North Pole expedition

Matthew Henson · 1908 CE – 1909 CE · Earth

Reach the North Pole with Peary: build the sledges, drive a division of dogs and speak for the expedition with the Inughuit.

Historical context

Matthew Henson, born in Maryland in 1866, went to sea as a cabin boy at twelve and met Robert Peary in a Washington clothing store, in 1887 by most accounts, 1888 by his own. From 1891 he went on every one of Peary’s Arctic expeditions and learned the language of the Inughuit of north-west Greenland, who called him Maripaluk. Peary’s sledge journeys depended on Inughuit men and women and their families: their dogs, their furs, their skill on the ice. In 1908–09 Henson built the sledges, led a division and was the only one of Peary’s American companions to go on with him beyond the last support party, with four Inughuit men.

The voyage, step by step

1. Winter at Cape Sheridan

   1908 CE

   The Roosevelt is frozen in at Cape Sheridan, on the Ellesmere shore, and Henson builds the sledges for the spring.

2. Cape Columbia

   1 March 1909

   On 1 March 1909 Henson’s division is ordered into the lead as the main party leaves the land for the frozen sea north of Cape Columbia.

3. The Big Lead

   4 March 1909

   On 4 March, some forty-five miles out, a lane of open water about a quarter of a mile wide stops the whole expedition for six days by Peary’s note.

4. Ootah, Egingwah, Seegloo, Ooqueah

   1 April 1909

   At Bartlett’s last camp on 1 April, four Inughuit men are kept for the final march, and Henson goes on with Peary.

5. Over the polar ice

   3 April 1909

   On 3 April Henson falls into a lead, and Ootah pulls him out by the neck of his furs.

6. Claiming the pole

   6 April 1909

   On 6 April the party halts at the camp Peary names Camp Morris K. Jesup; whether it stood at the pole has been disputed ever since.

Outcome

Henson, Peary, Ootah, Egingwah, Seegloo and Ooqueah reached what Peary reported as the pole on 6 April 1909 and regained Cape Columbia on 23 April; Ross Marvin did not return. The claim remains disputed, and Henson’s part was long overlooked.

Matthew Henson

African-American explorer and dog-sled driver who reached the far north with Robert Peary.

Read on Wikipedia

Sources

• A Negro Explorer at the North PoleMatthew A. Henson · Frederick A. Stokes; Project Gutenberg text · 1912
• The North Pole: Its Discovery in 1909 under the Auspices of the Peary Arctic ClubRobert E. Peary · Frederick A. Stokes · 1910
• The Log of Bob Bartlett: The True Story of Forty Years of Seafaring and ExplorationRobert A. Bartlett · G. P. Putnam’s Sons · 1928
• Ahdoolo! The Biography of Matthew A. HensonFloyd Miller · E. P. Dutton · 1963
• Matthew Alexander Henson — Notable GravesArlington National Cemetery
• Ôdâĸ — Wikipedia (German)
• Hvad man har hørt om de to første NordpolsfarereInuutersuaq Ulloriaq · Tidsskriftet Grønland 1984/3, pp. 61–88; Danish translation by Tukummeq Qaavigaq, edited by Rolf Gilberg · 1984
• Doubts Cast on Peary’s Claim to PoleJohn Noble Wilford · The New York Times, 22 August 1988 · 1988
• Historic Photos Show the Epic Voyages of Black ExplorerNational Geographic News · 2016
• Matthew Henson — Wikipedia

Continue exploring

• North Pole attemptRobert Peary · 1908 CE – 1909 CE
• South Pole expeditionRoald Amundsen · 1910 CE – 1912 CE
• Terra Nova expeditionRobert Falcon Scott · 1910 CE – 1913 CE
• Northwest PassageRoald Amundsen · 1903 CE – 1906 CE