Overview of Video and Guide
In the winter of 1913-1914, Theodore Roosevelt began his now-famous
expedition of the Brazilian wilderness, joining a small, but enthusiastic
group of North and South American naturalists as they ventured deep into
the uncharted Amazon watershed. The purpose of the journey was to map the
course of an unknown river and to collect specimens for the American Museum
of Natural History. Their journey was filled with excitement. Roosevelt's
team found evidence of native tribes along the way and met with wild animals
no one had ever seen before. They overcame difficult detours and daunting
rapids, several canoe wrecks, hunger, conflicts among the members of the
expedition, huge insects, illness, injury, and even death. Roosevelt said
it was his "last chance to be a boy," but the trip was much more
than he had ever expected. He survived to see the River of Doubt renamed
in his honor, but he never fully recovered from the strain of the expedition.
He died prematurely less than five years later, at age 60.
River of Doubt tells the story of this amazing journey using letters,
diaries, and firsthand accounts of those who were there (including Roosevelt's
own record of the trip- Through the Brazilian
Wilderness). In addition, the video follows the course of a second expedition
in 1992, this time led by Tweed Roosevelt, Teddy's great-grandson, as he
recreates the first exploration of the Rio Duvida.
The second expedition was similar to the first. Both groups were made up
of Brazilians, Indians, and Americans who learned to respect each other
despite their language and cultural differences. For most of the trip, both
groups saw the same mile after mile of uncut, unexplored forest. They were
plagued by the same sweat bees and huge caterpillars. They maneuvered on
and through the same treacherous river rapids. And they learned to appreciate
the secrets and the gentle balance of the rainforest ecosystem on a trip
that changed their lives forever.
However, the two trips were very different as well. Tweed Roosevelt remarks
in the video that both "nothing had changed and everything had changed"
in the Amazon wilderness during the 78 years between the trips. Theodore
saw only the evidence of natives during his trip, while Tweed and his New
Explorers met the actual members of the Cinta Larga Tribe watching Star
Trek via satellite in their village! Theodore had seven 2,500-lb. dugout
canoes, while Tweed had five 500-lb. high-performance white water rafts.
Tweed's group also had lightweight nourishing food, modern medicine, insect
repellent, a water filtration system, high-tech communications, and an accurate
map so they knew how much farther they had to go, something the first team
did not.
Join us now as we travel down the River of Doubt, just as Roosevelt did
on February 27, 1914. Like the New Explorers before you, you have no idea
where it will take you.
The goals of the Academy's program are to: