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John W. Osborn enjoyed seeing Theodore Roosevelt last March, but is disappoint Roosevelt will not join him for a bear hunt in November. Osborn hopes Kermit Roosevelt might come and that Roosevelt will also come. Osborn and his wife have had another little girl making four girls and two boys in his family.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1911-09-01
Standard of honors for the Camp Fire Club of American which lists big game animals from Africa divided into Honor and High Honor classifications. To be considered for an honor, applicants must submit proof and a committee will consider will take into consideration the difficulties overcome, any risk involved, the rarity of the species, and the location the animal was killed.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1911-11-16
Theodore Roosevelt thanks Anthony J. Gavin for his letter and mentions his successes with hunting. Roosevelt also encloses a flower from Africa for Gavin’s daughter.
1909-09-10
Assistant Secretary of the Navy Roosevelt responds to an inquiry on behalf of the Count of Turin concerning a hunting trip to the United States. Roosevelt makes some suggestions, but warns that few big game animals can be found. Roosevelt also states that Ambassador Ladislaus Hengelmüller von Hengervár wishes to go big game hunting. The letter ends with a report of the ill health of both Edith Kermit Carow and Ted Roosevelt.
1898-02-15
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.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-10-12
President Roosevelt thanks Armar D. Saunderson for his assistance. Roosevelt has asked William Northrup McMillan and others to help arrange the caravan, but he will ask Manuel A. Da Silva for assistance in accompanying Kermit Roosevelt around the big game.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-10-05
President Roosevelt is pleased that Manuel A. Da Silva will be able to attend the safari to assist Kermit Roosevelt with big game. William Northrup McMillan has already arranged the porters, so Da Silva should not have to do anything about them. Roosevelt plans to arrive in Mombasa in April.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-10-05
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.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-09-25
President Roosevelt received Alfred E. Pease’s letter on the same day as an invitation from William Northrup McMillan, and he has asked McMillan to contact Pease, Frederick Courteney Selous and Edward North Buxton for making arrangements. Sirdar F. R. Wingate has offered a boat in Gondokoro, and from there Roosevelt will hunt for white rhinoceros before tackling game from the exhaustive list of creatures Pease has said can be found on the Nile. Roosevelt is glad he will be able to restock supplies in Nairobi. At present Roosevelt’s time is consumed by the political campaigns in the United States. He hopes to see Harry Johnston soon, with whom he has an ongoing intellectual correspondence.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-09-25
President Roosevelt thanks William Northrup McMillan for the invitation to stay at the farm in Nairobi, and says he will likely come after staying with Alfred E. Pease and before taking the trip McMillan suggested. Roosevelt will be joined by Kermit Roosevelt and General Edgar Alexander Mearns, and he will be shooting specimens for the National Museum. For further planning Roosevelt asks McMillan to be in contact with Edward North Buxton, Frederick Courteney Selous, and Pease. After going through British East Africa Roosevelt will go on to the Nile and meet Sirdar F. R. Wingate and Leigh S. J. Hunt.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-09-25
President Roosevelt, like A. H. Fox, prefers a gun with an independent safety, and without an automatic shell ejector.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-09-19
President Roosevelt received Thomas Sturgis’s letter with the quote from Edgar Beecher Bronson, and can hardly believe how good it looks, but writes that it’s a country where one has to be cautious with the game. He thinks the situation with Governor Charles Evans Hughes has been dealt with.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-09-15
President Roosevelt thanks British Governor General of the Sudan Wingate for providing a boat in Gondokoro and offering assistance with guides and camp set up. He details his feelings regarding hunting in the reserves, and inquires about finding elephant, white rhinoceros, and giant eland. Roosevelt knows General George Wood Wingate and respects him as a soldier, and he is grateful that Lady Catherine Leslie Rundle Wingate will host Edith Kermit Carow Roosevelt and Ethel Roosevelt. S. J. Leigh Hunt has said that Reginald has accomplished a great deal in Sudan, which Roosevelt knows is a difficult feat.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-09-14
President Roosevelt agrees with Ambassador Reid’s assessment of the interviewing being done by Edward VII, King of England. He thanks Reid for the introduction to Phillip H. Percival. After conferring with Edward North Buxton, Roosevelt has decided not to shoot in the reserves, and rescinds his request to Lord Eyre Crowe. Instead he asks only for permission regarding restricted species. The Sirdar of Egypt, F. R. Wingate, has written to Roosevelt about Sudan.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-09-12
President Roosevelt thanks Edward North Buxton for the information on the game reserves and says he will plan to avoid going into them. He still hopes to be able to take one or two species from outside the reserves, which might otherwise be protected, for the museum. Roosevelt discusses the matter of taking a white man with him on his safari, with a quotation from Frederick Courteney Selous’s recent letter on the topic, and clarifies the role he hopes a guide will play in managing the trip.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-09-12
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.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-09-12
President Roosevelt asks Edward North Buxton about mosquito boots and requests that he review the supply list and make any needed changes. Alfred E. Pease’s description of where to hunt lion and other game thoroughly excites Roosevelt. The Winchester Repeating Arms Company has arranged for shipping ammunition. Roosevelt intends to follow Buxton’s advice and “shall travel as comfortably as possible.”
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-09-07
President Roosevelt has received Alfred E. Pease’s letter, and has also heard from Edward North Buxton. As Pease suggested, he sent funds to Buxton and to Nairobi. A friend recently told him about the same lion country Pease mentioned, and Roosevelt thinks it is ideal. Currently, Roosevelt finds it “difficult to devote full attention to my Presidential work […] because I am looking forward so eagerly to my African trip!”
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-09-05
President Roosevelt thanks Ambassador Reid for the interesting letter, especially for the insight on Newfoundland. He is interested in what Secretary of State of India John Morley says about India, and discusses the intricacies surrounding “the control of thickly peopled tropical regions by self-governing northern democracies.” Roosevelt hopes to speak with Morley after presenting the Romanes lecture at Oxford. He asks Reid to inquire of the British statesman, Robert Offley Ashburton Crewe-Milnes, about conditional hunting on the reserves. The Vermont elections went well.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-09-03
President Roosevelt thanks Alfred E. Pease for helping him prepare for his Africa trip. He will follow through with Pease’s suggestions. Regardless of the sizable game, Roosevelt does not want to visit the Congo Free State for fear of controversy. A lion is Roosevelt’s primary goal. Per Frederick Courteney Selous’s advice, Roosevelt will hire “a white man who knows the country.” William C. Judd has been recommended several times. Selous will order all of the equipment.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-08-22