Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Frederick Courteney Selous
Subject(s): Adventure stories, Africa, Africa, Southern, Alaska, Antelopes, Bear hunting, Big game hunting, Black rhinoceros, Books and reading, Bryden, H. A. (Henry Anderson), 1854-1937, Buffaloes, Camping, Camping--Prayer-books and devotions--English, Canada, Cannibalism, Chanler, William Astor, 1867-1934, Cottonwood, Drummond, William Henry, 1845-1879, Elephants, Elk, Gorilla, H. A. L. (Henry Astbury Leveson), 1828-1875, Höhnel, Ludwig, Ritter von, 1857-1942, Hunting, Kings and rulers, Lake Michigan, Lions, Millais, John Guille, 1865-1931, Pine, Pollok, Fitzwilliam Thomas, 1832-1909, Prairies, Pregnancy, Reid, Mayne, 1818-1883, Roosevelt family, Selous, Marie Catherine Gladys, 1874-1951, Selous, Percy, South Africa--Cape Town, Wagon trains, White-tailed deer
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Assistant Secretary of the Navy Roosevelt writes to Frederick Courteney Selous about big game hunting and authors of the sport. Roosevelt was disappointed by the inaccuracies in Percy Selous’s book, which he bought because it was co-authored with Henry Anderson Bryden. Roosevelt offers congratulations to Selous and his wife on the upcoming birth of their first child and talks about his own family life and the obstacles it produces for getting away despite being fond of his wife and six children. He longs for an extended hunt but will settle for reading of other wildernesses like those in Selous’s book. Roosevelt presumes they would both count Fitzwilliam Thomas Pollok a fake based on his writings since he includes some experiences “that are all nonsense,” much like the writing of Henry Astbury Leveson, the Old Shikari. Roosevelt says that both Pollok and Leveson’s work would “have done credit” to the adventure writer Mayne Reid. Roosevelt also thinks William Henry Drummond “was not always an exact observer” based on what Selous wrote. Roosevelt mentions the black rhinoceros attacks William Astor Chanler and Ludwig Ritter von Höhnel experienced when in Africa and that he has just finished the book by John Guille Millais that Selous sent him.
Collection
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
Creation Date
1898-02-15
Creator(s)
Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919
Recipient
Selous, Frederick Courteney, 1851-1917
Language
English
Period
Assistant Secretary of the Navy (April 1897-April 1898)
Repository
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
Page Count
4
Production Method
Record Type
Multi-image
Resource Type
Rights
These images are presented through a cooperative effort between the Library of Congress and Dickinson State University. No known restrictions on publication.
Citation
Cite this Record
Chicago:
Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Frederick Courteney Selous. [February 15, 1898]. Library of Congress Manuscript Division.
https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o161328. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.
MLA:
Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919. Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Frederick Courteney Selous. [15 Feb. 1898]. Multi-image.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University. January 16, 2026. https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o161328.
APA:
Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919., [1898, February 15]. Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Frederick Courteney Selous.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.
Retrieved from https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o161328.
Cite this Collection
Chicago:
Library of Congress Manuscript Division. https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/collection/library-of-congress-manuscript-division. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.
MLA:
Library of Congress Manuscript Division. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University. January 16, 2026. https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/collection/library-of-congress-manuscript-division.
APA:
Library of Congress Manuscript Division. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University. Retrieved from https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/collection/library-of-congress-manuscript-division.
