The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1901-09-26

have run. That would have been unex-
pected and the surprise would have dis
concerted him. But no one did. Whit
he had expected happened. Some men
had been sent in advance, and they got
it, That first volley sounded like the
crackle of brushwood fire greatly mag
nified While the soldiers were jumping
to their feet and orders were being rap
idly given strange metomorphosis oc-
CURED in the expression of Roosevelt's
face. He was no longer nervous. He
became 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 we'll 1t was a strange
example of the nervousness that will
come with expectation and the tremen-
dous self-control which may belong to
the strong man with the coming of real
ization.
KINDNESS TO THE WOUNDED.
Later during the day another phase of
RooSevelts character showed. A num-
Der of wounded men were lying under a
big tree. The group constituted the So
called "field hospital was one of the
victims. Roosevelt came along and he
was infinitely tender and kind. The men
worshiped him. He went among us as
we lay there on blankets in the damp,
sweet-smelling grass and gave US lit
tie Scotch whiskey which he had in
medicine bottle. For every man he had
pleasant word and he knew each ones
name. His sympathetic syllables We're
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 US.
To several men he paid more attention.
The hospital corps was overworked and
vol ac tol
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 it that it was filed and as the
little group of dead men on the knoll
grew, certainly no face showed more real
distress than his.
One Illustration of that composure
which came to him at the first firing at
trected my attention during the fight.
He was tired and leaned against small
palm tree. Three times, while he stood
there, this tree was hit, and once his
eyes We're filed with dust driven out by
the impact of the bullet. But he did not
change his position.
And that was the man under fire,
INAUGURATED GOVERNOR
When he was inaugurated governor of
interesting because it 1aeAed the element
of chance. The ceremony was arranged
beforehand, and he expected everything
that appened-except one thing Sew
eral days before the formal Inauguration
he had taken the oath of office The
function in the big room there in New
York states elephantlne capitol was
purely formal. but up over the band in
the gallery and half behind pillar there
was small boy who was not The back
ground of the ladies' gowns and the Off
GERS uniforms in that great chamber at
Albany was more varied but less impress
sive than had been the somber green of
the Cuban jungle Roosevelt's black
brown uniform had on the other occasion
l was too badly crippled to get through
the crowd and close to him. But it
would have been difficult not to notice
that youngster up in the gallery The
small boy was almost reproduction of
the man who was being inaugurated gov
ernor of the richest state in Union He
had the same big eyes covered with enor-
nous glasses like those the new official
wore-and always wIl--his teeth were
like those of the distinguished man be-
low, and when he cried out three
cheers" and gave them. he bit the words
off, exactly as his father does, with
snaps. 1t was Theodore Roosevelt jr.
His father waved his hand at him and
grinned. He was thinking more of the
small boy just then than he was of being
governor there is no doubt of that
RECEIVING THE NEWS.
When the governor received the news
that he had been elected vice president
of the United States there was one detail
of the episode which reminded me of that
other one in Albany. Again minor mat
ter took his mind off the great things
that We're happening. He was not the
kind of candidate who has special wires
put into his house so that he may get
the election news earlier than it goes to
the people. Instead of doing that he had
his telephone disconnected the night be-
fore the election, When election day
came ne had no means of receiving any
news whatever unless he went to get it,
or some one took it to him. He did not
go to get it, and L was lucky enough to
be one of two men to take it to him.
The other was a New York newspaper
man in whom the governor had conf
dence.
The governors house was three miles
from the village of Oyster Bay, where
the newspaper men had gathered. Our
news came to US by telephone from our
offices in New York. We had hoped great
things of the telegraph, but they did not
An operator looked too long
upon something or another when it was
red-or brown-and the result was tele-
graphic chaos, and, I think the calaboose
for him. At any rate we could neither
send nor receive news by telegraph.
When we were told. at ten minutes
after 10, that the result was assured, that
there was no doubt of the election of the
republican ticket. and that the democrat
ic managers had given up the fight, we
drove out to the governors house. 1t
was long drive in the dark, and 1 re-
member that it was much colder than /
had expected it to me. I had taken no
overeoat with me. I borrowed coach
mans coat from the livery stable.
GREATLY RELIEVED.
Every window in the house was bril-