NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY 



aT a meeting of the Board of 



/\ Managers on April 20 the follow- 

 X ^ iiig resokition was unanimously 

 adopted by the Board : 



"Rcsoh'ed, That as the National Geo- 

 graphic Society has been unable in the 

 limited time to raise the entire amount 

 of $50,000 required as its contribution to 

 the proposed South Polar Expedition 

 under the auspices of the Peary Arctic 

 Club and the National Geographic Soci- 

 ety, the Society with regret declines par- 

 ticipation in the project and all subscrip- 

 tions be returned to the subscribers." 



The Finance Committee had reported 

 that a considerable sum was available, 

 but recommended that the Society should 

 assume no obligations for the expedition 

 until the entire amount was in hand. 

 Meanwhile the time for preparation for 

 the expedition was very short. While 

 the proposed American party would have 

 the advantage of the Roosevelt and the 

 equipment of the last Peary Expedition, 

 the Board of Managers and Commander 

 Peary alike felt that so much time had 

 elapsed that adequate preparations could 

 not be made for a satisfactory American 

 Expedition. 



The Board of Managers, on behalf of 

 the Society, expresses its hearty appre- 

 ciation to all members who have shown 

 their interest in the proposed expedition 

 by subscribing to the National Geo- 

 graphic Society fund. The subscriptions 

 will be returned during the month of 

 May. As several thousand remittances 

 have to be made out, members \\\\\ prob- 

 ably not receive them much before the 

 end of the month. 



addre;ss from tiiijodore; roosrvelt 



On ^larch 14 the following cablegram 



was sent to Mr Theodore Roosevelt at 



Khartoum : 



''Theodore Roosevelt, KJiartoum: 



"National Geographic Society sends 

 congratulations on extraordinary success 

 and immense scientific value of your ex- 

 pedition. We rejoice at continued health 

 of you and all your party. We hope you 



will honor the Society by addressing it 

 at your convenience on your return." 



On April 9 the following answer was 

 received : 



''The Palace, Khartoum, Mar. 15, 1910. 

 "National Geograpliic Society. 



"Djjar Sirs: Mr Roosevelt asks me 

 to express to you his hearty thanks for 

 your cablegram. He will gladly address 

 the Society, but must await his return to 

 America before he can make a definite 

 appointment. 



"I am very truly yours. 



"Lawrence F. Abbott." 



Mr Lawrence F. Abbott is president 

 of the Outlook Company. 



THE ROOSEVEET COLLECTIONS FOR THE 

 U. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM 



Mr Roosevelt has summarized his 

 African work in the following letter : 



Khartoum, February 15, 1910. 

 To the Hon. Charles JValcotf, 



Secretary Smithsonian Institution. 



Sir : I have the honor to report that 

 the Smithsonian African Expedition, 

 which was intrusted to my charge, has 

 now completed its work. Full reports 

 will be made later by the three natural- 

 ists, Messrs Mearns, Heller, and Loring. 

 I send this preliminary statement to sum- 

 marize what has been done ; the figures 

 given are substantially accurate, but may 

 have to be changed slightly in the final 

 reports. 



We landed at Mombasa on April 21, 

 1909. and reached Khartoum on Alarch 

 14, 1910. On landing we were joined by 

 ]\Iessrs R. J. Cuninghame and Leslie J. 

 Tarlton ; the former was with us through- 

 out our entire trip, the latter until we left 

 East Africa, and both worked as zeal- 

 ously and efficiently for the success of 

 the expedition as any other members 

 thereof. 



We spent eight months in British East 

 Africa. We collected carefully in vari- 

 ous portions of the Athi and Kapitil 

 plains, in the Sotik, and around Lake 



