Before he got through at Albany he learned that no man could be a fearless leader whose moral character was weak. Another lesson he learned was that a man must act in office as if he were never to hold another. He was elected three times to the assembly and made a name for himself in fighting bad laws and demanding good ones.
Often lived life of cowboy on ranches
187. Western Life. After this, Roosevelt spent a number of years in the great Northwest. These years added to his strength and helped him become finely developed both physically and morally. In the time he spent on the ranches of this wild region and on a Dakota ranch of his own, he lived as a cowboy. He was a young man then, and with all the enthusiasm of youth he hunted the big game of the Rockies, rode the "bucking broncho," and slept with his saddle for a pillow in the "round-up."
This life tested courage as well as endurance, but Roosevelt was equal to the test. One day a drunken fellow with pistols in his belt ordered him to treat the crowd. Roosevelt knocked him down and took his guns from him.
Law enforcement under difficulties
Another time a boat was stolen, and Roosevelt, with two other men, started down the river in pursuit. They caught the three thieves, but an ice jam prevented them from going farther. Through days of bitter cold the whole party followed the slowly moving jam. After while there was nothing left to eat but bread made with the brown river water. But Roosevelt was a deputy sheriff. He was determined to punish the lawbreakers.
Finally provisions and a wagon were found. Leaving his men, Roosevelt started with his prisoners on a two-days' overland trip. He had a driver, but he himself tramped through the mud with his gun, behind the wagon. At last after a one hundred and fifty mile trip, the lawbreakers were landed in jail.
Wins admiration of West
In this big young country where bravery and manliness meant so much, the people thought there was no one like him.