The Billings gazette. [volume] (Billings, Mont.) 1896-1919, 1902-08-26
ROOSEVELT DOES NOT FORGET
coWBoY FRIENDS.
HEART IS WITH The WEST
Former Range Companion Visits Pres
ident to Present Grievance-His
Mission Highly Successful.
From Fridays Daily Gazette.

From Fridays Daily Gazette.
Only the soberness of added years
and the dignity which comes to ma
turer manhood make Theodore
Roosevelt, president of the United
States, in any way different from
Theodore Roosevelt the ranchman and
cowboy. His personality has not
changed and the high honors which
the nation has heaped on him since
then have not worked the great
change in him that one would reason
ably expect. He is still the same
plain, u~nassuming, cordial and hearty
man he was during the days when he
rode the range and still retains the
same bluff, open-hearted manners that
made him popular with the men with
whom he shared the dangers and hard
ships incident to the early times of
the cattle industry in the northwest.
He is as glad to see his former com
panions of the prairie as he was when
he ate porcine bosom and flap jacks
with them out of the same frying
pan. At least SO one of the boys who
was a sharer Of those times and who
but lately visited him at Oyster Bay
found him. The only difference was
in the matter of approach and this
difference was lone of the presidents
making. Official custom and regard
for the personal safety of the ma
tons executive have hedged him
with a certain amount of exclusive
ness, but even this can be easily over
come when it is shown that the call
er is entitled to an audience.
w. B. Sleeper of Wyoming, who
went east last month to see the pres
ident to present resolutions adopted
by the stockmen Of Big Horn county
in regard to the extension of the Ma
tional Park forest reserve, is in the
city visiting relatives. Mr.. Sleeper
the presentation because of his form
er acquaintance with the president,
having been n of the men who rode
with him when he was a cowboy over
on the Little Missouri. OF his call
and reception Mr.. Sleeper has much
that is entertaining to tell.
On the day of his arrival at Oyster
Bay Mr.. Sleeper was informed that
the president was taking his rest and
could not then be seen. His private
secretary, Cortelyou, was absent and
Mr.. Sleeper saw another gentleman
in his place. To him he said he had
travelled several thousand miles to
see Roosevelt and the matter of his
visit was important. That evening he
was notified that the president would
see him the next forenoon, the hour
being named.
At the appointed time he was at
Sycamore hill and was ushered into
the presidents library, where ne
spent an hour or more talking. over
the object of his visit and the on
ulLAOA VI dlldulo WIlCu Adu leu W IuC
meeting and adoption of the resolu-
lions Mr.. Sleeper had come to- pre-.
sent. He was cordially received and
not all the talk that passed between
them was confined to the matter
which had brought them together. A
little time was found for interchange
of "reminiscences and the old days
were gone w again. I
The resolutions which Mr.. Sleeper
presented requested the president to
suspend action in the matter of the
the removal of all livestock from the
extension of the National park forest
eserve. The petitioners prayed for
a suspension of 80 days, but the pres
ident said he would do even better,
and Immediately notified by wire the
acting secretary of the interior to
take no further action to keep stock
from the reserve this year, thus sus
pending the removal order until the
first of next January. The president
also suggested hat it would be we'll
for the people Of Big Horn county
and those of other parts of the state
affected by the proclamation to have
the Wyoming congressional delegation
take the matter up at the next ses-
sion of congress with a view to Sc
curing relief fer the grazing interests
of that section. He said he was anxi-
GUS to save the timber and game of
the country, but was also just as anxi-
Gus to guard the interests of the graz
ers. To Mr.. Sleeper he declared that
it was his purpose to eliminate from
all forest reserves such localities as
yer not really forest lands and
wherever he found that lands more