The Triumphant Life of Theodore Roosevelt edited by J. Martin Miller

GETTING CLOSE TO THE PEOPLE 47
of the Western States and Territories, and enjoyed a world
of curious experiences and the happiness of again seeing
that the people loved and respected him. Part of this trip
was spent in Yellowstone Park. After visiting most of the
Northwestern States, the Park was reached about the middle
of April. The ground in the Park was nearly all covered
with snow and ice, but the President lived out in the open
most of the time with the army officers stationed there and
with John Burroughs, the great naturalist. Burroughs knows
something of all the animals and birds in the world, and while
on his daily trips with the President through Yellowstone
Park he explained a great deal about the life and history of
the animals abounding there. The President's health was
greatly recuperated by the stay in Yellowstone Park, notwith-
standing the severity of the weather and despite the fact that
at times the riding horse of Mr. Roosevelt waded through
snow up to his flanks. The President's arduous work of the
winter had greatly depleted his energies, and the sojourn in
this vicinity was unusually valuable to him.
THE GREAT WHITE FATHER
Leaving Yellowstone Park the latter part of April, the
President went through the Dakotas, Nebraska, Missouri and
Kansas. From St. Louis he moved westward at a fast clip.
In Arizona he spent a day in the Grand Canyon, and in New
Mexico he visited many places of historic interest. All
through these Territories the Indians vied with the white citi-
zens in paying respect to the President, presenting him with
blankets, hides and various other trinkets. From the begin-
ning of his administration no president has had the good will
of the Indians so freely and fully as Mr. Roosevelt. They often
visit him at the White House and grin with huge satisfaction