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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

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

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

The River of Doubt. Part 2

The River of Doubt. Part 2

At Tapirapoan the Roosevelt-Rondon group began the overland portion of their trip to the headwaters of the River of Doubt; there are scenes of oxen and pack mules. Orchids and palm trees with birds nesting in them depict flora and fauna of the area. The group spent several days at Utiarity (Utiariti) where Roosevelt especially admired the nearby waterfalls. There is a still photo of Roosevelt, Colonel  Cândido Mariano da Silva Rondon, and others with a group of Nhambiquara (Nambicuara) Indians near the Juruena River. Scenes depict the exacting journey down the River of Doubt: long shots of the river and men propelling canoes through rapids; men chopping trees for rollers on which canoes are hauled; transporting supplies and canoes; making paddles; cooking and eating at campsites. A still photo shows Roosevelt writing while wearing a protective headnet and gauntlets. The man examining a broken branch may be Commander G. M. Dyott; the Dyott party did meet Indians and there is footage of several who were called Arara Indians by Dyott. In a still photo, the Brazilian paddlers are grouped around the marker bearing the river’s new name, Rio Roosevelt, and there is also footage of a member of Dyott’s party examining the original marker 14 years later. The Roosevelt-Rondon group reached the end of the unknown portion of the river April 15, 1914, when they sighted homes of rubber workers. Roosevelt, suffering from illness and injuries incurred during his long journey, returned from Manaos (Manaus) to New York; the group of men on the riverboat traveling on the Madeira River are probably members of Anthony Fiala’s group rather than Roosevelt’s (Fiala left the Roosevelt-Rondon party at Utiarity to descend the Papagaio, the Juruena, and the Tapajós Rivers). A map showing the location of the River of Doubt as correctly charted by the Roosevelt-Rondon Expedition is shown. The last scenes of Roosevelt on a ship were probably taken on board the Vandyck before the expedition, rather than after, since Father J. A. Zahm, who left the group at Utiarity, also appears.

Collection

Library of Congress Motion Picture, Broadcasting and Recorded Sound

Creation Date

1928

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