Canoes and canoeing

In the upper left-hand corner is a Native American man standing in a canoe with a stick with “1607” in the corner. The rest of the cartoon is a much larger President Roosevelt holding a “big stick” and standing on a battleship cruising into the “Jamestown Exposition” in 1907.

comments and context

Comments and Context

A number of expositions and fairs were held during the Theodore Roosevelt Administration. The Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, of course, is where President William McKinley was shot, leading to Roosevelt’s succession. The St. Louis World’s Fair was opened by the president by electronic signal, and only visited in late 1904, because Roosevelt did not want to appear to use a visit to the Fair as an advantage during his presidential campaign. In the last weeks of his presidency, among several national observances, Roosevelt made his way to Hardin, Kentucky, to mark the centennial of Abraham Lincoln’s birth.

Theodore Roosevelt writes his sister Anna about hiking and camping in Maine. He describes some of the problems they have encountered as well as some of the more enjoyable parts of the trip.

Collection

Harvard College Library

Creation Date

1879-09-14

Albert J. Beveridge quotes a letter from John C. Shaffer, publisher of the Indianapolis Star, who recently purchased the Dayton Journal. Shaffer plans to unequivocally endorse President Roosevelt and his policies. Beveridge has been traveling in the depths of the Maine woods, which he feels has restored him and urges Roosevelt to rest over the summer. After he opens the Maine campaign, Beveridge plans to go on another long trip with Gifford Pinchot.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-08-08

Anna Roosevelt Cowles is glad President Roosevelt is at Sagamore and done with all of the hand shaking. Her husband William S. Cowles was home for the Fourth of July but has returned to Washington, D.C. Cowles recommends to her brother the volume Heretics by G. K. Chesterton. The Chinese minister mentioned while visiting that he plans to give suffrage to land owners based on a conversation he had with Roosevelt. Cowles’s son William Sheffield Cowles Jr. has been homebound much of the summer to avoid catching the whooping cough which is being passed around children in town, although he is canoeing, playing tennis, and vegetable gardening. The Chinese minister and Cowles both agree that horses are preferable to automobiles, as she is “in deadly terror of running into some one.”

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-07-08

Photograph of Hook Point Camps, at Mattawamkeag Lake in Island Falls, Maine. William Wingate Sewall is listed as the proprietor with board being $2.00 per day. It also notes the “fine game section,” and that boats and canoes are provided.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-06-10

William W. Crosby, Secretary of the American Canoe Association, writes to President Roosevelt inviting him to become an honorary member.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-01-15

Colorized postcard showing four individuals riding a wave in an outrigger canoe in Hawaii.

Collection

Charles C. Myers Collection

Creation Date

Unknown

Postcard showing a canoe on the banks of a river with several individuals in the water. Charles C. Myers regards the Surigao River as one of the many beautiful places in the Philippines.

Comments and Context

In Charles C. Myers’s own words, “The Suricao River and valley with its tropical vegitation [sic] is one of the many beautiful places among the Philipines [sic].”

Collection

Charles C. Myers Collection

Postcard showing an individual in a canoe carrying barrels on a river in Iloilo, Philippines. Charles C. Myers notes that the water in some of the area’s streams is undrinkable, and therefore, water is brought in from long distances to supply the local villages.

Comments and Context

In Charles C. Myers’s own words, “In some parts of the island the water is very bad and drinking water sometimes has to be brought from a long way. This is a little raft going down the river with several barrels of water for some distant village.”

Collection

Charles C. Myers Collection

This postcard shows a view of one of Ceylon’s rivers. The water is relatively calm. Some people stand on double canoes near the left bank of the river, while other people stand on the shore of the right bank. Both shores are lined with tall trees, and mountains can be seen rising in the background.

Comments and Context

In Charles C. Myers’s own words, “Along the river thru [sic] Ceylon.”

Collection

Charles C. Myers Collection

Postcard showing a group of people in a canoe on the water in Honolulu, Hawaii.

Comments and Context

In Charles C. Myers’s own words, “Surf riding is one of the principal sports. In this little canoe they are waiting the coming of the big breakers when the party will be tossed high in the air but they always remaining safely in the canoe.”

Collection

Charles C. Myers Collection

Postcard featuring Diamond Head volcano in Hawaii and two men with canoes. Charles C. Myers describes the construction and use of these canoes by the native Hawaiians.

Comments and Context

In Charles C. Myers’s own words, In the distant [sic] is the noted Diamond Head, an extinct volcano and it is the first point of land you see as you approach the Hawaiian Islands. After rounding this high point of land you then see beautiful Honolulu in front of you snuggled at the foot of the mountains.”

Collection

Charles C. Myers Collection

This postcard shows a view of Coconut Island, with large stands of palm trees near a sandy beach. Just offshore rides a small outrigger canoe.

Comments and Context

In Charles C. Myers’s own words, “A view on Cocoanut [sic] Island and also a fisherman in his little narrow canoe. These canoes are made out of the trunk of a small tree and are so narrow that they have to have this extension or rack on the side to keep the light canoe from upsetting and even with this attachment the natives are expert at handling the canoe.”

Collection

Charles C. Myers Collection

This photograph depicts a beach near a seaside hotel. Many finely dressed people sit on a wall on the edge of a beach, while many more stroll on the shaded grass behind. Several children play on the sand. Midway down the beach several figures operate a large canoe, while the hotel stands in the distance.

Comments and Context

In Charles C. Myers’s own words, “Honolulu has as near perfect climate as there is any place on the earth, never to [sic] hot and never to [sic] cold. this is one of the fine beaches.”

Collection

Charles C. Myers Collection

President Roosevelt sits in a canoe and rows into a body of water.

Collection

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs

Creation Date

1905

President Roosevelt rows a canoe. Another canoe and a sailing ship are visible in the background.

Collection

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs

Creation Date

1905-09-11

President Roosevelt faces the camera while rowing in a canoe.

Collection

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs

Creation Date

1905-09-11

President Roosevelt rows in a canoe.

Collection

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs

Creation Date

1905

President Roosevelt stands in a small boat, rowing toward shore.

Collection

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs

Creation Date

1905-09-11

President Roosevelt sits in a small boat holding oars.

Collection

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs

Creation Date

1905-09-11