The Wilderness Warrior - Douglas Brinkley [377]
On April 5, as arranged, Roosevelt’s train arrived in the hamlet of Frederick, Oklahoma. Armed lawmen had the crowd of curiosity seekers under proper control. There was little chance of trouble. A grandstand had been built for the once-in-a-lifetime visit, with patriotic props in place. Wild cheers erupted when the president disembarked from his railroad car, waving his Stetson. About 5,000 to 6,000 people constituted the welcome committee. They came from Fort Sill–Lawton and west from Altus, from north of Hobart and south from Wichita Falls, Texas. Ranchers, farmers, and merchants had dropped whatever they were doing to come hear Roosevelt speak in the middle of nowhere. About twenty deputies patrolled Frederick, making sure that no troublemakers would disrupt the picture-perfect day. In particular, they kept a close eye on Indians. “The next time I come to Oklahoma,” Roosevelt said at the outset, to a roar of approval, “I trust I will come to a State.”36
Abernathy was sitting on his horse, Sam Bass, soaking in Roosevelt’s oratory. Accompanying Roosevelt were Colonel Lyon, Burnett, Waggoner, the former Rough Rider Bill Fortesque, Lieutenant General S. B. M. Young, Quanah (with three wives and a baby), Dr. Lambert, and the Rough Rider physician Sloan Simpson.37 There were also a few Texas Rangers. The hunt was going to be like a caravan in the Sahara. The main worry for local planners was Roosevelt’s notorious reckless riding (in October 1904 he had been thrown from his horse and received a serious injury).38 In the open space of the Twin Territories, T.R. was bound to let loose, galloping his horse’s hooves into prairie dog homes with disastrous results.
According to the Frederick Enterprise, President Roosevelt spoke boldly about building the Panama Canal and pleaded to be left alone by curiosity seekers while he was on his hunt. “Now I want four days’ play,” Roosevelt said. “I hear you have plenty of jack rabbits and coyotes here. I like my citizens, but don’t like them on a coyote hunt. Give me a fair deal to have as much fun as even a President is entitled to.” 39 The Washington Post ran a huge front-page headline: “President in Wild.” The reporter wrote that the elusive jackrabbits and coy wolves had better watch out: “The distinguished party of hunters will have plenty of elbow room. The whole Territory is theirs for the asking, but the programme is to confine the hunt to the tract of land thirty-six miles square leased by Capt. Burnett from the Kiowa and Comanche tribes.”40
The scenes of Roosevelt’s first acquaintance with Abernathy in Frederick became legendary in The Washington Post, the New York Times, and elsewhere—the two men shared a boyish predilection for nineteenth-century romance and adventure, and an abiding love of wild things. When Roosevelt spied Abernathy on horseback in Frederick, a wide smile crossed his face. “You look like a man who could catch a wolf,” Roosevelt said, shaking Abernathy’s hand. “I want to congratulate you, for I know you are going to do what Colonel Lyon says you can do.” Given his interest in coyotes (or gray wolves), Roosevelt was utterly fascinated by Abernathy’s techniques for catching them. Would the wolves do a somersault when tackled? Did every bite hurt and require stitches? But mostly Roosevelt was baffled by why the wolves became so submissive. “I can’t quite understand just all about this yet,” Roosevelt said to Abernathy.
“Well, Mr. President,” Abernathy responded, “you must remember that a wolf never misses its aim when it snaps. When I strike at a wolf with my right hand, I know it is going into the wolf’s mouth. I believe I could shut my eyes and do what you see me do, for I have caught two wolves in my life in inky darkness. However, I prefer not to shut my eyes.”41
What Roosevelt came to understand was that Abernathy simply out dominated the wolves. In all coyote or wolf packs a dominant member was genetically predisposed to force the others to submit; usually the conquered