Welcome to part two of our series for Gina President looking at the time that Teddy Roosevelt spent in the Dakota Badlands

Where he played a cowboy he arrested both thieves and he did all manner of things that he claimed later made him the man that he was

In last episode we looked at some of those things that he was able to accomplish later in his life such as being shot in the chess in

1912 and then being able to go on and deliver a speech for 90 minutes

In this episode we're going to be looking at the run up to events that caused him to move out to the Badlands in the first place

The first major event is what he called the day the light went out and it happened in 1844

It began when Theodore Roosevelt was clutching two telegrams and shifting uncomfortably in a train

He was leaning forward tapping his foot and trying to hurry on the frustratingly slow seam engine

Roosevelt was a man at the time in his life with a lot going for him

He had a beautiful wife a new baby and a brilliant political career ahead of him

Also the patronage and wealth of an aristocratic family

But all this seemed in danger the young assembly man from Albany was making his way

145 miles south of Manhattan whereas wife and his mother both lay dying on a clear day

The train ride from Albany to Manhattan took five hours

But a heavy fog had been hovering over New York for days seeming to pretend what lay ahead for him

Teddy Roosevelt tapped his foot impatiently and stared in the telegram

You have a baby girl

Congratulations

But the second telegram told a different story

Come at once

Mother and Alice gravely ill

The light went out for Roosevelt that day as he ran for the train

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