The River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt's Darkest Journey

Based on a brief telegram from Fiala, The New York Times reported that Roosevelt had lost everything in the rapids and his whereabouts were unknown on March 23. Edith, who was already worried, was in despair. The next day, however, Fiala sent a longer telegram explaining that he had split from Roosevelt’s expedition and gone down a different river. For Edith, this was little comfort, as no one had any information about Roosevelt’s expedition.

Unlike Edith, Belle was not too concerned about Kermit and she was living “the life of a trans-Atlantic aristocrat” (274). Raised in high society, Belle did not have the same intense yearnings for Kermit as he had for her. The Roosevelt men were “rough around the edges” (276), with a streak of melancholy. Recognizing this melancholy, especially in Kermit, his father kept him occupied and took him on challenging adventures. Roosevelt feared that his son would share the fate of his brother Elliott, who sank into the throes of substance dependency, was admitted to an asylum in Paris, and died soon thereafter. Elliott had romanticized his relationship with Anna Hall, much as Kermit did with Belle.

When Kermit heard of his father’s plans to die, he refused to honor them.