In the spring of 1903, President Teddy Roosevelt embarked on his much-delayed and much-anticipated rail tour of the American West. He was to travel 14,000 miles over 8 weeks, visiting 25 states and an estimated 150 towns and cities, where he would make over 200 speeches. His “Western trek,” as he called it, included stops at Yellowstone, the Grand Canyon, and Yosemite. He couldn’t wait to get away from the stress of politics in Washington.
On May 3, Teddy attended a church service in the cowtown of Sharon Springs, Kansas. Teddy recounted that day to reporters:
“There were two very nice little girls standing in the aisle beside me. I invited them in and we all three sang out of the same hymn book. They were in their Sunday best and their brown sunburned little arms and faces had been scrubbed till they almost shone.
…When church was over, I shook hands with the three preachers and all the congregation, whose buggies, ranch wagons, and dispirited-looking saddle ponies were tied to everything available in the village. I got a ride myself in the afternoon, and on returning, found that all the population that had not left had gathered solemnly around the train.”
The townspeople of Sharon Springs had never seen anything like Teddy’s train. Six “gleaming private cars” made up the length of it. “First, a baggage car; then the Atlantic, a club car heavy with wood and leather, plus a fully-equipped barbershop; then the Gilsey diner, stocked with champagne and cigars; then the Senegal, a big Pullman carrying reporters, photographers, telegraphers, and Secret Service men; then the Texas, a compartmental sleeper for White House staff, and any guests Roosevelt might ask to ride along.
“Last came the President’s own Elysian, seventy feet of solid mahogany, velvet plush, and sinkingly-deep furniture. It had two sleeping chambers with brass bedsteads, two tiled bathrooms, a private kitchen run by the Pennsylvania Railroad’s star chef, a dining room, a stateroom, with picture windows, and an airy rear platform for whistle-stop speeches.” (1)
Back to Teddy’s recollection:
Teddy gave the little girls flowers and a silver-and-gold medal he had been presented in Chicago. (1) He named the two-week old badger Josiah – “Josh” for short – and installed the animal on the well-ventilated front platform of the Elysian. As the presidential train continued westward, Teddy would hand-feed the badger cut-up potatoes and milk. At train stops, he would show his new prize to schoolchildren, and point out the white stripe that ran down his back. As the journey continued, Josh was joined by two bears, a lizard, a horned toad, and a horse. (1)Among the [crowd gathered on the train platform] was a little girl who asked me if I would like a baby badger which she said her brother Josiah had just caught. I said I would, and an hour or two later, the badger turned up from the little girl’s father’s ranch…The little girl had several other little girls with her, all in clean starched Sunday clothes and ribbon-tied pigtails. One of them was the sheriff’s daughter, and I saw her nudging the sheriff, trying to make some request, which he refused. So I asked what it was and I found that the seven little girls were exceedingly anxious to see the inside of my [train] car, and accordingly I took them all in. The interior arrangements struck them as being literally palatial….”
When the president returned to the White House, Josh was added to the family’s assortment of pets. But he soon began to hiss like a teakettle and nip at guests’ ankles, so he was donated to the Bronx Zoo.
(1) Morris, Edmund. Theodore Rex. New York: Random House, Inc., 2001.
Lisa, I have the large print of Theodore Roosevelt ‘ s family. This picture hung in my great-grandmothers house for years, so I am sure this is a orignal print. My question is this, do you know who I could contact to find out if this print is worth any thing .
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This black and white image is available from the United States Library of Congress’s Prints and Photographs Division under the digital ID cph.3c13665
It shows Pres. and Mrs. Theodore Roosevelt seated on lawn, surrounded by their family; 1903. From left to right: Quentin, Theodore Sr., Theodore Jr., Archie, Alice, Kermit, Edith, and Ethel.
The colorized version comes from a postcard of later vintage. Visit http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:TheodoreRooseveltFamily.jpg
You could contact someone who buys and sells TR photos such as this company to check out the value of your photo:
http://www.mcmahanphoto.com/prco-presidents-tr.html
TR is fascinating. Check out his wikipedia site.
Thanks for visiting! Keep coming back.
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what happened to TR’s train car the Elysian? After a little research online I have struck out in locating it.
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Try calling Harvard; they have a TR collection and they might be able to direct your search:
Wallace Finley Dailey
Houghton Library
Harvard University
Cambridge, MA 02138
(617) 384-7938
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According to a book “Teddy Roosevelt in California: The Whistle Stop Tour That Changed America” the car Elysian was scrapped in the early 1950’s.
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I have a signed book by Theodore Roosevelt. There were 9 copies prepared for private circulation. The president received #1 and I have the 4th signed copy. The title of the book is “The President and The people 1903. It describes his 14,000 mile journey from ocean to ocean. It also has speeches he made along the way. There are several numbered speeches and stamped hold until release M.E. Stone, Gen MGR.
The President and the people 1903
After researching this book that was given to me, this is what I found. There were nine copies of the book prepared for private circulation. The President received the 1st copy. The account of the journey are typescript: Roosevelt speeches are printed. “Arrangements for publication of the book by Edwin O. Grover, according to a note laid in the volume.’’ This is according to the University of Michigan who has book #7.
In researching this book I found that The book The President and The People 1903 was used to write “Roosevelt Among The People’’ by Addison C. Thomas and the publisher was The L.W. Walter Company in Chicago 1910.
#4 Stan P.
#7 University of Michigan
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I was wondering where you found this story about Sharon Springs, KS? I currently teach in Sharon Springs and am doing a small restoration project for our Ft. Wallace Museum and happened upon this site. I have never heard the story about the little girl and the badger. I was thinking about adding it to some of the information we have in the display about his visit to Sharon Springs, so I was just wondering if I could get the source where you found this.
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(1) Morris, Edmund. Theodore Rex. New York: Random House, Inc., 2001.
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I believe I saw the badger (stuffed of course) at Sagamore Hill, Oyster Bay, NY (TR’s home).
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There is indeed a stuffed badger at Sagamore Hill. It is on display to represent Josiah the badger, but it is not the same animal. I was once a park ranger in the home. The badger helped to represent the menagerie that lived at Sagamore Hill including (off the top of my head) a macaw named Eli Yale (favorite of TR Jr), an emerald snake named Emily Spinach (owned by eldest daughter Alice) and a pony named Algonquin who was taken up an elevator in the White House to visit an ailing youngest Quentin Roosevelt. Josiah was a favorite of Archie Roosevelt. While Josiah eventually went to the zoo, he stayed with the family long enough to get quite large, as can be seen in photos of Archie holding Josiah in his arms.
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