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President Roosevelt inquires if Annie Montague Alexander will allow Edmund Heller to accompany him on his African safari. Roosevelt intends to make the trip a scientific one and collect samples for the United States National Museum.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-10-08
Theodore Roosevelt believes that Edgar Alexander Mearns’ diabetes will not make any difference in regards to the Africa trip. Roosevelt agrees with having a case of brandy, a case of whiskey, and case of champagne in the medical stores.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-08-24
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.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-08-20
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.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-08-14
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.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-08-14
Theodore Roosevelt believes that he and Edgar Alexander Mearns will have a great time in Africa. The trip can also have real importance from a scientific perspective.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-08-13
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.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-08-08
Secretary of War William H. Taft nails down “the lid” on a large box while he looks toward President Roosevelt who leads a procession of wagons with dead bears and animals.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1905-05-09
Theodore Roosevelt enjoyed his time in Brazil, even though it was hard and dangerous. Discovering the new river was “really rather extraordinary.”
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1914-05-18
Theodore Roosevelt asks Charles D. Walcott if he knows when Edmund Heller is set to publish a certain study based on what the group discovered on a recent trip, as Roosevelt is anxious to make a permanent record of their travels. Roosevelt also asks when Walcott will send a pair of rhinoceros to the American Museum of Natural History where they will be displayed.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1911-10-05
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.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1911-09-11
Theodore Roosevelt expresses to Frederick Courteney Selous his sympathy for the poor treatment Selous received during a scientific expedition, including health issues and bureaucratic obstacles. Roosevelt defends Selous’s integrity and scientific value, criticizes British officials for their lack of support, and reflects on his own African experiences. He praises Selous’s field observations and urges him to continue his contributions to natural history despite age and physical limitations.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1911-09-11
Theodore Roosevelt thanks Frank M. Chapman for his letters, and writes about his African expedition and how his son, Kermit Roosevelt, defied his father’s advice and came out on top in the end.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1911-09-01
Theodore Roosevelt received Alfred E. Pease’s letter, as he had hoped. He is currently visiting Theodore “Ted” Roosevelt and comments that the happiness of his children is his greatest concern. He recounts hunting bongos with George Grey in Africa and bird watching with his brother, Edward Grey, in England. The news of George Grey’s death by a lion saddened him, and he considers the dangers of lion hunting. Roosevelt discusses his family and their recent trip. While happy at home, Roosevelt would consider another scientific expedition through Asia.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1911-04-01
Theodore Roosevelt provides a letter of reference for a group of researchers going on expedition to the West African islands, including the Azores. Among the group are Henry R. Emory, Charles Wellington Furlong, and others. The team is traveling on behalf of the Comparative Zoology Department and the Peabody Museum at Harvard University. Roosevelt urges those in a position to do so to assist the team.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1915-06-29
Theodore Roosevelt thanks Captain Magalháes and through him Colonel Rondon for the volume containing the account of the work of the Brazilian Telegraph Commission and its scientific results.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1915-03-03
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.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1915-02-25
Theodore Roosevelt claims that on the Roosevelt-Rondon Scientific Expedition there would not have been any “observations worth anything” if he had not insisted on it and that his companions’ work was mostly valueless unless he was around. There were many shortcomings in planning and preparation. Roosevelt believes that he, along with Kermit Roosevelt and Anthony Fiala, could have made better preparations. Roosevelt describes the river’s features and will be sending John Scott Keltie a map of the River of Doubt (Roosevelt River) that is incredibly accurate.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1914-12-17
Theodore Roosevelt was pleased to read the extracts from Frederick Sturges Osborn’s journal. The “Ed Mearns” mentioned in the journal was Edgar Alexander Mearns, who joined Roosevelt for the African trip.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1914-12-16
Theodore Roosevelt asks Spanish Ambassador Don Juan Riaño y Gayangos if he will pass on a book Roosevelt wrote about hunting in South America to the Duke of Alba, Jacobo Stuart Fitz-James y Falcó. “Alva,” as Roosevelt refers to him, stood in Kermit Roosevelt’s recent wedding to Belle Wyatt Willard in Madrid, where the elder Roosevelt enjoyed the company of King Alfonso III and Queen Victoria of Spain.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1914-11-30