Bears

Our local munchausen

Cartoon shows bears running amok in Colorado. Senator Patterson tells the tales to President Roosevelt as he cleans his gun. Caption: Senator Patterson has told Mr. Roosevelt that the northern part of Colorado is fairly overrun by bears; that bears prevail everywhere in large and devastating numbers; they prowl about with the utmost impudence, drinking whisky, eating up rabbits and chickens, even slipping down goats and hogs in the wild exuberance of dissipation. They are at once the terror and the affliction of the entire region. They go where they please, do what fancy prompts and otherwise appall the very oldest citizens. Northern Colorado is simply crying out for Mr. Roosevelt quite as loudly as Mr. Roosevelt is crying out for bears. – The Washington Post

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1903-03-17

The game to be protected in the west

A bear sits with a collar labeled the Western Vote 1904. The collar is chained to a post with a hands off sign posted by President Roosevelt.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1903-03-20

Chorus from the tall timber – “Has he gone?”

Bears in trees labeled “Mississippi” look towards a departing train heading in the direction of Washington.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1902

If I could only let go!

Cartoon depicts President Roosevelt trying to hold onto a giant bear labeled Trusts while holding a sword by his teeth labeled Reciprocity.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1902-11-16

A happy day in Bearville, Mississippi

Bears celebrate around a sign in the woods proclaiming the exit of President Roosevelt without shooting a bear.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1902-11-19

Theodore Roosevelt with teddy bears

President Roosevelt holds a gun while bear cubs play around him.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1903-02-13

Br’er Coon: “Don’t shoot: I’ll come down.”

President Theodore Roosevelt, hunting at night, sees Br’er Coon up a tree catching a bird. On a lower limb of the tree hangs “Uncle Remus’ Game Bag.” On the tree is carved, “Yazoo Co., Miss.” Several bears scurry away from Roosevelt, including one hiding behind the tree which is saying, “Look up and not down.” The stock of Roosevelt’s gun reads “T. R. Washington.” Caption: The strange things we see when we’ve got a gun.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1902

Beginning of the millennum

President Roosevelt shakes hands with a bear, wearing a satchel labeled “Plans for Preservation of Big Game.” Caption: The President Says That on This Trip West Probably Not a Shot Will Be Fired–Harper’s Weekly

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1903-04-04

Letter from George B. Cortelyou to C. G. Gunther’s Sons

George B. Cortelyou informs C. G. Gunther’s Sons that President Roosevelt would like the skull removed and the entire bear skin mounted as a rug. When it is done, Roosevelt would like it sent to Oyster Bay.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1902-08-30

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Clifford I. Michael

Theodore Roosevelt regrets having to reject Clifford I. Michael’s invitation to bear hunt. He has recently rejected two other bear hunting invitations.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1911-09-15

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Victor Murdock

Theodore Roosevelt jokes to Victor Murdock that he cannot divide up the bearskin until he receives it. Roosevelt has not seen the Nobel Prize Fund money yet.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1915-02-25

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to William Robinson Brown

Theodore Roosevelt writes to William Robinson Brown. Roosevelt responds to Brown’s question about a stallion once given to Roosevelt as a gift. Roosevelt elaborates about the procedure of gift receiving.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1914-11-14

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Myrtle Reed

President Roosevelt enjoyed the bear story that Myrtle Reed sent to him, and thanks her for the letter.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-03-13

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to John Burroughs

President Roosevelt takes great pleasure in the book that John Burroughs wrote about him. Roosevelt is having an interesting hunt, but does not think he will get any bear. Roosevelt discusses some of the sights he has encountered on his trip, including various wildlife and flora.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-10-13

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Kermit Roosevelt

President Roosevelt tells Kermit Roosevelt that he heard about his experience with one of Robert Bacon’s horses, and tells his son about the Roosevelt family vacation to Pine Knot. Roosevelt wants Kermit to learn how to shoot a shotgun so they can go prairie chicken hunting soon.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-05-22

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Frank B. Noyes

President Roosevelt cannot answer Frank B. Noyes on the matter since the bear is still alive and that he prefers not to divide the skin ahead of time. 

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-04-01

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Seymour Eaton

President Roosevelt and his children will be interested in Seymour Eaton’s “Roosevelt Bears” story, which they will read with pleasure.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-01-04

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Emperor Meiji of Japan

President Roosevelt sends Emperor Meiji of Japan the skin of a bear that he shot as a token of respect. He thanks Meiji for the courtesy he and his country have shown his daughter Alice Roosevelt and Secretary of War William H. Taft.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1905-09-06

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Cecil Andrew Lyon

President Roosevelt confides in Cecil Andrew Lyon that he is “soft,” and unfamiliar with the terrain of their upcoming hunt, and is concerned it will poorly affect the outcome. Roosevelt thinks it would be better to have a successful hunt of peccaries than an unsuccessful bear hunt.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1905-02-23

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to John Burroughs

President Roosevelt informs John Burroughs that Yellowstone Park bears have been getting their paws stuck in tin cans from garbage heaps, and that Buffalo Jones has been trying to capture the bears to “cure” them. He says the White House is lovely, and red-headed woodpeckers are their most decorative birds.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-08-12