National Museum of Natural History (U.S.)

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Whitelaw Reid

President Roosevelt agrees with Ambassador Reid’s assessment of the interviewing being done by Edward VII, King of England. He thanks Reid for the introduction to Phillip H. Percival. After conferring with Edward North Buxton, Roosevelt has decided not to shoot in the reserves, and rescinds his request to Lord Eyre Crowe. Instead he asks only for permission regarding restricted species. The Sirdar of Egypt, F. R. Wingate, has written to Roosevelt about Sudan.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-09-12

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Whitelaw Reid

President Roosevelt thanks Ambassador Reid for the interesting letter, especially for the insight on Newfoundland. He is interested in what Secretary of State of India John Morley says about India, and discusses the intricacies surrounding “the control of thickly peopled tropical regions by self-governing northern democracies.” Roosevelt hopes to speak with Morley after presenting the Romanes lecture at Oxford. He asks Reid to inquire of the British statesman, Robert Offley Ashburton Crewe-Milnes, about conditional hunting on the reserves. The Vermont elections went well.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-09-03

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Whitelaw Reid

President Roosevelt requests that Ambassador Reid explain to Robert Offley Ashburton Crewe-Milnes that his African trip is a scientific expedition to collect specimens for the National Museum, not “a game butchering trip.” However, if given the opportunity, Roosevelt may collect some trophies. The invitation from the chancellor of Oxford, George Nathaniel Curzon, to present the Romanes lecture gives Roosevelt a genuine reason to visit England on his return from Africa. He details his travel itinerary, plans for appropriate formal attire, and people to call upon. Roosevelt is interested in what the Japanese minister for foreign affairs Jutarō Komura says and includes his letter to Japanese ambassador Kogoro Takahira and the reply. Reid’s full statement on the incidents of the Olympics pleases Roosevelt, who believes intense international matches inevitably result in misunderstandings.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-08-20

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Edward North Buxton

President Roosevelt asks Edward North Buxton if his letter to Alfred E. Pease was clear on specific points relating to his Africa trip. He has been advised to hire an Englishman but would rather have a native guide. Roosevelt continues to gather supplies and equipment, agreeing that footwear is too important to consider the expense. He shares his travel plans and ideas with Buxton.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-08-20

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to William Northrup McMillan

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

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Harry Johnston

President Roosevelt is interested in the book on the Congo Free State that Harry Johnston has sent, and shares his thoughts about missionaries and their work with “savages.” Roosevelt’s upcoming safari is in support of the National Museum of Natural History, and as such he will do all he can to prevent the needless slaughter of animals on the trip.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-08-14

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Robert Bridges

President Roosevelt has written a statement about his association with Scribner’s Magazine during his upcoming African safari as requested by Robert Bridges, but requests Bridges be vague about the exact itinerary and timing of the trip, so as to avoid unwanted followers in the field, and asks that Bridges emphasize that the trip is associated with the National Museum of Natural History. Roosevelt emphasizes that his work with The Outlook magazine will in no way conflict with his work for Scribner’s.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-08-14

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to A. Blayney Percival

President Roosevelt hopes to be able to rely upon A. Blayney Percival for direction in locating the different types of game he wishes to hunt on his upcoming African safari, including lion, elephant, rhinoceros, buffalo, giraffe, hippopotamus, eland, wildebeests, roan, oryx, and waterbuck.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-08-08

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Henry Cabot Lodge

President Roosevelt updates Henry Cabot Lodge on personal and political matters. Roosevelt feels obligated to enjoy a series of essays by Westerlick because his wife, Edith Kermit Carow Roosevelt, assumes he would not care for them; the puzzling problem of the re-nomination for Charles Evans Hughes for governor of New York; the plans for Roosevelt’s upcoming African safari, and his desire to tour Europe on the way home as a private citizen without pomp; his plans to write for Scribner’s and The Outlook post-presidency, and his reasoning for selecting those offers.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-08-08

Letter from Secretary of Theodore Roosevelt to D. P. Brannin

Theodore Roosevelt’s secretary thanks D. P. Brannin for his letter to Roosevelt. While some of Roosevelt’s specimens from his recent Africa trip are on display at the National Museum of Natural History, the remainder have not yet been mounted due to lack of Congressional funding.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1912-05-08

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Frederick Courteney Selous

Theodore Roosevelt sends Frederick Courteney Selous an article he wrote for The Outlook and directs him to the footnote about Alfred Russel Wallace’s statement about antelope horns. He finds Wallace and naturalists like him absurd in their writings about protective coloration and similar notions. They develop theories without having practical knowledge. Kermit Roosevelt’s hunts were successful.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1911-11-24

Letter from Secretary of Theodore Roosevelt to O. B. Reed

Theodore Roosevelt’s secretary explains to O. B. Reed that all of the specimens Roosevelt obtained during his safari have been sent to the Smithsonian Institution and, therefore, he cannot comply with his request.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1911-11-20

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to James L. Clark

Theodore Roosevelt wishes he could see the group of hartebeests before they leave James L. Clark’s shop but will have to wait and see them at the National Museum of Natural History. He is glad Clark is working on the white rhinoceros.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1911-11-10

Letter from Secretary of Theodore Roosevelt to Mrs. A. S. Buckman

Theodore Roosevelt’s secretary explains to Mrs. A. S. Buckman that all of the specimens Roosevelt obtained during his safari have been sent to the Smithsonian Institution and, therefore, he cannot comply with her request.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1911-11-02

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Edgar Huidekoper Wells

Theodore Roosevelt writes to Edgar Huidekoper Wells of his two sons, Archibald “Archie” B. Roosevelt and Kermit Roosevelt. Archie passed two of his four subjects this year, of which Roosevelt is very pleased and may allow him to get in to Harvard University next year. Roosevelt asks if he might get the test papers for Archie’s civics test to better understand what Archie failed in. Kermit Roosevelt was granted permission to start school a few days late so he might finish hunting moose, caribou, and beaver in New Brunswick on behalf of the National Museum. Kermit wrote of his hunting experience and his essay was accepted by Scribner’s Magazine.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1911-10-02

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Edmund Heller

Theodore Roosevelt expresses to Edmund Heller the need to quickly document big game specimens from Africa and urges him to return to Washington to finish his reports, sharing news from Frederick Selous and sending regards to friends.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1911-09-11

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Le Baron Russell Briggs

Theodore Roosevelt explains to Le Baron Russell Briggs, the dean of Harvard College, that his son Kermit Roosevelt has been asked by the Smithsonian to gather certain specimen of moose, caribou and beaver in New Brunswick for the National Museum. In order to fulfill this request, Kermit will need to be a few days late in reporting at Harvard, so Theodore Roosevelt asks Briggs if he can excuse his son’s absence.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1911-09-01

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Frank M. Chapman

Theodore Roosevelt writes to Frank M. Chapman about the Popular Science article and a criticism of Roosevelt’s “Appendix E” by Thayer, in a letter to the Tribune. He also finds Chapman’s Trinidad article very interesting and disagrees on several points about the birds of Trinidad, although he concedes that Chapman’s experience and training is greater than his own. Roosevelt further discusses his arguments about the coloration, cover, behavior, and habit of birds in the United States, Africa, and Latin America. He thanks Chapman for the interest in his article, thoroughly enjoyed his visit the other day, and will take his notes on the galley sheets into advisement. He returns The Awk and Osborn’s copy of Nature. In the addendum, Roosevelt answers Thayer’s criticism in the Popular Science magazine.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1911-06-29

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Frederick Courteney Selous

President Roosevelt is grateful for the assistance that Frederick Courteney Selous and Edward North Buxton are providing in planning his African safari. Roosevelt hopes to leave the United States in early April, and will stay first at the ranch of Alfred E. Pease in Nairobi, British East Africa. Other tentative plans include hunting in Uganda and along Nile tributaries. Roosevelt thinks he will arrange to make the trip on behalf of the National Museum of Natural History and hopes he will be allowed certain privileges not granted to non-scientific sportsmen.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-06-25

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Caspar Whitney

President Roosevelt declines Caspar Whitney’s proposal to either author or authorize an account detailing the plans for his upcoming trip to Africa, as he claims it has already received enough publicity and that it is a “scientific trip” above all else. Roosevelt also does not wish to publicize his exact whereabouts and plans prior to the trip.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1909-01-07