Show AJ GEN LEONARD WOOD in his forty ninth year one ot the most picturesque figures in the whole united states army this month assumes the duties of chief of staff ot the army when leonard wood ceased to be a doctor in order to be a soldier he may not have considered the profound difference in philosophic viewpoint ot a profession to keep n en alive and a profession trained to kill them the born adventurer seldom analyzes himself but seeks glory where the world gives it and IE he should chioe brave death in a red coat be bore rore brave life in a black one the responsibility must rest upon society which gives such unequal honors to those who heal and those who slay twelve years ago leonard wood was an assist ant army surgeon today he is the senior gen eral of the states army and chief of staff gen wood is easily the ablest soldier the na tion has produced since the civil war said for mer president roosevelt if we should become involved in war to morrow I 1 don t know where I 1 aho lid look for a man to take his place he would be the one man to take command it is said that even lord cromer the great british regenerator of egypt wis so impressed by gen woods work in cuba that he expressed re gret that he could not have such an administrator and organizer to succeed him in office leonard wood is an adventurer of ohp true elizabethan type whether chasing murderous apaches through the mountains creating a govern ment in cuba or forcing order and civilization upon the mohammedan savages of mindanao and sulu by armed force he has alvais been a master dr wood might have proved a failure gen wood has been a s ic cess he Is tall straight and broad shouldered he has a small waist the bulging muscle padded chest of a gorilla arms like a blacksmith and thick powerful hands he can walk like a bull moose jump with the quickness of a cat box wrestle and fence like a professional al though he Is 49 years old it is doubt tul if there Is a man in the whole army to day possessed of more strength energy skill and endur ance scotch irish and english blood mingles in leonard wood his fa ther descended from william white who died on the mayflower through peregrine white the first born of plymouth colony and from william wood who was a plymouth tree holder in his mother s strain goes back to the hagar family who came from ireland in 1634 and set tied at watertown mas and to that patriot great grandfather john nix on who commanded a company at lexington a regiment at bunker hill and a brigade at saratoga his father and uncle were country doctors the sons of a stout new england barmer who kept a tavern and owned much wooded land his father served as a private soldier in the civil war and was sent home from the field permanently invalided to get rid of malaria the doctor sol dier moved his family to the sandy boll of cipo cod in 1880 when leonard wis a stalwart quick witted youth ot 20 years the wood family de bated whether he should enter harvard sit that wai the deiy time when theodore roosevelt was graduated from harraid the iron yankee who as alread a notable cross country runner wanted to enter the army or navy the spirit of adventure id venture was strong in him gut the wishes of his sober old father prevailed and having obtained a scholarship he entered the harvard medical school in the third year after he entered the study of medicine he won in a competitive examination for service in the city hospital of boston after 15 months in this positron he had a row with the hospital superintendent and resigned then he served in the north end dispensary of boston in following the story of this ar man it is interesting to know that although he followed his fathers wishes by entering a medical school he there became the chum of a son of an arav captain and while studying medicine he actually began to prepare himself for a military career by reading military science and in every way pos sible sought to fit himself for the army entrance examinations after leaving the boston dispensary the young doctor went into general practice in that city in the young boston docter who was des lined to become the senior general of the united states went to new york and passed the army examinations for military surgeons stand ing second among the competitors there was no vacancy for him but presently he got a letter from the surgeon general at wash ington offering him a contract as a civilian sur geon with the army at a hundred dollars a month with free quarters and rat ons and forage for his horse As the letter suggested service in the west the doctor joyfully accepted the contract and under orders went to join alren crool at fort huachuca Hua chuca arizona about 20 miles from the mexican fron tier 1 his was a change from boston picked troops under miles and lawton were to pursue geroni mo and his fierce apaches till they were captured or destroyed it was an extraordinary campaign full of berlla and hardship the apaches had robbed and mur dered the people arizona and sonora mexico so long that each little village was surrounded by walls being mountaineers of great muscular the indians who could live on actus and various roots were accustomed to make journeys on foot through the roughest regions alth a speed that defied pursuit leonard wood proved to be the strongest and n ost persistent man in the expedition was found that he could actually walk down an apache even in the mountains at the end ol 01 a desperate chase the 0 bleers would one by one drop out utterly exhausted and the young boston doctor would be leading the soldiers and direct ing them finally at his own request the iron muscled young surgeon was put in corn mand of the infantry and from that time on he regularly led soldiers like a line of fleer nor did he fall to do his full duty as a medical man the hardest part of the trip was when the expedition crossed the southern pa railway and moved into the san rita mountains it occurred to lawton that he might cut off s band by serl king across the mexican border to do this he required additional orders and he was puzzled how to send back a dispatch asking permission for the country in his rear was known to be full of host lles in this emergency the doctor offered to be lawton s messenger leaving the camp with a single companion who dropped out after 20 miles he rode in one night 73 miles and got back with an answer at eight clock in the morning in time to get breakfast and then wilk 34 miles with the troops till a camp was made at nine clock that night on the day before his ride he had traveled 25 miles on foot with his scout that made a total of miles traveled in about 36 hours when at last and his swarthy cut throats were captured in september dr wood who abd now received his commission as an assistant surgeon accompanied lawton with the prisoner sto san antonio the indians had killed 00 mexicans and 98 americans including borne soldiers before they were literally run down in lawton wrote ot the cam laign and the doctors part in it to gov wolcott of massachusetts when gh exposure and fatigue the in fantry battalion lost its last officer capt wood volunteered to command it in addition to h s du ties as a surgeon in this duty bait wood ha reached the grade of captain afterward while still a surgeon distinguished himself most his cour age endurance and example made success pos sible I 1 served through the war of the rebellion and in many battles but in no instance do I 1 re member such devotion to duty or such an ex ample of courage and perseverance it was main h duo to capt wood s loyalty ind resolution that the expedition was successful leonard woods enemies have charged that he reached his distinction in the army largely gh his skill as a courtier and the favoritism of president mckenley and president roosevelt but no criticism can wipe out he words of law ton one or the noblest and sincerest soldiers who carried the sword of the republic geronimo and his men were disposed of wood returned to arizona and was assigned by gen miles to command a special ex edition to capture T kill seven escaped indian prisoners who had fled to sonora mexico he was in the feld from october till the following febra ary and penetrated mexico ten days journey south of the sakui river taen after a month or two on duty at los an geles he went back to arizona and again took the field with the expedition against apache kid during 1887 and 1888 then he was stationed at the presidio san where he spent four belr including one summer camping with troops in the yosemite atry soon after president mckenley was elected dr bates the regular attending surgeon of the white house died the president asked wood to take dr bates place in that way the indian trailer who had a high standing as a burgeon came into familiar and affectionate relations with mr me kinley hen theodore roosevelt became assistant sec detary of the navy he and the doctor met and became fast friends there was much to attract these two singular men together they were de voted to boxing fencing wrestling riding and j walking dr wood hid struggled to rise from the pale anxieties of his profession by serving as a eol dier mr roosevelt had tried to live down the effete influences of a harvard cowe and fashionable new york social connections by becoming a ranchman on the plains of north dakota I 1 ach was eager for distinction mad for manly ad venture there was b it two years difference between their aceb together the man who was to be lent of the united states and he who was to be chief general 0 the american army walked and talked day after day punched each other s bodies whacked each oth ers heads with singlesticks wrestled ran rode side by side and lived the strenuous life to the ut most the earth danced beneath feet of the comrades as they talk of everything that might open t I 1 ath of useful adventure and glo to their strength and courage they looked into the seeds of time for signs of dangers to be desper abely encountered and honors to be won then as the prospects of a war with spain seemed to approach re allty the spirits of the two rose day after day and week after I 1 eonard wood and theodora poosevelt racked their brains see how they might gel into atar both felt sure was coming they tried to get into the seven ty farst regiment of new york a majors it was the governor of massachusetts to attempted to get lie filed an rp give him command of i regiment with the secretary secre tari ot war tor a dolunt regiment in of war when the war with spain broke upon the na alon secretary alger sent for mr roosevelt and offered him the colonelcy of one of three volunteer regiments to be raised and equipped I 1 don t want to be colonel said mr roosevelt that position sheild go to I 1 eonard wood I 1 don t know how to organize or equip a regiment for the field he does he knows the practical way to I 1 lepare cavalry for actual war conditions in th shortest possible time let him be colonel and I 1 will gladly serve with hi n as lieutenant colonel until I 1 am fit to command a regiment so leonard wood got his commission as colonel of the first united states volunteer cavalry knoon as roosevelt s rough riders twenty one days he received his colonel a his regiment gatheral ga therel irom four fron tier countries was being drilled in san antonio when the rough riders were ordered to advance from the spa hore dt siboney cuba to meet the enemy at I 1 a the first fight of shatter a army col wood moved out with the head of his regiment at such a pace that almost halt of his men were left far in the rear i after the surrendered santiago cen shatter recommended that the now promoted gen wood be put in of the conquered and par ic stricken city with gen lawton in command of the province how soon war changes the fortunes of men in december 1898 just a year and seven months after two adventurers took the rough to the caribbean sea leonard wood the poor surgeon was a major general of volunteers and appointed military governor of cuba and theodore roosevelt was the governor elect of the great state dt new york it was no light hearted adventurous youth who sailed for the philippines in march 1903 but a grave observant man of 43 years his experience in cuba bad taught him much and above all things the extreme importance of careful aton in dealing with alien races earl in agn wood took command of the entire philippines which includes nearly 18 troops for more than two years he put his tremendous energy to the task ot emphasizing the trail ing of soldiers bol diers for actual conditions of war treating administrative methods not as an object but as means at the end of his long and brilliant service in the philli pines he returned to the united baates to assume his first military command on the american continent since the days when as d burgeon he led troops against the apaches |