Theodore Roosevelt loved a challenge, both politically and naturally. Only days after completing his second term in office as president, he, along with his son, Kermit, and seven naturalists, embarked on the Smithsonian–Roosevelt African Expedition. Though he promised not to run for a third term, he disapproved of the country’s direction under the Taft administration, and he ran again in 1912 under his own ticket. It was one of the few times he had met a challenge head on and failed.
Change of Plans
Before the expedition began, Brazil’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Lauro Muller, suggested that Roosevelt “go down an unknown river.” The suggestion would not only alter the course of the expedition, but history itself.When Col. Candido Mariano da Silva Rondon, Brazil’s most accomplished explorer, was assigned to the expedition, he made it clear that he was not interested in being a tour guide. Roosevelt made it clear that he was not interested in floating the Amazon’s safest rivers. Almost immediately upon their meeting, the expedition was renamed the Roosevelt–Rondon Scientific Expedition.
Their new destination was Rio da Duvida―the River of Doubt. Rondon had discovered the mouth of the river years before, but even to him, the river was unknown.
Henry Fairfield Osborn, president of the American Museum of Natural History, pleaded for George Cherrie, the attending naturalist, to convince Roosevelt to reconsider and pursue Zahm’s original plan. Roosevelt’s response was nothing if not assertive: “I have already lived and enjoyed as much of life as any nine other men I know; I have had my full share, and if it is necessary for me to leave my bones in South America, I am quite ready to do so.”
Reaching Duvida
Officially, the expedition began in December 1913, but the explorers, most of whom were “camaradas” (Brazilian porters), began their march on January 19, 1914, through the Amazon Highlands. Perceiving the harsh demands of the expedition, Roosevelt sent Zahm and a handful of others away to explore those safer tributaries.
After three weeks in the Highlands, the expedition reached the Juruena River, a tributary of the Amazon. By now most of their pack animals were dead. Those that remained could hardly muster enough strength to carry their own weight. Additionally, the expedition was already low on provisions.
The 22 men followed the Juruena for several days before reaching the Madeira, the main tributary of the Amazon River which connected to the River of Doubt. After a long slog along the Madeira to the unknown tributary, they concluded that the rest of the journey would have to be conducted by boat. The only problem was they didn’t have one.
The expedition purchased seven dugout canoes from the Nhambiquara, one of the continent’s most primitive tribes. These canoes, half of which were hardly worth using, were built from tree trunks and weighed up to 2,500 pounds. They would be difficult to navigate on the river, and excruciatingly heavy to portage.
On February 27, the men embarked into the unknown.
The Dangers of the Amazon
There was a constant and understandable nervous tension among the members of the expedition. The rainforest was so thick and the water so dark that it was impossible to see where dangers lurked.Despite the dangers, Rondon required precise surveyance of the river. The expedition stopped 114 times to conduct its survey. They covered only 6 miles the first day―a rate that would deplete their provisions long before concluding the expedition.
Kermit volunteered to hold the sighting rod, which required returning to land and cutting through the vegetation. The assignment consistently exposed him to dangers in the water, like piranhas and caimans, and on land, like jaguars, wild hogs, and snakes. Roosevelt had already been bitten by a coral snake, saved only by the thickness of his leather boots.
For some, however, it was the silence that made the trek most unnerving, especially at night in their makeshift camps. “Let there be the least break in the harmony of sound and instantly there succeeds a deathlike silence, while all living things wait in dread for the inevitable shriek that follows the night prowler’s stealthy spring,” Cherrie wrote. “Strange things have happened in the night.”
Reaching the Rapids
In early March, the expedition experienced its first set of rapids. The men decided to portage around the rapids. So heavy were the dugouts and unforgiving the terrain that it took three days to cover half a mile. A practically suicidal pace. When the party attempted to canoe through the rapids, two canoes sank. The camaradas dove in to save them, and one camarada nearly died after being swept downriver. The group resolved to portage. The expedition covered an abysmal 75 miles in 12 days.On the morning of March 11, the men woke to disaster. A heavy downpour had sunk two canoes, ripped them down the river, and shattered them among the rocks.
Rondon ordered his men to secure another canoe. It was a multi-day process to find and cut down a worthy tree, and then form it into a canoe. The camaradas completed the 26-foot canoe in four days. Roosevelt was amazed at the men’s strength and work ethic, praising them in his journal. Julio de Lima, however, proved an “utterly worthless” camarada. Rondon bemoaned not being able “to rid ourselves of his presence.” Lima would soon make his presence felt with deadly effect.
Portage or Float
After taking stock of their provisions, Roosevelt wrote, “We felt it necessary to risk running the rapids.” The first day back on the river was successful, passing six sets of rapids, and miles of river. The following day the risk would result in tragedy.As they approached a waterfall, Rondon ordered the canoes to the right side of the river and for everyone to remain until he returned from scouting ahead. When Rondon left, Kermit ordered his two companions, João and Simplicio, to paddle to the other side to see if it was passable. The wide river was split by a small island. As the three reached the other side, it proved impassable. Attempting to return, they were pulled in by a whirlpool, then thrust into the middle of the river. With the canoe taking water, João leapt out and tried to pull the canoe to safety by its hawser. The strength of the river flipped the canoe and ripped the hawser from his hands, as Kermit, Simplicio, and the canoe flowed helplessly over the waterfall.
The canoe was “crushed to splinters.” Kermit would survive, but after a long and fruitless search, the men left a marker with the carved words, “In these rapids died poor Simplicio.” Rondon named the waterfall in honor of the drowned Brazilian.
The loss was immense: a canoe, its provisions, Kermit’s rifle, and most importantly, a strong and faithful camarada. Nonetheless, Rondon encouraged his men, and he determined to not let the loss “interfere with the expedition’s mission.”
Disaster and Murder
Despite being forced to ration meals, the “utterly worthless” camarada, Lima, was caught stealing provisions by senior camarada Paixão. Roosevelt thought the man should be shot, noting “on such an expedition the theft of food comes next to murder.” Rondon differed with Roosevelt on the extent of the punishment.The two men also differed on how quickly they should be advancing. Rondon was adamant about surveying the river with the utmost accuracy. Roosevelt was adamant about survival, recalling “the iron cruelty of life in the tropics,” which had resulted in diminished provisions; the loss of a life and several canoes from the rapids; the poisonous insects, which had now infected him with malaria; the threat of Indian attack; exhaustion; and now an unpredictable camarada.
What came next would push Roosevelt to the brink of death. On March 27, while camaradas were trying to maneuver the boats around the rapids, two canoes started taking on water and were being pressed mercilessly against the boulders. When the camaradas yelled for help, Roosevelt was the first man in. Fighting against the river’s strength, Roosevelt’s foot slipped. His leg slammed into a rock, slicing open his right shin. The jungle was no place for such an injury. “From that time on, he was a very sick man,” Cherrie recalled.
Roosevelt, the man of adventure, was prepared for such events. He always carried a vial of morphine to avoid “a long-drawn-out agony from which death was the only relief.” His condition worsened as infection settled into the cut. The following morning, he summoned Cherrie and Kermit. “I want you and Kermit to go on. I will stop here.” Kermit wouldn’t hear of it. It was possibly the only time he ever defied his father’s orders.
The expedition pressed on. The men climbed gorges and lowered their canoes through the rapids by rope. It took four days and cost them a canoe. While the men worked arduously, Lima was again caught stealing food and again reprimanded by Paixão. When Cherrie saw Julio grab a rifle and waltz off, he thought nothing of it. Gunfire was commonplace. Suddenly three camaradas came running and yelling, “Julio has killed Paixão!”
With a surge of adrenaline, Roosevelt was the first to leap up, grab a rifle, and give chase. He was joined by the team doctor, Dr. Cajazeira, who carried his revolver. The two stumbled upon Paixão’s body. He had been shot from behind through the heart. Unable to find Julio, the men buried Paixão and left.
At Death’s Door
The day after Paixão’s murder, Roosevelt’s infection became life threatening. His temperature shot to 103. Shivering uncontrollably, he succumbed to a state of delirium hinging on insanity. Over and over he repeated, “In Xanadu did Kubla Khan a stately pleasure-dome decree.” When morning broke, so did Roosevelt’s fever. A relieved Kermit decided to join several others to hunt for food and survey the river. Returning, he reported that the mountains were moving away from the river, which he believed would relieve them of the rapids. His prediction proved correct.The rapids were gone, but many dangers remained. The Cinta Larga, a cannibalistic tribe, had made its presence known by killing one of Rondon’s dogs. Many of the men, including Kermit, Cherrie, João, and Roosevelt, suffered from either malaria or dysentery. All had experienced tremendous weight loss. Most concerning was the infection in Roosevelt’s leg, which had left him all but incapacitated. On April 16, with the pain so unbearable, Roosevelt finally agreed to an operation.
As he lay on the riverbank, Dr. Cajazeira, without anesthetic, cut open his leg and inserted a tube to drain the infection. Roosevelt never uttered a groan. “Father’s courage was an inspiration never to be forgotten by any of us,” Kermit recalled.
Expedition Complete
The operation was successful. The expedition could move on knowing that Roosevelt would at least not die from infection. Greater relief came when they began passing small, ramshackle homes belonging to rubber tappers.The daily grind of surveying, hunting, and camping continued until April 26. Along the banks, the expedition came to the prearranged encampment: a row of tents stationed under Brazilian and American flags. The Roosevelt–Rondon Scientific Expedition was finally complete.
When the Americans returned home, they received a hero’s welcome. Nonetheless, there were some in the scientific and exploring community who balked at Roosevelt’s claim of a new river in the Amazon. Despite suffering the effects of his now ravaged health, he conducted a series of lectures, complete with maps and photos, that convinced these communities of their discovery. After one of his lectures, the New York Evening Journal reported, “Roosevelt has put the River of Doubt upon the map of South America.”
Indeed, the maps from the past century to today show this once unknown river, though it is no longer named River of Doubt. Ever since the expedition, it has been officially named Roosevelt River.
