The Cowboy President

The Cowboy President: The American West and the Making of Theodore Roosevelt

The Cowboy President: The American West and the Making of Theodore Roosevelt reveals how his time spent in the Western Dakota Territory helped him recover from an overwhelming personal loss, but more importantly, how it transformed him into the man etched onto Mount Rushmore, a man who is still rated as one of the top five Presidents in American history. Unlike other Roosevelt biographies, The Cowboy President details how the land, the people and the Western code of honor had an enormous impact on Theodore and how this experience influenced him in his later years.

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About The Cowboy President

After writing five books on cinema subjects you now have tackled Theodore Roosevelt. Why him?

He’s my favorite US President, with Lincoln a close second. I have always been fascinated with Theodore’s time in the Dakota Territory from 1883-1887, and I wanted to write about that period, which was close to his heart and mine.

Despite his conservation efforts, Roosevelt still hunted, didn’t he?

Yes, and that is one of the things that frustrates many people in understanding Theodore. He could instantly establish a bird sanctuary with the swipe of a pen, yet go out and shoot a bird.

One thing people need to understand about Theodore, he was a romantic. He had one foot firmly in the 20^th century, yet he was also in love with the romanticism of the earlier centuries. He saw hunting as a way of proving one’s manhood, which was a common belief in the 19^th century. He also loved the thrill of the hunt, stalking his prey, much like a lion or tiger.

As a hunter he was not one to waste his prey just for the thrill of a hunt. He often hunted pronghorns in the Dakotas not just for the trophy head, but for the meat. Same with the deer, elk and other game. He was strongly against those who hunted for profit, killing game for just the hides that would be sold.

However, if he had not been a hunter, many believe that Theodore would not have had the great awakening to lead the conservation fight. By 1887, he creates the Boone and Crockett Club (named after two of his childhood heroes, Daniel Boone and Davy Crockett), which pushed for laws to protect game and natural resources. From that point on, he becomes a champion for conservation of animals and the land. This club is still in existence today.

How did you become interested in Roosevelt?

I was given a pictorial book of US Presidents when I was 8. I knew about Lincoln because of the Civil War, but being a cowboy crazy kid, I was disappointed all the presidents during the American West era (1865-1899) all wore suits and none had been a cowboy. When I turned the page and found Theodore Roosevelt, all that changed.

The first photo I saw of him he is dressed in his buckskins, gun on his hip, wearing a cowboy hat, and stands next to his horse. I read how he had a cattle ranch in the Dakota Territory, and was thoroughly impressed this guy had been a cowboy. Then I saw the famous picture of him and his Rough Riders at San Juan Hill. Well, this fellow just fit my pistol, and he became my favorite president. As time went on, the more I read about him, the more I came to greatly admire him. He was an amazing fellow.

In researching this book, you actually rode a horse and walked through the land that Roosevelt had traveled. What was it like?

Amazing. Thanks to the establishment of the Theodore Roosevelt National Park, you can see the land like Theodore experienced it. That was his desire for establishing national parks and monuments. He wanted people over a hundred years later to be able to experience the beauty of the land as he did.

I followed the example set by Louis L’Amour, who believed if you are going to write about a place you need to see it and experience it personally, not simply rely what was noted in a book. Being in the actual places where your subject once stood, gives a writer a completely different perspective.

On the back cover of your Cowboy President book it says, “How a US President and the American West saved each other.” In what way?

Theodore went West originally to hunt a buffalo and he winds up buying a cattle ranch. Five months later, a horrible tragedy hits him. He loses his mother and wife on the same day – Valentine’s Day – within hours of each other. Adding to the tragedy, his wife had given birth to their first child a day earlier. It was more grief than anyone could handle. For Theodore, he sought solace in the vastness of the Dakota Badlands (what is now Medora, North Dakota) to grieve. The land challenged him to live in a way nothing else could. He thrived out there, relying on his own inner-strength and skills, with help from a few close friends.

The land eventually restored him, helped him come back from such a major loss. As a way of paying back the land for what it gave him emotionally, he went on to preserve Western lands for future generations to appreciate. By the end of his Presidency in 1909, Theodore had set aside over 230 million acres of land for the public, half the size of the 1803 Louisiana Purchase. He also established 51 bird sanctuaries, 18 National Monuments, 6 National Parks, and created or expanded 150 National Forests.

What is your favorite story about Roosevelt?

Oh, man! There are SO many I cannot really just say one is my favorite. So here are three that give you an insight into his personality.

The first one is about the three outlaws who stole his small boat from his Elkhorn Ranch in the frigid days of February. Theodore was incensed that his property was stolen and wanted to go after the thieves, but the Little Missouri River was full of ice chunks. Three days later, he and his two friends, Wilmot Dow and Bill Sewell, launch after them in a small canoe. The weather was just miserable, and they are constantly stopped by the ice build-up on the river. They finally captured the three men and Theodore arranges for a rancher to take his prisoners in a wagon to the sheriff in the town of Dickinson. He walks behind the wagon, in cold, ankle-deep mud, for 45-miles. He never slept during this trip, until he delivered his prisoners. Many admired his pluck, but wondered why he just didn’t hang the three men when he caught them. People didn’t understand Theodore. He didn’t want vengeance, he wanted justice prevail.

The second story centers on Jerry Paddock, a man with a hard reputation. He made a boast that Theodore’s Elkhorn Ranch land belonged to him, and if “Four Eyes” wanted the land so badly he could pay for it − even in blood. When Theodore learned of the threat, he went right to Paddock’s cabin and banged on the door. When the door opened, he informed Paddock, “I understand you have threatened to kill me on sight. I have come over to see when you want to begin the killing, and to let you know that, if you have anything against me, now is the time to say it.” Paddock could only stammer that he’d been mis-quoted. Ironically, after this incident, they became friends!

In 1902, Theodore went to Mississippi to hunt a black bear. He had horrible luck in finding one, while newspaper reporters had a field day commenting on his lack of bagging a bear. Finally, the guides caught an old bear and tied him to a tree. Roosevelt, hearing they had trapped a bear, grabbed his rifle and came running, only to discover the animal was not in sorry shape and tied to a tree. He adamantly refused to shoot the bear like that, noting that it was unsporting. Theodore ordered the bear be put down and walked away. When newspapers carried the story, the public just loved what Theodore had done. Clifford Berryman, an editorial cartoonist, drew a cartoon of Theodore refusing to shoot a small bear cub, which just increased his popularity. A man in Brooklyn, New York, Morris Michtom, had a small novelty store where his wife made stuff dolls. They made some small bears they called “Teddy’s Bears” and the birth of the Teddy Bear began.

What is your favorite Theodore Roosevelt quote?

“It is better to be an original than an imitation.”

With the release of the Cowboy President book, you are doing what you call a “Lecture Performance.” Just what is that?

I wanted to come up with a way to make Theodore Roosevelt relevant to people today. Now, I can just stand there as the author and tell you about him, but that is rather dry. I wanted to do something different with the desire to hold the audience’s interest. I come out and start talking about Theodore, and become him in front of the audience. With a few wardrobe additions and glasses, I am no longer Michael F. Blake the author, but Theodore Roosevelt. It’s a short one-man performance, where Theodore relates stories about his time in the west and how it influenced him. I’ve designed it so it can be a 30-minute performance, or as short as 15 minutes, depending on the schedule. It believe it is a unique way of telling people about the man.

You once said as you started your Cowboy President book, the original theme changed somewhat. How so?

My original idea was to focus on his time in the Dakotas, which it still does, but during the course of my research, the people and the land of the American West greatly influenced him. His passionate interest in conservation began with his first trip to the Dakotas. He saw that game life was not as plentiful as he had once believed, and the demand for strong laws to protect the wildlife, and the land, was needed.

The people of the West were the kind of folks he easily gravitated to. They didn’t say a lot, but what they did say was meaningful. Their word was their bond. A handshake was more important than a written contract. People out west relied on themselves, not help or handouts from their government. This type of lifestyle suited Theodore perfectly, and it quickly became part of who he was and would become. In my book I show how the West and the people influenced him in his career and life.

Your book shows us that Roosevelt was a real cowboy, not a politician pretending to be one.

Absolutely! He asked for no favors as a cattle owner when it came to the Spring and Fall round-ups. Since his eyesight was not great, he did little roping, but was very active in gathering cattle and branding them. During a round-up he was involved in a cattle stampede, which I detail in the book. He also stood off a small band of Sioux Indians when he was riding alone in the Badlands. One thing you can say about Theodore Roosevelt is he truly was the real deal.

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The Cowboy President: The American West and the Making of Theodore Roosevelt

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