Theodore Roosevelt

An asthmatic, thin young man, Roosevelt had first come to the Badlands in 1883 to hunt buffalo. He had approached the hunt in his usual energetic fashion, hiring guide Joe Ferris and then chasing through the wild ravines of the Badlands for two weeks in all sorts of bad weather, until he found and shot a buffalo.

To most men, including Joe Ferris, such a trip of deprivation and danger was unappealing. But to Roosevelt, it was "having fun." Indeed, he enjoyed the Western way of life so much that, before heading back East, he bought a cattle ranch eight miles south of Medora and renamed it the Maltese Cross Ranch.

It was a stricken, inconsolable Roosevelt who returned to the Badlands in 1884. His mother and beloved wife had died within hours of each other, and it left him devastated. Upon his arrival at the Maltese Cross, Roosevelt decided that it was too close to civilization for the solitude he wanted, so he bought another cattle operation, the Elkhorn Ranch, located 35 miles north of Medora.

Legendary Exploits

While he was never classed as an expert cowhand, Roosevelt earned the respect of his peers, who eventually dropped the nickname "Old Four Eyes" and referred to Roosevelt instead as "a fearless bugger," and "not a purty rider but a hell of a good rider." From cattle roundups to hunting big game to chasing criminals in the fierce winter, his exploits and incredible endurance became legendary. Roosevelt's health and physique improved dramatically; his asthma disappeared and he developed a thick-muscled, barrel-chested appearance that astonished his eastern friends and relatives.

Mutual respect - occasional clashes

Occasionally, not even the Badlands had room enough to prevent the clashing of two dynamic, forceful men such as Roosevelt and the Marquis de Mores. They shared mutual respect for each other and the Marquis often entertained Roosevelt with iced champagne at the Chateau, but their interests, especially concerning land rights, did not always coincide.

Roosevelt reinvigorated

In a sense, Medora was a turning point for both men. Roosevelt's time in the Badlands reinvigorated him, and helped him develop the physical and intellectual strengths that would propel him to the White House. According to Roosevelt, "I have always said I would not have been President had it not been for my experience in North Dakota."