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Frederick Courteney Selous provides President Roosevelt with information that will give insight into the cost and planning of his hunting trip to Africa. He advises on the time of year to travel, the route he should take, the supplies he should need and outfitter he should use, as well as the costs of hunting licenses, supplies, and travel.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-04-03
James Bryant Lindley encloses a note from the Duke of Westminster, as he saw from newspapers that President Roosevelt would be going on a hunting trip soon. Lindley asks Roosevelt to let him know if he does plan on taking the trip, and he will ask Westminster to put him up. Lindley notes that he wishes Elliott Roosevelt were alive to rejoice in all the good President Roosevelt has done.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-11-09
Frederick Courteney Selous hopes that President Roosevelt received the copy of Colonel Swayne’s Through the Highlands of Siberia which Selous sent to him. Selous is also sending Roosevelt two issues of The Wide World Magazine, with accounts of the Tsavo man-eating lions written by Colonel J. H. Patterson, and several articles written by Selous.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1905-11-29
Photograph showing left to right on front row: Embogo, Brother of King Matesa, Mother Mary Paul, Sister Capistran, Theodore Roosevelt, King Dandi of Uganda, and Prince Joseph; back of Roosevelt: Sir Apollo Kegan, K.M.C.G., Prime Minister and First Regent, Kisingiri, Second Regent, Stanislaus Ugwanya, a native Catholic Regent and Chief Justice of the kingdom.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
1910
Frederick Courteney Selous assures President Roosevelt that, in spite of the advice he has heard from Hubert Silberrad and Mr. Buchon, R. J. Cunninghame and William Northrup McMillan will be able to provide him with very good Somali hunters, trackers, and gunbearers for the trip. Buchon and Silberrad had suggested that Roosevelt should use natives who are familiar with the area, but Selous believes that the native tribes in British East Africa are not good hunters and trackers. Selous also suggests storing Roosevelt’s provisions and camp gear in Nairobi while he and Kermit are staying at Alfred Pease’s ranch.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-11-03
This travel magazine provides information about planning a trip to British East Africa, including booking a trip, scheduling shipments, game laws, transportation, and all other details associated with a trip to Africa. The magazine includes pictures from British East Africa and a list of game animals in the area.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-07
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.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1909-01-09
This note describes transportation operations from Uganda to Lake Tanganyika, with some comment on the ease of transport.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908
Postcard is part of the Roosevelt Tour series. Image shows a fallen elephant in a forest. Description on the reverse: “A FALLEN MONARCH. The elephants of Africa have not been domesticated to the same extent as those of India. They inhabit the forests of Uganda and other districts in large numbers and immense herds have been seen in the region which will be traversed by the Roosevelt party. The elephants are being protected by the game regulations and there is not much danger of their becoming extinct. The height of the elephant in the picture is 11 feet two inches. The tusks are eight feet ten inches long with a circumference of 19 1/2 inches and a weight of 112 and 115 pounds.”
1909
This postcard is part of the Roosevelt Tour series. Image shows the different types of lions. Reverse has the description: “LIONS OF UGANDA. The region of the Uganda railway is a zoological paradise. For a mile on each side of the road, animals are protected by law, and lions, ostriches, hartebeestes, hyenas and many other animals may be seen from the train. Sir Harry Johnston describes the country as the most interesting geographically in the world. Mr. Roosevelt could not have selected a finer region for big game hunting. In the Great Rift Valley, herds of lions of as many as 32 have been seen.”
1909
This postcard is part of the Roosevelt Tour series. Image shows a crocodile sleeping on a beach. Reverse has the description: “A SLEEPING CROCODILE. The Crocodile is very common in the head waters of the Nile and in the rivers of Uganda, through which territory the Roosevelt party are now travelling. It attains a length of several feet, and is the highest form of reptilian life. Its back is covered with horny plates within the thick skin, and the massive jaw is firmly set with very strong teeth. It makes its way through the water by a twisting stroke of its powerful tail, and the animals, fish and birds on which it feeds are often brought within reach of its jaws by a twist of the tail. The jaws are rigidly articulated and it frequently has to sink its food until it is sufficiently macerated to be torn to pieces. Crocodile worship is one of the oldest forms of religion in Egypt.”
1909
This postcard is part of the Roosevelt Tour series, with an image of a forest on the front. Reverse has the description: “THE TROPIC JUNGLE. This is a characteristic photograph of the jungle lands of the coast country and of Uganda. Col. Roosevelt is doing most of his hunting, however, on the plains of Athi in the Masai country, which is in the belt between. There is not as much big game in the Uganda country owing to the fact that there is a greater native population there. In the central plateau, half the population was decimated in recent years by the sleeping sickness, caused by the deadly tse-tse fly.”
1909
Kermit Roosevelt outlines Robert Harry Munro Ferguson’s upcoming visit. Roosevelt has been busy at school and Theodore Roosevelt is planning for an African safari.
1908-06-02
Theodore Roosevelt thanks Mason Mitchell for the tooth-billed pigeon and for Mitchell’s success in getting the Governor of German Samoa to issue an ordinance. Roosevelt also discusses the Uganda elephant foot that was just about the size of Roosevelt’s biggest bull killed at Mount Kenya.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1912-05-07