Ranch Life And The Hunting-Trail.

THEODORE ROOSEVELT

Publication: The Century Co, 1888, New York

First edition. Large quarto. Original elaborate gilt pictorial cloth stamped in green and gold on the front cover (first state), [i-x], 186 pp., [p.187- vignette], frontispiece, illustrated by Frederic Remington, all edges gilt. This is Roosevelt's first book on his life as both a rancher and hunter in the West, and his first collaboration in book form with Frederic Remington, Roosevelt's friend. A splendid account of ranching and ranch life in the Dakotas in the 1880s, and an early Remington illustrated book. Offers accounts of roundups, cattle drives, branding, horses, camp life, and Roosevelt's relationships with the ranch hands and other residents of the frontier. Six Score 93 says, "Roosevelt describes western ranching generally and his own experiences in the Dakota Badlands in particular. A New Yorker drawn by the cattle boom, Roosevelt developed a love of the West he never lost. He was prominent in the Little Missouri Stockman's Association, and was apparently respected as a cowman despite his origins. The illustrations by Remington are excellent." Also offers information on Roosevelt's hunting experiences ... his pursuing buffalo, elk, deer, antelope, bighorn sheep, mountain lions, and other Western game, along with the realities of hunting in the rugged Badlands .. riding long distances, camping in the open, following tracks, dealing with weather and difficult terrain, and relying on horses and guides. A near fine, bright, clean copy in a transparent dust jacket, housed in a slipcase with a leather spine label and titles stamped in gilt. An uncommonly scarce Remington item, especially in the first state of the binding.