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Escape came in the form of an invitation to speak in South America. It was a chance to leave New York; to see Kermit, who was working in Brazil; and to take a quiet collecting trip into the Amazon. When Roosevelt reached Brazil, the country's Foreign Minister abruptly offered him a rare opportunity: a chance to explore an unmapped river in the heart of the rain forest. So mysterious was this tributary that even the man who had discovered its headwaters five years earlier had no idea where it went and so had named it Rio da Dúvida--the River of Doubt.
For Roosevelt, the opportunity was irresistible. Not only did it appeal to him as a naturalist and would-be explorer, but it was also precisely the difficult adventure he was longing for. Throughout his life, he had battled depression and loss by seeking out dangerous physical challenges and pushing himself to the limit of his endurance. This expedition was a chance to prove his strength and reclaim his sense of purpose. It was a chance for redemption.
Just to reach the banks of the River of Doubt, however, Roosevelt and his men had to endure a grueling monthlong journey across the Brazilian Highlands. They lost dozens of pack mules and oxen to starvation and exhaustion and were forced to abandon crates filled with provisions. At the river's edge, Roosevelt had taken stock of what was left and realized that he and his men would have to cut their provisions in half before they launched a single boat.
Once on the water, the men were quickly confronted by their worst fears. The seven battered and leaking dugout canoes that they had bought from local tribesmen sat just inches above the water and proved lethally difficult to maneuver. Below them swam 15-ft.-long black caimans and razor-toothed piranhas. Each time the men were forced to portage their massive dugouts or hack a campsite out of the thick vegetation on the riverbanks, they were attacked by stinging, biting, disease-carrying insects. Nearly all the men, including Kermit and Roosevelt, fell prey to the suffocating fevers and bone-grinding chills of malaria. The jungle was also home to poisonous snakes. One night a coral snake slithered from under a fallen tree and sank its fangs into Roosevelt's foot. But for his thick leather boots, he would have died an agonizing death.
Also hidden in the rain forest was a group of indigenous tribesmen later known as the Cinta Larga, or Wide Belts. Sophisticated hunters and fierce warriors, they shadowed Roosevelt and his men yet never allowed themselves to be seen. They attacked Colonel Rondon when he was hunting alone and killed his dog. Rondon, who had spent nearly half his life exploring the Amazon and making contact with its most isolated tribes, responded to the attack by leaving the Indians gifts, signs of friendship and respect. As commander of his own regiment, he had ordered his troops when dealing with indigenous tribes, "Die if you must, but never kill." His kindness toward the Cinta Larga had probably averted a massacre.