Inmate's Letter to T.R.

New treasures are being uncovered everyday That s the word from the Theodoore Roosevelt Center at andamp lt a href andamp quot http www kxnet com t dickinson-state-university andamp quot class andamp quot kxInlineLinkandamp quot andamp gt Dickinson State Universityandamp lt aandamp gt Over 250-thousand documents are being digitized from the Library of Congress Many are historic gemslike a letter recently found that is a major part of Roosevelt s legacy in andamp lt a href andamp quot http www kxnet com t north-dakotaandamp quot class andamp quot kxInlineLinkandamp quot andamp gt North Dakotaandamp lt aandamp gt It s a new wrinkle to a legendary Roosevelt story But lets start from the beginning A crime takes place near Roosevelt s Elkhorn Ranch Thieves steal a boat he has tied up on the shores of the Little andamp lt a href andamp quot http www kxnet com t missouri-riverandamp quot class andamp quot kxInlineLinkandamp quot andamp gt Missouri Riverandamp lt aandamp gt Despite long oddsRoosevelt decides he must track them down 36 28 This was one of Roosevelt s favorite stories to tell later in life how he apprehended the thieves and walked them to justice 36 35 The thieves have a six day head start But on the third day of searchingRoosevelts arrests the men near the mouth of Cherry Creek He then marches them 50 miles from northwest of andamp lt a href andamp quot http www kxnet com t killdeer-ndandamp quot class andamp quot kxInlineLinkandamp quot andamp gt Killdeerandamp lt aandamp gt to Dickinson through brutally cold conditions to justice This photo shows Roosevelt arresting the men responsible One of them is notorious horse thief Read Headed Mike Finnegan That s where the new discovery comes into the story It s this letter written from a jailed Finnegan to Rooseveltdated Sunday 1887from the penitentiary in andamp lt a href andamp quot http www kxnet com t bismarck-ndandamp quot class andamp quot kxInlineLinkandamp quot andamp gt Bismarckandamp lt aandamp gt Finnegan says andamp quot I say two myself that is was all for the best the lessons that I have learned I shall never forget andamp quot But he also wants to clear something up 43 59 who writes to Roosevelt from the penitentiary and says you might misunderstand me I m not such a bad guy I come from a pretty good family and I didn t mean steal your boat but my boat was leaking and if I d have known it was your boat I might not have done it and maybe you can help me get a reprieve because I m not a hardened criminal 44 15 The letter ends with a PS Finnegan tells Roosevelt if he gets to Bismarck to andamp quot make a call to the prison I should be glad to meet you andamp quot It s not known if Roosevelt ever responded The letter was found as DSU begins to build its one of a kind Roosevelt Center 42 56And we have completed the first phase of digitizing 485 reels of Roosevelt s papers that s 250-thousand documents 600-thousand discreet images and were beginning to absorb those 43 10 were in negotiations with Harvard University to digitize their immense collection of Roosevelt papers photographs cartoons scrapbooks and other things 43 17 Jenkinson says people will be able to log on from all over the world to the Roosevelt Center at DSU to help create a new era of Roosevelt studies When all is said and doneit could amount from a half million to a million documents never before seen They ll begin andamp quot dumpingandamp quot in thousands of documents to the website in the next few weeks You can check them outalong with lots of other informationat www theodorerooseveltcenter org I should mention its a site for all ages Do you have a Wii Kids will be able to log on and dress up these Roosevelt characters to take on a variety of adventures