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Theodore Roosevelt describes for his daughter Ethel Roosevelt the heavy rain at his camp near Santiago, Cuba, and how a bad night storm ruined his hammock and tent. He also describes the birds in the area and a particularly funny little lizard.
1898-07-15
Quentin Roosevelt writes about heavy rain storms flooding his camp and making working and living conditions difficult.
Sagamore Hill National Historic Site
1917-09-07
William Jennings Bryan offers his small, ineffective umbrella labeled “16 to 1,” “Anti-trust,” and “Anti-Expansion,” to a woman labeled “Columbia” who is carrying a more effective umbrella labeled “Prosperity.” Caption: Bryan. — Won’t you come under my umbrella?
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
1900-09-05
J. H. Patterson explains to President Roosevelt that while the rains might not be over by May 1, they should not be inconvenient for Roosevelt’s upcoming African safari, as there is always fine weather at some part of the day, and there would be no worry about finding water. Patterson believes Roosevelt should be able to gather all the specimens and personal trophies he previously described. He recommends that Roosevelt travel in comfort, start slow, and gradually build up the endurance the safari will require. Patterson thanks Roosevelt for the invitation to the White House and if he comes, will bring some slides to show.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-07-29
Anna Roosevelt Cowles thanks President Roosevelt for his previous letter and tells him that Theodore Douglas Robinson had a horrid time the day before because it rained all day and his glasses were blurry.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-11-01
Rainfall amounts for Cristobal, Culebra, and Ancon in Panama over three successive days.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-12-31
Andrew McC. Parker discusses the challenges associated with building a canal across the Isthmus.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-03-26
President Roosevelt holds an umbrella as it rains down pitchforks that bounce off. Caption: No, it wasn’t much of a storm.
A political cartoon brilliant in its simplicity refers to one of the last chapters of the interminable dispute between President Theodore Roosevelt and Congress over the expansion of the Secret Service. His request that Congress authorize its increased scope and size, and Congress’s perfunctory rebuffs, escalated to insults, angry and sarcastic messages, speeches, resolutions, and the president’s suggestions — eventually with some examples and proof — that some Congressmen were engaged in corrupt acts and feared a new investigatory agency.
The cartoon (with a caricature clearly drawn in the style of T. S. Sullivant) cleverly summarized the tempest-in-a-teapot between the president and South Carolina’s Democrat senator, “Pitchfork Ben” Tillman. A sarcastic speech by the senator attacked the president’s honor, asserted his own, and dared the White House to defend its proposal for a new bureau of investigation. Upon that, Roosevelt, almost like a Muckraker, exposed secret land deals from which Tillman illicitly had profited.
Kermit Roosevelt had a great time and thanks John Campbell Greenway for hosting him. He has found the plains to be very hot and dry. Roosevelt hopes the Greenways have received rain and looks forward to seeing them in New York soon.
1908-09-17
President Roosevelt briefly addresses the crowd that gathered at Knoxville, Tennessee, despite the heavy rain. He praises Tennessee as the home of many American leaders, including officers in the Revolutionary War and American Civil War. He celebrates the increase of industry, railroads, and mining in East Tennessee but extols more the virtues of citizenship and value of worthy labor, referencing Civil War veterans and early settlers as examples.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1902-09-08
President McKinley, as a young boy, attempts to light the fuse to a fireworks-rocket labeled “Prosperity” using “McKinley Administration Matches” during a rain storm beneath dark clouds labeled “Tariff for Trusts.”
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
1897-07-07
A young boy sits in the rain with an umbrella and a little dog, outside the locked and boarded-up entrance to the “25 cent seats” labeled “Opening Day April 10th Pink Socks vs Green Socks.” The boy has a “Base Ball Guide” in his coat pocket and there is a small basket of food on the ground, at his feet. Caption: “Cheer up, Towse! Only got about a week more to wait!”
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
1913-04-02