4. Theodore experienced the west in an almost stereotypical manner
While Theodore Roosevelt was in the west, particularly along the Little Missouri, he wanted to experience America’s western experience in all of its legendary glory. And so he did. He rode with other ranchers to stop stampeding cattle, amusing the hard-bitten ranchers with his cry of “Hie on quickly there!” as he rode among the herd. Roundups which meant weeks in the saddle by day, and keeping watch in camps by night, were a part of his experience. So were the celebrations in local saloons when the roundups were completed. In one, Roosevelt disarmed a drunken cowboy, in another he engaged in fisticuffs with a local gunfighter, putting his boxing experience and skills to good use.
Though he was officially retired from politics, or so he claimed, he used his political skills to organize the first cattlemen’s association in North Dakota. The formerly frail New York society gentleman transformed himself into a hardened and athletic young man, skilled with rifle and shotgun, as well as on horseback (though he had ridden polo ponies before venturing to the west). He also enjoyed hunting bison, and the tales of the formerly great herds which were then nearly gone sparked his already keen interest in conservationism, which he retained for the rest of his life, dedicated both to hunting and to the well-being of the animals he hunted.