Africa

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Edward North Buxton

President Roosevelt is grateful for Edward North Buxton’s letters, especially in regard to the reserves. He discusses his plans for shipping money and supplies to Africa for his trip. Roosevelt notes that he intends to hire an Englishman to manage the caravan because he will be too busy hunting and working with field taxidermists to manage it himself. Roosevelt also discusses several places he would like to visit and hunt in, including German territory.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-10-12

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Annie Montague Alexander

President Roosevelt inquires if Annie Montague Alexander will allow Edmund Heller to accompany him on his African safari. Roosevelt intends to make the trip a scientific one and collect samples for the United States National Museum.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-10-08

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Kermit Roosevelt

President Roosevelt is glad Kermit Roosevelt will be trying out for the football team and taking six half courses, even if it will be difficult. Roosevelt discusses some of the supplies that he has recently received in preparation for their safari, and asks Kermit how many pairs of shoes he will want.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-10-06

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Kermit Roosevelt

President Roosevelt sends Kermit Roosevelt a kind letter from Seth Bullock. Roosevelt reminds Kermit that if he becomes ill in Africa he will be sent home. Manuel A. Da Silva has been hired to be Kermit’s guide, and Roosevelt has been discussing the trip with his English friends.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-10-05

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Benjamin Lee

President Roosevelt thanks Pennsylvania Assistant State Commissioner of Health Benjamin Lee for the photograph of Edith Kermit Carow Roosevelt and Emily Tyler Carow as children. Roosevelt plans to take the photograph to Africa.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-10-04

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Stewart Edward White

President Roosevelt looks forward to reading the volume from Stewart Edward White. Roosevelt’s upcoming trip to Africa will have to be “an old man’s trip,” and he wishes he could be traveling while young and fit like White.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-10-03

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Kermit Roosevelt

President Roosevelt thanks Kermit Roosevelt for the letter and asks if the monthly funds will be enough. Roosevelt is lining details up for Africa. He is is pleased that Kermit will focus on his studies, and he doubts that Ted Roosevelt had visited Harvard without getting in touch. William H. Taft is likely to win but Roosevelt is alarmed at William Jennings Bryan’s strength. It is now fall, and recent visitors have included Susan Dexter Dalton Cooley, James C. Cooley, and Alice Roosevelt Longworth.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-10-02

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to W. S. Rainsford

President Roosevelt was pleased with W. S. Rainsford’s letter and welcomes any information he can provide about Africa. Roosevelt lists the animals he is most excited to hunt.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-09-25

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Henry Sharp

President Roosevelt appreciates Henry Sharp’s offer, but he has not been able to shoot much, especially with a shotgun. Roosevelt thinks he will mostly use a rifle in Africa.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-09-19

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to A. H. Fox

President Roosevelt, like A. H. Fox, prefers a gun with an independent safety, and without an automatic shell ejector.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-09-19

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Richard Watson Gilder

President Roosevelt thinks Richard Watson Gilder’s suggestion for a writing project sounds like a lot of work, and at this time he does not feel compelled to write about history after he leaves the presidency. He will not make a final decision until he comes back from Africa.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-09-19

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to William Wingate Sewall

President Roosevelt sends William Wingate Sewall a sock, and asks if Sewall can find him more pairs like it to take to Africa. Despite his predictions about the impact of the prohibition fight, Roosevelt thinks they did well in Maine.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-09-17

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Cecil Spring Rice

President Roosevelt found the letter that Cecil Spring Rice sent to Edith Kermit Carow Roosevelt about safari dangers to be quite hilarious, as did she, in a morose way. Roosevelt felt it would not be right to stay on as President, and he is glad the Africa trip is ahead. Roosevelt expresses his interest in the complex political situation unfolding in Turkey and the surrounding countries. He hopes Spring Rice can come to England and discuss politics in person.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-09-17

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Kermit Roosevelt

President Roosevelt updates Kermit Roosevelt on preparations for their Safari and on family life. Edith Kermit Carow Roosevelt has lately been exposed to commentary about the potential dangers of the trip, including letters from Cecil Spring Rice and an article in The Public Ledger. The Roosevelt family celebrated Ted Roosevelt’s birthday with a picnic, and Roosevelt feels strongly that Ted will be successful in his upcoming ventures. Soon Archie Roosevelt will be heading back to school and summer will give way to fall.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-09-14

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Frederick Courteney Selous

President Roosevelt thanks Frederick Courteney Selous for the recent letter containing travel suggestions and details changes he has made in light of it. He compares his own past adventures and future safari to Selous’s travels. Roosevelt responds to Selous’s comments on potential safari guides, and asks if Selous will confer with Edward North Buxton on the topic and send back his suggestions. In a postscript, he asks for Selous’s opinion on taking William C. Judd with him, specifically as a caravan manager and guide.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-09-12

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Albert Bigelow Paine

President Roosevelt received Albert Bigelow Paine’s letter, and writes that no one can accompany him on the African trip, though Paine is one of the best fellows out of many to ask.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-09-12

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Lord Curzon of Kedleston

President Roosevelt hopes to visit Lord Curzon of Kedleston, and lists the authors he would most like to meet while visiting Oxford. He discusses the issue of the reserves in Africa, and compares the situation to Yellowstone Park in the United States. Roosevelt mourns the loss of former German Ambassador Hermann Speck von Sternburg, a great soldier and effective ambassador.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-09-12

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Henry White

President Roosevelt writes to Henry White that he mourns the death of German Ambassador Hermann Speck von Sternburg, a man he regarded highly. Roosevelt will likely be presented to King Edward VII of Great Britain as a private citizen while he is visiting Oxford, and if requested he will also visit William II, the German Emperor, so as not to offend him.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-09-10

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to A. H. Fox

President Roosevelt writes to A. H. Fox to say that he has decided to bring a shotgun on his African safari, to load with ball and use in emergencies. If Fox’s offer still stands, he would like to know the cost of such a gun.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-09-10

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Edward North Buxton

President Roosevelt asks Edward North Buxton for clarification about hunting guns and safari guides. Roosevelt would likely avoid hunting in the reserves, as the idea bothers him, and he would also like to avoid all press coverage and fanfare while out on Alfred E. Pease’s ranch. He enjoys hearing of Edward North Buxton and Emily Digby Buxton’s life together, and writes that he and Edith Kermit Carow Roosevelt have spent time over the summer taking rides and going out on the water, while Ted Roosevelt gets ready to go into business. In a postscript, Roosevelt writes that he would like to avoid the reserves completely, but wonders if it would be possible to hunt one or two potentially restricted specimens outside the reserve, for the National Museum.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-09-10