The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1904-06-15

| hccOFus
From the New York Sun.
Adjt. Gen. Sherman Bell of the Ma
| tional Guard of the state of Colorado
represents the modern type of the
man. killing Western sheriff of the last
generation.
| He is a young man. He does not
! look more than 80. If he would let
his hair grow long and crop it off
around his collar he might sit as a
model for a painting of one of the
| younger Puritans who came over in the
Mayflower.
His face is as hard and cold as the
gray stone sides of one of his own
familiar rocky mountain cliffs. He has
"a clear, resonant voice. but when there
| Is trouble in the air it goes lower and
lower in tone, until it is hardly louder
than a whisper; but that voice always
| reaches every man whom Bell intends
his words to reach
Gen. Bell first became known to fame
as one of the First Volunteer Cavalry
better known as Roosevelt's Rough
Riders. He went in as a private.
His absolute fool bravery, his I'M
breakabl veneration for discipline, and
the red glare that came into his eye
when he had cause for excitement
caught the attention of his company
officers, and they spoke of him to Col
Roosevelt. His commander found in
him all the qualities of the Westerners
of whom he had written with enthu-
siastic appreciation. Bell was made d
lieutenant.
When the Spanish War volunteers
were mustered out at Camp Wikoff
Col Roosevelt started on his campaign
for the GoVernorship of this sta te. It
VIII be remembered that all through
that campaign he was accompanied by
number of the officers and men of
his regiment, who not only made
speeches for him but constituted them
selves a guard of honor about his per-
son. The most conspicuous of these
was Sherman Bell.
People who were much with Mr..
Roosevelt during that campaign learn
ed to like Sherman Bell and to be
afraid of him at the same time. The
concentration of personal dignity-en-
tirely different from anything like the
big head-was SO remarkable in him
that it was almost fierceness.
He could laugh as quickly and as
long over good joke as anybody, but
If he didn't happen to see the Joke.
or if 1T impressed him as a reflection
on himself or "the Colonel" there was
murder in his eye.
Bells story, as told at that time,
was that he had gone into the Rough
Riders from Cripple Creek, where he
had been a Deputy Sheriff in the days
When Cripple Creek was a new camp.
He had given up great honor in his
own country and no little opportunity
for material riches in order to get in
to the war. He was the son of fairly
well-to-do parents living in Colorado
Springs.
After Mr.. Roosevelt was elected
Governor, Bell went back to Colorado
Mr.. Roosevelt always kept a rather
close track of him. THE Rough Rid
ers," Mr.. Roosevelt's history of his
regiment, mentions Bells name again
and again as one of those who was
nearest to his commanders heart.
Word came back from Colorado that
Bell was prospecting. His clear head
edness and his determination made
friends for him among the mining men
of Colorado, and he acquired several
valuable properties and disposed of
them advantageously.
When Mr.. Roosevelt, as candidate
for the vice presidency, visited Colo
RADIO in 1900, one of the first men TO
greet him at the state line was Sher-
man Bell, mine owner. 1t will be re-
membered that at Victor Gov. Roose-
welt was mobbed by a drunken horde
of former Occur d'Alene miners after
he had spoken in the Victor town hall.
Mr.. Roosevelt said then to those about
him that his principal reason for fear
in that distressing hour was that Sher-
man Bell would begin killing people.
The mob followed the Governor to his
special train. Bell, climbing aboard the
rear platform of Mr.. Roosevelt's car,
pushed the candidate inside and turned
toward the stone throwers and the
hooters. Mr.. Roosevelt came out of the
door and pushed Bell aside.
Meantime bricl1bats and decayed
fruit were making marks all over the
end of the car. Sherman Bell grabbed
Mr.. Roosevelt and threw him back into
the car by main force.
I'm going to kill somebody in A min
ute" he said with cold, sweet smile.
Lieutenant" the Governor of New
York shouted in his sharpest military
tone, "how dare you treat your superior
officer this way! Go into that car and
leave me alone out here"
The words caught Bell just in time.
He saluted gravely, said. Beg pardon,
COLONEL" and went back into the car.
The train pulled out without bloodshed
There was a journey of twenty min
utes or more to Cripple Greek. 1t was
reported that the Victor mob was going
to Cripple Creek by trolley to renew its
attack.
Bell organized a posse of his former
Rough Rider and deputy sheriff COM
rades who were on the Roosevelt train
They were as deadly looking a crew, as.
il was ever the fortune of the Sun man
present to look upon. This is what Bell
said @
Have you fellers got your guns on?
Now don't say Yes but take EN- out
and look at EN- and make sure they are
loaded (Pause.) All right Now we
are going TO form hollow square about
the Colonel when he gets off the train
and stay with him until he comes back
IF any of those yellow -- yell at
him and you can reach 'em without
breaking the square, hit 'em. If any
one of 'em reaches out for him, or lifts
a hand to throw stone or raises a
club, why, shoot. And when you shoot,
kill"
An Eastern person ventured to re-
mark that bloodshed under those orders
would make very unfavorable impress
- 3 q N Il s Is y