Roosevelt and Wild Life 
51 
and America. He disco\ered that in many cases the authors had 
placed the animals in an imaginar}' environment to make their color- 
ation appear protective. W hen Roosevelt applied the color theories 
to the actual field conditions he found that the coloration was, in 
many cases, far from protective, the actual conditions of environ- 
ment often making it astonishingly advertising. It was a great boon 
to the study of protective coloration to have a field naturalist of the 
wide experience of Roosevelt call attention to the numerous errors 
of application as well as to the defective reasoning in many color 
theories. 
As one of the naturalists of the Roosevelt African Expedition, 
it was my especial duty to preserve for the Smithso ia 1 Ins itution 
the skins and skulls of all the game animals shot hy Colonel Roose- 
velt. I accompanied him daily in the field so as to be near when he 
bagged the big game. The Colonel was a delightful companion, and 
on our rides afield we had long talks together regarding game ani- 
mals and zoology generally. He had at his command the entire 
published literature concerning the game mammals and birds of 
the world, a feat of memory that few naturalists possess. I felt 
constantly while with him that I was in the presence of the foremost 
field naturalist of our time, as indeed I was. His indelible memory 
seemed to furnish him with all the known facts about any species 
of game animal, or any phase of vertebrate zoology, or theories con- 
cerning it. Whatever I might say regarding my experiences in col- 
lecting animals in foreign lands, or as to my knowledge of animal 
behavior, Roosevelt always understood every detail, and I was con- 
stantly delighted by his remarks and by the keen interest he always 
exhibited in the animal life about him. His exhaustive knowledge 
of zoology always gave him the ability to think clearly along scien- 
tific lines, and he was never led astray by misinformation or fan- 
tastic theories concerning animal life. 
The Roosevelt Wild Life Forest Experiment Station will, I sin- 
cerely hope, receive the support that will enable it to assume the 
foremost rank among institutions devoted to the study of wild life 
in its natural environment. It bears the name of a man whom we 
all loved and admired for the whole-hearted way in which he devoted 
his life to America, that it might be a better place to live in; and 
to one whose sincerity and Americanism will ever remain a great 
inspiration to his countrymen. It seems peculiarly fit that this insti- 
tution should commemorate such a man as Roosevelt, whose keenest 
enjoyment in life was the pursuit and study of animals in their 
native haunts. 
