Following the wolf hunt in 1905, President Theodore
Roosevelt was so impressed with Jack Abernathy’s
courage and skill at capturing wolves with his bare hands that he named
him U.S. Marshal for the western district of Oklahoma Territory. During
the next few years Teddy and Jack formed a close friendship until Teddy’s
death in 1919. The publisher’s theory is that the president greatly
admired Jack for his courage, pioneer spirit and for his love, appreciation
and knowledge of nature. To Teddy, a large family was the most admirable
contribution that a citizen could make to his country – Jack and
his wife Jessie Pearl had produced six children by the time they were
31 and 29 years respectively. The two men also had in common the fact
that both had lost their wives to illness at an early age.
Theodore Roosevelt was somewhat of a mentor
to Jack, introducing him to many of the famous men of the day, including
Mark Twain, Jack London, O’Henry, Thomas Edison, Andrew
Carnegie,
Alexander Graham Bell, Frederick Remington, and many, if not all members
of his cabinet, to name just a few. Like so many of Teddy’s other
friends and associates, Jack was invited to go on fast walks around
Rock Creek Park, and even sparred with the President on occasion.
Theodore also encouraged Jack to film a recreation
of the wolf hunt which he did in 1908, in the Wichita Reserve of southwestern
Oklahoma. Roosevelt had already introduced Jack to Thomas Edison for
that purpose. The film, shot in 1908, was shown at the White House
on several occasions to members of the cabinet and other invited guests.
Many reported that it was the best movie ever shown during Roosevelt’s
administration. The movie was even shown at Annapolis and West Point
to the cadets.
Theodore Roosevelt – Quotations
“The joy of living is his
who has the heart to demand it.”
“In life as in football, the
principal to follow is: hit the line hard; don’t foul, and don't
shirk, but hit the line hard.”
“Life is a great adventure,
and the worst of all fears is the fear of living.”
“Far better it is to dare mighty
things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure,
than to rank with those poor spirits who neither suffer much nor enjoy
much because they live in the gray twilight that knows neither victory
nor defeat.”
