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Memorandum by Frederick A. Stokes, Acting Treasurer and Secretary of the James River Live Stock Co., declaring the company’s incorporation and planned operations. The company will take over the James River Ranch east of Pingree, North Dakota and will focus on raising cattle. Included in the memorandum is a call for investors to buy stock in the company.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1901-03-08
Chronology of the daily life of Theodore Roosevelt from January 1884 to December 1891. Notable events include the deaths of Alice Lee Roosevelt and Martha Bulloch Roosevelt, Roosevelt’s time on his ranch, the completion of Sagamore Hill, Roosevelt’s engagement and marriage to Edith Kermit Carow, Theodore “Ted” Roosevelt’s birth, the “Great-Dieup” of cattle in North Dakota, and the founding of the Boone and Crockett Club.
Theodore Roosevelt Association
1985
In six letters to his sister Anna Roosevelt Cowles, dating from April to September of 1885, Theodore Roosevelt describes various aspects of his life as a rancher in the Dakota Badlands, touching on subjects such as the weather, working on cattle roundups, and hunting. Roosevelt notes the long hours spent in the saddle tending to cattle herds, inquires about Cowles’s health, and always asks after his infant daughter, though never by her given name of Alice. Roosevelt mentions his ranch hands Wilmot S. Dow and William Wingate Sewall in some of the letters and even highlights his favorite horse Manitou.
Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal
1885
Louis B. Livingston chronicles the relationship between Theodore Roosevelt and the Marquis de Mores during their time together as cattle ranchers in the Dakota Badlands. Livingston focuses on the controversy as to whether the two seriously contemplated a duel to settle their differences, and he charts their divergent paths once they left the West after the ruin of their ranches. Livingston details de Mores’s obsession with antisemitism which he argues helped precipitate the notorious Dreyfus Affair in France, and he documents Roosevelt’s outspoken opposition to antisemitism during his political career.
Six photographs supplement the article, including two of de Mores and three of Roosevelt during their ranching years. A text box with the mission statement of the Theodore Roosevelt Association appears at the end of the article.
James F. Vivian provides a look at Theodore Roosevelt’s time in the North Dakota Badlands with a collection of newspaper accounts, ranging from 1898 to 1915, drawn from interviews with Roosevelt’s friends, fellow ranchers, cowboys, and acquaintances. Vivian provides an introduction and an afterword to the article, as well as an introduction to each of its twelve sections. The accounts include reminiscences from the likes of William Sewall, Arthur T. Packard, and the brothers Sylvane Ferris and Joseph Ferris. Vivian contends that these interviews “corroborate the content and quality” of the work done by Hermann Hagedorn in his book Roosevelt in the Bad Lands.
Ten photographs appear in the article, including three of Roosevelt’s contemporaries, Frederick Herrig, James W. Foley, and Arthur T. Packard, along with two photographs of the museum dedicated to Roosevelt onboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt. An illustration by Frederic Remington of Roosevelt’s capture of the boat thieves, and a text box with a listing of the members of the executive committee of the Theodore Roosevelt Association supplement the text.
Two quotes from Theodore Roosevelt in which he extols the virtues of ranch life.
Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal
1888, 1913
In an excerpt from Theodore Roosevelt, An Autobiography, Theodore Roosevelt describes the perils and pleasures of ranching in the Badlands. He laments that the way of life he experienced there has disappeared.
Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal
1913
Theodore Roosevelt poses dressed in ranch gear including chaps, a fringed shirt, boots and hat with a pistol and holster belt on his waist.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
1885
The Montana Homeseeker provides a narrative history of Pierre Wiebaux–a contemporary of Theodore Roosevelt and the Marquis de Mores–and the W Ranch–located on the border between Montana and North Dakota. While Wibaux made a fortune on cattle, the ranch is now a prime investment location for sheep herders and those in the wool trade, and a company is being organized for investors who would like to get into the business. Maps, photographs, and figures accompany the advertising material, illustrating the area and aspects of the sheep industry.
1906-09
Ray H. Mattison gives a historical summary of the construction and use of Theodore Roosevelt’s Elkhorn Ranch, and discusses the buildings present there. Mattison draws from a number of sources, including books, letters, photographs, and interviews to try to give a complete picture of the ranch and its activities.
1960-05
Regional Archeologist Beaubien writes to Russell Reid, Superintendent of the State Historical Society of North Dakota, to tell him of the discoveries that his archaeological dig made at the Elkhorn Ranch site, including evidence of several of the buildings. Beaubien is working on a preliminary report of his findings, and would like to include a picture of a painting of the Elkhorn Ranch. He wonders if Reid would be able to get him prints of this photograph, and if he knows the history of the painting.
Midwest Archeological Center
1958-06-19
Theodore Roosevelt writes of the American Western frontier and his experiences there, along with some of the stories he heard about the lawless days of the area. The article includes drawings by Frederic Remington.
Denver Public Library
1893-06
In its preliminary report on the proposal to designate portions of Theodore Roosevelt National Memorial Park as wilderness areas, the National Park Service finds that most of the north unit of the park is suitable for wilderness designation, while the south unit is unsuitable due to existing developments, intensive visitor use, and private mineral rights interests. The report includes background on the park and the surrounding area, including physical and historical details.
Denver Public Library
1970-09
The document outlines the history of Medora, North Dakota, since its founding in 1883 by French nobleman Antoine Amédée Marie Vincent Manca de Vallombrosa Morès and his wife, Medora von Hoffman, after whom the town is named. The significance of the cattle industry in the town is highlighted and prominent men associated with Medora, such as Theodore Roosevelt and the poet James W. Foley, are also noted. A map of Medora is included. On the map, an arrow notes the location of a hearing.
Denver Public Library
Unknown
This postcard includes a portrait of Theodore Roosevelt in his Rough Rider uniform. The back of the card describes Roosevelt’s role in the Spanish-American War.
1901-1907
Howard Eaton had to return to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to see his ailing mother. She passed away on February 9. They have had good winters in North Dakota but the range has become hardened. Commissioner Roosevelt has 350 to 400 cattle and sold half his horses. Sylvane M. Ferris and Arthur William Merrifield live at the old camp and intend to sell their stock this year. Joseph A. Ferris is still tending his store but will likely close soon. Eaton hopes to return to Idaho this fall for another hunting trip.
State Historical Society of North Dakota
1890-03-10
Howard Eaton broke his leg a month ago and has been in St. Luke’s Hospital in New York City. The cattle business is doing well and Eaton has heard that the hunting has been good. Theodore Roosevelt sold 500 cattle and intends to bring in Texas steers this year. Eaton concludes with updates on many people from the Medora, Dakota Territory, area.
State Historical Society of North Dakota
1889-01-09
Howard Eaton updates William Wingate Sewall on his recent activities. He brought in 500 steers from Texas and spent three weeks on a Killdeer Mountain roundup. Eaton also had a successful hunting trip to Idaho.
State Historical Society of North Dakota
1890-01-07
The weather has been fair recently but previous “sharp weather” killed many cattle and “everybody is blue as a whetstone.” At least the losses should stop the big herds from Texas. Medora, Dakota Territory, is “very dead.” A. T. Packard lost everything in a fire and moved back east. The saloon also burnt down and Joseph A. Ferris’s store had a close call. Howard Eaton is glad that William Wingate Sewall is well and he wishes he could join Sewall for some “hunting, fishing, eating apples and drinking cider.”
State Historical Society of North Dakota
1887-02-26
Since he last wrote, William Wingate Sewall has a new son. Mary Alice Sherman Sewall and the boy are doing well. There are 250 cows on the ranch and, even though some of them do not have calves, their herd is doing the best out of any along the Little Missouri River.
State Historical Society of North Dakota
1886-08-07