Public-domain ebook
Language: en3,948 downloads on Project Gutenberg
Subjects
In: African American Writers·Biographies·Adventure
Public-domain ebook sourced from Project Gutenberg #20923.
The work is a first‑person memoir by Matthew A. Henson, the African‑American aide who accompanied Robert E. Peary on the 1909 expedition that reached the North Pole. It opens with a laudatory address from Booker T. Washington, followed by a foreword that frames Henson’s achievement in terms of racial pride and perseverance. The introductory pages then move into a chronological account, beginning with Henson’s early life as a cabin‑boy, his voyages to China, and his long‑standing service to Peary, before launching into the detailed chapters that trace each Arctic foray, the building of sledges, the harsh winter at Cape Sheridan, and finally the dash to the Pole. The narrative promises a blend of personal anecdote, technical observations, and reflections on the broader significance of a Black explorer sharing the historic moment.
Written in the straightforward, earnest style of early‑20th‑century travel literature, the prose reflects Henson’s modest voice and the period’s formal diction. Readers who enjoy historic adventure accounts, biographies of under‑represented figures, or detailed descriptions of polar exploration will find it rewarding. The book also appeals to those interested in the social context of race and achievement in the United States at the turn of the century, offering both a vivid expedition chronicle and a perspective rarely highlighted in mainstream histories.
The opening · free to read
"I congratulate you and your race upon Matthew Henson. He has driven home to the world your great adaptability and the fiber of which you are made. He has added to the moral stature of every intelligent man among you. His is the hard-earned reward of tried loyalty, persistence, and endurance. He should be an everlasting example to your young men that these qualities will win whatever object they are directed at. He deserves every attention you can show him. I regret that it is impossible for me to be present at your dinner. My compliments to your assembled guests."
It would be superfluous to enlarge on Henson in this introduction. His work in the north has already spoken for itself and for him. His book will speak for itself and him.
Yet two of the interesting points which present themselves in connection with his work may be noted.
Henson, son of the tropics, has proven through years, his ability to stand tropical, temperate, and the fiercest stress of frigid, climate and exposure, while on the other hand, it is well known that the inhabitants of the highest north, tough and hardy as they are to the rigors of their own climate, succumb very quickly to the vagaries of even a temperate climate. The question presents itself at once: "Is it a difference in physical fiber, or in brain and will power, or is the difference in the climatic conditions themselves?"
Again it is an interesting fact that in the final conquest of the "prize of the centuries," not alone individuals, but races were represented. On that bitter brilliant day in April, 1909, when the Stars and Stripes floated at the North Pole, Caucasian, Ethiopian, and Mongolian stood side by side at the apex of the earth, in the harmonious companionship resulting from hard work, exposure, danger, and a common object.
R. E. PEARY.
Washington, Dec., 1911.
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