The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1914-05-27
ROOSEVELT
RIVER OF DOUBT
COLONEL SHOWS 1T is NO MYTH
As SOME HAVE BEEN PLEASED
TO SAY.

New York, May 27.-During his lee
ture before the National Geographic
Society in Washington, yesterday, Col.
Roosevelt read in connection there
with the following letter:
"To His Excellency, the Minister of
FOREIGN Affairs, Rio de Janeiro: My
Dear General Lauro Muller wish
first to express my profound acknowl'
edgements to you personally and to
the members of the Brazilian govern
ment, whose generous courtesy alone
rendered possible the EXpedicae Scien'
tifica ROosevelt-Rondon. | also wish
to express my high admiration and re-
gard for Col. Rondon and his asso-
ciates who have been my colleagues
in this work of exploration.
"In the third place | wish to point
out that what we just have done was
rendered possible only by the hard
and perilous labor of the Brazilian
Telegraphic Commission in the uneX-
plored western wilderness of Matte
Crosse during the last seven years.
We merely have put the cap on the
pyramid of which they laid deep and
broad the foundations. We have had
hard and somewhat dangerous but
very successful trip. No less than six
weeks were spent in slowly, and with
peril, and eXhausting labor, forcing
our way down through what seemed
a literally endless succession of rap
ids and cataracts. For AS days we
saw no human being In passing these
rapids we lost five of the seven canoes
with which we started, and had to
bud others. One of our best men
lost his life in the rapids. Under the
strain one of the men went complete
" mad, shirked all his work, stole
his comrades food and when punished
bv the sergeant, he with cold-blooded
deliberation murdered the sergeant
and fled into the wilderness. Col. Ron
don's dog. running ahead of him,
while hunting, was shot by Indians;
by his death he, in all probability,
saved the life of his master.
1--WE have put on the map a river
about 1900 kilometers in length, run
ming Just south of the 18th degree to
north of the 50th degree, and the big
gest affiuent of the Madeira.
Until now it's upper course has
been utterly unknown to everyone
and its lower course, although for
years known to the rubber men, was
utterly unknown to all photographers
Its source is between the 18th and 18Th
parallels of latitude south, and be
tween longitude SO degrees and longl
tude 60 degrees west from Green
wich. We embarked on it about al
latitude II degrees, l minutes south
and longitude 60 degrees, Is minutes
vest. After that its entire course was
between the Goth and 6lst degrees
of longitude, approaching the latter
more closely about in latitude de
grees Is minutes. The first rapids
we're at Navarito in II degrees A
minutes, and after that they were con
tinuous and very difficult and dan
gerous until the rapids named after
the murdered sergeant, Peisham, II
II degrees II minutes. At II degrees
% minutes it received the Rio Ker
nit from the left. At IL degrees .
minutes the MarcianO Avila entered
it from the right At II degrees Is
minutes the Taunay entered from the
left At 10 degrees So minutes the Car
doza entered from the right. At 10 de
grees "a minutes we encountered the
first rubber man. The Rio Branco en-
tered from the left. at degrees IS
minutes. The mouth where it entered
the Madeira, was in degrees 30 min
utes. The stream which we have fol
lowed, is that which rose farthest
south from the mouth, and its general
course is almost due north.
my dear sir, I thank you from my
heart for the chance to take part in
this great work of exploration. With
high regards and respect, believe me
Sincerely yours,
THEODORE ROOSEVELT