The River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt's Darkest Journey

The Brazilian soldiers, or the camaradas, proved to be experts at river navigation. As the group went into the isolation of the jungle, the prospect of mutiny crossed Roosevelt’s mind. At this point, the men were still getting to know who they could trust. In Roosevelt’s boat, there were two expert paddlers but also de Lima, who had attacked another man with a knife earlier in the journey.

While Roosevelt and his son Kermit wanted to move quickly, Rondon insisted on geographical precision. He used the labor-intensive method of fixed stations to survey the river. This required the placement of sighting rods and slowed the expedition’s pace considerably. On the first day, rods were placed 114 times. Kermit did the dangerous work of placing the rods on the bank of the river, much to his father’s dismay. If there were threats, Kermit would be the first to encounter them. On the first day, the group traveled only six miles. Roosevelt stopped at 4:00 pm and made camp in a clearing at the river’s edge. Those doing the surveying did not arrive there until nightfall.

In the rainforest, the men heard strange noises at night that were terrifying. There was so much activity that they could not observe—a fact that contributed to their isolation and uncertainty. Millard explains that evolution is on “conspicuous” display with few places showing as refined results as the Amazon (149). Trees and plants compete for soil nutrients and sunlight. Some trees race to the sunshine, while plants wrap themselves loosely around trees to prevent them from snapping. The canopy provides shade in the forest and prevents undergrowth. Millard stresses that all life in the rainforest is connected and it is a “natural battlefield” with all fighting to survive “every minute of every day” (148). The expedition was not prepared for this battle. There was constant rain and high temperatures, with the men never fully drying.

Rondon insisted on military discipline and routine to keep up morale. He did not drink alcohol nor allow his men to do so. Roosevelt, in contrast, was more flexible and better liked. He told stories to the men and was the “life of the party” (155).

Although the river presented serious dangers, the men never strayed too far from it. Not only were its rapids a concern, but the life within it could be deadly. It contained 15-foot black caimans or South American alligators. When landing and launching the boats, the men were potentially at risk from water snakes and predatory fish. They had to bathe in the river and feared piranhas, which were known to swim in groups of as many as 100. Rondon had lost a friend to a piranha in 1904. Additionally, there were miniature catfish or candiru, which could enter an orifice, such as the urethra. In humans, they cannot get out and block the urethra, which can result in death.

On the expedition’s third day on the river, or March 1, the men passed an abandoned Indigenous village. Rondon speculated that it was a subgroup of the Nhambiquara people. It was a reminder that the men were not alone and potentially under the watch of hostile people. That night, one member of the group almost stepped on a coral snake, which would have been deadly. He reared back in time but his actions sent the snake toward Roosevelt. While Roosevelt was able to crush the body, its head went for his foot. Fortunately, Roosevelt’s leather boots saved him, as the fangs did not penetrate his skin.

Each of the Amazon’s tributaries begins at a high point and then steadily loses elevation, a phenomenon that causes the current to quicken. There are three categories of these tributaries: milky, black, and clear. The Amazon itself is milky given its origins in the West, as it is clouded by the heavy sediment from the Andes. Black waters begin in the north and flow over nutrient-poor, sandy soil. Despite its black appearance in the rainy season, the River of Doubt is clear. It is sourced in the Brazilian Highlands and flows over ancient and eroded soil. Unfortunately for the explorers, the river is a “perfect breeding ground for waterfalls and rapids” (173).

After three days on the river, the men felt the current increase its speed. They made their way through the first rapids but then the river took a sharp turn and they were confronted with a “seething cauldron of white water” (173) and six-foot waterfalls. After the waterfalls, the river divided into two branches with an island in the middle then came together and narrowed to less than two yards across. This narrowing created a water cannon. As a result, the expedition had to carry the boats over land, a grueling task that took two-and-a-half days. They had to make and lay heavy logs over which to drag the boats. All the while, they were exposed to the dangers of the jungle.

There were very few large game animals in the jungle, as most had been driven to extinction when humans populated South America. Millard explains that humans were skilled hunters by the time they populated South America, as it was the last continent they reached. She argues that the jungle as a whole presented the challenge to the expedition. Everything was filled with insects, which were the “bane of the men’s existence” (182). Not only were the bites painful, but termites destroyed property, including a pair of Roosevelt’s underwear. Noting that the creatures of the rainforest must find food, navigate the natural world, and protect themselves and their offspring from predators to survive, Millard highlights how the men in the expedition were outsiders and “clumsy, conspicuous prey” (185).

The expedition was back on the water on March 5. They noticed that the forest had grown dense and they wondered about the destination of the River of Doubt. There were three possibilities. It could go westward and feed into the river that Miller was exploring or it could flow directly into the Amazon. Alternatively, as Rondon suspected, it could straighten and head north into the Madeira (187).

The next afternoon, the current increased again. With treacherous rapids ahead, the expedition had to transport the boats over land. This time, it took three days. While the group was pleased to have had success hunting, they were disheartened to learn of more rapids downstream. On March 10, they returned to the river and made their way through the next set of rapids. One small boat that was carrying supplies sank.

After 12 days on the river, the group had only covered 75 miles. That night, as they camped, the river rose and two of their boats snapped their moorings and were lost downriver. With only five canoes left, the group could not carry all their food, equipment, and men. They were stranded.

With the loss of their boats, the men had to either build a new canoe or make their way in the forest on foot. They chose to build a new dugout, which required the felling and hollowing of a large tree. It was backbreaking work but was completed in four days. All the Brazilian members of the expedition, with the notable exception of de Lima, were extremely hard workers. On March 13, the canoe was completed and all 22 men dragged it down the banks of the River of Doubt.

That day, the group decided to steer through all the rapids encountered. The group was under time pressure given the dwindling supplies of food. They had about 35 days of food for the men and about 50 for the officials. At their rate of progress, that would leave the group with no food, other than what they could catch, for the last month of the trip. Kermit had been able to shoot a game bird and water snake while the canoe was being constructed, but that was a stroke of luck. Roosevelt did not do well hunting in the rainforest given his poor eyesight, as the humidity caused his glasses to fog.

Once back on the River of Doubt, Rondon abandoned the fixed-station survey method for one based on sightings. The new method was less accurate but much faster. Roosevelt worried about Kermit because he had to remain visible to Rondon and watch for rapids with this new method in place. In just half a day, though, the group covered 10 miles.

After being on the river for three miles, on March 15, the men noticed the land on both sides of the river rising like an emerging mountain chain. They were surrounded by “high, boulder-strewn hills” (200) and could hear the roar of rapids. Rondon, recognizing that they could not cross these rapids, ordered the boats docked and went in search of a land route to carry them.

Disobeying his orders, Kermit ordered his paddlers, João and Simplicio, to cross over to a small island that bisected the rapids to determine if one route was passable. Millard explains that Kermit was raised to take risks and had developed a level of fearlessness that bordered on recklessness. As it turned out, there was no safe channel on either side of the river. The men were stranded on the island and closer to the waterfall. When they tried to make their way back, they were struck by whirlpools and forced over the falls. The boat landed upright but was taking on too much water to float. They tried to paddle to shore quickly but were forced to the middle of the river. João leaped into the water in the hope of dragging the boat back to the bank, but the current was too strong and the boat sailed downstream. Simplicio and Kermit were clinging to the “splintered, capsized hull” (205). Roosevelt and Cherrie watched these events unfold in horror.