Montana oil and mining journal. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1931-1953, 1940-08-24
United States Marshal for South Dakota
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country, Ie00y tnVitcu tuc RtstbOA
to remain for lunch IL so hap
pened that another friend Of the
president was luncheon guest
that day-LOrd Bryce, the British
ambassador.
The cowpuncher back In the range
days had enjoyed a reputation as
fightin' man. Introductions over, the
party started for the dining room
Teddy spoke aside to the westernel
with great solemnity:
Remember, Jim, if you shoot at the
feet of the British ambassador to make
him dance, it would likely to cause
international complications.
To which the westerner responded in
unaffected horror:
why, colonel; I shouldn't think Of
such a thingl shouldn't think OF
such q thingl"
It required a full generation of time
to lay the foundation for this trtfling
incident, q small facet upon the "dta-
mond in the rough" epoch which the
old west gave to the pages OF Ameri-
can history. Teddy Roosevelt persona
fled the blending of the old, established
civilization of the east with the rough
and ready. Self-reliant spirit of the
frentier. He gave, it might be said,
q national consciousness to the west,
which had been more or less world
apart ne OOOA DssCA W Vic CsaSe al
understanding OF the west which gave
an impetus. still felt, to the eastern
ers interest in the frontier country.
When Teddy Roosevelt was q boy
suffering from asthma and battling
the handicap of poor eyeSight, Mon
tana's eastern ranges were only be-
ginning to attract the cattleman. The
COW land domain was entering its era
of greatest prosperity and development
at Medora, N. D., as tyro ranchman.
SpectacIes Were Handicap
On the range the newcomer encoun-
tered new experiences with his per-
sonal handicapS. He was probably the
only man in "Cowland" who wore spec
tacles. They branded him, on first &C
quaintance, not only as tenderfoot
but to some extent as a sissy" they
served to intensity other shortcomings
due to inexperience. Says Teddy OF
those days:
"a man who was a coward or who
shirked his work had a bad time, Of
course; a man could not afford to let
himself be bullied or treated as
butt; and on the other hand, if he
was looking for a fight he was GER
tain to find 1t.
But my own experience was that
If a man did not talk until his aSso-
ciates knew him well and liked him,
and if he did his work, he never had
any difficulty in getting on.
I'm my own roundup district
speedily grew to be friends with most
OF the men When I went among stran-
gers I always had to spend "a hours
living down the fact that I wore spec !
tacles, remaining as long as / could
tldiciously deaf to any side remarks
about four eyes unless 1t became evi-
dent that my being quiet was miscon-
strued and that it was better TO bring |
matters to head at once"
When going, for instance, to the |
Yellowstone roundup, Il usually /
showed that kind of diplomacy which |
in not uttering one word that
can be avoided / would probably have (
a couple of days solitary ride. :.
BY this time / would have been ac-
cepted as one of the rest of the outfit,
and all strangeneSs would have passed I
off, the attitude Of my fellow cow
punchers being one of friendly for
giveness even toward my spectacles."
Had Much to Learn
On night guard and in the operations
Of the roundup camp, "a newcomer, of
course, had any amount to learn, and
sometimes the simplest things were
hose which brought him grief.
zone night early in my career 1
failed satisfactorily to identify the di-
rection in which I was to go in order
10 reach the night herd. 1t was a
Ditch-dark night. managed to get
started wrong, and I never found either
.he herd or the wagon again until
sunrise when was greeted with with
sring Scorn by the injured cowpuncher
Who had been obliged to stand double
yuard because I failed to relieve him"
Teddy's experiences on the range
soon made him an established WESTERN
n, accepted ole-heartedly by most
0eople and rather more than tolerated
~ those who had not entirely shed
heir prejudices. On the range, with
he roundup, on the hunting trail, and
n the civil and official life of his
yWn community, he became one OF
he crowd. He had the happy faculty
# remembering seemingly trivial in
,idents which reflected the character
md conduct of the people, and in later
ears he interpreted them into creed
which guided him in private and OF
icial life.
He was one of the charter members
# the Montana Stockgrowers aSsoci-
tion, and attended the early conven-
ions at Miles City, rubbing shoulders
nth cattle barons and lowly punchers
like.
Finally Meets Roommate
with such a crowd in town" he
aid of one of the meetings, sleeping
ccommodation of any sort were at
premium, and in the hotel there
Tere two men in every bed. On one
ccasion I had a roommate whom I
ever saw, because he always went to
ed much later than did, and I
lways got up much earlier than he
i'd. On the last day however, We rose
t the same time and saw that he
as a man 1 knew named Carter, and
icknamed ModeSty' Carter. He was
stalwart, good-looking fellow, and
was sorry when / later heard that
e had been killed in a shooting row."
The more serious side of Indian
.oubles had been settled some years
efore Teddy came west, but at times
nall groups Of braves, away from the
sservation, would commit minor dep
sdations, sometimes taking the lives
{ white men. Teddy has left the rec
I'd of his only experience of this kind:
81 was making my way along the