THEODORE ROOSEVELT, PATRON OF THE 



AMERICAN MUSEUM'S FIELD WORK 



IN SOUTH AMERICA 



IT is with the greatest pleasure that 

 the Journal pubhshes the follow- 

 ing letter from Theodore Roosevelt 

 to Henry Fairfield Osborn, president of 

 the American Museum of Natural His- 

 tory. The letter written at San Luiz 

 de Caceres came sometime ago and has 

 appeared in part in the New York daily 

 papers, but it is a document of particular 

 value to all connected with the American 

 Museum as testifying to the broad- 

 minded generosity of Colonel Roosevelt 

 toward the institution and toward scien- 

 tists, and as exemplifying his personal 

 interest in scientific work. The Museum 

 is awaiting the return of Colonel Roose- 

 velt in May when an expedition to carry 

 on the Museum's exploration of South 

 America will be considered. The Duida 

 region is geologically one of the oldest 

 and least known on the South American 

 continent and collections from there are 

 certain to have great scientific value. 

 ■ Colonel Roosevelt gives all credit for 

 results of the present South American 

 expedition, which he is financing, to the 

 men working with him; he insists that 

 the men who have done the work in the 

 field are decidedly the men to study and 

 describe the material of the expedition 

 in any book which may be forthcoming 

 and he gives from his personal funds for 

 the continuation of South American 

 field work by his companions. 



The letter which follows is quoted 

 almost in full: 



The trip has begun, I think I may say, 

 fairly well, at least from the standpoint of 

 the American Museum. Cherrie and Miller 

 have now collected well over a thousand speci- 

 mens of birds and mammals, and Kermit and 

 I have been able to contribute specimens of 

 some of the larger species, such as the jaguar. 



the giant ant-bear, the peccory, swamp deer, 

 etc. I have already written Chapman as to 

 my very earnest desire that Cherrie and 

 Miller be permitted to publish under the 

 auspices of the Museum a volume on the 

 mammalogy and ornithology of Matto Grosso 

 and Amazonas. I have the very strongest 

 feeling that the most valuable work can 

 always be done by men who are both trained 

 scientific men and also field naturalists who- 

 with scientific knowledge write of what they 

 have themselves seen in the field. I particu- 

 larly wish to avoid seeing grow up in the 

 United States the type of scientist who merely 

 supplies the nomenclature and technical 

 descriptions for specimens furnished him by 

 field observers. As you know, I obtained 

 permission from the Smithsonian people for 

 Heller to do this work for the mammals of our 

 African expedition. He has done much 

 better work on such rare and little known 

 species as the white rhinoceros, giant eland 

 and Nile lechwe than could have been done 

 by any man who did not combine both the 

 technical knowledge and the field experience. 

 Besides, it seems to me a matter of justice 

 that the men who undergo the hardship and 

 discomfort of work in the field should be 

 permitted themselves to describe the animals 

 they have collected, and to give their life 

 histories. The man at home cannot ade- 

 quately give the life histories. For instance, 

 when Cherrie collected for the Rothschild 

 Museum, he sent home the life histories, 

 which were entirely distinctive individually, 

 of three species of vulture. But the men at 

 home, looking at the prepared specimens, saw 

 no differences, and published an abbreviated 

 account of his notes, gave no notes of the 

 life histories at all, simply giving one name 

 to three birds of entirely distinct habits, and, 

 when freshly killed, entirely distinct aspect. 

 As regards myself, I am only too delighted 

 to have the chance of having such men as 

 Cherrie and Miller with me, and I am proud 

 of being connected with the Museum. What 

 I do in paying the expenses of the two men 

 is much more than repaid by the pleasure I 

 get in having them with me and in helping 

 to do the work. But if you and the authori- 

 ties of the Museum feel that you would like 



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