Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1902-09-05
ROOSEVELT'S OLD GUIDE
Bill Sewall's Story of the Presi-
dents Camping Days.
DECLARES he WAS CLEAR GRIT

How m. Took the Chief Magistrate
I'm Hand Tventy-hye Years Ago 10
Rough II In the Woods = Adven-
ture. In the had Lands.
Bill Sewall. the Aroostook Planta-
ton postmaster, guide and woodsman,
who was the honored guest OF Presi-
dent Roosevelt at Bangor, Me-. the
other day, says the New York Jour
nal. has had a long and peculiar ac-
qualntance with the president
IF you want to ask me anything
I about Colonel Roosevelt, you can just
/ 20 ahead, for I'm never tired OF prais-
/ ing him-my best friend and the truest
friend a man ever had" said Bill
| Sewall. 81 know him, for / have eaten
with him and slept under the same
blanket with him. They say that TO
know much about a man you must
know him in that way.
Il told him when he was only
| eighteen years old that he'd sit in the
| White House some day. Something
told me that he would, and you see it
| has turned out true. He used to laugh
at me. He never wanted to be in pub
/ lie life then.
How did come to meet Roosevelt?
! Well, 1t must he some twenty-five
/ years ago that his cousins, DR.. j. West
| Roosevelt and W. L. Roosevelt, the
/ banker. used to come here (BangorD to
hunt in the fall. Once they told me
that they were going TO invite u young
relative of theirs up here.
They said his name was Teddy
Roosevelt and that he was college
student They cautioned me about
him, saying he was gritty, head
strong youngster, who had more sand
in his crop than he had strength, and
they wanted me to take the best care
Of him.
We'll. he came. He was a pale,
rather delicate young man of about
! eighteen, but the toughest boy phys
ically and the greatest mentally that |
ever met. lie took the greatest inter
est I'm the woods and never complained
of being tired, although | knew many
a time that lie was hardly able TO drag
himself home after long tramp.
THAT boy would never give up. He'd
always take the biggest end of the
stick. too, and many time | was
afraid he'd collapse on me, but he
would cheer right up and say he was
as fresh as a daisy. Talk about grit!
He was all grit.
He came year after year. and we
went out into the woods. Among Others
he met Bill Dow, the fairest and squar-
est man that ever lived and the best
shot in Aroostook county. We were
together on Roosevelts ranch out in the
Bad Lands. and it was toss up who
was foreman-Bill or n1self.
"When Roosevelt started out on his
new career. he didn't forget us and
asked Bill and me to go out TO his
ranch in Dakota.
The ranch was located on the Little
Missouri. about thirty miles from Me
dora. on the Northern Pacific. Medora
was named after the wife of the Mar.
quis de MoreS, and the marquis owned
the lands on both sides of the Roose-
welt ranch. Two of our men, named
Reilly and O'Donnell, were told by the
marquis that they were encroaching
on his land. One day these two men
were fired upon from ambush. Reilly
being killed and O'Donnell crippled for
life. The marquis was arrested and
tried for the murder of Reilly, but his
money saved him from the gallows.
"Soon after this Bill and were mott
fed that if we didn't get east, where we
belonged, our bones would be found on
the ranch, and the life of Roosevelt
also was threatened. The De Mores
crowd claimed that we were on theil
land.
"A man named Paddock was De
Mores' right hand man, and he made
the open threat that he would shoot
Colonel Roosevelt on sight Roosevelt
was in New York at the time, but the
day he got back to the ranch and heard
what had been going on he mounted
his horse and hunted up Paddock and
said
81 understand you have threatened
to kill me on sight. have come over tc
see when you want to begin the killing
and to inform you that if you have
anything to say against me now is tn.
time to say it
Paddock turned pale and suffered
out something about it being all mis-
take; that he had never made any sucl
threats. He made all sorts of apologies
and then Roosevelt rode back to his
ranch. The marquis sent letter say
ing that the colonel had influenced one
of the witnesses against him in tn,
murder trial and declaring that be
tween gentlemen such differences couIf
be settled in but one way, meaning. O,
course, by a duel. Mr.. Roosevelt sale
to me:
Bill, I'll just write to the MARQUIS
saying that | have not done ANYTHING
to injure him, but if his letter is mean,
as challenge and he insists upon hay
ing satisfaction | will meet him witt
rifles at ten PAGES, both to fire until on,
drops
Il was Mortified and said that suct
q fight meant certain death for one OF
hnN hut IxSfL