A Journey for the Ages: Matthew Henson and Robert Peary?s Historic North Pole Expedition

by Matthew A. Henson, S. Allen Counter (Foreword by), Robert E. Peary (Introduction)

Overview

In an era when segregation thrived and Jim Crow reigned supreme, adventurer Matthew A. Henson defied racial stereotypes. During his teenage years, Henson sailed on vessels that journeyed across the globe, and it is those experiences that caught the attention of famed arctic explorer Matthew Peary. Operating as Peary’s “first man” on six expeditions that spanned over a quarter of century, Henson was an essential member of all of Peary’s most famous expeditions. His unparalleled skills as a craftsman and his mastery of the dialects of native Northern peoples, Henson was indispensable to the success of these missions.
Of all voyages which Henson and Peary undertook, none is more groundbreaking then their 1909 journey to Greenland, and onto the previously impenetrable North Pole. Together with a small team of four native Intuits, Henson and Peary became the first team to ever reach the geographic North Pole, forever cementing their place as two of the greatest Arctic explorers of all time. In 1937, the Explorer’s Club honored that achievement, inducting Henson as their first ever African-American member.

In 1912, Henson chronicled his recollections of this historic journey in a memoir originally entitled A Negro Explorer at the North Pole. Now reissued as First to the North Pole, this edition of Henson’s memoir features a new foreword by Explorer Club president Ted Janulis, emphasizing the importance of Henson’s historic achievements.

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Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781510707573
Publisher:	Skyhorse
Publication date:	08/09/2016
Sold by:	SIMON & SCHUSTER
Format:	eBook
Pages:	260
Sales rank:	876,525
File size:	8 MB

About the Author

Matthew A. Henson (1866-1955), who was orphaned at the age of eleven and eventually found employment as a cabin boy on a ship, met Robert Peary in 1887 and later served as his assistant on six expeditions over nearly a quarter of a century. Later in life, Henson was the first African-American elected to the Explorer’s Club in New York, and in 1988 his remains were interred in the Arlington National Cemetery near Peary’s monument.
S. Allen Counter is a neuroscience professor at Harvard University and the director of the Harvard Foundation for Intercultural and Race Relations. He is an active member of the Explorers Club, Consul General of Sweden in Boston and New England, and recipient of an NAACP image award. Counter lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments ix

Introduction to the 2016 Edition S. Allen Counter, Jr. xi

Introduction to The Explorers Club Edition Deirdre C. Stam 3

Foreword Robert E. Peary Rear Admiral, U.S.N. 54

Introduction Booker T. Washington 57

Chapter 1 The Early Years: Schoolboy, Cabin-Boy, Seaman, and Lieutenant Peary's Body-Servant-First Trips to the Arctic 63

Chapter 2 Off for the Pole-How the Other Explorers Looked-The Lamb-Like Esquimos-Arrival at Etah 73

Chapter 3 Finding Of Rudolph Franke-Whitney Landed-Trading and Coaling-Fighting the Icepacks 81

Chapter 4 Preparing for Winter at Cape Sheridan-The Arctic Library 87

Chapter 5 Making Peary Sledges-Hunting in the Arctic Night-The Excitable Dogs and Their Habits 91

Chapter 6 The Peary Plan-A Rain of Rocks-My Friends The Esquimos 96

Chapter 7 Sledging to Cape Columbia-Hot Soldering in Cold Weather 101

Chapter 8 In Camp at Columbia-Literary Igloos-The Magnificent Desolation of the Arctic 108

Chapter 9 Ready for the Dash to the Pole-The Commanders Arrival 114

Chapter 10 Forward! March! 117

Chapter 11 Fighting Up the Polar Sea-Held Up by the "Big Lead" 120

Chapter 12 Pioneering the Way-Breaking Sledges 131

Chapter 13 The Supporting-Parties Begin to Turn Back 138

Chapter 14 Bartlett's Farthest North-His Quiet Good-by 147

Chapter 15 The Pole! 155

Chapter 16 The Fast Trek Back to Land 165

Chapter 17 Safe on the Roosevelt-Poor Marvin 169

Chapter 18 After Musk-Oxen-The Doctors Scientific Expedition 175

Chapter 19 The Roosevelt Starts for Home-Esquimo Villages-New Dogs and New Dog Fights 181

Chapter 20 Two Narrow Escapes-Arrival at Etah-Harry Whitney-Dr. Cook's Claims 187

Chapter 21 Etah to New York-Coming of Mail and Reporters-Home! 194

Appendix-Notes on the Esquimos 201

Endnotes 206

Bibliography-Prepared David H. Stam Deirdre C. Stam 215

The Explorers Club: History and Mission Statement 231