ROOSEVELT’S ‘‘THROUGH THE BRAZILIAN 
WILDERNESS”! 
By J. A. Allen 
N a volume of four hundred pages, 
with numerous half-tone illustra- 
tions, Colonel Roosevelt has given 
a charming narrative of his eventful 
expedition through a little known part 
of the Brazilian hinterland. The main 
journey of exploration was up the 
Paraguay River to its source, across the 
low divide to the head of the Gy-Parané, 
and down the unexplored “River of 
Doubt” (Rio da Ditivida), now the 
charted Rio Téodoro,? as since named by 
the Brazilian Government, in honor of 
the eminent American field naturalist, 
its first explorer. 
The trip had been for a considerable 
time in contemplation, but the initiative 
steps were only taken early in June, 
1913, following a luncheon at the Ameri- 
can Museum at which both Father Zahm, 
one of Roosevelt’s companions on the 
expedition, and Colonel Roosevelt were 
guests. As told by the author in his 
first chapter, entitled “The Start,” 
Curator Chapman of the Museum sug- 
gested the codperation of the Museum, 
and brought the matter to the attention 
of President Osborn, who cordially ap- 
proved the plan. As a result, Colonel 
Roosevelt offered to take two natura- 
1 THROUGH THE BRAZILIAN WILDERNESS. By 
Theodore Roosevelt. With illustrations from 
photographs by Kermit Roosevelt and other 
members of the Expedition. New York: Charles 
Scribner’s Sons. 1914. S8vo., pp. xiv+ 383, 49 
full-page half-tone plates and 2 maps. 
2 Besides this general review and consideration 
from the zodlogical standpoint by Dr. Allen, the 
JOURNAL will print in the March issue a review 
by Dr. W. L. G. Joerg of the American Geographi- 
cal Society. Dr. Joerg will review Through the 
Brazilian Wilderness from the standpoint of the 
geographical work accomplished by the Roosevelt 
expedition. — Ture Epiror. 
64 
lists, to be selected by the Museum, as 
members of the expedition. Fortunately 
the Museum was able to secure George 
Kk. Cherrie, widely known as a field 
naturalist and explorer in the American 
tropics, as one of its representatives, 
and for the other Leo E. Miller, who was 
already in the employ of the Museum in 
South America, and had shown unusual 
efficiency as a collector and field natur- 
alist through several years of difficult 
The two men proved to be 
most congenial companions for the head 
of the expedition, resulting in har- 
monious and enthusiastic team work. 
For some months in advance of the 
journey down the Diivida, Cherrie and 
Miller were making good use of their 
time, collecting birds and mammals for 
the Museum on the upper Paraguay 
River, Colonel Roosevelt was 
engaged with his lecture tour to the 
principal cities of southern South Amer- 
ica. Later Cherrie accompanied him 
down the Rio Madeira, Miller again 
joining the main party at Manaos. The 
success of the natural history work is 
already a matter of record in the 
AMERICAN MusEuM JOURNAL. 
The narrative, Through the Brazilian 
Wilderness, is a book of unusual interest 
for the lay reader and one of rare charm 
for the naturalist and explorer. The 
pages teem with information about the 
country, its natural history, its economic 
resources and its human inhabitants, 
whether wild unclad Indians or Euro-. 
pean colonists, written with the inspira- 
tion that only the fresh impressions of 
daily events and experiences, jotted 
service. 
while 
