The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1898-05-28

tenant Colonel Roosevelt. The men
selected for this important command
were subjected to the most rigid ply
steal examination, and are thoroughly
trained and disciplined in all the re-
quisites of good soldiers. 1t is the in
tention and the determination Of the
organizers Of this troop to make it the
model cavalry regiment Of the present
generation.
1t would be difficult to state what
prompted Lieutenant Colonel Roosevelt
to select this method of serving his
country. His early training on the
frontier and his subsequent experience
in the various positions he has so ably
filled probably influenced him to take
this avenue to demonstrate his patriot
ism and his devotion to the Stars and
Stripes. The thought of entering the
army had not dawned on him when he
entered the Navy Department as AS
sistant Secretary under Secretary
Long.
In organizing the Mounted Rifle
Rangers he desired to be in a position
to demonstrate to his countrymen that
he ia as ready to fight as he is to talk.
The men who will rally around his
standard must be sound in body, able
and willing to fight, and obey orders.
No man was enlisted in this command
unless he was prepared to endure hard
ships and subject himself to the sever
est discipline necessary to perfect
military organization. Including Of
ficers and men, the complement of the
regiment is $50.
Colonel Leonard Wood went into the
army in 1885. His home was Boston.
He reached the fort in Arizona which
was to be his headquarters at seven
o'clock one evening in June, 1885. The
next morning at four o'clock he was
in the field. That was the beginning
of the Apache campaign. From then
until March, 1887, the troops were in
the field, and during that time Colonel
Wood was with them, making three
long trips into Mexico, two of them
more than two thousand miles in
length. The first two years of his
duty in Arizona he was under Crook,
and was in the field almost continual
ly.
In the Geronimo campaign under
Miles he was in command of infantry
for a considerable part of the. time, and
also of scouts.
1t was during portion of this cam
paign, when the heat in the Southwest
was so terrific that the men Travelled
in their underclothes, and all the Off
GERS except Wood and one other broke
down, that he found himself at the
head of portion of the army. Dur
ing this time he and his men covered
fifteen hundred miles on foot and about
one thousand miles on horseback.
About three weeks after this trip
had been completed five of the Indians
who had been captured escaped. Wood
took eight picked men and started af-
ter them. He and his little command
were gone four months before they re-
turned with their Indians. The search
carried them into the heart of Mexico.
Wood had an active part in the Kidd
outbreak in 1888. He remained in
Arizona that year and the next, and
then was transferred to California for
four years, and was at the Sierra Ne
vada camp. After that he was two
years at Fort Mcpherson, Atlanta, and
then came to Washington as a men,
her of General Miles personal staff.
Wood is the sort of man who might
be termed IAN all around sport" of the
right sort. He is an adept at all ath-
letic games and when stationed in the
South not only played football himself
but coached some Of the crack South.
ern college teams. He is a natural
shot, one Of the best on the frontier
at the time he was there. ,.