The sun., 1900-08-19
RANCHMEN ALL LIKED HIM.
REASONS FOR ROOSEvELTS POPU-
LARITY IN THE FAR WEST.
He HAD naniiae.s, Nerve ana Tact. hnd Easily
Conquered the Prejudice Against Tender
f,st"-Hls IIfe on the western Plains.
Ern.n tha Ch,cnno Record


also many warm friends among the hunters
and guides In the Big Horn Basin, Jackson's 8
Hole and the Yellowstone Park, where he has
hunted big game Most OF his hunting has
been dono IN the had Lands OF the Little Missourt
River the AIauvalse Terres. as the early French
yoyageurs termed them great areas OF clay
through which the floods of past ages hsve
washed out labyrlnths OF cafons. some OF thnn
500 and 900 feet deep, miniatures OF tho Grand
Canon Of the Colorado and the canon OF ts
Yellowstone repeated tho usand times.
There has always been good shooting In
the Bad Lands They wero the winter fesd-
ing grounds for big game and tho best sheNer
from storms 10 DO found In this part OF Tho
country. II was cosy 10 approach the ANIMALS
and Il was dim cult for them TO escape, 40 That
they have nearly all been killed on. For Tnle-
ontolosists the Bad Lands are the most at
tractive fold Of labor on the entire globe NO
other spot has received 90 much scierdihc
attention. and the result has been the discovery
Of remarkable fossil remains OF fishes and AMI
mails now extinct which were buried under
thi, clay ages ago-fossilI CT fishes from SiS
10 thirty-sir inches long not Ia bc found else
where and great variety Ct fossilized Hni-
mails generally OF the tertiary poriod OF geology
The camel, rhinoceros and the hippopotamus
lived here once and the tarlr was abundant
although neither has been known 10 tho hnerl-
can continent sInoo it, discovery by man. 1he
most valuable fossils, however represent
extinct mammals saurians from hity 10
100 feet in length and different examples OF
the brontotheridsl family which have hevor
been found elsewhere. complete skeleton
OF q hll-Rrown specimen can be seen In the
Peabody museum at Harvard. and resembles
a buffalo as big as an elephant. The sroaller
ones are not lees than twelve feet long and
nine feet high Another remarkable animal
called the oreodon used TO travel In droyes
throughout the Bad lands. and thIeo-toed
horse with hoois like deer. There was also
q lion a. large as the South African species
and a strange animal called the dinoceras
with four horns on mis- skull.
But Goy. Roosevelt took more interest In
mountain sheep, elk and antelope than no dld
n the fossilized remains OF prehistoric animal
life, and spent the greater part Of several years
enjoying sport which he has himself described |
In his charming books.
Roosevelt was no tsnderfooL not even |
when ho III ~ came ou; here, said Billy Roier. |
the most famous q uide In the Yellowstone Park, |
Inc man VINO had charge VI lhs hunler caOIn |
on the " wooded Island at the World Far, and |
whose Chief business ID 70 eaton Wlld aLllnaIs
all the grit any one needs. was hunting bls
game with MIN down ia tho Big Horn Idte one
IAN Goaunaod bIiy. '~Whon WeH we We were were over, @
been ouJ In the weather all my lie and am ABOUT
as tough as they make en-, but that was about
the worst storm that ever caught mo on an
open range and no shelter Tor eighty uulas
We wer9 travelling light too, We dlda have
nothing but our BLANKETS and soiIo cold pork
ana biscuits in our gruU bags, and didn have
no chance TO make coffee. | thought ROose- |
welt would be pretty much used up. could
have Dried like "A girl my sell, but he meyer Act
on that he was hungry or cold Or but what he
was a. comfortable as II he had boen In the
Capitol at Albany; and what made ii worse
beast anyhow and the weather gave him tac
tantrums. You seq II In horses that way some
times. They sort Of blame You, for What they
sufor from the storm and cold and oct con-
s0ne morning while wa we're starting out
and threw Roosevelt three times The last
time the Governor struck on his hand and
throwed his thumb out Of Joint. III, -,
You better c..Ingo horses with me, Alr.
"'No, billy, by, Godfrey says he, pulling
teeth as big as gravesones; i've started out
To teach this oritisr who Is MASTER says Le,
and I'm not man TO throw up good job.
All Of Reosevelts ranching was done in the
vicinity VI MedOrs, which from lssO 20 1850
was the lveiest and rOug cattle town IN
tho United States. but ths business has under
gone a complete revolution. the wire fence
has shut out the fesllte cowboy. Tancn!ng has
lost its romanoo and Is II commonplace bust
Msdosa owes its existencs to tho mistaken
enterprise Of the MARQUIS lie Mores, a frencn
nobleman who Wa GIterwMd killed BY the
savages In South Africa, and was named IA
honor Of his wife, who was daughter OF Baron
city. The Marquis. who wa 4. Idan OF fer,lle
imagination and unuring energy, conceived
on the range and slip the curcasscs IN retriger-
ator cars 20 market instead OF ssen5lng the
cattle Last by cars. and IL cost him UPWARD Of
$4,000 TO ind out the contrary. lie erected
a complete sRughfering establishment at No
dora. with ali the convenience tina ingenuity |
aui experience could coUuiye, ana purchased
oses. His vast establishment remains empty
ana useless. Ills residence, which Ia On5 Of
Inc finest in North Dal,Ota, is IA charge Of a
CaTetaAer. ne proI Crty /, iur sale. out there
are no purchasers.
The only men in Medore who were hero in
Rooseveits yne are the terrls brothers, SyI-
Nanus and Joe, tho best-known rdnChtnen in |
this locality,whose reputation extends ali over
tho Northwest. Joe Is poStmaster, keeps a
big store. and enjoys the unique di,tinCtion |
of being tho only Mayor AClOII ever had.
tie has served In that once continuously for
Ino,sly reelected. Sometimes a few votes
are cast against him tor 4 Joke, does store |
lnen and cowboys n the Little Missouri country
ana may be considered tho contrc OF cIvlUla-
uon in this section.
snd was RooseveIts tutor IN the sc.cAoe ai
cow-punchnS lie Is a man OF euuCauon,
with n know ledge Ul the world.
There iSn much TO tell. said he ia reply !
10 my inquiries Roosevelt was IAnChing
here ior several ye9rs spending evoiy season
with US aud dulI.a his share Oi the ranch and |
range work like the rest Of the men. / cannot |
remember any paLucular Incidents that ara
worth repeating. Those | have seen published
In the papers since he was nominated Tor \ ice
President are not true. At leaSl thpy did not
happen u HIM while he was IN this part of tho
country, although II was easy TO sec nom To |
local color and the names that are USED that
they were written by people familiar with |
fairs In Medora. II he had haen a different
sort OF a mana dude. or q fool or a tender
foot-there would. doubtless, have been in
terestfng stories to tel about hun, bur he was
just an ordinary, everyday Cvwp,lnchrr IlEo |
myself, He asked no favors and he rot none
There was prejudice against him al frst.
as there always is among the COvh ,yg aCsln,i |
city men. but whom they sav that he could
ride bronco and shoot and ropo a steer as
well as any or them, and had no notions az |
putting on airs they began 10 hko him, and |
he soon settled down into the routine with
them os II he had never done anything eks
IN his life. Cowboys are quick OF perCrpt,ou.
they have keen Judgment, and size up a man
protty quick and pretty accurately. When they
see an honest, genuine. brave gentleman they
reoornize him and respect him and Weld 10
hls Influence very readily, and that is the way
they sized up Roosevelt. Tie didn't nut on |
any airs; he took care Of his own string Of |
horses; he slept under the same blankets with
the men re ate on a tin plate from a wooden |
mess chest and sat down on tha ground be-
tween the cactus burs beside them: he rode