Hunting Trips of a Ranchman: Sketches of Sport on the Northern Cattle Plains [Hardcover]

Theodore Roosevelt (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1940

This is a pre-1923 historical reproduction that was curated for quality. Quality assurance was conducted on each of these books in an attempt to remove books with imperfections introduced by the digitization process. Though we have made best efforts - the books may have occasional errors that do not impede the reading experience. We believe this work is culturally important and have elected to bring the book back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. This text refers to the Bibliobazaar edition.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

It's no secret that America's most bully president was also its most bully outdoorsman and conservationist; what's often forgotten was how beautifully and authoritatively he wrote about the wilderness and his considerable experiences there. These two pre-White House narratives--Ranchman was originally published in 1885, Wilderness Hunter eight years later--are rich and vivid. The former chronicles Roosevelt's sojourns in the Dakota Badlands; the latter is an extended love letter to the pleasures and challenges of outdoor life. So what if some of his 19th-century ideas seem politically incorrect by the standards of the next century--magnificent prose is still magnificent prose. "Nowhere, not even at sea," writes the future First Hunter in one haunting passage, "does a man feel more lonely than when riding over the far-reaching seemingly never-ending plains ... [but] after a man has lived a little while on or near them, their very vastness and loneliness and their melancholy monotony have a strong fascination for him." By comparison, the isolation and weight of the Oval Office must have seemed like an afternoon stroll in the park. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

From the Inside Flap

Written during his days as a ranchman in the Dakota Bad Lands, these two wilderness tales by Theodore Roosevelt endure today as part of the classic folklore of the West. The narratives provide vivid portraits of the land as well as the people and animals that inhabited it, underscoring Roosevelt's abiding concerns as a naturalist.

Originally published in 1885, Hunting Trips of a Ranchman chronicles Roosevelt's adventures tracking a twelve-hundred-pound grizzly bear in the pine forests of the Bighorn Mountains.  Yet some of the best sections are those in which Roosevelt muses on the beauty of the Bad Lands and the simple pleasures of ranch life.  The British Spectator said the book "could claim an honorable place on the same shelf as Walton's Compleat Angler."  The Wilderness Hunter, which came out in 1893, remains perhaps the most detailed account of the grizzly bear ever recorded.   Introduction by Stephen E. Ambrose. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 347 pages
• Publisher: Irvington Pub (June 1940)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0839817630
• ISBN-13: 978-0839817635
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #9,466,773 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Essays on animals and hunting trips by the future President, July 29, 2000

By 

Michael Green "mrclay2000" (OKLAHOMA CITY, OK United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Hunting Trips of a Ranchman & The Wilderness Hunter (Paperback)

Roosevelt purchased two cattle ranches in present-day western North Dakota, and many times went out to hunt for sport or for "meat for the pot."

Hunting Trips of a Ranchman in effect provides essays on the description, behavior, habitat, and survival of several species known to the prairies and the distant forests and mountain ranges. He talks of wildfowl (grouse, etc), elk, buffalo, pronghorn antelope, bighorn sheep, white-tailed deer, black-tailed or mule deer, and finishes with Old Ephraim, the grizzly bear. All of these books are good for armchair readers who have never been to the western wildernesses or prairies, where these animals can be viewed with perseverance and patience.

Roosevelt speaks of elk as the most noble of the deer family and perhaps the most majestic of all animals (which I tend to agree). He speaks of the incredible speed but also remarkable (and sometimes fatal) curiosity of the pronghorn, who are able to outrun any foes and keep in the open to see them at long distance with their excellent vision. However, they run in a straight line to provide a fairly consistent target for a good marksmen. He speaks of the enjoyable hunting of both kinds of deer, the difficulty of approaching the haunts of the bighorn, and his big finale, one of the best accounts of hunting grizzlies that I have ever read. Roosevelt's respect for the bear's ferocity is manifest, almost amounting to an admitted dread, which shows his good sense.

If you are interested in the American wild, are curious about the habits and habitats of these large species, and are drawn to the hunting and outdoor mentality of the President who helped strengthen the national park system, this will be an entertaining read for you.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful Collection of Short Stories, October 23, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Hunting Trips of a Ranchman & The Wilderness Hunter (Paperback)

This collection of Roosevelt's hunting trips and adventures puts you right out there with him, on the wild plains. The clarity of his descriptions and the easy way he takes you through his experiences has made this one of the most enjoyable books I have ever read. If you enjoy the wilderness, stories about the old west or just relaxing with a good book, this is a great choice.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting look at key point & place in US history, October 13, 1999

By 

Martin J. Rooney (Boston MA, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Hunting Trips of a Ranchman & The Wilderness Hunter (Paperback)

I enjoyed these books very much. They give an excellent overview not only of the flora and fauna of the north plains in the late 1800s, but also an interesting perspective on the people of the place and TR. The only drawback was the writing was a bit dated, and the two books were a bit overlapping in subject. Nonetheless, highly recommended to anyone interested in the outdoors, US history, and/or TR.