62 
SEEKING ROMANTIC ADVENTURES. 
booter like those whose exploits he has read of in books and which 
he is eager to imitate. 
It was not from such motives or with such intentions that 
young Roosevelt resolved to try the experiences of life on the 
western plains. If the thousand tales of daring feats, bold enter¬ 
prises and dangerous ventures that are so eagerly read by school¬ 
boys ever had any charm for him, they certainly did not influence 
his actions in the slightest degree. He had no thought of achieving 
distinction by scalping Indians. But he wanted a ranch in the West 
and secured one in North Dakota during his third term at Albany. 
He was fond of hunting big game. The long expedition with his 
trusty rifle and a few associates or attendants was his pastime. 
BOOKS WERE A PART OF HIS OUTFIT. 
Mere sport is commonly an idle thing, a device for whiling 
away time and obtaining a temporary pleasure. Roosevelt had no 
thought of going to the Bad Lands for any such purpose. He had 
other objects in view, and, although enjoying the chase as any full- 
blooded man would be apt to enjoy it, he never would have ventured 
into the far West merely for this. He had aims and ideals that 
could not be realized by tfout fishing and bear hunting. His books 
went with him, and were as much a part of his outfit as his gun and 
cartridge pouch. 
He felt that vigor of mind and body would result from rough¬ 
ing it on his ranch. He would breathe a pure air, drink from 
unpolluted streams, climb steep cliffs and stand on their summits 
in the glow of healthful exercise. The winds would bronze his 
cheek and toughen his fibre. The weariness of toil would bring 
refreshing sleep; the silence of the evening camp would give him an 
opportunity to think; books would be read with a keener relish; 
the wild horse, spirited and hard to subdue, would test his nerve 
and muscle; association with the shrewd, yet untutored ranchmen 
would hold him in contact with common, ordinary men; he would 
learn much from the rough characters whose names are never 
written in histories, but who are, after all, heroes in their way. 
Col. Roosevelt’s favorite works while on the Ranch were books 
