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The River of Doubt

The River of Doubt

For this film, the Roosevelt Memorial Association compiled footage from Theodore Roosevelt’s 1913-1914 trip to South America during which he combined a series of lectures with an expedition in the Amazon Valley of Brazil to collect zoological specimens. The Roosevelt group was combined with a group of Brazilian scientists under the leadership of Colonel Rondon to explore the course of the uncharted Rio da Dúvida, the River of Doubt. In 1926, G. M. Dyott, an English explorer, was asked by the Roosevelt Memorial Association to retrace Roosevelt’s voyage down the River of Doubt and to film his trip in order to supplement the footage from the 1914 trip.

Collection

Library of Congress Motion Picture, Broadcasting and Recorded Sound

Creation Date

1928

Creator(s)

Roosevelt Film Library

Frank Harper, ex-President Roosevelt’s secretary, tells of South American trip

Frank Harper, ex-President Roosevelt’s secretary, tells of South American trip

Theodore Roosevelt’s secretary Frank Harper describes their journey through South America along with George Kruck Cherrie and Leo E. Miller, representatives of the American Museum of Natural History. It details specimens collected for donation to various museums. Photograph of Anthony Fiala, Cherrie, Father J. A. Zahm, Theodore Roosevelt, Kermit Roosevelt, Harper, and Miller is included.

Collection

Sagamore Hill National Historic Site

Creation Date

1914-04-05

Creator(s)

Unknown

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to John Scott Keltie

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to John Scott Keltie

Theodore Roosevelt appreciates the work of the Royal Geographical Society and John Scott Keltie on the maps from the Roosevelt-Rondon Scientific Expedition. The work of Dr. Lauro Muller and Colonel Rondon deserved to be recognized by the leading geographical magazine and society. Confidentially, the Brazilian preparations for the trip were poor and Roosevelt believes Kermit Roosevelt and Anthony Fiala could have organized a better, faster, and more comfortable journey. He blames many of the problems on the Latin American desire for “splendor,” such as Rondon’s refusal to walk, which would not be in “splendid style,” and free up space for more supplies on pack animals. The lack of supplies forced the expedition to use half rations after reaching the river. Roosevelt did not make information like this public as his companions were “fine fellows” and the trip could not have been completed without them.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1915-02-25

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to John Scott Keltie

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to John Scott Keltie

Theodore Roosevelt claims that on the Roosevelt-Rondon Scientific Expedition there would not have been any “observations worth anything” if he had not insisted on it and that his companions’ work was mostly valueless unless he was around. There were many shortcomings in planning and preparation. Roosevelt believes that he, along with Kermit Roosevelt and Anthony Fiala, could have made better preparations. Roosevelt describes the river’s features and will be sending John Scott Keltie a map of the River of Doubt (Roosevelt River) that is incredibly accurate.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1914-12-17

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Notes on the history of Pinnacles National Monument

Notes on the history of Pinnacles National Monument

Regional Supervisor of Historic Sites Hagen provides a brief history of the area containing Pinnacles National Monument, tracing its history from the time of Spanish occupation of the region and the possible first discovery of the Pinnacle rock formations by Captain George Vancouver. While Hagen notes that there is some evidence of prehistoric occupation of the area, he says that it does not appear to have supported permanent populations, and in fact “received little attention until long after the American occupation of California.” He notes that the area is believed to have been used as a hide-out for outlaws at one point.

Collection

Pinnacles National Park

Creation Date

1941-04-28

Creator(s)

Hagen, Olaf T. (Olaf Theodore), -1949

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Leslie J. Tarlton

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Leslie J. Tarlton

Theodore Roosevelt was relieved that the report of R. J. Cuninghame’s death was false. He has been reluctant to write due to the terrible tragedy of the war, through which he feels totally out of sympathy with the actions of the Wilson administration. Roosevelt completed a trip down an unknown South American river, the River of Doubt, earlier in 1914. There was not much shooting and he became very sick but made it through. Kermit Roosevelt has married and works at a bank in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Ethel Roosevelt Derby and Richard Derby are running a hospital in Paris, France.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1914-11-28

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Columbus Cleveland and his mutinous crew – “This ship shall not turn back!”

Columbus Cleveland and his mutinous crew – “This ship shall not turn back!”

Grover Cleveland, as Christopher Columbus, holds a map labeled “Route to Reform,” aboard a ship surrounded by mutinous sailors labeled “Bayard, Whitney, Eustis, Sterling, Hedden, Pulitzer, Blackburn, Hill, McLaughlin, Jones, Thompson, Gorman, Grady.” Unidentified are Thomas A. Hendricks, John Kelly, Lucius Q. C. Lamar, and Charles A. Dana. A bird arrives from the left carrying a piece of paper that states “From Land of Reform.”

Collection

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs

Creation Date

1885-11-04

Creator(s)

Gillam, Bernhard, 1856-1896

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to William Loeb

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to William Loeb

Theodore Roosevelt wishes William Loeb a merry Christmas and will have much to tell him on his return to the United States. Roosevelt has killed around two hundred animals on safari, from an elephant to a dik-dik. Kermit Roosevelt has grown to become a better hunter than his father. Roosevelt refused Herbert Parsons’s request to publicly support Otto T. Bannard. He supports Bannard, but is not fully informed of the issues and thinks it would look foolish to try and advise voters from Africa. In the Peary-Cook controversy, Roosevelt believes that Frederick Albert Cook “has all the earmarks of a fake” and that Robert E. Peary reached the North Pole.

Collection

Harvard College Library

Creation Date

1909-11-12

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919