Foxes

President Roosevelt sends Edward McKay a photograph of him in the Rough Riders, and says he will always think of him as “one of Uncle Sam’s little boys,” and remembers him playing with Roosevelt’s son, Quentin. Roosevelt tells McKay about all the sports and activities his sons Quentin and Archie are involved in, and describes a camping trip where two bold young foxes visited the party.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-07-30

Henry P. Curtis describes a recent publication on European natural history that he believes Theodore Roosevelt might be interested in. He explains how many towns were named after the animals that once resided there, such as Wolverhampton (wolves).

Curtis also shares with Roosevelt that his father was a Whig, while Curtis is a Republican. He expresses admiration for Senator John Sherman, discusses his political adversaries, and wishes that Sherman, Alexander Hamilton, and Daniel Webster could have been presidents.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Uncle Sam holds a rifle labeled “Prosperity” in his right hand and a hammer in his left hand. He has just nailed a fox pelt labeled “Bryanism” to the wall of a log cabin.

comments and context

Comments and Context

As a summary, a simple post-mortem, of the 1900 election, by the end of November Puck expressed the situation, and the hope, that “Bryanism” was dead. William Jennings Bryan ran again in 1908, and served as king-maker, and Secretary of State, in Woodrow Wilson’s political career in 1912 and afterwards, but Keppler’s cartoon expressed the current situation. Perhaps unknowingly, for all the issues enunciated by Bryan, it was prosperity that made his economic cure-alls practically irrelevant. Ironically, “Bryanism” itself did not wholly die, as Theodore Roosevelt and others eventually transformed or absorbed many of its aspects into their programs.

Theodore Roosevelt is delighted that Thomas Barbour will respond to Francis H. Allen’s article about “concealed coloration” in The Auk that attacked Roosevelt. Roosevelt is upset by Allen’s omission and misrepresentation of facts, including on the topics of “counter-shading” and natural selection. Roosevelt wishes Barbour could come to Oyster Bay for experiments regarding colors for concealment at night. 

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1912-12-03

Theodore Roosevelt wishes he could go see Kermit Roosevelt, but does not feel that he can leave at the moment. He is working to keep the Progressive Party together. He is to give an address for the American Historical Association and will send it to Kermit. Roosevelt informs his son that Edith Kermit Carow Roosevelt is not well, but believes she will be better. Roosevelt’s other children are doing well. 

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1912-12-03

Theodore Roosevelt thinks the proof of George Bird Grinnell’s article is “one of the most interesting articles I have ever read” and thinks it offers a more descriptive narrative than a scientist, such as Schufeldt, could ever provide. Roosevelt does question Grinnell’s point about the wolves regarding the Indians as friends, since the Indians were killing many wolves for their furs.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1897-08-30

Henry Von Gomez sends Theodore Roosevelt “a small foxes head grown on the back of a rabbit” and shares the story behind it.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1911-04-21

Former Confederate general Fitzhugh Lee stands next to the fox hide labeled “The Old Virginia Fox, Mahone” that he has nailed to a door. Behind the door is a saddle labeled “The Treason-Stained Saddle.”

Collection

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs

Creation Date

1885-11-11

A large crow labeled “Bryan” perches on a branch labeled “Denver Convention,” holding a slip of paper labeled “Nomination” in its beak. Sitting on the ground below is a fox labeled “Eastern Democracy.” Caption: A cleverer crow than the bird of Aesop’s fable.

comments and context

Comments and Context

The story of the Fox and the Crow is one of the most popular of Aesop’s many fables, and appears to have predated Aesop by centuries. many cultures have variations of the tale and its lesson, and variations or re-tellings are famous, at the hands of La Fontaine, Martin Luther, and even DC Comics.

Winthrop Chanler is glad President Roosevelt had the opportunity to see John Henry Twachtman’s painting, “Yellowstone Pool.” Chanler describes in detail a humorous fox hunting adventure. He concludes with informing Roosevelt that although Alastair Gordon-Cumming has requested that Chanler recommend him to be chief clerk of the State Department, Chanler has refused as that is not something he regularly does.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1903-06-11

Bradley T. Johnson has received Governor Roosevelt’s book The Rough Riders and calls it a “graphic story of a gallant feat” and compares the experience with his own charge at “The Rail Road Cut,” during the Civil War. Johnson discusses hunting, Roosevelt’s re-election campaign, and sends his love to the Roosevelt family. Johnson also mentions that he will speak with Senator Lodge around Christmas about getting Roosevelt a medal of honor.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1899-08-07