Westbrook. Roosevelt would be elected to two more terms at Albany and in only his second term, still the youngest man in the legislature, would be elected as minority leader. Prior to starting his third term, Roosevelt made two large .

             acquisitions. On August 20, 1883 expanded his holding around his estate at Oyster Bay by purchasing an additional 95 acres with a price tag of $20,000. On his total of 155 acres on he planned to build his future residence Leeholm, .

             named after his wife Alice Lee. Although he lost the nomination for Speaker, he was still politically strong and was made chairman of the powerful Cities Committee. After three days in his new position, Roosevelt would introduce .

             three reform bills aimed at the political machines. Roosevelt would manage to get seven out of his nine corrective bills into law. .

             Just before Christmas of 1884, Roosevelt headed East again to spend time improving his publishing career. In nine weeks he had managed to write a hundred thousand words and completed Hunting Trips of a Ranchman by .

             March 8, 1885. Roosevelt understood that the nature of the open range grazing of cattle in the west required that each rancher limit the number of cattle which he would attempt to raise based on what the land could support. With this .

             understanding in mind and ever the politician, Roosevelt worked hard to organize a Little Missouri Stockman's Association. Unfortunately, as much as he tried to protect the cattlemen of the Bad Lands lost between 75 and 85 percent of their cattle during the winter of 1886-1887. During the summer of 1887 Roosevelt returned to his historical writing. Houghton Miffin publishing company offered him a second opportunity at a historical biography in the American Statesman series. His first effort on Thomas Hart Benton had been received well enough for them to offer Roosevelt a second subject, Gouverneur Morris. In January of 1888, what started at that meeting in December would formally organize into the Boone & Crockett Club with Theodore Roosevelt as its first president.