The Everything Theodore Roosevelt Book (14 page)

Theodore Roosevelt with Wilmot Dow and Bill Sewall at Elkhorn Ranch, 1886

Part of his satisfaction was the hard work. Another part was the companionship. TR’s cattle herd survived the winter of 1883–1884 with no problems. The success of his venture may have lured him into a false sense of security. He acquired his second ranch, the Elkhorn, for only $400 and invited some of his friends from “Back East” to join him there. The value of choosing the right friends paid off once again.

TR discovered cattle ranching at a time when it was becoming popular in the Dakota Territory. During the 1885–1886 season, he owned between 3,000 and 5,000 cattle. He became so involved in the operation that he helped organize the Little Missouri Stockmen’s Association. Eventually, he became its chairman and then president. He was also a member of the Montana Stockgrowers Association. His life was going well, but disaster lay ahead.

Life at the Elkhorn

While his friends built new buildings and managed the herds on his two ranches, TR settled into the rigorous life of the Badlands and insinuated himself into the local life. The Elkhorn became his “home” ranch.

TR continued to write while he was at his ranches. He completed
Hunting Trips of a Ranchman
at the Maltese Cross Ranch in 1885 and almost finished
Life of Thomas Hart Benton
the following year at the Elkhorn Ranch. He found it difficult to stay away from his writing, no matter how many cattle had to be fed.

No matter where he was, TR impressed everyone with his willingness to work hard, his ability to pick up the tricks of the cowboy trade, the rapidity with which he adapted to the life, and his transformation from a thin, “four eyed,” raw Easterner into a healthy, robust man. Soon, he began a new career: deputy sheriff.

Wearing the Badge

TR learned quickly that a rancher’s profits could be crimped by rustlers, horse thieves, claim jumpers, and other criminals, but the West was generally safer than the East. He opined that, “A man has very little more to fear in the West than in the East, in spite of all the lawless acts one reads about.” But he did not leave law enforcement to chance. TR became a lawman. He demonstrated respect for the law rather than giving thieves a fair trial and then hanging them.

Jacob Riis recounted one story that demonstrated TR’s respect for law and justice. Local ranchers believed that their sheriff was sympathetic to cattle rustlers, some of whom he had let escape. The ranchers would not confront him. TR did. At one meeting, he accused the sheriff directly of favoring the outlaws and informed him that he had lost the ranchers’ confidence and good will. The sheriff did not even defend himself.

TR served as a deputy sheriff for the northern end of Billings County at a time when shootings, stabbings, stealing cattle, and other serious crimes were on the decline. The job did not carry with it a great deal of prestige—or pay. Deputy sheriffs were paid when they made arrests and received travel reimbursement. On a couple notable occasions TR earned considerable amounts of prestige and pay for his exploits.

Law enforcement work taught TR a valuable lesson that he applied to other aspects of his life. It was not an epiphany for him. He had been aware since childhood that he had limitations, especially in the physical arena. The trick, he learned, was to act first and outsmart his opponents.

For example, TR arrested several miscreants who were stronger than him and quicker with weapons. In such cases, he thought ahead and acted faster than the criminal. That prevented him from becoming the victim of physical violence and saved him from the embarrassment of finishing second best in confrontations. TR was a firm believer in the adage “He who hesitates is lost.”

Chasing the “Bad Guys”

On one occasion in March 1886, TR, Sewall, and Dow pursued three “bad guys” who had stolen the only boat they had on the ranch. Sewall and Dow quickly built another boat and the chase began. They apprehended the thieves after a harrowing adventure.

The three men did not receive a great deal of reward for their effort. According to TR, “Under the laws of Dakota I received my fees as a deputy sheriff for making the three arrests, and also mileage for the three hundred odd miles gone over—a total of some fifty dollars.” That was small compensation for time lost and wear and tear on their equipment.

But TR was not as much interested in the reward as he was in applying justice. That did not change whether he was in New York or North Dakota.

Respect for the Law—and Books

Whether TR was chasing desperadoes or hunting for big game, he never forgot his passion for learning through books. As he prepared for chases, hunting expeditions, or ranch work, he always packed books.

While he was on the boat thief case he had a copy of Leo Tolstoy’s
Anna Karenina
. Where many people read Tolstoy to fall asleep, TR read his book to stay awake. After he finished
Anna Karenina
he asked one of the prisoners if he had any books to read. He did: a dime novel. The eclectic TR read that one as well.

In the fall of 1886, TR went on a trip to the Montana Rockies to hunt the rarest of all American game, the white antelope-goat. He packed blankets, a light wagon sheet, the ever-present camera, flour, bacon, salt, sugar, coffee, rifles and ammunition, a few cooking utensils—and a book or two. He could not go anywhere without them.

TR’s career as a deputy sheriff did not occupy a lot of his time. He spent most of his time running his ranches, with the able assistance of his friends and co-workers. They gave him the time to hunt, learn the trade of “cowboying,” and fraternize with the hardy people who populated the West and for whom he formed an everlasting romantic picture that he never forgot.

Social Life

TR left time to socialize with the people of the Badlands during his stay. For the most part, his relationships were cordial. Out of necessity, he associated with more males than females. That was due partly to the amount of time he spent on the range with cattle and horses and working the ranch. No doubt the memory of Alice continued to travel with him.

Occasionally, TR had disagreements with local residents. He aggravated local resident the Marquis de Morès to the point where the Marquis challenged TR to a duel. Fortunately, cooler heads prevailed and TR evaded being drawn into a fight due to his penchant for diplomacy.

Two disagreements in particular created tension between the two men. One involved an argument over land rights. The second occurred when TR canceled a cattle sale when the Marquis reduced the agreed-upon price per pound from 6 cents to 5.5 cents after the terms were set. That upset TR’s sense of fair play.

The argument that almost led to the duel occurred when the Marquis informed TR in a letter in the summer of 1885 that Joe Ferris had worked to get him indicted after he shot a man, a crime for which he was later exonerated.

Dueling Letters

The Marquis intimated that TR had put Ferris up to it. Based on his suspicion, he wrote to TR, “If you are my enemy I want to know it … between gentlemen it is easy to settle matters of that sort directly.”

TR got the reference. He had no desire to fight a duel.

Tactfully, TR wrote back that, “Most emphatically I am not your enemy; if I were you would know it, for I would be an open one, and would not have asked you to my house nor gone to yours.” That was vintage TR: open and direct. The Marquis accepted TR’s response and invited him to dinner. It was incidents like this that led TR to love the West.

Losing the Ranch

As much as TR liked the Badlands, he did not spend all his time there. He returned to New York in the winter to work on various projects that he had let slip while hunting and ranching. There were certain things he was not good at, such as carpentry, and he knew enough to get out of the way when he was not needed.

On one of his trips back East, TR met an old friend of his, Edith Carow, with whom he formed a romantic attachment. That changed any plans he had to settle permanently in the West—if he had ever had any.

For him, the ranches were more investments than homes. Eventually, both were damaged significantly by one of the pieces of life TR loved so much: nature. It was no consolation, but he was not alone in suffering irreparable damage to his Western livelihood.

The problem actually began in the spring of 1886, with a late thaw. The summer temperatures rose as high as 125 degrees, which impacted plant growth. These were ominous signs for the ranchers. To compound matters, there were too many cattle on the land. Overgrazing was affecting the herds adversely. Disaster was a step or two away.

TR had returned to the East in 1886 to run for mayor of New York City and prepare for his second marriage. While he and Edith honeymooned in Europe, his cattle died in the Badlands. The Roosevelts suffered a significant financial setback, which spelled the end of TR’s adventure in Dakota Territory.

The Winter of 1886–1887

All the signs that the winter of 1886–1887 was going to be devastating to the Dakota Territory cattle industry proved true. Blizzards raged across the plains; cattle froze to death everywhere. The ranchers could not feed them.

Cattle were so desperate for food during the winter of 1886–1887 that they were eating tar-paper off houses and climbing snowdrifts to strip twigs from trees. Ranchers found many dead cattle hanging from those trees in the spring. Almost 80 percent of the cattle in Dakota Territory died that winter.

TR returned from Europe in the spring of 1887 and traveled to Medora to check on his cattle. He discovered that more than half of them had died during the winter. He also lost more than half of the $80,000 he had invested. He could not tolerate any more losses.

TR wrote to Bamie and told her he was quitting the business. Giving up anything was a rarity for him. But prudence outweighed his quest for adventure at the time. After all, he did have a new family to consider—and support.

Return to New York

Even though his Western adventure ended badly, TR returned home with fond memories and new ideas. He made up his mind to apply some of those new ideas whenever the right situations arose.

Based on what he had learned about the sturdy Westerners, who had helped him in so many ways, he swore that if he ever got into a war, the men he met in the Dakota Territory “were of just the kind whom it would be well to have with me if ever it became necessary to go to war.” That was just what happened when he rounded up his Rough Riders in 1898.

He also learned the value of friendship and loyalty. TR crossed paths often in later years with people he met and worked with in the West. Sometimes he helped them; other times they helped him.