The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1920-02-05
GEN. LEoNoARD WOOD
Sketch Written by .Theadore Roose-
welt 20 years ago

and to this day there are rev .amuse-
ments for which he cares more, than
himself to sail a small boat Off the
New England coast, especially in
rough weather. He went through
the Harvard Medical School in 1881
1882, and began to prac ice in Boston;
( but his was one OF those natures
which especially when young. frets for
adventure and for those hard and dan
gerous kinds of work where peril
blocks the path to greater reward
than is offered by more peaceful oc-
cupations A year after leaving col
lege he joined the army as contrac.
surgeon and a most Immediately be-
gan his service under Genera Miles
in the Southwestern Territories. These
were then harried by the terrible Apa
ches; ana the army was entering en-
the final campaigns for the overthrow
of Geronimo and his fellow renegades.
No one who has net lived in the West
can appreciate the Incredible, the eX-
traord nary fatigue and hardship at
tendant upon these campaigns. There
was not much lighting; but what there
was, was Of an exceedingly dangerous
type; and the severi y OF the marches
through the waterless mountains Of
Arizona, New Mexico, and the north
eln regions OF Old Mexico (whither
the Apache bands finally retreated)
were such that only men of iron
could stand them Blu the young con
tract doctor tal broad-chested, with
his light ye low hair and blue eyes,
soon showed the stuff OF which he was
made. Hardly any of the whites.
whether soldiers or frontiersmen, could
last WI h him; and the friendly Indians
trailers themselves could wear him
down. In such campaigns 1t soon be-
comes essential 10 push forward the
one actually fitted for command, what
ever his accidental position may be:
and Wood, although only contract
surgeon, finished his career agains the
Apaches by serving as mmand.ng
officer of certain of the detachments
sent out to perform pecu iarly ard
| ardurcus and dangerous duty; and he
did his work so well and showed such
conspicuous gallanry that ne won that
mos coveted of military distinctions,
the Medal OF Honor On expeditions
o. thic kind, whero Tie work is so
eyhaus ting as TO call TO- the last ounce
o. reseryC strength and courage in
the men only a very peculiar and
high type OF officer can succeed.
Wood, however, never called upon his
men to do anything that he himself
did no. do. They ran no risk that he
did not run; they endured no hard
ship which he did not endure; intol-
elaale fatigue. intolerable thirst never
satisfied hunger, and the strain of
unending watchfu ness against the
most cruel and dangerous Of fees
through all this Wood led his men
until the final hour of signal sue
cess. When he ended the campaigns
he had won the high regard Of his
superior officers, not merely for
courage and endurance. but for judg-
ment and entire trustwcrthIness. a
young man who is high Of heart,
clean of life, incapab Of n mean o.
ungenerous action, and burn ng with
the desire TO honorably distinguish
himself needs only the opportunity
order to do good work Tor his coun-
try.
This opportunity came to Wood
with the outbreak Of the Spanish
War. / had much OF him during the
preceding year Being myself fond
of outdoor exercise, / mad found 4
ccngenial companion in a man who
had always done his serious duties
wi h the utmost conscient!ousness.
but who had found time to keep him
SCI even at thirty-seyen a first-elass
football player. We had the same
ideals and the same way of looking
la fe We were fond Of the same
sports; and, last but not least, being
men with fami les, we liked, where
possible, to enjoy these sports n
lcompany with our small children We
therefore saw very much of each
other; and we had made our plans
long in advance as TO what we should
do war W tn Spain broke out; &C
cording y he went as Colonel and ]
as Lieutenan Colonel of the Rough
Riders. How we'll he commanded his
regiment is fresh In the minds OF
every one Because of his success
he was made BrigadierGeneral and
at the battle Of San Juan he com
manded che of the two brigaies
which made up General Joe wheel
ers Cavalry Division. When Santi
ago surrendered, he was soon put in
charge, first of the city, and then 81
the eli y and province
Since then he worked wonders
Both his medical and his military
training stood him in good stead ]
was frequently in Sant!agt after the
surrender and never saw Wood
when he was not engaged on some
one OF his nultitudinous duties. He
was personally inspecting he hospi
tals; he was personally superlntend
ing the c Gaming Of the streets; he
was personally hearing the most i'm
Ipcrtant of the countless complaints
made by Cubans against Spaniards
Spaniards against Cubans, and BIZ
be h against Americans he was per
sonally engaged in working out q
better system of sewerage; or in
striving to secure the return of Che
landtil ers to the soil. I do not
mean that he ever allowed himself to
be swamped by mere de an; he. Il
much toe good an executive officer
not to delegate to others whatever