A Negro Explorer at the North Pole

Matthew Henson

• Publisher: Mint Editions
• Year: 2021
• ISBN:
  9781513294193
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: Social Science Biographies
• Index: Social Sciences

A Negro Explorer at the North Pole (1912) is a memoir by Matthew Henson. Published a few years following an expedition to the planet's northernmost point—which he claims to have reached first— A Negro Explorer at the North Pole reflects on Henson's outsized role in ensuring the success of their mission. Although he was frequently overshadowed by Commander Robert Peary, Henson continues to be recognized as a pioneering African American who rose from poverty to become a true national hero. Seven times had Robert Peary and Matthew Henson attempted to reach the fabled North Pole. Seven times they failed. In 1908, following years of frustration, they gather a crew of Inuit guides and set sail from Greenland, hopeful that the eighth voyage will end in discovery. Throughout his life, Matthew Henson has grown accustomed to proving himself. Born the son of sharecroppers in the immediate aftermath of the Civil War, he has endured racism and economic disparity his entire life. Since 1891, Henson and Peary—who he met while working at a Washington D.C. department store—have been attempting to reach the most remote location on planet earth, an icebound region devoid of sustenance and shelter, accessible only by boat, sled, and foot. As they near the North Pole, Henson prepares to make history. This edition of Matthew Henson's A Negro Explorer at the North Pole is a classic of African American literature reimagined for modern readers.

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Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Contents
• Foreword
• Introduction
• I. The Early Years: Schoolboy, Cabin-Boy, Seaman, and Lieutenant Peary’s Body-Servant—First Trips to the Arctic
• II. Off for the Pole—How the Other Explorers Looked—The Lamb-Like Esquimos—Arrival at Etah
• III. Finding of Rudolph Franke—Whitney Landed—Trading and Coaling—Fighting the Ice-Packs
• IV. Preparing for Winter at Cape Sheridan—The Arctic Library
• V. Making Peary Sledges—Hunting in the Arctic Night—The Excitable Dogs and Their Habits
• VI. The Peary Plan—A Rain of Rocks—My Friends the Esquimos
• VII. Sledging to Cape Columbia—Hot Soldering in Cold Weather
• VIII. In Camp at Columbia—Literary Igloos—The Magnificent Desolation of the Arctic
• IX. Ready for the Dash to the Pole—The Commander’s Arrival
• X. Forward! March!
• XI. Fighting up the Polar Sea—Held up by the “Big Lead”
• XII. Pioneering the Way—Breaking Sledges
• XIII. The Supporting-Parties Begin to Turn Back
• XIV. Bartlett’s Farthest North—His Quiet Good-by
• XV. The Pole!
• XVI. The Fast Trek Back to Land
• XVII. Safe on the Roosevelt—Poor Marvin
• XVIII. After Musk-Oxen—The Doctor’s Scientific Expedition
• XIX. The Roosevelt Starts for Home—Esquimo Villages—New Dogs and New Dog Fights
• XX. Two Narrow Escapes—Arrival at Etah—Harry Whitney—Dr. Cook’s Claims
• XXI. Etah to New York—Coming of Mail and Reporters—Home!
• Appendix I—Notes on the Esquimos
• Appendix II—List of Smith Sound Esquimos
• A Note About the Author
• A Note from the Publisher