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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of American Boy's Life of Theodore Roosevelt, by
+Edward Stratemeyer
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: American Boy's Life of Theodore Roosevelt
+
+Author: Edward Stratemeyer
+
+Release Date: August 18, 2007 [EBook #22352]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THEODORE ROOSEVELT ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by David Edwards, Graeme Mackreth and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This
+file was produced from scans of public domain material
+produced by Microsoft for their Live Search Books site.)
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: American Boy's Life of Theodore Roosevelt
+
+STRATEMEYER]
+
+[Handwritten inscription: To Elmer, A Merry Christmas from Papa & Mamma.
+1904]
+
+
+
+
+AMERICAN BOYS' LIFE
+
+OF
+
+THEODORE ROOSEVELT
+
+
+
+
+EDWARD STRATEMEYER'S BOOKS
+
+
+Old Glory Series
+
+_Six Volumes. Cloth. Illustrated. Price per volume $1.25._
+
+UNDER DEWEY AT MANILA.
+A YOUNG VOLUNTEER IN CUBA.
+FIGHTING IN CUBAN WATERS.
+UNDER OTIS IN THE PHILIPPINES.
+THE CAMPAIGN OF THE JUNGLE.
+UNDER MacARTHUR IN LUZON.
+
+
+Stratemeyer Popular Series
+
+_Ten Volumes. Cloth. Illustrated. Price per volume $1.00._
+
+THE LAST CRUISE OF THE SPITFIRE.
+REUBEN STONE'S DISCOVERY.
+TRUE TO HIMSELF.
+RICHARD DARE'S VENTURE.
+OLIVER BRIGHT'S SEARCH.
+TO ALASKA FOR GOLD.
+THE YOUNG AUCTIONEER.
+BOUND TO BE AN ELECTRICIAN.
+SHORTHAND TOM, THE REPORTER.
+FIGHTING FOR HIS OWN.
+
+
+War and Adventure Stories
+
+_Cloth. Illustrated. Price per volume $1.25._
+
+ON TO PEKIN.
+BETWEEN BOER AND BRITON.
+
+
+American Boys' Biographical Series
+
+_Cloth. Illustrated. Price per volume $1.25._
+
+AMERICAN BOYS' LIFE OF WILLIAM McKINLEY.
+AMERICAN BOYS' LIFE OF THEODORE ROOSEVELT.
+
+
+Colonial Series
+
+_Cloth. Illustrated. Price per volume $1.25._
+
+WITH WASHINGTON IN THE WEST.
+MARCHING ON NIAGARA.
+AT THE FALL OF MONTREAL.
+ON THE TRAIL OF PONTIAC.
+
+
+Pan-American Series
+
+_Cloth. Illustrated. Price per volume $1.25._
+
+LOST ON THE ORINOCO.
+THE YOUNG VOLCANO EXPLORERS.
+YOUNG EXPLORERS OF THE ISTHMUS.
+YOUNG EXPLORERS OF THE AMAZON.
+
+
+Great American Industries Series
+
+_Cloth. Illustrated. Price per volume $1.00, net._
+TWO YOUNG LUMBERMEN.
+
+JOE, THE SURVEYOR. _Price, $1.00_.
+LARRY, THE WANDERER. _Price, $1.00_.
+
+
+[Illustration: COLONEL ROOSEVELT AT SAN JUAN HILL]
+
+
+
+
+AMERICAN BOYS' LIFE
+
+OF
+
+THEODORE ROOSEVELT
+
+BY
+
+EDWARD STRATEMEYER
+
+AUTHOR OF "AMERICAN BOYS' LIFE OF WILLIAM McKINLEY,"
+"WITH WASHINGTON IN THE WEST," "OLD GLORY
+SERIES," "PAN-AMERICAN SERIES," "SHIP
+AND SHORE SERIES," ETC.
+
+_ILLUSTRATED FROM PHOTOGRAPHS AND WITH
+FRONTISPIECE BY CHARLES COPELAND_
+
+[Illustration]
+
+BOSTON
+LEE AND SHEPARD
+1904
+
+PUBLISHED, AUGUST, 1904.
+
+_Copyright, 1904, by Lee And Shepard._
+
+_All Rights Reserved._
+
+AMERICAN BOYS' LIFE OF THEODORE ROOSEVELT.
+
+
+Norwood Press
+J.S. Cushing & Co.--Berwick & Smith Co.
+Norwood, Mass., U.S.A.
+
+
+
+
+PREFACE
+
+
+The life of Theodore Roosevelt is one well worth studying by any
+American boy who wishes to make something of himself and mount high on
+the ladder of success.
+
+The twenty-sixth President of our country is a fine type of the true
+American of to-day, full of vim and vigor, quick to comprehend, and
+equally quick to act, not afraid to defend his opinions against all
+comers when satisfied that he is in the right, independent, and yet not
+lacking in fine social qualities, physically and morally courageous, and
+with a faith in himself and his God that is bound to make for good so
+long as he clings to it.
+
+Theodore Roosevelt comes from countless generations of fighting stock,
+both in this country and abroad. And yet as a youth the future hero of
+San Juan Hill was a delicate lad, and many fears were entertained that
+he might not live to manhood. But life in the open air, with judicious
+athletic exercise, accomplished wonders, and he became strong and hardy
+to an astonishing degree.
+
+The boyhood days of the future President were spent in New York City and
+at the family's country home, Oyster Bay, Long Island. From there he
+went to Harvard College, from which he graduated with high honors. Still
+somewhat delicate in health, he travelled in Europe, studied for a short
+time at Dresden, and took to climbing the Alps and other noted
+mountains.
+
+His mind had gravitated toward literature, and he was writing a naval
+history of the War of 1812 when something prompted him to take up
+politics, and almost before he knew it he was elected a New York State
+assemblyman. He served in this capacity for three terms, and many are
+the stories told of how he fought against corruption first, last, and
+all the time.
+
+The death of his first wife and of his beloved mother were at this time
+a great blow to him, and leaving his one little daughter with relatives,
+he struck out for the great West, where, in the Bad Lands, so called, he
+located as ranchman and hunter, filling in his spare hours by studying
+and by writing on various outdoor subjects, works which have become
+decidedly popular, and which show well his gifts as an author and as an
+observer of nature.
+
+While still in great part a successful ranchman, he ran for mayor of New
+York and was defeated. He now devoted himself with increased energy to
+his literary labors until, soon after, he was appointed by President
+Harrison a member of the Civil Service Commission. He served on this
+commission with marked ability for six years, when he resigned to become
+police commissioner of New York City.
+
+Theodore Roosevelt's work as a police commissioner will not be readily
+forgotten. The whole tone of the service was at once raised, and for the
+first time in many years the metropolis had "dry" Sundays, when every
+saloon in the city was tightly closed. This strict compliance with the
+law made him some enemies, but to these he paid no heed, for he was
+doing only his duty.
+
+When William McKinley was nominated for the Presidency the first time,
+Theodore Roosevelt was one of his most enthusiastic supporters. Upon the
+election of McKinley, John D. Long was appointed Secretary of the Navy
+and Theodore Roosevelt became the First Assistant Secretary. Ever since
+writing his naval history the newly appointed assistant had made a close
+study of naval matters, and now he applied himself with vigor to the
+duties of his office; and it was primarily through his efforts that when
+the war with Spain came, our war-ships and our coast defences were in
+much better condition than they had been at any time previous in our
+history.
+
+With the outbreak of the war, Theodore Roosevelt resigned. "My duty here
+is done," he said. "My place is in the field." And without loss of time
+he and his intimate friend, Dr. Leonard Wood, began the organization of
+that body of troops which was officially designated as the First United
+States Volunteer Cavalry, but which speedily became known everywhere as
+the Rough Riders,--a body as unique as the world has ever seen, being
+made up of men from all over the Union, but principally from four
+Territories, and including hunters, cowboys, soldiers of fortune,
+foot-ball and base-ball champions, college graduates, ex-policemen, with
+American, Irish, Dutch, German, Mexican, and Indian blood in their
+veins,--truly a remarkable collection, but every man and officer strong
+and hardy, full of courage, a good horseman, and a fine shot.
+
+From the very start, the Rough Riders were anxious to get into the
+fight, and the opportunity was not long in coming. From Florida the
+command was transported to Daiquiri, on the southern coast of Cuba, and
+then began the advance upon the city of Santiago, which brought on the
+engagement at La Guasima, followed by the thrilling battle of San Juan
+Hill, in which the Rough Riders distinguished themselves in a manner
+that will never be forgotten. In the very thickest of this fight was
+Colonel Roosevelt, urging his men forward to victory, regardless of the
+shot and shell falling upon all sides. A hero truly, and such heroes are
+not forgotten.
+
+Upon the close of the war Theodore Roosevelt thought to retire to
+private life, but this was not to be. Arriving at New York, he was
+hailed with delight by thousands, and at the next election was made
+governor of the Empire State. As governor he made friends in both of the
+leading political parties by his straightforwardness and his sterling
+honesty. Men might differ with him politically, but they could never
+accuse him of doing that which he himself did not firmly believe was
+right.
+
+His term as governor had not yet expired when President McKinley was
+nominated for a second term. Again the people at large clamored for
+Roosevelt, and against his earnest protestations he was forced to accept
+the nomination for the Vice-Presidency. He was elected, and at the
+proper time took his seat as presiding officer of the Senate.
+
+It was at this time a blow fell upon our nation from which we have
+scarcely yet recovered. President McKinley was struck down by the
+cowardly hand of an assassin. The Vice-President was at this time off on
+one of his favorite outings, but with all possible speed he came back
+and was sworn in as President. It was a great responsibility, and many
+feared that great changes in our government might result. But the fears
+proved groundless. Young as he was,--and he is the youngest of all of
+our Presidents,--he took upon himself the duty of carrying out the
+intentions of his predecessor, and proving to the world once again that,
+even though a President die, "the government at Washington still lives."
+
+There is another side to the character of our President which must not
+be overlooked. He is of strong religious convictions and a member of the
+Dutch Reformed Church. It is seldom that he is given to preaching, but
+when he does his words have a sincerity that proves much for the
+foundation of his character. He stands for what is honest and upright in
+political and private life, and although, being but human, he may make
+mistakes, he remains a Chief Magistrate well deserving the highest
+honors our nation can bestow.
+
+EDWARD STRATEMEYER.
+MAY 2, 1904.
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS
+
+
+CHAPTER I
+                                                                     PAGE
+Birthplace and Ancestry of Theodore Roosevelt--His Father's
+Philanthropy--City and Country Home--Days at School--Religious
+Training.                                                              1
+
+CHAPTER II
+
+Nicknamed Teddy--Goes to Harvard College--Member of Many
+Clubs--Death of Mr. Roosevelt--Anecdotes of College Life              11
+
+CHAPTER III
+
+Marries Miss Alice Lee--Travels in Europe--Bold Mountain
+Climbing--Elected to the Assembly--Personal Encounter with
+the Enemy                                                             20
+
+CHAPTER IV
+
+Theodore Roosevelt and Governor Cleveland--Good Work as an
+Assemblyman--Some Measures pushed through--Birth of Alice
+Roosevelt--Death of Mr. Roosevelt's Mother                            30
+
+CHAPTER V
+
+Theodore Roosevelt as a Ranchman and Hunter in the Bad
+Lands--Bringing down his First Buffalo--Rattlesnakes
+and a Wild Goose                                                      39
+
+CHAPTER VI
+
+Grouse and Other Small Game--The Scotchman and the Skunk--Caught
+in a Hailstorm on the Prairie--Bringing down Black-tail Deer          49
+
+CHAPTER VII
+
+Runs for Mayor of New York City--Marriage to Edith Kermit
+Carew--Hunting in the Bighorn Mountains--A Wild Chase after
+Three Elk                                                             63
+
+CHAPTER VIII
+
+Bringing down a Grizzly Bear--Back to New York--Appointed
+a Civil Service Commissioner--The Work of the Commission              74
+
+CHAPTER IX
+
+A Trip to the Shoshone Mountains--Caught in a Driving
+Snowstorm--Back to Work--Resignation as Civil Service
+Commissioner                                                          85
+
+CHAPTER X
+
+Appointed Police Commissioner of New York City--Corruptness
+of the Department--Strenuous Endeavors to make Matters Better--A
+"Dry" Sunday--Enforcing the Tenement House Law and Other Measures     94
+
+CHAPTER XI
+
+Appointed First Assistant Secretary of the Navy--The Condition
+of Affairs in Cuba--Preparing for War--Theodore Roosevelt's
+Resolve                                                              104
+
+CHAPTER XII
+
+Destruction of the _Maine_--Dewey's Victory--Theodore
+Roosevelt becomes a Soldier--Organizing the Rough
+Riders--Various Men in the Command                                   112
+
+CHAPTER XIII
+
+In Camp at Tampa--To Port Tampa in Coal Cars--Theodore
+Roosevelt's Quick Move to obtain a Transport--The Wait in
+the Harbor--Off for Cuba at Last                                     122
+
+CHAPTER XIV
+
+Life on the Transport--The Landing at Daiquiri--The March to
+Siboney--The Trail through the Jungle--The Skirmish at La Guasima    132
+
+CHAPTER XV
+
+Along the Jungle Trail--Fording the River--Opening of the Battle
+of San Juan Hill--Bravery of the Rough Riders--Personal
+Experiences of Theodore Roosevelt during the Battle                  142
+
+CHAPTER XVI
+
+Results of the Fight--Life in the Trenches--The Spanish Fleet
+in Santiago Harbor--Another Great Naval Victory--The Rough
+Riders and the Spanish Guerillas                                     154
+
+CHAPTER XVII
+
+Devotion of the Rough Riders to Theodore Roosevelt--His
+Kindness to his Men--Last of the Fighting--The Truce and
+Treaty of Peace                                                      163
+
+CHAPTER XVIII
+
+Last Days in Cuba--The Departure for Home--Arrival at
+Montauk--Caring for the Sick and Wounded--Presentation to
+Theodore Roosevelt by his Men--Mustering out of the Rough
+Riders                                                               171
+
+CHAPTER XIX
+
+Nominated for Governor of New York--A Rough Rider Way of
+Campaigning--Elected Governor--Important Work at Albany--The
+Homestead at Oyster Bay--Chopping down a Tree for Exercise           183
+
+CHAPTER XX
+
+Great Reception to Admiral Dewey--Governor Roosevelt's
+Increased Popularity--Last Annual Message as Governor--Visit
+to Chicago--Remarkable Speech on the Strenuous Life                  193
+
+CHAPTER XXI
+
+The Convention at Philadelphia--Theodore Roosevelt seconds the
+Nomination of William McKinley--Becomes Candidate for the
+Vice-Presidency--Remarkable Tours through Many States                203
+
+CHAPTER XXII
+
+Elected Vice-President of the United States--Presides
+over the Senate--Tax upon Theodore Roosevelt's Strength--Starts
+on Another Grand Hunting Tour                                        214
+
+CHAPTER XXIII
+
+The Roosevelt Family in the Adirondacks--The Pan-American
+Exposition at Buffalo--Shooting of President McKinley--The
+Vice-President's Visit--Death of the President                       223
+
+CHAPTER XXIV
+
+Theodore Roosevelt's Tramp up Mount Marcy--A Message of
+Importance--Wild Midnight Ride through the Mountains--On
+the Special Trains from North Creek to Buffalo                       233
+
+CHAPTER XXV
+
+Takes the Oath as President--The New Chief Magistrate at
+the Funeral of President McKinley--At the White House--How
+the First Real Working Day was Spent                                 241
+
+CHAPTER XXVI
+
+Continuing the Work begun by President McKinley--The
+Panama Canal Agitation--Visit of Prince Henry of Prussia--The
+President at the Charleston Exposition                               251
+
+CHAPTER XXVII
+
+Destruction at St. Pierre--American Aid--The Great Coal
+Strike--President Roosevelt ends the Difficulty--Tour through
+New England--The Trolley Accident in the Berkshires--A Providential
+Escape from Death                                                    260
+
+CHAPTER XXVIII
+
+New Offices at the White House--Sends a Wireless Message to King
+Edward of England--End of the Trouble in Venezuela--The Canadian
+Boundary Dispute--Beginning of a Trip to the West--In Yellowstone
+Park                                                                 269
+
+CHAPTER XXIX
+
+Dedication of the Fair Buildings at St. Louis--Continuation
+of the Trip to San Francisco--Up in the Far Northwest--Back
+in Washington--The Post-office Scandals--The New Republic
+of Panama--A Canal at Last--Proclamation regarding the War
+between Japan and Russia--Opening of the Great Fair                  277
+
+CHAPTER XXX
+
+Personal Characteristics of Theodore Roosevelt--The
+President's Family--Life at the White House--Our Country
+and its Future                                                       289
+
+
+APPENDIX
+
+A.  Brief Extracts from Famous Addresses delivered
+by Theodore Roosevelt                                                297
+
+B.  List of Theodore Roosevelt's Writings                            300
+
+C.  Chronology of the Life of Theodore Roosevelt
+from 1858 to 1904                                                    302
+
+
+ILLUSTRATIONS
+
+COLONEL ROOSEVELT AT SAN JUAN HILL   _Frontispiece_
+
+                                                               FACING PAGE
+
+THEODORE ROOSEVELT'S BIRTHPLACE                                         2
+
+HOUSE IN WHICH THEODORE ROOSEVELT ROOMED WHILE AT HARVARD              14
+
+THEODORE ROOSEVELT AT GRADUATION, 1880                                 20
+
+MISS ALICE LEE ROOSEVELT                                               36
+
+EDITH KERMIT ROOSEVELT                                                 66
+
+THEODORE ROOSEVELT AS A ROUGH RIDER                                   118
+
+COLONEL ROOSEVELT AT MONTAUK POINT                                    176
+
+THE ROOSEVELT HOMESTEAD AT OYSTER BAY                                 192
+
+THEODORE ROOSEVELT                                                    202
+
+PRESIDENT MCKINLEY AND VICE-PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT                       216
+
+PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT AT HIS DESK                                       252
+
+THE WHITE HOUSE, SHOWING NEW OFFICES                                  270
+
+PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT AND CABINET, 1903                                 276
+
+PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT SPEAKING AT THE UNVEILING OF THE
+STATUE OF GENERAL SHERMAN                                             284
+
+PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT AND HIS FAMILY                                    292
+
+
+AMERICAN BOYS' LIFE OF THEODORE ROOSEVELT
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I
+
+BIRTHPLACE AND ANCESTRY OF THEODORE ROOSEVELT--HIS FATHER'S
+PHILANTHROPY--CITY AND COUNTRY HOME--DAYS AT SCHOOL--RELIGIOUS TRAINING
+
+
+"Our country calls not for the life of ease, but for the life of
+strenuous endeavor. The twentieth century looms before us big with the
+fate of many nations. If we stand idly by, if we seek merely swollen,
+slothful ease and ignoble peace, if we shrink from the hard contests
+where men must win at hazard of their lives and at the risk of all they
+hold dear, then the bolder and stronger peoples will pass us by and will
+win for themselves the domination of the world. Let us therefore boldly
+face the life of strife, resolute to do our duty well and manfully;
+resolute to uphold righteousness by deed and by word; resolute to be
+both honest and brave, to serve high ideals, yet to use practical
+methods. Above all, let us not shrink from strife, moral or physical,
+within or without the nation, provided that we are certain that the
+strife is justified; for it is only through strife, through hard and
+dangerous endeavor, that we shall ultimately win the goal of true
+national greatness."
+
+These words, taken from President Roosevelt's remarkable speech on "The
+Strenuous Life," show well the character of the man, his lofty ideals,
+his sterling courage, his absolute honesty, and unwavering patriotism.
+He is a typical American in the best sense of the word, and his life is
+worthy of careful study. From it American boys of to-day, and in
+generations to come, may gain lessons that will do them much good.
+
+Theodore Roosevelt, the twenty-sixth President of our country, was born
+in New York City, October 27, 1858. The place of his birth was the old
+family mansion at 28 East Twentieth Street, in a neighborhood which, at
+that time, was the abode of wealth and culture. The building is one
+of a row, of a type to be seen in hundreds of other places, of brick and
+stone, four stories and a basement high, the upper floor being an attic.
+A heavy railing runs from in front of the basement up the broad front
+steps to the doorway. Inside, the rooms are large and comfortably
+arranged, and there was, in those days, quite a nice garden in the rear.
+
+[Illustration: THEODORE ROOSEVELT'S BIRTHPLACE. 28 E. 20TH STREET, NEW
+YORK CITY.]
+
+It can truthfully be said that Theodore Roosevelt comes from a race of
+soldiers and statesmen, and that Dutch, Scotch, French, and Irish blood
+flows in his veins. This being so, it is no wonder that, when the
+Spanish-American War broke out, he closed his desk as Assistant
+Secretary of the Navy, saying, "My duty here is done; my place is in the
+field," and went forth to win glory on the battle-field of San Juan
+Hill.
+
+Five generations of Roosevelts lived in or near New York previous to the
+birth of Theodore Roosevelt, the father of the President, in 1831.
+Nearly all were well-to-do, and many served the city and the state as
+aldermen and members of the legislature. During the Revolution they
+followed under Washington's banner, and their purses were wide open to
+further the cause of independence.
+
+Theodore Roosevelt the elder was a merchant and banker; a man broad in
+his views and filled with the spirit of genuine philanthropy. He founded
+one of the hospitals of the city and was at one time chairman of the
+State Board of Charities. A story is told of him which is probably true.
+One day Charles Loring Brace came to him for financial assistance in
+establishing homes for the little waifs of the city.
+
+"I will see what I can do," said Mr. Roosevelt. "But you know that just
+at present I am busy with other charitable works."
+
+"I know that," said Mr. Brace. "But what I ask for is very much needed.
+The waifs and poor, homeless newsboys have no shelter."
+
+The next day, when returning from the establishment in which he was a
+partner, Mr. Roosevelt came upon a newsboy sitting on a doorstep, crying
+bitterly.
+
+"What is the matter, my little man?" he asked.
+
+"I lost me money; it dropped down into de sewer hole!" sobbed the ragged
+urchin. "Every cent of it is gone."
+
+Mr. Roosevelt questioned the lad and found out that the boy had no home
+and that his only relative was a longshoreman who was hardly ever sober.
+He gave the lad some money to replace the amount lost, and the next day
+sent word to Mr. Brace that he would do all he possibly could toward
+establishing the waifs' shelters that were so much needed. The Newsboys'
+Lodging House of New York City is one of the results of Mr. Roosevelt's
+practical charities. He also did much to give criminals a helping hand
+when they came from prison, stating that that was the one time in their
+lives when they most needed help, for fear they might slip back into
+their previous bad habits.
+
+In 1853 Theodore Roosevelt the elder married Miss Martha Bullock, of
+Roswell, Cobb County, Georgia. Miss Bullock was the daughter of Major
+James S. Bullock and a direct descendant of Archibald Bullock, the first
+governor of Georgia. It will thus be seen that the future President had
+both Northern and Southern blood in his make-up, and it may be added
+here that during the terrible Civil War his relatives were to be found
+both in the Union and the Confederate ranks. Mrs. Roosevelt was a strong
+Southern sympathizer, and when a certain gathering, during the Civil
+War, was in progress at the Roosevelt city home, she insisted upon
+displaying a Confederate flag at one of the windows.
+
+"I am afraid it will make trouble," said Mr. Roosevelt; and he was
+right. Soon a mob began to gather in the street, clamoring that the flag
+be taken down.
+
+"I shall not take it down," said Mrs. Roosevelt, bravely. "The room is
+mine, and the flag is mine. I love it, and nobody shall touch it.
+Explain to the crowd that I am a Southern woman and that I love my
+country."
+
+There being no help for it, Mr. Roosevelt went to the front door and
+explained matters as best he could. A few in the crowd grumbled, but
+when Mrs. Roosevelt came to the window and looked down on the gathering,
+one after another the men went away, and she and her flag remained
+unmolested.
+
+Theodore Roosevelt, the future President, was one of a family of four.
+He had a brother Elliott and two sisters. His brother was several years
+younger than himself, but much more robust, and would probably have
+lived many years and have distinguished himself, had he not met death in
+a railroad accident while still a young man.
+
+In the years when Theodore Roosevelt was a boy, New York City was not
+what it is to-day. The neighborhood in which he lived was, as I have
+already mentioned, a fashionable one, and the same may be said of many
+other spots near to Union Square, where tall business blocks were yet
+unknown. The boys and girls loved to play in the little park and on the
+avenue, and here it was that the rather delicate schoolboy grew to know
+Edith Carew, who lived in Fourteenth Street and who was his school
+companion. Little did they dream in those days, as they played together,
+that one day he would be President and she his loving wife, the mistress
+of the White House.
+
+Mr. Roosevelt was a firm believer in public institutions, and he did not
+hesitate to send his children to the public schools, especially his
+boys, that they might come in direct personal contact with the great
+outside world. So to a near-by institution of learning Theodore and
+Elliott trudged day after day, with their school-books under their arms,
+just as thousands of other schoolboys are doing to-day. But in those
+days there were few experiments being tried in the schools, and manual
+training and the like were unknown. The boys were well grounded in
+reading, writing, and arithmetic, as well as spelling, history, and
+geography, and there was great excitement when a "spelling-bee" was in
+progress, to see who could spell the rest of the class or the gathering
+down.
+
+It is said upon good authority that Theodore Roosevelt was a model
+scholar from the start. He loved to read Cooper's "Leatherstocking
+Tales," and works of travel, and preferred books above anything else.
+But when he found that constant studying was ruining his constitution,
+he determined to build himself up physically as well as mentally.
+
+In the summer time the family often went to the old Roosevelt "out of
+town" mansion on Long Island. This was called "Tranquillity," a fine
+large place near Oyster Bay, set in a grove of beautiful trees. The
+journey to "Tranquillity" was in those days a tedious one, but the
+Roosevelt children did not mind it, and once at the old place they were
+certain of a good time so long as their vacation lasted. Here it was
+that Theodore Roosevelt learned to ride on horseback and how to handle a
+gun. And here, too, the boys would go boating, fishing, and bathing, to
+their hearts' content.
+
+Mr. Theodore Roosevelt the elder was a member of the Dutch Reformed
+Church, and the religious teaching of his children was not neglected. At
+an early age the future President became a member of that denomination
+and has remained a member ever since. The church was on the East Side,
+and had high-backed pews, and here were delivered sermons that were as
+long as they were full of strength and wisdom. That these sermons had
+their full effect upon the future President is shown by his addresses
+delivered before the Young Men's Christian Association of New York City
+and a church community of the West, years later. In addressing the
+Young Men's Christian Association Mr. Roosevelt, who was then governor
+of the State, said:--
+
+"The vice of envy is not only dangerous, but also a mean vice, for it is
+always a confession of inferiority. It may provoke conduct which will be
+fruitful of wrong to others; and it must cause misery to the man who
+feels it. It will not be any the less fruitful of wrong and misery if,
+as is often the case with evil motives, it adopts some high-sounding
+alias. The truth is, gentlemen, that each one of us has in him certain
+passions and instincts which, if they gain the upper hand in his soul,
+would mean that the wild beast had come uppermost in him. Envy, malice,
+and hatred are such passions, and they are just as bad if directed
+against a class or group of men as if directed against an individual."
+
+Golden words, well worth remembering. A person who believes in them with
+all his heart cannot go far wrong in his actions, no matter what his
+station in life.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II
+
+NICKNAMED TEDDY--GOES TO HARVARD COLLEGE--MEMBER OF MANY CLUBS--DEATH OF
+MR. ROOSEVELT--ANECDOTES OF COLLEGE LIFE
+
+
+The instincts of the hunter must have been born in Theodore Roosevelt.
+His first gun was given to him when he was ten years of age, and for the
+time being his books and his studies were forgotten, and he devoted his
+whole time and attention to shooting at a target set up in the garden of
+the country home and in going out with the older folks after such small
+game as were to be found in that vicinity.
+
+The horses on the place were his pets, and he knew the peculiarities of
+each as well as did the man who cared for them. Riding and driving came
+to him as naturally as breathing, and the fact that a steed was
+mettlesome did not daunt him.
+
+"My father often drove four-in-hand," he has said. "I liked very much to
+go with him, and I liked to drive, too."
+
+Theodore Roosevelt's schoolboy days were not far out of the ordinary. He
+studied hard, and if he failed in a lesson he did his best to make it up
+the next time. It is well said that there is no royal road to learning,
+and even a future President must study just as hard as his classmates if
+he wants to keep up with them. Sometimes he was absent from school on
+account of sickness, and then it was a sharp struggle to keep from
+dropping behind.
+
+"In those days nobody expected Teddy Roosevelt to amount to a great
+deal," some one has said. "He was thin, pale, and delicate, and suffered
+with his eyes. But he pulled through, and when he took to athletics, it
+was wonderful how he got stronger."
+
+By his intimate companions, and indeed by nearly everybody who knew him,
+he was called Teddy, and this nickname clung to him when he went forth
+into the great world to become a governor and a president. How the
+nickname came first into use is not known.
+
+Since those schoolboy days Mr. Roosevelt has been asked this
+question:--
+
+"What did you expect to be, or dream of being, when you were a boy?"
+
+"I do not recollect that I dreamed at all or planned at all," was the
+answer. "I simply obeyed the injunction, 'Whatever thy hand findeth to
+do, do that with all thy might,' and so I took up what came along as it
+came."
+
+In 1876, while the great Centennial Exhibition was being held at
+Philadelphia in commemoration of one hundred years of national liberty,
+Theodore Roosevelt took up his residence at Cambridge, Massachusetts,
+and became a student at Harvard College. During the previous year his
+health had been poor indeed, but now he had taken hold of himself in
+earnest.
+
+"I determined to be strong and well, and did everything to make myself
+so," he has said. "By the time I entered Harvard I was able to take part
+in whatever sports I liked."
+
+As perhaps some of my readers know, Harvard College (now termed a
+University) is the oldest and largest institution of learning in the
+United States. It was founded in 1636, and among its graduates numbered
+John Quincy Adams, sixth President of our country. The college proper is
+located in Cambridge, but some of the attached schools are in Boston.
+
+Theodore Roosevelt was rich enough to have lived in elegant style while
+at Harvard, but he preferred unostentatious quarters, and took two rooms
+in the home of Benj. H. Richardson, at what was then No. 16 and is now
+No. 88 Winthrop Street. The residence is a neat and comfortable one,
+standing on the southwest corner of Winthrop and Holyoke streets.
+
+The young student had two rooms on the second floor,--one of good size,
+used for a study, and a small bedroom. In the whole four years he was at
+the college he occupied these rooms, and he spent a great deal of time
+in fixing them up to suit his own peculiar taste. On the walls were all
+sorts of pictures and photographs, along with foils and boxing-gloves,
+and the horns of wild animals. On a shelf rested some birds which he had
+himself stuffed, and books were everywhere.
+
+[Illustration: HOUSE IN WHICH THEODORE ROOSEVELT ROOMED WHILE AT
+HARVARD.]
+
+"It was a regular den, and typical of Roosevelt to the last degree," a
+student of those times has said. "He had his gun there and his
+fishing rod, and often spoke of using them. He was noted for trying to
+get at the bottom of things, and I remember him well on one occasion
+when I found him with a stuffed bird in one hand and a natural history
+in the other, trying to decide if the description in the volume covered
+the specimen before him." When Roosevelt graduated from college, he was
+one of a very few that took honors, and the subject of his essay was
+natural history. How his love of natural history continued will be shown
+later when we see him as a ranchman and hunter of the West.
+
+Theodore Roosevelt had decided to make the most of himself, and while at
+Harvard scarcely a moment was wasted. If he was not studying, he was in
+the gymnasium or on the field, doing what he could to make himself
+strong. He was a firm believer in the saying that a sound body makes a
+sound mind, and he speedily became a good boxer, wrestler, jumper, and
+runner. He wrestled a great deal, and of this sport says:--
+
+"I enjoyed it immensely and never injured myself. I think I was a good
+deal of a wrestler, and though I never won a championship, yet more
+than once I won my trial heats and got into the final rounds."
+
+At running he was equally good. "I remember once we had a stiff run out
+into the country," said a fellow-student. "Roosevelt was behind at the
+start, but when all of the others got played out he forged ahead, and in
+the end he beat us by several minutes. But he never bragged about it.
+You see, it wasn't his style."
+
+With all his other sports, and his studying, the young collegian did not
+give up his love for driving. He had a good horse and a fancy cart,--one
+of the elevated sort with large wheels,--and in this turnout he was seen
+many a day, driving wherever it pleased him to go. Sometimes he would
+get on the road with other students, and then there was bound to be more
+or less racing.
+
+With a strong love for natural history it was not surprising that he
+joined the Natural History Club of the college, and of this he was one
+of the most active members. He also joined the Athletic Association, of
+which he was a steward, and the Art Club, the Rifle Corps, the O.K.
+Society, and the Finance Club. In his senior year he became a member of
+the Porcellian Club, the Hasty Pudding, and the Alpha Delta Phi Club,
+and also one of the editors of a college paper called the _Advocate_. On
+Sundays he taught a class of boys, first in a mission school, and then
+in a Congregational Sunday school. It was a life full of planning, full
+of study, and full of work, and it suited Theodore Roosevelt to the last
+degree.
+
+As he grew older his love of natural history was supplemented by a love
+for the history of nations, and particularly by a love of the history of
+his own country. The war of 1812 interested him intensely, and before he
+graduated he laid plans for writing a history of this war, which should
+go into all the details of the memorable naval conflicts.
+
+It was while in his third year at Harvard that Theodore Roosevelt
+suffered the first heavy affliction of his life. On February 9, 1878,
+his father died. It was a cruel blow to the family, and one from which
+the faithful wife scarcely recovered. The son at Harvard felt his loss
+greatly, and it was some time before he felt able to resume his studies.
+The elder Roosevelt's work as a philanthropist was well known, and many
+gathered at his bier to do him honor, while the public journals were
+filled with eulogies of the man. The poor mourned bitterly that he was
+gone, and even the newsboys were filled with regret over his taking
+away. In speaking of his parent, President Roosevelt once said: "I can
+remember seeing him going down Broadway, staid and respectable business
+man that he was, with a poor sick kitten in his coat pocket, which he
+had picked up in the street." Such a man could not but have a heart
+overflowing with goodness.
+
+While at college Theodore Roosevelt often showed that self-reliance for
+which he has since become famous. To every study that he took up he
+applied himself closely, and if he was not at the head of the class, he
+was by no means near the foot. When he was sure of a thing, no amount of
+argument could convince him that he was wrong, and he did not hesitate
+at times to enter into a discussion even with some of the professors
+over him.
+
+Although a close student, and also a good all-round athlete, Theodore
+Roosevelt did not forget his social opportunities. Boston was but a
+short distance from his rooms in Cambridge, and thither he often went to
+visit the people he had met or to whom he had letters of introduction.
+He was always welcome, for his manner was a winning one, and he usually
+had something to tell that was of interest--something of what he had
+seen or done, of the next foot-ball or base-ball game, of the coming
+boat races, of his driving or exploring, or of how he had added a new
+stuffed bird to his collection, or a new lizard, and of how a far-away
+friend had sent him a big turtle as a souvenir of an ocean trip in the
+South Seas. There is a story that this big turtle got loose one night
+and alarmed the entire household by crawling through the hallway,
+looking for a pond or mud-hole in which to wallow. At first the turtle
+was mistaken for a burglar, but he soon revealed himself by his angry
+snapping, and it was hard work making him a prisoner once more.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III
+
+MARRIES MISS ALICE LEE--TRAVELS IN EUROPE--BOLD
+MOUNTAIN-CLIMBING--STUDYING LAW IN NEW YORK--ELECTED TO THE
+ASSEMBLY--PERSONAL ENCOUNTER WITH THE ENEMY
+
+
+It was a proud and happy day for Theodore Roosevelt when, in the summer
+of 1880, he was graduated from Harvard. He took scholarly as well as
+social honors, and came forth a Phi Beta Kappa man. His fellow-students
+wished him well, and his family greeted him most affectionately.
+
+Yet with it all there was just a bit of melancholy in this breaking away
+from a place that had been as a second home to him for four long years.
+The students were scattering to the four points of the compass, and he
+might never see some of them again. But others were there whom he was to
+meet later, and who were destined to march under him up the bullet-swept
+slopes of San Juan in far-away Cuba. But at that time there was no
+thought of war and carnage, only good-fellowship, with addresses and
+orations, music, flying flags, and huge bonfires and fireworks at night.
+Happy college days were they, never to be forgotten.
+
+[Illustration: THEODORE ROOSEVELT AT GRADUATION, 1880.]
+
+While a student at Harvard, Theodore Roosevelt had become intimately
+acquainted with Miss Alice Lee, of Boston, a beautiful girl who was a
+member of an aristocratic family of that city. The young college student
+was a frequent visitor at the home of the Lees, and on September 23,
+1880, the two were married.
+
+It had been decided that Theodore Roosevelt should travel in Europe
+after graduating. His father had left the family well provided for, so
+there was no rush to get into something whereby a living might be
+earned. Yet Theodore Roosevelt had long since determined not to be an
+idler. He would travel and improve his mind, and then settle down to
+that for which he seemed best fitted.
+
+To Europe then he went, accompanied by his bride, to study a little and
+to visit the art galleries and museums, the palaces of kings and queens,
+and the many great cities of that continent. He travelled through
+Italy, Switzerland, Germany, France, and the British Isles, taking note
+of everything he saw and comparing it with what he had seen in his own
+country. When in lower Europe, the spirit of adventure seized him, and
+he climbed those lofty mountains of the Alps, the Jungfrau and the
+Matterhorn, and for those deeds of daring was made a member of the
+Alpine Club of London. It may be mentioned here that climbing the
+mountains mentioned is a very difficult feat, and that more than one
+traveller has lost his life in such attempts. The peaks are covered with
+snow and ice; the path from one cliff to the next is narrow and
+uncertain, and a fall into some dark and fearful hollow usually means
+death. But the danger only urged Theodore Roosevelt on, and added zest
+to the undertaking.
+
+He was intensely interested in all he saw, both in Europe proper and in
+the British Isles, but wrote that he was glad to get back home again,
+among his own people. To him there was no country like America, the land
+of _Golden Opportunity_, as one of our most noted writers has called it.
+In Europe there was more or less a lack of personal liberty; here a man
+could try to make what he pleased of himself, be it cobbler or
+President.
+
+The young college graduate had an uncle in New York, named Robert B.
+Roosevelt, who was a well-known lawyer. On his return to this country
+Theodore Roosevelt entered his uncle's office, and likewise took up the
+study of law at Columbia University, attending the lectures given by
+Professor Dwight. Here again his search after what he termed "bottom
+facts" came to light, and he is well remembered as a member of the law
+class because of the way he frequently asked questions and called for
+explanations--accepting nothing as a fact until it was perfectly clear
+in his own mind. The interruptions did not always suit the professor or
+the other students, yet they were often the means of clearing up a point
+that was hazy to many others who had not the courage to thrust forth
+their inquiries as did Theodore Roosevelt.
+
+"He wants to know it all," said one student, in disgust.
+
+"Well, never mind; I wish I knew it all," answered another. "I guess he
+knows what he is doing." And in this he was right; Theodore Roosevelt
+knew exactly what he was trying to accomplish.
+
+The young man was now twenty-three years of age, broad-shouldered, and
+in much better health than ever before. He had not abandoned his
+athletic training, and would often run out to the old home at Oyster Bay
+for a tramp into the woods or on a hunting tour.
+
+While still studying law, Theodore Roosevelt entered politics by taking
+an active part in a Republican primary. He lived in the twenty-third
+assembly district of the state. The district included a great number of
+rich and influential citizens, and on that account was called the
+"Diamond Back District."
+
+"Let us put up young Roosevelt for Assembly," said one of the
+politicians. "He's a clever fellow."
+
+"That may be," said another. "But I don't know that we can manage him.
+He seems a fellow who wants his own way."
+
+"Yes, he'll want his own way, but I reckon that way will be the right
+way," put in a third speaker.
+
+No sooner had Theodore Roosevelt's name been mentioned as a possible
+candidate than there was a storm of opposition from some politicians who
+had in the past ruled the district with a rod of iron. It was a
+Republican district, so that the contest for the place was entirely in
+the primary.
+
+"If he is nominated and elected, our power will be gone," they told
+themselves; and set to work without delay to throw the nomination into
+the hands of somebody else.
+
+Theodore Roosevelt suspected what was going on, but he said nothing to
+those who opposed him. With his friends he was very frank, and told them
+that if he was nominated he would do his best to win the election and
+serve them honestly in the legislature.
+
+His open-heartedness won him many friends, and when the primary was
+held, those who had opposed him were chagrined to see him win the
+nomination with votes to spare. Some at once predicted that he would not
+be elected.
+
+"Those who opposed him at the primary will not vote for him," they
+said. "They would rather help the Democrats."
+
+But this prediction proved false. At the election Theodore Roosevelt was
+elected with a good majority. It was his first battle in the political
+arena and if he felt proud over it, who can blame him?
+
+The State Capitol of New York is, as my young readers must know, at
+Albany, on the Upper Hudson, and hither the young assemblyman journeyed.
+The assemblymen poured in from all over the state, and were made up of
+all sorts and conditions of men, including bankers, farmers, merchants,
+contractors, liquor dealers, and even prize-fighters. Many of these men
+were thoroughly honest, but there were others who were there for gain
+only, and who cared little for the passing of just laws.
+
+The party to which Theodore Roosevelt belonged was in the minority, so
+that the young assemblyman found he would have to struggle hard if he
+expected to be heard at all. But the thoughts of such a struggle only
+put him on his mettle, and he plunged in with a vigor that astonished
+his opponents and caused great delight to his friends.
+
+"He is fearless," said one who had voted for him. "He will make things
+warm for those who don't want to act on the square." And he certainly
+did make it warm, until a certain class grew to fear and hate him to
+such a degree that they plotted to do him bodily harm.
+
+"He has got to learn that he must mind his own business," was the way
+one of these corruptionists reasoned.
+
+"But what can we do?" asked another. "He's as sharp on the floor of the
+Assembly as a steel trap."
+
+"We'll get Stubby to brush up against him," said a third.
+
+Stubby was a bar-room loafer who had been at one time something of a
+pugilist. He was a thoroughly unprincipled fellow, and it was known that
+he would do almost anything for money.
+
+"Sure, I'll fix him," said Stubby. "You just leave him to me and see how
+I polish him off."
+
+The corruptionists and their tool met at the Delavan House, an
+old-fashioned hotel at which politicians in and around the capital were
+wont to congregate, and waited for the young assemblyman. Roosevelt was
+not long in putting in an appearance and was soon in deep discussion
+with some friends.
+
+"Watch him, Stubby," said one of the young assemblyman's enemies. "Don't
+let him get away from you to-night."
+
+"I have me eye on him," answered Stubby.
+
+Roosevelt was on the way to the buffet of the hotel when the crowd, with
+Stubby in front, pushed against him rudely. The young assemblyman
+stepped back and viewed those before him fearlessly.
+
+"Say, what do yer mean, running into me that way?" demanded Stubby,
+insolently.
+
+As he spoke he aimed a savage blow at Theodore Roosevelt. But the young
+assemblyman had not forgotten how to box, and he dodged with an agility
+that was astonishing.
+
+"This fellow needs to be taught a lesson," Theodore Roosevelt told
+himself, and then and there he proceeded to administer the lesson in a
+manner that Stubby never forgot. He went down flat on his back, and
+when he got up, he went down again, with a bleeding nose and one eye all
+but closed. Seeing this, several leaped in to his assistance, but it was
+an ill-fated move, for Roosevelt turned on them also, and down they
+went, too; and then the encounter came to an end, with Theodore
+Roosevelt the victor.
+
+"And that wasn't the end of it," said one, who witnessed the affair.
+"After it was over young Roosevelt was as smiling as ever. He walked
+straight over to some of his enemies who had been watching the mix-up
+from a distance and told them very plainly that he knew how the attack
+had originated, and he was much obliged to them, for he hadn't enjoyed
+himself so much for a year. Phew! but weren't those fellows mad! And
+wasn't Stubby mad when he learned that they had set him against one of
+the best boxers Harvard ever turned out? But after that you can make
+sure they treated Roosevelt with respect and gave him a wide berth."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV
+
+THEODORE ROOSEVELT AND GOVERNOR CLEVELAND--GOOD WORK AS AN
+ASSEMBLYMAN--SOME MEASURES PUSHED THROUGH--BIRTH OF ALICE
+ROOSEVELT--DEATH OF MR. ROOSEVELT'S MOTHER
+
+
+The career of an assemblyman is not generally an interesting one, but
+Mr. Roosevelt managed to extract not a little pleasure and also some
+profit from it. The experience was just what he needed to fit himself
+for the larger positions he was, later on, to occupy.
+
+One happening is of peculiar interest to note. While Theodore Roosevelt
+was a member of the Assembly, Grover Cleveland became governor of the
+state. Mr. Cleveland was a Democrat, while Mr. Roosevelt was a
+Republican, yet the two future Presidents of the United States became
+warm friends,--a friendship that has endured to the present day.
+
+It is said that the friendship started in rather a peculiar manner.
+There was at the time a measure before the Assembly to reduce the fare
+of the elevated roads in New York City from ten cents to five cents.
+After a great deal of talking, the bill passed the Assembly and then the
+Senate, and went to the governor for his signature. Much to the surprise
+of the general public Governor Cleveland vetoed the bill, stating that
+when the capitalists had built the elevated roads they had understood
+that the fare was to be ten cents, and that it was not right to deprive
+them of their profits. At once those who wanted the measure to become a
+law decided to pass it over the governor's head. When this attempt was
+made, Theodore Roosevelt got up boldly and said he could not again vote
+for the bill--that he was satisfied that Governor Cleveland's view of
+the matter was correct.
+
+"These people would not have put their money in the elevated railroads
+had they not been assured that the fare was to be ten cents," said he.
+"We are under obligation to them, and we must keep our promises." And so
+the bill fell through. It was not in itself right that the fare should
+be ten cents, and it has long since been reduced to five cents, but it
+shows that Theodore Roosevelt was bound to do what was right and just,
+according to the dictates of his own conscience, and this won for him
+many friends, even among those who had opposed him politically.
+
+In a work of this kind, intended mainly for the use of young people, it
+is not necessary to do more than glance at the work which Theodore
+Roosevelt accomplished while a member of the New York Assembly.
+
+He made a close study of the various political offices of New York
+County and discovered that many office-holders were drawing large sums
+of money in the shape of fees for which they were doing hardly any work.
+This he considered unfair, and by dint of hard labor helped to pass a
+law placing such offices on the salary list, making a saving to the
+county of probably half a million dollars a year.
+
+One of the best things done by Theodore Roosevelt at that time was the
+support given by him to a civil service law for the state. Up to that
+time office-holding was largely in the hands of the party which happened
+to be in power.
+
+"This is all wrong," said the young assemblyman. "A clerk or anybody
+else doing his duty faithfully should not be thrown out as soon as there
+is a political change." The new law was passed, and this was the
+beginning of what is commonly called the merit system, whereby a large
+number of those who work for the state are judged solely by their
+capabilities and not by their political beliefs. This system has since
+been extended to other states and also to office-holding under the
+national government.
+
+Another important measure pushed through the Assembly by Theodore
+Roosevelt was what was known as the Edson Charter for New York City,
+giving to the mayor certain rights which in the past had rested in the
+board of aldermen. This measure was defeated during Roosevelt's second
+term of office, but in 1884 he pressed it with such force that it
+overcame all opposition and became a law. Many have considered this
+victory his very best work.
+
+By those who knew him at this time he is described as having almost a
+boyish figure, frank face, clear, penetrating eyes, and a smile of
+good-natured friendship and dry humor. When he talked it was with an
+earnestness that could not be mistaken. By those who were especially
+bitter against him he was sometimes called a dude and a silk stocking,
+but to these insinuations he paid no attention, and after the encounter
+at the Delavan House his opponents were decidedly more careful as to how
+they addressed him.
+
+"Take him all the way through he was generally even tempered," one has
+said who met him at that time. "But occasionally there was a flash from
+his eye that made his opponent draw back in quick order. He would stand
+a good deal, but there were some things he wouldn't take, and they knew
+it. One thing is certain, after he was in the Assembly for a few months
+everybody knew perfectly that to come to him with any bill that was the
+least bit shady was a waste of time and effort. Roosevelt wouldn't stand
+for it a minute."
+
+In those days Theodore Roosevelt did not give up his habits of athletic
+exercise, and nearly every day he could be seen taking long walks in the
+country around Albany. In the meantime his "Naval War of 1812" was well
+under way, but he could spare only a few hours occasionally to complete
+his manuscript.
+
+His married life had thus far been a happy one, and its joy was greatly
+increased by the birth of his daughter Alice. As will be seen later, Mr.
+Roosevelt is what is called a family man, and he took great comfort in
+this new addition to his little household. But his happiness was
+short-lived, for in 1884, when the daughter was but a baby, the beloved
+wife died, and the little one had to be given over to the care of the
+grandparents in Boston. Not many months later Mr. Roosevelt's mother
+died also, heaping additional sorrow upon his head.
+
+With the conclusion of his third term in the Assembly Theodore
+Roosevelt's work as a member of that body came to an end. If he had made
+some enemies, he had made more friends, and he was known as an ardent
+supporter of reform in all branches of politics. In recognition of his
+ability he was chosen as a delegate-at-large to the Republican
+convention brought together to nominate a candidate to succeed
+President Arthur.
+
+At that time James G. Blaine from Maine had served many years in the
+United States Senate, and it was thought that he would surely be both
+nominated and elected. But many were opposed to Blaine, thinking he
+would not support such reform measures as they wished to see advanced,
+and among this number was Theodore Roosevelt.
+
+"We must nominate Mr. Edmunds," said the young delegate-at-large, and
+did his best for the gentleman in question.
+
+"It cannot be done," said another delegate.
+
+The convention met at Exposition Hall in Chicago, and Mr. Roosevelt was
+placed on the Committee on Resolutions. It was a stormy convention, and
+ballot after ballot had to be taken before a nomination could be
+secured. Blaine led from the start, with Senator Edmunds a fairly close
+second.
+
+"If Blaine is nominated, he will be defeated," said more than one.
+
+At last came the deciding vote, and James G. Blaine was put up at the
+head of the ticket, with John A. Logan for Vice-President.
+
+At once Blaine clubs were organized all over the country, and the
+Republican party did all in its power to elect its candidate. He was
+called the Plumed Knight, and many political clubs wore plumes in his
+honor when on parade. In the meantime the Democrats had nominated Grover
+Cleveland.
+
+The fight was exceedingly bitter up to the very evening of election day.
+When the votes were counted, it was found that Blaine had been defeated
+by a large majority, and that Grover Cleveland, Roosevelt's old friend,
+had won the highest gift in the hands of the nation.
+
+His work at the convention in Chicago was Theodore Roosevelt's first
+entrance into national affairs, and his speeches on that occasion will
+not be readily forgotten. It was here that he came into contact with
+William McKinley, with whom, sixteen years later, he was to run on the
+same ticket. The records of that convention show that on one occasion
+McKinley spoke directly after Roosevelt. Thus were these two drawn
+together at that early day without knowing or dreaming that one was to
+succeed the other to the Presidency.
+
+But though Theodore Roosevelt was disappointed over the nomination made
+at Chicago, he did not desert his party. Instead he did all he could to
+lead them to victory, until the death of his mother caused him to
+withdraw temporarily from public affairs.
+
+[Illustration: Signature: Alice Lee Roosevelt]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V
+
+THEODORE ROOSEVELT AS A RANCHMAN AND HUNTER IN THE BAD LANDS--BRINGING
+DOWN HIS FIRST BUFFALO--RATTLESNAKES, AND A WILD GOOSE
+
+
+Theodore Roosevelt had now published his "Naval History of the War of
+1812," and it had created a decidedly favorable opinion among those
+critics who were best able to judge of the production. It is an
+authoritative work, and is to-day in the library of nearly every
+American war-ship afloat, as well as in numerous government libraries in
+this country, as at Washington, West Point, and Annapolis, and also in
+leading libraries of England.
+
+Being out of politics the young author thought of taking up his pen once
+more. But he was restless by nature, and the loss of his wife and his
+mother still weighed heavily upon him. So he took himself to the West,
+to where the Little Missouri River flows in winding form through what
+are called the Bad Lands of North Dakota.
+
+Here, on the edge of the cattle country, Theodore Roosevelt had become
+possessed of two ranches, one called the Elkhorn and the other Chimney
+Butte. Both were located by the river, which during the dry season was
+hardly of any depth at all, but which during the heavy rains, or during
+the spring freshets, became a roaring torrent.
+
+At one of these ranches Theodore Roosevelt settled down for the time
+being, to rough it in hunting and raising cattle. When the weather would
+not permit of his going abroad, or when the mood of the author seized
+him, he wrote. As a result of these experiences he has given us a
+delightful work called "The Hunting Trips of a Ranchman," first
+published in 1885, giving his adventures among the cattle and while on
+the hunt, sometimes alone and sometimes in company with the rude but
+honest cow punchers and plainsmen who surrounded him.
+
+Mr. Roosevelt has described the ranch at which he lived for the greater
+part of his time as a long, low, story-high house of hewn logs, clean
+and neat, and with many rooms. It faced the river, and in front was a
+long, low veranda, where one might idle on a clear, warm day to his
+heart's content. Inside, the main room contained a shelf full of the
+owner's favorite outdoor books and the walls half-a-dozen pet pictures.
+Rifles and shot-guns stood handy in corners, and on pegs and deer horns
+hung overcoats of wolf or coon skin and gloves of otter or beaver.
+
+That Theodore Roosevelt was a close observer of all that occurred around
+him is proved by his writings. With great minuteness he has described
+his life at the ranch home and while in the saddle, both in winter and
+summer, telling of his experiences while rounding up cattle and while
+bringing down waterfowl and larger game of various kinds. He likewise
+describes the trained hunters he has met at different seasons of the
+year, and tells of what they have done or were trying to do.
+
+At this time his favorite horse was a steed called Manitou. But when on
+a round-up of cattle, many ponies were taken along, so that a fresh
+mount could be had at any time. It was a breezy, free life, and to it
+our President undoubtedly owes the rugged constitution that he possesses
+to-day.
+
+His observations led him to make many investigations concerning the
+smaller wild animals near his ranches and the larger beasts to be found
+farther off. The tales which were told to him by other ranchmen and
+hunters he always took "with a grain of salt," and he soon reached the
+conclusion that many of the so-styled mighty hunters were only such in
+name, and had brought down quantities of game only in years gone by when
+such game was plentiful and could be laid low without much trouble. Once
+when a man told him he had brought down a certain beast at four hundred
+yards, Roosevelt measured the distance and found it to be less than half
+that.
+
+"You couldn't fool him on much," said one of the persons who met him
+about that time. "He would take precious little for granted. He wanted
+to know the how of everything, and he wasn't satisfied until he did
+know."
+
+Regarding his own powers as a hunter at that time, Mr. Roosevelt is very
+modest. He says his eyesight was rather poor, and his hand not over
+steady, so that "drawing a bead" on anything was not easy. Yet he went
+into the sport with much enthusiasm, and if at times he came back at
+nightfall empty-handed, he did not complain, and he was almost certain
+to have something interesting to tell of what he had seen.
+
+Theodore Roosevelt had been in this territory before, although not to
+remain any great length of time. Once he had come out to hunt buffalo,
+no easy thing to do, since this game was growing scarcer every day. He
+had a guide named Ferris, who was not particularly struck with the
+appearance of the pale young man, plainly dressed, whom he met at the
+railroad station.
+
+"I sized him up as not being able to endure a long trip after a
+buffalo," said the guide, in speaking afterward of the meeting. "He was
+well mounted, but he looked as if he might play out before the sun went
+down."
+
+But in this the guide was mistaken. Roosevelt proved that he could ride
+as well as anybody. The first night out found the hunters about thirty
+miles from any settlement. They went into camp on the open prairie,
+tethering their horses with ropes fastened to their saddles, which they
+used as pillows.
+
+All went well for an hour or two, when the improvised pillow was jerked
+from beneath Theodore Roosevelt's head, and he heard his horse bounding
+away in the distance.
+
+"Wolves!" cried the guide. "They have frightened our horses!"
+
+So it proved; and the hunters lost no time in reaching for their
+firearms. But the wolves kept their distance, and soon Theodore
+Roosevelt was running after the horses, which, after a good deal of
+trouble, he secured and brought back. After that the guide no longer
+looked on him as a "tenderfoot."
+
+"A tenderfoot," said he, "would have been scared to death. But Teddy
+Roosevelt was as cool as a cucumber through it all--as if the happening
+wasn't in the least out of the ordinary."
+
+For several days the hunters remained on the prairie looking for
+buffalo, but without success. They were on the point of turning back
+when the guide noticed that the horses were growing uneasy.
+
+"Some big game at hand," he announced. "Come on to yonder washout and
+see if I am not right."
+
+With great caution the hunters advanced to the washout the guide had
+mentioned. Dismounting, they crept forward in the shelter of the
+brushwood, and there, true enough, resting at his ease was a great
+buffalo bull.
+
+"Hit him where the patch of red shows on his side," whispered the guide,
+and Roosevelt nodded to show that he understood. With care and coolness
+he took aim and fired, and the buffalo bull leaped up and staggered
+forward with the blood streaming from his mouth and nose.
+
+"Shall I give him another?" was the question asked, but before it could
+be answered the buffalo bull gave a plunge and fell dead.
+
+Rattlesnakes are rather unpleasant reptiles to deal with, and Theodore
+Roosevelt has shown his bravery by the way in which he speaks of them in
+his accounts of outdoor life. He says to a man wearing alligator boots
+there is little danger, for the fang of the reptile cannot go through
+the leather, and the snake rarely strikes as high as one's knee. But he
+had at least one experience with a rattlesnake not readily forgotten.
+
+He was out on a hunt for antelope. The sage-brush in which he was
+concealing himself was so low that he had to crawl along flat on his
+breast, pushing himself forward with hands and feet as best he could.
+
+He was almost on the antelope when he heard a warning whirr close at his
+side, and glancing hastily in that direction, saw the reptile but a few
+feet away, coiled up and ready to attack.
+
+It was a thrilling and critical moment, and had the young hunter leaped
+up he might have been dangerously if not fatally struck. But by instinct
+he backed away silently and moved off in another direction through the
+brush. The rattlesnake did not follow, although it kept its piercing
+eyes on the hunter as long as possible. After the antelope stalk was
+over, Roosevelt came back to the spot, made a careful search, and,
+watching his chance, fired on the rattlesnake, killing it instantly.
+
+In those days Theodore Roosevelt met Colonel William Cody, commonly
+known as "Buffalo Bill," and many other celebrated characters of the
+West. He never grew tired of listening to the stories these old
+trappers, hunters, scouts, and plainsmen had to tell, and some of these
+stories he afterward put into print, and they have made excellent
+reading.
+
+During many of his hunting expeditions at that time Theodore Roosevelt
+was accompanied by his foreman, a good shot and all-round ranchman named
+Merrifield. Merrifield had been in the West but five years, but the life
+fitted him exactly, and in him Roosevelt the ranchman and hunter found a
+companion exactly to his liking, fearless and self-reliant to the last
+degree.
+
+As perhaps most of my young readers know, wild geese are generally
+brought down with a shot-gun, but in the Bad Lands it was not unusual to
+bring them down with a rifle, provided the hunter was quick and accurate
+enough in his aim. One morning, just before dawn, Theodore Roosevelt was
+riding along the edge of a creek when he heard a cackling that he knew
+must come from some geese, and he determined if possible to lay one low.
+
+It was easy work to dismount and crawl to the edge of the creek. But a
+fog lay over the water, and he could see the geese but indistinctly.
+Leaving the creek bank, he ran silently to where the watercourse made a
+turn and then crawled forward in the brush. Soon the fog lifted once
+more, and he saw the geese resting on the water close to the bend. He
+fired quickly and brought down the largest of the flock, while the
+others lost no time in disappearing. It was a good fat goose and made
+excellent eating.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI
+
+GROUSE AND OTHER SMALL GAME--THE SCOTCHMAN AND THE SKUNK--CAUGHT IN A
+HAILSTORM ON THE PRAIRIE--BRINGING DOWN BLACK-TAIL DEER
+
+
+It cannot be said that Theodore Roosevelt's venture as a ranchman was a
+very successful one, and it is doubtful if he expected to make much
+money out of it. He lost nothing in a financial way, and there is no
+doubt but that the experience was of great benefit to him. In this
+semi-wilderness he met all sorts and conditions of men, and grew to know
+them thoroughly. In the past his dealings had been almost entirely with
+people of large cities and towns, and with men of learning and large
+business affairs; here he fell in with the wildest kind of cowboys and
+frontiersmen. Some he soon found were not fit to be associated with, but
+the majority proved as honest and hard-working fellows as could be met
+with anywhere. Many of these loved the young "boss" from the start, and
+when, years later, the war with Spain broke out, and there was a call
+to arms, not a few of them insisted upon joining the Rough Riders just
+to be near Theodore Roosevelt once more.
+
+Around the ranches owned by Theodore Roosevelt there were more or less
+grouse of the sharp-tailed variety. As this sort of game made excellent
+eating, ranchmen and regular hunters did not hesitate to bring them down
+at every opportunity.
+
+One afternoon Theodore Roosevelt left his ranch to visit the shack of
+one of his herders, about thirty-five miles down the river. It was a
+cold, clear day, and he was finely mounted on a well-trained pony. He
+writes that he was after grouse, hoping to get quite a number of them.
+
+He had trusted to reach the shack long before sundown, but the way was
+bad, over bottoms covered with thin ice and snow, and soon darkness came
+on, leaving him practically lost in the cottonwoods that lined the
+watercourse.
+
+What to do the young ranchman did not know, and it is safe to say that
+he wished himself heartily out of the difficulty. It was so dark he
+could not see three yards ahead of him, and it was only by the merest
+accident that he struck the shack at last, and then he found it empty,
+for the herder had gone off elsewhere on business.
+
+So far Roosevelt had seen no game, so he was without food, and what made
+matters worse, the larder of the shack proved to be empty. All he had
+with him was a little package of tea.
+
+It was a dismal outlook truly, and especially on such a cold night. But
+firewood was at hand, and after turning his pony loose to shift for
+itself, the future President of our country started up housekeeping for
+himself by lighting a fire, bringing in some water from under the ice of
+the river, and brewing himself a good, strong cup of tea! It was not a
+very nourishing meal, but it was all he had, and soon after that he went
+to sleep, trusting for better luck in the morning.
+
+He was up almost before daybreak, and my young readers can rest assured
+that by that time his appetite was decidedly keen. Listening intently,
+he could hear the grouse drumming in the woods close by.
+
+"I must have some of them, and that directly," he told himself, and
+rifle in hand lost no time in making his way to the woods. By keeping
+out of sight behind the brushwood he managed to get quite close to the
+game, and so brought down one after another until he had five. Such
+success was a great satisfaction to him, and returning to the shack he
+fixed himself a breakfast of broiled sharptails, to which he did full
+justice.
+
+It was not all play at the ranches, and sometimes Theodore Roosevelt
+went out with his men to round up the cattle and help "cut out" what was
+his own. This was hard work, for frequently the cattle did not want to
+be separated from the beasts belonging to another ranchman. More than
+once an angry cow or a bull would charge, and then there would be a
+lively scramble on pony-back or on foot to get out of the way.
+Sometimes, too, the cattle would wander off and get lost, and then a
+long and hard hunt would be necessary in order to find them again.
+
+But there was fun as well as hard work, and Mr. Roosevelt has told one
+story about a skunk that is sure to be remembered. He says that skunks
+were very numerous, and that they were more feared than larger animals
+by the cowboys because the bite was sure to bring on hydrophobia.
+
+One night a number of the cowboys and Mr. Roosevelt were sleeping in a
+hut. A skunk came along, and after a time worked its way into the hut.
+It got among the pots and pans and made a noise which quickly awoke a
+Scotchman named Sandy.
+
+Thinking something was wrong, Sandy struck a light, and seeing the eyes
+of the skunk, fired. But his aim was bad, and the animal fled.
+
+"What were you firing at?" asked half a dozen of the other cowboys.
+
+The Scotchman explained, and, satisfied that it had been a skunk, the
+others told him he had better leave the animal alone or there would be
+trouble.
+
+Nobody thought the skunk would come back, but it did, and again Sandy
+heard it among the pots and pans. This was too much for his Scotch
+blood, and taking aim once more, he fired and gave the skunk a mortal
+wound. At once the hut was filled with a powerful odor that made all
+the inmates rush for the open air.
+
+"Now see what you have done!" cried several, indignantly.
+
+"Hoot mon!" answered the Scotchman, holding his nose tightly, "A didna
+ken 'twould cause sec' a tragedee!"
+
+And after that we may be sure that Sandy let skunks severely alone.
+
+Hunting in the summer time, or when the weather was but moderately cold,
+was well enough, but hunting in the dead of winter was quite a different
+thing. Then the thermometer would frequently drop to thirty and forty
+degrees below zero, and there would be a cutting "norther" fit to freeze
+the very marrow in one's bones. Seldom was there much snow, but when it
+came, it caused a veritable blizzard, during which neither man nor beast
+felt like stirring out.
+
+It was during such weather that Theodore Roosevelt once had the tip of
+his nose and one cheek frozen--something that caused him not a little
+pain and trouble for a long time afterward.
+
+It was in those dreary days that the logs were piled high in the broad
+fireplace of the ranch home, and Theodore Roosevelt spent his days in
+reading and studying, in writing letters to his friends and relatives,
+and in penning some of the hunting sketches that have won him literary
+fame.
+
+One day, early in the winter, Theodore Roosevelt and his foreman went
+out to see if they could not bring in two white-tail deer which had been
+seen in the vicinity of the ranch the day before. One of the deer, a
+large buck, had been shot in the ankle by the foreman, so the beginning
+of the trail was easy to follow. The buck and his mate had gone into a
+thicket, and it was likely that there the pair had spent the night.
+
+"We'll have our own trouble finding the tracks again," said the foreman.
+And so it proved; for during the night some cattle and other animals had
+passed in and out of the thicket, which covered a large extent of
+territory.
+
+At last the hunters hit upon the right trail, and the foreman went
+ahead, leaving Roosevelt to keep somewhat toward the outside of the
+cover. Both were wide-awake and on the alert, and presently the foreman
+announced that he had found the spot where the wounded buck had passed
+the night.
+
+"He is not very far from here," said the foreman, and hardly had he said
+this than Theodore Roosevelt heard a cracking of fallen twigs and a
+breaking of the brush and lower limbs of the trees as the buck rushed
+through the thicket. He ran with all speed in the direction and took
+station behind a large tree.
+
+Only a few seconds passed, and then the buck showed his head and antlers
+among the brushwood. He was gazing ahead anxiously, no doubt trying to
+decide if it would be safe to leap into the open and run up the trail.
+Then he turned his gaze directly toward where Theodore Roosevelt was
+crouching, rifle in hand.
+
+Another instant and it would have been too late. But just as the buck's
+head was turned and he sniffed the air suspiciously, the young ranchman
+pulled the trigger.
+
+"He turned his head sharply toward me as I raised the rifle," says Mr.
+Roosevelt, in writing of this adventure, "and the bullet went fairly
+into his throat, just under the jaw, breaking his neck, and bringing
+him down in his tracks with hardly a kick."
+
+The buck proved to be an extra fine one, and the two hunters lost no
+time in dressing the game and taking it to the ranch. Not wishing to go
+back for their horses, the two dragged the game over the snow, each
+taking hold of an antler for that purpose. It was intensely cold, so
+that each of the hunters had to drag first with one hand and then with
+the other for fear of having his fingers frozen.
+
+This was one of the times when the young ranchman and hunter was
+successful in his quest. But Mr. Roosevelt has not hesitated to tell of
+the many times he has gone out on the hunt only to return empty-handed
+and glad enough to get back to a warm shelter and where he was sure of a
+good meal.
+
+"Ranching and hunting was no bed of roses," some one who knew him at
+that time has said. "Many a time he came back utterly fagged out and not
+a thing to show for his labor. But he never complained, and on the
+contrary could generally tell a pretty good story about something he had
+seen or had taken note of. In the summer he would examine the nests of
+birds and waterfowl with great care, and I have seen him with a horned
+frog before him, studying every point of the creature."
+
+Once while on the prairie the young ranchman was caught in a heavy
+hailstorm. He was out with a number of others, when, with scarcely any
+warning, the sky began to grow dark, and the wind came up in fitful
+gusts.
+
+"We must get out of this, and quick too," said a companion. And all
+pushed onward as fast as they could. But soon the heavy fall of hail
+overtook them, and they were glad enough to seek even the slight shelter
+of a deep washout, where men and horses huddled close together for
+protection. The hailstones came down as large as marbles, causing the
+horses to jump around in a fashion that was particularly dangerous to
+themselves and to their owners. The time was August, yet the air grew
+very cold, and when the storm was over, some cattle were found
+completely benumbed. A few had been killed, and there had likewise been
+great slaughter among a flock of lambs that had been driven into the Bad
+Lands the year previous.
+
+Mr. Roosevelt tells us that the greatest number of black-tailed deer he
+ever killed in one day was three. He is a true sportsman in this respect
+and does not kill for the mere sake of killing. Those who go out just to
+slaughter all they possibly can are not sportsmen, but butchers. To be
+sure, a hunter may have to play the butcher at times, when the meat is
+needed, but not otherwise.
+
+On the occasion when the three black-tails were laid low the young
+ranchman and his foreman started on the hunt very early in the morning,
+when the bright moon was still in the sky. It was late in November and
+stinging cold, so they allowed their horses to take their own pace,
+which was far from slow.
+
+The course of the hunters was up the bed of a dry creek, along which
+they passed the still sleeping cattle and also a drove of ponies. Then
+they reached a spot where they left their own steeds, and, rifles in
+hand, hurried silently toward a great plateau which lay some distance
+before them. Signs of deer could be seen on every hand, and both were
+certain that the day's outing would prove a grand success.
+
+Theodore Roosevelt had separated from his companion when of a sudden he
+caught sight of a beautiful doe. It was a fair shot, and dropping on one
+knee he took aim and fired. But to his intense chagrin the doe bounded
+off and disappeared in the brushwood.
+
+"Hit anything?" sang out the foreman.
+
+"I am afraid not," was the answer.
+
+"Never mind; better luck next time." And then both sank down behind a
+rock where they could get a good view of a hollow ahead of them.
+
+They had been behind the rock but a short time when they heard a
+cracking of twigs, and a fine black-tail buck came cautiously into view.
+Both fired, and the buck rolled over, never to rise again. Then another
+deer came into view and both fired again, but the game was not struck
+and lost no time in disappearing.
+
+"Never mind; one isn't so bad," said Theodore Roosevelt, and his
+companion agreed with him.
+
+The hunters now decided to go forward into the hollow and look for the
+doe Theodore Roosevelt had missed. This was done, and soon the foreman
+pointed to some drops and splashes of blood.
+
+"Must have hit her, after all," said the foreman. "We can take our time
+about following her up. We'll be sure to get her sooner or later."
+
+But locating the wounded doe proved not so easy, after all. The trail
+was followed for some time, but was lost on the hard ground higher up;
+and at last the two hunters agreed to look for new game. They had lunch,
+and then started out nearly as fresh as before when suddenly the foreman
+called out:--
+
+"There's your game all right!"
+
+He pointed to a clump of bushes, and running forward, both saw the doe
+stretched out, stiff and cold. She had been mortally wounded, after all,
+much to both hunters' gratification.
+
+So far the hunting had been on foot, but now the hunters took again to
+their steeds. Mr. Roosevelt says he was wishing for just one more shot,
+to see if he could not do better than before, when his wish was
+gratified. Just ahead a yearling black-tail buck leaped into view and
+cantered away. After the buck went both hunters, but Theodore Roosevelt
+was in the lead, and this time determined to make no miss or poor shot.
+He waited until the buck turned its side to him, then fired with
+especial care. The game staggered on, then fell. The bullet had gone
+clean through its body, and in a few seconds it breathed its last.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII
+
+RUNS FOR MAYOR OF NEW YORK CITY--MARRIAGE TO EDITH KERMIT CAREW--HUNTING
+IN THE BIGHORN MOUNTAINS--A WILD CHASE AFTER THREE ELK
+
+
+Although Theodore Roosevelt was devoting himself to ranching, hunting,
+and literary work in North Dakota he had by no means given up his
+residence in New York or at Oyster Bay. More than this, he still
+continued his connection with the Republican party in spite of the
+set-back at the last National Convention.
+
+In 1886, while Grover Cleveland was still President of the United
+States, there was an exceedingly sharp and bitter fight in New York City
+over the office of mayor. There was great discontent both in the
+Republican and the Democratic party, and nobody could tell what was
+going to happen on election day.
+
+"Let us put up Teddy Roosevelt," said some of the Republicans, and
+shortly after this Theodore Roosevelt was nominated for mayor of New
+York. His regular opponent was Abram Hewitt, while the Independents put
+up Henry George, the "single tax" man, well known as the author of a
+book entitled "Progress and Poverty."
+
+From the very start the campaign was an exceedingly hot one, and there
+was a good deal of parading and speech-making. Many clubs were organized
+in behalf of Theodore Roosevelt, and clubs were likewise formed to
+support the other candidates. The supporters of Henry George came from
+both regular parties, so political matters became very much mixed up.
+
+"There is no show for Roosevelt unless George withdraws," said more than
+one old politician.
+
+"And George won't withdraw," added others. And so it proved. Henry
+George was exceptionally strong with the poorer classes, and on election
+day he polled over 68,000 votes; 90,552 votes were cast for Hewitt,
+while Roosevelt received 60,435 votes.
+
+It was certainly a disheartening defeat, and many a man would have
+retired from the political field, never to show himself again. But
+Theodore Roosevelt was made of sterner stuff. He held his ground and
+went his way as before, resolved to do his duty as it should present
+itself.
+
+It was about this time that his intimacy with Miss Edith Kermit Carew
+was renewed. It will be remembered that she had been his playmate during
+his earlier days around Union Square. In the years that had followed she
+had been graduated from a young ladies' seminary and had travelled
+abroad, visiting London, Paris, and other large cities. Now she was home
+again, and on December 2, 1886, she became Mr. Roosevelt's wife.
+
+Mr. Roosevelt's second marriage has been a very happy one. Mrs.
+Roosevelt is a loving wife and a gracious mistress of the White House.
+Five children have come to bless their union, of which more will be said
+later. Mrs. Roosevelt at once took Mr. Roosevelt's daughter Alice to her
+heart, and from that time to this the two have been as mother and
+daughter.
+
+Theodore Roosevelt had already produced his "Naval War of 1812" and his
+"Hunting Trips of a Ranchman," both spoken of in previous pages. A
+short while after he was married the second time he brought out a "Life
+of Thomas Benton," and a year later a "Life of Gouverneur Morris." In
+addition to this he wrote a number of articles for the magazines, and
+also some short stories for young folks. All were well received and
+added not a little to his literary reputation.
+
+But the desire to be out in the open, to roam the prairie and to hunt,
+was in his veins, and again and again he visited his ranches in the Bad
+Lands, and took hunting trips in other directions. Sometimes he cared
+little or nothing for the game brought down, and at others he went on
+the hunt with great deliberation, for "something worth while," as he
+expressed it.
+
+How careful he could be on the latter occasions is shown by his printed
+views on hunting, in which he discusses the best rifles, shot-guns, and
+pistols to use, the best knives to carry, how to dress with comfort, and
+how to follow up game, on horseback and on foot, in the open and when in
+the woods or in the short brush. He has also told us much about the
+habits of the beasts and birds that he has hunted, showing that he
+followed the sport intelligently and not in the haphazard fashion of
+many who go out merely to get a big bagful of game.
+
+[Illustration: Edith Kermit Roosevelt]
+
+Hunting was not all fun in those days. We have already related how
+Theodore Roosevelt was caught in a heavy hailstorm. At another time he
+and his companions were caught in a three-days' rain-storm, during which
+the wind blew a hurricane. They were miles away from the ranch home, and
+it was utterly impossible to move in any direction.
+
+"Reckon we are booked to stay here," said one of the cowboys, a fellow
+from the South. "It's a right smart storm, and it's going to stay by
+us." And stay by them it did, until the party were almost out of
+provisions. They got what shelter they could in something of a hollow
+overhung with trees and brush, but this was not very satisfactory, and
+all were soaked to the skin, and the blankets in which they rolled
+themselves at night were both wet and muddy.
+
+"Teddy Roosevelt didn't like that wetting, and I know it," one of the
+cowboys has said since. "But he didn't grumble near as much as some of
+the others. We had to take our medicine, and he took his like a man."
+
+There were no elk in the immediate vicinity of Theodore Roosevelt's
+ranches, nor were there many bears or buffaloes. But all of these
+animals were to be met with further westward, and the young ranchman had
+been after them during a previous year's hunting while on a trip to
+Montana and Wyoming.
+
+At that time the destination of the party was the Bighorn Mountains,
+which were reached only after a painful and disheartening journey over a
+very uncertain Indian trail, during which one of the ponies fell into a
+washout and broke his neck, and a mule stuck fast in a mud-hole and was
+extricated only after hours of hard work.
+
+"It was on the second day of our journey into the mountains that I got
+my first sight of elk," says Mr. Roosevelt. The party was on the trail
+leading into a broad valley, moving slowly and cautiously along through
+a patch of pine trees. When the bottom of the valley was gained, Mr.
+Roosevelt saw a herd of cow elk at a great distance, and soon after
+took a shot at one, but failed to reach his mark.
+
+"I'm going after that herd," he said. And as soon as the party had
+pitched camp, he sallied forth in one direction, while his foreman,
+Merrifield, took another.
+
+As Theodore Roosevelt had supposed, the elk had gone off in a bunch, and
+for some distance it was easy to follow them. But further on the herd
+had spread out, and he had to follow with more care, for fear of getting
+on the wrong trail, for elk tracks ran in all directions over the
+mountains. These tracks are there to-day, but the elk and the bears are
+fast disappearing, for ruthless hunters have done their best to
+exterminate the game.
+
+After passing along for several miles, Theodore Roosevelt felt he must
+be drawing close to the herd. Just then his rifle happened to tap on the
+trunk of a tree, and instantly he heard the elk moving away in new
+alarm. His hunting blood was now aroused, and he rushed forward with all
+speed, but as silently as possible. By taking a short cut, the young
+ranchman managed to come up beside the running elk. They were less than
+twenty yards away, and had it not been for the many trees which were on
+every side, he would have had an excellent shot at them. As it was he
+brought low a fine, full-grown cow elk, and hit a bull calf in the hind
+leg. Later on he took up the trail of the calf and finished that also.
+
+Of this herd the foreman also brought down two, so that for the time
+being the hunters had all the meat they needed. But Theodore Roosevelt
+was anxious to obtain some elk horns as trophies of the chase, and day
+after day a watch was kept for bull elk, as the hunters moved the camp
+from one place to another.
+
+At last the long-looked-for opportunity arrived. Three big bulls were
+seen, and Roosevelt and his man went after them with all possible speed.
+They were on foot, and the trail led them over some soft ground, and
+then through a big patch of burnt timber. Here running was by no means
+easy, and more than once both hunters pitched headlong into the dirt and
+soot, until they were covered from head to foot. But Theodore Roosevelt
+was bound to get the elk, and kept on until the sweat was pouring down
+his face and neck. Shot after shot was fired, and all three of the
+animals were wounded, but still they kept on bounding away.
+
+"One is down!" shouted Roosevelt at last. And the news proved true; the
+smallest of the bulls had rocked unsteadily for a few seconds and gone
+to earth. Then on and on after the remaining game sped the hunters,
+panting and sweating as before.
+
+"The sweat streamed down in my eyes and made furrows in the sooty mud
+that covered my face, from having fallen full length down on the burnt
+earth," writes the dauntless hunter, in relating this story. "I sobbed
+for breath as I toiled at a shambling trot after them, as nearly done
+out as could well be."
+
+But he did not give up; and now the elk took a turn and went downhill,
+with Theodore Roosevelt pitching after them, ready to drop from
+exhaustion, but full of that grit to win out which has since won the
+admiration of all who know the man. The second bull fell; and now but
+one remained, and this dashed into a thicket. On its heels went the
+daring hunter, running the chance of having the elk turn on him as soon
+as cornered, in which case, had Roosevelt's rifle been empty, the
+struggle for life on both sides would have been a fierce one.
+
+In the midst of the thicket the hunter had to pause, for the elk was now
+out of sight, and there was no telling what new course had been taken by
+the game. At a distance he saw a yellow body under the evergreen trees,
+and, taking hasty aim, fired. When he came up, he was somewhat dismayed
+to learn that he had not brought down the elk, but a black-tail deer
+instead. In the meantime, the elk got away, and it proved impossible to
+pick up the trail again.
+
+There is a valuable lesson to be learned from this hunting trip, and one
+that all young readers should take to heart. It shows what sticking at a
+thing can accomplish. Mr. Roosevelt had determined to get at least a
+portion of that game, no matter what the labor and hardship involved.
+Many a hunter would have given up in disgust or despair after the first
+few shots were fired and it looked as if the elk were out of range and
+intended to keep out. But this determined young man did not give up
+thus easily. Hard as was that run up hill and down, and regardless of
+the tumbles taken, and that he was so tired he could scarcely stand, he
+kept on until two elk were brought down, and it was firmly settled that
+the third could not be captured.
+
+The way to accomplish anything in this life is to _stick at it_.
+Theodore Roosevelt understood this truth even when he went to college,
+for in the Harvard journal of which he was an editor he wrote, speaking
+of foot-ball practice, "What is most necessary is that every man should
+realize the necessity of faithful and honest work, _every afternoon_."
+He put "every afternoon" in italics himself, and he meant that every
+foot-ball player who hoped to win in the inter-collegiate foot-ball
+games should _stick at it_ until he had made himself as perfect a player
+as possible. A victory worth gaining is worth working for, and usually
+the hardest-earned victories are the sweetest.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII
+
+BRINGING DOWN A GRIZZLY BEAR--BACK TO NEW YORK--APPOINTED A CIVIL
+SERVICE COMMISSIONER--THE WORK OF THE COMMISSION
+
+
+It was while in the Bighorn Mountains that Theodore Roosevelt got his
+first shot at a bear. He had been wanting such a chance for a good many
+years, but up to that date the bears had kept well out of his sight.
+
+In his writings he has said much about bears, both common and grizzly,
+and told of their habits, and how they have been tracked down and shot
+at various times of the year. He holds to the opinion that the average
+bear would rather run away than fight, yet he tells the story of how one
+bear faced the hunter who had shot him, and gave the man one blow with
+his powerful paw that proved fatal.
+
+One day his companion of the hunt came riding in with the carcass of a
+black bear killed in a network of hollows and ravines some miles from
+their present camp.
+
+"The hollows are full of bear tracks," said Merrifield. "I am sure, if
+we go up there, we'll get one or more black bears and perhaps a
+grizzly."
+
+"Then let us go by all means," responded Theodore Roosevelt. And no time
+was lost in moving to the new locality.
+
+The hunters had been out nearly all of the next day, when, on returning
+through the forest toward nightfall, Roosevelt came across the footmarks
+of a large bear. He tried to follow them, but night closed in on him,
+and he had to return to camp. That very night the bear came around the
+camp, looking for something to eat.
+
+"Let us try to bring him down," cried Roosevelt, seizing his rifle,
+while his companion did the same. But outside it was pitch dark.
+
+"Do you see him?" questioned Merrifield.
+
+"No."
+
+"Neither do I."
+
+"Listen."
+
+Both listened, and at a distance heard the bear lumbering off slowly
+through the woods. They went forward a short distance, then came to a
+halt.
+
+"We'll have to give it up for the present," said Theodore Roosevelt.
+"But I am going to have him, sooner or later, if the thing is possible."
+
+Early the next morning both of the hunters sallied forth and discovered
+that the bear had been at the carcasses of some game left in the forest.
+The tracks were fresh.
+
+"He has been here, no doubt of it," said Merrifield. "Shall we wait for
+him to come again?"
+
+"We might as well," was the answer. "He'll get hungry again, sooner or
+later."
+
+So the pair sat down to watch. But the bear was shy, and kept his
+distance. Then it grew dark once more, so that but little could be seen
+under the trees.
+
+"He knows enough to keep away," said Roosevelt's companion.
+
+"Hark!" was the reply and both strained their ears. There was a faint
+crackling of twigs, and they felt certain it was the bear. But it was
+too dark to see anything; so both shouldered their rifles and walked
+back to camp.
+
+Here was another illustration of Theodore Roosevelt's method of sticking
+at a thing. Two days had been spent in trying to get that bear, and yet
+he did not give up. On the following morning he sallied forth once more,
+as full of hope as before.
+
+The bear had been at the carcass again, and the trail was now one to be
+followed with ease.
+
+"I'm going to hunt him down to his lair," said Theodore Roosevelt, and
+stalked off with his companion beside him. Soon they were again deep in
+the woods, walking perhaps where the foot of white man had never before
+trod. Fallen trees were everywhere, and over these they often had to
+climb.
+
+"Getting closer," whispered Roosevelt's companion, and pointed to some
+fresh claw scratches on the bark of fallen trees.
+
+They now moved forward as silently as Indians, sure that the bear could
+not be far off. Suddenly Merrifield dropped on his knee as if to take
+aim. Roosevelt sprang to the front, with rifle raised. The bear was
+there, standing upright, only a few paces away. Without hesitation
+Theodore Roosevelt fired. His aim was true, and the great beast fell
+with a bullet straight between the eyes. The leaden messenger had
+entered his brain, and he died with scarcely a struggle.
+
+"The whole thing was over in twenty seconds from the time I caught sight
+of the game," writes Mr. Roosevelt, in his book "Hunting Trips on the
+Prairies" (Part II of "Hunting Trips of a Ranchman"). "Indeed it was
+over so quickly that the grizzly did not have time to show fight at all
+or come a step toward me. It was the first I had ever seen, and I felt
+not a little proud as I stood over the great brindled bulk which lay
+stretched out at length in the cool shade of the evergreens. He was a
+monstrous fellow, much larger than any I have seen since, whether alive
+or brought in dead by hunters. As near as we could estimate he must have
+weighed about twelve hundred pounds."
+
+There is a bear story for you, boys. And the best of it is, it is every
+word true. In later years Theodore Roosevelt brought down many more
+grizzlies, but I doubt if he was as proud of them as he was of that
+first capture.
+
+While Theodore Roosevelt was spending a large part of his time in
+hunting and in literary work, and in studying political economy, Grover
+Cleveland's first term as President came to an end, and Benjamin
+Harrison was inaugurated to fill the office of Chief Magistrate.
+
+At that time the question of Civil Service was again being agitated.
+Theodore Roosevelt was a warm advocate of the merit system, and knowing
+this, President Harrison appointed him, in 1889, a Civil Service
+Commissioner, and this office he held for six years, until his
+resignation in 1895. When Benjamin Harrison's term of office was up, and
+Grover Cleveland was reelected to the Presidency, it was thought that
+Roosevelt would have to go, but his friend, the newly elected President,
+wished him to remain as a commissioner, and he did so for two years
+longer, thus serving both under a Republican and a Democratic
+administration.
+
+To some of my young readers the term Civil Service, as applied here, may
+be a bit perplexing. For the benefit of such let me state that civil
+service here applies to the thousands of persons who work for the
+government, such as post-office clerks, letter carriers, clerks in the
+various departments at Washington, like the Treasury, the Congressional
+Library, the Government Printing Office, the War Department, and the
+hundred and one other branches in which Uncle Sam needs assistance.
+
+For seventy or eighty years these various positions had been under what
+is commonly called the "spoils system." "To the victor belong the
+spoils," had been the old motto, which generally meant that the party
+happening to be in power could do as it pleased about dealing out
+employment to those under it. A worker might have been ever so faithful
+in the discharge of his duties, but if the administration was changed,
+he ran the risk of losing his position without any notice.
+
+Statesmen of both great political parties had long seen the injustice of
+the spoils system, but few cared to take the matter up for fear of
+offending their political friends. But as matters grew worse, those who
+were honest said they would stand such a system no longer, and they
+began to advocate the merit plan, whereby each worker for our
+government should stand on his merit, so that he could not be removed
+from his position without just cause. This merit system is in operation
+to-day and is a most excellent thing, only becoming dangerous when
+extended too far.
+
+There were two other commissioners besides Mr. Roosevelt on the
+Commission, but all worked together in harmony, although in many moves
+taken Mr. Roosevelt was the leader. About this work he has written a
+notable essay called "Six Years of Civil Service Reform," in which he
+reviews much of the work done. In this essay, among many other things,
+he says:--
+
+"No republic can permanently endure when its politics are corrupt and
+base; and the spoils system,--the application in political life of the
+degrading doctrine that to the victor belong the spoils,--produces
+corruption and degradation. The man who is in politics for the offices
+might just as well be in politics for the money he can get for his vote,
+so far as the general good is concerned." Certainly wise words and well
+worth remembering.
+
+The work of the Commission was by no means easy, and the members were
+often accused of doing some things merely to benefit their own
+particular party or friends. Politicians of the old sort, who wanted
+everything they could lay hands on, fought civil service bitterly, and
+even those who might have been expected to help often held back, fearing
+they would lose their own popularity. Yet on the other hand, some
+members of Congress upheld the Commission nobly, and when President
+Garfield was assassinated by a half-crazy office-seeker many more came
+forward and clamored to put public offices on the merit system by all
+means.
+
+Part of the work of the Commission was to prosecute the head of any
+bureau or department where an employee had been discharged or had
+suffered without just cause. Such cases came up in large numbers and
+were prosecuted with all the vigor of which the Commission were capable.
+
+"We were not always successful in these trials," says Mr. Roosevelt.
+"But we won out in the majority of cases, and we gave the wrong-doing
+such a wide publicity that those who were guilty hesitated to repeat
+their actions." And he goes on to add that during his term of service
+not over one per cent. of those who worked for Uncle Sam were dismissed
+purely for political reasons. This was certainly an excellent record,
+and our government will do well to maintain such a high standard in the
+future.
+
+To give a further idea of the work required in the way of examinations
+for positions under our government, let me state that during the year
+from July 1, 1890, to July 1, 1891, 5251 applicants were examined for
+the departments service, 1579 for the customs service, 8538 for the
+postal service, 3706 for the railway mail service, making a total of
+nearly 20,000, of which about 13,000 passed and the balance failed.
+Since our war with Spain, the work of the government has been vastly
+increased, and the places to be filled every year run up into figures
+that are startling.
+
+One of the best and wisest acts of the Commission was to place the
+colored employees of the government on an equal footing with the white
+employees. In the past the colored employees had occupied their places
+merely through the whim or goodwill of those over them. Now this was
+changed, and any colored man who could pass the examination, and who was
+willing to attend strictly to his labor, was as safe in his situation as
+anybody.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX
+
+A TRIP TO THE SHOSHONE MOUNTAINS--CAUGHT IN A DRIVING SNOWSTORM--BACK TO
+WORK--RESIGNATION AS CIVIL SERVICE COMMISSIONER
+
+
+Notwithstanding the great amount of labor involved as a Civil Service
+Commissioner, Theodore Roosevelt did not forego the pleasures of the
+hunt, and in 1891 he made an extended trip to the Shoshone Mountains in
+Wyoming, going after elk and such other game as might present itself.
+
+On this trip he was accompanied by his ranch partner, a skilled shot
+named Ferguson, and two old hunters named Woody and Hofer. There was
+also in the party a young fellow who looked after the pack-horses,
+fourteen in number.
+
+The start was made on a beautiful day in September, and the party
+journeyed along at a gait that pleased them, bringing down everything
+that came to hand and which could be used as meat. Two tents were
+carried, one for sheltering their packs at night and the other for
+sleeping purposes.
+
+In his book called "The Wilderness Hunter," Mr. Roosevelt has given many
+of the details of this grand hunt, which he says was one of the most
+exciting as well as most pleasurable undertaken. With an interest that
+cannot be mistaken, and which betrays the true sportsman at every turn,
+he gives minute descriptions of how the tents were erected, how
+everything in camp was put in its proper place, and how on wet days they
+would huddle around the camp-fire in the middle of the larger tent to
+keep warm and dry. He also tells how the packs on the horses were
+adjusted, and adds that the hunter who cannot take care of his outfit
+while on the hunt, or who must have all his game stalked for him, is a
+hunter in name only;--which is literally true, as every genuine
+sportsman knows.
+
+The young Civil Service Commissioner went out garbed in a fitting
+hunting costume, consisting of a buckskin shirt, with stout leggings,
+and moccasins, or, when occasion required, alligator-leather boots.
+Heavy overcoats were also carried and plenty of blankets, and for extra
+cold nights Theodore Roosevelt had a fur sleeping-bag, in which, no
+doubt, he slept "as snug as a bug in a rug."
+
+The horses of a pack-train in the wild West are not always thoroughly
+broken, and although the majority rarely do anything worse than lag
+behind or stray away, yet occasionally one or another will indulge in
+antics far from desired. This was true on the present occasion, when at
+different times the pack-beasts went on a "shindy" that upset all
+calculations and scattered packs far and wide, causing a general alarm
+and hard work on the part of all hands to restore quietness and order.
+
+For two days the hunters pushed on into the mountains with but little
+signs of game. Then a rain-storm set in which made the outlook a dismal
+one.
+
+"Going to have a big storm," said one of the old hunters.
+
+"Never mind, we'll have to take it as it comes," was Mr. Roosevelt's
+philosophical answer. "We can't expect good weather every day."
+
+It was almost noon of that day when all heard the call of a bull elk,
+echoing over the hills. The sound came from no great distance, and in
+the face of the rain, Theodore Roosevelt and the hunter named Woody set
+off on foot after the beast, who was still calling as loudly as ever.
+
+It was not long before the hunters could hear the bull plainly, as he
+pawed the earth, a challenge to another bull who was answering him from
+a great distance.
+
+"We are gettin' closer to him," said Woody. "Got to go slow now, or
+he'll take alarm and be off like a flash."
+
+The timber was rather thin, and the ground was covered with moss and
+fallen leaves, and over this the pair glided as silently as shadows,
+until Woody declared that the bull was not over a hundred yards away.
+
+"And he's in a tearing rage, on account of that other bull," he added.
+"Got to plug him fair and square or there will be trouble."
+
+Without replying to this, Theodore Roosevelt took the lead, keeping eyes
+and ears wide open for anything that might come to hand. Then through
+the trees he caught sight of the stately horns of the elk, as he stood
+with head thrown back, repeating his call in trumpet-like tones.
+
+As the hunters came closer, the elk faced around and caught sight of his
+human enemies. Up went his antlers once more, as if to defy them.
+
+"He's coming!" shouted Woody. And scarcely had he spoken when Theodore
+Roosevelt took aim and fired at the animal. There was a snort and a
+gasp, and the elk turned to run away. Then Roosevelt fired a second
+shot, and over went the monarch of the forest in his death agony. It was
+a fine bit of game to bring down, the antlers having twelve prongs. The
+head was cut off and taken back to camp, along with a small part of the
+best of the meat.
+
+After that the forward march was resumed in the face of a sweeping rain
+that wet everybody to the skin. On they went until, just as the rain
+ceased, they reached a bold plateau, overlooking what is called
+Two-Ocean Pass, a wild and wonderful freak of nature, surrounded by
+lofty mountains and watered by streams and brooks flowing in several
+directions. Far up the mountains could be seen the snow-drifts, while
+lower down were the heavy forests and underbrush, the haunts of the game
+they were seeking.
+
+In this Wonderland Theodore Roosevelt hunted to his heart's content for
+many days--bringing down several more elk and also a fair variety of
+smaller game. It was now growing colder, and knowing that the winter
+season was close at hand, the hunters decided to strike camp and return
+homeward.
+
+The movement was made none too soon. The snow was already filling the
+air, and one morning, on coming from his tent, Theodore Roosevelt found
+the ground covered to a depth of a foot and a half. To add to his
+discomfort the pony he was riding began to buck that day and managed to
+dislocate his rider's thumb. But Theodore Roosevelt stuck to him and
+showed him who was master; and after that matters went better. The snow
+continued to come down, and before the end of the journey was reached,
+at Great Geyser Basin, the hunters almost perished from the cold.
+
+Such pictures as the above give us some idea of the varied life that
+Theodore Roosevelt has led. Even at this early age--he was but
+thirty-three years old--he had been a college student, a traveller, an
+author, an assemblyman, a ranchman and hunter, and a Civil Service
+Commissioner. He had travelled the length and breadth of Europe and
+through a large section of our own country. He had visited the palaces
+of kings and the shacks of the humble cowboys of the far West, he had
+met men in high places and in low, and had seen them at their best and
+at their worst. Surely if "experience is the school wherein man learns
+wisdom," then the future President had ample means of growing wise, and
+his works prove that those means were not neglected.
+
+As already mentioned, when Grover Cleveland became President a second
+time, he requested Theodore Roosevelt to retain his place on the Civil
+Service Commission. This was a practical illustration of the workings of
+the merit system, and it made for Mr. Cleveland many friends among his
+former political enemies. By this movement the workings of the
+Commission were greatly strengthened, so that by the time Theodore
+Roosevelt resigned, on May 5, 1895, the Commission had added twenty
+thousand places filled by government employees to those coming under the
+merit system. This number was larger than any placed under the system
+before that time, and the record has scarcely been equalled since.
+
+"He was a fighter for the system, day and night," says one who knew him
+at that time. "He was enthusiastic to the last degree, and had all sorts
+of statistics at his fingers' ends. If anybody in the government employ
+was doing wrong, he was willing to pitch into that person regardless of
+consequences. Some few politicians thought he was a crank on the
+subject, but the results speak for themselves. Some politicians, who
+wanted the old spoils system retained, were often after him like a swarm
+of angry hornets, but he never got out of their way, and when they tried
+to sting, he slapped them in a way that soon made them leave him alone.
+And more than that, he was very clever in the way that he presented his
+case to those representatives and senators who understood the real
+value of Civil Service reform. He made them appreciate what he and his
+fellow-commissioners were trying to do, and when the Commission was
+attacked in Congress it always had, as a consequence, a support that
+could not be easily overthrown."
+
+When Theodore Roosevelt resigned, President Cleveland wrote as follows
+to him:--
+
+"You are certainly to be congratulated upon the extent and permanency of
+civil service reform methods which you have so substantially aided in
+bringing about. The struggle for its firm establishment and recognition
+is past. Its faithful application and reasonable expansion remain,
+subjects of deep interest to all who really desire the best attainable
+public service." It was high praise for the retiring commissioner, and
+it was well deserved.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X
+
+APPOINTED POLICE COMMISSIONER OF NEW YORK CITY--CORRUPTNESS OF THE
+DEPARTMENT--STRENUOUS EFFORTS TO MAKE MATTERS BETTER--A "DRY"
+SUNDAY--ENFORCING THE TENEMENT HOUSE LAW AND OTHER MEASURES
+
+
+During the time that Theodore Roosevelt was a Civil Service Commissioner
+there were several important political changes made in New York City.
+
+In the past there had been a great deal of what is familiarly called
+"machine politics," and matters had been going from bad to worse. But
+now there was an upward turn by the election of William S. Strong to the
+office of mayor. Mr. Strong was a man of high character, and was elected
+by a vote that combined the best elements of all the political parties.
+
+It was at a time when New York City was in urgent need of reform. Those
+in power were doing but little to stop the corruption that was stalking
+abroad upon every hand. Bribes were given and taken in nearly all
+departments, clerks were being paid large salaries for doing practically
+nothing, and contracts were put out, not to those who could do the best
+work, but to those who would pay the political tricksters the most money
+for them.
+
+The record of the police department was perhaps the blackest of the lot.
+It was to this department that the citizens looked for protection from
+crime, yet it was known that many in the department winked at all sorts
+of vice, providing they were properly paid for so doing. Saloons and
+worse resorts were kept open in defiance of the law, and wickedness
+flaunted itself in the face of the public in a manner that was truly
+shocking. Occasionally a private citizen would try to do something to
+mend matters, but his complaint was generally "pigeon-holed," and that
+would be the end of the matter. The rottenness, as it was well called,
+extended from the highest places in the department to the lowest, so
+that it was said not even a policeman could secure his appointment
+without paying several hundred dollars for it, and this he was, of
+course, expected to get back by blackmailing those who lived or did
+business on his beat. And get it back the policeman would, even if he
+had to make an Italian fruit dealer pay him a dollar a month for having
+a stand on the sidewalk, where the walk was supposed to be free from
+obstruction.
+
+When William Strong came into office, the first thing he did was to cast
+his eyes about him for reliable men who might aid him in purifying the
+city. He already knew of Theodore Roosevelt's work as an assemblyman and
+a Civil Service Commissioner.
+
+"Mr. Roosevelt is just the man to take the office of Police Commissioner
+and put the department on an honorable basis," said the newly elected
+mayor, and he lost no time in tendering the office to Mr. Roosevelt. The
+tender was accepted, and Theodore Roosevelt was sworn into his new
+position on May 24, 1895.
+
+The appointment of Mr. Roosevelt to the office of Police Commissioner
+was a great shock to nearly the entire police department. He was known
+for his sterling honesty, and it was felt that he would not condone
+crime in any shape or form.
+
+"There will be a grand shaking up," said more than one. "Just you wait
+till he gets to the bottom of things. He'll turn the light on in a way
+that will make more than one officer tremble in his boots."
+
+On the Board with Mr. Roosevelt were Andrew D. Parker, Avery D. Andrews,
+and Frederick D. Grant, the latter the son of former President Grant.
+Theodore Roosevelt was chosen president, and the Board lost no time in
+getting to work.
+
+"The new Board found the department in a demoralized condition," says
+Mr. Roosevelt, in his report on the matter. "A recent grand jury had
+investigated the records of many officers, and many indictments had been
+found; 268 vacancies existed in the department, and 26 officers,
+including one inspector and five captains, were under suspension on
+account of indictment for crime." This was truly a sad state of affairs,
+and a horrible example to the other large cities of our Union.
+
+The Commissioners went to work with a will, and Theodore Roosevelt was
+the leading spirit in every move made. Every branch of the police
+department was given an overhauling, and those who would not do their
+duty were promptly dismissed, while minor offences were met with heavy
+fines. By an act of the legislature the force of men was increased to
+eight hundred, to keep pace with the growth of the metropolis. The men
+who were particularly faithful in the discharge of their duties were
+rewarded by honorable mention, engrossed certificates, medals of honor,
+and by promotions. More than this, they were given to understand that if
+they did their duty faithfully they need not fear trouble from those
+over them, no matter what changes were made. No officer was allowed to
+accept blackmail money from those lower in the service; and above all,
+no politics were to interfere with the fair and square running of the
+whole department.
+
+It was a gigantic task, and it cannot be said that it was totally
+successful, for the opposition in some quarters was strong. More than
+once Mr. Roosevelt was threatened with violence, but, as when an
+assemblyman, he paid but scant attention to these mutterings.
+
+His habits of personally investigating matters still clung to him, and
+it is well remembered how he went around at odd hours of the day and
+night, and on Sundays, seeing if the policemen were really doing their
+duty. There had been a boast that all policemen were at their posts at
+night. Mr. Roosevelt went out once and found just two out of an even
+dozen where they should be. Then began that "shaking up" that has
+resulted in better police service in New York to this day.
+
+The effect of the new vigor in the police department was felt in many
+other ways. There was a tenement-house law regarding buildings which
+were unfit for human habitations. New York City was crowded with such
+buildings, but nobody had ordered them torn down, because either nobody
+wanted to bother, or the owners paid blackmail money to keep them
+standing for the rent they could get out of them.
+
+"Those tenements must come down," said Theodore Roosevelt.
+
+"If you order them down, the owners will fight you to the bitter end,"
+said another officer of the department.
+
+"I don't care if they do. The houses are a menace to life and health.
+They are filthy, and if a fire ever started in them, some would prove
+regular traps. They have got to go." And shortly after that about a
+hundred were seized, and the most destroyed.
+
+The enforcement of the Sunday liquor law was another thing that
+occasioned great surprise during Mr. Roosevelt's term as Police
+Commissioner. In the past, saloons had been almost as wide open on
+Sundays as on week days. On account of the cosmopolitan character of the
+population it was thought that to close up the saloons on Sundays would
+be impossible. But the police force was given strict orders, and on one
+Sunday in June, 1895, New York City had the first "dry" Sunday that it
+could remember in many years.
+
+This "dry" Sunday provoked a new storm of opposition, especially from
+many of foreign birth, who were used to getting liquor as easily on that
+day as on any other. More threats were made against the vigorous
+commissioner, and on two occasions dynamite bombs were placed in his
+desk, evidently with the hope that they would explode and blow him to
+pieces. But the bombs were found in time, and no damage was done, and
+Theodore Roosevelt paid scant attention to them.
+
+After that he was attacked in a new way. Some of the politicians laid
+traps for him whereby they hoped to bring discredit to his management of
+the department. The fight grew very hot and very bitter, and he was
+accused of doing many things, "just for the looks of them," rather than
+to benefit the public at large. But he kept on his way, and at last the
+opposition were silenced to such an extent that they merely growled
+behind his back.
+
+For many years a large number of shiftless and often lawless men, and
+women too, were attracted to the metropolis because of the "Tramps'
+Lodging Houses" located there. These resorts were continually filled by
+vagrants who would not work and who were a constant menace to society at
+large.
+
+"We must get rid of those lodging houses," said Mr. Roosevelt. "They
+simply breed crime. No respectable man or woman, no matter how poor,
+will enter them."
+
+"But we'll have to have some sort of shelter for the poor people," said
+others.
+
+"To be sure--for those who are deserving. The others should be driven
+off and discouraged," answered Mr. Roosevelt. And one by one the tramps'
+lodging places were abolished. In their place the Board of Charities
+opened a Municipal Lodging House, where those who were deserving were
+received, were made to bathe, and given proper shelter and nourishment.
+
+A story is told that, during the excitement attending the closing of
+saloons on Sunday, a friend came to Mr. Roosevelt and told about hearing
+some saloon-keepers plotting to harm him.
+
+"What can they do?" demanded the Police Commissioner.
+
+"I am afraid they can do a good deal," was the answer. "Each of those
+men has a barkeeper who has been in jail for various crimes. They may
+attack you some dark night and kill you."
+
+"Perhaps I won't give them the chance," answered the man who had been on
+many a dangerous hunt in the wild West. "If they can shoot, so can I."
+
+"But they may sneak up behind you and knock you out," insisted the
+visitor.
+
+"Well, if they do that, I shall have died doing my duty," was the calm
+answer made by the future hero of the Rough Riders.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI
+
+APPOINTED FIRST ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF THE NAVY--THE CONDITION OF
+AFFAIRS IN CUBA--PREPARING FOR WAR--THEODORE ROOSEVELT'S RESOLVE
+
+
+While Theodore Roosevelt was serving as Police Commissioner of the city
+of New York, William McKinley ran for the Presidency of the United
+States the first time and was elected.
+
+The young commissioner was a firm upholder of McKinley, for he did not
+believe in "free silver" as it was called, but in "sound money," which
+meant that in the future, as in the past, all national indebtedness
+should be made payable in gold, instead of in gold and silver, as many
+desired.
+
+As soon as the new President was inaugurated, March 4, 1897, he
+appointed Hon. John D. Long to be Secretary of the Navy. Mr. Long knew
+Theodore Roosevelt well, and also knew of the "History of the Naval War
+of 1812," which the energetic author and commissioner had written.
+
+"He is just the man we need here," said Mr. Long to President McKinley.
+"He has made a study of the navy, and he is not afraid of work," and
+without further delay Theodore Roosevelt was asked to resign his
+position in the metropolis and come to Washington, where he was duly
+installed as First Assistant Secretary of the Navy.
+
+In his new position, certainly a high one for such a young man to
+occupy, Mr. Roosevelt had much to do. As first assistant, nearly the
+whole responsibility of the real workings of the department fell upon
+his shoulders. He took up these responsibilities manfully, and how well
+he succeeded in the work, history has abundantly proved.
+
+"It was Roosevelt's work that made Dewey's victory at Manila possible,"
+one who knew of the inner workings of the department has said, and
+another has said that the victory off Santiago Bay was also due in part
+to Roosevelt's watchfulness over the ships that took part in that
+conflict.
+
+At Washington the Assistant Secretary found an era of extravagance equal
+to that which he had discovered in New York. The Navy Department was
+paying dearly for almost everything it bought, and many laborers and
+others were drawing high wages for doing little or no work. Against this
+Theodore Roosevelt set his face uncompromisingly, so that inside of a
+year the actual saving to our government was twenty-five per cent. When
+it is remembered that the Navy Department spends each year millions of
+dollars, something of what such a saving means can be realized.
+
+For many years our country had been at peace with the whole world, but
+now a war cloud showed itself on the horizon, scarcely visible at first,
+but gradually growing larger and larger. Those at Washington watched it
+with great anxiety, wondering if it would burst, and what would be the
+result.
+
+Cuba had been fighting for liberty for years. It was under Spanish rule,
+and the people were frightfully oppressed. To Spain they paid vast sums
+of money and got but little in return. Money that should have gone into
+improvements--that should have supplied good roads and schools--went
+into the pockets of the royalty of Spain. When a Cuban tried to
+remonstrate, he could scarcely get a hearing, and this state of affairs
+went from bad to worse until, in sheer desperation, the Cubans declared
+war on the mother-country, just as in 1776 our own nation threw off the
+yoke of England.
+
+As my young readers know, Cuba lies only a short distance from the
+southeast coast of Florida. Being so close, it was but natural that our
+people should take an interest in the struggle at hand. Everybody
+sympathized with the Cubans, and some made offers of assistance. Then,
+when many Cubans were on the verge of starvation, we voted to send them
+relief in the way of something to eat.
+
+The action of the United States was viewed with suspicion by Spain. The
+people of that country were certain we wanted to help Cuba only in order
+to "gobble her up afterward," as the saying went. Such was not our
+intention at all, and total Cuban liberty to-day testifies to that fact.
+
+Not knowing how far matters might go, President McKinley and his
+advisers deemed it wise to prepare for the worst. This meant to put the
+army and navy on the best possible footing in the least possible time.
+
+It was felt that should war come, it would be fought largely on the sea,
+and nobody realized this more than did Theodore Roosevelt. He was active
+day and night in the pursuit of his duty, seeing to it that this ship or
+that was properly manned, and this fortification and that put in proper
+order to resist attack. Our ships were in all parts of the world, on the
+Atlantic and the Pacific, in the far north and the far south, in
+European waters and Hong Kong Harbor. Each had to be supplied with coal
+and ammunition and with provisions. Those that were "out of commission,"
+that is, laid up, generally for repairs, were put into commission with
+all speed. A thousand contracts had to be inspected, judged, and passed
+upon. Outwardly the Navy Department at Washington was moving along as
+peacefully as ever, internally it was more active than it had been at
+any time since the great Civil War.
+
+"War may come at any moment," said Mr. Roosevelt to his friends. "And if
+it does come, there is nothing like being prepared for it."
+
+About one thing Theodore Roosevelt was very particular. In the past,
+gun practice on board of our war-ships had been largely a matter of
+simply going through the motions of handling the guns.
+
+"This will not do," said the Assistant Secretary. "Our gunners will
+never make good marksmen in that way. They must practise with powder and
+ball, shot and shell." And after that they did. Such practice cost a
+round sum of money, and the department was criticised for its
+wastefulness in this direction; but the worth of it was afterward proven
+when Commodore Dewey sank the Spanish ships in Manila Bay, and the
+Atlantic Squadron likewise destroyed the enemy's ships that were trying
+to escape from Santiago Harbor.
+
+In those days at Washington, Theodore Roosevelt made a warm, personal
+friend of Dr. Leonard Wood. Dr. Wood was an army surgeon, who had seen
+considerable active service while under General Miles in the campaigns
+against the Apache Indians. Mr. Roosevelt has himself told how he and
+Dr. Wood would often, after office hours, take long walks out of the
+city, or play foot-ball, or go snow-skating when the weather permitted,
+and during such pastimes their conversation was invariably about the
+situation in Cuba, and what each intended to do should war break out.
+
+"If war actually comes, I intend, by hook or by crook, to get out into
+the field," said Dr. Wood.
+
+"I shall go with you," answered Theodore Roosevelt. "No more office work
+for me if there is any fighting to be done."
+
+In the meantime, as already mentioned, matters in Cuba were rapidly
+approaching a crisis. Spain could not send a large enough army to the
+island to conquer the people while they were at liberty to roam through
+the jungles and mountains, and so began to drive men, women, and
+children into various cities or camps, where they were kept, under
+penalty of death if they tried to escape. Thus large numbers were torn
+from their homes, and sent miles and miles away, with no money, and
+nothing with which to support themselves. Food became scarce and high in
+price, and many grown folks and children were literally starved to
+death.
+
+To help these starving people the Congress of our country voted to
+expend fifty thousand dollars from the national treasury. This excited
+Spain more than ever, and we were accused of trying to prolong the
+rebellion. But the deed was done, and many would have had us go farther,
+and recognize Cuba as a free and independent nation. This desire was
+overruled on the ground that our government could not with propriety
+endanger the peace of the world by taking so serious a step at that
+time. But the strength of popular sympathy with an oppressed people was
+shown by the fact that many Americans at grave personal risk went to
+Cuba, and joined the army in one capacity or another, fighting as
+bravely as if for their own individual rights.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII
+
+DESTRUCTION OF THE _MAINE_--DEWEY'S VICTORY--THEODORE ROOSEVELT BECOMES
+A SOLDIER--ORGANIZING THE ROUGH RIDERS--VARIOUS MEN IN THE COMMAND
+
+
+"The _Maine_ has been blown up!"
+
+Such was the awful news which startled this whole nation in the middle
+of February, 1898, and which caused the question of war with Spain to
+crystallize without further deliberation.
+
+The _Maine_ was a battleship of large size, that had been sent down to
+the harbor of Havana, Cuba, on nothing more than a friendly visit. The
+explosion that destroyed this noble vessel occurred about ten o'clock at
+night, and was heard for miles around. Soon after the explosion, the
+war-ship began to sink, and over two hundred and fifty sailors and
+officers lost their lives.
+
+The entire nation was now aroused, and many wanted to go to war with
+Spain immediately. But the Spaniards professed to be ignorant of the
+cause of the explosion, and said it must have come from the _inside_ of
+the ship and not the _outside_. Without delay a Board of Inquiry was
+established, and it was settled that the explosion had come from the
+outside, probably from a mine set by the Spaniards in Havana Harbor.
+
+"This means war, and nothing but war," said even the wisest of our
+statesmen. And so it proved. Without hesitation the whole nation sprang
+forward to uphold the administration, and in a few days Congress passed
+an appropriation of fifty millions of dollars "for national defence." It
+may be added that this appropriation was passed unanimously, regardless
+of party politics and regardless of the differences which, in the past,
+had existed between the North and the South.
+
+We have already learned what had been done to prepare the navy for the
+conflicts to follow. Now there was even more work on hand, to get the
+army into shape for service in Cuba and on other foreign soil.
+
+The regular army at that time consisted of about twenty-five thousand
+men, scattered all over the United States,--on the frontier, at the
+Indian reservations, and along the sea-coasts. Many of these troops were
+hurried to camps in the southeast portion of our country, leaving but
+small garrisons in the far West.
+
+It was realized by President McKinley that our regular army could not
+cope with the troubles at hand, and soon came a call for one hundred and
+twenty-five thousand volunteers. These volunteers were to come from the
+various States and Territories, each furnishing its proportion of
+soldiers according to its population. These soldiers were quickly
+collected and marched to the various state camps, there to be sworn into
+the service of the United States.
+
+The "war fever" was everywhere, and many private parties began to raise
+companies, while all sorts of independent commands, Grand Army,
+Confederate Veterans, Italian-American Guards, German Singing Societies,
+Colored Guards, and the like, offered their assistance. Even the
+colleges caught the fever, and men went forth from Yale, Harvard,
+Princeton, and other institutions of learning to battle for Uncle Sam.
+
+The first blow struck at Spain was a most effective one. Commodore,
+afterwards Admiral, Dewey was at Hong Kong when the trouble began, and
+he was directed by the War Department to hunt for a Spanish fleet
+somewhere among the Philippine Islands and engage it. On Sunday, May 1,
+came the news that the gallant commodore had reached Manila Bay, fought
+the Spanish fleet and sunk every hostile ship, and come out of the
+battle with all of his own ships safe and not a single man killed!
+
+"Hurrah! that shows what our navy can do!" cried many citizens. And they
+were justly proud. In the past, foreign nations had looked with
+something akin to scorn on our vessels and the way they were manned. Now
+such criticism was silenced; and this result was, in a certain measure,
+due to the work of Theodore Roosevelt, while First Assistant Secretary
+to Secretary Long.
+
+But Theodore Roosevelt was no longer in the department. He resigned and
+closed his desk, saying, "My duty here is done; my place is in the
+field." With such an active nature, it was impossible for him to remain
+a private citizen while stern war was a reality.
+
+In his own excellent work, "The Rough Riders," and in his sworn
+testimony before the Commission of Investigation of the Spanish War, Mr.
+Roosevelt has given us graphic pictures of how the First United States
+Volunteer Cavalry, commonly called the Rough Riders, happened to be
+organized, and what it tried to do and did, and this testimony is
+supplemented by many who know the facts, and who took part in the
+battles which made the organization famous throughout the length and
+breadth of our land.
+
+At first Theodore Roosevelt thought to attach himself to the militia of
+New York, but found every place taken.
+
+"Let us try one of my Massachusetts regiments," said Dr. Wood. And this
+was also done, with a like result.
+
+"We could fill every place, did we want five times as many men," said
+one colonel. "Everybody seems crazy to go." This shows how truly
+patriotic our nation can become when the occasion arises for going to
+the front.
+
+While Theodore Roosevelt and his intimate friend were wondering what to
+do next, Congress authorized the raising of three cavalry regiments, to
+be composed of the daring riflemen and riders of New Mexico, Oklahoma,
+Arizona, and Indian Territory.
+
+"There, that will just suit me," said Theodore Roosevelt. "I know many
+of those men, and I know we can raise a regiment in no time."
+
+And without delay he sought out Secretary of War Alger and told him of
+his hopes.
+
+"I am perfectly willing to give you command of one of those regiments,"
+said the war secretary. "I know you are something of a rough rider
+yourself, and a good marksman to boot."
+
+This was certainly flattering, but Theodore Roosevelt's head was not
+turned by the offer.
+
+"I don't think I am quite ready to take command," said he. "I know that
+I can learn, and that quickly, but it will be precious time wasted."
+
+"Well, what do you wish, Mr. Roosevelt?" asked the Secretary of War,
+curiously.
+
+"What I should like best of all is for Dr. Wood to become colonel of the
+regiment, and for myself to become lieutenant-colonel."
+
+"Very well; I will consult President McKinley on the subject," said the
+secretary. The request was granted, and in a few days more Colonel Wood
+and Lieutenant-Colonel Roosevelt sallied forth to organize the Rough
+Riders, and fit them for service in Cuba.
+
+Leaving his family, which now consisted of his wife and six children,
+the lieutenant-colonel made his way to San Antonio, Texas, where the
+regiment was to gather. Previous to going he spent a full week in
+Washington, seeing to it that arrangements were completed for supplying
+the command with uniforms, carbines, saddles, and other articles which
+were needed. This was in itself quite a task, for all of the departments
+at the Capitol were more than busy, and it took a great amount of
+"hustling" to get what one wanted.
+
+As soon as it was known that Theodore Roosevelt was going to help
+organize the Rough Riders, offers from everywhere began to pour in upon
+him. Not alone did the men of the plains and ranch who knew him want
+to go, but likewise his old college chums at Harvard. These men, of
+wealth and good families, were willing to serve in any capacity, if only
+they could be mustered in. There were crack base-ball and foot-ball
+players, yachtsmen, all-round athletes and men of fortune, all mixed in
+with hunters, cowboys, men who had served as sheriffs in the far West,
+where fighting was an everyday occurrence, some policemen who had served
+under Roosevelt when he was a Police Commissioner in New York, and even
+some Indians. Nearly every nationality was represented when it came to
+blood, and the men ran from the best educated to the most ignorant.
+
+[Illustration: Theodore Roosevelt as a Rough Rider (_Photograph by Pach
+Bros., N.Y._)]
+
+But there were three tests which every man, private or officer, had to
+pass. He had to be in perfect health, he had to know how to ride, and he
+had to know how to shoot. To these conditions were afterward added two
+more: each man had to learn his duty as quickly as he could and had to
+learn to obey his superiors.
+
+In such a collection of soldiers it was but natural that the real
+leaders soon asserted themselves. Several of the captains had served in
+the United States army before; two were former famous western sheriffs;
+and all were full of that pluck and energy which is bound to command
+success.
+
+In this regiment were some men who had hunted with Theodore Roosevelt on
+more than one occasion. They knew him well and loved him, and did their
+best to serve him. To them he was really their commander, although they
+officially recognized Colonel Wood. They were preeminently "Roosevelt's
+Rough Riders," and the great majority of the people of our nation call
+them such to this day.
+
+The majority of the command were rather young in years, although a few
+were of middle age. But all were tough and hardy, either from athletic
+training or from years spent in the open air of the great West. Some of
+them could ride almost any kind of a horse, and "bronco busting," that
+is, breaking in a wild steed, was common sport among them. Some had
+spent nearly their entire lives in the saddle, and some could exhibit
+remarkable skill with their firearms while riding at full speed.
+
+When the men began to come into San Antonio, they found but little in
+the way of accommodations. But soon tents and blankets were procured. It
+is said that good shoes were scarce, but some of the soldiers did not
+mind going without them. The regiment was supplied with good rifles, but
+the cartridges were not made of smokeless powder, which was a bad thing,
+for smoke sometimes enables an enemy to locate the shooter, when, if
+smokeless powder were used, nothing could be seen. Each man had also a
+six shooter, and was to have had a machete, but the long knives did not
+come.
+
+"On to Cuba!" was the cry. And it was taken up every day. The Rough
+Riders were eager for the fray. Alas! little did many of them realize
+that, once in the "bloody isle," they would never see their native land
+again.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII
+
+IN CAMP AT TAMPA--TO PORT TAMPA IN COAL CARS--THEODORE ROOSEVELT'S QUICK
+MOVE TO OBTAIN A TRANSPORT--THE WAIT IN THE HARBOR--OFF FOR CUBA AT LAST
+
+
+That the path of the soldier is not always one full of glory can easily
+be proven by what happened to the Rough Riders when, late in May, they
+were ordered to Tampa, Florida, where a part of the army was gathering
+in readiness to be transported to Cuba.
+
+"We were just wild to go," says one of the number, in speaking of that
+time. "We were tired of staying at San Antonio and drilling day in and
+day out, rain or shine. I guess everybody felt like hurrahing when we
+piled on to the cars.
+
+"Colonel Roosevelt--he was only Lieutenant-Colonel then--had six troops
+under him, and he did all he could to make the boys comfortable. But the
+cars were crowded, and travelling was so slow it took us four days to
+reach Tampa. Then when we got there, we found everything in confusion.
+The railroad yard was chock-a-block with freight and passenger cars, and
+nobody was there to tell us where to go or where to find provisions.
+
+"The boys were hungry and tired out, for sleeping on the railroad had
+been almost out of the question. There wasn't a sign of rations in
+sight, and it looked as if we would have to stay hungry. But Teddy
+Roosevelt just put his hand into his own pocket and bought us about all
+we wanted. Then he scurried around and found out where we were to go,
+and in another twenty-four hours we were settled in camp." Even in camp
+the Rough Riders had to put up with continued discomfort. The weather
+was warm, flies and mosquitoes were numerous, and the drinking water was
+not of the best. The rations were plain, but the Rough Riders did not
+mind this, for many of them had often fared worse on the plains.
+
+Although it was now a regular military camp that the Rough Riders were
+in, it was rather difficult to control some of the men, especially
+those who had been used to an unusually rough life. But they were held
+in check as much as possible by their commanders, and on Sunday all
+attended a church service held by Chaplain Brown, who spoke to them in a
+manner that soon claimed their attention.
+
+After but a few days spent in the camp at Tampa, within walking distance
+of many of the fashionable hotels, the command was ordered to Port
+Tampa, there to board a transport to sail for some destination not
+revealed. But the soldiers knew they were going to Cuba, to fight the
+Spaniards and to aid in freeing Cuba, and again there was a loud
+hurrahing.
+
+But immediately on top of this came one of the hardest blows the Rough
+Riders had to endure, and one which some of them will probably never
+forget.
+
+As already stated, volunteers from all over our nation were anxious to
+get into the fight, and it was no easy matter for the authorities at
+Washington to decide who should go and who should be left behind.
+
+"Only eight troops of seventy men each of the Rough Riders will embark
+on the transport," was the order sent to Colonel Wood. More than this,
+it was ordered that the command should be on board of the transport by
+the following morning, otherwise it could not go.
+
+"Four troops to be left behind!" exclaimed Theodore Roosevelt.
+
+"Too bad," returned Colonel Wood. "Every man expects to go, and wants to
+go."
+
+It was a hard task to tell some of the men that they could not go. Mr.
+Roosevelt tells us that many of them actually cried at the news. They
+were willing to go under any conditions. They did not want any pay, they
+did not want any pensions if they were disabled, and some, who had
+money, even offered to pay their way, just for the privilege of fighting
+for Uncle Sam. After such an exhibition, let nobody dare to say that
+true patriotism is dying out in this country.
+
+But orders were orders, and as quickly as possible those to go were
+selected. Then the command marched to the railroad tracks to await the
+cars. None came, and they were given orders to march to another track.
+This they also did; but still no train appeared.
+
+"We'll be left, that is certain," said Colonel Wood, anxiously.
+
+"It certainly looks like it, unless we march the boys down to the port."
+
+"Here comes a train!" was the cry.
+
+It was a train, but only of empty coal cars. It was about to pass by
+when the Rough Riders halted it.
+
+"What's the matter with riding down to the port in the coal cars?" was
+the question asked by several.
+
+"Good enough!" came the answer. "Into the cars, boys, and don't waste
+time!" And into the dirty coal cars they piled, and persuaded the
+engineer of the train to take them down to Port Tampa as quickly as he
+could.
+
+If there had been bustle and confusion up at Tampa, it was far worse at
+the port. Everybody was in a hurry, and ten thousand soldiers stood
+around, not knowing what to do with their baggage, and not knowing which
+of the many transports to board.
+
+At last the Rough Riders were told to go aboard the _Yucatan_, and
+started to do so.
+
+"The _Yucatan_?" exclaimed a member of another command. "That is our
+transport."
+
+"No, she has been allotted to us," put in an officer belonging to still
+another command.
+
+"How many men will she hold?" questioned a captain of the Rough Riders.
+
+"About a thousand."
+
+"Then she can't take the three commands."
+
+Theodore Roosevelt overheard this talk, and at once made up his mind
+that it would be a question of what command got aboard of the transport
+first. Without the loss of a moment he ran back to where his men were in
+waiting.
+
+"Double-quick to the dock!" was his order. And forming quickly, the
+troops made their way to the wharf with all possible speed. In the
+meantime, Colonel Wood had gone out to the transport in a steam-launch
+and gotten the vessel to come up to the wharf. On board went the Rough
+Riders pell-mell, and not a minute too soon.
+
+"This is our boat!" cried an officer, as he came up with his command a
+minute later.
+
+"Sorry for you, sir, but it is our boat," was Colonel Wood's firm
+answer.
+
+Then the third command loomed up, and a three-handed dispute arose. But
+the Rough Riders remained aboard of the transport, taking four companies
+of another command in with them.
+
+I have told of the particulars of this affair to show my young readers
+what was needed at this time, and how well Theodore Roosevelt performed
+his duties. He had been a soldier and officer only a few weeks, yet he
+realized that army life on paper and army life in reality were two
+different things. He felt that an officer must do much besides leading
+his men in the field: that he must look after them constantly, see that
+their health was provided for, see that they got their rations, see that
+transportation was ready when needed, and even see to it that some were
+kept away from the temptations of drink, and that they did not quarrel
+among themselves.
+
+When going on board of the transport, the Rough Riders were supplied
+with twelve days' rations each. The most of the food was good, but the
+canned beef was very bad, just as it was found to be very bad in many
+other quarters, and it made a great number sick. Added to this, somebody
+had forgotten to issue salt to the soldiers; so much had to be eaten
+without this very necessary seasoning.
+
+"But we took matters good-naturedly," said one of the number, in
+speaking of the trip that followed. "Many of the boys were out for a
+lark, and when they growled, they did it good-naturedly. We had all
+sorts of men, and all sorts of nicknames. An Irishman was called Solomon
+Levi, and a nice young Jew Old Pork Chop. One fellow who was
+particularly slow was called Speedy William, and another who always
+spoke in a quick, jerky voice answered to the hail of 'Slow-up Peter.'
+One cowboy who was as rough as anybody in the command was christened The
+Parson, and a fine, high-toned, well-educated college boy had to answer
+to the name of Jimmy the Tramp. Some of the boys could sing, and they
+organized the Rough Rider Quartette; and others could play, and they
+gave us music on the mouth harmonicas and other instruments they had
+managed to smuggle along."
+
+The War Department had expected to send the troops to Cuba without
+delay, but now came in a report that some Spanish war-ships were
+hovering around, ready to sink the transports as soon as they should
+show themselves, and for five days the vessels remained in Port Tampa
+Harbor, until it was ascertained that the report was untrue.
+
+Those five days were important to Theodore Roosevelt and to the men
+under him. Every day the young officer spent a certain portion of his
+time in studying military tactics and in drilling his soldiers. Much had
+still to be learned, and the officers had their school of instructions
+as well as did those under them.
+
+The weather was broiling hot, and some were already suffering from fever
+or its symptoms. Fortunately bathing was good, and many went in once or
+twice a day. Bathing in the ocean was great sport to some of the
+plainsmen who had never seen anything larger than a river or creek, and
+they frolicked around like children, and got up races, with prizes for
+the best swimmers.
+
+At last came the orders for the transports to set sail for Cuba. They
+numbered thirty-two in all, including a schooner which was towed along
+filled with drinking water, for water must be had, and that was the only
+place where it could be stowed. To protect the transports from a
+possible attack by the enemy, they were accompanied by five war-ships at
+first, and later on by fourteen. All told, there were on the transports
+eight hundred officers and sixteen thousand enlisted men. Of the
+commands, the most were from the regular army, the volunteers numbering
+but three--the Rough Riders, the Seventy-first New York Infantry, and
+the Second Massachusetts Infantry.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV
+
+LIFE ON THE TRANSPORT--THE LANDING AT DAIQUIRI--THE MARCH TO
+SIBONEY--THE TRAIL THROUGH THE JUNGLE--THE SKIRMISH AT LA GUASIMA
+
+
+While the army was preparing to invade Cuba, matters so far as they
+concerned the navy had been moving along rapidly. Commodore Dewey had
+sunk the Spanish fleet in Manila Bay; Havana and the adjacent coasts
+were being blockaded, so no ships could pass in or out without running
+the risk of capture; and a large fleet of war-ships under Admiral
+Cervera, of the enemy's navy, had been "bottled up" in Santiago Harbor.
+
+It had been decided that the United States troops should be landed on
+the southeast coast of Cuba, not far from the entrance to Santiago Bay,
+and from that point should make an advance on Santiago, which is the
+second city of importance in the island.
+
+Day after day the flotilla of transports kept on its way, spread out in
+a broad column during the time it was light, and coming in close
+together during the night. The war-ships hovered near, and at night
+swept the ocean with their powerful search-lights, rendering a surprise
+by the enemy impossible.
+
+The trip to the southeast coast of Cuba lasted seven days. It was very
+hot, even for this time of the year, and those who could, slept on deck
+during the voyage. There was but little to do, and when not drilling,
+the men took it easy in the shade,--sleeping, chatting, or playing
+games. Sometimes they would talk of the future and wonder how much of
+real fighting lay before them.
+
+"We didn't know even then where we were going," said one, in speaking of
+the trip. "I don't believe Wood or Roosevelt knew either. First we
+thought it might be Havana, then we imagined it might be Porto Rico, but
+when we turned southward and ran around the eastern end of the island,
+we all knew we were bound for Santiago."
+
+As the transports swept up toward the mouth of Santiago Bay, they came
+within sight of the American war-ships that were keeping Admiral
+Cervera's fleet "bottled up" in the harbor. A shout of recognition went
+up, and one of the bands struck up a patriotic air that was truly
+inspiring.
+
+The landing of the Rough Riders and many other commands was made at
+Daiquiri, a small settlement on the coast east of Santiago Harbor. The
+_Yucatan_ got closer to the shore than most of the other transports, and
+the men lost no time in disembarking, taking with them two Colt's
+automatic guns and a dynamite gun of which they had become possessed. As
+there had not been transports enough, only the officers' horses had been
+brought along. These were thrown into the water and made to swim ashore.
+Theodore Roosevelt had two horses, but one was drowned.
+
+It was important that the landing should be guarded, and the war-ships
+sent in some shot and shell to dislodge any Spaniards who might be in
+the vicinity. But none showed themselves, and soon nearly all of the
+soldiers were ashore, either at Daiquiri or at a landing a short
+distance farther westward. No enemy was in sight, and the only persons
+who appeared were some Cubans, soldiers and civilians, who wanted but
+one thing, food.
+
+The Rough Riders had been put into a brigade commanded by General S.B.M.
+Young. There were two of these brigades, and it is worth noting that
+they formed a division under the command of Major-General Joseph
+Wheeler, who had in years gone by fought so gallantly on the side of the
+Confederacy. Now, as brave as of old, he was fighting for Old Glory, the
+one banner of the North and the South alike.
+
+As the Rough Riders landed, they were marched up the beach, and here
+they went into temporary camp,--an easy matter, since each soldier
+carried his outfit with him, or, at least, as much as he could get of
+what belonged to him. Theodore Roosevelt had his weapons and ammunition,
+a mackintosh and a toothbrush, certainly much less than he had carried
+even when roughing it in the Bad Lands of the West.
+
+As soon as the larger portion of the army was landed, General Lawton--he
+who was afterward to give his life for his flag in the Philippines--threw
+out a strong detachment on the Santiago road to the westward, and also
+detachments on the roads to the north and east.
+
+"On to Santiago!" was the cry. And many were for pushing forward without
+delay. But the transports had still to unload their baggage, and word
+did not reach the Rough Riders to move on until the afternoon of the day
+after landing.
+
+It was a rocky, uneven country, with much brushwood and jungles of trees
+and vines. It had rained, but now the sun came out fiercely, and the
+Rough Riders (riders in name only, for only the officers were on
+horseback) suffered greatly through being clad in winter uniform.
+
+"It was a tough and tiresome march," said one who was there. "The air
+just quivered with heat, and many of the boys felt like throwing half of
+their clothing away. Whenever we reached a drinking place, the crowd
+would swarm around for water like a lot of bees.
+
+"General Lawton had his outposts pretty well advanced. Our commander,
+old General Wheeler, was just as anxious to make a showing, and he
+ordered General Young to push on with the Rough Riders and some other
+troops. So away we went, with Colonel Wood at our head, and
+Lieutenant-Colonel Roosevelt in command of one squadron and Major Brodie
+in command of the other. In some spots the road was frightful, full of
+mud-holes, with big land crabs crawling around in all directions, and
+with the trailing vines full of poisonous spiders. We didn't know but
+that the woods might be full of Spaniards, and we were on the alert to
+give the Dons as good as they sent, should they show themselves."
+
+By nightfall the Rough Riders reached the little village of Siboney
+without having met the enemy. Here they went into camp in the midst of a
+heavy thunder-storm in which every soldier and officer was drenched to
+the skin. Fires could scarcely be lighted, and it was not until the
+storm had partly cleared away that the cooks could prepare anything to
+eat. Surely being a soldier was not all glory after all.
+
+It had been learned that a portion of the Spanish army was less than
+four miles away, and General Young was ordered by General Wheeler to
+move forward at daybreak and engage the enemy. Colonel Wood received
+orders to move the Rough Riders by a trail over a hill, beyond which the
+country sloped toward the bay and the city of Santiago.
+
+The first encounter with the enemy occurred at a place called La Guasima
+(or Las Guasimas), so called on account of trees of that name growing in
+the vicinity. Here the Spaniards had rifle-pits and mounds of earth to
+shelter them and had likewise the sugar-house of a plantation. They had
+been watching for the coming of the _Americanos_ eagerly, and were
+determined to give our soldiers a lesson not to be forgotten. They knew
+that our army had not been in active warfare for years, and felt certain
+that they would soon be able to make the "paper" soldiers retreat.
+
+The Rough Riders found the way led up a steep hill, and the pace was so
+fast that before the firing line was reached some men fell out from
+exhaustion. Theodore Roosevelt was at the head of the first squadron and
+did his best to urge those under him forward. There was an advance
+guard, led by some men under Sergeant Hamilton Fish, and Captain
+Capron's troop, and soon a crash of firearms notified all that a fight
+was on.
+
+Orders were at once issued to fill the magazines of the guns, and this
+was done. Then, while some troops moved to the left of the trail,
+Lieutenant-Colonel Roosevelt was ordered to take three troops to the
+right. Here the jungle was heavy, and no sooner had the Rough Riders
+advanced than the Spaniards opened fire upon them. In speaking of the
+opening of this fight, Mr. Roosevelt himself writes:--
+
+"The effect of the smokeless powder (used by the enemy) was remarkable.
+The air seemed full of the rustling sound of the Mauser bullets, for the
+Spaniards knew the trails by which we were advancing, and opened heavily
+on our position. But they themselves were entirely invisible. The jungle
+covered everything, and not the faintest trace of smoke was to be seen
+in any direction, to indicate from whence the bullets came."
+
+It was certainly a trying time--to stand up and be shot at without being
+able to return the compliment. Roosevelt and all the other leaders knew
+that this would not do, and at a great risk they continued to advance,
+until some Spaniards were at last discovered across a valley to the
+right of where the troops under Lieutenant-Colonel Roosevelt were
+located.
+
+"There they are!" was the cry. "Forward and at 'em, boys! Down with the
+Dons!" Without delay some sharpshooters fired on the Spaniards, and then
+the regular troops opened up, and at last the Spaniards ran from cover.
+
+Bullets were now flying in all directions, and both sides were making
+their shots tell. The Americans had but scant protection, and it was not
+long before a number of them fell. Some bullets came close to Theodore
+Roosevelt, and one hit a palm tree near where he was standing, filling
+his left eye and ear with the dust and splinters. Had that Mauser bullet
+come a few inches closer, the man who was destined to become the future
+President of our country might have been killed on the spot.
+
+In the midst of the skirmish--for the conflict proved to be nothing
+more--there was a report that Colonel Wood was dead, and Theodore
+Roosevelt took it upon himself to restore the fighting line of Rough
+Riders to order. But happily the report proved false; and a little while
+after this the skirmish came to an end, and both Spaniards and Americans
+betook themselves to positions of greater safety. In this skirmish,
+brief as it was, the Rough Riders lost eight men killed and nearly forty
+wounded.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV
+
+ALONG THE JUNGLE TRAIL--FORDING THE RIVER--OPENING OF THE BATTLE OF SAN
+JUAN HILL--BRAVERY OF THE ROUGH RIDERS--PERSONAL EXPERIENCES OF THEODORE
+ROOSEVELT DURING THE BATTLE
+
+
+Taken as a whole, the skirmish at La Guasima was quite an important one,
+for it showed the Spaniards that our soldiers were bound to advance upon
+Santiago, be the cost what it might.
+
+More than this, it showed that Theodore Roosevelt was brave under fire.
+During the skirmish he paid but scant attention to his own personal
+safety. He went wherever he thought he was needed, and the fact that
+Mauser bullets were flying about in all directions did not daunt him.
+
+"He was about as cool a man as I ever saw in a fight," said one old
+soldier. "He did all he could to encourage the men, and had a kind word
+for every man he ran across who was wounded. Once, in the thickest of
+the brush, he grabbed up a gun and began to shoot with us, and I reckon
+he fired as straight as anybody there, for he had had lots of practice
+while hunting."
+
+The Spaniards had been driven from their pits and from the sugar-house
+of the plantation, and now took good care to keep out of sight.
+Picket-guards were thrown out by the officers of the army, and those who
+had been in the fight took a much-needed rest, and looked after the dead
+and wounded. There was certainly a touching scene at the temporary
+hospital, where one soldier started to sing "My Country, 'tis of Thee,"
+and many others joined in. On the following morning the dead were
+buried, the men gathering around the one common grave to sing "Rock of
+Ages" in a manner that brought tears to the eyes of many.
+
+From La Guasima the Rough Riders moved to the bank of a small stream in
+the neighborhood. Part of the army was ahead of them and the rest
+behind, and for several days nothing unusual occurred. But during that
+time General Young caught the fever, whereupon Colonel Wood had to take
+charge of the brigade, and Lieutenant-Colonel Roosevelt took command of
+the Rough Riders.
+
+It was now the end of June, and the weather was anything but agreeable.
+When the rain did not come down in torrents, the sun shone with a glare
+and a heat that was terrific. As said before, the uniforms of the Rough
+Riders were heavy, and much clothing had to be cast aside as unfit for
+use. To add to the discomfort, rations that were promised failed to
+appear, so that a good square meal was almost unknown.
+
+"This will not do; the men must have enough to eat, even if I have to
+buy it for them," said Acting Colonel Roosevelt, and made two trips down
+to the seacoast in search of beans, tomatoes, and other things to eat.
+Here he was informed that he could only buy stuff meant for the
+officers.
+
+"All right; I'll buy the things for the officers," he answered, and
+purchased as much as they would allow. When he got back, he turned the
+food over to the officers, but saw to it that they gave their men a fair
+share.
+
+"It was a kindness none of his men ever forgot," said a soldier who was
+there. "It wasn't any of his business to buy the grub,--the commissary
+department had to supply it free,--but he knew we might starve while
+the department was getting itself straightened out and ready to do the
+right thing. Before he went on a hunt for food, all we had was salt
+pork, hardtack, and coffee, and some of the stuff wasn't fit to put in
+your mouth." And this testimony was the testimony of scores of others.
+
+The Spaniards were strongly intrenched upon the outskirts of Santiago,
+and as it was a rough, hilly country, with many shallow streams and much
+jungle, it was hard for the American army to advance. It was General
+Shafter's idea to form a grand semicircle around Santiago, starting from
+El Caney on the north, and running in an irregular line to Aguadores on
+the south. Throughout this territory the Spaniards had done everything
+possible to hinder the advance of our troops. Barbed wire was strung in
+many directions, and often the brushwood would conceal dangerous
+pitfalls, so that any advance had to be made with great caution.
+
+The attack upon the Spanish lines began on July 1, and the fighting took
+place in several quarters at once, but was unusually heavy at El Caney
+and at San Juan Hill. At El Caney the heroic General Lawton was in
+command, and fought as gallantly as he afterward did in the Philippines.
+Some of the charges were terrific, and will ever be remembered by those
+who participated in them.
+
+The Rough Riders struck camp and moved along the trail on the last day
+of June. It was as hot as ever, with no sign of rain. The trail was
+filled with troops and provision wagons, and the progress, consequently,
+was slow.
+
+"Let us get into the fight!" was the cry heard on every side. "Don't
+keep us waiting any longer."
+
+"Keep cool," said one of the officers. "You'll get all the fighting you
+want soon." And so it proved.
+
+At a little after eight o'clock in the evening the Rough Riders found
+themselves on El Poso Hill, and here the whole brigade to which they
+were attached went into camp.
+
+"It wasn't much of a camp," said one who was there. "We just threw out a
+strong picket-guard and went to sleep on our arms, and glad of it, after
+that day in the broiling sun. We had had to ford some pretty muddy
+streams, and all of us were water and mud up to our knees. But everybody
+was as enthusiastic to fight as ever."
+
+At sunrise the battle opened at El Caney, and the Rough Riders could
+hear the booming of cannon. At once all was activity, and the men
+prepared to move ahead at a moment's notice.
+
+Acting Colonel Roosevelt was with Colonel Wood at the time, and both
+were listening to the roar of the artillery.
+
+"I wish we could move--" began Colonel Wood, when, of a sudden, both he
+and Theodore Roosevelt heard a strange humming sound in the air. Then
+came the explosion of a shrapnel shell over their heads, and both leaped
+to their feet.
+
+"This is getting warm!" cried Theodore Roosevelt, and ran toward his
+horse, when boom! came another explosion, and one of the bullets fell
+upon his wrist, making, as he himself says, "a bump about as big as a
+hickory nut." This same shell, he adds, wounded four of the men under
+him and two or three regulars, one of whom lost his leg. Certainly
+another providential escape on the part of the future President.
+
+Without loss of time Theodore Roosevelt ordered his troops into the
+underbrush, and here, for the time being, they were safe. On account of
+the smokeless powder they used, the Spanish batteries could not be
+precisely located, so our own artillery were at a slight disadvantage.
+
+But now the blood of the Americans was fully aroused, and soon came an
+order for a general advance,--something that was hailed with wild
+delight by the Rough Riders.
+
+"Hurrah, now we'll show 'em what the Yankees can do!" was the cry. "Down
+with the Dons! Three cheers for Uncle Sam!"
+
+The Rough Riders had to ford the river, and while they were doing this,
+a balloon that had been used for observations came down in that vicinity
+and attracted the attention of the Spanish sharpshooters. The firing was
+now heavy on all sides, and many a gallant soldier went down to rise no
+more.
+
+Then came another wait of an hour, during which the Rough Riders rested
+in a hollow leading up from the river. Again there was grumbling. With
+so much fighting on all sides, why could they not advance?
+
+"We'll get our turn," said Theodore Roosevelt. And soon after a staff
+officer dashed up with orders to move forward and support the cavalry of
+the regular army on the hills in front.
+
+"Now to the front!" was the cry. "Down with the Dons!" And away went
+troop after troop on the double-quick, with Acting Colonel Roosevelt
+leading them. Shot and shell were hurling themselves through the air in
+all directions, and on all sides could be heard the shrieks and groans
+of the dead and the dying. It was a time long to be remembered. Men went
+down in all directions, and with them not a few officers. It was so hot
+that Roosevelt's orderly was prostrated from the heat and afterward
+died. Roosevelt summoned another Rough Rider, and had just finished
+giving the man some orders when the soldier pitched forward upon his
+commander, killed by a bullet through the throat.
+
+As the troops advanced, Theodore Roosevelt urged his men forward and
+told them to do their best, to which they responded with a cheer. He was
+on horseback at the time, and soon came across a man lying in the shade,
+probably overcome by the heat. He started to speak to the Rough Rider
+when a bullet hit the fellow and killed him on the spot.
+
+"I suppose that bullet was meant for me," says Mr. Roosevelt, in writing
+of this incident. "I, who was on horseback in the open, was unhurt, and
+the man lying flat on the ground in the cover beside me was killed."
+
+The fight had now centred around the possession of San Juan Hill, upon
+which was located a Spanish blockhouse. The bullets were flying as
+thickly as ever, when Roosevelt was ordered to advance in support of
+another regiment. As the Rough Riders reached the spot where the other
+regiment was, they found the men lying down awaiting orders.
+
+"I am ordered to support your regiment," said Theodore Roosevelt to the
+first captain he met.
+
+"We are awaiting orders to advance," answered the captain of the
+regulars.
+
+"In my opinion we cannot take these hills by firing at them," returned
+the commander of the Rough Riders. "We must rush them."
+
+"My orders are to keep my men where they are."
+
+"Where is your Colonel?"
+
+"I don't know."
+
+"Well, if he isn't here, then I am the ranking officer, and I give the
+order to charge," came quickly and positively from Theodore Roosevelt.
+
+"Well, sir,--I--I have orders from our Colonel--" began the captain of
+the regulars.
+
+"If you won't charge, let my men pass through, sir," cut in the Acting
+Colonel of the Rough Riders, and he ordered his men to move to the
+front. This was too much for the regulars, and up they sprang with
+shouts and yells, and Rough Riders and regulars went up San Juan Hill
+together. Roosevelt was on horseback as before, but at a barbed-wire
+fence he leaped to the ground, swung his hat in the air, and joined his
+men on foot.
+
+The fight was now at its fiercest, and men were being mowed down in all
+directions. But the fever of battle was in the veins of all the American
+soldiers, and nothing could stop them. Up the hill they went, loading
+and firing at random, and making as many shots as possible tell. The
+Spaniards were in retreat, and soon Old Glory was planted in several
+places. Some of the leading officers had been shot, and Theodore
+Roosevelt found himself at one time in command of five regiments, and
+doing his best to keep them in military order. Strange as it may seem,
+with bullets flying all around him, he remained unharmed, saving for
+some slight scratches which, he tells us, "were of no consequence."
+
+With the top of the hill gained, the American soldiers could get a
+distant glimpse of Santiago, several miles away, and some wanted to move
+still farther forward. But the Spaniards had strong intrenchments to
+fall back upon, and it was deemed best to "let well enough alone."
+Accordingly the American line was made as strong as possible, and by
+nightfall the battle was at an end, and the Rough Riders were told to
+hold the hill and intrench, and they did so. In the blockhouse they
+found some food belonging to some Spanish officers, and upon this they
+feasted after their well-earned victory.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI
+
+RESULTS OF THE FIGHT--LIFE IN THE TRENCHES--THE SPANISH FLEET IN
+SANTIAGO HARBOR--ANOTHER GREAT NAVAL VICTORY--THE ROUGH RIDERS AND THE
+SPANISH GUERILLAS
+
+
+The fight had been a hard and heavy one. The Rough Riders had gone into
+the engagement just 490 strong, and of that number 89 were killed or
+wounded. The total loss to the Americans was 1071 killed and wounded.
+The loss to the Spanish was also heavy, but the exact figures will
+probably never be known.
+
+Utterly tired out with their marching and fighting, the Rough Riders
+intrenched as best they could, cared for their wounded and dead, and
+then dropped down to get a well-earned rest. The night was misty and
+cold, and many who had been bathed in perspiration suffered accordingly.
+Theodore Roosevelt had a blanket taken from the Spanish, and in this he
+rolled himself, and slept with others of his command.
+
+At three o'clock in the morning came an unexpected alarm. The Spanish
+skirmishers were out in force, trying to drive the Americans back. But
+there was no heavy attack, and presently all became as quiet as before.
+
+"They'll not give up yet," said one of the officers of the Rough Riders.
+"They mean to retake this hill if they can."
+
+Just at daybreak the Spaniards opened the attack on San Juan Hill once
+more. Theodore Roosevelt was resting under a little tree when a shrapnel
+shell burst close by, killing or wounding five men of the command. He at
+once ordered the eight troops under him to a safer position, where the
+Spanish battery and the sharpshooters could not locate them so readily.
+
+If the fight had been hard, guarding the trenches was almost equally so.
+The sun beat down fiercely, and the newly turned up earth made many of
+the Rough Riders sick. Added to this, provisions were, as usual, slow in
+arriving. Those in the trenches were kept there six hours, and then
+relieved by the others who were farther to the rear.
+
+"Running from the cover of brush to the trenches was no easy matter,"
+says one Rough Rider who was there. "We had dug the trenches in a hurry,
+and had no passages from the rear leading to them. All we could do was
+to wait for a signal, and then rush, and when we did that, the Spaniards
+would open a hot fire and keep it up for perhaps fifteen minutes. The
+sun was enough to turn a man's brain, and more than one poor fellow
+caught a fever there that proved fatal to him."
+
+Through the entire day the firing continued, but no advances were made
+upon either side. The Americans were waiting for reinforcements, and the
+Spaniards were doing likewise. On our side a dynamite gun and two Colt's
+guns were used, but with little success. But the Gatling guns proved
+very effective, and caused a great loss to the enemy.
+
+The city of Santiago lies on the northeast coast of a large bay of the
+same name. This bay is shaped somewhat like a bottle, with a long neck
+joining it to the Caribbean Sea.
+
+In the harbor, at the time of the battles just described, the Spaniards
+had a fleet of war-ships under the command of Admiral Cervera, an old
+and able naval commander. In the fleet were four large cruisers and two
+torpedo-boats. Three of the cruisers were of seven thousand tons burden
+each, and all could make from eighteen to nineteen knots an hour. Each
+carried a crew of about five hundred men, and all were well supplied
+with guns and ammunition.
+
+To keep this fleet "bottled up," our own navy had a fleet of its own
+just outside of the harbor, where it had been stationed ever since
+Admiral Cervera had been discovered within. The American fleet consisted
+of the cruiser _Brooklyn_, which was Commodore Schley's flag-ship, the
+battleships _Texas_, _Iowa_, _Indiana_, and _Oregon_ (the latter having
+sailed all the way from the Pacific coast around Cape Horn to get into
+the fight), and the converted yachts _Gloucester_ and _Vixen_. There
+were also close at hand, but not near enough to get into the fight, the
+cruiser _New York_, Admiral Sampson's flag-ship, and several other
+vessels of lesser importance.
+
+For a long time it had been thought that Cervera would try to escape
+from the harbor, in which he could not be reached because of the strong
+forts that protected the entrance. To bottle him up more effectively,
+the Americans tried to block up the harbor entrance by sinking an old
+iron steamboat, the _Merrimac_, in the channel. This heroic work was
+undertaken by Lieutenant Hobson with a crew of seven daring men, but the
+plan failed, for the _Merrimac_, instead of sinking where intended,
+swung to one side of the main channel.
+
+When it was reported to him that the Americans had taken the heights of
+El Caney and San Juan and were strongly intrenched in their positions,
+Admiral Cervera concluded that Santiago Bay might soon become too hot to
+hold him. The capture of the city would be followed by the taking of the
+forts at the harbor entrance, and then there would be nothing left for
+him to do but to surrender.
+
+San Juan and El Caney had been taken on Friday, and all day Saturday
+occurred the shooting at long range, as already described. In the
+meantime the war-ships outside of the harbor kept up a close watch on
+the harbor entrance, lying well out during the day, but coming in closer
+at night, and using their powerful search-lights from sundown to
+sunrise.
+
+Sunday dawned bright and clear, and for the time being all was quiet
+both ashore and afloat. In the trenches the Rough Riders and other
+soldiers were still on guard, doing what they could for their wounded,
+and trying to get the rations which were still delayed.
+
+Presently, those on board of the American fleet noticed a thick cloud of
+smoke hanging over the harbor, coming from the funnels of the Spanish
+war-ships. Then one of the enemy's vessels showed itself, quickly
+followed by the others, and all turned westward, to escape up the coast.
+
+"The enemy is escaping!" was the signal hoisted. And then one cannon
+after another boomed out, giving the signal to all our ships in that
+vicinity. The booming of the cannon was heard away eastward at Siboney,
+whither Admiral Sampson had gone with his ship to confer with General
+Shafter, and without delay the _New York_ raced madly back to get into
+the fight that followed.
+
+"Remember the _Maine!_" was the cry. "Down with the Spanish ships! Give
+'em what Dewey did!" And this cry, "Give 'em what Dewey did!" was heard
+on every hand.
+
+The first vessel to go down was a torpedo-boat, sunk by the
+_Gloucester_, and this was quickly followed by the sinking of the second
+torpedo-boat. In the meantime the larger vessels were pouring in their
+rain of steel upon the Spanish cruisers with deadly effect, knocking
+great holes into the ships and killing scores of those on board.
+
+The Spanish cruiser _Teresa_ was the first to succumb to the heavy
+attack, and soon she turned in to shore to save her crew from drowning.
+Then the _Oquendo_ caught fire in several places, and burning fiercely
+from stem to stern, she, too, turned in.
+
+But two ships were now left to Admiral Cervera, the _Vizcaya_ and the
+_Colon_, and each had suffered much. Both were doing their best to get
+out of reach of our guns and the marvellous accuracy of our gunners.
+
+"Don't let 'em get away!" was the cry. "Give 'em what Dewey did!"
+Forward went the war-ships of Uncle Sam, the powerful _Oregon_ leading,
+with the _Brooklyn_ and _Texas_ not far behind. The rain of steel
+continued, and at last, burning like her sister ships, the _Vizcaya_
+turned shoreward, and many of her crew leaped overboard to save their
+lives.
+
+Only the _Colon_ now remained. She was still in fair condition, and it
+was the Spaniards' ardent hope to save at least one ship from the dire
+calamity that had overtaken them. But this was not to be, and after a
+run of a few miles, during which the _Oregon_ and _Brooklyn_ continued
+to pound her with shot and shell, the Spanish flag was lowered, and the
+_Colon_ also ran ashore.
+
+It was assuredly a mighty victory, a fitting mate to the great victory
+won by Admiral Dewey, and when the news reached our country there was
+such a Fourth of July celebration everywhere as will never be forgotten.
+Twice had our navy met the ships of Spain, and each time we had sunk
+every vessel without losing any of our own. More than this, while the
+Spaniards had lost many men through shot and fire and drowning, our
+total loss was but one man killed and a handful wounded.
+
+The loss of her second fleet was a bitter blow to Spain, and many
+predicted that the war would not continue much longer, and this
+prediction proved correct.
+
+During the rush made by the Rough Riders and our other soldiers, they
+had gone right through several bodies of Spanish guerillas who were
+secreted in the trees of the jungle. These guerillas, really lawless
+fellows belonging to no particular command, could not get back into
+Santiago because of the strong American guard at the intrenchments, and
+consequently they contented themselves with remaining out of sight and
+peppering our soldiers whenever the opportunity offered.
+
+"This will not do," said Theodore Roosevelt. "They are shooting down our
+men without giving them a chance to fire back. We'll have to get after
+them." And without delay he sent out a detachment of the best Rough
+Rider shots to be found. These sharpshooters searched the jungle back of
+the intrenchments thoroughly, and as a result killed eleven of the
+guerillas and wounded many more. After that the guerillas kept their
+distance, satisfied that the Yankees could beat them at their own game.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII
+
+DEVOTION OF THE ROUGH RIDERS TO THEODORE ROOSEVELT--HIS KINDNESS TO HIS
+MEN--LAST OF THE FIGHTING--THE TRUCE AND TREATY OF PEACE
+
+
+With the defeat of Admiral Cervera's fleet, a flag of truce was sent
+into Santiago by the commander of our army, demanding the surrender of
+the city. While these negotiations were pending, all fighting came to an
+end, and the Rough Riders had but little to do outside of making
+themselves comfortable and caring for the many who were getting sick
+because of the lack of shelter and proper food. Food was now coming in
+more rapidly, and soon all were supplied with tents and blankets. During
+this time Theodore Roosevelt's personal baggage appeared, and he
+celebrated the arrival by treating himself to a shave and a change of
+linen, something impossible to do since the fighting had begun.
+
+In his own writings, Mr. Roosevelt has spoken at great length of the
+devotion which all of the Rough Riders displayed toward him. They were
+anxious to wait on him at all hours of the day and night. Some would
+pitch his tent, others would clean his weapons, and still others would
+go hunting and bring in such game as the vicinity afforded. When ordered
+to do anything, there was rarely a grumble. Those in the hospital bore
+their sufferings with remarkable fortitude.
+
+In return for this, Theodore Roosevelt did all he could to make life
+less hard for those under him. The game that was brought to him he sent
+to the hospital, that the wounded might have proper nourishment; and he
+either went himself or sent somebody to the seacoast, to purchase food
+which the commissary department possessed, but which, through lack of
+organization, it was slow in distributing. When no shelter was to be
+had, he slept on the ground with his men, and when they had to work on
+the trenches at night, he was up and around superintending the labor.
+
+"He was one of us, and he let us know it," was said by one of the Rough
+Riders. "He ate the same food we did, and he was mighty good to the
+sick and the wounded. He paid for lots of things out of his own pocket,
+and I don't believe he has ever asked Uncle Sam to pay him back."
+
+There was no telling how soon the truce would come to an end and
+fighting would begin again, and night after night the Rough Riders were
+kept on guard. There was a standing order that each fourth man should
+keep awake while the others slept, and no matter how dark or rainy the
+night, Theodore Roosevelt tramped around from one trench to another,
+seeing to it that this order was obeyed. He also visited the
+intrenchments of other commands, to compare them and make certain that
+the grade of service was equally high among the Rough Riders. This shows
+distinctly that he was a natural-born military commander.
+
+The truce lasted a week, and while all operations were supposed to have
+come to an end, both the Americans and the Spaniards spent the time in
+strengthening their positions. At one time the Americans constructed a
+fairly good defence, in which they placed two Gatling guns and two
+automatic Colt guns, and this was named Fort Roosevelt, in honor of the
+Rough Rider commander.
+
+On the tenth of July the fighting began once more, and again the
+batteries on both sides sent shot and shell into the camps of the enemy.
+It was largely fighting at long range, and the only Rough Riders who
+took part were those who manned the Colt's guns, and a small body of
+sharpshooters stationed in a trench well to the front.
+
+On the next day the Rough Riders were ordered northward, to guard the
+road running from Santiago to El Caney. Here some fighting was in
+progress, and the troopers expected to get into battle once more. But
+the skirmish came to an end before they arrived, very much to their
+disappointment.
+
+Hardly had the Rough Riders settled in their new position than a storm
+came up which proved to be the heaviest yet experienced during the
+campaign. While Theodore Roosevelt was sleeping in his tent, the shelter
+was blown down and away, and all of his personal effects were scattered
+in the mud and wet. As best he could, he donned his clothing, saw to it
+that his men were safe, and then betook himself to a kitchen tent,
+where he finished the sleep of that night on a rude table recently taken
+from an abandoned Spanish home in that vicinity.
+
+"On that night it rained cats and dogs and hammer-handles," said one of
+the soldiers afterward. "It was inky dark--darker than I have ever known
+it to be anywhere on the plains. The water made a muddy pond of the
+whole camp, and the trenches were half filled in no time. Everything was
+blown helter-skelter by the furious wind, and some of our outfits we
+never recovered. In the midst of the confusion some fellows reported
+that the Spaniards were trying to break through our lines, but the
+report was false,--the outsiders were starving Cubans who had come in
+looking for shelter and something to eat. We gave them what we
+could--which was precious little, for we had next to nothing
+ourselves--and then got them to help us get things together again. One
+of the Cubans was an old man, who could speak a little English. He said
+he had lost two daughters and three grandchildren by starvation since
+the war between Spain and Cuba had started. He himself was little more
+than a skeleton."
+
+That Theodore Roosevelt was warmhearted enough to look out for other
+soldiers besides those of his own command is proven by what took place
+on the day following the big storm. Next to the Rough Riders were
+located a regiment of Illinois Volunteers. Because of the muddy roads
+and swollen streams, they could get no rations, and scant as were their
+own supplies, Colonel Roosevelt had the Rough Riders furnish them with
+beans, coffee, and a few cases of hardtack, for which they were
+extremely grateful. Later in the day the commander of the Rough Riders
+also got to them part of a mule train of provisions.
+
+The American position had been greatly strengthened, and many additional
+troops were now at the front. It was felt that an advance upon Santiago
+would surely result in victory, although the losses might be large. But
+the Spaniards were no longer in a position to continue the struggle, and
+on July 17 the city formally surrendered. The surrendered territory
+covered many miles, and the Spanish soldiers to lay down their arms
+numbered upward of twenty thousand.
+
+There was great cheering in the American trenches when the glad news was
+brought in, and soon Old Glory was planted on every height, while the
+trumpets sounded out triumphantly. Possession of Santiago was immediate,
+and in a few hours the Stars and Stripes floated from the flagstaff of
+the civil government buildings. Our gallant army had won on the land
+just as our gallant navy had won on the sea. The war had been, for us,
+one of triumph from start to finish.
+
+In foreign countries the news was received with an astonishment that can
+scarcely be described. After Dewey's wonderful victory in Manila Bay,
+many naval experts said that such a fight could not be duplicated, yet
+it was duplicated two months later off Santiago Bay in a manner that
+left no doubt of American supremacy on the sea. Then when it came to
+fighting on land, our army was designated as "paper" soldiers, that is,
+soldiers on paper or in name only, and it was said that their guns would
+be found of little use against the Mausers of Spain. But this was
+likewise false; and to-day the army and navy of the United States are
+respected everywhere. And more than this, foreign powers have come to
+our country for many of their war-ships, asking us to build and equip
+them, and also asking us to make cannon and rifles for them.
+
+While the war was on in Cuba, a part of the United States army under
+General Miles was sent to Porto Rico, another island belonging to Spain.
+Here the inhabitants hailed the Americans with delight, and the
+resistance by the Spanish soldiers was only half-hearted.
+
+With the downfall of the navy and Santiago, Spain knew not what to do
+next, and gladly received the terms of peace offered by President
+McKinley and his advisers. The terms were accepted on August 9, and thus
+the short but sharp war came to a termination. By the treaty of peace
+Cuba was given her liberty, and Porto Rico and the Philippines passed
+into the possession of the United States.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVIII
+
+LAST DAYS IN CUBA--THE DEPARTURE FOR HOME--ARRIVAL AT MONTAUK--CARING
+FOR THE SICK AND WOUNDED--PRESENTATION TO THEODORE ROOSEVELT BY HIS
+MEN--MUSTERING-OUT OF THE ROUGH RIDERS
+
+
+Four days after the surrender of Santiago the Rough Riders found
+themselves in the hills four or five miles back from the intrenchments
+they had occupied during the last fight. Other commands were scattered
+in various directions, for to let them go into the wretched city would
+have been out of the question. Santiago was dirty in the extreme; the
+fever was there, and hundreds were on the verge of starvation.
+
+It was a trying time for everybody, and equally so for Theodore
+Roosevelt, who did all in his power, as before, to make his men
+comfortable. When it did not rain, the sun came out fiercely, causing a
+rapid evaporation that was thoroughly exhausting to the soldiers. The
+locality was not a healthy one, and soon scores of Rough Riders and
+others were down with malaria or fever. Doctors and surgeons were
+scarce, and hospital accommodations were scanty, and again and again did
+Colonel Roosevelt send down on his own account to the seacoast and to
+Santiago for food and medicines of which his command were in dire need.
+He was now colonel of the Rough Riders in reality, his promotion having
+been granted to him just one week after the heroic charge up San Juan
+Hill. His old colonel, Wood, was installed at Santiago as military
+governor. This, for the time being, left Colonel Roosevelt in command of
+the cavalry brigade, no small honor to one who had been, but a few
+months before, a stranger to military duties.
+
+During this time in camp, Theodore Roosevelt visited Santiago and the
+forts at the entrance to the harbor, and with the pen of a skilled
+author he has, in one of his books, given us vivid pictures of the
+sights to be seen there at that time--the crooked streets with their
+queer shops, the wretched inhabitants, the grim and frowning forts, all
+hemmed in by the towering mountains and the sea. He likewise tells of
+his trips to the mountains, and how his companions were usually
+exhausted by the climbing done. For one who in his youth had been so
+delicate, he stood the exposure remarkably well, for which he was
+thankful.
+
+For some time the authorities at Washington did not know what to do with
+the troops in Cuba. It was suggested that they move up to higher ground,
+or to another neighborhood. But General Shafter knew, and so did all of
+the officers under him, that to keep the army in the island would only
+mean more sickness and death.
+
+"I will go to the general with a protest," said Colonel Roosevelt. And
+he did so. Meanwhile the other head officers drew up a letter of
+protest, and this was signed by all, including the commander of the
+Rough Riders. In his own letter Roosevelt protested against the
+treatment of his men in the matter of rations, clothing, and hospital
+accommodations, and in the other letter, called by the officers a Round
+Robin, there was a protest about remaining in Cuba longer, with the
+fever getting worse every day. These letters were made public through
+the press of the United States, with the result that the troops were
+ordered home without further delay.
+
+The Rough Riders left Cuba on August 7, just six weeks and a half after
+landing. The time spent in the island had been short, but to many it
+seemed an age. None were sorry to depart, although sad to think that
+some of the sick had to be left behind.
+
+The transport used this time was the _Miami_, and Mr. Roosevelt tells us
+that, taken as a whole, the accommodations were better than they had
+been on the _Yucatan_. But on the trip much trouble was had with some of
+the stokers and engineers, who insisted upon drinking some liquor
+smuggled aboard.
+
+"I will not permit this," said Colonel Roosevelt. And he read the
+disorderly ones a strong lecture and made them give up their liquor.
+After that, as there was much grumbling, he set a guard; and that was
+the end of that trouble.
+
+The destination of the transport was Montauk, on the extreme eastern
+shore of Long Island. The trip took nine days,--rather a dreary time to
+those anxious to see their native land once more. When an anchorage was
+gained, a gunboat came out to the transport with the welcome news that
+Spain had agreed to our terms.
+
+The sick had still to be cared for; yet, taken as a whole, the month
+spent at the camp at Montauk was pleasant enough. Here Colonel Roosevelt
+met that part of the regiment that had been left behind in Florida, and
+all the stories of the fights had to be told over and over again.
+
+"It was good to meet the rest of the regiment," says Mr. Roosevelt, in
+his book. "They all felt dreadfully at not having been in Cuba. Of
+course those who stayed had done their duty precisely as did those who
+went." Which was true; yet, as he adds, those who had been left behind
+could not be comforted.
+
+Colonel Roosevelt was still in charge of the brigade while at Montauk,
+and much of his time was taken up in getting out necessary reports, and
+seeing to it that the entire camp was kept in first-class sanitary
+condition.
+
+"And he was up to the mark," said one of those who were there. "He
+didn't allow the least bit of dirt, and everything had to be as
+shipshape as if we were at West Point. And it was a good thing, too, for
+it kept the sickness from spreading."
+
+The sea-breeze is strong at Montauk, and this soon began to tell upon
+all who were sick, putting in them new life and vigor. Here every
+possible attention was given to those who were down, so that ere long
+many were up again and as well as ever.
+
+When he had a little time to himself, Theodore Roosevelt would gather a
+few friends around him, and either go to the beach to bathe or go off on
+a long horseback ride. War was to him a thing of the past, and he was
+once more willing to become a private citizen as of old.
+
+In those days the camp at Montauk was constantly crowded with visitors
+from New York City and elsewhere, who poured in upon every train. All of
+the soldiers who had been to Cuba were hailed as heroes, and had to tell
+their stories many times.
+
+"Every soldier had a crowd following him," said one private. "The
+visitors wanted to know how we had fought, how we had been treated by
+the government, how things looked in Cuba, and a hundred and one
+other things. Most of the visitors, especially the ladies, wanted our
+autographs, and I had to write mine as many as forty times a day. I
+remember one of the men, a cowboy from Oklahoma, couldn't write, and he
+got so upset over this that every time somebody asked him for his
+autograph he would run away, saying he had forgotten to do something
+that he had been ordered to do. When I and some chums went down to New
+York to look around, all the folks stared at us, and many insisted on
+shaking hands and treating."
+
+[Illustration: COLONEL ROOSEVELT AT MONTAUK POINT. (_Photograph by Pach
+Bros., New York._)]
+
+The uniforms the Rough Riders had worn in Cuba were in rags, and many
+had boarded the transport barefooted. The rags were saved as trophies of
+the occasion, and many are still in existence.
+
+At Camp Wykoff, as the place was called, there was a large hospital for
+the sick, and to this many came to do what they could for the sufferers,
+who were now given every possible attention. Among the visitors was Miss
+Helen Gould, who had used her ample means for the benefit of the sick
+all through the war, and who now continued to play the good Samaritan.
+President McKinley and many of his cabinet likewise visited the camp,
+and saw to it that everything in the hospital and out of it was as it
+should be. The sick were presented with the best of fruits and other
+things, and many ladies assisted the nurses by reading to the patients
+and by writing letters for them.
+
+Now that they had nothing to do in the shape of fighting, many of the
+Rough Riders were anxious to get back to the wild West. Life in an
+ordinary camp did not suit them, and at every available opportunity they
+indulged in "horse play," working off many practical jokes upon each
+other.
+
+One day a report went the rounds that a member of another cavalry
+organization could not master a certain horse that had been assigned to
+him. The report was true, for the horse was what is called by ranchmen a
+"bad bucker."
+
+"I think Sergeant Darnell can master him," said Colonel Roosevelt.
+
+He referred to one of the best "bronco busters" among the Rough Riders,
+a man who had never yet allowed a steed to get the best of him.
+
+"All right, let Darnell try him," said others. And a test was arranged
+for the day following.
+
+At that time Secretary of War Alger was in camp, and a great crowd of
+visitors, military men and others, gathered before Colonel Roosevelt's
+quarters to watch the contest. At the proper time the vicious horse was
+brought forth, and watching his chance, Sergeant Darnell leaped upon his
+back. Then came such a bucking, leaping, and prancing as many had never
+witnessed before.
+
+"He'll be killed!" cried many of the ladies. "The horse will have him
+under in another moment." But such fears were groundless. Darnell knew
+exactly what he was doing, and in the end the fiery steed had to give
+in, completely conquered.
+
+On the last Sunday in camp, Chaplain Brown delivered an impressive
+sermon, to which all listened with grave attention. After he had
+finished, Theodore Roosevelt spoke to the men in a feeling way.
+
+"I told them how proud I was of them," he says. "But warned them not to
+think that they could go back and rest on their laurels, bidding them
+remember that though for ten days or so the world would be willing to
+treat them as heroes, yet after that time they would find they would
+have to get down to hard work just like anybody else, unless they were
+willing to be regarded as worthless do-nothings." This was the best
+possible advice, and it is believed that many of the soldiers profited
+by it.
+
+Before the men were mustered out, they treated their beloved commander
+to a genuine surprise. They had had a fine bronze of a "Bronco Buster"
+made, and this was presented to Colonel Roosevelt on behalf of the whole
+regiment. It touched him deeply, and to-day this bronze is one of his
+most highly prized gifts.
+
+At last came news that the Rough Riders would be mustered out of the
+United States service the next day. That evening a great celebration
+took place, in which all of the men joined, each according to his own
+notion of what a celebration should be. Large bonfires were lit, and
+here some delivered speeches, the soldiers from the colleges sang, those
+with Indian blood in them gave a characteristic dance, and cowboys and
+ranchmen did "double-shuffles" and "cut up" as suited them.
+
+On the morning of September 15, four months after the Rough Riders had
+been organized, the colors were lowered in camp, the men were mustered
+out, and officers and privates shook hands and said good-by.
+
+"It was the greatest sight I ever saw," says one of the number. "Not
+until that moment came did we realize what it meant to part with those
+who had fought with us in battle and suffered the hardships of life in
+the trenches. Strange friendships had been formed, some between those
+who were very rich and very poor, and others between those who were well
+educated and very ignorant. One man who was studying for a professional
+life had as his particular chum a rough cowboy who had never spent six
+months over his books. But the two had stood by each other and suffered,
+and I really believe they were willing to lay down their lives for each
+other.
+
+"Many of the men could hardly bear to part with Colonel Roosevelt. He
+had stuck by them through thick and thin, and they worshipped him. Some
+shook hands half a dozen times, and some hardly dared to speak for fear
+of breaking down. I never expect to see the match of that scene again."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIX
+
+NOMINATED FOR GOVERNOR OF NEW YORK--A ROUGH RIDER WAY OF
+CAMPAIGNING--ELECTED GOVERNOR--IMPORTANT WORK AT ALBANY--THE HOMESTEAD
+AT OYSTER BAY--CHOPPING DOWN A TREE FOR EXERCISE
+
+
+The war with Spain was at an end, and Uncle Sam had now to turn his
+attention to the Philippines, where for many months to come military
+disturbances of a more or less serious nature were to take place.
+
+Theodore Roosevelt might have remained in the army, and had he done so
+there is no doubt but that he would have swiftly risen to a rank of
+importance.
+
+But the people of the State of New York willed otherwise.
+
+"He is a great military man," they said. "But he was likewise a fine
+Police Commissioner and a Civil Service Commissioner, fighting
+continually for what was right and good. Let us make him our next
+governor."
+
+The convention that nominated Theodore Roosevelt for the highest office
+in the Empire State met at Saratoga, September 27, 1898, just twelve
+days after the Rough Riders were mustered out. At that time Frank S.
+Black was governor of the state, having been elected two years before by
+a large majority. The governor had many friends, and they said he
+deserved another term.
+
+"Roosevelt is not a citizen of this state," said they. "He gave up his
+residence here when he went to Washington to become Assistant Secretary
+of the Navy."
+
+"We don't want him anyway," said other politicians, who had not
+forgotten how the Rough Rider had acted when in the Assembly. "If he
+gets into office, it will be impossible to manage him." And they worked
+night and day to defeat the hero of San Juan Hill.
+
+On the day of the convention, the hall where it was held was jammed with
+people. The people were also crowded in the street outside, and on every
+hand were seen Rough Rider badges.
+
+"It was a Roosevelt crowd from top to bottom," says one who was there.
+"You heard his name everywhere--in the hotels, on the streets, no
+matter where you went. Every once in a while somebody would shout,
+'Three cheers for Teddy!' and the cheers would be given with a will."
+
+As soon as the convention had settled down to business, Governor Black
+was put up for nomination, and then the Hon. Chauncey M. Depew presented
+the name of Theodore Roosevelt. He spoke of what had been done in Cuba,
+and added:--
+
+"The Rough Riders endured no hardships nor dangers which were not shared
+by their Colonel. He helped them dig their ditches; he stood beside them
+in the deadly dampness of the trenches. No floored tent for him if his
+comrades must sleep on the ground and under the sky. In that world-famed
+charge of the Rough Riders up the hill of San Juan, their Colonel was a
+hundred feet in advance."
+
+There was a prolonged cheering when Theodore Roosevelt's name was
+mentioned, and hundreds waved their handkerchiefs and flags. Other
+speeches followed, and at last came the voting. Out of the total number
+cast Theodore Roosevelt received seven hundred and fifty-three and
+Governor Black two hundred and eighteen.
+
+"I move we make the nomination of Theodore Roosevelt unanimous!" cried
+Judge Cady, who had previously presented the name of Governor Black. And
+amid continued cheering this was done.
+
+Theodore Roosevelt had been nominated on the regular Republican ticket.
+In opposition, the Democrats nominated Augustus Van Wyck, also well
+known, and likewise of as old Dutch stock as Roosevelt himself.
+
+The campaign was a decidedly strenuous one. The Democrats made every
+effort to win, while on the other hand the Republicans who had wanted
+Governor Black for another term did not give to Mr. Roosevelt the
+support promised when his nomination had been made unanimous.
+
+"We shall be defeated," said more than one friend to Roosevelt. "It
+seems a shame, but we cannot arouse the party as it should be aroused."
+
+"I will see what I can do myself," answered the former leader of the
+Rough Riders. And he arranged to make a complete tour of the State,
+taking in almost every city and town of importance. When some of the
+old campaign managers heard of this, they came to Roosevelt in great
+alarm.
+
+"You mustn't do it," they said. "It will ruin you."
+
+"I will risk it," was the answer of the candidate. And forthwith he
+started on his tour, taking a handful of his Rough Rider friends with
+him.
+
+It was a brilliant stroke on the part of Theodore Roosevelt, and it told
+tremendously in his favor. Wherever he went, the people turned out in
+large crowds to see him and to listen to what he or his Rough Rider
+companions had to say. Citizens by the hundred came up to shake him by
+the hand and wish him success. Parades were organized to do him honor,
+and at night there would be brilliant illuminations and fireworks.
+
+"We have aroused the party," said he, when the tour was at an end. And
+so it proved. Although Van Wyck was popular, Theodore Roosevelt was
+elected to the high office of governor by seventeen thousand plurality.
+
+It was certainly a high position for such a young man to occupy. He was
+barely forty years of age, yet as governor of New York he ruled twice as
+many people as did George Washington when first President of the United
+States.
+
+He entered on his new duties with as much zeal as he had displayed when
+organizing the Rough Riders, and in a few weeks had the reins of
+government well in hand. It is said that while he was governor he was
+never surprised by those who opposed him. When they wanted facts and
+figures he was able to produce them, and he never supported or vetoed a
+measure unless he was morally certain he was on the right side. He was
+open-faced to the last degree, and what he said he meant.
+
+During his term of office many measures of importance were considered,
+but in a work of this kind it is not necessary to go into details. For
+several important offices he nominated men of his own selection, despite
+the protests of some older politicians, and these selections proved
+first-class.
+
+During his term as governor, Mr. Roosevelt did a great work for many
+poor people in New York City, who worked in what are called "sweat
+shops,"--small, close quarters, not fit for working purposes, in which
+men, women, and children make clothing and other articles. He enforced
+what was known as the Factory Law, and the owners of the "sweat-shops"
+had to seek larger and more sanitary quarters for their employees. He
+also took a strong hand in reforming the administration of the canals,
+which had been one-sided and unfair.
+
+But perhaps his greatest work was in behalf of a measure meant to make
+the great corporations of New York State pay their fair share of the
+general taxes. In the past these corporations had had great rights
+conferred upon them, and they had paid little or nothing in return.
+
+"This is unjust," said Governor Roosevelt. "They should pay their taxes
+just as the poorest citizen is compelled to pay his tax."
+
+When the corporations heard this, many of the men in control were
+furious, and they threatened the governor in all sorts of ways. They
+would defeat him if he ever again came up for election, and defeat him
+so badly that he would never again be heard of.
+
+"Do as you please, gentlemen," said the governor. "I am here to do my
+duty, and I intend to do it." And he called an extra session of the
+legislature for that purpose. It is said that much money was used by
+some corporations to defeat Governor Roosevelt's will, but in the end a
+modified form of the bill was passed. Since that time other bills along
+similar lines have become laws; so that the great corporations have to
+pay millions of dollars which in the past they had escaped paying. Such
+measures are of immense benefit to the ordinary citizen, and for his
+share in this work Theodore Roosevelt deserves great credit.
+
+It was while governor of New York that Mr. Roosevelt gave to the public
+his book entitled "The Rough Riders." It contains a history of that
+organization from his personal point of view, and makes the most
+fascinating kind of reading from beginning to end. It was well received,
+and added not a little to the laurels of the writer as an author.
+
+Although much of his time was spent at Albany as Executive, Theodore
+Roosevelt had not given up the old homestead at Oyster Bay on Long
+Island, and thither he went for rest and recreation, taking his entire
+family, which, as has been said, consisted of his wife and six children,
+with him.
+
+The old Roosevelt homestead is on a hill about three miles distant from
+the village. The road to the house winds upward through a wilderness of
+trees and brushwood. At the top of the hill, where the house stands, is
+a cleared space, free to the strong breezes of Long Island Sound. It is
+on the north shore, about twenty-five miles from City Hall, New York.
+
+The house is a large, three-story affair, with crossed gables, and a
+large semicircular veranda at one end. Inside there is a wide hall, and
+all the rooms are of good size, with broad windows and inviting open
+fireplaces. One room is fitted up as Mr. Roosevelt's "den," with many
+bookcases filled with books, and with rare prints of Washington,
+Lincoln, and other celebrities on the walls, and with not a few trophies
+of the hunt added. In this room Mr. Roosevelt has done much of his work
+as an author.
+
+It is said that Abraham Lincoln not only chopped wood for a living, but
+that he rather enjoyed the outdoor exercise. Be that as it may, it
+remains a fact that Mr. Roosevelt frequently goes forth into the woods
+on his estate to fell a tree, or split one up, just for the exercise
+thus afforded. This he did while he was governor of New York, and once
+astonished some newspaper men who had come to see him on business by the
+dexterity with which he cut a large tree trunk in two. He even invited
+his visitors to "take a hack at it" themselves, but they respectfully
+declined.
+
+He still kept up his athletic exercise, and one of his favorite
+amusements was to go on long horseback rides, either alone, or with some
+relative or friend. At other times he would go deep into the woods with
+his young sons, showing them how to bring down the nuts from the trees,
+or how to use their guns on any small game that chanced to show itself.
+His family life was then, as it has always been, a happy one; but of
+this let us speak later.
+
+[Illustration: THE ROOSEVELT HOMESTEAD AT OYSTER BAY.
+
+(_Photograph by Pach Bros., N.Y._)]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XX
+
+GREAT RECEPTION TO ADMIRAL DEWEY--GOVERNOR ROOSEVELT'S INCREASED
+POPULARITY--LAST ANNUAL MESSAGE AS GOVERNOR--VISIT TO CHICAGO--REMARKABLE
+SPEECH ON THE STRENUOUS LIFE
+
+
+Although the war with Spain was over, the people of the United States
+had not forgotten the wonderful work accomplished by Admiral Dewey and
+his men at Manila, and when the dauntless naval fighter returned to this
+country, people everywhere arose to do him honor.
+
+"He well deserves it," said Governor Roosevelt. And he appointed
+September 29 and 30, 1899, as public holidays, to be observed throughout
+the entire State as days of general thanksgiving. These days were
+commonly called "Dewey Days."
+
+The reception to the Admiral and to the other naval heroes was to take
+place in New York and vicinity, and for many days the citizens were busy
+decorating their homes and places of business with flags and bunting
+and pictures, and immense signs of "Welcome," some in letters several
+feet long. At the junction of Broadway, Fifth Avenue, and Twenty-Third
+Street, an immense triumphal arch was erected, and reviewing stands
+stretched along the line of parade for many miles.
+
+On the day before the grand reception, Governor Roosevelt, with some
+members of his staff, called upon Admiral Dewey on board of the
+_Olympia_, and offered the State's greeting. A pleasant time was had by
+all, and the governor assured the sea hero that the people of New York
+and vicinity were more than anxious to do him honor.
+
+It had been arranged that a naval parade should be held on the first day
+of the reception, and a land parade on the day following. The course of
+the naval parade was up the Hudson River past Grant's Tomb, and the
+grand procession on the water included the _Olympia_, the Admiral's
+flag-ship, and the _New York_, _Indiana_, _Massachusetts_, _Texas_,
+_Brooklyn_, and a large number of other war-ships of lesser importance,
+besides an immense number of private steam-yachts and other craft.
+
+The day dawned clear and bright, and the banks of the Hudson were lined
+from end to end with people. When the procession of war-ships swept up
+the stream, loud was the applause, while flags waved everywhere, and
+whistles blew constantly. When passing Grant's Tomb every war-ship fired
+a salute, and the mass of sound echoing across the water was positively
+deafening.
+
+As the _Olympia_ swept up the river, fired her salute, and then came to
+anchor a short distance below the last resting-place of General Grant,
+Admiral Dewey stood on the bridge of his flag-ship, a small, trim
+figure, with a smile and a wave of the hand for everybody. The surging
+people could see him but indistinctly, yet there was much hand clapping,
+and throats grew sore with cheering.
+
+But there was another figure in that naval parade, the person of one
+also dear to the hearts of the people. It was the figure of Theodore
+Roosevelt, dressed, not as a Rough Rider, but as a civilian, standing at
+the rail of a steamer used by the New York State officials. When the
+people saw and recognized that figure, the cheering was as wild as
+ever.
+
+"It is Roosevelt!" ran from mouth to mouth. "The hero of San Juan Hill!"
+
+"Hurrah for the Rough Riders and their gallant leader!" came from
+others. And the cheering was renewed.
+
+In the evening there was a grand display of fireworks and illuminated
+floats. The immense span of the Brooklyn Bridge was a mass of lights,
+and contained the words "Welcome, Dewey" in lettering which covered
+several hundred feet. All of the war-ships had their search-lights in
+operation, and it can truthfully be said that for once the metropolis
+was as light as day.
+
+But all of this was as nothing compared with the land parade which
+followed. Never before had the streets of New York been so jammed with
+people. At many points it was impossible to move, yet the crowds were
+good-natured and patriotic to the core. The parade started at Grant's
+Tomb and ended at Washington Square, and was between five and six hours
+in passing. Admiral Dewey rode in a carriage with Mayor Van Wyck, and
+received another ovation. At the Triumphal Arch the Admiral reviewed
+the parade, and here he was accorded additional honors.
+
+In this parade Governor Roosevelt rode on horseback, in civilian dress.
+As he came down the street, the immense crowds recognized him from afar,
+and the hand clapping and cheering was tremendous, and lasted long after
+he was out of sight.
+
+"It's our own Teddy Roosevelt!" cried the more enthusiastic.
+
+"Hurrah for the governor! Hurrah for the colonel of the Rough Riders!"
+
+"Hurrah for the coming President!" said another. And he spoke better
+than he knew.
+
+This demonstration came straight from the people's heart, and it could
+not help but affect Theodore Roosevelt. Sitting astride of his
+dark-colored horse like a veteran, he bowed right and left. Next to
+Dewey, he was easily the greatest figure in the parade.
+
+On January 3, 1900, Governor Roosevelt sent his last annual message to
+the State legislature. It was an able document, and as it was now
+recognized everywhere that he was a truly national figure, it was given
+careful attention. It treated of the corruption in canal management, of
+the franchise tax, of taxation in general, and a large portion was
+devoted to the trusts. At that time the trusts were receiving great
+attention everywhere, and it was felt that what the governor had to say
+about them, that they were largely over-capitalized, that they
+misrepresented the condition of their affairs, that they promoted unfair
+competition, and that they wielded increased power over the wage-earner,
+was strictly true.
+
+In Chicago there is a wealthy organization known as the Hamilton Club,
+and the members were very anxious to have Governor Roosevelt as their
+guest on Appomattox Day, April 10, 1899. A delegation went to New York
+to invite the governor, and he accepted the invitation with pleasure.
+
+"The middle West is very dear to me," said he. "It will be a pleasure to
+meet my many friends there."
+
+Of course he was expected to speak, and said the subject of his address
+would be "The Strenuous Life,"--certainly a subject close to his own
+heart, considering the life he himself had led.
+
+When Mr. Roosevelt reached the metropolis of the Great Lakes, he found
+a large crowd waiting at the railroad station to receive him. The
+reception committee was on hand, with the necessary coaches, and people
+were crowded everywhere, anxious to catch a sight of the man who had
+made himself famous by the advance up San Juan Hill.
+
+But for the moment Governor Roosevelt did not see the reception
+committee, nor did he see the great mass of people. In a far corner of
+the platform he caught sight of six men, dressed in the faded and
+tattered uniform of the Rough Riders. They were not men of wealth or
+position, but they were men of his old command, and he had not forgotten
+them.
+
+"Glad to see you, boys, glad to see you!" he shouted, as he elbowed his
+way toward them. "Come up here and shake hands."
+
+"Glad to see you, Colonel," was the ready answer, and the faces of the
+men broke into broad smiles. They shook hands readily, and willingly
+answered all of the questions the governor put to them. He asked how
+each of them was doing, calling them by their names, and concluded by
+requesting them to come up to the Auditorium later, "for an all-round
+chat."
+
+"It was a great meeting," said one who was there. "Before the train came
+in, those old Rough Riders were nervous and showed it. They knew that
+Roosevelt had become a great man, and they were just a little afraid he
+would pass them by. When the meeting was over, they went off as happy as
+a lot of children, and one of them said, 'Say, fellows, Teddy's just all
+right yet, ain't he?' And another answered: 'Told you he would be. He's
+a white man through and through, none whiter anywhere.'"
+
+The banquet was held in the Auditorium Theatre building, and was said to
+be the largest ever given in Chicago. Many distinguished guests were
+present, both from the North and the South, and the place was a mass of
+flowers and brilliantly illuminated, while a fine orchestra discoursed
+music during the meal. When Theodore Roosevelt arose to speak, there was
+cheering that lasted fully a quarter of an hour.
+
+The speech made upon this occasion is one not likely to be forgotten.
+Previous to that time the word "strenuous" had been heard but seldom,
+but ever since it has stood for something definite, and is much in use.
+In part Mr. Roosevelt spoke as follows:--
+
+"I wish to preach, not the doctrine of ignoble ease, but the doctrine of
+the strenuous life; the life of toil and effort; of labor and strife; to
+preach that highest form of success which comes, not to the man who
+desires mere easy peace, but to the man who does not shirk from danger,
+from hardship, or from bitter toil, and who out of these wins the
+splendid ultimate triumph."
+
+Another paragraph is equally interesting and elevating:--
+
+"We do not admire the man of timid peace. We admire the man who embodies
+victorious effort; the man who never wrongs his neighbor, who is prompt
+to help a friend; but who has those virile qualities necessary to win in
+the stern strife of actual life. It is hard to fail; but it is worse
+never to have tried to succeed."
+
+And to this he adds:--
+
+"As it is with the individual so it is with the nation. It is a base
+untruth to say that happy is the nation that has no history. Thrice
+happy is the nation that has a glorious history. Far better is it to
+dare mighty things to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by
+failure, than to take rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy
+much nor suffer much, because they live in the gray twilight that knows
+neither victory nor defeat."[1]
+
+[Footnote 1: For other extracts from this speech, see Appendix A, p.
+297.]
+
+[Illustration: Theodore Roosevelt]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXI
+
+THE CONVENTION AT PHILADELPHIA--THEODORE ROOSEVELT SECONDS THE
+NOMINATION OF PRESIDENT MCKINLEY--BECOMES CANDIDATE FOR THE
+VICE-PRESIDENCY--REMARKABLE TOURS THROUGH MANY STATES
+
+
+As the time came on to nominate parties for the office of President and
+Vice-President of the United States, in 1900, there was considerable
+speculation in the Republican party regarding who should be chosen for
+the second name on the ticket.
+
+It was felt by everybody that President McKinley had honestly earned a
+second term, not alone by his management of the war with Spain, but also
+because of his stand touching the rebellion in the Philippines, and on
+other matters of equal importance.
+
+About the Vice-Presidency the political managers were not so sure, and
+they mentioned several names. But in the hearts of the people there was
+but one name, and that was Theodore Roosevelt.
+
+"We must have him," was heard upon every side. "He will be just the
+right man in the right place. He will give to the office an importance
+never before attached to it, and an importance which it deserves."
+
+Personally, Governor Roosevelt did not wish this added honor. As the
+Executive of the greatest State in our Union, he had started great
+reforms, and he wanted to finish them.
+
+"My work is here," he said to many. "Let me do what I have been called
+to do, and then I will again be at the service of the whole nation once
+more."
+
+The National Republican Convention met in Philadelphia, June 19, in
+Exposition Hall, beautifully decorated with flags and banners. Senator
+Mark Hanna, President McKinley's warmest personal friend, was chairman,
+and the delegates, numbering over seven hundred, came, as usual at such
+conventions, from every State in the Union. Governor Roosevelt himself
+was a delegate, and sat near the middle aisle, five or six seats from
+the front. He was recognized by everybody, and it is safe to say that
+he was the most conspicuous figure at the convention.
+
+Up to the last minute many of the political leaders were, in a measure,
+afraid of Theodore Roosevelt. They understood his immense popularity,
+and were afraid that the convention might be "stampeded" in his favor.
+
+"If they once start to yell for Roosevelt, it will be good-by to
+everybody else," said one old politician. "They are just crazy after the
+leader of the Rough Riders."
+
+But this man did not understand the stern moral honesty of the man under
+consideration. Roosevelt believed in upholding William McKinley, and had
+said so, and it was no more possible for him to seek the Presidential
+nomination by an underhanded trick than it was for President McKinley to
+do an equally base thing when he was asked to allow his name to be
+mentioned at the time he had pledged himself to support John Sherman.[2]
+Both men were of equal loyalty, and the word of each was as good as his
+bond.
+
+[Footnote 2: See "American Boys' Life of William McKinley," p. 191.]
+
+It was Senator Foraker who put up President McKinley for nomination, and
+the vigorous cheering at that time will never be forgotten. Fifteen
+thousand throats yelled themselves hoarse, and then broke into the
+ringing words and music of "The Union Forever!" in a manner that made
+the very convention hall tremble. Then came cries for Roosevelt, "For
+our own Teddy of the Rough Riders!" and, written speech in hand, he
+arose amid that vast multitude to second the candidacy of William
+McKinley. Not once did he look at the paper he held in his hand, but
+with a force that could not be misunderstood he addressed the
+assemblage.
+
+"I rise to second the nomination of William McKinley, because with him
+as a leader this people has trod the path of national greatness and
+prosperity with the strides of a giant," said he, "and because under him
+we can and will succeed in the election. Exactly as in the past we have
+remedied the evils which we undertook to remedy, so now when we say that
+a wrong shall be righted, it most assuredly will be righted.
+
+"We stand on the threshold of a new century, a century big with the
+fate of the great nations of the earth. It rests with us to decide now
+whether in the opening years of that century we shall march forward to
+fresh triumphs, or whether at the outset we shall deliberately cripple
+ourselves for the contest."
+
+His speech was the signal for another burst of applause, and when
+finally Theodore Roosevelt was named as the candidate for
+Vice-President, the crowd yelled until it could yell no longer, while
+many sang "Yankee Doodle" and other more or less patriotic airs, keeping
+time with canes and flag-sticks. When the vote was cast, only one
+delegate failed to vote for Theodore Roosevelt, and that was Theodore
+Roosevelt himself.
+
+The platform of the party was largely a repetition of the platform of
+four years before. Again the cry was for "sound money," and for the
+continuance of President McKinley's policy in the Philippines.
+
+The campaign which followed was truly a strenuous one--to use a favorite
+word of the candidate. President McKinley decided not to make many
+speeches, and thus the hard work previous to election day fell upon
+Theodore Roosevelt.
+
+He did not shirk the task. As with everything he undertook, he entered
+into the campaign with vigor, resolved to deserve success even if he did
+not win it.
+
+"I will do my best in the interests of our party, and for the benefit of
+the people at large," said Theodore Roosevelt. "No man can do more than
+that."
+
+In the few short months between the time when he was nominated and when
+the election was held, Governor Roosevelt travelled over 20,000 miles by
+rail, visiting nearly 600 towns, and addressing, on a rough estimate,
+fully 3,000,000 of people! In that time he delivered 673 speeches, some
+of them half an hour and some an hour in length.
+
+In his thousands of miles of travel the candidate for the
+Vice-Presidency visited many States, particularly those lying between
+New York and Colorado. At nearly every town he was greeted by an immense
+crowd, all anxious to do the leader of the Rough Riders honor. In the
+large cities great banquets were held, and he was shown much respect
+and consideration. In many places those who had fought under him came to
+see and listen to him, and these meetings were of especial pleasure.
+Often he would see an old Rough Rider hanging back in the crowd, and
+would call him to the front or do his best to reach the ex-soldier and
+shake him by the hand.
+
+One occurrence is worthy of special mention. The Democratic party had
+nominated William Jennings Bryan as their candidate for President. There
+was a great labor picnic and demonstration at Chicago, and both Governor
+Roosevelt and Mr. Bryan were invited to speak.
+
+"You had better not accept, governor," said some friends to Theodore
+Roosevelt. "There may be trouble."
+
+"I am not afraid," answered the former leader of the Rough Riders.
+
+"But Mr. Bryan and yourself are to be there at practically the same
+time."
+
+"That does not matter," said the governor. And he went to Chicago on
+September 3, to attend the Labor Day celebrations. The picnic was held
+at Electric Park, and in the presence of fifteen thousand people
+Governor Roosevelt and Mr. Bryan "buried the hatchet" for the time
+being, and spoke to those surrounding them on the dignity of labor and
+the duties of the laboring man to better himself and his social
+conditions. In that motley collection of people there were frequent
+cries of "Hurrah for Teddy!" and "What's the matter with Bryan? He's all
+right!" but there was no disturbance, and each speaker was listened to
+with respectful attention from start to finish. It was without a doubt a
+meeting to show true American liberty and free speech at its best.
+
+But all of the stops on his tours were not so pleasant to Governor
+Roosevelt. In every community there are those who are low-bred and bound
+to make an exhibition of their baseness. At Waverly, New York, a stone
+was flung at him through the car window, breaking the glass but missing
+the candidate for whom it was intended. At once there was excitement.
+
+"Are you hurt, Governor?" was the question asked.
+
+"No," returned Theodore Roosevelt. And then he added, with a faint
+smile, "It's only a bouquet, but I wish, after this, they wouldn't make
+them quite so hard."
+
+There was also a demonstration against the candidate at Haverstraw, New
+York, which threatened for a while to break up an intended meeting. But
+the worst rowdyism was encountered at Victor, a small town in Colorado,
+near the well-known mining centre of Cripple Creek. Victor was full of
+miners who wanted not "sound money," but "free silver," for free silver,
+so styled, meant a great booming of silver mining.
+
+"We don't want him here," said these miners. "We have heard enough about
+him and his gold standard. He had better keep away, or he'll regret it."
+
+When Theodore Roosevelt was told he might have trouble in the mining
+camps, he merely shrugged his shoulders.
+
+"I know these men," he said. "The most of them are as honest and
+respectable as the citizens of New York. I am not afraid of the vicious
+element. The better class are bound to see fair play."
+
+The governor spoke at a place called Armory Hall, and the auditorium was
+packed. He had just begun his speech when there was a wild yelling and
+cat-calling, all calculated to drown him out. He waited for a minute,
+and then, as the noise subsided, tried to go on once more, when a voice
+cried out:--
+
+"What about rotten beef?" referring to the beef furnished during the
+Santiago campaign, which had, of course, come through a Republican
+Commissary Department.
+
+"I ate that beef," answered the governor, quickly. And then he added to
+the fellow who had thus questioned him: "You will never get near enough
+to be hit with a bullet, or within five miles of it." At this many burst
+into applause, and the man, who was a coward at heart, sneaked from the
+hall in a hurry. He was no soldier and had never suffered the hardships
+of any campaign, and many hooted him as he deserved.
+
+But the trouble was not yet over. Theodore Roosevelt finished his
+address, and then started to leave the hall in company with a number of
+his friends. On the way to the train a crowd of rowdies followed the
+candidate's party, and threw all sorts of things at them. One man made a
+personal attack on the governor and hit him on the chest with a stick.
+He tried to leap away, but was knocked down by a personal friend of
+Theodore Roosevelt.
+
+"Down with the gold bugs!" was the cry, and the violence of the mob
+increased. The friends of Governor Roosevelt rallied to his support, and
+blows were given and taken freely. But with it all the candidate reached
+his train in safety, and in a few minutes more had left the town far
+behind. He was not much disturbed, and the very next day went on with
+his speech-making as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened. The
+better classes of citizens of Victor were much disturbed over the
+happening, and they sent many regrets to Governor Roosevelt, assuring
+him that such a demonstration would never again be permitted to occur.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXII
+
+ELECTED VICE-PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES--PRESIDES OVER THE
+SENATE--TAX UPON THEODORE ROOSEVELT'S STRENGTH--START ON ANOTHER GRAND
+HUNTING TOUR
+
+
+But the campaign, sharp and bitter as it had been, was not yet at an
+end. In New York City there followed a "Sound Money Parade," which was
+perhaps the largest of its kind ever witnessed in the United States. It
+was composed of all sorts and conditions of men, from bankers and
+brokers of Wall Street to the humble factory and mill hands from up the
+river and beyond. The parade took several hours to pass, and was
+witnessed by crowds almost as great as had witnessed the Dewey
+demonstration.
+
+In New York City, as the time drew closer for the election, there was
+every intimation that the contest would be an unusually "hot" one, and
+that there would be much bribery and corruption. It was said by some
+that police methods were very lax at that time, and that the saloons,
+which ought to be closed on election day, would be almost if not quite
+wide open.
+
+[Illustration: _Photograph by Pach Bros., N.Y._
+
+PRESIDENT MCKINLEY AND VICE-PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT.]
+
+"We must have an honest election," said Governor Roosevelt. And without
+loss of time he sent letters to Mayor Van Wyck, and to the sheriff and
+the district attorney of the county of New York, calling their attention
+to the facts in the case, and telling them that he would hold them
+strictly responsible if they did not do their full duty. As a
+consequence the election was far more orderly than it might otherwise
+have been in the metropolitan district.
+
+The results of the long contest were speedily known. McKinley and
+Roosevelt had been elected by a large plurality, and both they and their
+numerous friends and supporters were correspondingly happy. Great
+parades were had in their honor, and it was predicted, and rightly, that
+the prosperity which our country had enjoyed for several years in the
+past would continue for many years to come.
+
+During those days the United States had but one outside difficulty,
+which was in China. There a certain set of people called the Boxers
+arose in rebellion and threatened the lives of all foreigners, including
+American citizens. An International Army was organized, including
+American, English, French, German, Japanese, and other troops, and a
+quick attack was made upon Tien-Tsin and Pekin, and the suffering
+foreigners in China were rescued. In this campaign the American soldiers
+did their full share of the work and added fresh laurels to the name of
+Old Glory.
+
+The tax upon the strength of the newly elected Vice-President had been
+very great, and he was glad to surrender the duties of governor into the
+hands of his successor. But as Vice-President, Theodore Roosevelt became
+the presiding officer of the United States Senate, a position of equal
+if not greater importance.
+
+As President of the Senate it is said that Mr. Roosevelt was kind yet
+firm, and ever on the alert to see that affairs ran smoothly. He
+occupied the position only for one short winter session, and during that
+time nothing came under discussion that was of prime importance,
+although my young readers must remember that all the work accomplished
+in our Senate is of more or less magnitude.
+
+"He was very earnest in his work," says one who was in the Senate at
+that time. "As was his usual habit, he took little for granted, but
+usually started to investigate for himself. He knew the rules
+thoroughly, and rarely made an error."
+
+For a long time the newly elected Vice-President had been wanting to get
+back to his favorite recreation, hunting. Despite the excitement of
+political life, he could not overcome his fondness for his rifle and the
+wilderness. He felt that an outing would do his system much good, and
+accordingly arranged for a five weeks' hunting trip in northwestern
+Colorado.
+
+In this trip, which he has himself described in one of his admirable
+hunting papers, he had with him two companions, Dr. Gerald Webb of
+Colorado Springs, and Mr. Philip K. Stewart, an old friend who in former
+years had been captain of the Yale base-ball team.
+
+The party went as far as the railroad would carry them, and then started
+for a settlement called Meeker, forty miles distant. The weather was
+extremely cold, with the thermometer from ten to twenty degrees below
+zero, but the journey to Meeker was made in safety, and here the hunters
+met their guide, a well-known hunter of that region named Goff, and
+started with him for his ranch, several miles away.
+
+Theodore Roosevelt would have liked to bring down a bear on this trip,
+but the grizzlies were all in winter quarters and sleeping soundly, so
+the hunt was confined to bob-cats and cougars. The hunting began early,
+for on the way to the ranch the hounds treed a bob-cat, commonly known
+as a lynx, which was secured without much trouble, and a second bob-cat
+was secured the next day.
+
+The territory surrounding Goff's ranch, called the Keystone, was an
+ideal one for hunting, with clumps of cottonwoods and pines scattered
+here and there, and numerous cliffs and ravines, the hiding-places of
+game unnumbered. The ranch home stood at the foot of several well-wooded
+hills, a long, low, one-story affair, built of rough logs, but clean and
+comfortable within.
+
+The two days' ride in the nipping air had been a severe test of
+endurance, and all were glad, when the ranch was reached, to "thaw out"
+before the roaring fire, and sit down to the hot and hearty meal that
+had been prepared in anticipation of their coming.
+
+The hunters had some excellent hounds, trained especially for bob-cats
+and cougars, animals that were never allowed to go after small game
+under any circumstances. Theodore Roosevelt was much taken with them
+from the start, and soon got to know each by name.
+
+"In cougar hunting the success of the hunter depends absolutely upon his
+hounds," says Mr. Roosevelt. And he described each hound with great
+minuteness, showing that he allowed little to escape his trained eye
+while on this tour.
+
+On the day after the arrival at the ranch the party went out for its
+first cougar, which, as my young readers perhaps know, is an animal
+inhabiting certain wild parts of our West and Southwest. The beast grows
+to a size of from six to nine feet in length, and weighs several hundred
+pounds. It is variously known as a puma and panther, the latter name
+sometimes being changed to "painter." When attacked, it is ofttimes
+exceedingly savage, and on certain occasions has been known to kill a
+man.
+
+In Colorado the cougar is hunted almost exclusively with the aid of
+hounds, and this was the method adopted on the present occasion. With
+the pen of a true sportsman, Mr. Roosevelt tells us how the hounds were
+held back until a cougar trail less than thirty-six hours old was
+struck. Then off went the pack along the cliffs and ravines, with the
+hunters following on horseback. The trail led up the mountain side and
+then across the valley opposite, and soon the hounds were out of sight.
+Leading their steeds, the hunters went down the valley and followed the
+dogs, to find they had separated among the bare spots beyond. But soon
+came a welcome sound.
+
+"The cougar's treed," announced the guide. And so it proved. But when
+the hunters came closer, the cougar, an old female, leaped from the
+tree, outdistanced the dogs, and leaped into another tree. Then, as the
+party again came up, the beast took another leap and started to run
+once more. But now the hounds were too quick, and in a trice they had
+the cougar surrounded. Slipping in, Theodore Roosevelt ended the
+struggles of the wild beast by a knife-thrust behind the shoulder.
+
+The next day there was another hunt, and this had rather a tinge of
+sadness to it. The dogs tracked a mother cougar, who occupied her den
+with her three kittens. The hounds rushed into the hole, barking
+furiously, and presently one came out with a dead kitten in his mouth.
+
+"I had supposed a cougar would defend her young to the last," says Mr.
+Roosevelt, "but such was not the case in this instance. For some minutes
+she kept the dogs at bay, but gradually gave ground, leaving her three
+kittens." The dogs killed the kittens without loss of time, and then
+followed the cougar as she fled from the other end of her hole. But the
+hounds were too quick for her, and soon had her on the ground. Theodore
+Roosevelt rushed up, knife in one hand and rifle in the other. With the
+firearm he struck the beast in the jaws, and then ended the struggle by
+a knife-thrust straight into the heart.
+
+To many this may seem a cruel sport, and in a certain sense it assuredly
+is; but my young readers must remember that cougars and other wild
+beasts are a menace to civilization in the far West, and they have been
+shot down and killed at every available opportunity. More than this, as
+I have already mentioned, Theodore Roosevelt is more than a mere hunter
+delighting in bloodshed. He is a naturalist, and examines with care
+everything brought down and reports upon it, so that his hunting trips
+have added not a little to up-to-date natural history. The skulls of the
+various animals killed on this trip were forwarded to the Biological
+Survey, Department of Agriculture, Washington, and in return Mr.
+Roosevelt received a letter, part of which stated:--
+
+"Your series of skulls from Colorado is incomparably the largest, most
+complete, and most valuable series ever brought together from any single
+locality, and will be of inestimable value in determining the amount of
+individual variation."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIII
+
+THE ROOSEVELT FAMILY IN THE ADIRONDACKS--THE PAN-AMERICAN EXPOSITION AT
+BUFFALO--SHOOTING OF PRESIDENT MCKINLEY--THE VICE-PRESIDENT'S
+VISIT--DEATH OF THE PRESIDENT
+
+
+Theodore Roosevelt's companions of the hunt remained with him for
+fourteen days, after which they departed, leaving him with Goff, the
+ranchman and hunter already mentioned.
+
+When the pair were alone, they visited Juniper Mountain, said to be a
+great ground for cougars and bob-cats, and there hunted with great
+success. All together the trip of five weeks' hunting netted fourteen
+cougars, the largest of which was eight feet in length and weighed 227
+pounds. Mr. Roosevelt also brought down five bob-cats, showing that he
+was just as skilful with his rifle as ever.
+
+The hero of San Juan Hill fairly loved the outdoor exercise of the hunt,
+and spent three weeks in keen enjoyment after his companions had
+departed. During this time it snowed heavily, so that the hunters were
+often compelled to remain indoors. As luck would have it there were
+other ranches in that vicinity, with owners that were hospitable, so
+that they did not have to go into camp, as would otherwise have been the
+case.
+
+On the last day of the hunt, Theodore Roosevelt was able to bring down
+the largest cougar yet encountered. The hounds were on the trail of one
+beast when they came across that of another and took it up with but
+little warning.
+
+"We're going to get a big one now," said Goff. "Just you wait and see."
+
+"Well, if we do, it will be a good ending to my outing," responded
+Theodore Roosevelt.
+
+The cougar was at last located by the hounds in a large pinyon on the
+side of a hill. It had run a long distance and was evidently out of
+breath, but as the hunters drew closer, it leaped to the ground and
+trotted away through the snow. Away went the hounds on the new trail of
+the beast.
+
+"He's game, and he'll get away if he can," said the guide.
+
+At the top of another hill the cougar halted and one of the hounds
+leaped in, and was immediately sent sprawling by a savage blow of the
+wild animal's paw. Then on went the cougar as before, the hounds barking
+wildly as they went in pursuit.
+
+When Theodore Roosevelt came up once more, the cougar was in another
+pinyon tree, with the hounds in a semicircle on the ground below.
+
+"Now I think I've got him," whispered Theodore Roosevelt to his
+companion, and advanced on foot, with great cautiousness. At first he
+could see nothing, but at last made out the back and tail of the great
+beast, as it lay crouched among the branches. With great care he took
+aim and fired, and the cougar fell to the ground, shot through the back.
+
+At once the hounds rushed in and seized the game. But the cougar was not
+yet dead, and snapping and snarling the beast slipped over the ground
+and down a hillside, with the dogs all around it. Theodore Roosevelt
+came up behind, working his way through the brush with all speed. Then,
+watching his chance, he jumped in, hunting-knife in hand, and despatched
+the game.
+
+"A good haul," cried Goff. And later on he and his men came to the
+conclusion that it was the same cougar that had carried off a cow and a
+steer and killed a work horse belonging to one of the ranches near by.
+
+The five weeks spent in the far West strengthened Theodore Roosevelt a
+great deal, and it was with renewed energy that he took up his duties as
+Vice-President of our nation.
+
+In the meantime, however, matters were not going on so well at home.
+Among the children two had been very sick, and in the summer it was
+suggested that some pure mountain air would do them a great deal of
+good.
+
+"Very well, we'll go to the mountains," said Mr. Roosevelt, and looked
+around to learn what place would be best to choose.
+
+Among the Adirondack Mountains of New York State there is a reservation
+of ninety-six thousand acres leased by what is called the Adirondack
+Club, a wealthy organization of people who have numerous summer
+cottages built within the preserve.
+
+Among the members was a Mr. McNaughten, an old friend of the Roosevelt
+family, and he suggested that they occupy his cottage until the close of
+the season. This invitation was accepted, and the whole Roosevelt family
+moved up to the spot, which was located at the foot of Mount Marcy, the
+largest of the mountains in that vicinity. Here Mr. Roosevelt spent much
+time in hunting and fishing, and also in writing. The family were not
+forgotten, and he frequently went out with the whole party, rowing and
+exploring. Sometimes they took baskets of lunch with them and had
+regular picnics in the woods, something the Roosevelt children enjoyed
+very much.
+
+In the meantime the Pan-American Exposition at Buffalo, New York, had
+been opened, and day after day it was thronged with visitors.
+Vice-President Roosevelt had assisted at the opening, and he was one of
+many who hoped the Exposition would be a great success.
+
+At the Exposition our government had a large exhibit, and it was thought
+highly proper that President McKinley should visit the ground in his
+official capacity and deliver an address. Preparations were accordingly
+made, and the address was delivered on September 5 to a most
+enthusiastic throng.[3]
+
+[Footnote 3: For this speech in full, and for what happened after it was
+delivered, see "American Boys' Life of McKinley."]
+
+On the following day the President was driven to the Temple of Music, on
+the Exposition grounds, there to hold a public reception. The crowds
+were as great as ever, but perfectly orderly, and filed in at one side
+of the building and out at the other, each person in turn being
+permitted to grasp the Chief Magistrate's hand.
+
+For a while all went well, and nobody noticed anything unusual about a
+somewhat weak-faced individual who joined the crowd, and who had one
+hand covered with a handkerchief. As this rascal came up to shake hands,
+he raised the hand with the handkerchief and, using a concealed pistol,
+fired two shots at President McKinley.
+
+For an instant everybody was dazed. Then followed a commotion, and while
+some went to the wounded Executive's assistance, others leaped upon the
+dastardly assassin and made him a prisoner.
+
+There was an excellent hospital upon the Exposition grounds, and to this
+President McKinley was carried. Here it was found that both bullets had
+entered his body, one having struck the breastbone and the other having
+entered the abdomen. The physicians present did all they possibly could
+for him, and then he was removed to the residence of Mr. Millburn, the
+President of the Exposition.
+
+In the meantime, all unconscious of the awful happening that was to have
+such an influence upon his future, Mr. Roosevelt had been enjoying
+himself with his family, and helping to take care of the children that
+were not yet totally recovered from their illness. All seemed to be
+progressing finely, and he had gone off on a little tour to Vermont, to
+visit some points of interest and deliver a few addresses.
+
+He was at Isle La Motte, not far from Burlington, when the news reached
+him that President McKinley had been shot. He had just finished an
+address, and for the moment he could not believe the sad news.
+
+"Shot!" he said. "How dreadful!" And could scarcely say another word. He
+asked for the latest bulletin, and, forgetful of all else, took the
+first train he could get to Buffalo, and then hastened to the side of
+his Chief.
+
+It was truly a sad meeting. For many years these two men had known each
+other, and they were warm friends. Their methods were somewhat
+different, but each stood for what was just and right and true, and each
+was ready to give his country his best service, no matter what the cost.
+
+It was a sad time for the whole nation, and men and women watched the
+bulletins eagerly, hoping and praying that President McKinley might
+recover. Every hour there was some slight change, and people would talk
+it over in a whisper.
+
+In a few days there were hopeful signs, and the physicians, deceived by
+them, said they thought the President would recover. This was glad news
+to Theodore Roosevelt. Yet he lingered on, fearful to go away, lest the
+news should prove untrue and he should be needed. But then there was a
+still brighter turn, and he thought of his own family, and of the fact
+that one of his children was again ill.
+
+"I will return to my family," said he to two of his closest friends.
+"But if I am needed here, let me know at once." And his friends promised
+to keep him informed. Two days later he was back among the Adirondacks,
+in the bosom of his family.
+
+The prayers of a whole nation were in vain. William McKinley's mission
+on earth was finished, and one week after he was shot he breathed his
+last. His wife came to bid him farewell, and so did his other relatives,
+and his friend of many years, Mark Hanna, and the members of his
+Cabinet.
+
+"It is God's way," murmured the dying Executive. "His will be done, not
+ours." Then like a child going to sleep, he relapsed into
+unconsciousness, from which he did not recover. He died September 14,
+1901, at a little after two o'clock in the morning.
+
+It was the last of a truly great life. Illustrious men may come and go,
+but William McKinley will be remembered so long as our nation endures.
+As a soldier and a statesman he gave his best talents to better the
+conditions of his fellow-creatures, and to place the United States where
+we justly belong, among the truly great nations of the world.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIV
+
+THEODORE ROOSEVELT'S TRAMP UP MOUNT MARCY--A MESSAGE OF IMPORTANCE--WILD
+MIDNIGHT RIDE THROUGH THE MOUNTAINS--ON THE SPECIAL TRAINS FROM NORTH
+CREEK TO BUFFALO
+
+
+With a somewhat lighter heart, Theodore Roosevelt returned to the
+Adirondacks and joined his family on Wednesday, three days previous to
+President McKinley's death. The last report he had received from Buffalo
+was the most encouraging of any, and he now felt almost certain that the
+President would survive the outrageous attack that had been made upon
+his person.
+
+"He will get well," said several who lived close by. "You need not worry
+about his condition any longer."
+
+On the following day it was planned to go up to Colton Lake, five miles
+from where the family was stopping. Some friends went along, and in the
+party were Mrs. Roosevelt and several of the children. Two guides
+accompanied them, and it was decided to spend the night at a camp on
+the lake, returning home the following day.
+
+The next morning it rained, but in spite of this drawback Theodore
+Roosevelt, leaving the ladies and children to return to the cottage,
+started to climb Mount Marcy. Such an undertaking was exactly to his
+liking, and he went up the rough and uneven trail with the vigor of a
+trained woodsman, the guide leading the way and the other gentlemen of
+the party following.
+
+At last, high up on the side of Mount Marcy, the party reached a small
+body of water known as Tear of the Clouds, and here they rested for
+lunch.
+
+"You are certainly a great walker, Mr. Roosevelt," remarked one of the
+gentlemen during the progress of the lunch.
+
+"Oh, I have to be," answered Theodore Roosevelt, jokingly. "A
+Vice-President needs exercise to keep him alive. You see, when he is in
+the Senate, all of his work is done sitting down."
+
+The words had scarcely been uttered when one of the party pointed to a
+man climbing up the mountain side toward them. The newcomer held some
+yellow telegram-slips in his hand, and Theodore Roosevelt quickly arose
+to receive them.
+
+He had soon mastered the contents of the messages. President McKinley
+was much worse; it was likely that he would not live. For fully a minute
+Mr. Roosevelt did not speak. He realized the great responsibility which
+rested upon his shoulders. Then, in a voice filled with emotion, he read
+the messages aloud.
+
+"Gentlemen," he continued, "I must return to the club-house at once."
+And without waiting, he turned and started down the mountain side along
+the trail by which he had come.
+
+It was a long, hard walk, but it is doubtful if Theodore Roosevelt took
+note of it. A thousand thoughts must have flashed through his mind. If
+William McKinley should indeed breathe his last, the nation would look
+to him as their Chief Magistrate. He could not make himself believe that
+his President was to die.
+
+It was not long before Theodore Roosevelt reached the club-house at the
+lake. He asked for further news, but none was forthcoming.
+
+"We will send to the lower club-house at once," said his friends. "You
+had better take a short rest, in case you have a sudden call to make the
+trip to Buffalo."
+
+A misty rain was falling, and the atmosphere of the mountains was raw
+and penetrating. Messengers were quickly despatched to the lower
+club-house, and by eleven o'clock that evening news came back that left
+no doubt of the true condition of affairs. President McKinley was
+sinking rapidly, and his death was now only a question of a few hours.
+
+"I must go, and at once," said Theodore Roosevelt. And soon a light
+wagon drove up to the club-house, and he leaped in. There was a short
+good-by to his family and his friends, the whip cracked, and the drive
+of thirty-five miles to the nearest railroad station was begun.
+
+It was a never-to-be-forgotten journey. For ten miles or more the road
+was fearfully rough and ran around the edges of overhanging cliffs,
+where a false turn might mean death. Then at times the road went down
+into deep hollows and over rocky hills. All was pitch black, save for
+the tiny yellow light hanging over the dashboard of the turnout.
+Crouched on the seat, Mr. Roosevelt urged the driver to go on, and go on
+they did, making better time during that rain and darkness than had
+before been made in broad daylight.
+
+At last a place called Hunter's was reached, and Theodore Roosevelt
+alighted.
+
+"What news have you for me?" he asked of a waiting messenger, and the
+latest message was handed to him. There was no new hope,--President
+McKinley was sinking faster than ever. New horses were obtained, and the
+second part of the journey, from Hunter's to Aiden Lair, was begun.
+
+And during that wild, swift ride of nine miles, when it seemed to
+Theodore Roosevelt as if he were racing against death, the angel of Life
+Everlasting claimed William McKinley, and the man crouched in the wagon,
+wet from the rain, hurrying to reach him, became the next President of
+the United States.
+
+It was a little after three in the morning when Aiden Lair was reached.
+The sufferer at Buffalo had breathed his last, but Theodore Roosevelt
+did not know it, and he still hoped for the best. More fresh horses,
+and now the last sixteen miles of the rough journey were made on a
+buckboard. In spots the road was worse than it had previously been, and
+the driver was tempted to go slow.
+
+"Go on!" cried Mr. Roosevelt, and held his watch in hand. "Go on!" And
+the driver obeyed, the buckboard dancing up and down over the rocks and
+swinging dangerously from side to side around the curves of ravines. But
+Theodore Roosevelt's mind was not on the road nor on the peril of that
+ride, but in that room in Buffalo where the great tragedy had just seen
+its completion.
+
+At last, a little after five in the morning, the turnout came in sight
+of the railroad station at North Creek. A special train was in waiting
+for him. He gazed anxiously at the little knot of people assembled.
+Their very faces told him the sorrowful truth. President McKinley was
+dead.
+
+With bowed head he entered a private car of the special train, and
+without delay the train started on its journey southward for Albany. No
+time was lost on this portion of the trip, and at seven o'clock
+Theodore Roosevelt reached the city in which but a short time before he
+had presided as Governor of the State.
+
+At Albany he was met by Secretary of State Hay, who informed him
+officially that President McKinley was no more. He likewise informed the
+Vice-President that, considering the excitement, it might be best that
+Mr. Roosevelt be sworn in as President without delay.
+
+Another special train was in waiting at Albany, and this was rushed
+westward with all possible speed, arriving in Buffalo at half-past one
+in the afternoon. In order to avoid the tremendous crowd at the Union
+railroad station, Mr. Roosevelt alighted at the Terrace station. Here he
+was met by several friends with a carriage and also a detachment of the
+Fourth Signal Corps and a squad of mounted police.
+
+Without loss of time Theodore Roosevelt was driven to the Millburn
+house. Here he found a great many friends and relatives of the dead
+President assembled. All were too shocked over what had occurred to say
+much, and shook the hand of the coming President in silence.
+
+Thousands of eyes were upon Theodore Roosevelt, but he noticed them not.
+Entering the Millburn house, he thought only of the one who had
+surrendered his life while doing his duty, and of that kind and patient
+woman now left to fight the battles of this world alone. He offered what
+consolation he could to Mrs. McKinley, heard the little that had not yet
+been told of that final struggle to fight off death, and then took his
+departure, to assume the high office thus suddenly and unexpectedly
+thrust upon him.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXV
+
+TAKES THE OATH AS PRESIDENT--THE NEW CHIEF MAGISTRATE AT THE FUNERAL OF
+PRESIDENT MCKINLEY--AT THE WHITE HOUSE--HOW THE FIRST REAL WORKING DAY
+WAS SPENT
+
+
+The new President took the oath of office at the residence of Mr. Ansley
+Wilcox in Buffalo. It is a fine, substantial mansion and has ever since
+been of historic interest to sight-seers.
+
+When he arrived at the Wilcox home, he found a number of members of the
+McKinley Cabinet awaiting him, as well as Judge John R. Hazel, of the
+United States District Court, who administered the oath; and ten or a
+dozen others.
+
+The scene was truly an affecting one. Secretary Root could scarcely
+control himself, for, twenty years before, he had been at a similar
+scene, when Vice-President Arthur became Chief Magistrate, after the
+assassination of President Garfield. In a voice filled with emotion he
+requested Vice-President Roosevelt, on behalf of the Cabinet as a
+whole, to take the prescribed oath.
+
+It is recorded by an eye-witness that Theodore Roosevelt was pale, and
+that his eyes were dim with tears, as he stepped forward to do as
+bidden. His hand was uplifted, and then in a solemn voice the judge
+began the oath:--
+
+"I do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the office of
+President of the United States, and will, to the best of my ability,
+preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States."
+
+The words were repeated in a low but distinct voice by Theodore
+Roosevelt, and a moment of utter silence followed.
+
+"Mr. President, please attach your signature," went on the judge. And in
+a firm hand the new Chief Executive wrote "Theodore Roosevelt" at the
+bottom of the all-important document which made him the President of our
+beloved country.
+
+Standing in that room, the President felt the great responsibility which
+now rested on his shoulders, and turning to those before him, he spoke
+as follows:--
+
+"In this hour of deep and terrible bereavement, I wish to state that it
+shall be my aim to continue absolutely unbroken the policy of President
+McKinley for the peace and prosperity and honor of our country."
+
+These were no mere words, as his actions immediately afterward prove. On
+reaching Washington he assembled the Cabinet at the home of Commander
+Cowles, his brother-in-law, and there spoke to them somewhat in this
+strain:--
+
+"I wish to make it clear to you, gentlemen, that what I said at Buffalo
+I meant. I want each of you to remain as a member of my Cabinet. I need
+your advice and counsel. I tender you the office in the same manner that
+I would tender it if I were entering upon the discharge of my duties as
+the result of an election by the people." Having thus declared himself,
+the newly made President asked each member personally to stay with him.
+It was a sincere request, and the Cabinet members all agreed to remain
+by Mr. Roosevelt and aid him exactly as they had been aiding Mr.
+McKinley. Thus was it shown to the world at large, and especially to the
+anarchists, of which the assassin of McKinley had been one, that though
+the President might be slain, the government still lived.
+
+The entire country was prostrate over the sudden death of President
+McKinley, and one of the first acts of Theodore Roosevelt, after
+assuming the responsibilities of his office, was to issue the following
+proclamation:--
+
+"A terrible bereavement has befallen our people. The President of the
+United States has been struck down; a crime committed not only against
+the Chief Magistrate, but against every law-abiding and liberty-loving
+citizen.
+
+"President McKinley crowned a life of largest love for his fellow-men,
+of most earnest endeavor for their welfare, by a death of Christian
+fortitude; and both the way in which he lived his life and the way in
+which, in the supreme hour of trial, he met his death, will remain
+forever a precious heritage of our people.
+
+"It is meet that we, as a nation, express our abiding love and reverence
+for his life, our deep sorrow for his untimely death.
+
+"Now, therefore, I, Theodore Roosevelt, President of the United States,
+do appoint Thursday next, September 19, the day in which the body of the
+dead President will be laid in its last earthly resting-place, a day of
+mourning and prayer throughout the United States.
+
+"I earnestly recommend all the people to assemble on that day in their
+respective places of divine worship, there to bow down in submission to
+the will of Almighty God, and to pay out of full hearts their homage of
+love and reverence to the great and good President whose death has
+smitten the nation with bitter grief."
+
+The funeral of President McKinley was a most imposing one. The body was
+at first laid in state in the City Hall at Buffalo, where President
+Roosevelt and fully a hundred and fifty thousand men, women, and
+children went to view the remains. From Buffalo the remains were taken
+by special funeral train to Washington, and there placed in the Rotunda
+of the Capitol. Here the crowd was equally great, and here the services
+were attended by representatives from almost every civilized nation on
+the globe. Outside a marine band was stationed, playing the dead
+President's favorite hymns, "Lead, Kindly Light" and "Nearer, my God, to
+Thee," and in the singing of these thousands of mourners joined, while
+the tears of sorrow streamed down their faces.
+
+From Washington the body of the martyred President was taken to Canton,
+Ohio, where had been his private home. Here his friends and neighbors
+assembled to do him final honor, and great arches of green branches and
+flowers were erected, under which the funeral cortege passed. As the
+body was placed in the receiving vault, business throughout the entire
+United States was suspended. In spirit, eighty millions of people were
+surrounding the mortal clay left by the passing of a soul to the place
+whence it had come. It was truly a funeral of which the greatest of
+kings might well be proud.
+
+The taking-off of President McKinley undoubtedly had a great effect upon
+President Roosevelt. During the Presidential campaign the
+Vice-Presidential nominee had made many speeches in behalf of his fellow
+candidate, showing the high personal character of McKinley, and what
+might be expected from the man in case he was elected once more to the
+office of Chief Magistrate. More than this, when Assistant Secretary of
+the Navy, Mr. Roosevelt had done his best to carry out the plans
+formulated by the President. The two were close friends, and in the one
+brief session of the Senate when he was Vice-President, Mr. Roosevelt
+gave to President McKinley many evidences of his high regard.
+
+On returning to Washington, President Roosevelt did not at once take up
+his residence at the White House, preferring that the place should be
+left to Mrs. McKinley until she had sufficiently recovered from her
+terrible shock to arrange for the removal of the family's personal
+effects.
+
+As it may interest some of my young readers to know how President
+Roosevelt's first day as an active President was spent, I append the
+following, taken down at the time by a reporter for a press
+association:--
+
+"Reached the White House from Canton, on September 20, 1901, at 9.40
+A.M. Went at once to the private office formerly occupied by President
+McKinley, and, as speedily as possible, settled down for the business
+of the day.
+
+"Met Secretary Long of the navy in the cabinet room and held a
+discussion concerning naval matters; received Colonel Sanger to talk
+over some army appointments; signed appointments of General J. M. Bell
+and others; met Senators Cullom and Proctor.
+
+"At 11 A.M. called for the first time formal meeting of the Cabinet and
+transacted business of that body until 12.30 P.M.
+
+"Received his old friend, General Wood, and held conference with him and
+with Secretary Root in regard to Cuban election laws.
+
+"President Roosevelt left the White House at 1.20 P.M. to take lunch
+with Secretary Hay at the latter's residence. He was alone, disregarding
+the services of a body-guard.
+
+"Returned to the White House at 3.30 P.M. and transacted business with
+some officials and received a few personal friends.
+
+"Engaged with Secretary Cortelyou from 4 P.M. to 6.30 P.M. in the
+transaction of public business, disposal of mail, etc.
+
+"Left the White House unattended at 6.30 P.M. and walked through the
+semi-dark streets of Washington to 1733 N Street, N.W., the residence of
+his brother-in-law, Commander Cowles. Dined in private with the family.
+
+"Late in the evening received a few close friends. Retired at 11 P.M."
+
+It will be observed that special mention is made of the fact that
+President Roosevelt travelled around alone. Immediately after the
+terrible tragedy at Buffalo many citizens were of the opinion that the
+Chief Magistrate of our nation ought to be strongly protected, for fear
+of further violence, but to this Theodore Roosevelt would not listen.
+
+"I am not afraid," he said calmly. "We are living in a peaceful country,
+and the great mass of our people are orderly, law-abiding citizens. I
+can trust them, and take care of myself." And to this he held, despite
+the protestations of his closest friends. Of course he is scarcely ever
+without some guard or secret service detective close at hand, but no
+outward display of such protection is permitted. And let it be added to
+the credit of our people that, though a few cranks and crazy persons
+have caused him a little annoyance, he has never, up to the present
+time, been molested in any way.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVI
+
+CONTINUING THE WORK BEGUN BY PRESIDENT MCKINLEY--THE PANAMA CANAL
+AGITATION--VISIT OF PRINCE HENRY OF PRUSSIA--THE PRESIDENT AT THE
+CHARLESTON EXPOSITION
+
+
+President Roosevelt had said he would continue the policy inaugurated by
+President McKinley, and one of the important steps in this direction was
+to appoint many to office who had been expecting appointment at the
+hands of the martyred President. This gained him many friends, and soon
+some who had kept themselves at a distance flocked around, to aid him in
+every possible manner.
+
+Late in September the last of the McKinley effects were taken from the
+White House, and some days later the newly made President moved in, with
+his family, who had come down from the Adirondacks some time previous.
+In Washington the family were joined by Mr. Roosevelt's two
+brothers-in-law, Commander Wm. Sheffield Cowles and Mr. Douglas
+Robinson, and their wives, and the relatives remained together for some
+days.
+
+It was at first feared by some politicians that President Roosevelt
+would be what is termed a "sectional President,"--that is, that he would
+favor one section of our country to the exclusion of the others, but he
+soon proved that he was altogether too noble for such baseness.
+
+"I am going to be President of the whole United States," he said. "I
+don't care for sections or sectional lines. I was born in the North, but
+my mother was from the South, and I have spent much of my time in the
+West, so I think I can fairly represent the whole country."
+
+President Roosevelt sympathized deeply with the condition of the negroes
+in the South, and for the purpose of learning the true state of affairs
+sent for Mr. Booker T. Washington, one of the foremost colored men of
+this country and founder of the Tuskegee Industrial School for Colored
+People. They had a long conference at the White House, which Mr.
+Washington enjoyed very much. For this action many criticised the
+President severely, but to this he paid no attention, satisfied that he
+had done his duty as his conscience dictated.
+
+[Illustration: PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT AT HIS DESK.]
+
+President Roosevelt's first message to Congress was awaited with
+considerable interest. It was remembered that he was the youngest
+Executive our White House had ever known, and many were curious to know
+what he would say and what he proposed to do.
+
+The Fifty-seventh Congress of the United States assembled at Washington,
+December 2, 1901, and on the day following, President Roosevelt's first
+annual message was read in both Senate and House of Representatives.
+
+It proved to be a surprisingly long and strong state paper, and by many
+was considered one of the best messages sent to Congress in many years.
+It touched upon general conditions in our country, spoke for
+improvements in the army and the navy, called for closer attention to
+civil service reform, for a correction of the faults in the post-office
+system, and for a clean administration in the Philippines, Hawaii, and
+Porto Rico. It spoke of several great needs of the government, and added
+that the Gold Standard Act had been found timely and judicious.
+
+"President Roosevelt is all right," was the general comment, after the
+message had been printed in the various papers of our country. "He is
+looking ahead, and he knows exactly what this country wants and needs.
+We are prosperous now, and if we want to continue so, we must keep our
+hands on the plough, and not look backward."
+
+The first break in the old Cabinet occurred on December 17, when
+Postmaster General Charles E. Smith resigned. His place was immediately
+filled by the appointment of Henry C. Payne, of Wisconsin. Soon after
+this Secretary Gage of the Treasury resigned, and his place was filled
+by former governor Leslie M. Shaw, of Iowa.
+
+For a long time there had been before the American people various
+suggestions to build a canal across Central America, to join the
+Atlantic and the Pacific oceans, so that the ships wanting to go from
+one body of water to the other would not have to take the long and
+expensive trip around Cape Horn.
+
+In years gone by the French had also contemplated such a canal, and had
+even gone to work at the Isthmus of Panama, making an elaborate survey
+and doing not a little digging. But the work was beyond them, and the
+French Canal Company soon ran out of funds and went into the hands of a
+receiver.
+
+"We ought to take hold and dig a canal," was heard on all sides in the
+United States. But where to dig the canal was a question. Some said the
+Isthmus of Panama was the best place, while others preferred a route
+through Nicaragua. The discussion waxed very warm, and at last a
+Commission was appointed to go over both routes and find out which would
+be the more satisfactory from every point of view.
+
+The Commission was not very long in reaching a decision. The Panama
+Canal Company was willing to sell out all its interest in the work
+already done for forty millions of dollars, and it was recommended that
+the United States accept this offer. President Roosevelt received the
+report, and lost no time in submitting it to Congress.
+
+At the beginning of the new year, 1902, there was a grand ball at the
+White House, attended by a large gathering of people, including many of
+the foreign representatives accredited to Washington. The occasion was
+the introduction into society of Miss Alice Roosevelt, and the affair
+was a most pleasing one from beginning to end.
+
+One of the President's sons, Theodore Roosevelt, Jr., had been sent to a
+boarding school at Groton, Massachusetts. Early in February he was taken
+down with a cold that developed into pneumonia. It looked as if the
+youth might die, and both Mrs. Roosevelt and the President lost no time
+in leaving Washington and going to his bedside. The sympathy of the
+whole country was with the anxious parents, and when it was announced
+that the crisis had been passed in safety there was much relief in all
+quarters.
+
+Before this illness occurred there came to the Roosevelts an invitation
+which pleased them, and especially Miss Alice, not a little. The German
+Emperor William was having a yacht built in this country, at Shooter's
+Island. He sent his brother, Prince Henry of Prussia, over to attend the
+launching, and requested Miss Roosevelt to christen the yacht, which
+was to be called the _Meteor_.
+
+The arrival of Prince Henry was made a gala day by many who wished to
+see the friendship between the United States and Germany more firmly
+cemented than ever, and the royal visitor was treated with every
+consideration wherever he went. From New York he journeyed to
+Washington, where he dined with the President. He returned to New York
+with President Roosevelt and with Miss Roosevelt, and on February 25 the
+launching occurred, in the presence of thousands of people and a great
+many craft of all sorts. Miss Roosevelt performed the christening in
+appropriate style, and this was followed by music from a band and the
+blowing of hundreds of steam whistles. After these ceremonies were over,
+there followed an elaborate dinner given by the mayor of New York, and
+then the Prince started on a tour of the country lasting two weeks. His
+visit made a good impression wherever he went, and he was universally
+put down as a right good fellow.
+
+It was about this time that President Roosevelt showed he was not to be
+led altogether by what his party did. So far he had not vetoed any
+measures sent to him for his signature. Now, however, a bill came to him
+touching the desertion of a sailor in the navy. Congress was willing to
+strike the black record of the sailor from the books, but President
+Roosevelt would not have it.
+
+"The sailor did wrong," he said. "He knew what he was doing, too. The
+record against him must stand." And he vetoed the bill. On the other
+hand he was prompt to recognize real worth in those who had served the
+government, and when over two hundred private pension bills came before
+him for his approval, he signed them without a murmur.
+
+The people of Charleston, South Carolina, had been arranging for a long
+time to hold an exposition which should set forth the real advance and
+worth of the leading southern industries. This exposition was now open
+to the public, and President Roosevelt and his wife were invited to
+attend the exhibit. With so much southern blood in his veins, the
+President could not think of refusing, and he and Mrs. Roosevelt
+visited the exposition early in April.
+
+It was a gala day at Charleston, and the President and Mrs. Roosevelt
+were received with every honor due their rank, and with great personal
+consideration. Governor McSweeney of the state was assisted by Governor
+Aycock, of North Carolina, in receiving President Roosevelt.
+
+A stirring patriotic speech was made by the President during his visit,
+and a feature of the trip was the presentation of a sword to Major Micah
+Jenkins of the Rough Riders. A great number of President Roosevelt's
+former troopers were present, and all were glad, as of old, to crowd
+around and take him by the hand.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVII
+
+DESTRUCTION OF ST. PIERRE--AMERICAN AID--THE GREAT COAL
+STRIKE--PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT ENDS THE DIFFICULTY--TOUR THROUGH NEW
+ENGLAND--THE TROLLEY ACCIDENT IN THE BERKSHIRES--A PROVIDENTIAL ESCAPE
+FROM DEATH
+
+
+During the summer of 1902 two matters of great importance occurred in
+which the whole people of our nation were deeply interested.
+
+Early in May occurred tremendous volcanic eruptions on the islands of
+Martinique and St. Vincent. At the former island, Mont Pelee threw such
+a rain of fire upon the town of St. Pierre that the entire place, with
+about thirty thousand people, was wiped out of existence in a minute. At
+other points the eruptions were not so bad, yet hundreds lost their
+lives, and all of the islands of the Lesser Antilles were thrown into a
+state bordering upon panic.
+
+It was felt that something must be done, and at once, for the sufferers,
+and a large fund for relief was gathered, of which the Americans
+contributed their full share. The volcanic disturbances continued for
+some time, and as it was thought they might also cover certain portions
+of Central America, nothing was done further concerning a canal to unite
+the two oceans.
+
+The other event of importance was the strike of thousands upon thousands
+of coal-miners, working in Pennsylvania and other states. The miners did
+not think they were being treated rightly and went out in a body, and
+for many weeks not a pound of coal of any kind was mined. This produced
+a double hardship, for people could get no coal either for the fall or
+winter, and the miners were, in some cases, reduced almost to the verge
+of starvation. Neither the workmen nor the operators of the mines would
+give in, and soon there was more or less violence, and some soldiers had
+to be called out in an effort to preserve order.
+
+As matters went from bad to worse, and it looked as if the entire
+eastern section of our country would have to go without coal for the
+winter, there were loud demands that the government take hold of the
+difficulty and settle the matter, if not in one way, then in another.
+
+At last, early in October, the whole country was aroused, for it was
+felt that with no coal a winter of untold suffering stared the people in
+the face. President Roosevelt held a conference at Washington with the
+mine operators and the representatives of the miners.
+
+"We must get together, gentlemen," said he. "The country cannot do
+without coal, and you must supply it to us." And he laid down the law in
+a manner not to be misunderstood.
+
+Another conference followed, and then a third, and at last the coal
+operators asked the President to appoint a Commission to decide upon the
+points in dispute. To this the representative of the mine workers
+agreed, and as a result a Commission was appointed by President
+Roosevelt, which was to settle all points in dispute, and by its
+decision each side was to abide. In the meantime, while the Commission
+was at work, the mine workers were to resume their labors. The mines
+were thereupon once more put in operation, after a strike lasting over
+five months. This is the greatest coal strike known in American history,
+and it is not likely that the people at large will ever again permit
+themselves to suffer for the want of coal as they did during that fall
+and the winter which followed.
+
+Early in June occurred the centennial celebration of the founding of the
+United States Military Academy at West Point. The occasion was made one
+of great interest, and among the many distinguished visitors were
+President Roosevelt and General Miles, head of our army at that time.
+The President reviewed the cadets and made a speech to them,
+complimenting them on their truly excellent showing as soldiers.
+
+Although very busy with matters of state, President Roosevelt received
+an urgent call to deliver a Fourth of July oration at Pittsburg. He
+consented, and spoke to a vast assemblage on the rights and duties of
+American citizens.
+
+To remain in Washington during the hot summer months was out of the
+question with President Roosevelt and his family, and early in the
+season he removed to Oyster Bay, there to enjoy himself as best he might
+during the short time allowed him for recreation.
+
+That the business of the administration might not be too seriously
+interrupted, he hired a few rooms over a bank building in the village of
+Oyster Bay, and these were fitted up for himself and his several
+secretaries and assistants. To the bank building he rode or drove every
+day, spending an hour or more over the routine work required. By this
+means undesirable visitors were kept away from his private residence,
+and he was permitted to enjoy himself as he pleased in company with his
+family.
+
+While Mr. Roosevelt was summering at Oyster Bay, it was arranged that he
+should make a short tour through New England, to last from August 22 to
+September 3. The trip covered every New England State, and was one of
+great pleasure to the President until the last day. Everywhere he went
+he was greeted by enthusiastic crowds, and, of course, had to make one
+of his characteristic speeches, accompanied by a great deal of
+hand-shaking.
+
+On the last day of the trip he was at Dalton, Massachusetts, the home of
+Governor Crane. It had been planned to drive from Dalton to Lenox, a
+beautiful spot, adjoining Laurel Lake, where are located the summer
+homes of many American millionnaires.
+
+The trip was begun without a thought of what was to follow. In the
+party, besides President Roosevelt, were Governor Crane, Secretary
+Cortelyou (afterward made a member of the Cabinet), United States Secret
+Service officer William Craig, and the driver of the carriage. It may be
+mentioned here that William Craig was detailed as a special guard for
+the President, and had been with him since the tour was begun.
+
+There are a number of trolley lines in this section of Massachusetts,
+all centring in Pittsfield. As the mass of the people were very anxious
+to see President Roosevelt, the trolleys going to the points where he
+would pass were crowded, and the cars were run with more than usual
+speed.
+
+As the carriage containing the President and his companions attempted to
+cross the trolley tracks a car came bounding along at a rapid rate of
+speed. There seemed to be no time in which to stop the car, and in an
+instant the long and heavy affair crashed into the carriage with all
+force, hurling the occupants to the street in all directions. The Secret
+Service officer, William Craig, was instantly killed, and the driver of
+the carriage was seriously hurt.
+
+There was immediate and great excitement, and for the time being it was
+feared that President Roosevelt had been seriously injured. He had been
+struck a sharp blow on the leg, and had fallen on his face, cutting it
+not a little. The shock was a severe one, but in a little while he was
+himself once more, although his face was much swollen. Later still a
+small abscess formed on the injured limb, but this was skilfully treated
+by his physician, and soon disappeared. The others in the carriage
+escaped with but a few bruises and a general shaking-up.
+
+The result of this accident, small as it was to the President
+personally, showed well how firmly he was seated in the affection of his
+fellow-citizens. From all over the country, as well as from his friends
+in foreign climes, telegrams of congratulation came pouring in.
+Everybody was glad that he had escaped, and everybody wished to show how
+he felt over the affair.
+
+"President Roosevelt was much affected by the messages received," said
+one who was in a position to know. "It showed him that his friends were
+in every walk of life, from the highest to the lowest. Had he met death,
+as did the Secret Service officer detailed to guard over him, the shock
+to the people, coming so soon after the assassination of President
+McKinley, would have been tremendous."
+
+The President had already been persuaded to consent to a short trip to
+the South, from September 5 to 10, and then a trip to the West, lasting
+until September 19, or longer. The trips came to an end on September 23,
+in Indiana, because of the abscess on the lower limb already mentioned,
+yet on November 19 he was given a grand reception by the people of
+Memphis, Tennessee, who flocked around him and were glad to see him as
+well as ever.
+
+"We are so glad you escaped from that trolley accident!" was heard a
+hundred times.
+
+"We can't afford to lose you, Mr. President," said others. "Really good
+men are too scarce." And then a cheer would go up for "The hero of San
+Juan Hill!"
+
+His speeches on these trips were largely about the trusts and monopolies
+that are trying to control various industries of our country. It is an
+intricate subject, yet it can be said that Mr. Roosevelt understands it
+as well as any one, and is laboring hard to do what is right and best,
+both for the consumer and the capitalist.
+
+Congress had, some time before, voted a large sum for the extension and
+improvement of the White House, and while Mr. Roosevelt and his family
+were at Oyster Bay these improvements were begun. They continued during
+the fall, and the President made his temporary home at a private
+residence in the capital city. Here it was he was treated for his
+wounded limb, and here he ended the coal strike, as already chronicled.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVIII
+
+NEW OFFICES AT THE WHITE HOUSE--SENDS A WIRELESS MESSAGE TO KING EDWARD
+OF ENGLAND--END OF THE TROUBLE IN VENEZUELA--THE CANADIAN BOUNDARY
+DISPUTE--BEGINNING OF A TRIP TO THE WEST--IN YELLOWSTONE PARK
+
+
+The end of the year found President Roosevelt in the best of health,
+despite the accident some weeks previous. The improvements at the White
+House were now complete, and the family of the Chief Magistrate took
+possession. A separate set of offices for the President and his Cabinet
+had been built at the western end of the executive mansion, and the
+rooms formerly used for this purpose were turned into living apartments.
+The changes made have been approved by many who have seen them, and they
+have wondered why the alterations were not made a long time ago.
+
+On December 1, Congress assembled for a new session, and on the day
+following the President's message was read. It was a masterly state
+paper, dealing with the trust question, our relations with the new
+government of Cuba (for the island was now free, just as we had meant it
+to be when the war with Spain started), the creation of a new department
+of Commerce and Labor, needs of the army and navy, and the all-important
+matter of how the Philippines should be governed. It may be added here
+that not long after this a Department of Commerce and Labor was created
+by Congress, and Mr. George B. Cortelyou, the secretary to the
+President, became its first official head. When Mr. Cortelyou left his
+post as secretary, Mr. William Loeb, Jr., who had been the President's
+private secretary for some time, became the regular first secretary to
+the Chief Magistrate, a place he occupies to-day.
+
+Just about this time there was considerable trouble in Indianola,
+Mississippi. A colored young lady had been appointed postmistress, and
+the people in that vicinity refused to recognize her. The Post-Office
+Department did what it could in the matter, and then referred the case
+to the President.
+
+[Illustration: THE WHITE HOUSE, SHOWING NEW OFFICES.]
+
+"As she has been regularly appointed, the people will have to accept
+her," said Mr. Roosevelt. And when there was more trouble, he sent
+forward an order that the post-office be shut up entirely. This was
+done, and for a long time the people of that vicinity had to get their
+mail elsewhere, a great inconvenience to them.
+
+On January 1, 1903, the new cable to the Hawaiian Islands was completed,
+and President Roosevelt received a message from Governor Dole, and sent
+a reply to the same. About two weeks later the President sent a
+wireless, or rather cableless, message to King Edward of England. This
+helped to mark the beginning of a new era in message-sending which may
+cause great changes in the transmission of messages in the future.
+
+For some time past there had been a small-sized war going on in
+Venezuela, South America, between that nation on one hand and England,
+Germany, and Italy on the other. This war had caused much disturbance to
+American trade. Pressure was brought to bear upon the several nations
+through President Roosevelt, and at last it was agreed to leave matters
+to be settled by arbitration at The Hague. The agreements to this end
+were signed at Washington, much to the President's satisfaction. All
+trouble then ceased, and American commerce was resumed as before.
+
+For many years there had been a dispute between the United States and
+Canada, regarding a certain boundary line. This country claimed a long
+strip of territory next to the sea, near the seaports of Dyea and
+Skagway, and Canada claimed that this strip, about thirty miles in
+width, belonged to her domain.
+
+There had been endless disputes about the claim, and considerable local
+trouble, especially during the rush to the Klondike after gold.
+
+Many Americans contended that we had absolute right to the territory,
+and when arbitration was spoken of, said we had nothing to arbitrate.
+This was, in the main, President Roosevelt's view of the matter, yet, as
+things grew more disturbed, he realized, as a good business man, that
+something must be done. We did not wish to fight Canada and England for
+the strip of land, and neither did they wish to fight, so at last a
+Board of Arbitration was agreed upon, and the claims of both parties
+were carefully investigated. In the end nearly every point claimed by
+the United States was granted to us. It was a great satisfaction to have
+this long-standing dispute settled; and how much better it was to do it
+by arbitration than by going to war.
+
+The regular session of Congress came to an end on March 4, 1903, but
+President Roosevelt had already called an extra session, to consider a
+bill for reciprocity in our dealing with the new government of Cuba and
+to ratify a treaty with Colombia concerning the Panama Canal.
+
+There was a great deal of debating at this session of Congress. The bill
+concerning Cuba caused but little trouble, but many wanted the canal
+placed in Nicaragua instead of Panama, and did not wish to pay the forty
+millions of dollars asked for the work already accomplished by the old
+French Canal Company. But in the end the bill passed the United States
+Senate by a vote of seventy-three to five, with the proviso that should
+we fail to make a satisfactory arrangement about the Panama Canal, then
+the government should build the canal through Nicaragua. President
+Roosevelt was enthusiastic over a canal at the isthmus, and lost no time
+in arranging to push the work further.
+
+The people of the far West were very anxious to meet the chief ruler of
+our nation, and early in the year it was arranged that President
+Roosevelt should leave Washington on April 1 for a tour to last until
+June. In that time he was to visit more than twenty States, and make
+over one hundred stops. The people in the West awaited his coming with
+much pleasure.
+
+The President was justly entitled to this outing, for the nation was now
+at peace with the entire world, and never had business been so
+prosperous. More than this, our affairs with other nations had been so
+handled that throughout the entire civilized world no ruler was more
+popular than was Theodore Roosevelt. In England he was spoken of with
+the highest praise, and the regards of the Germans had already been
+shown in the visit of Prince Henry to this country. He was known to be
+vigorous to the last degree, but it was likewise realized that he was
+thoroughly honest and straight-forward.
+
+The first stop of the President in his trip West was made at Chicago,
+where during the day he laid the corner-stone of the new law building of
+the University of Chicago, which university conferred upon him the
+degree of LL.D. (Doctor of Laws). In the evening he addressed an
+unusually large crowd at the Auditorium building, speaking upon the
+Monroe Doctrine.
+
+From Chicago the President journeyed to Milwaukee, and then to St. Paul
+and Minneapolis. At the first-named city he made a forceful address on
+the trusts, giving his hearers a clear idea of how the great
+corporations of to-day were brought into existence, and what may be done
+to control them, and in the last-named city he spoke on the
+ever-important question of tariff.
+
+It was an eventful week, and when Sunday came the Chief Magistrate was
+glad enough to take a day of rest at Sioux Falls, South Dakota. From
+there he journeyed to Gardiner, Montana, one of the entrances to that
+greatest of all American wonderlands, Yellowstone Park.
+
+It was understood that President Roosevelt wished to visit the Park
+without a great following of the general public, and this wish was
+carried out to the letter. Mr. Roosevelt had with him the well-known
+naturalist, Mr. John Burroughs, and for about two weeks he enjoyed
+himself to his heart's content, visiting many of the spots of interest
+and taking it easy whenever he felt so disposed. It was not a hunting
+trip, although big game is plentiful enough in the Park. It was just
+getting "near to nature's heart," and Mr. Roosevelt afterward declared
+it to be one of the best outings he had ever experienced.
+
+[Illustration:
+
+CORTELYOU. PAYNE. MOODY. HAY. ROOSEVELT. HITCHCOCK. ROOT. SHAW. WILSON.
+KNOX.
+
+PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT AND CABINET, 1903.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIX
+
+DEDICATION OF THE FAIR BUILDINGS AT ST. LOUIS--CONTINUATION OF THE TRIP
+TO SAN FRANCISCO--UP IN THE FAR NORTH-WEST--BACK IN WASHINGTON--THE
+POST-OFFICE SCANDALS--THE NEW REPUBLIC OF PANAMA--A CANAL AT
+LAST--PROCLAMATION REGARDING THE WAR BETWEEN JAPAN AND RUSSIA--OPENING
+OF THE GREAT FAIR
+
+
+After the refreshing tour of Yellowstone Park, President Roosevelt
+journeyed across Nebraska to Omaha, then across Iowa to Keokuk, and from
+the latter city to St. Louis.
+
+As before, he delivered a number of addresses, and wherever he spoke
+great crowds came to see and to hear him. In these crowds were people of
+all political tendencies, but it made no difference if they were
+Republicans, Democrats, or Populists, all were equally glad to greet the
+President of the United States and the hero of San Juan Hill.
+
+On this trip he frequently met some of the Rough Riders, and they
+invariably did all in their power to make him feel at home. On the
+other hand he showed that he had not forgotten them.
+
+"By George, I am glad to see you!" he would exclaim, catching an old
+comrade by the hand. And his tone of voice would show that he meant just
+what he said.
+
+For a long time the people of St. Louis had been preparing for a grand
+fair, to be known as the Louisiana Purchase Exposition, to commemorate
+the purchasing from France of all that vast territory of the United
+States which lies between the Mississippi River and the Rocky Mountains
+and the Gulf of Mexico and British America. The purchase was made in
+1803 for fifteen millions of dollars, and it was hoped to hold the
+exposition on the one hundredth anniversary, in 1903, but matters were
+delayed, and so the fair was postponed until 1904.
+
+The dedication of the fair buildings at the Exposition Grounds was held
+on April 30, 1903, and was made a gala occasion by those interested.
+President Roosevelt was invited to speak, and also Ex-President
+Cleveland, and both made addresses of remarkable interest. Following the
+dedication exercises a grand banquet was given at which the scene of
+good-fellowship was one not readily forgotten. The President wished the
+exposition well, and promised to do all in his power to make it a
+success.
+
+Although the President had already travelled many miles, the greater
+part of his western trip still lay before him.
+
+From St. Louis he went to Kansas City and to Topeka, where the citizens
+were as anxious to meet him as anywhere. He stopped at Sharon Springs
+over Sunday, and then went to Denver, and to various towns in Colorado
+and in New Mexico. While in New Mexico he became interested in the
+systems of irrigation there, and told the people what they might do if
+their systems of watering the ground were increased.
+
+Having passed through the Grand Canon, the second week in May found him
+in southern California. He visited Los Angeles, reviewing the annual
+floral parade, and many other points, and at Claremont addressed a great
+gathering of school children in a beautiful park filled with shrubs and
+flowers. The children were decidedly enthusiastic over the meeting, and
+when Mr. Roosevelt went away, some pelted him with flowers, which
+bombardment he took in good part.
+
+President Roosevelt's visit to Leland Stanford Jr. University in
+California came next, and here the students cheered him with vigor. He
+visited many of the more important buildings, and was entertained by
+members of the faculty.
+
+His face was now set toward the Golden Gate, and San Francisco was all
+alive to give him an ovation. It was his first official visit to the
+Pacific coast, and all whom he met vied with each other to do him honor,
+while they listened with great attention to what he had to say.
+
+Three days were spent in San Francisco and vicinity, and three days more
+in a tour of the Yosemite Valley. President Roosevelt was particularly
+anxious to see some of the big trees of the State, and was driven to
+several that are well known.
+
+The steps of the Chief Magistrate were now turned northward, to Oregon,
+and a week was spent at Portland, and in the towns and cities of the
+Puget Sound territory, and beyond. Here he saw much that was new and
+novel in the lumber trade and in the salmon industry, and was received
+with a warmth that could not be mistaken.
+
+"He is a President for the whole country, no mistake about that," said
+more than one.
+
+"He makes you feel he is your friend the minute you lay eyes on him,"
+would put in another. To many in this far corner of our country, this
+visit of the President will ever remain as a pleasant memory. They could
+never hope to get to Washington, more than three thousand miles away,
+and to have him come out to see them was worth remembering.
+
+The journey eastward was made through Montana to Salt Lake City and then
+to Cheyenne, where additional addresses were delivered. From the latter
+point a fast train bore him homeward, and by the next Sunday he was back
+in the White House once more, as fresh and hearty as ever, and well
+prepared to undertake whatever important work might come to hand.
+
+And work was there in plenty. Among the first things taken up by the
+President was a scandal in the Post-Office Department. Without loss of
+time President Roosevelt ordered Postmaster General Payne to make a
+thorough investigation, with the result that many contracts which were
+harmful to our post-office system were annulled, and some wrong-doers
+were brought to justice.
+
+Toward the end of July there was considerable disturbance in the
+Government Printing Office at Washington because a certain assistant
+foreman, who had been discharged, was reinstated. All of the bookbinders
+were on the point of striking because they did not want the man
+returned, as he did not belong to their union. But President Roosevelt
+was firm in the matter; and in the end the man went back, and there was
+no strike. This affair caused an almost endless discussion in labor
+circles, some claiming that the union should have been upheld, while
+others thought differently.
+
+During the summer, as was his usual habit, President Roosevelt, with his
+family, spent part of his time at his country home at Oyster Bay. This
+time the visit to the old homestead was of unusual interest, for, on
+August 17, the North Atlantic Fleet of the navy visited that vicinity,
+for review and inspection by the President.
+
+It was a gala occasion, and the fleet presented a handsome appearance
+as it filed past and thundered out a Presidential salute. Many
+distinguished guests were present, and all without exception spoke of
+the steady improvement in our navy as a whole. President Roosevelt was
+equally enthusiastic, and well he might be, for he had used every means
+in his power to make our navy all it should be.
+
+Late in September President Roosevelt returned to Washington, and on
+October 15 delivered the principal address at the unveiling of a statue
+of that grand military hero, General Sherman. Here once more he was
+listened to with tremendous interest, delivering a speech that was
+patriotic to the core and full of inspiration.
+
+For some time past matters in Colombia had been in a very mixed-up
+condition. The United States were willing to take hold of the Panama
+Canal, as already mentioned, but although a treaty had been made to that
+effect, the Colombian government would not ratify the agreement.
+
+On November 3, the trouble in Colombia reached its culminating point. On
+that day the State of Panama declared itself free and independent. The
+people of that State wanted the canal built by the United States, and
+were very angry when the rest of the Colombian States would not agree to
+the treaty which had been made.
+
+At once there were strong rumors of war, and a few slight attacks were
+really made. The United States forbade the transportation of soldiers on
+the Panama railroad, and a few days later recognized Panama as an
+independent republic. The new republic was likewise recognized by
+France, and, later still, by England. On November 9, Panama appointed a
+commission to negotiate a canal treaty with our country, and this treaty
+was signed and sealed at Washington by Secretary of State Hay, acting
+for the United States, and M. Bunau-Varilla, acting for Panama.
+
+The President's next message to Congress went at great length into the
+question of the Panama Canal, and in defence of the recognition of the
+new republic. It also told of what the new Department of Commerce and
+Labor had accomplished, especially the branch devoted to corporations.
+
+[Illustration: PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT SPEAKING AT THE UNVEILING OF THE
+STATUE OF GENERAL SHERMAN.
+
+(_Photograph by Clinedinst, Washington, D.C._)]
+
+"We need not be over-sensitive about the welfare of corporations
+which shrink from the light," wrote Mr. Roosevelt. And in this statement
+every one who had the best interests of our nation at heart agreed. To
+accomplish great works great corporations are often necessary, but they
+must conduct business in such a fashion that they are not ashamed to
+show their methods to the public at large.
+
+At the opening of the year 1904 there were strong rumors of a war
+between Japan and Russia, over the occupation of Korea, and this war
+started early in February by a battle on the sea, wherein the Russian
+fleet lost several war-ships. This contest was followed by others of
+more or less importance, and it looked as if, sooner or later, other
+nations might become involved in the struggle.
+
+"We must keep our hands off," said President Roosevelt, and at once
+issued a proclamation, calling on all good citizens to remain strictly
+neutral, and warning those who might take part that they could hope for
+no aid from the United States should they get into trouble personally or
+have any property confiscated. This proclamation was followed by some
+excellent work of our State Department, whereby it was agreed among the
+leading nations that the zone of fighting should be a limited one,--that
+is, that neither Japan nor Russia should be allowed to carry it beyond a
+certain defined territory.
+
+For many weeks Congress had debated the Panama Canal treaty and the
+action of President Roosevelt regarding the new republic of Panama. On
+February 23, 1904, a vote was taken in the Senate, and the Panama Canal
+treaty was ratified in all particulars. Without delay some United States
+troops were despatched to Panama, to guard the strip of land ten miles
+wide through which the canal is to run, and preparations were made to
+push the work on the waterway without further delay.
+
+On Saturday, April 30, the great World's Fair at St. Louis was formally
+opened to the public. It had cost over fifty millions of dollars and was
+designed to eclipse any fair held in the past. The opening was attended
+by two hundred thousand visitors, all of whom were more than pleased
+with everything to be seen.
+
+It had been arranged that President Roosevelt should formally open the
+Exposition by means of telegraphic communications from the White House
+to the fair grounds. A key of ivory and gold was used for the purpose,
+and as soon as it was touched a salute of twenty-one guns roared forth
+in the Exposition's honor. Around the President were assembled the
+members of his Cabinet and representatives of many foreign nations.
+Before touching the key which was to set the machinery of the wonderful
+fair in motion, President Roosevelt spoke as follows:--
+
+"I have received from the Exposition grounds the statement that the
+management of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition awaits the pressing of
+the button which is to transmit the electric energy which is to unfurl
+the flag and start the machinery of the Exposition.
+
+"I wish now to greet all present, and especially the representatives of
+the foreign nations here represented, in the name of the American
+people, and to thank these representatives for the parts their several
+countries have taken in being represented in this centennial anniversary
+of the greatest step in the movement which transformed the American
+Republic from a small confederacy of States lying along the Atlantic
+seaboard into a continental nation.
+
+"This Exposition is one primarily intended to show the progress in the
+industry, the science, and the art, not only of the American nation, but
+of all other nations, in the great and wonderful century which has just
+closed. Every department of human activity will be represented there,
+and perhaps I may be allowed, as honorary president of the athletic
+association which, under European management, started to revive the
+memory of the Olympic games, to say that I am glad that, in addition to
+paying proper heed to the progress of industry, of science, of art, we
+have also paid proper heed to the development of the athletic pastimes
+which are useful in themselves as showing that it is wise for nations to
+be able to relax.
+
+"I greet you all. I appreciate your having come here on this occasion,
+and in the presence of you, representing the American government and the
+governments of the foreign nations, I here open the Louisiana
+Exposition."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXX
+
+PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THEODORE ROOSEVELT--THE PRESIDENT'S
+FAMILY--LIFE AT THE WHITE HOUSE--OUR COUNTRY AND ITS FUTURE
+
+
+In reading over the foregoing pages the question may occur to some of my
+young readers, How is it possible for President Roosevelt to accomplish
+so much and still have time in which to occasionally enjoy himself by
+travelling or by going on a hunting tour?
+
+The answer is a very simple one. Mr. Roosevelt works systematically, as
+do all who want their labor to amount to something. Years ago, when he
+was physically weak, he determined to make himself strong. He persisted
+in vigorous exercise, especially in the open air, and in the end
+attained a bodily health which any ordinary man may well envy.
+
+The President does each day's work as it comes before him. He does not
+borrow trouble or cross a bridge before he comes to it. Whatever there
+is to do he does to the very best of his ability, and he allows future
+complications to take care of themselves. If a mistake is made, he does
+not worry continually over it, but keeps it in mind, so that a like
+mistake shall not occur again. When once his hand is on the plough, he
+does not believe in turning back. He has unlimited faith in the future
+of our glorious country, and a like faith in the honor and courage of
+his fellow-citizens.
+
+Any man to be an intelligent worker cannot be dissipated, and the
+President is a good illustration of this. He has a good appetite, but
+eats moderately, and does not depend upon stimulants or tobacco to
+"brace him up" when the work is extra heavy. He goes out nearly every
+day for a walk, a ride on horseback, or a drive with some members of his
+family, and as a result of this, when night comes, sleeps soundly and
+arises the next morning as bright and fresh as ever.
+
+This is the first time that a President with a large family has occupied
+the White House. Other Presidents have had a few children, but Mr.
+Roosevelt took possession with six, a hearty, romping crowd, the
+younger members of which thought it great fun to explore the executive
+mansion when first they moved in. The President loves his children
+dearly, and is not above "playing bear" with the little ones when time
+permits and they want some fun.
+
+Of Mrs. Roosevelt it can truthfully be said that she makes a splendid
+"first lady in the land." She takes a great interest in all social
+functions, and an equal interest in what is best for her boys and girls
+and their friends. She is very charitable, and each year contributes
+liberally to hundreds of bazaars and fairs held throughout our country.
+
+The oldest child of the President is Miss Alice Lee Roosevelt, named
+after her mother, the first wife of the Chief Magistrate. Although but a
+step-daughter to the present Mrs. Roosevelt, the two are as intimate and
+loving as if of the same flesh and blood. Miss Roosevelt has already
+made her debut in Washington society, and assisted at several gatherings
+at the White House.
+
+All of the other children were born after Mr. Roosevelt's second
+marriage. His oldest son is Theodore Roosevelt, Jr., commonly called by
+his chums, Teddy, Jr. He is a lad of sixteen, bright and clever, and has
+been attending a college preparatory school at Groton, Massachusetts, as
+already mentioned. He loves outdoor games, and is said to possess many
+tastes in common with his father.
+
+The other members of the family are, Kermit, fourteen, Ethel Carew,
+twelve, Archibald Bullock, nine, and a lively little boy named Quentin,
+who is six.
+
+Some time ago a distinguished member of the English Educational
+Commission visited this country and made an inspection of our school
+system. When asked what had impressed him most deeply, he answered:--
+
+"The children of the President of the United States sitting side by side
+with the children of your workingmen in the public schools."
+
+This simple little speech speaks volumes for the good, hard common sense
+of our President. He believes thoroughly in our public institutions, and
+knows the real value of sending out his boys to fight their own battles
+in the world at large. He does not believe in pampering children, but
+in making them self-reliant. All love to go out with him, and when at
+Oyster Bay he frequently takes the boys and their cousins for a day's
+tramp through the woods or along the beach, or else for a good hard row
+on the bay. The President prefers rowing to sailing, and frequently rows
+for several miles at a stretch. His enjoyment of bathing is as great as
+ever, and his boys love to go into the water with him.
+
+Christmas time at the White House is just as full of joy there as it is
+anywhere. The younger children hang up their stockings, and scream with
+delight over every new toy received. For some days previous to Christmas
+one of the rooms is turned into a storeroom, and to this only Mrs.
+Roosevelt and one of the maids hold the key. Presents come in from
+everywhere, including many for the President, for his friends far and
+near insist upon remembering him. These presents are arranged on a large
+oval table near one of the broad windows, and on Christmas morning the
+distribution begins.
+
+The President, in his trips to the woods, has seen the great harm done
+by cutting down promising evergreens, so he does not believe very much
+in having a Christmas tree. But a year ago a great surprise awaited him.
+
+"I'm going to fix up a tree," said little Archie, and managed to smuggle
+a small evergreen into the house and place it in a large closet that was
+not being used. Here he and his younger brother Quentin worked for
+several days in arranging the tree just to suit them. On Christmas
+morning, after the presents were given out, both asked their father to
+come to where the closet was located.
+
+"What is up now?" asked Mr. Roosevelt, curiously.
+
+"Come and see!" they shouted. And he went, followed by all the others of
+the family. Then the closet door was thrown open, and there stood the
+tree, blazing with lights. It was certainly a great surprise, and Mr.
+Roosevelt enjoyed it as much as anybody.
+
+The children of Washington, and especially those whose fathers occupy
+public positions, always look forward with anticipations of great
+pleasure to the children's parties given by Mrs. Roosevelt, and these
+parties are of equal interest to those living at the mansion.
+
+[Illustration: PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT AND HIS FAMILY.
+
+(_Photograph by Pach Bros., N.Y._)]
+
+Such a party was given during the last holidays, and was attended by
+several hundred children, all of whom, of course, came arrayed in their
+best. They were received by Mrs. Roosevelt, who had a hand-shake and a
+kind word for each, and then some of the Cabinet ladies, who were
+assisting, gave to each visitor a button, set in ribbon and tinsel and
+inscribed "Merry Christmas and Happy New Year."
+
+The big main dining-room of the White House had been prepared for the
+occasion. There was a Christmas tree at one side of the room, and the
+table was filled with fruit, cake, and candy. The President came in and
+helped to pass the ice-cream and cake, and Theodore, Jr. and some of the
+others passed the candy and other good things.
+
+After this the visitors were asked to go to the East Room and dance. The
+Marine Band furnished the music, and while the children were dancing,
+the President came in to look at them. The entertainment lasted until
+the end of the afternoon, and when the visitors departed, President
+Roosevelt was at the door to shake hands and bid them good-by.
+
+And here let us bid good-by ourselves, wishing Theodore Roosevelt and
+his family well. What the future holds in store for our President no man
+can tell. That he richly deserves the honors that have come to him, is
+beyond question. He has done his best to place and keep our United
+States in the front rank of the nations of the world. Under him, as
+under President McKinley, progress has been remarkably rapid. In the
+uttermost parts of the world our Flag is respected as it was never
+respected before. Perhaps some few mistakes have been made, but on the
+whole our advancement has been justified, and is eminently satisfactory.
+The future is large with possibilities, and it remains for the
+generation I am addressing to rise up and embrace those opportunities
+and make the most of them.
+
+
+
+
+APPENDIX A
+
+BRIEF EXTRACTS FROM FAMOUS ADDRESSES DELIVERED BY THEODORE ROOSEVELT
+
+
+"If we are to be a really great people, we must strive in good faith to
+play a great part in the world. We cannot avoid meeting great issues.
+All that we can determine for ourselves is whether we shall meet them
+well or ill."
+
+"All honor must be paid to the architects of our material prosperity; to
+the captains of industry who have built our factories and our railroads;
+to the strong men who toil for wealth with brain or hand; for great is
+the debt of the nation to these and their kind. But our debt is still
+greater to the men whose highest type is to be found in a statesman like
+Lincoln, a soldier like Grant."
+
+"A man's first duty is to his own home, but he is not thereby excused
+from doing his duty to the state; for if he fails in this second duty it
+is under the penalty of ceasing to be a freeman."
+
+--_Extracts from "The Strenuous Life."_
+
+
+"Is America a weakling to shrink from the work that must be done by the
+world's powers? No! The young giant of the West stands on a continent
+and clasps the crest of an ocean in either hand. Our nation, glorious in
+youth and strength, looks into the future with eager and fearless eyes,
+and rejoices, as a strong man to run the race."
+
+--_Extract from Speech seconding the Nomination of William McKinley for
+President._
+
+
+"Poverty is a bitter thing, but it is not as bitter as the existence of
+restless vacuity and physical, moral, and intellectual flabbiness to
+which those doom themselves who elect to spend all their years in that
+vainest of all vain pursuits, the pursuit of mere pleasure."
+
+"Our interests are at bottom common; in the long run we go up or go down
+together."
+
+"The first essential of civilization is law. Anarchy is simply the
+hand-maiden and forerunner of tyranny and despotism. Law and order,
+enforced by justice and by strength, lie at the foundation of
+civilization."
+
+--_Extracts from a Speech delivered at Minneapolis, Minnesota, September
+2, 1901._
+
+
+"We hold work, not as a curse, but as a blessing, and we regard the
+idler with scornful pity."
+
+"Each man must choose, so far as the conditions allow him, the path to
+which he is bidden by his own peculiar powers and inclinations. But if
+he is a man, he must in some way or shape do a man's work."
+
+"It is not given to us all to succeed, but it is given to us all to
+strive manfully to deserve success."
+
+"We cannot retain the full measure of our self-respect if we do not
+retain pride in our citizenship."
+
+--_Extracts from an Address on "Manhood and Statehood."_
+
+
+"The true welfare of the nation is indissolubly bound up in the welfare
+of the farmer and wage-worker; of the man who tills the soil, and of the
+mechanic, the handicraftsman, and the laborer. The poorest motto upon
+which an American can act is the motto of 'some men down,' and the
+safest to follow is that of 'all men up.'"
+
+--_Extract from Speech delivered at the Dedication of the Pan-American
+Fair Buildings._
+
+
+"The men we need are the men of strong, earnest, solid character--the
+men who possess the homely virtues, and who to these virtues add rugged
+courage, rugged honesty, and high resolve."
+
+--_Extract from Speech delivered upon the Life of General Grant._
+
+
+
+
+APPENDIX B
+
+LIST OF THEODORE ROOSEVELT'S WRITINGS
+
+
+Books:
+
+The Naval War of 1812, 2 volumes. (1882.)
+The Winning of the West, 6 volumes. (1889-1896.)
+Hunting Trips of a Ranchman. (1885.)
+Hunting Trips on the Prairie. (Companion volume to that above. 1885.)
+The Wilderness Hunter. (1893.)
+Hunting the Grisly. (Companion volume to that above. 1893.)
+The Rough Riders. (1899.)
+Life of Oliver Cromwell. (1900.)
+The Strenuous Life--Essays and Addresses. (1900.)
+American Ideals. (1897.)
+Administration--Civil Service. (1898.)
+Life of Thomas Hart Benton. (1887.)
+New York. (Historic Towns Series. 1891.)
+Life of Gouverneur Morris. (1888.)
+Ranch Life and the Hunting Trail. (1888.)
+Essays on Practical Politics. (1888.)
+
+Written by Theodore Roosevelt and Henry Cabot Lodge:
+
+Hero Tales from American History. (1895.)
+
+Written by Theodore Roosevelt and G.B. Grinnell:
+
+Trail and Camp Fire. (1896.)
+Hunting in Many Lands. (1896.)
+
+
+Principal Magazine Articles:
+
+Admiral Dewey. (McClure's Magazine.)
+Military Preparedness and Unpreparedness. (Century Magazine.)
+Mad Anthony Wayne's Victory. (Harper's Magazine.)
+St. Clair's Defeat. (Harper's Magazine.)
+Fights between Iron Clads. (Century Magazine.)
+Need of a New Navy. (Review of Reviews.)
+
+
+
+
+APPENDIX C
+
+CHRONOLOGY OF THE LIFE OF THEODORE ROOSEVELT FROM 1858 TO 1904
+
+
+1858.  October 27. Theodore Roosevelt born in New York City, son of
+       Theodore Roosevelt and Martha (Bullock) Roosevelt.
+
+1864.  Sent to public school, and also received some private instruction;
+       spent summers at Oyster Bay, New York.
+
+1873.  Became a member of the Dutch Reformed Church; has been a member
+       ever since.
+
+1876.  September. Entered Harvard College. Member of numerous clubs
+       and societies.
+
+1878.  February 9. Death of Theodore Roosevelt, Sr.
+
+1880.  June. Graduated from Harvard College; a Phi Beta Kappa man.
+       September 23. Married Miss Alice Lee, of Boston, Massachusetts.
+       Travelled extensively in Europe; climbed the Alps; made a member
+       of the Alpine Club of London.
+
+1881.  Elected a member of the New York Assembly, and served for three
+       terms in succession.
+
+1884.  Birth of daughter, Alice Lee Roosevelt.
+       Death of Mrs. Alice (Lee) Roosevelt, Mr. Roosevelt's first wife.
+       Death of Mrs. Martha (Bullock) Roosevelt, Mr. Roosevelt's mother.
+       Made Delegate-at-large to the Republican National Convention that
+       nominated James G. Blaine for President.
+
+1885.  Became a ranchman and hunter.
+
+1886.  Ran for office of mayor of New York City, and was defeated by
+       Abram Hewitt.
+       Spent additional time in hunting.
+       December 2. Married Edith Kermit Carew, of New York City.
+
+1888.  Birth of son, Theodore Roosevelt, Jr.
+       September. Grand hunt in the Selkirk Mountains.
+
+1889.  May. Appointed by President Harrison a member of the Civil
+       Service Commission; served for six years, four under President
+       Harrison and two under President Cleveland.
+
+1890.  Birth of son, Kermit Roosevelt.
+
+1891.  September. Grand hunt at Two-Ocean Pass, Wyoming.
+
+1892.  Birth of daughter, Ethel Carew Roosevelt.
+
+1895.  May 24. Appointed Police Commissioner of New York City by Mayor
+       William Strong. Served until April, 1897.
+       Birth of son, Archibald Bullock Roosevelt.
+
+1897.  April. Made First Assistant Secretary of the Navy, under
+       Secretary Long and President McKinley.
+       Birth of son, Quentin Roosevelt.
+
+1898.  April 25. Congress declared war with Spain. Roosevelt
+       resigned his position in the Navy Department.
+       May. Helped to organize the Rough Riders, and was appointed
+       Lieutenant-Colonel, May 6.
+       May 29. The Rough Riders left San Antonio, Texas, for Tampa,
+       Florida.
+       June 2. In camp at Tampa.
+       June 7. Move by coal cars to Port Tampa; four companies left
+       behind; board transport _Yucatan_.
+       June 13. Start for Cuba, without horses.
+       June 22. Landing of the Rough Riders at Daiquiri.
+       June 23. March to Siboney.
+       June 24. Advance to La Guasima (Las Guasimas). First fight
+       with the Spanish troops.
+       July 1. Battles of San Juan and El Caney. Roosevelt leads the
+       Rough Riders up San Juan Hill.
+       July 2. Fighting in the trenches by the Rough Riders, Roosevelt
+       in command.
+       July 3. Sinking of the Spanish fleet off Santiago Bay.
+       July 8. Roosevelt made Colonel of the Rough Riders.
+       August 7. Departure of the Rough Riders from Cuba.
+       August 9. Spain accepts terms of peace offered by the United
+       States.
+       August 16. Arrival of the Rough Riders at Montauk, Long Island.
+       September 15. Mustering out of the Rough Riders.
+       September 27. Nominated by the Republican party for governor of
+       New York.
+       October. Grand campaigning tour through the Empire State.
+       November. Elected governor of New York by seventeen thousand
+       plurality.
+
+1899.  January 1. Assumed office as governor of New York.
+       April 10. Delivered famous address on "The Strenuous Life,"
+       at Chicago.
+       September 29 and 30. Governor appointed these days as holidays
+       in honor of a reception to Admiral Dewey; grand water and land
+       processions.
+
+1900.  June 19. Republican Convention met at Philadelphia; Roosevelt
+       seconded the nomination of McKinley for President (second term),
+       and was nominated for the Vice-Presidency.
+       July, August, and September. Governor Roosevelt travelled 20,000
+       miles, delivering 673 political speeches at nearly 600 cities
+       and towns.
+       November 6. McKinley and Roosevelt carried 28 states, Democratic
+       opponents carried 17 states; Republican electoral votes, 292,
+       Democratic and scattering combined, 155.
+       December. Presided over one short session of the United States
+       Senate.
+
+1901.  January 11. Started on a five weeks' hunting tour in Northwest
+       Colorado; bringing down many cougars.
+       April. Attended the dedication of the Pan-American Exposition
+       buildings at Buffalo, New York, and delivered an address.
+       September 6. Received word, while at Isle la Motte, Vermont,
+       that President McKinley had been shot; hurried at once to
+       Buffalo; assured that the President would recover, joined his
+       family in the Adirondacks.
+       September 14. Death of President McKinley. Roosevelt returned
+       to Buffalo; took the oath of office as President of the United
+       States at the house of Ansley Wilcox; retained the McKinley
+       Cabinet.
+       September 15 to 19. Funeral of President McKinley, at Buffalo,
+       Washington, and Canton, Ohio. President Roosevelt attended.
+       September 20. First regular working day of President Roosevelt
+       at the White House.
+       December 3. First annual message delivered to Congress.
+       December 4. Senate received Hay-Pauncefote canal treaty from
+       the President.
+       December 17. First break in the McKinley Cabinet. Postmaster
+       General Smith resigned; was succeeded by H.C. Payne.
+
+1902.  January 3. Grand ball at the White House, Miss Alice Roosevelt
+       formally presented to Washington society.
+       January 6. Secretary Gage of the Treasury resigned; was succeeded
+       by Ex-Governor Leslie M. Shaw, of Iowa.
+       January 20. The President transmitted to Congress report of Canal
+       Commission, recommending buying of rights for $40,000,000.
+       February 10. Serious sickness of Theodore Roosevelt, Jr. President
+       in attendance at Groton, Massachusetts, several days.
+       February 24. Reception to Prince Henry of Prussia.
+       February 25. Launching of German Emperor's yacht, which was
+       christened by Miss Alice Roosevelt.
+       March 7. President signed a bill creating a permanent pension
+       bureau.
+       May 12. Beginning of the great coal strike; largest in the history
+       of the United States.
+       May 21. President unveiled a monument at Arlington Cemetery, erected
+       in memory of those who fell in the Spanish-American War.
+       June 9. President reviewed West Point cadets at the centennial
+       celebration of that institution.
+       July 4. Addressed a great gathering at Pittsburg.
+       July 5. Removed his business offices to Oyster Bay for the summer.
+       August 11. Retirement of Justice Gray of the Supreme Court; the
+       President named Oliver Wendell Holmes as his successor.
+       August 22. The President began a twelve days' tour of New
+       England.
+       September 3. Narrow escape from death near Pittsfield,
+       Massachusetts. Trolley car ran down carriage, killing Secret
+       Service attendant.
+       September 6 and 7. President visited Chattanooga, Tennessee,
+       and delivered addresses.
+       October 3. President called conference at Washington concerning
+       coal strike.
+       October 21. As a result of several meetings between the President,
+       the mine operators, and the mine workers the miners resumed work,
+       and a commission was appointed by the President to adjust matters
+       in dispute.
+       November 19. Grand reception to the President at Memphis, Tennessee.
+       December 2. President's message to Congress was read by both
+       branches.
+
+1903.  January 15. President signed the free coal bill passed by Congress.
+       January 21. President signed the bill for the reorganization of the
+       military system.
+       March 5. Special session of Congress called by the President to
+       consider Cuban reciprocity bill and Panama Canal treaty with
+       Colombia.
+       March 12. President appointed a Commission to report on
+       organization, needs, and conditions of government work.
+       March 18. President received report of Coal Commission.
+       April 2. President received degree of LL.D. from the University of
+       Chicago. Beginning of long trip to the west.
+       April 4. President addressed Minnesota legislature at St. Paul.
+       April 30. President delivered address at dedication of buildings
+       of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition, at St. Louis.
+       June 6. President ordered an investigation into the Post-office
+       Department scandals.
+       July 4. First message around the world, via new Pacific cable,
+       received by President at Oyster Bay.
+       July 23. The President refused to consider charges made by a
+       bookbinders' union against a workman in the Government Printing
+       Office, thereby declaring for an "open" shop.
+       August 17. Grand naval review by the President, on Long Island
+       Sound, near Oyster Bay.
+       September 17. President delivered an address at the dedication of
+       a monument to New Jersey soldiers, on the battle-field of Antietam.
+       October 15. President delivered an address at unveiling of statue
+       to General Sherman, at Washington.
+       October 20. President called extra session of Congress to consider
+       a commercial treaty with Cuba.
+       November 3. Panama proclaimed independent of Colombia.
+       November 6. The United States government formally recognized the
+       independence of the state of Panama.
+       November 10. Opening of extra session of Congress called by
+       President to consider commercial treaty with Cuba.
+       November 18. A new canal treaty was formally signed at Washington
+       by Secretary Hay, of the United States, and M. Bunau-Varilla, acting
+       for Panama.
+       December 2. The canal treaty was ratified at Panama.
+       December 7. The President sent regular message to Congress
+       especially defending the administration policy regarding Panama
+       and the canal.
+
+1904.  January 4. The President sent a special message to Congress
+       regarding the recognition of the new republic of Panama. This was
+       followed for weeks by debates, for and against the action of the
+       administration.
+       February. War broke out between Japan and Russia; the President
+       issued a proclamation declaring the neutrality of the United States.
+       February 22. The President and family assisted at a Washington's
+       Birthday tree-planting at the White House grounds.
+       February 23. The United States ratified all the provisions of the
+       Panama Canal treaty; preparations were made, under the directions
+       of the President, to begin work without delay.
+       April 30. President, at Washington, delivered address and pressed
+       telegraphic key opening World's Fair at St. Louis.
+
+
+
+
+American Boys' Life Of William McKinley
+
+By EDWARD STRATEMEYER. 300 pages. Illustrated by A.B. Shute, and from
+photographs $1.25
+
+[Illustration]
+
+Here is told the whole story of McKinley's boyhood days, his life at
+school and at college, his work as a school teacher, his glorious career
+in the army, his struggles to obtain a footing as a lawyer, his efforts
+as a Congressman, and lastly his prosperous career as our President.
+There are many side lights on the work at the White House during the war
+with Spain, and in China, all told in a style particularly adapted to
+boys and young men. The book is full of interesting anecdotes, all taken
+from life, showing fully the sincere, honest, painstaking efforts of a
+life cut all too short. The volume will prove an inspiration to all boys
+and young men, and should be in every one's library.
+
+_For sale by all booksellers, or sent postpaid, on receipt of price, by
+the publishers._
+
+LEE AND SHEPARD
+BOSTON
+
+THE FAMOUS "OLD GLORY SERIES"
+
+By EDWARD STRATEMEYER
+
+_Author of "The Bound to Succeed Series," "The Ship and Shore Series,"
+"Colonial Series," "Pan-American Series," etc._
+
+Six volumes. Cloth. Illustrated. Price per volume $1.25
+
+[Illustration]
+
+UNDER DEWEY AT MANILA
+Or The War Fortunes of a Castaway
+
+A YOUNG VOLUNTEER IN CUBA
+Or Fighting for the Single Star
+
+FIGHTING IN CUBAN WATERS
+Or Under Schley on the Brooklyn
+
+UNDER OTIS IN THE PHILIPPINES
+Or A Young Officer in the Tropics
+
+THE CAMPAIGN OF THE JUNGLE
+Or Under Lawton through Luzon
+
+UNDER MACARTHUR IN LUZON
+Or Last Battles in the Philippines
+
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+
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+New York._
+
+"Stratemeyer's style suits the boys."--JOHN TERHUNE, _Supt. of Public
+Instruction, Bergen Co., New Jersey._
+
+"Mr. Stratemeyer is in a class by himself when it comes to writing about
+American heroes, their brilliant doings on land and sea."--_Times,
+Boston._
+
+"Mr. Stratemeyer has written a series of books which, while historically
+correct and embodying the most important features of the
+Spanish-American War and the rebellion of the Filipinos, are
+sufficiently interwoven with fiction to render them most entertaining to
+young readers."--_The Call, San Francisco._
+
+_For sale by all booksellers, or sent, postpaid, on receipt of price by_
+LEE AND SHEPARD, Publishers,
+BOSTON
+
+
+THE COLONIAL SERIES
+
+By EDWARD STRATEMEYER
+
+_Author of "Pan-American Series," "Old Glory Series," "Great American
+Industries Series," "American Boys' Biographical Series," etc._
+
+Four volumes. Cloth. Illustrated by A.B. Shute. Price per volume, $1.25
+
+[Illustration]
+
+WITH WASHINGTON IN THE WEST
+Or A Soldier Boy's Battles in the Wilderness
+
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+Or The Soldier Boys of the Old Frontier
+
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+Or A Soldier Boy's Final Victory
+
+ON THE TRAIL OF PONTIAC
+Or The Pioneer Boys of the Ohio
+
+"Mr. Stratemeyer has put his best work into the 'Colonial
+Series.'"--_Christian Register, Boston._
+
+"A series that doesn't fall so very far short of being history
+itself."--_Boston Courier._
+
+"The tales of war are incidental to the dramatic adventures of two boys,
+so well told that the historical facts are all the better
+remembered."--_Boston Globe._
+
+"Edward Stratemeyer has in many volumes shown himself master of the art
+of producing historic studies in the pleasing story form."--_Minneapolis
+Journal._
+
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+historical detail and accuracy, and gives a splendid picture of the
+times in general."--_Milwaukee Sentinel._
+
+"Told by one who knows how to write so as to interest boys, while still
+having a care as to accuracy."--_Commercial Advertiser, New York._
+
+_For sale by all booksellers, or sent, postpaid, on receipt of price by_
+LEE AND SHEPARD, Publishers
+BOSTON
+
+
+TWO GOOD WAR STORIES
+
+By EDWARD STRATEMEYER
+
+_ON TO PEKIN, Or Old Glory in China_
+
+Cloth. 330 pages. Illustrated by A. Burnham Shute. $1.25
+
+[Illustration]
+
+The hero, Gilbert Pennington, has become a lieutenant in the regular
+army, and goes from the Philippines with the Ninth Regiment to take part
+in the rescue of the beleaguered British Embassy at Pekin by the
+international forces. Mr. Stratemeyer has risen to the occasion by
+giving, in addition to one of his very best stories, a store of
+information concerning China and the Chinese, conveyed in a natural and
+entertaining manner.
+
+Mr. Stratemeyer gives his youthful readers plenty of adventures, but
+there is little that might not easily happen. His books are eminently
+"safe" ones, and their patriotic spirit will be considered
+admirable.--_Home Journal, Boston._
+
+_BETWEEN BOER AND BRITON
+Or Two Boys' Adventures in South Africa_
+
+Illustrated by A. Burnham Shute 354 pages Price $1.25
+
+Relates the experiences of two boys, cousins to each other, one American
+and the other English, whose fathers are engaged in the Transvaal, one
+in farming and the other in mining operations. While the two boys are
+off on a hunting trip after big game, the war between the Boers and
+Britons suddenly breaks out, and the boys find themselves placed between
+hostile armies, where their thrilling experiences are brought out in Mr.
+Stratemeyer's best style.
+
+Exhibits the same qualities which have given popularity to his former
+writings.--_The Times, Pittsburg, Pa._
+
+A stirring story of the South African war.--_The Journal, Indianapolis,
+Ind._
+
+The kind of story to please boys and give them a fair idea of a great
+historical event.--_St. Louis Post-Despatch._
+
+GREAT AMERICAN INDUSTRIES SERIES
+
+By EDWARD STRATEMEYER
+
+VOLUME ONE
+
+_TWO YOUNG LUMBERMEN
+Or From Maine to Oregon for Fortune_
+
+320 pages. Cloth. Illustrated. Price $1.00 net
+
+[Illustration]
+
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+penned. It covers the whole of the great lumber industry of our country,
+the scene shifting from Maine to Michigan and the Great Lakes, and then
+to the Columbia and the Great Northwest. The heroes are two sturdy
+youths who have been brought up among the lumbermen of their native
+State, and who strike out in an honest endeavor to better their
+condition. As mill hands, fellers, log drivers, and general camp workers
+they have a variety of adventures, absorbing in the extreme. An ideal
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+what our great lumber industry is to-day.
+
+Boys are acquiring the Stratemeyer habit.--_Post, Chicago._
+
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+instructive.--_Daily Press, Portland, Me._
+
+He knows how to attract and hold boy readers.--_Evening Standard, New
+Bedford, Mass._
+
+The demands of boy readers are peculiar, and the author who can satisfy
+them, not once or twice, but uniformly, must possess rare ability in an
+extremely difficult field. Such an author is Edward Stratemeyer.--_Sunday
+News, Newark, N.J._
+
+PAN-AMERICAN SERIES
+
+By EDWARD STRATEMEYER
+
+
+VOLUME ONE
+
+_LOST ON THE ORINOCO
+Or American Boys in Venezuela_
+
+12mo. Cloth. Illustrated. Price $1.25
+
+This volume tells of five American youths, who, with their tutor, sail
+from New York to La Guayra, touching at Curacao on the way. They visit
+Caracas, the capital, Macuto, the fashionable seaside resort, go
+westward to the Gulf of Maracaibo and lake of the same name, and at last
+find themselves in the region of the mighty Orinoco, and of course they
+have some exciting experiences, one of which gives name to the book.
+Just the book boys and young men should read, in view of the general
+interest in matters Pan-American.
+
+Its pictures of South American life and scenery are novel and
+instructive.--_The Literary World, Boston._
+
+The scenes described are of the sort to charm the hearts of adventurous
+boys.--_The Outlook, N.Y._
+
+
+VOLUME TWO
+
+_THE YOUNG VOLCANO EXPLORERS
+Or American Boys in the West Indies_
+
+12mo. Cloth. Illustrated. Price $1.25
+
+This is a complete tale in itself, but has the same characters which
+have appeared so successfully in "Lost on the Orinoco." The boys, with
+their tutor, sail from Venezuela to the West Indies, stopping at
+Jamaica, Cuba, Hayti, and Porto Rico. They have numerous adventures on
+the way, and then set out for St. Pierre, Martinique, where they
+encounter the effects of the eruption of Mt. Pelee, and two of the boys
+are left on a raft to shift for themselves. Life in the West Indies is
+well portrayed, and the tale will appeal to many an older person as well
+as to the boys.
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of American Boy's Life of Theodore
+Roosevelt, by Edward Stratemeyer
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