Outdoorsman that he was, Theodore Roosevelt loved a good winter hunting and hiking expedition. The “bitter cold,” as he often described it, seemed to vivify him, even if he did sometimes complain about it. These pictures of Roosevelt were taken in February of 1879, during one of his outings in the North Woods of Maine.
Roosevelt first visited Maine in 1872 at age 13, when he was sent to a summer camp on Moosehead Lake. He found the environment so pleasantly invigorating that he continued to visit regularly throughout his twenties. He first visited Island Falls and the North Woods in 1878, and these would become his favorite destinations. He developed both his body and mind in Maine, engaging not only in hiking and hunting, but also in quiet, private Bible study. Today, the place where he read the Bible is protected as Bible Point State Historic Site.
The two other men pictured are Bill Sewall and Will Dow, Maine lumbermen that Roosevelt met on the 1878 trip and came to admire dearly. “I like these lumbermen very much,” he wrote in his diary on March 9, 1879, “and get on capitally with them - great, rough, hospitable fellows.” He trusted them so much that he would later hire them to build and manage his Elkhorn Ranch in the Badlands of Dakota Territory. The feeling of admiration between Roosevelt, Sewall, and Dow was mutual because Roosevelt was so tenacious. Despite some misgivings – they didn’t know anything about ranching and had concerns about raising cattle in the Badlands – Sewall and Dow threw themselves wholeheartedly into the ranching life. They brought their wives and raised children in the brief few years they were there. They also accompanied Roosevelt on some of his greatest adventures - most notably the pursuit and capture of the boat thieves.
Notice that Roosevelt and the others are wearing snowshoes – Roosevelt’s 1879 visit to Maine was, in fact, the first time he had been snowshoeing. He sometimes found it difficult and tedious in the wet, heavy snow. We know this from his diary, which contains extensive narrative notes about the trip. “The woods looked simply perfect,” he wrote on March 1, “all the evergreens being loaded with snow; I have never seen a grander sight than these northern forests in winter.”
Roosevelt devoted special attention in his diary to describing the birds of the region. He was a lifelong devoted birdwatcher, and although not a professional ornithologist, was as much of an expert as any layman could be. Woodpeckers, chickadees, whiskey jacks, snow buntings, crossbills, grosbeaks as well as the game birds all were noted among the sights and sounds of the expedition.
You can see that Roosevelt had hunted or trapped a rabbit, probably on March 10 when he notes having gotten three of them. Among the other animals he bagged were a porcupine, partridges, grouse, a lynx, a fox, a deer, and a raccoon. The animals were shot for both meat and trophies. They were glad to hunt not only the deer, but plenty of rabbits, as it gave them a respite from the canned pork and beans.
Read Roosevelt’s diary of the trip in our digital library: https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o288505/
See also the Moore Chronology of Roosevelt’s daily life: https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o310993/
Maine was truly a transformative place for TR. I know Isleboro, ME where TR and Edith went to after Quentin's death to visit Ethel and her family was balm to his soul.