The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1901-03-04
STRENUOUS MOMENTS.
ROOSEVELT AS HE APPEA AIRED At
THREE CRISES.

! Was steady nS Rock, Though
While waiting for the Fighting ca
Begin His Nerves Were PaIpabIS
RacISed--TheOdOre, Jr,, and the In
augurntion of Roosevelt as Gov
crnor of New YOrk-The Election
Day That Made Him Vice PrcSI-
dcnt-Thnt Evening Tie Discon-
nected His Telephone at oyster
Nay, ana Got HIs First Definite
pOrters.
Copyright 1901. by Edward Marshall.
New York, March Theodore Roose-
velts latest book is called Tho strenu-
Gus Life" lie is the man to write such
a book, for his own life is 1itly described
by the adjective. 1t has been my good
luck to have seen him during three of
his most strenuous moments.
When he was first under fire in war
fare.
When he was inaugurated Governor of
| New York state.
When he received the news Of his cleo
ton to the vice presidency.
|
of New York daily and learned that
the Rough Riders were to go to the front
the day after / landed. ! also learned
through the horrihedly profano remarks
of an officer that Lieut. Col. Roosevelt
had no saddle, although he had horse.
/ had no horse, but had several saddles.
1t was my privilege to send a saddle to
/ 4
since. Perhaps that may have had its
effect on the fact that was permitted TO
go to the front with the regiment and
be present at its first fight. At any rate,
| l went
1t occurred the next morning.
| There were only a few men who know
just when we would be fired upon.
had shrewd guess OF It. and OF course,
the Colonel did also. Certain signs-a
dead Cuban and some abandoned camp
fires-were salient. We found these signs,
but for a while there was no shooting.
| Col Roosevelt stood in a breach In a
| barbed wire fence ! was lying In the
grove on the other side of the trail, rest
ing, as | watched him. The temperature
was above 100 degrees. No one knew just
what was coming, but we were all walt
ing for something 10 break loose.
/ have never seen man more appar'
entity erve-racked than Roosevelt was.
showed on his face, and in every motor
of his body He twtched. His khaki
clad figure had for its background tht
superb green of an almost impenetrablt
| Cuban jungle. The trail was narrow
Evidently 1t had been used for years
merely as a bride path. Back of us for a
long distance 1t was filled with the sol
| diers from the West, most of them ly-
ing down as | was, because of the awful
heat and the effects of the hard march
They did moi know. l had been told, but
scarcely believed It. Roosevelt knew, and
realized.
AS | have said he was extremely ner-
vous. lie was not frightened, but every
fibre In his body was tense from excite
ment He was waiting for the crack OF
Mauser rifles. If anything else had come
| IL is hard to figure out what he would
have done j earnestly believe If some
one had got behind him and said "BooE
he would have jumped and might have
run. That would have been unexpected
| and the surprise would have disconnected
him But no one did. What he had ex-
| pected happened. Some men had been
sent in advance and they got It," That
first volley sounded like the crackle Of a
brush-wood fire greatly magnhed. While
the soldiers were jumping to their feet
| and orders were being rapidly given a
strange metamorphosis occurred In the
expression on Roosevelts face. He was
| no longer nervous. He became as calm as
any man ever was, in combat, with the
| first song of the first bullets. He led his
men into that jungle and he led them
| well. It was strange example of the
| nervousness that will come with expec-
tation and the tremendous self-control
which may belong to the strong man with
the coming OF realization.
Later, during that day. another phase
| of Roosevelt's character showed. A
number of wounded men were lying under
a big tree. The group constituted the so
called field hospital" l was one of the
victims Roosevelt came around. and he
was infinitely tender and kind. The men
worshipped him. He went among us as
we lay there on blankets in the damp
| sweet smelling grass and gave us a lit
tie Scotch whisky which he had in a
medicine bottle. For every man he had a
pleasant word, and he knew each ones
| name. His sympathetic syllables were
| cut off as closely by those characteristic
teeth as were the words OF his railroad
car speeches during the recent campaign
but they meant a lot to u.s.
To several men he paid more attention
! The hospital corps was overworked and
Roosevelt as web as Col. Wood, went
among us, Strengthening the blanket OF
this man and rearranging the cartridge
belt on which another rested his head
| When he found an empty canteen he saw
| to Il that IL was filled, and az the little
group Of dead men on the knoll grew
| certainly no face showed more real dis.
tress than his
one illustration Of that composure
which came to him at the first firing at
tracted my attention during the fight. lie
| was tired and leaned against a
| small palm tree. Three times, while
he stood there, this tree was hit and
once his eyes were filled with dust driver
out by the impact of the bullet. But ht
| did not change his position.
And that was the man under fire!
When he was inaugurated Governor o.
New York state, the episode was less In.
teresting because It lacked the element o.
forehand and he expected everything
that happened--except one thing Severa
days before the formal Inauguration hs
had taken the oath OF office. The func,
/ ton In the big room there In New Yorl
states elephantine capitol was purely
formal. but up over the band IN the gal
/ lory and half behind "A Pillar. there was q
| small boy who was not. The backgrouna
OF the ladies' gowns and the officers uni
| forms In that great chamber in Albany
was more varied, but less impressive thar
/ had been the sombre green of the Cuban
/ Jungle Rooseyelts black frock coat
/ stood out as wildly as his brown uniform
! had on the other occasion. ! WAS toe
{ baafv cliupiod 10 get through the crow