Giraffe

President Roosevelt has heard that William Northrup McMillan is one of the best resources in East Africa for hunters. He describes his plan to hunt for six or seven months in British East Africa, starting next April, killing only specimens for the National Museum and meat. Roosevelt would greatly appreciate if McMillan could advise him on where he can, with certainty, obtain lion, elephant, buffalo, and eland. He hopes his inquiries do not bother McMillan.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-08-19

Theodore Roosevelt expresses his joy that the giant eland and netted giraffe are being mounted at the Smithsonian Institution.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1912-03-25

Theodore Roosevelt has not heard from Frederick Courteney Selous for some time and wants to hear how his safari in the Lado Enclave went. He hopes Selous killed a giraffe as he is curious about what species is in the area and that he solved the questions of Mrs. Grey’s waterbuck. Roosevelt encourages Selous to write a book on his experiences and praises his previous works, especially as other hunter-naturalists’ books are “utterly dry.” He sends a copy of his pamphlet on protective coloration in animals and his follow-up article. Kermit Roosevelt misses Africa and is currently hunting in Mexico, with a trip to New Brunswick planned for September. Roosevelt wants Selous and his wife, Marie Catherine Gladys Selous, to visit him at Sagamore Hill.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1911-08-15

President Roosevelt tells J. H. Patterson that he will likely be able to make the hunting trip in Africa. He describes the guns he hopes to bring, outlines tentative travel plans, and discusses the game he would like to shoot. He asks Patterson to advise him “in rough fashion” about his plan.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-05-11

President Roosevelt tells J. H. Patterson that he will likely be able to make the hunting trip in Africa. He describes the guns he hopes to bring, outlines his tentative travel plans, and discusses the game he would like to shoot. He asks Patterson to advise him “in rough fashion” about his plan.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-05-11

President Roosevelt discusses the potential timing of his trip to Africa, the game he would like to shoot, and the guns he plans to bring.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-05-11

President Roosevelt agrees with Cephas F. Clapp, both about railroad trusts and nature faker writers. Roosevelt discusses the characteristics of antelope and giraffe horns.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-06-21

Julius Holz writes to Theodore Roosevelt in admiration of his work and big game hunting specimens. Holz was recently disappointed at the exhibition of Roosevelt’s specimens from his African safari, and Holz hopes to learn more about the exhibition from Roosevelt.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1911-06-20

Edmund Heller hopes Theodore Roosevelt will visit the National Museum of Natural History during his visit to Washington D. C. He discusses the status of the specimens.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1910-11-12

Alfred E. Pease returns President Roosevelt’s letter to Edward North Buxton. He discusses the locations of different game animals, particularly lions, and is certain of Roosevelt’s prospects for collecting all the specimens he wants. Pease does not personally know the hunter William C. Judd.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-09-07

Alfred E. Pease tells President Roosevelt it is a pleasure and an honor to help him with his trip to British East Africa and includes details and recommendations on several topics, including: depositing money into the National Bank of India in Nairobi to purchase horses and saddles; the best binoculars and telescopes; location and types of game; camping equipment, including baths and candles; and how to avoid mosquitoes. Pease assures Roosevelt he need not worry about being out of shape.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-08-11

President Roosevelt has his big stick at his feet and holds out his hands toward a snake, a lion, a tiger, a giraffe, a rhino, and a monkey. The “G.O.P.” elephant says, “He hypnotized me.”

comments and context

Comments and Context

The Washington Herald’s Joseph Harry Cunningham paid subtle compliments to President Roosevelt in this cartoon that was published precisely a week before the Republican National Convention would convene in Chicago. Presidents did not attend their parties’ conventions in those times, nor did candidates unless they were nominated in last-minute stampedes or compromises.

In honor of President Roosevelt’s upcoming African safari, C. Bryson Taylor writes about the sights, conditions, hazards, and necessary supplies of a hunting trip in safari. Taylor details the guides, provisions, ammunition, and medicines travelers will need when embarking into the “dark and brooding heart” of Africa. Taylor also weaves in two fictional stories about previous hunting parties, which demonstrate the harshness of the expeditions.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1909-01-09

Theodore Roosevelt would like a .22 rifle with a peep sight and 1000 cartridges charged to his account. Scribner’s Magazine has published an article about Roosevelt’s successful hunting with the .405 in Africa.

Collection

Buffalo Bill Center of the West

Creation Date

1909-05-12

Theodore Roosevelt would like a .22 automatic repeating rifle and 1000 cartridges charged to his account and sent to Alfred E. Pease. Roosevelt has done well with the .405 on safari in Africa.

Collection

Buffalo Bill Center of the West

Creation Date

1909-05-12

Theodore Roosevelt always knew George von Lengerke Meyer would do well as head of the Navy and congratulates him on his speech. Roosevelt describes the luck he has had hunting on African safari and the numbers and types of animals shot, 33 in total for Roosevelt, and 27 for his son Kermit Roosevelt. The elder Roosevelt apologizes for the short pencil-written letter and sends well wishes to Meyer’s wife, Marian Alice Appleton Meyer.

Collection

Massachusetts Historical Society

Creation Date

1909-09-10

Theodore Roosevelt recounts for George von Lengerke Meyer the “really great sport” he and son Kermit Roosevelt are encountering on their African safari, including the numbers and types of animals they’ve killed. Roosevelt hopes Meyer will give his regards to his wife Marian Alice Appleton Meyer and President Taft, whom he thinks “has done admirably.”

Collection

Massachusetts Historical Society

Creation Date

1909-05-17

The quote on this postcards reads: “The power of accepting individual responsibility and yet of acting in conjunction with others, courage and resolution-these are the qualities which mark a masterful people.”

Collection

Fritz R. Gordner Collection

Creation Date

1910

Roosevelt bear, Teddy G, rides a giraffe at the circus. Number 16 in a series of postcards depicting scenes from Seymour Eaton’s “Roosevelt Bears” books.

Collection

Fritz R. Gordner Collection

Creation Date

1907

Kermit Roosevelt describes his travels in Africa. He has hunted giraffe, lion, and cheetah. There have been issues with smallpox, particularly among their native guides.

Collection

Arizona Historical Society

Creation Date

1910-02-05