A Former President Paddled Into an Unmapped River. It Nearly Killed Him.
[!NOTE] Historical File: A Former President Paddled Into an Unmapped River. It Nearly Killed Him. Location: Brazil | Era: Archival History | Format: Documentary & Narrative Record
The Untold Story
A former American president set out down a jungle river no one had ever mapped. It was the River of Doubt.
It was Brazil, 1914. Theodore Roosevelt had just lost an election and wanted a real challenge.
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The heavy canoes kept wrecking in the rapids, so the men dragged them overland with ropes. Food ran so short they were starving.
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Malaria and fevers struck nearly everyone. One man drowned in the rapids, and his body was never found.
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Roosevelt gashed his leg and it became infected. Each day, his companions feared he would die.
Rubber tappers helped them out. The river now bears his name, but the River of Doubt took his health for good. Follow along for more forgotten journeys.
Historical Discussion
💭 Roosevelt had just lost an election, so he went looking for a river nobody had ever mapped. Would you have signed up for this expedition?
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