Daniel Henderson

“ Thereupon Roosevelt himself turns cook. It is a big job, for there are many boys and their appetites are keen; but the cook is equal to the task. Then night steals on them. The campfire grows to enormous proportions. Around it the boys sit, listening with breathless interest to the wonder tales of hunting and cow-punching that come from the President who for his boys’ sake has made himself a lad again. ”

“ It is lucky for us that we are sailors and used to a rolling motion, for the motion of the camel is like that of a ship.
A sand storm comes. A small black cloud arises and grows till in a short time it has half covered the sky. The sand begins to blow, and beats into our faces like hail. We stop the caravan; the camels kneel; and fighting off terror, we lie down with our faces in the ground beside the beasts. The blowing sand is so thick that it hides the sun. ”

“ CHAPTER XI THE LOSS OF THE PHILADELPHIA
"But sailors were born for all weathers,
Great guns let it blow, high or low,
Our duty keeps us to our tethers,
And where the gales drive we must go."
Hard luck, indeed! The frigate Philadelphia stranded on a reef in the harbor of Tripoli, and Captain Bainbridge and his men were left captives in the hands of the Bashaw. Yet the ill wind for them was a kind wind for me, since it brought me a chance to serve under Stephen Decatur in what men say is one of the most brilliant exploits in our navy's annals. ”

“ Roosevelt and I have four sons, and they are as dear to us as your sons are to you. If we now had war, these four boys would all go. We think it entirely right that they should go if their country needs them. But I do not think it fair that they should be sent to defend the boys who are too soft or too timid ‘to face the cannon,’ or the other boys who wish to stay at home to make money while somebody else protects them. ”

“ Bludsoe drove them aft with his pistol points.
"Thank you, lad," he said, as he passed me, "I owe my life to you!"
I peered down into the forecastle. Under the smoky lamp lay Mulligan—a huge, motionless mass. Blood flowed from his temple.
The wind had died; the sun was hidden in haze; the sky darkened; the barometer fell. "We'll be in the midst of a tempest soon," Samuel Childs whispered to me, "if the rebels had held out they might have had the ship at their mercy."
"Call all hands to shorten sail," the skipper said calmly to Mr. Bludsoe. ”

“ Sometimes a man gets caught in the rush of the beasts and is trampled to death. Roosevelt never experienced this danger, but he knew the very hardest part of the work. On one occasion he was for thirty-six hours in the saddle, dismounting only to change horses or to eat.
At another time he was helping to bring a thousand head of young cattle down to his lower range. At night he and a cowboy stood guard. The cattle had been without water that day, and in their thirst they tried to break away. In the darkness Roosevelt could dimly see the shadowy outlines of the frantic herd. ”

“ A moment later we heard the command of "fire!" ring out from among the Arabs.
"At the first shot, give them a volley!" General Eaton ordered.
At this critical instant, one of Hamet's officers ran out towards the mutineers and cried: "For God's sake, do not fire! The Christians are our friends!"
Then the general, although a column of muskets was aimed at his breast, approached Hamet and demanded of him how he could support such desperate acts. The Bashaw wavered. A chorus of furious whoops from the Arabs drowned the general's voice. ”

“ The Colonel introduced him to one of the regular army officers, a splendid fellow, who yet viewed foreign relations from a strictly mid-Western viewpoint. Roosevelt overheard him remark to the Russian, whom he called “Prince” as familiarly as a Kentuckian called his neighbor “Colonel”:
“You see, Prince, the great result of this war is that it has united the two branches of the Anglo-Saxon people; and now that they are together they can whip the world, Prince! They can whip the world!” ”

“ My mother, while father was at sea, had helped to nurse the sick people of Baltimore, and had herself died of the pestilence. Dr. Eccleston, a widower, assumed the care of Alexander and myself.
Alexander, springing up like Jack's bean-vine, yet growing in brawn and manliness as his height increased, was my elder by a number of years. He was much taller than I, yet I was growing too and had hopes of reaching, by the time I was sixteen, the chalk mark on our wall that showed Alexander to be five feet, ten inches high. ”

“ His reviving interest in politics and his engagement to Edith Carow came to draw him back to the fields where happiness and success waited. Sewall and Dow returned East with him.
The duty of a biographer is to record and not to speculate, yet as we look at Roosevelt’s later life in his unpretentious home at Sagamore Hill; when we think of the democratic sewing circle at Oyster Bay to which Mrs. Roosevelt goes regularly to sew garments for crippled children, and when we see the democratic simplicity with which Roosevelt mingled with his neighbors and shared their experiences and confidences ”

“ I never thought to find a corner of this world where an American would stoop to baseness. History shall tell how the United States first volunteered a ship of war, equipped, as a carrier for a pirate. It is written. Nothing but blood can blot the impression out."
We heard that he wrote thus to the Navy Department:
"I hope I may never again be sent to Algiers with tribute, unless I be authorized to deliver it from the mouth of the cannon." ”

“ Powerful indeed will be the pen that adequately describes Roosevelt’s life of struggle and triumph, with its warfare against bodily handicaps and political prejudice; warfare against wild beasts in dense jungles; warfare against hunger and exhaustion on inconceivably hard journeys of exploration; warfare against predatory wealth; warfare against men in high places who would grind the faces of the poor ”

“ I still menaced him with my pistol, but the general forbade me to fire.
"He richly deserves death," he whispered, taking in at a glance the situation, "but to fire a shot would cause a general battle and the defeat of our plans." He then turned to the scowling chief.
"Mount your camel and go," he said. "Hamet Bashaw wants no one in his ranks who, under pretense of loyalty to a cause, comes to steal a girl who despises him." ”

“ The assassination of President McKinley, which led Roosevelt to the White House, simply hastened the goal which was already in sight.
From his early days in politics he took a high moral stand and formed the habit of going to the people over the heads of the politicians whenever he thought that the public interest required such drastic measures. He set for himself a high standard, yet, when he quitted the Presidency, that standard had been set even higher than when he made his first campaign for clean politics in the New York Legislature. ”

“ He overhauled the boat and led his men aboard in a fierce charge. Reuben was at his heels. The Moorish captain was a powerful brute; he had all the weapons a man could carry, and he was as desperate as a treed wildcat.
Stephen Decatur, however, went at his huge foe in a way that meant death either to the Moor or himself. The infidel met Decatur's rush with his pike, while Decatur depended on his sword. Reuben James was busy disposing of an infidel. Before he tackled another, he looked to see what headway the captain was making. ”

“ A FRANK CANDIDATE
From the date of his entering the Presidency until after the election of 1904 Roosevelt was under restraint. Although he knew that his policies had the full approval of the people, he felt himself to be a President by accident. It is well known that he desired a nomination and election in 1904.
“I do not believe in playing the hypocrite,” he said. “Any strong man fit to be President would desire a nomination and re-election after his first term. Lincoln was President in so great a crisis that perhaps he neither could nor did feel any personal interest in his own re-election. ”

“ One night, while I was on watch, MacWilliams approached me. His hand rested on my shoulder with a fatherly touch that moved me greatly.
"The time has come when I need your help," he said. "I intend to take this ship to England despite her crew of Mohammedans. If the plan goes through, every Christian slave aboard the Hawk shall step upon the earth of Europe a free man. I've been watching you. I believe you agree that it's better to risk death than to go on leading such a life. There are other slaves who think the same way. What do you say, lad?" ”

“ It was by his inspiration that the American officials who administered government in the Philippines, Porto Rico and, during the American occupancy, in Cuba, devoted themselves to the welfare of the people in a way that won the commendation of our sister nations. His course in this respect was governed by a belief that when it was necessary for our government to administer the affairs of the weaker nations under its control that government should be, not for the profit of the people in the United States, but for the people governed. ”

“ Resolved to end forever such atrocities, the Christian fleet sought that of Ali Pasha, the Turkish admiral. Three hundred galleys, with one hundred and twenty thousand men, composed the Moslem fleet. They came on with their decks covered with flags and streamers, while, hid by this glory of banners, the galley slaves, chained to the oars, toiled beneath the lash. The two fleets met near the Gulf of Lepanto. Don John's lookout, from his perch on the main-top, discovered a white sail. Behind it came sail after sail, until the full strength of the Turkish navy was in sight. ”

“ The appearance of an ex-President of the United States carrying the Star-Spangled Banner over a body of American soldiers to the battlefront would glorify us as will nothing else. It will electrify the world. ”

“ The following paragraphs from his reply illustrate that tender yet just attitude that Roosevelt took toward American women, including, of course, the women of his own household:
“Now, my dear Mrs. ——, you have described a career of service which makes me feel more like taking off my hat to you, and saluting you as a citizen deserving of the highest honor, than I would feel as regards any colonel of a crack regiment. But you seem to think, if I understand your letter aright, that ‘preparedness’ is in some way designed to make your boys food for cannon. ”

“ And there are worse lives than to dance at the fantasias of rich men, and to win the approval of the cafes. The girl is ungrateful and a burden to us. Our own children are starving. Give us money to buy food and take the unthankful girl!"
"Let the girl be summoned," said the general. She came forth, glancing from the Sheik Abdullah to General Eaton with fear in her eyes.
"My girl," said the general through an interpreter, "these people have offered you for sale. My purpose in buying you would be to find you a good home, where you will be brought up in the way of people of your color and race. ”

“ The most exciting and dangerous part of the roundup comes when the cattle are stampeded by a storm or through fright. Anything may start them—the plunge of a horse, the approach of a coyote, the arrival of new steers or cows. In an instant the herd rises to its feet and rushes off. Then the work of the cowboys is cut out for them. No matter how rough the ground or how black the night, the cow-punchers must ride36 without sparing themselves to head them off and finally stop them. Even when stopped there is danger of them breaking again. ”

“ The young Arabs laughed at the prospect of food. The departure of the girl in our company did not cause them the slightest concern. Maidens are held cheaply in the Sahara. A swift camel is worth more than a girl. What value has a Nazarene maiden compared with food for one's own famished children?
The general, to shield the girl as much as possible from the curious soldiers, gave her a tent where she dwelt alone, watched over by an old Nubian woman who had become attached to our party in Egypt and had been taken along for her value as a cook. ”

“ Now and then, however, there is a youth who uses his wealth instead of abusing it. Mr. Roosevelt’s entire career is an incentive to rich men’s sons. Born in a great house; a graduate of Harvard—rich man’s college; traveled abroad; a Civil Service Commissioner with George William Curtis, an intellectual aristocrat; Police Commissioner of New York; a cattle man on the plains of Montana; leader of the Rough Riders in Cuba; Governor of New York; Vice-President and President of the United States—all this represents a long and brilliant career. ”

“ I'm an American to the backbone, though. I was born in Baltimore and my father was killed fighting the British during the war of Independence. He was on the Hyder Ally when she captured the English ship, the General Monk. I don't want you to take me because I have a brother who is a prisoner in Algiers, and I expect to join the new American navy and go to fight for his release!"
He laughed. "If we robbed you of a father, I think it's due you to be allowed to go your own way. I should say that your brother requires your aid more than we do, so I'll take your word for it that you're a Yankee. ”

“ Roosevelt was fond of boxing with “Mike” Donovan, trainer at the New York Athletic Club, as well as with William Muldoon, the wrestler and trainer. His opponents testify that the Colonel was handicapped by his poor sight. He wanted to see his adversary’s eyes—to catch the gleam that comes before a blow. Roosevelt always maneuvered to see his opponent’s face, and he liked to “mix in” when boxing.
Hard and heavy was the Colonel’s method, and his opponents forced the colonel to adapt his plan of fighting to theirs. It did not matter to Roosevelt. ”

“ A few hours later The Morning Star sailed for America. Allah favored you—my tribe moved this way when Joseph Bashaw's soldiers took possession of Derne, and thus I came to prevent your blood being spilled in the streets of Tripoli!"
"I want to reward you with the biggest gem in our collection," I said, "but how can I do it when our fortune is at sea?"
Then a thought came to me. "Mustapha," I said, "I mean to escape from the Hawk and board a ship bound for England or America. I have learned from the mate that a servant boy is needed on the Hawk. If you like, I'll recommend you for the place. ”

“ We know that many good persons feel entirely different, but to us it is painful and harrowing long after death to move the poor body from which the soul has fled. We greatly prefer that Quentin shall continue to lie on the spot where he fell in battle and where the foemen buried him.
After the war is over Mrs. Roosevelt and I intend to visit the grave and then to have a small stone put up saying it is put up by us, but not disturbing what has already been erected to his memory by his friends and American comrades in arms. ”

“ Since my chains were the badge of my slavery, no watch was kept on me as I went to and fro on errands for those who were outfitting the ship.
William MacWilliams interested me greatly. I had heard that there were many renegades of his type in Barbary. I have been informed that the word renegade comes from the Latin word nego, which means "I deny." Some of these men had become turncoats to save their skins; others had become renegades because the Moslems, poor sailors themselves, were glad to employ Christian sea captains, and gave them opportunities to live luxuriously and become rich. ”

“ Roosevelt’s experiences taught him that in the era in which he lived war at times was essential to establish justice. He did not believe in surrendering to the blusterer, or to the ruler who tried to overrun his neighbor’s boundaries by force. He trained himself to be a warrior and a hunter because he believed that a strain of the primitive man was necessary to combat the too often debilitating influences of modern life. ”

“ It's merely the way the rulers of the Barbary countries have of notifying your new country that it's America's duty to pay them toll—ships and jewels and gold. All of the nations of Europe pay them for protection, and of course, in justice to themselves and those who pay them tribute, they cannot exempt America. If I were your President, I would send liberal presents every year to the princes of Algiers, Tunis, Tripoli and [Pg 12] Morocco. Then, sir, American ships and sailors would have nothing to fear in the Mediterranean. ”

“ Good Will Abroad; A Square Deal at Home In Roosevelt’s opinion and in the opinion of the entire country, his act in sending the fleet upon its world mission did more to favorably advertise the United States to the world and to establish cordial international relations, than any other of his deeds as President. His object in sending the battle fleet on this voyage was to prove to foreign nations that American battleships could be assembled in the Pacific Ocean as well as in the Atlantic, without this movement assuming the nature of a threat against any Asiatic or European power. ”

“ I found out that the American consul was at Malta on business that had arisen out of the making of peace with Joseph Bashaw. My case, therefore, seemed almost as hopeless as when I was first captured.
These cities of Barbary are strange affairs. The streets wind in and out between white walls. You go under shadowy arches; you climb here a dozen stairs and a little later go up an incline without stairs. The streets are usually too narrow for camels or carts, so that porters and donkeys do most of the hauling. A swarm of people pass continually up and down these cramped ways. ”

“ It was with men like these, in surroundings like these, that young Roosevelt had elected to learn to the full extent the lesson of democracy.
Before his Western trip Roosevelt had already had his manhood and his spirit of brotherhood tested in the hard-waged battles of New York political life. Now was to come a test infinitely greater. The former member of the New York Assembly, the man who had occupied a high place in New York social life, who in his earlier days was noted for his well-tailored figure and his eyeglasses, had turned his back on all this. ”

“ An hour afterward an Algerine man-of-war appeared. Decatur ordered his officers to prepare for battle. Manning the forts and ships were forty thousand Turks.
Before the squadron got under way, however, the Dey's envoy was seen approaching, flying a white flag—the token of surrender.
All of the terms had been agreed to. We were to pay no further tributes to the pirate prince. Our ships were to be free from interference. Ten Americans that had been held in captivity were delivered up. They knelt at Decatur's feet to thank God for their release and rose up to embrace their flag. ”

“ One shudders to think of what fate would have befallen the United States if the monopolies which Roosevelt curbed while he was President had been allowed to flourish until this era of revolution. That the working people of America are contented and peace-loving today is largely due to Roosevelt’s saving them from exploitation by the trusts. ”