The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1907-06-03
Roosevelt as a Rider.

l a
Capt. Seth Bullock. who has refused
thousand times to tell just how he
happened to become such close
friend Of President Roosevelt. decided
recently to relate the semi-historical
narrative for which he has been I'M
portuned so often. One OF the rea-
sons he has never told the story Of
his early intimacy with the president
Is because he thought the president
could tell it so much better, but the
president always said it was Bullock's
story, to be told whenever Bullock got
ready to do So
Consequently. while many fugitive
references have been made to their
frontier friendship. the advantage at
which that friendship was born is re-
lated for the first time below:
II was sheriff OF the county where
President Roosevelt established his
cattle ranch six miles from the pres
ent town of Medom. My headquarters
We're at one of my ranches usually
This was only 1875 miles away, and
III those days that was pretty near be-
ing neighbOrs. often thought | would
ride over and see the New York ten
derfoot who had gone into the cattle
business as fad. That is what we
thought 1t was then, but later on we
came to know the Diamond Bar brand
as one OF the most practical in the
country and its owner the most prac-
teal young cattleman in the entire re-
gion. His Harvard diploma and Man
hattanism were Slightly against him
when he first came there, but the
boys soon got used to this and found
a Nl-nC r0t 1,Ss
tie business he tried to learn like
devotee tries to learn the Scriptures.
No one was too humble for him to
learn from and
None Too High I'm
about this time cattle rustlers were
making 1t mighty hazardous to raise
cattle in my part Of the country. For
some reason they did not modest the
Roosevelt ranch. and l understood
that the rustlers had an understand
ing with some ranchmen who moved
away about the time the president
came in. Knowing this. l was afraid
l could not count on the aid of the
new man and his crew. because it
was unlikely he would be willing to
incur the enmity of rustlers who were
not injuring him. Abstract justice was
not so much respected then as it is
now, so could not believe the new
conner would be of any aid to me.
With a small posse we got on the
trail of some cattle rustlers and they
headed straight for the Roosevelt
ranch. We chased them two days and
then they separated. We were about
forty miles from the Roosevelt ranch,
and, having lost the trail of the rust
lers. l took two of the posse and de-
termined to ride on to the Roosevelt
ranch. The balance. of the posse 1
sent back home.
This Introduction accomplished, we
all felt better and we accepted his
invitation to stay at his ranch The
next day he went with us to look for
the rustlers. but We did not find them.
The young easterner seemed much dis
appointed at not meeting up with
them, for he told me they had taken
a steer that was intended to furnish
beef for the ranch, being fatter than
any of the other cattle
I'VE talked it over that night when
our host had left us for the night and
concluded he
Had Not Been Properly Initiated
in the wests so the day before we
intended to leave one of my boys in
duced him to mount one of the COW
ponies we had brought with us. The
conspirators the day before had found
a rough section of country where cou-
lees were numerous. We set out to
ride across the prairie upon the pre-
text of hunting coyotes and looking
for rustlers, but our real purpose was
to ascertain ii the tenderfoot could
stay in the saddle when the pony
wheeled suddenly.
THE man in the lead would ride
straight up to the coulee and then
wheel his horse almost at right
angle. The other ponies trained to
rope cattle would follow the first pony
without any guidance. 1t takes an
experienced rider to remain in the
saddle when the sharp swerve is made
so Unexpectedly. 1t was dangerous
sport. but in those days it took
spice of danger to add zest to any
thing of the kind. Young Roosevelt
did not fall off, but he had to grab
leather every once in while. and by
the time We got back to the ranch
we knew he had more than suspi-
ciOn We had been trying to have fun
with him. That night he told us a
yarn about one OF the men having
seen cattle rustlers in one of the cou-
lees where We had ridden that very
day. He suggested that such brave
men as we were would not think of
returning and leaving the Roosevelt
ranch at the mercy of this terrible
rustler. There was a distinct note of
sarcasm in his talk, and we might have
known he was Matching a plot and
inventing fictitious rustler as part
of the scheme to keep us over another
day.
AT breakfast he led the talk about
the chance of capturing the rustler.
When we were getting ready one of
the horse kranglers brought out three
grays which our host told US were so
much faster than the ordinary cayuse
that they would enable US to overtake
the rustler in few miles chase. We
demurred little. but when he asked
US If we were afraid they were not
broke gentle we said no more, but
threw our Mexican saddles on the
grays. Our host rode one, rode an
other and the fellow who had put up
the job of the day before rode the
third This time the ranchman rode in
front, and he set up pretty fast pace.
We did not suspect what was up. how
ever, until we got near to the first
cOulee. which was about fifty feet
deep. We saw the leader spur his
mount q little and when we thought 1t
was a sort of a child's play to try to