Evening star., 1914-05-06
MAPS RIVER ABOUT
1000 M|LESL0NG
Col. Roosevelt Tells Of Exploration
Trip Through Brazilian
Wilds.

PARA. Brazil. May 6-Col Theodore
Roosevelt. In an interview with the As
sociated Press, on hoard the steamer on
which he had just arrived from Manaos.
Yesterday. gave many interesting details
of his exploring trip through the wilds of
Brazil. He said:
The expedition has proved signal
success. 1t was undertaken originally
for the American Museum of Natural
History.
During our trip George X. Cherry and
Leo c.. Miller. the naturalists. collected
more than 2,1Go birds and mammals,
reptiles and batrachians and fish, chiefly
from regions not hitherto traversed by
any collector and many representing spe-
cies hitherto unknown to science.
1.-The most important part OF our trip
was geographical. In the exploration of
an unknown river we have put on the
map a river nearly 1908 miles long. the
existence of which is not hinted at on
published maps. The upper part of its
course was utterly unknown to anybody
except the wild Indians along its banks.
while the lower part was known to a few
rubber men only
Spent Sixty Days in Canoes.
THE river takes its rise in the high
uplands of the western part of the state
of Mattogrosso, just north of the thir-
teenth parallel Of south latitude and be-
tween longitude 80 and 60 west of Green
wich
We embarked III latitude IL degrees
% minutes. The river ran. with many
doublings and tWistinss almost due north
into the River Madeira. where its en-
trance was at about :. degrees 30 minutes
south latitude.
We were sixty DAYS nj canoes. In lati-
tude degrees south We passed the last
rapids and reached the steamer when We
were but thirty-six hours from Manaos.
I'm latitude 10 degrees ~ minutes south
we struck the mouth OF IA big affluent
flowing from the right: and latitude 8 de
grees 80 minutes south we came to the
mouth of another big affiuent, flowing
from the left.
Unbroken Series of Rapids.
The DuNida river, in point OF volume,
f., is like the Rhone, the Elbe- or the Hud-
| son, but is too much broken up by rapids
to be navigable. except in the lower parts
| In about degrees 30 minutes south lati-
tude it joins another river, practically
the same size. flowing from the right.
| From about IL degrees AZ minutes to
10 degrees As minutes south latitude
the course of the Duvida is almost al
unbroken series of rapids. there being
no clear days run without rapids This
was the hard part of our journey.
| Two sets of rapids were at the bot
! tom of canons where the river Glove its
way through mountain chains.
Stirring Incidents of Journey.
1 "Of the seven canoes with which We
started five We're lost in the rapids. On.
of our men was drowned and two others
including Kermit. narrowly escaped deatf
by drowning.
Under the strain one man went mad
He finally murdered one of his comrade:
and fed into the wilderness.
! We saw no Indians. but twice heart
them. While Col Rondon. the chief .!
the Brazilian mission. was out alon.
hunting his dog was killed by arrows
The dogs death probably saved Col
| Rondon's life.
Il had a severe bout of fever ant
while working around a canoe i'll the
| rapids bruised my leg. which developed
into a bad abscess, but l am now prac
tcally all right"