rode parallel with it, dragging their heavy, 
 moist burden over the fire and smothering- 
 it. 
 
 The other men followed them, beating out 
 
THEODORE ROOSEVELT. 49 
 
 with raincoats or blankets the flames that had 
 not been extinguished by the riders. The ride 
 over rough, unfamiliar ground, in the heat and 
 smoke of the prairie-fire, with the steer's car- 
 cass, now catching on something and pulling 
 the ropes taut, now bouncing at the very heels 
 of the frightened horses, w^as unpleasant and 
 exhausting. 
 
 Men and horses were both well worn out 
 when a ravine was reached, beyond which the 
 fire divided in many lines that wriggled away 
 through the blackness like endless fire-serpents. 
 So the workers had not the satisfaction of put- 
 ting out entirely the fire, but they had saved 
 thousands of acres of precious pasturage for 
 the cattle. 
 
 In this free out-of-door life the best of fel- 
 lowship existed. Mr. Roosevelt could appre- 
 ciate a good story, a good hunter, a good man, 
 even when polish was wanting. He took more 
 pleasure in finding the good and manly quali- 
 ties in the weather-beaten men of mountain 
 and plain than in criticizing their manners. 
 
 He respected them for what they were and 
 made them feel it. Though he was not ready 
 
50 THEODORE ROOSEVELT. 
 
 to find fault with the men he Hved among, he 
 had no idea of Hving on the same intellectual 
 level with them. His ranch house was well 
 furnished with books, and he spent much of 
 his time there reading and writing. When on 
 a long excursion of any sort, he usually had a 
 good book in his pocket. 
 
 He tells how once, when in mid-winter, he 
 was hunting a horse among the hills he fell in 
 with a strange cowboy, made friends with him, 
 and camped with him in a deserted hut. 
 There they made a fire of logs and were quite 
 cozy. Mr. Roosevelt whiled away the hours 
 during a storm by reading Hamlet aloud. 
 The cowboy was much interested, and de- 
 lighted the reader by his shrewd and appre- 
 ciative comments. 
 
 In the large, rough-walled living room of 
 the ranch house, bear-skins and stag-heads re- 
 minded one of the wildness of the region, and 
 made the crackling fire seem all the warmer 
 and the comfortable rocking-chair more com- 
 fortable as the ranchman sat reading Cooper's 
 stories of Indian life or John Burroughs' essays 
 on nature, while the snow blew outside. This 
 
THEODORE ROOSEVELT. 5 I 
 
 room was the scene of the writing of much 
 that Mr. Roosevelt has pubHshed on western 
 life. 
 
 VI. 
 TROUBLESOME NEIGHBORS. 
 
 Mr. Roosevelt found his western neighbors 
 taking views of law and justice rather different 
 from those to which he was accustomed. They 
 did not care much for courts and legal formal- 
 ities. 
 
 This does not mean that they allowed crimes 
 to go unpunished, that they allowed their horses 
 and cattle to be stolen or their friends murdered 
 with indifference. It means that their punish- 
 ments were not alw^ays lawful. 
 
 They were so prompt to punish crime that if 
 they believed a man to be a thief or a murderer 
 they did not always wait for him to have a full, 
 fair trial. Indeed, they frequently took affairs 
 into their own hands, and without a pretense 
 of trial, lynched a man they believed to be 
 guilty. 
 
 In their haste and anger they made mistakes 
 
52 THEODORE ROOSEVELT. 
 
 and inflicted heavy punishments for petty 
 offenses, or put to death men they afterward 
 found to be innocent of the crime with which 
 they were charged. 
 
 Mr. Roosevelt had an opportunity to show 
 the community to what trouble and pains he 
 would go to see the law enforced in a lawful 
 way. 
 
 In a country where cattle and horses were 
 allowed to run loose, to steal them was easy. 
 It was absolutely necessary, then, that horse- 
 thieves, when found, should have been punished 
 with such severity as to make even those men 
 who were disposed to be dishonest and lawless 
 let their neighbors' property alone. 
 
 Still in so wild a country there were always 
 some who were as daring and desperate as dis- 
 honest, and horse-stealing and cattle-killing 
 were not rare on the Little Missouri. A man 
 was, therefore, obliged to show himself ready 
 and able to take care of himself and his belong- 
 ings or these reckless fellow^s soon discovered 
 his weakness and made him their prey. 
 
 When Mr. Roosevelt first came to the ranch, 
 partly because of his gentlemanly manners, and 
 
THEODORE ROOSEVELT. 5 3 
 
 perhaps, too, because he wore eye-glasses and 
 looked like a student, he was regarded as an 
 easy victim. But the first blusterer who sought 
 to pick a quarrel with him found him so ready to 
 defend himself that he apologized for his rude- 
 ness and henceforth avoided the college athlete. 
 
 If any one attempted to interfere with the 
 new ranchman's cattle, he found he had no easy 
 man to deal with. In a short time Mr. Roose- 
 velt was generally understood to be able to 
 look after his own interests. 
 
 About twenty miles up the river three men 
 lived together in a shack. They had taken 
 care to give the master of Elkhorn no trouble, 
 but they were rough and idle, and were be- 
 lieved by some to be horse-thieves. Their 
 reputation was so bad that it seemed unsafe for 
 them to stay in the neighborhood. 
 
 One morning, early in spring, when the ice 
 was just breaking up on the Little Missouri 
 and the river was brimming to overflow with 
 swift, muddy water, one of the workmen came 
 into the ranch-house and announced to his em- 
 ployer that the boat with which they were ac- 
 customed to cross the river was gone. 
 
54 THEODORE ROOSEVELT. 
 
 It had evidently been stolen, for the rope by 
 which it had been tied was cut and a red mitten 
 with a leather palm was found close by. 
 
 On investigation, Mr. Roosevelt found that 
 the three men living up the river had disap- 
 peared. Then he had no doubt that they had 
 stolen his boat. It was a shrewd trick on the 
 part of the thieves, for it was a good boat and 
 there was not another craft of any sort in the 
 country. 
 
 The river was open enough to make travel 
 down-stream easy and rapid, while the land 
 along the river was still almost impassable for 
 horse or man. They, therefore, seemed safe 
 from pursuit. 
 
 Mr. Roosevelt wanted the boat; he also 
 wanted to have the cowardly law-breakers pun- 
 ished. He usually found a way to accomplish 
 what he wanted. 
 
 With the help of his ranch hands he built a 
 flat-bottomed scow. It was clumsy, but water- 
 tight and roomy, and could be managed readily 
 enoui^h iroine down-stream. The boat was 
 loaded with flour, beans, bacon, coffee, and 
 cooking utensils, and good warm bedding. 
 
THEODORE ROOSEVELT. 55 
 
 The weather was bitterly cold, but without 
 loss of time Mr. Roosevelt and two strapping 
 cowboys set out to follow the thieves. The 
 rapid current swept the boat along without the 
 help of paddle or oar, and it required but little 
 exertion to o^uide it. 
 
 The men got numb and cold sitting still 
 hour after hour. At night they landed and 
 made a roaring camp-fire. The next morning 
 they resumed their journey in the scow. 
 
 On the morning of the third day, which was 
 to be the eventful day of the journey for them, 
 the river was so full of slush and ice that they 
 did not care to venture upon it and waited 
 until the sun was high before starting. 
 
 Seeing signs of deer and fearing they should 
 need meat before they had finished their under- 
 taking, they spent the morning hunting. For- 
 tunately, they shot two deer. 
 
 The country through which the winding river 
 carried them was broken with seams and chasms 
 and heaped with ice and snow, so that a horse 
 could not travel over it. The thieves must, 
 therefore, feel quite safe. Probably they were 
 making no great haste to go down the river, 
 
56 THEODORE ROOSEVELT. 
 
 and any turn might bring Roosevelt and his 
 companions upon them. 
 
 Accordingly, they made as little noise as 
 possible and kept a sharp watch. 
 
 If they could approach the culprits without 
 giving them warning, there would be little dif- 
 ficulty in taking them prisoners. But if the 
 thieves took alarm and were on their guard, 
 Mr. Roosevelt and his two comrades would 
 have to contend against three fully armed, des- 
 perate men. 
 
 In the afternoon one of the men in the scow 
 pointed toward the shore. The others looked 
 eagerly in the direction he indicated, and saw 
 a thin blue column of smoke rising in the clear, 
 keen air not far from them. It was evidently 
 the smoke of a camp-fire. Rounding a shoul- 
 der of a little cove they saw the boat they 
 sought. 
 
 More anxious to protect themselves from the 
 bitter wind than to command a view up the 
 river, the overconfident rascals had made their 
 camp behind an embankment, and the men in 
 the scow believed their approach had not been 
 discovered. 
 
THEODORE ROOSEVELT. 57 
 
 They threw off their coats, and with long 
 strokes guided the boat to the shore. As soon 
 as it touched firm ice Mr. Roosevelt jumped 
 out and ran up the bank with his gun to pro- 
 tect the others should they be attacked while 
 trying to moor the boat. 
 
 Then, with tense faces, the three cautiously 
 made their way toward the line of smoke. 
 They at length came upon one of their old 
 neighbors sitting alone by the fire. 
 
 If he had heard any sound, he probably 
 supposed it to be made by his friends re- 
 turning from the hunt; at any rate, he did 
 not look up until three rifles were leveled at 
 his head and it was too late even to grasp the 
 gun lying on the ground beside him. He was 
 greatly surprised, but surrendered without re- 
 sistance. 
 
 Mr. Roosevelt set one of his cowboys to 
 watch the prisoner, and with the other lay in 
 wait for the absent thieves. 
 
 After an hour's watching they saw them 
 coming carelessly across the field with their 
 rifles on their shoulders. Then Roosevelt and 
 his comrade cowboy crouched behind a little 
 
58 THEODORE ROOSEVELT. 
 
 knoll and waited until the hunters, unconscious 
 of danger, had come within gun-shot. Then 
 they sprang to their feet with leveled rifles, 
 shouting "Hands up!" One of the men 
 obeyed with trembling knees. 
 
 The other, the ring-leader of the three, held 
 his eun and looked fierce. But when Roose- 
 velt advanced, aiming directly at his breast, 
 the fellow dropped his gun and threw up his 
 hands. 
 
 The men had been captured easily enough ; 
 to keep them w^as a more difficult matter. For 
 while Roosevelt was very sure his prisoners 
 were guilty and was determined to lodge them 
 in jail, he was bent upon doing it in a lawful 
 and humane way. 
 
 He feared that if he bound their hands and 
 feet securely enough to hold them, those mem- 
 bers would freeze in the bitter cold. He must 
 find another way. He ordered the prisoners 
 to take off their boots. 
 
 The uTOund was roui>'h and covered with 
 prickly plants, and a man would soon become 
 lame walking in bare feet in that region, and 
 the most reckless would scarcely try to escape 
 
THEODORE ROOSEVELT. 59 
 
 without shoes. He divided the nights into 
 watches, and each member of his party, turn 
 about, guarded the shoeless captives. 
 
 The next day all proceeded down the river. 
 They had not gone far when their progress was 
 stopped by an immense ice jam that blocked 
 the river as far as the eye could see. The only 
 thing to do was to follow in the wake of the 
 slowly moving ice. 
 
 Much of the time was spent in camp. The 
 Indians had been hunting along the river and 
 had driven away the game. The supply of 
 meat gave out, and the company was reduced 
 to eating bread made of flour and muddy river- 
 water without yeast three times a day. 
 
 At length, just as the flour was all used up, 
 they reached a ranch-house and bought sup- 
 plies. Here Mr. Roosevelt dismissed his com- 
 panions and sent them back with the boat. 
 He hired a ''prairie schooner," two good 
 horses, and a driver, and took the thieves to 
 the nearest town. 
 
 Now that he was alone he could not allow 
 himself too near his captives lest they should 
 seize him unawares and disarm him. So he 
 
6o THEODORE ROOSEVELT. 
 
 trudged behind the wagon with his Win- 
 chester on his shoulder, all the way to Dick- 
 inson. 
 
 There he delivered his prisoners to the 
 sheriff and received pay, as deputy sheriff, for 
 making the arrest, and mileage for the three 
 hundred miles he had traveled to make it. 
 
 Through all this trying journey Mr. Roose- 
 velt's manner to the men who were making 
 him all this trouble had been so humane and 
 just as to win their confidence. They quickly 
 learned that if they attempted to escape, they 
 would be dealt with without ceremony, but 
 that as long as they behaved themselves w^ell, 
 they would receive kind treatment. 
 
 While in camp all chatted together in so 
 friendly a manner that an observer would have 
 supposed that each was in the company by his 
 own choice. 
 
 The prisoners seemed to cherish no resent- 
 ment toward the man who had been so per- 
 sistent in bringing them to justice. One of 
 them, afterward, writing to Mr. Roosevelt from 
 prison in Bismarck, said with an amusing air 
 of good-fellowship : 
 
THEODORE ROOSEVELT. 6 1 
 
 " I have read a good many of your sketches 
 of ranch life in the papers since I have been 
 here, and they interest me deeply. Should 
 you stop over at Bismarck this fall make a 
 call to the prison, I should be glad to meet 
 vou." 
 
 Mr. Roosevelt's red neighbors troubled him 
 little. He was careful to give them no cause 
 for offense, and he had little to do with them 
 as a people, although he knew some Indian 
 guides well, having hunted and camped with 
 them. 
 
 He had one rather unpleasant experience 
 with Indians one day while riding alone across 
 the prairies. A band of mounted red-skins, 
 seeing him from afar, rode toward him at full 
 speed, shouting and brandishing their weapons 
 in a war-like manner. 
 
 He coolly dismounted and stood behind his 
 faithful horse, Manitou. When the warriors 
 came within rifle range Roosevelt lowered his 
 gun and aimed at the nearest rider. 
 
 At this the braves dropped to the opposite 
 sides of their ponies to avoid being shot, and 
 rode off, clinging with one leg to their horses. 
 
62 THEODORE ROOSEVELT. 
 
 When they had got some distance away, 
 Roosevelt saw them stop and confer together. 
 Then one of their number rode back alone, 
 waving a blanket by w^ay of a flag of truce, and 
 holding a paper out toward him in a friendly 
 manner, but he would not allow the Indian to 
 come near. 
 
 They would probably have been glad to take 
 his horse, possibly his scalp, could they have 
 done so without risk to themselves. But fail- 
 ing to frighten or to deceive the lone rider, 
 they let him go his way in peace. 
 
 In all the experiences of frontier life Mr. 
 Roosevelt proved himself to have much of the 
 Daniel Boone quality of staunchness. He 
 valued highly the manly virtues developed 
 by work and sport in this untamed country. 
 
 He wished more young men would take an 
 interest in wilderness life. He was president 
 and one of the prime movers in the Boone and 
 Crockett club, whose purpose was to rouse an 
 interest in exploration and in American game, 
 to gain and spread information concerning 
 game, to have good game laws passed and 
 enforced, and to protect the forests. 
 
THEODORE ROOSEVELT. 63 
 
 VII. 
 IMPORTANT OFFICES. 
 
 While Mr. Roosevelt was living in the West 
 he was not forgotten in New York. In 1886 
 the Democrats were driven to nominate a can- 
 didate for the mayoralty who would meet the 
 demands of the public for better government 
 and better city officers. 
 
 They selected A. S. Hewett, an able and 
 respected man. The selection met with so 
 much applause that the Republicans saw the 
 necessity of finding a candidate of stainless 
 record and acknowledged force of character to 
 run against him. 
 
 They nominated Theodore Roosevelt, then 
 only twenty-eight years old. He accepted the 
 party's nomination, saying that if he were 
 elected he would serve the Republican Party 
 by serving the city to the best of his abil- 
 ity. 
 
 The Labor Party put into the field as its 
 candidate Henry George, a man of such promi- 
 nence that his election was looked upon as 
 quite possible. Any one of the three candi- 
 
64 THEODORE ROOSEVELT. 
 
 dates was well worthy of the honor and the 
 responsibility, but Mr. Hewett had the support 
 of the strongest party organization in the city, 
 and naturally won the election. 
 
 Mr. Roosevelt's work as Assemblyman in 
 Albany had attracted wide-spread attention. 
 His candidacy for the mayorship of New York 
 brought him again before the public. His 
 efforts to secure honest legislation and civil- 
 service reform were being more and more 
 appreciated. 
 
 It is, therefore, not strange that in 1889 he 
 was appointed by President Harrison as a 
 member of the National Civil-Service Com- 
 mission. 
 
 He found that his new office called for 
 ceaseless watchfulness and great industry and 
 courage. 
 
 Civil-service offices had so long been treated 
 as party spoils that many took it as a matter 
 of course that when the Democratic Party came 
 into power all Republican employees in the 
 post-office, the custom house, or any depart- 
 ment of the civil service should be turned out 
 to make place for Democrats, and when the 
 
THEODORE ROOSEVELT. 65 
 
 Republican Party was reinstated there should 
 be a redistribution of the offices among Repub- 
 licans. 
 
 It is important to know what the political 
 views of one's Representative or Senator are, 
 as he must vote for one in Congress. But a 
 man's politics have nothing to do with his 
 being a good postmaster or mail clerk. 
 
 And Mr. Roosevelt and all advocates of 
 civil-service reform thought that the men best 
 able to do the work should be given such posi- 
 tions without respect to party, and that they 
 should be discharged only for good reason and 
 not because of a change in administration. 
 
 They wished to see the merit system estab- 
 lished for two reasons : First, because it would 
 give the nation better public service, since it 
 would prevent the employment of incompetent 
 men and would also prevent the confusion and 
 blundering that were sure to follow a complete 
 change in the working force of any department 
 of the civil service. 
 
 Secondly, because under the spoils system 
 public offices could be used as bribes to induce 
 men who wanted them to use their influence 
 
66 THEODORE ROOSEVELT. 
 
 and votes for the election of men from whom 
 they hoped to receive an appointment. 
 
 That the spoils system made it possible fo 
 use the taxes paid by the people for good 
 public service, to reward party "bosses," and 
 to corrupt voters was the greatest evil of the 
 system in Mr. Roosevelt's estimation. 
 
 Certain classes of public service were pro- 
 tected by the Civil-Service Law, which re- 
 quired that vacancies should be filled by those 
 who stood highest in competitive examinations 
 open to the public. The Commission had to 
 provide for the examinations and had to see 
 that the law was not evaded or violated. 
 
 Mr. Roosevelt found this no easy task. He 
 says that it was usually necessary to goad the 
 heads of departments continually to see that 
 they did not allow their subordinates to evade 
 the law, and that it was very difficult to get 
 either the President or the head of a depart- 
 ment to punish those subordinates who had 
 evaded it. 
 
 But he neither relaxed his watchfulness nor 
 shrank from an unpleasant duty, and was re- 
 markably successful in enforcing the law. 
 
THEODORE ROOSEVELT. 6/ 
 
 He not only sought to enforce the law, but 
 also to extend its application to additional 
 classes of service, and was instrumental in 
 bringing thousands of places under its pro- 
 vision. 
 
 So thorough and able was the work he did 
 as Civil-Service Commissioner that President 
 Harrison said, *' If he had no other record than 
 his service as an employee of the Civil-Service 
 Commission he would be deserving of the 
 nation's gratitude and confidence." 
 
 President Cleveland reappointed Mr. Roose- 
 velt, and accepted with regret his resignation 
 in May, 1895. 
 
 Mr. Roosevelt left one difficult task to per- 
 form one yet more difficult. He had been 
 made President of the Police Board of New 
 York city. The government of the city had 
 been lax, and the liquor law had been a source 
 of constant trouble. 
 
 If a law-breaking saloon-keeper had his 
 saloon open after hours or on Sunday, he was 
 sometimes visited by a policeman, a dishonest 
 one, — and there were a number of this kind on 
 the police force when Mr. Roosevelt was ap- 
 
68 THEODORE ROOSEVELT. 
 
 pointed President of the Police Board, — who 
 threatened to arrest him ; if, however, he paid 
 the officer Hberally, the arrest would not be 
 made. 
 
 Thus the law, instead of being enforced to 
 secure good government, was made to serve 
 as a device by which money could be extorted 
 from the law-breaking liquor-sellers. When 
 Mr. Roosevelt went into office, he declared 
 that he would enforce the law. 
 
 People said this could not be done : the 
 liquor law was too strict ; it had been framed 
 to please the impractical good, w^ithout any 
 idea of its being actually enforced. He re- 
 plied that he was not responsible for the law; 
 that his business was to enforce it, and not to 
 make or unmake the law^ He went to work 
 vigorously to improve the police force. 
 
 He dismissed a large number of policemen 
 and employed in their places men who had 
 physical strength, a reasonable degree of intel- 
 ligence, and a good moral character. 
 
 He made the entire force understand that 
 neglect of duty or acceptance of bribes from 
 dishonest saloon-keepers would not be toler- 
 
THEODORE ROOSEVELT. 69 
 
 ated. Not content with issuing orders based 
 on knowledge gained from others, he went in 
 person to see how his subordinates were doing 
 
 their duty. 
 
 Like General Grant, Mr. Roosevelt pos- 
 sessed the great and distinguished trait of 
 being ever present to stimulate, encourage, 
 and reward those who were anxious and quick 
 to excel in doing their duty, as well as to 
 punish those who were slack and inattentive 
 
 to their duties. 
 
 The two men, by their ever-present presence, 
 their fearless courage, and indomitable will set 
 an example which the men under their charge 
 were quick to notice and follow. 
 
 Many a policeman sleeping on his post was 
 roused in the middle of the night and opened 
 his eyes to find the President of the Board 
 smiling upon him with rather grim friendli- 
 ness. The new President's face soon became 
 known to the entire force, and his name made 
 the lazy, unpainstaking officer quake. 
 
 But most of the policemen were glad of the 
 change. It was less unbearable to be rebuked 
 for violation of the law than for obedience to 
 
yo THEODORE ROOSEVELT. 
 
 it, as had often happened in the days when the 
 offender, rather than the offense, was consid- 
 ered in the police court. 
 
 Then, too, while Mr. Roosevelt was severe 
 with neglect of duty, he was just, and was 
 ready to listen to every man's defense of him- 
 self. Furthermore, he was generous in his 
 acknowledgment of good service or personal 
 couraofe. He made the men feel that he was 
 greatly interested in their welfare, and that he 
 would do his very best for them. 
 
 Hitherto, if a policeman's uniform was soiled 
 or torn in making an arrest, the policeman had 
 to get a new one at his own expense. Mr. 
 Roosevelt saw that this requirement alone was 
 enough to discourage bold and aggressive 
 action on the part of the police when dealing 
 with desperate cases, and brought it about that 
 a uniform spoiled in public service was paid for 
 at the expense of the public. 
 
 The policemen soon learned that he would 
 stand by an officer who got into trouble 
 through the conscientious, fearless perform- 
 ance of his duty, but that he would not tol- 
 erate brutality on the part of an officer. Un- 
 
THEODORE ROOSEVELT. /I 
 
 necessary clubbing in making arrests or in 
 times of riot was stopped. 
 
 There were frequent conflicts between the 
 policemen and the strikers. 
 
 Mr. Roosevelt's official duty ended in seeing 
 that the police-officer prevented disorder, but 
 he was always ready to do more than the law 
 required. He called a meeting of the strikers 
 to see if they could not come to some under- 
 standing. His own direct, manly, determined 
 manner of addressing them won their respect 
 and applause, and he was able to do much to 
 prevent riot and blood-shed. 
 
 In a very short time Mr. Roosevelt worked 
 a complete reformation in the city police ser- 
 vice. The star on the blue coat of the officer 
 came to be regarded by evil-doers as the 
 emblem of punishment, and by the wronged 
 and helpless as the promise of help and pro- 
 tection. 
 
 The policemen caught something of the sol- 
 dierly spirit of Theodore Roosevelt, the Presi- 
 dent of the Hoard, something of his zeal for 
 work, and they made law and order prevail in 
 New York City. 
 
72 THEODORE ROOSEVELT. 
 
 VIII. 
 WAR THREATENS. 
 
 Mr. Roosevelt's life has been a continual 
 development. When he has accomplished one 
 difficult undertaking, he has not been satisfied 
 to rest with that, but he has been eager to press 
 forward to some new work that called into play 
 other energies than those already exercised. 
 
 When, therefore, in 1897, he was appointed 
 Assistant Secretary of the Navy, he returned to 
 Washington and took up the responsibilities 
 of that office with a high degree of satisfaction, 
 as the navy was to him an unexplored country. 
 
 His work brought him in touch with the 
 new President and the members of his cabinet. 
 He was especially glad to be again at the 
 national capital and in daily communication 
 with the men at the head of the Government, 
 because he felt that there was a strong possi- 
 bility that the United States would soon be 
 engaged in war w^ith Spain. 
 
 For our neighbors, the Cubans, were fight- 
 ing at our very doors against their Spanish 
 oppressors. The bravery and j)crsistence of 
 
THEODORE ROOSEVELT. 73 
 
 their struggle for freedom in the face of most 
 terrible suffering and discouragement roused 
 the sympathy of the American people. 
 
 Roosevelt was one of those who did not 
 wish to stop at sympathy. It is not his nature 
 to be a non-participant. He believed there 
 were circumstances that made war a duty, and 
 that now it was the duty of the strong nation 
 to help the weak, of the United States to step 
 in and by force of arms stop the cruel war by 
 which Spain sought to crush the starving 
 Cubans. 
 
 He would drive from American soil the flae 
 first planted in this hemisphere, that had once 
 stood for intelligent progress and civilization, 
 but that had become the emblem of unintelli- 
 gent tyranny and had forfeited its right to 
 wave in its ancient place. 
 
 He knew there were a great many who felt 
 just as he did. He believed the people, espe- 
 cially in the West, were ready for war. And 
 in case there should be war, the navy would 
 be a most important factor. 
 
 The seas must be crossed to reach the Span- 
 ish possessions and carry the war into the 
 
74 THEODORE ROOSEVELT. 
 
 enemy's country. The navy would be de- 
 pended upon to defend the thousands of miles 
 of United States sea-coast and the rich, unfor- 
 tified cities by the sea. 
 
 Mr. Roosevelt fully appreciated the import- 
 ance of his new office. With his usual enthu- 
 siasm he brought his talent for work to bear 
 upon naval affairs. Nothing seemed too dif- 
 ficult or complicated for his industry to com- 
 pass. No detail was too small to deserve his 
 attention. 
 
 His intelligence and energy soon made 
 themselves felt throughout the Department. 
 He sought information; he gave advice; he 
 made investigations ; he drew up a masterly 
 navy report — all with characteristic vim. 
 
 He despatched more business than two ordi- 
 nary men. It is said he rarely sat down. 
 Those who called at his office found his ante- 
 room full of men who had just seen him or 
 were waiting their turn for a few moments' 
 interview. 
 
 His waste-paper basket was piled high with 
 freshly discarded letters ; his desk was strewn 
 w^ith maps and documents ; he almost inva- 
 
THEODORE ROOSEVELT. 75 
 
 riably remained on his feet throughout an in- 
 terview, giving concentrated attention to each 
 matter that was brought under his considera- 
 tion. 
 
 It would not do for the Naval Department 
 to wait until war was actually declared. The 
 navy must be ready in case war should be 
 declared. Assistant Secretary Roosevelt had, 
 therefore, many important subjects to consider. 
 
 He had plans for forming a squadron of 
 war-ships and cruisers that they might practise 
 maneuvers together and become accustomed 
 to acting in concert; he had plans for coal- 
 ing the Asiatic Squadron, and for furnishing 
 extra transports and cruisers. He advocated 
 strengthening the navy and making the gun- 
 ners efficient throjagh target practice, even at a 
 cost that seemed to many extravagant. 
 
 His idea was to have the navy ready for 
 quick, decided action when the crisis came. 
 
 After business was over for the day he found 
 relaxation in the society of congenial friends. 
 He preferred, especially, the companionship of 
 those who, like himself, were eager for war with 
 Spain. 
 
'jd THEODORE ROOSEVELT. 
 
 Amone his friends there was one with whom 
 he had become acquainted only since his 
 appointment as Assistant Secretary of the 
 Navy, but for whom he felt a strong admira- 
 tion and affection. 
 
 This was Dr. Leonard Wood, an army sur- 
 geon who wore the Medal of Honor for his 
 courageous service in the campaign against 
 the Apache Indians. Concerning this friend. 
 President Roosevelt has written : 
 
 '' He combined, in a very high degree, the 
 qualities of entire manliness with entire up- 
 riofhtness and cleanliness of character. It was 
 a pleasure to deal with a man of high ideals, 
 who scorned everything mean and base and 
 who also possessed those robust and hardy 
 qualities of body and mind, for the lack of 
 which no merely negative virtue can ever 
 atone. He was by nature a soldier of the 
 highest type." 
 
 These two men had much in common : they 
 both loved courage, and action, and adventure, 
 and combat. They both possessed the phy- 
 sical qualities that make action and adventure 
 possible. Dr. Wood was one of the few army 
 
THEODORE ROOSEVELT. 7/ 
 
 men who had as great strength and endurance 
 as an Indian. 
 
 The two took long walks together in and 
 around Washington, or, like two college-boys, 
 kicked a foot-ball about some vacant lot. 
 They had many good talks together, and many 
 plans and schemes. Dr. Wood was at one 
 time eager to go on a relief expedition to 
 rescue the suffering gold-hunters in the Klon- 
 dike. 
 
 But the subject they returned to most fre- 
 quently was the possible war with Spain. 
 Both agreed that if war actually came, they 
 would go to the front. 
 
 During the winter General Young visited 
 Washington. He had been in command of 
 Yellowstone National Park, and Roosevelt, 
 as President of the Boone and Crockett Club, 
 had, therefore, come to know him quite well. 
 He, accordingly, invited him to take luncheon 
 with him at the Metropolitan Club. Dr. Wood 
 was also one of the guests. 
 
 As usual, the conversation turned to the 
 approaching war. Mr. Roosevelt and Dr. 
 Wood both asserted their intention to be at 
 
yS THEODORE ROOSEVELT. 
 
 the scene of action if hostilities actually broke 
 out. 
 
 *' Get into my brigade, if I have one," said 
 their guest, "and if there is any fighting, I'll 
 guarantee to show you some." 
 
 He kept his word. After the blowing up 
 of the American battleship ''Maine" in Cuban 
 waters, under circumstances indicating that 
 Spain was responsible for the disaster, war 
 was inevitable. 
 
 The President and Secretary Long both 
 urged Mr. Roosevelt to continue in the posi- 
 tion he filled so ably, but he was determined 
 to go to war and handed in his resignation. 
 
 When Congress authorized the raising of 
 three regiments of cavalry volunteers from 
 among the riflemen of the Great Plains and 
 the Rockies, Roosevelt was offered command 
 of one of the regiments. The offer was in a 
 way just what he wanted. 
 
 He was perfectly confident that in a month 
 he could learn what was needful. But time 
 was valuable ; he felt sure the war would be 
 of short duration, and he feared that while he 
 was learning what he ought to do, experienced 
 
THEODORE ROOSEVELT. "jg 
 
 officers would have their regiments ready and 
 would be sent to the front before him. 
 
 He, therefore, requested that his friend, Leon- 
 ard Wood, should be made colonel of the regi- 
 ment, and expressed his willingness to act as 
 Lieutenant-Colonel under him. 
 
 His request was granted, and he accepted a 
 commission as Lieutenant-Colonel of the First 
 United States Volunteer Cavalry. 
 
 When the regiment was mustered from the 
 western territories, General Young applied to 
 have it put in his brigade. 
 
 IX. 
 
 PREPARATIONS FOR WAR, 
 
 Lieutenant-Colonel Roosevelt's well- 
 known energy and perseverance gave assur- 
 ance that the regiment with which he had to 
 do would reach the front in time for the fight- 
 ing, even though the war should be a very 
 brief and successful one. Venturesome young 
 men from all over the country were, there- 
 fore, eager to join the First Regiment of Cav- 
 
8o THEODORE ROOSEVELT. 
 
 airy Volunteers, and many applicants had to 
 be refused. 
 
 While the troops were assembling at San 
 Antonio, Texas, Mr. Roosevelt was at Wash- 
 in^iton conferrino- with Government officials 
 and railroad men and doing all in his power 
 to obtain uniforms, saddles, and arms for his 
 regiment. 
 
 When at length he reached San Antonio, 
 he found among the motley crowd gathered 
 there many familiar faces. He was greeted by 
 men with whom he had hunted in the moun- 
 tains of the far Northwest ; there were cowboys 
 with whom he had ridden at spring round-ups ; 
 there was his own ranch partner, Ferguson. 
 There were miners, Indians, and cattlemen of 
 the southern plains whose names were known 
 all along the frontier. 
 
 A few^ men from the East had been allowed 
 to enlist. Among them were policemen who 
 had served under Roosevelt in New York; 
 there were men with whom he had studied at 
 Harvard; there were athletes whom he had 
 known as polo players, captains of crews, and 
 foot-ball elevens. 
 
THEODORE ROOSEVELT. 8 1 
 
 His spirits rose and his eyes brightened as 
 he surveyed the material from which he was 
 to make his famous regiment. Though their 
 lives had in many respects been widely differ- 
 ent, the men had much in common. They 
 were brave, high-spirited, and ambitious, eager 
 to face danger and win glory. They were 
 men of iron muscle and iron will. 
 
 They would not have to be seasoned to 
 endure scant rations and hard beds, nor to 
 shoot and ride. These things they knew 
 already. The question was, Would these in- 
 dependent, fiery spirited men be willing to 
 obey orders and conform to military usage — 
 would they who were used to command be 
 willing to serve in the ranks ? 
 
 Lieutenant-Colonel Roosevelt explained to 
 them that camp discipline was strict, that there 
 would be little chance for promotion, that most 
 of the work would be laborious and inglorious, 
 and advised them to withdraw before it was 
 too late unless they were willing to suffer 
 many hardships. 
 
 All were eager to go, however, on any 
 terms. Colonel Wood now gave his attention 
 
82 THEODORE ROOSEVELT. 
 
 to the proper equipment of the regiment, and 
 Lieutenant-Colonel Roosevelt took in charge 
 the drilling of the troops. He realized fully 
 the delicacy of his task. 
 
 Such men must be ruled with firmness but 
 with friendliness. They must be made to feel 
 confidence in the good sense and the good will 
 of their officers. 
 
 He followed a wise course : while firm and 
 exacting with reference to matters so important 
 as punctuality in guard duty, cleanliness, and 
 obedience, he treated with great patience any 
 unintentional violation of military etiquette. 
 Under this treatment the men showed surpris- 
 ing anxiety to deport themselves in the small- 
 est matters. 
 
 Considering the mixed multitude, life in the 
 hot and dusty camp passed with but little fric- 
 tion. A Harvard graduate cooked without 
 complaint for New Mexico cowboys. College- 
 boys and cowboys "messed and bunked" 
 together. Of course, the peculiarities of dif- 
 ferent regions gave rise to much good-natured 
 banter. 
 
 Nicknames were freely distributed — an eas- 
 
THEODORE ROOSEVELT. 83 
 
 terner, because of his fine manners and gen- 
 tlemanly ways, was called ''Tough Ike." A 
 cowboy who once remarked with evident pride 
 that he had an aunt who lived in the Metrop- 
 olis, New York, was ever afterward known as 
 ''Metropolitan Bill." 
 
 When it came to regimental drill, all were 
 in earnest and did their best. Most of them 
 were spare, erect fellows, with weather-beaten, 
 manly faces. The uniform— a flannel shirt, 
 kerchief, dust-colored hat, trousers, and leg- 
 gings — was well suited to them. 
 
 Their horses were wild, untrained creatures, 
 and the first drills were exciting and amusing ; 
 but in a short time Colonel Roosevelt had 
 reason to feel proud of his ''Rough Riders," 
 as the public named them. 
 
 When word came to advance to Tampa, 
 Florida, from which point the troops were to 
 embark, there was general rejoicing. Colonel 
 Roosevelt had charge of four divisions on the 
 
 journey. 
 
 He liked to see everything done in business- 
 like style, and to him the inadequacy of the 
 accommodations for transporting soldiers and 
 
84 THEODORE ROOSEVELT. 
 
 bag^g-aoie and horses seemed inexcusable. It 
 took the utmost effort on his part to secure 
 provisions and cars and to get them loaded. 
 
 The long journey was anything but pleas- 
 ant ; the weather was hot, the trains were 
 crowded, and the food and water were poor. 
 Colonel Roosevelt did what he could to 
 lighten the hardships of the journey, even 
 buying food for the men with his own money. 
 
 Wherever the train stopped, crowds of pa- 
 triotic southerners greeted the soldiers with 
 cheers and gifts of fruit and flowers. 
 
 At Tampa all was confusion ; fortunately, 
 the stay there was not long. The order to 
 embark, however, was not without disappoint- 
 ment for the Rough Riders. Only eight troops 
 of seventy men each were to be allowed to go, 
 and horses were to be left in America. 
 
 Colonel Roosevelt sympathized heartily with 
 the troopers that must stay, and did his best to 
 console them. 
 
 But as the regular troops were, naturally, to 
 be sent to the front before the volunteers, he 
 was glad to have even a portion of his regi- 
 ment allowed to go. He bent his energy to 
 
THEODORE ROOSEVELT. 85 
 
 securing a transport and getting his troops 
 aboard. For days the crowded troop-ships 
 lay in the harbor in the glare of the sun ; 
 but at length the welcome order to start 
 came. 
 
 On the evening of the thirteenth of June 
 over thirty troop-ships steamed out of Tampa 
 harbor, while people waved a farewell from the 
 shore, bands played, flags fluttered, and men 
 crowded to the railing or climbed into the 
 rigging to take what was for many their last 
 look at America. 
 
 Torpedo boats and ironclad war-ships 
 guarded the transports as they plowed their 
 way through the blue waters of the southern 
 sea to a destination unknown to the troops. 
 
 Although Colonel Roosevelt did not know 
 where the troops were to be landed, he felt 
 sure that an opportunity to meet the enemy 
 would be given them. 
 
 He kept the coming day of battle before the 
 minds of all as a goal most earnestly to be 
 desired, and made every one feel that to fail 
 to do his duty well in that hour of trial would 
 be a worse fate than death. 
 
S6 THEODORE ROOSEVELT. 
 
 He made close friendships with some of the 
 officers, and saw as much of the men as he 
 could. He found that in spite of the discom- 
 fort arising from the crowded condition of the 
 ship and the unpalatable rations the men were 
 making little complaint. 
 
 For most of the men from the West this was 
 their first voyage, their first sight of the ocean. 
 The endless expanse of undulating blue re- 
 minded them of the boundless plains where 
 the tall grass billowed all day in the rising 
 and falling wind. 
 
 Some sat silent and thought of the past or 
 dreamed of the future. Others told tales of 
 wild border life to groups of interested lis- 
 teners. 
 
 The monotony of the voyage was relieved 
 by the presence of so many other vessels. 
 The transports moved in long, parallel lines, 
 and the great guardian war-ships kept close 
 watch. If any strange craft came in sight, a 
 torpedo boat was sent darting away to discover 
 whether or not the new-comer could by any 
 possibility be a Spanish ship bent on mischief 
 
 In the evening, when the band played on 
 
THEODORE ROOSEVELT. 87 
 
 deck, it was pleasant to watch the boats Hght 
 up one after another, and to see the reflection 
 glow more and more brightly in the darkening 
 water, while the strange stars of the southern 
 cross burned ever brighter in the black sky. 
 
 On the morning of the twentieth all awoke 
 to find land near. As they looked at the 
 mountains of the Cuban coast looming high 
 and dark across the water, they knew that 
 Santiago was their destination. In the after- 
 noon they had a glimpse of Santiago Harbor 
 and the great, grim, gray war-ships that were 
 soon to play their brilliant part in the war. 
 
 On June the twenty-second the order for 
 landing the troops was given. The war-ships 
 shelled the quiet little Spanish village, Daiquin, 
 first, to drive away any Spaniards who might 
 be lingering there. 
 
 To land the men, horses, and provisions of 
 an army in the poor harbor where the surf was 
 heavy and the boats were few was a problem. 
 But Colonel Roosevelt, always on the alert, 
 displayed his usual push and promptness here. 
 
 While others were still wondering what to 
 do, he discovered an acquaintance, secured a 
 
88 THEODORE ROOSEVELT. 
 
 pilot, got his transport well in toward the land, 
 and his troops ashore. 
 
 They camped that night on a brush-covered 
 heath lying between a dense jungle and a 
 shallow, palm-bordered pool. They had no 
 tents and slept on the ground. But they felt 
 less need of shelter then than on the following 
 day, when they were obliged to make lodges 
 of palm leaves to protect themselves from the 
 tropical sun. 
 
 X. 
 
 IN CUBA. 
 
 The Rough Riders were soon given a taste 
 of fighting. Scarcely had they finished bring- 
 ing the baggage to camp when they received 
 the command to advance toward the Spanish 
 outposts. 
 
 Expecting resistance at Las Guasimas, where 
 the enemy held a ridge at the meeting of the 
 road and a hill trail. General Young divided 
 his troops, sending one division forward over 
 the road, and the other, in which the Rough 
 Riders were included, by the trail. 
 
THEODORE ROOSEVELT. 89 
 
 Now the Rough Riders had cause to wish 
 for their horses. Their hfe in the saddle had 
 not fitted them for. long marches on foot. The 
 tramp in the heat wearied them greatly. 
 Nevertheless, the march was continued until 
 lon^>- after dark, when at length the order to 
 
 halt came. 
 
 The men had hardly time to make their 
 fires, boil their coffee, and fry their pork before 
 a tropical rainstorm broke upon them. All- 
 officers and men — were drenched. Fortu- 
 nately, the rain did not last long. As soon as 
 it had passed, fires were again kindled and the 
 men gathered around them to dry their clothes 
 as best they could before they lay down to sleep. 
 
 At six o'clock the next day the Rough 
 Riders were again on the march. Colonel 
 Wood hurried them up a steep hill at a lively 
 pace. Some were so foot-sore and exhausted 
 that they were obliged to drop out of line. 
 The haste was necessary, however, if the 
 Rough Riders were to be on hand in time to 
 take part in the engagement. 
 
 After they reached the hilltop, where the 
 breeze blew and the walking was more easy, 
 
go THEODORE ROOSEVELT. 
 
 the march became less trying. The country 
 through which they passed was beautiful and 
 strange, with hills and mountains, noble palms, 
 and the gorgeous scarlet-flower tree. 
 
 The birds sang; the sky was a deep blue. 
 Colonel Roosevelt says that he felt more as if 
 he were going to hunt than to fight. But 
 before long he was aware that this was no 
 pleasure trip. 
 
 Where the trail led through a dense jungle, 
 bullets began to whizz over his head. Lieu- 
 tenant-Colonel Roosevelt had for his superior 
 officer on this day of his initiation in battle a 
 commander after his own heart — his friend, 
 Colonel Wood. Colonel Wood, w^hile always 
 careful to shield his men as much as possible, 
 was himself so fearless that he gave the sol- 
 diers courage. 
 
 He was cool-headed and commanding, as 
 well as brave. When the bullets bei^an to 
 strike the trees and the men began to dodge 
 and swear, he ordered sharply, " Stop swearing 
 and shoot!" and they obeyed. The skirmish 
 was an ugly one. An unseen enemy sent 
 against the Rough Riders a hail of bullets. 
 
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THEODORE ROOSEVELT. 9I 
 
 As the Spanish used smokeless powder, it 
 was impossible to see from where the attack 
 came. The trees were no protection, for the 
 Mauser bullets cut their way straight through 
 them. It was not only impossible to see the 
 enemy, but in the jungle it was impossible 
 for an officer to watch his own men or to 
 know what action his fellow-officers were 
 taking. 
 
 Colonel Roosevelt would have given much 
 to survey the field and so enable himself to 
 make an intelligent plan of attack. But he 
 had to content himself with the simple com- 
 mand, " Forward !" The dead and wounded 
 had to be left in the jungle. 
 
 The thought that the brave fellows might 
 become the prey of the great land-crabs and 
 vultures was horrible to him, but he allowed 
 no able-bodied man to linger in the rear. Set- 
 ting an example of courage, he urged on the 
 troops. 
 
 The Spaniards fled before the combined 
 attack of General Young and Colonel Wood, 
 leaving the Americans in possession of the 
 field and well on their way to Santiago. 
 
92 THEODORE ROOSEVELT. 
 
 During the battle thirty-four Rough Riders 
 were wounded and eight were killed. 
 
 The experience he gained at Las Guasimas 
 gave Lieutenant Roosevelt so much confidence 
 in himself that when General Youn^: became 
 ill and his responsibilities fell upon Colonel 
 Wood, Roosevelt was glad to take full com- 
 mand of the regiment. 
 
 On the twenty-fifth, camp was moved to a 
 marshy flat on the bank of a river, and a brief 
 but trying period of waiting followed. 
 
 The luggage was brought up from the coast, 
 but the tents were small protection against the 
 tropical downpours that deluged the camp 
 nearly every afternoon. 
 
 The weather was hot, and the food was not 
 suited to the climate. While the supply of 
 pork was always ample, the coffee always ran 
 short, and no vegetables were provided. 
 
 Colonel Roosevelt made up a pack train of 
 mules and officers' horses and went to the port, 
 where, by dint of perseverance, persuasion, and 
 commands, he succeeded in obtaining, at his 
 own expense, a store of beans and canned 
 tomatoes for the men of his regiment. 
 
THEODORE ROOSEVELT. 93 
 
 On the thirtieth of June camp was again 
 broken and the march toward Santiago was 
 resumed. Marching was particularly hard for 
 the Rough Riders. They were at the rear 
 of the line, and had to accommodate their 
 pace to that of the division in front of 
 them. 
 
 Whenever a halt was made, Colonel Roose- 
 velt ordered his men to loosen their packs and 
 lie down for a few moments' rest. When the 
 command to march came, all scrambled up and 
 pressed forward with good will. The arrange- 
 ments for the night were little more elaborate 
 than for -these brief naps. The men slept on 
 their arms, and were roused at dawn by the 
 booming of cannon. 
 
 The first hours of the conflict were hours 
 of trial to Colonel Roosevelt. He had been 
 ordered to lie in reserve, awaiting further 
 orders. The place assigned him was open to 
 the fire of the Spanish guns, and although he 
 did his best to get his troops sheltered, every 
 now and then a soldier was shot. 
 
 The inaction and continual fear of being 
 struck by the shells bursting overhead or 
 
94 THEODORE ROOSEVELT. 
 
 plowing up the ground were telling on the 
 nerves, courage, and spirits of the men. 
 
 He requested his orderly to go in search of 
 a general and ask permission to move into 
 action as his regiment was being badly cut 
 up. But the young fellow w^as shot as he 
 rose to obey. 
 
 After sending messenger after messenger in 
 search of his general he made up his mind to 
 act on his own responsibility, and " march 
 toward the guns"; but just at this moment 
 the order came, '* Move forward and support 
 the regulars in the assault on the hills in front." 
 
 As Colonel Roosevelt says, his " coveted 
 hour" had come. He sprang upon his horse 
 and rode about, trying to put some spirit into 
 the men, for many of them were qualmish and 
 afraid to rise. A bullet evidently intended for 
 the mounted colonel struck a soldier wdio re- 
 fused to rise, and, passing lengthwise through 
 his body, killed him. 
 
 When the men were on their feet and the 
 ranks formed, he pushed his way from line to 
 line, shouting, reprimanding, joking, until the 
 momentary panic was over and the men w^re 
 
THEODORE ROOSEVELT. 95 
 
 as eager for action and as fearless as their 
 commander. 
 
 When the Rough Riders had advanced to 
 the place where the soldiers of the First Regi- 
 ment of United States Infantry were lying 
 exposed to a fire they could not return, 
 Roosevelt rode up to one of the Captains in 
 the rear and said, '' My orders are to support 
 the regulars in the attack upon the hills. In 
 my judgment we cannot take the hills by firing 
 at them. We must rush them." 
 
 The Captain replied, '' My orders are to keep 
 my men where they are. I cannot charge 
 without orders." ''Then," said Roosevelt, 
 *' as your Colonel is not in sight, I am the 
 ranking officer here, and I give the order to 
 charge." The Captain hesitated to accept 
 orders contrary to those his own Colonel had 
 given him. 
 
 ''Very well," said Roosevelt, "if you are not 
 willing to advance, you will kindly let my men 
 through." And he rode on through the lines, 
 followed by the grinning Rough Riders, who 
 had been listening to the dialogue with keen 
 enjoyment. 
 
g6 THEODORE ROOSEVELT. 
 
 The regulars could not lie still and see the 
 volunteers pass them, so, jumping to their feet, 
 they joined the Rough Riders in their charge 
 up the hill. 
 
 At almost the same time other regiments 
 started forward, and there was a general 
 advance against the Spanish stronghold. 
 Colonel Roosevelt rode, now^ along the lines 
 to hurry on those in the rear, now at the head 
 of the regiment, waving his hat and cheering 
 on the men until, at length, coming to a wire 
 fence, he was obliged to dismount and turn 
 ''Texas," his horse, loose. Then, afoot, he 
 rushed on up the hill. 
 
 All was excitement. Every man's one wish 
 was to be the first to reach the top of the hill. 
 The deadly fire from the Spanish could check 
 the onward rush of those only who were actu- 
 ally struck by a bullet. 
 
 Having reached the crest of the hill, Roose- 
 velt saw, at his left, the infantry climbing the 
 hill to attack the San Juan block house. He 
 set his sharpshooters to firing at the men in 
 the trenches. The arrival of Lieutenant Par- 
 ker with the Catling guns, which quickly went 
 
THEODORE ROOSEVELT. 97 
 
 into action and did good service, was cheered 
 by the Americans. 
 
 As the infantry neared the top of the hill, 
 the Spaniards took to their heels. Seeing this, 
 Roosevelt shouted to his men, bidding them 
 follow him, and started to charge the next line 
 of entrenchments in front, from which the 
 Spanish were sending a rapid and well- 
 directed fire. 
 
 He leaped over a wire fence and started up 
 the hill at a run in the face of the fire. He 
 ran a hundred yards before he discovered that 
 he was followed by only five men. Two of 
 these were shot, and he rushed back, sum- 
 moning the Rough Riders and reprimanding 
 them for not supporting him. 
 
 In the excitement they had not heard or 
 seen their colonel, but their attention once 
 gained, they were eager to make up for their 
 delinquency, and when he started across the 
 field again, it was with a strong following. 
 By bold dashes the Americans drove the 
 Spanish from entrenchment to entrenchment 
 until they reached the heights overlooking 
 Santiago. 
 
98 THEODORE ROOSEVELT. 
 
 Colonel Roosevelt found himself the rank- 
 ing officer on the hill in the extreme front, 
 and so in command of those soldiers of the 
 six regiments that had kept pace with him. 
 The exposed position in which they stood 
 offered little shelter from the Spanish fire, but 
 Roosevelt had no thought of retreating or of 
 allowing any one else to do so. 
 
 Seeing that the colored infantrymen who 
 had been most courageous in the charge were 
 getting nervous and drifting to the rear under 
 pretense of finding their officers or helping the 
 wounded, he drew his revolver, saying he 
 would shoot the first man who attempted to 
 go to the rear. 
 
 He tells the story as follows: 
 
 " My own men had all sat up and were 
 watching my movements with the utmost 
 interest. I ended my statements to the col- 
 ored soldiers by saying : ' Now, I shall be very 
 sorry to hurt you, and you don't know whether 
 or not I will keep my word, but my men will 
 tell you that I always do,' whereupon my cow- 
 punchers, hunters, and miners solemnly nodded 
 their heads and commented in chorus, exactly 
 
THEODORE ROOSEVELT. 99 
 
 as if in comic opera, 'He always does; he 
 always does.' " 
 
 Later Colonel Roosevelt received orders not 
 to advance, but to hold the hill at any cost. 
 With only such food and blankets as they 
 found in the Spanish camp they passed the 
 night on the hill. 
 
 Until midnight most of the men worked, 
 throwing up trenches to shelter themselves 
 from the fire in front. Then, completely ex- 
 hausted, they slept in spite of cold and hunger. 
 
 The officers fared no better than the soldiers, 
 and these days of danger and hardship", shared 
 together on San Juan Hill, did much to endear 
 Colonel Roosevelt to his Rough Riders. 
 
 The men vied with one another to contrib- 
 ute to the comfort of the colonel who had 
 shown himself ready to suffer every privation 
 his men were called upon to endure. 
 
 When offered a dollar a piece for hard tack, 
 they would rather give any luxury that came 
 into their possession to him than to sell or keep 
 it. If a Rough Rider shot a guinea-hen, he 
 insisted on Roosevelt accepting it, and would 
 probably have been disappointed to learn that 
 
lOO THEODORE ROOSEVELT. 
 
 instead of eating it he sent it to the temporary 
 hospital for the wounded. 
 
 An ex-round-up cook who had found some 
 flour and sugar in the Spanish camp sent his 
 first batch of doughnuts to his colonel. 
 
 When the truce came, Colonel Roosevelt 
 again exerted his influence and spent his 
 money to see that the vegetables provided 
 only for the officers' mess made a part of 
 every soldier's rations. 
 
 He took pains also to get rice and appro- 
 priate food for those suffering from w^ounds 
 and illness. 
 
 In spite of hardships, it was not without a 
 sigh of regret that the Rough Riders reflected, 
 as they saw the American flag raised over San- 
 tiago, that fighting, in that neighborhood at 
 least, was over. 
 
 XL 
 
 AFTER THE WAR. 
 
 A HARDER trial than the fiery one of battle 
 was now in store for the United States troops 
 in Cuba. A period of inactivity and waiting 
 had come. 
 
THEODORE ROOSEVELT. lOI 
 
 After the siege of Santiago was ended the 
 cavalry and the artillery went into camp on the 
 foot-hills west of El Caney. The region was 
 beautiful. 
 
 The camp was situated near a clear stream ; 
 the lofty mountains rose against a sky of vivid 
 blue ; groves of graceful palms spreading their 
 glistening fronds of great green leaves, and 
 the scarlet-flower trees, with their brilliant blos- 
 soms, satisfied the eye. 
 
 But the soldiers soon learned that with all 
 the loveliness there was little enough of com- 
 fort. Nearly every afternoon a tropical rain- 
 storm burst upon the camp. Then the sun 
 shone with terrible heat upon the wet earth 
 and rank vegetation. 
 
 Midsummer in the tropics would have been 
 trying under any circumstances to men unused 
 to the climate. But the conditions of the en- 
 campment near El Caney were such as greatly 
 to increase the necessary discomforts. 
 
 In the blazing sun the tents were like ovens, 
 and afforded slight shelter from the storms. 
 The men had no cots, but slept on blankets on 
 the moist earth ; those who had lacked strength 
 
1 02 THE OD ORE R O OSE I EL T. 
 
 to carry their blankets and had dropped them 
 on the march were now obliged to sleep on the 
 bare earth unless some stronger trooper volun- 
 teered to cut his own blanket in two and share 
 it with the sick. 
 
 The uniforms were in rags and tatters ; the 
 food was heat-making and better suited for arc- 
 tic explorers than for inactive men in the tropics. 
 The soldiers had no means of boiling the un- 
 wholesome water they were obliged to drink. 
 
 Colonel Roosevelt was in command of the 
 Second Brigade of Cavalry. Although ex- 
 posed to the same discomforts and risks as the 
 others, he kept strong and well. His chief care 
 was for the comfort and safety of his men. He 
 could not bear to see the brave fellows who 
 had faced death on San Juan Hill now stricken 
 with wasting debilitating fever. 
 
 He did all he could for their welfare. He 
 saw to it that the camp was kept as clean as 
 possible ; he ordered the men to build little 
 bunks of poles to sleep on, that they might not 
 be obliged to lie on the wet ground. 
 
 At considerable expense and with great dif- 
 ficulty he procured for them coffee and vege- 
 
THEODORE ROOSEVELT. IO3 
 
 tables. He succeeded, too, in getting rice, 
 meal, and tea for the sick and the half sick who 
 would otherwise have had to eat bacon and 
 .hard tack. He tried to devise sports and to 
 plan expeditions to occupy their minds and 
 give them exercise. But he found that exer- 
 tion in the extreme heat greatly increased the 
 number of sick. 
 
 In spite of the utmost care he could not 
 ward off from his camp the malarial fever prev- 
 alent in the district. Many of the soldiers were 
 seriously ill with it, while others, spiritless and 
 miserable, managed to keep out of the hospital. 
 Only about 20 per cent of the once hale and 
 healthy Rough Riders were now sound and fit 
 for w^ork. Of their officers, only two escaped 
 without a day's illness ; one of these was 
 Colonel Roosevelt. 
 
 A few cases of yellow fever broke out among 
 the Cubans in one of the regiments, and sev- 
 eral United States soldiers were taken sick with 
 the deadly disease. People feared there would 
 be an epidemic, and said the troops must be 
 quarantined and not allowed to bring yellow 
 fever into the United States. 
 
I04 THEODORE ROOSEVELT. 
 
 At this juncture Major-General Shafter sum- 
 moned a meeting of all commanding and medi- 
 cal officers of the Fifth Army Corps at the 
 Governor's palace in Santiago De Cuba, for 
 the purpose of talking over the situation and 
 deciding what ought to be done. 
 
 A message from the Secretary of War ad- 
 vising the removal of the army to the interior 
 of the island was read. Colonel Roosevelt 
 heard the recommendation with great disfavor. 
 He saw no reason why the cavalry regiments 
 should stay in Cuba during the hot months, 
 and many good reasons why they should be 
 moved promptly to a cool, healthful place in 
 New England. 
 
 As seasoned troops were arriving to hold 
 Santiago, and as the cavalry brigade was not 
 to take part in the Porto Rico campaign, they 
 were not needed for military service. As there 
 were so far only a few cases of yellow fever, 
 and since there was no immediate danger of 
 an epidemic, there was no cause for excluding 
 them from United States territory. 
 
 If the regiments remained where they were, 
 many soldiers would die and the remainder 
 
THEODORE ROOSEVELT. IO5 
 
 would become so weakened by malaria that 
 they would not be ready for service in the fall. 
 Besides, to stay there would be to invite what 
 they so much feared — an epidemic of yellow 
 fever. 
 
 To follow the recommendations of the Sec- 
 retary of War was impossible for two reasons : 
 Colonel Roosevelt knew that the interior pla- 
 teau designated was the sugar-cane country, 
 where the rainfall was more abundant than 
 on the coast, where the rich, deep soil was cov- 
 ered with rank vegetation, and '' the guinea 
 grass grew higher than the head of a man on 
 horseback." It was not a fit place for a sum- 
 mer camp. 
 
 But even if the location had been desirable, 
 the army could not have reached it, as there 
 were no wagons and the men were unable to 
 walk. That Colonel Roosevelt was not alone 
 in this view was evident at the meeting. Obe- 
 dience is the cardinal military virtue. 
 
 It is the soldier's duty to execute and not to 
 question the orders of his superior officer. But 
 as each man was called upon to give his opin- 
 ion, it was clear that in this case all did ques- 
 
I06 THEODORE ROOSEVELT. 
 
 tion the wisdom of keeping the army in Cuba 
 any longer. 
 
 On going back to his camp, Colonel Roose- 
 velt wrote out his reasons for wishing the 
 immediate removal of the cavalry brigade from 
 Cuba. He read his statement to his fellow- 
 officers, made such corrections as they advised, 
 and sent it to General Shafter. 
 
 Thinking there should be some more gen- 
 eral protest against the wish of the Washing- 
 ton authorities, the other commanding officers 
 drew up a brief statement, which they all, in- 
 cluding Colonel Roosevelt, signed. 
 
 Roosevelt knew he would be criticised for 
 taking this initiative in this matter; that many 
 would say he was interfering with the business 
 of men who were quite able to manage their 
 own affairs. But his sense of duty to the men 
 under his command was stronger than his 
 sense of military etiquette. 
 
 He said: '* I write only because I cannot 
 see our men, who have fought so bravely and 
 who have endured extreme hardship and dan- 
 ger so uncomplainingly, go to destruction with- 
 out striving so far as lies in me to avert a 
 
THEODORE ROOSEVELT. 10/ 
 
 doom as fearful as it is unnecessary and un- 
 deserved." 
 
 The statements were made public, and pro- 
 duced immediate results. Three days later 
 orders came to have the troops in readiness to 
 embark, and on the sixth day of August the 
 Rough Riders left Cuba. 
 
 Colonel Roosevelt had charge of the trans- 
 port that carried the men. With his usual 
 decision he quelled a threatened mutiny among 
 the stokers. He put a stop to drinking, and 
 kept good order on the crowded decks. One of 
 the sick died during the voyage and was given 
 sea burial, covered with the stars and stripes. 
 
 The transport was bound for Long Island. 
 On the afternoon of the fourteenth it cast 
 anchor off Montauk. A gun-boat came out 
 to meet the transport and announced that the 
 war was over, and peace negotiations had been 
 commenced. 
 
 When they left Cuba they had hoped to 
 return in the autumn with the remainder of 
 their regiment and their horses, and share in 
 the campaign that would in all probability be 
 made against Havana. 
 
Io8 THEODORE ROOSEVELT. 
 
 The divided regiment of Rough Riders was 
 united at Montauk. The men who had stayed 
 at Tampa missed from the ranks many brave 
 fellows they had hoped to see. They found 
 the rest gaunt, haggard, and ragged, almost 
 past recognition. They, too, had had their 
 share of fever at Tampa. But in the bracing 
 air of Long Island the men soon regained their 
 health and good spirits. 
 
 The Rough Riders fared sumptuously now. 
 They had such luxuries as coffee, eggs, milk, 
 and fruit. They were glad to have their 
 horses once more, and looked forward to drill 
 with pleasure. In leisure hours they performed 
 many a daring feat of horsemanship, to the 
 wonder and envy of the other cavalry regi- 
 ments. 
 
 The regiment had some curious pets that 
 greatly diverted the men. One was a tame 
 mountain lion ; another an eagle ; so attached 
 was the bird to the regiment that it stayed 
 about the camp, though left at liberty to fly. 
 Besides these there were several stray small 
 boys that had been adopted by the regiment. 
 
 Colonel Roosevelt busied himself with field 
 
THEODORE ROOSEVELT. IO9 
 
 work. He did not care for the desk work of 
 army life, and the '' red tape" of the service 
 was somewhat a mystery to him. 
 
 He learned after the war was over that as 
 Colonel he had often, all unconsciously, over- 
 ridden rules, acting on his own responsibility 
 in awarding punishments and rewards where 
 the rules required the authority of a higher 
 officer. But his men had always accepted his 
 verdict as final, and had been more than con- 
 tent with his dispensation of justice. 
 
 One Sunday, before the troops were dis- 
 charged. Colonel Roosevelt rose after the 
 Chaplain had finished his sermon and made 
 a short address. He told the men how proud 
 he was of them : extolled their bravery and 
 endurance in generous and sincere terms, and 
 gave them some wholesome advice. 
 
 He reminded them that, however glorious 
 their record was, the world would scarcely 
 make heroes of them for more than ten days, 
 and urged them to return to work and again 
 become peaceful and useful citizens. 
 
 The "boys" thought that whatever the colo- 
 nel said or did was quite right, and they lis- 
 
I I O THE OD ORE R O OSE VEL T. 
 
 tened to his advice with willing minds. Every 
 one of them admired Colonel Theodore Roose- 
 velt, and felt that he w^ould be a better man for 
 having known him. 
 
 A few days later he was called from his tent 
 one bright afternoon to find his regiment 
 drawn up in a hollow square with the officers 
 in the middle. 
 
 As the colonel advanced with a questioning 
 look, one of the troopers stepped quickly for- 
 ward, and with words of gratitude and affec- 
 tion, on behalf of the regiment, presented 
 the colonel with Remington's bronze, ''The 
 Bronco-buster." 
 
 Colonel Roosevelt was deeply touched by 
 this appropriate tribute. It was with deep 
 feeling that he shook each manly fellow's hand 
 as all filed past to say good-by. 
 
 His interest in the Rough Riders did not 
 end with this farewell ; he has since sought to 
 know how each has taken up the duties of 
 peace, and has contrived to help those who 
 have suffered by reason of their four months' 
 service in the uniform of the United States 
 Volunteers 
 
THEODORE ROOSEVELT. Ill 
 
 XII. 
 GOVERNOR. 
 
 Theodore Roosevelt had not held a high 
 place in the army during the Spanish-American 
 War, but it is a good thing to be greater than 
 the office you hold. In this case the man, 
 rather than the rank, counted. Roosevelt has 
 a habit of making whatever he does a center 
 of interest, of doing whatever he does in a 
 way to make it important. 
 
 He went into the war a lieutenant-colonel ; 
 he came out the people's hero, sharing the 
 laurels with the great admirals of the navy. 
 Before the war he had done his share of the 
 management and handiwork. It was largely 
 because of his work as Assistant Secretary of 
 the Navy that the United States Navy was 
 ready for its brilliant victories. 
 
 During the war he had left the desk and the 
 officer's tent, and led the fight where the fire 
 was hottest. In this he had done nothing ex- 
 traordinary, nothing that another would not 
 have done gladly. In fact, that is just the 
 point. 
 
I 1 2 THE OD ORE R O OSE VEL T. 
 
 I 
 
 I 
 
 He had done exactly what the average 
 American citizen with like ability and oppor- 
 tunity would have done. He had done what 
 they all would have liked to do. He had real- 
 ized what was their ideal for themselves. And 
 they honored him abundantly for it. He was 
 their ideal, their typical American. 
 
 Everywhere his countrymen felt an almost 
 intimate friendliness and comradeship for the 
 man. They discarded the formal, and dignified 
 "Theodore," and spoke of him with affectionate 
 familiarity as "our Teddy." In no place was 
 the enthusiasm greater than where he was best 
 known — in his native State, New York. 
 
 The Governor of New York was a popular 
 and highly esteemed man. He had been 
 elected by a large majority, and his friends 
 looked forward with confidence to his re-elec- 
 tion. But the people of the State were deter- 
 mined to give the highest office they could 
 bestow to Roosevelt. He was plainly their 
 choice. 
 
 Many went to the Republican State Conven- 
 tion with the hope of nominating Governor 
 Black as the Republican candidate for governor. 
 
THE OD ORE R O OSE VEL T. I I 3 
 
 But it was soon evident that no candidate 
 could compete with the one of whom Hon. 
 Chauncey M. Depew said, in his nomination 
 speech : 
 
 '' In that hot and pest-cursed cHmate of 
 Cuba, officers had opportunities for protection 
 from miasma and fever which were not pos- 
 sible for the men. But the Rough Riders en- 
 dured no hardships nor dangers which were 
 not shared by their colonel. He helped them 
 dig the ditches ; he stood beside them in the 
 deadly dampness of the trenches. 
 
 *' No floored tent for him if his comrades 
 must sleep on the ground and under the sky. 
 In that world-famed charo^e of the RouMi 
 Riders through the hail of shot and up the 
 hill of San Juan their colonel was a hundred 
 feet in advance." 
 
 Seeing how matters stood. Governor Black's 
 friends decided to withdraw his name, and they 
 did it with a good grace. This is what their 
 spokesman said : 
 
 '' On behalf of Governor Black and on 
 behalf of every delegate who voted for him 
 in this convention I say we will stand by the 
 
I 1 4 THE ODORE R O OSE I EL T. 
 
 nomination of Colonel Roosevelt, as Colonel 
 Roosevelt has stood by the country. More than 
 that, we will take the executive chair for Colonel 
 Roosevelt as he took the height at San Juan." 
 
 The Republican candidate knew the needs 
 of his State ; he knew his own ability ; he 
 knew the difficulties, and decided that the 
 work of governor was exactly what he wanted 
 to do. Without false modesty, he took an ac- 
 tive part in the campaign and worked to secure 
 his own election. He was elected by a plural- 
 ity of about seventeen thousand. 
 
 With great zest the new governor took up 
 the work of his office. It was as if he were 
 now to have a chance to harvest the good seed 
 he had sown in the old days in the assembly. 
 
 The reform of the civil service, the appoint- 
 ment of men in State offices on the basis of 
 merit only, was still an unaccomplished ideal. 
 The Governor could do much to make it a 
 reality. 
 
 The investigation of tenement houses that 
 he had started had been carried forward, and 
 the time had come for effective legislation con- 
 cerning them. 
 
THEODORE ROOSEVELT. 1 15 
 
 The question of equalizing power and re- 
 sponsibility, the withdrawing of restraints that 
 checked men holding responsible positions in 
 their efforts to do their duty, had, you will re- 
 member, in the old days applied to the alder- 
 men's power to veto the mayor's appoint- 
 ments. Now the point at issue was to relieve 
 the President of the Board of Police of New 
 York City from paralyzing restrictions. 
 
 One of the great measures accomplished 
 during Governor Roosevelt's administration 
 was the enactment of a law taxing rich cor- 
 porations for the benefit of the State. 
 
 When he had been governor for one year 
 Mr. Roosevelt was invited to go to Chicago 
 to address the Hamilton Club in the Audi- 
 torium. When he reached the city, he was 
 welcomed by a delegation of influential citi- 
 zens. But seeing in the crowd a group of 
 men in Rough Rider uniforms, he ignored 
 his distinguished hosts for the moment, while 
 he greeted each of the ''boys" by name, and 
 asked them to call at his hotel. 
 
 They had come to the station counting on 
 friendly recognition, but they found " the Colo- 
 
I 1 6 THE ODORE RO OSE VEL T. 
 
 nel " even more "like himself" than they had 
 expected. 
 
 It was on this occasion, while a guest of the 
 Hamilton Club, that Air. Roosevelt delivered 
 his famous address on "The Strenuous Life." 
 He began with the follow-ing words : 
 
 " In speaking to you, men of the greatest 
 city of the West, men of the State wdiich 
 gave to the country Lincoln and Grant, men 
 who pre-eminently and distinctly embody all 
 that is most American in the American char- 
 acter, I wish to preach, not the doctrine of 
 ignoble ease, but the doctrine of the strenuous 
 life ; to preach that highest form of success 
 which comes, not to the man who desires mere 
 easy peace, but to the man who does not shrink 
 from danger, from hardships, or from bitter toil, 
 and who out of these wins the splendid ulti- 
 mate triumph. 
 
 " A life of ignoble ease, a life of that peace 
 which springs merely from lack either of desire 
 or of power to strive after great things, is as 
 little worthy of a nation as of an individual." ^ 
 
 It was a notable speech, and thoroughly 
 
 \ ^ From SlretiHous Life, iHibIi>lic(l l-y the Century Co., by permission. 
 
THEODORE ROOSEVELT. 11/ 
 
 characteristic of the man who uttered it. It 
 made a deep impression. 
 
 It was manifest from Governor Roosevelt's 
 Chicago visit that he was as popular in the 
 West as he was in the East. Many thought 
 he should be given a place on the National 
 Republican ticket. As President McKinley * 
 was the obvious candidate for the first place, 
 only the second place was available for 
 Governor Roosevelt. 
 
 I have said that Mr. Roosevelt liked to ad- 
 vance from difficulty to difficulty ; but he did 
 not like to leave one task for another before 
 he had completed the first. He felt that his 
 work as Governor of New York was incom- 
 plete. He had to struggle against the in- 
 fluence of machine politicians, and righting 
 wrongs and reforming political evils proved 
 to be slow w^ork. 
 
 He needed another term to finish what he 
 had set out to do. He hoped to be re-elected. 
 Besides, though there was greater prominence 
 attached to the Vice-Presidency of the United 
 States than to the Governorship of New York, 
 the first office was really of less importance 
 
I 1 8 THE OD ORE R OSE VEL T. 
 
 and did not call for nearly so much executive 
 ability and power as the second. 
 
 When he was consulted about the matter, 
 Mr. Roosevelt, therefore, refused to accept the 
 nomination to the Vice-Presidency. 
 
 At the Republican National Convention, 
 where the candidates were chosen. Governor 
 Roosevelt seconded the nomination of Presi- 
 dent McKinley with an eloquent speech. 
 After that matter had been settled a clamor 
 arose in the great Convention for Roosevelt 
 for the second place. 
 
 So unanimous and earnest was the demand 
 of the convention that he resolved to sacrifice 
 his own wishes to the welfare of his party and 
 of his country. He could not help being 
 aware of his own popularity and of knowing 
 that his name on the ticket would do much 
 toward securing the success of the Republican 
 Party in November. 
 
 Having taken the step, he put his best foot 
 forward to win the race, not so much for him- 
 self as for his party. He wanted to see the 
 policy of liis ])arty prevail. He was a most 
 popular campaign speaker. What he said was 
 
THEODORE ROOSEVELT. II9 
 
 direct and forcible. He gave people some- 
 thing to remember and to think about. 
 
 The campaign was a picturesque one. 
 Rough Rider uniforms played as prominent 
 a part in it as log-cabins had in the William 
 Henry Harrison campaign, or split rails in the 
 memorable campaign of i860. 
 
 After the inauguration, Mr. Roosevelt took 
 up the uncongenial duties of Vice-President 
 with the whole-heartedness of the man who, 
 having put his hand to the plow, does not look 
 back. 
 
 XIII. 
 THE PRESIDENT. 
 
 Mr. Roosevelt had been Vice-President 
 for only six months when he was called, by the 
 death of President McKinley, to fill a higher 
 place. 
 
 Tidings of the attempt on the President's 
 life reached Mr. Roosevelt at Isle La Motte, 
 near Burlington, Vermont. He had just fin- 
 ished making an address, when a message was 
 handed him telling him that the President of 
 
I20 THEODORE ROOSEVELT. 
 
 the United States had been shot by an assassin, 
 while holding a reception in the Temple of 
 Music, at the Pan-American Exposition in 
 Buffalo, New York, and that it was feared that 
 he would die. 
 
 Mr. Roosevelt left immediately for Buffalo. 
 There he found his friend the President rest- 
 ing so quietly that the physicians hoped he 
 might live. Days of doubt and intense anxiety 
 followed. Then the President's condition im- 
 proved so decidedly that all thought he was 
 out of dano^er. 
 
 Now that the crisis was passed, Mr. Roose- 
 velt realized how severe a nervous strain he 
 had been under w4iile the President's life hung 
 in the balance, and felt the need of Q-ettinof 
 away from the people and getting a little rest. 
 A little solitude and action would do him a 
 world of good. 
 
 With a mind at peace about the recovery of 
 the President, he, accordingly, went to the 
 Adirondacks for a few days' hunt in the heart 
 of the forest. From there he was arain sum- 
 moncd to Buffalo by the news of the Presi- 
 dent's death. 
 
THEODORE ROOSEVELT. 121 
 
 By special train he was hurried across the 
 State to the hushed city toward which the 
 nation's eyes were turned. 
 
 When the report of the great calamity had 
 spread over the country, some doubt and un- 
 certainty mingled with the grief of the people 
 whose wise and conservative chief had been 
 taken from them. There were men who ques- 
 tioned Mr. Roosevelt's fitness for the office. 
 
 Many who had perfect confidence in his high 
 purpose, his integrity, his business ability, and 
 his nobleness of character, feared that he was 
 too young, too independent of party, public 
 opinion, and counsel of any sort, to assume 
 power so vast and duties so delicate. But his 
 conduct soon put to rest all such fears. 
 
 After calling at the Milburn home where the 
 dead President lay, he was driven to the home 
 of Mr. Ansley Wilcox, whose guest he was to 
 be. Before getting into the carriage he dis- 
 missed the military escort that had been pro- 
 vided to guard him, and allowed only two 
 policemen to ride near the carriage. 
 
 On the fourteenth day of September, 1901, 
 the twenty-sixth President of the United States 
 
122 THEODORE ROOSEVELT. 
 
 took the oath of office. A small company 
 gathered to witness the ceremony in the library 
 of the Wilcox home. His inaugural address 
 was brief, but it contained exactly w^hat the 
 people wished to hear. 
 
 When asked by the Secretary of War to 
 take the oath, he said : '' I shall take the oath 
 of office in obedience to your request, sir, and 
 in doing so it shall be my aim to continue 
 absolutely unbroken the policy of President 
 McKinley, which has given peace, prosperity, 
 and honor to our beloved country." 
 
 Then with uplifted hand he repeated after 
 Judge Hazel of the United States District 
 Court the oath of office : 
 
 ** I do solemnly swear that I will faithfully 
 execute the office of President of the United 
 States, and will, to the best of my ability, pre- 
 serve, protect, and defend the Constitution of 
 the United States." 
 
 If the public needed any assurance of the 
 President's intention to keep his pledge to 
 continue unbroken the policy of his predeces- 
 sor, it was not wanting. The new President 
 requested the members of President McKin- 
 
THEODORE ROOSEVELT. I 23 
 
 ley's cabinet to keep their places during his 
 administration. 
 
 On the day of his inauguration President 
 Roosevelt issued the following proclamation : 
 
 '^A terrible bereavement has befallen our 
 people. The President of the United States 
 has been struck down, a crime committed not 
 only against the chief magistrate, but against 
 every law-abiding and liberty-loving citizen. 
 
 '' President McKinley crowned a life of 
 largest love for his fellow-men, of most ear- 
 nest endeavor for their welfare, by a death of 
 Christian fortitude, and both the way in which 
 he lived his life and the way in which in the 
 supreme hour of trial he met his death, will 
 remain forever a precious heritage of our 
 people. 
 
 '' It is meet that we as a nation express our 
 abiding love and reverence for his life, our 
 deep sorrow for his untimely death. Now, 
 therefore, I, Theodore Roosevelt, President 
 of the United States of America, do appoint 
 Thursday next, September nineteenth, the day 
 in which the body of the dead President will 
 be laid in its last earthly resting-place, a day 
 
124 THEODORE ROOSEVELT. 
 
 of mourning and prayer throughout the United 
 States. 
 
 *' I earnestly recommend all people to assem- 
 ble on that day in their respective places of 
 divine worship, there to bow down in submis- 
 sion to the will of Almighty God, and to pay 
 out of full hearts their homage of love and 
 reverence to the great and good President 
 whose death has smitten the nation with bitter 
 grief." 
 
 When people read these simple, noble words 
 they felt that the author of them was indeed a 
 safe man with whom to trust the welfare of the 
 nation. 
 
 The new President filled the public eye. As 
 a man he pleases the American people both in 
 his public and private life. Since he has gone 
 to the White House to live it seems less an 
 official mansion, more a home, than it usually 
 does. Mr. Roosevelt married again not long 
 after the death of his first wife. 
 
 Mrs. Roosevelt makes a much-admired host- 
 ess of the White House, and the large family 
 of children give the dignified old house a pleas- 
 antly home-Hke atmosphere. 
 
THEODORE ROOSEVELT. 12$ 
 
 In all social relations, from the simplest ones 
 of home to those of a formal diplomatic char- 
 acter, President Roosevelt is peculiarly genuine 
 and ingratiating. Whether romping with his 
 children at his summer home at Oyster Bay, 
 or entertaining a prince at Washington, he is 
 every inch a man. 
 
 In public affairs, although essentially carry- 
 ing out the policy of President McKinley, 
 Theodore Roosevelt could not fail to make 
 his own strong personality felt in innumerable 
 
 ways. 
 
 He could never be classed among the " timid 
 good," ''who," he says, ''form a most useless 
 as well as a most despicable portion of the 
 community." 
 
 Fearless of criticism, anxious to make full 
 and right use of the incidental as well as the 
 official power of his position, he decided in the 
 winter of 1902-1903 to do what he could to 
 put an end to the great coal-strike that was 
 causing wide-spread suffering. 
 
 He invited the representatives of the striking 
 miners and of the coal-mine owners to a con- 
 ference. They were not bound to obey his 
 
126 THEODORE ROOSEVELT. 
 
 summons, but they could not well refuse to do 
 so. The effect of his humane interference was 
 to brine the strike to a close. 
 
 He is broadly tolerant by nature and train- 
 ing, and is quite quick to recognize worth out- 
 side of the beaten paths. An educated man 
 and an able and interesting writer, he is never 
 a carping critic, but is generously appreciative 
 of literary merit, and does not limit his praise 
 to the work that is receiving the applause of 
 the hour. 
 
 Having found the red man a true and loyal 
 guide in the western mountains, having seen 
 the black man valiant under fire, he cannot 
 understand the spirit of those who refuse to 
 shake hands with a man unless his skin is 
 white. He realizes that he is the president 
 of all classes of citizens, black and white, rich 
 and poor. 
 
 His sound sense, broad humanity, and per- 
 fect impartiality have won confidence and made 
 friends for him everywhere. 
 
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