't you telegraph me at once if war
becomes inevitable? Out here things are so much behindhand
that I might not hear of things for a week. I have not the
least idea there will be any trouble, but as my chances of
doing anything in the future worth doing seem to grow
continually smaller, I intend to grasp at every opportunity
that turns up. The cowboys were all eager for war, not
caring much with whom. They were fond of adventure and to
tell the truth [as Roosevelt wrote later], they were by no
means averse to the prospect of plunder. News from the
outside world came to us very irregularly, and often in
distorted form, so that we began to think we might get
involved in a conflict not only with Mexico, but with
England also. One evening at my ranch the men began talking
over English soldiers, so I got down "Napier" and read them
several extracts from his descriptions of the fighting in
the Spanish peninsula, also recounting as well as I could
the great deeds of the British cavalry from Waterloo to
Balaklava, and finishing up by describing from memory the
fine appearance, the magnificent equipment, and the superb
horses of the Household Cavalry and of a regiment of hussars
I had once seen.

All of this produced much the same effect on my listeners
that the sight of Marmion's cavalcade produced in the minds
of the Scotch moss-troopers on the eve of Flodden; and at
the end, one of them, who had been looking into the fire and
rubbing his hands together, said, with regretful emphasis,
"Oh, how I _would_ like to kill one of them!"

Roosevelt went to Bismarck and found the Territorial Governor friendly
to his project.

Hon. Theodore Roosevelt, of New York, the famous statesman,
ranchman, and hunter [runs the story in the Bismarck
_Tribune_], has been making inquiries since the announcement
of the Mexican difficulties as to the available volunteer
troops in the Northwest, and in the event of action being
required, it is confidently believed Mr. Roosevelt would
tender to the Government the services of an entire regiment
of cowboys, under his command. At a recent visit here he was
assured of two companies of Dakota cowboys to accompany
him. Mr. Roosevelt has been the captain of a company of
militia in New York, and no better man could be fo