Second Cup 4

Theodore Roosevelt’s first home in the West, a small
hunting lodge called Maltese Cross Cabin, sits just behind the
visitor center. With no one around, I spent some time exploring
the cabin; I walked where Roosevelt once walked and enjoyed
the views as he once did. Before arriving at the park, I knew
nothing of Theodore Roosevelt’s time in the West and the
important influence his experiences here would have on him
and the nation. He later said, "I would not have been president
had it not been for my experience in North Dakota."
Roosevelt first came to the Dakota Territory in 1883 to hunt
bison. The skinny, bespectacled young man became enamored
with the cowboy life and bought a small ranch. He hired a ranch
manager, constructed this one-and-a-half story cabin of
ponderosa pine logs, and bought a herd of cattle. His ranch