The Dickinson press., 1915-12-18
THE ROOSEVELT CABN
81 the PRESS:

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Editor Of the PRESS:
While conversing with some gentle
men recently the subject Of the
Roosevelt Cabin" was touched on
and it was saia rnat the cabin was
now the property Of the State His
storical Society. This idea is errone-
GUS.
The facts are, that the cabin was
purchased by the worlds fair COM!
mission and exhibited at st. Louis
and Portland. It was erected, and
shown as it appeared on the range.
at Chimney Butte ranch south Of,
EMedora. 4@
The cabin was taken down and ex-i
hibited under the supervision of the
Commissioner of Agriculture and
Labor who was at that time r. j..
Turner of Gladstone, Stark County.
The cabin was, beside being ex-
hibited at the two mentioned places,
erected at Fargo during the state
fair. The cabin is not in the custody
of the Historical Society but is the
property Of the state and stands on
the west side Of the avenue to the
Capitol. The statute Of heroic size
cast in bronze. of the woman Sakaka-
lwea with her infant son on her
shoulder, stands on the east side of
the Capitol building. This statue was
achieved BY the efforts Of a coterie Of
women, headed by Mrs. Amidon, wife
Eof Judge Charles Amidon, Of the u.
rs. Circuit Court.
It may be. said: that the logs that
compose the cabin are said to have
been railway ties that were cut double
length by Bly, and Thomson, railway
| contractors near the old logging camp
in 1880. Certainly the attempt to
run ties cut in that manner after the
fashion Of logging in the lumber
woods Of the east proved abortive
and many were lost through the
cratic action$o Of the Little Missouri
river and it is probable that stranded
ties were found on the shoals Of the
river south Of Pyramid Park
I(Medora) and converted to Mr..
Roosevelt's use for a. cabin. 1t is a
fact%that the logs are exactly the
length Of two railway ties.
When last / saw the cabin in 1914
some vanda1s had extracted from the
cIlu u I1IS 4OS, WAlSIS seASy Adu DScll
placed when the cabin was standing
on it's original site at Chimney Butte,
some Of the cartridge shells that had
formed the brand 1.-THE Maltese
Cross" judged that the shells had
been 45-120 center fire swell bodied,
by the look Of the butts, however,
that is only guess-work and they
might have been 45-60's just as well.
While on the subject I might say
that q few years ago Mr.. Peterson OF
IMedora, now of Dickinson, asked me
by letter if / would like to become
the custodian of Col. Roosevelt's
rocking chair and I responded with an
affirmative. answer. So a little later
I was in receipt Of the old relic Of
the happy days of Chimney Butte
ranch. The chair is woefully decrepi
and I have thought some times tina
Iwould rejuvinate it a little, but thel
the thought occurs that it's what
is, simply arctic and the hard usag,
that it has had is simply part Of tn!
game that has been played through
out the vest SssS
] Col. Roosevelt came west in Sep
. tember,s18S3, on 81 hunting tripgWit
!. Joseph Ferris. On September Tt
/ sc that wear Mr. Roosevelt Killed hi
first buffalo On that trip he becam
interested in the subject Of stoc
raising and on his return purchase
the Maltese Cross herd Of cattle an
: placed 1T int hands Of Sylyane Fer
ris and "a. w. Mortified. He after
wards purchased several hundre
. more cattle and established tn