Maggie's Farm

Whenever Teddy Roosevelt experienced a loss or deep disappointment, he would head off on an adventure - sometimes reckless ones. A paragraph from Candice Millard's fascinating The River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt's Darkest Journey:

"Roosevelt had also concluded that his old friend Father Zahm was not suited to the treacherous passage down the uncharted river. Zahm, like Miller, would continue with the expedition until it reached the River of Doubt, but at that point he would be shunted off to another, less challenging journey. "Father Zahm has now been definitely relegated from the Rio da Duvida trip and goes down the Guy Parana," Kermit wrote to his mother. Even though the trip had been Zahm's idea in the first place and, at his age and with his failing health, he was unlikely to return to the Amazon, few members of the expedition shed any tears for him. "All for each, and each for all, is a good motto," Roosevelt had once written, "but only on condition that each works with might and main to so maintain himself as not to be a burden to others." "

Photo: Roosevelt with Col. Rondon in South America. Roosevelt lost 57 lbs. during the 1500-mile exploration, and nearly died of malaria and dysentery. He never fully recovered from the ravages of the dangerous and grueling trip down the River of Doubt.