Theodore Roosevelt's Ranch Life And The Hunting-Trail

Theodore Roosevelt describes what the Western part of the United States is like in his book Ranch Life and the Hunting-Trail. He states that” the whole region is one vast stretch of grazing country, with only here and there spots of farmland, in most places there being nothing more like agriculture than is implied in the cutting of some tons of wild hay or the planting of a garden patch for home use” (Roosevelt, 1). Roosevelt describes the West as being one big vas area of land with hills and plenty of room for animals to graze, and people to come settle down. He also mentions how one can walk for awhile trying to find the perfect place to settle down that is suitable for winter and summer months but it is almost impossible to do so people
just keep searching until they find something. I have mostly learned that the West was a chance for people to start over so many immigrants came here to look for work, but what most people did not realize was the tough geography of the West that makes it hard to grow crops year-round with factors such as a drought or soil erosion. Roosevelt envisioned most men in the West as cowboys who helped start up towns and know the territory well.
He says “they are as hardy and self-reliant as any men who ever breathed-with bronzed, set faces, and keen eyes that look all the world straight in the face without flinching as they flash out from under the broad-brimmed hats. Peril and hardship, and years of long toil broken by weeks of brutal dissipation, draw haggard lines across their eager faces, but never dim their reckless eyes nor break their bearing of defiant self-confidence” (Roosevelt, 9). Roosevelt is describing all the features of cowboys that make people them seem very masculine and strong. Today we think of masculinity as a man who is strong, and does not let anything affect his character so Roosevelt is portraying this by stating how they still have a lot of self-confidence because they did not let hardships bring them down. Also, Roosevelt mentions Native Americans a lot in his book, and he says that they are still the same since they have not changed their way of life. He also says that many Indian populations are declining from death that has to do with white settlers taking their land and fighting them in wars. Once the buffalo were gone from the West the Indians vanished with them because that is what they depended on for food so they had to finish another source somewhere else. Roosevelt does say that the Indians were fearless, generous, hospitable, and bold. Overall, they are portrayed in a
positive way but Roosevelt does recount the negative effects of the war with white settlers and how it has affected them. Roosevelt’s account supports the romanticizing of the West by describing how it is a beautiful wide area of land that has plenty of room for people on the crowded East coast to get some much-needed space. He describes cowboys as masculine men that roam the West and start small towns for them to settle. He thinks people have very little to fear in the West compared to the East coast if they mind their own business. He makes it seem like an inviting and wonderful place to move to with his very descriptive details of the landscape. This is what I have learned about the West as well but I know there are other factors that can make life no so pleasant there.

Works Cited
Roosevelt, Theodore. Ranch Life and the Hunting-Trail.