The River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt's Darkest Journey

Approximately 4,000 miles long with thousands of tributaries, the Amazon is gargantuan. The very word is equated with overwhelming size. In 1913 and 1914, the area was mainly unexplored by non-Indigenous populations. For the unprepared, it presented a world of dangers in the form of plants, insects, animals, and humans. The transformation of Roosevelt from strong and energetic at the start of the trip to near death at its conclusion attests to the toll of its challenges, illustrating the beautiful but harsh nature of the Amazonian environment.

The trek to the River of Doubt was grueling and dangerous. The group had to cross very different types of terrain and its members were already tormented by insects. Once on the river, the expedition was greeted with a plethora of dangers. The greatest challenge for travel was the rapids and waterfalls, which came up unexpectedly in the course of the river. The river descended from hills, causing these rapids. On multiple occasions, the men had to carry the boats over land, dragging them over logs in the brutal heat. A track had to be laid using machetes, given the density of the vegetation on the riverbank.

At times, the paddlers tried to negotiate the rapids to save time and avoid the portage over land. However, that sometimes resulted in the loss of boats. The men then had to stop and rebuild boats from surrounding trees or walk through dense vegetation. With the loss of boats, more and more luggage had to be shed. In one instance, a Brazilian died in the rapids when Kermit defied Rondon’s orders and proceeded to an island to ascertain if there was a way through them.

Rations had been cut to the point that all the men were starving. They tried to supplement their provisions by hunting and scavenging in the rainforest, but the advanced form of evolution in the Amazon caused fruits and animals to make themselves invisible to predators. They thus had very limited success in finding sustenance from the river and jungle around them. Piranhas, water snakes, and South American alligators inhabited the river, in which they had no choice but to bathe. Poisonous snakes and frogs and other dangers could be found on land. Roosevelt was saved by his boot from the bite of a deadly snake, for example.

Perhaps worst of all were the insects. They carried diseases, such as malaria, from which many of the men suffered. Roosevelt and Kermit both had bouts of high fever, as did two Brazilian soldiers who were extremely ill by the end of the trip. Together, the constant exposure to insects, heat, and rain with the repeated navigation of rapids and hunger presented tremendous psychological challenges for the men. In emphasizing the difficulties of navigating the Amazon, Millard stresses both the challenges faced by the expedition and the worth of their achievement.

Throughout The River of Doubt, Millard explores the nature of exploration and how the men had to overcome numerous setbacks along the way. From the outset, the expedition was poorly planned, and the last-minute change in the itinerary magnified the negative consequences. Nevertheless, despite the suffering and deprivation, the expedition placed on the map a river of 1,000 miles—a monumental achievement.

Millard depicts the Americans as unlikely explorers, as most of them had no prior experience with South America and did not plan accordingly. The Americans brought way too much luggage with them on the trip. When the itinerary changed, the food rations would prove woefully insufficient. Initially, more mules were acquired to carry the luggage on the trek to the River of Doubt. However, the mules could not survive the conditions in the jungle. As a result, much of the luggage had to be left behind. Importantly, the boats could not be transported either. Thus, the men arrived at the River of Doubt with no boats and dwindling rations. Before the group started its descent down the river, Roosevelt had to cut people from the trip given the lack of supplies.

Due to the poor preparation, the members of the expedition were deprived of enough food. By the time they reached the rubber tappers, the men were starving. Despite battling hunger, the men performed physically demanding tasks in brutal conditions. They not only negotiated rapids with clumsy and heavy boats, but they repeatedly had to transport these heavy boats over land when confronted with rapids and waterfalls. When the boats were destroyed by the rough waters, the men had to build new ones from trees and sometimes had to walk over difficult terrain. The men kept working even when ill with the fevers of malaria or other sicknesses. They had no choice but to keep going, as there was no turning back.

The men realized the significance of the River of Doubt when they came across a large tributary, which Rondon named after Kermit. Defying the odds, the expedition reached the community of rubber tappers. With the aid of their guidance and supplies, the group made it to the rendezvous with Rondon’s lieutenant. Given the monumental achievement of the expedition, its claims were initially met with skepticism from other explorers and scholars. Roosevelt, however, set the record straight and its findings were confirmed in 1926. The River of Doubt henceforth bore Roosevelt’s name.