A Good One on Roosevelt
If the French people believe all
they read in their newspapers they will imbibe some odd ideas regarding
the new President of the United States. Here is a sample translated
from an article in one of the illustrated weeklies: “Theodore Roosevelt,
or ‘Teddy, the Terrible,’ as he was known among his wild comrades
on the plains of Northwestern America, is a man of the people, rough
and ready. Of humble origin (his father was a settler on the plains
and lived in a one-story hut) he has risen by sheer merit to the
proud position he now occupies. From early boyhood he was accustomed
to the use of the rifle, often using the weapon in defense of his
home against the fierce assaults of the Indians. At an early age
he left home to live the life of a cowboy. Hundreds of men have
fallen victims to his skill with a repeating rifle, but Roosevelt
himself, in all his encounters, has never received a scratch, a
fact which some attribute to the constant wearing next his heart
of an old charm, presented by a gypsy woman many years ago. This
charm is a bear’s tooth set in solid gold, and the President of
the American republic is never without it. On this account, it is
said, he has no fear of assassination, and has often remarked that
no bullet could have any effect on him. Even his elevation to the
high office of President, it is freely predicted, will not deter
Mr. Roosevelt from indulging in his former pleasures of the chase,
and it is probable that when Government business lags he will often
take a run out in Ohio, or even farther west, for a little buffalo
hunting.”
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