you of the death of one of your most devoted
troopers, Bert Holderman, who was here serving on the Grand Jury. He
was stricken with meningitis in the jury-room, and died after three
days of delirium. His father, who was twice wounded, four times
taken prisoner, and fought in thirty-two battles of the civil war,
now old and feeble, survives him, and it was indeed pathetic to see
his grief. Bert's mother, who is a Cherokee, was raised in my
grandfather's family. The words of commendation which you wrote upon
Bert's discharge are the greatest comfort to his friends. They wanted
you to know of his death, because he loved you so.

"I am planning to entertain all the Rough Riders in this vicinity
some evening during my holiday vacation. I mean to have no other
guests, but only give them an opportunity for reminiscences. I regret
that Bert's death makes one less. I had hoped to have them sooner,
but our struggling young college salaries are necessarily small and
duties arduous. I make a home for my widowed mother and an adopted
Indian daughter, who is in school; and as I do the cooking for a
family of five, I have found it impossible to do many things I would
like to.

"Pardon me for burdening you with these details, but I suppose I am
like your boys, who say, 'The Colonel was always as ready to listen
to a private as to a major-general.'

"Wishing you and yours the very best gifts the season can bring, I am,

"Very truly yours,
"ALICE M. ROBERTSON."

Is it any wonder that I loved my regiment?

APPENDIX A

MUSTER-OUT ROLL

[Owing to the circumstances of the regiment's service, the paperwork
was very difficult to perform. This muster-out roll is very defective
in certain points, notably in the enumeration of the wounded who had
been able to return to duty. Some of the dead are also undoubtedly
passed over. Thus I have put in Race Smith, Sanders, and Tiffany as
dead, correcting the rolls; but there are doubtless a number of
similar corrections which should be made but have not been, as the
regiment is now scattered far and wide. I have also corrected the
record for the wounded men in one or two places where I happen to
remember it; but there are a number of the wounded, especially the
slightly wounded, who are not down at all.]

FIELD, STAFF, AND BAND COLONEL THEODORE ROOSEVELT