At the very end of his expedition, summarizing 
the fruits of his endeavor, Mr. Roosevelt explains his 
attitude both as a sportsman and as a naturalist as 
follows: 
“ Kermit and I kept about a dozen trophies for 
ourselves; otherwise we shot nothing that was not 
used either as a Museum specimen or for meat — 
usually for both purposes. We were in hunting- 
grounds practically as good as any that have ever 
existed; but we did not kill a tenth nor a hun¬ 
dredth part of what we might have killed had we 
been willing. The mere size of the bag indicates 
little as to a man's prowess as a hunter, and 
almost nothing as to the interest or value of his 
achievement." 
Written by His Own Hand 
HR chapters which make up this volume were 
I written on the spot while every experience 
was fresh in the author's mind. He was pro¬ 
vided with a water-proof and dust-proof writing 
case, which contained pads of paper, carbons for 
producing the manuscript in triplicate, and indeli¬ 
ble pencils and canvas envelopes. The narrative 
was written by his own hand amid the very scenes 
he described, sitting in his tent or resting at mid¬ 
day while 66 Trekking Through the Thirst." The 
manuscript itself, a complete page of which is here 
reproduced, is probably one of the most interest¬ 
ing in existence. When he arrived at Khartoum 
on March 14, he had written the last paragraph, 
including the appendices. 
