At the age of 22, Arthur T. Packard started Medora's first newspaper, The Bad Lands Cow Boy. The first issue came off the press on February 7, 1884. Marquis de Mores was the major advertiser in the paper.Editor Packard produced a paper that balanced national news and feature articles with entertaining local news and coverage of the vital range cattle industry. As happened in most frontier towns, occasional shootings and violence were also featured in the local press.A frequent visitor to The Bad Lands Cow Boy office was young rancher and writer Theodore Roosevelt. Packard befriended Roosevelt and cautioned him about carrying a six-shooter in town.Packard knew Roosevelt was no match for local cowboys who liked to drink and quarrel, and Packard set up a shooting demonstration. Two cans were thrown into the air and local cowboy Billy Roberts perforated both cans before they hit the ground.Due to poor eyesight, Roosevelt was not a good shot. From that time on, he left his pistol at the newspaper office while in town. In 1886, after hearing Roosevelt's Fourth of July speech at nearby Dickinson, Packard predicted that Roosevelt might one day become President.The Bad Lands Cow Boy ceased publication after a fire destroyed its office on January 12, 1887. (Marker Number 28.)
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