Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1901-09-19

y
May 6, 1898. His appointment as lieu
tenant colonel of First regiment, United
States volunteer cavalry, is dated May
s, 1898.
ORGANIZING ROUGH RIDERS.
The body of men of which Colonel
Roosevelt took command was one Of
the most remarkable even enlisted in
any country. 1t was chosen from some
$500 applicants and numbered about
900. The plains gave it its largest
membership, and the name under
which it soon came to be known was
the rough riders.
DR.. Leonard Wood, U. S. A, close
personal friend of Mr.. Roosevelt and
his companion on many hunting trips,
was, like himself, an ardent admirer of
the fearless and sterling characters so
often found among the cowboys of the
American cattle ranges. When war
was an assured fact, these two men
conceived the idea of recruiting regi-
ment from among the ranks of these
plainsmen. Both were known through
famous Of the frontiersmen, and the
project met with instant and enthu-
siastic favor in a thousand ranches.
Cowboys, dead shots, perfect horse
men, who did not know what fear or
fatigue meant, fiocked to the standard
raised by Wood and Roosevelt, and
there eventually gathered at Tampa a
body of men than whom it would be
hard to find any more perfectly fitted
for such war as the conflict with Spain
in the jungles of Cuba assured. Old
Indian fighters were there by the score,
and there were even six full blooded
Indians among the enlisted men.
The first fight of the rough riders
took place in the advance from Dali
quiri toward Santiago. They were sent
out on hill trail to attack the position
of the Spaniards who blocked the road
to the town. The Spanish occupied
ridges opposite to those along which
the trail used by the rough riders led,
and fierce fight took place in the jun
gle. The Spanish had smokeless pow
der, and it was almost impossible to
locate them in the underbrush. The
rough riders behaved with great gal
lantry and took the position occupied
by the enemy, but not without consid-
cradle loss.
For distinguished gallantry in this ac
ton Lieutenant Colonel Roosevelt was
promoted to be colonel July II, 1898.
The place of this engagement is called
Las Guasimas, "the thorns," from the
large number of trees of that species
found there. The rough riders in this
action acted in concert with other at
lacking forces composing the vanguard
of the army. Several days after this
General Young was taken with fever,
and Colonel Wood taking command of
the brigade, Colonel Roosevelt became
commanding officer of the regiment.
In this capacity he commanded the
rough riders In the battle of San Juan,
where they wlthstood a heavy fire for
q long time, and finally, when ordered
to advance. made a gallant charge, cap
turing two of the hills occupied by the
enemy.
The rough riders, with their colonel,
returned to Camp Wikoff, at the north
ern extremity Of Long Island, in late
August and on Sept. Is, 1898, were
mustered out Of the service with Colo
mel Roosevelt.
PERSONAL SIDE OF ROOSEVELT.
OF his own quality of Americanism
he has given this glimpse in one of his
works:
81 have no wish to excuse or hide
our faults, for l hold that it is often
the best American who strives hardest
to correct American shortcomings.
Nevertheless l am just as little dispos-
ed to give way to undue pessimism as
to undue and arrogant optimism. In
speaking Of my own countrymen there
is one point upon which | wish to lay
special stress. That Is the necessity
for feeling of broad, radical, intense
Americanism if good work is to be
done in any direction. Above all, the
one essential for success in every po-
1itical movement which is to do lasting
good is that our citizens should act as
Americans, not as Americans with q
prefix and qualifications-not as Irish
Americans, German-Americans, native
Americans-but as Americans pure and
simple. In short, tie most i'm
portant lesson taught by the history Of
New York city is the lesson of Ameri-
canism, the lesson that he among us
who wishes to win honor in our life
and to play his part honestly and man
fully must be indeed an American in
spirit and purpose, in heart and thought
and deed"
President Roosevelt has strong
views, but he does not force them up
on others. He is devoted to his wife
and children, and his home is an ex-
ceptionally happy one.
This home is large country mansion
Of three stories and thirty rooms. In
old Dutch style, it has towering gables
and enormous chimneys. 1t rests like
a crown on Sycamore hill, which on
every side slopes away to Oyster bay,
on the Long Island coast. The Roose-
welt property occupies peninsula, and
the occupants of the house have q
oNSCp4hS WV VI t1iS WdLGIS VI lllC
sound on three sides of 1t and the green
country at its rear. 1t is an ideal place
for statesman, q thinker or a man
who wishes merely to rest.
In his sanctum at the top of his
house Colonel Roosevelt has immense
piles of books on hunting the big game
in Africa and the East Indies, but the
things Of which he is proudest are his
guns. His private library numbers
5000 volumes. He has the finest col
lection of books on big game to be
found in this country. Roosevelt be-
comes fluent when among his books
and eloquent when among his guns.
This is the kind of man President
Roosevelt is. And he will be the same
man in the White House as he was in
Oyster Bay or in Albany. student, a
reformer, fighter and thoroughly
American.
Advice From Way Up.
Understand me-" said the balloon to
the parachute, 81 wouldn't for the
world encourage drinking habits in the
young and innocent, but at the same
time | don't think drop would hurt