That African hunt
Subject(s): Africa, Crocodiles, Hunting, Nile River, Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919, Teeth
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President Roosevelt hides in “The Nile” reeds as a crocodile opens its mouth and swims down the river. Caption: The President–When anything makes a personal dental appeal to me like that, I wouldn’t shoot for the world. The President proposes to finish his African hunt when he reaches the Nile.–News Item.
Comments and Context
Students of history and political cartooning might expect that one of America’s most notable Socialist newspaper cartoonists, drawing for a Socialist syndicate out of Baltimore (this cartoon was picked up by a Honolulu paper), would lodge a pro forma attack on the outgoing president, Theodore Roosevelt, as Democratic cartoonists were doing.
However, Ryan Walker was still only evolving from a gag cartoonist (for, among other outlets, Life magazine) to his famed radicalism. Therefore this cartoon about Roosevelt’s imminent African safari aimed for the reader’s funny bone, not his political opinions.
As many cartoonists were doing, he projected a comical version of what awaited Roosevelt — in his version, the perpetually smiling president’s affinity with a toothy crocodile on the Nile.
Collection
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
Creation Date
1908-11-08
Creator(s)
Language
English
Period
U.S. President – 2nd Term (March 1905-February 1909)
Page Count
1
Production Method
Record Type
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:
That African hunt. [November 8, 1908]. Library of Congress Manuscript Division.
https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o302055. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.
MLA:
Walker, Ryan. That African hunt. [8 Nov. 1908]. Image.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University. March 5, 2026. https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o302055.
APA:
Walker, Ryan., [1908, November 8]. That African hunt.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.
Retrieved from https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o302055.
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. March 5, 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.
