A hunter I am not, but these two writings by Teddy Roosevelt are a wonderful read for those who love the outdoors, nature and the remoteness of wild areas that are dwindling at such a rapid pace if not already gone in most places.

T.R. was a keen observer of his surroundings and the animals which inhabited these lands. His writing style is highly contagious. The reader is with him every step of the way whether it is in the prairie, up the mountain, in the valleys or deserts chasing deer, antelope, elk, bear, and cougar or simply gallivanting in the countryside during the 1880's.

Adventures were many in the Dakotas, Wyoming, Montana and all points west. Broken bones and bruises were commonplace to our future twenty-sixth president but the man was as tough as nails. Although he mostly hunted for food, he did occasionally hunt for trophy game.
The man absolutely admired the wilderness and it shows when he put pen to paper. His conservation efforts are still with us today.

Many people think the openness of the west is nothing but desolate, empty nothingness. It's all in how you perceive "nothing" to better appreciate the value of space.

The prose of TR takes me back to a time in America, a time before my own, but a time that I so wish I could have experienced in the saddle alongside TR. While the prose may be somewhat dated, as an avid reader and author I find it refreshing and relaxing. I use the present tense of the verb because I never seem to tire of reading and reading TR's sagas of life on the plains and the pursuit of big game. Today such pursuit is mostly for sport and I am but one of many who enjoy this great adventure, even to its fullest. Life on his ranch in the Badlands however required such pursuit for sustinence and as such required patience and persistance in far greater excess than many of us today possess. Many who choose to pursue elk, mule deer or antelope could do far worse than to read and absorb the lessons of one of the great plainsmen of history.