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Theodore Poston
MATT HLNSON RLTIR1,S (He ',7as There When)
Source: Personal Observittion
N. Y. Post(my story)
Lxamination of Henson's Files
There was little work that morning in the Chief Clerk's
Office of the U. S. Custom House. The Whole staff was gathered,
for the last time, around the desk of the genial and unassuming little
man Who had worked there for 23 years* For Matt Henson, sole survivor
of Peary's dash to the North Pole, was retiring from government service
that day --on a clerk's pension*
A few reporters had dropped in to record the occasion*
Friends from Harlem and other parts of the city had came down also.
One by one they assured the bald headed but erect one-time explorer
that they would continue the fight for Congressional recognition of
his deed. And Matt Henson thanked them and turned to bid the staff farewell*
-Matt Mnson Retires -=7
The reporters asked questions. Reluctantly, Henson answered.
He displayed no bitterness against a government which had heaped undying
honors on the late Rear Admiral Robert R. Peary and completely ignored
the only other Ametican to reach the pole. Of the proposed Congressional
pension, repeatedly denied him, he said:
"I could use the money. I think that I deserve it. But I
will never ask the government nor allybody else for anything. I have
worked sixty of the seventy years of my life, so I guess I can make
out on the $87.27 a month pension I've earned here."
Negro leaders had not been so philosophical however. For
a quarter of a century they had demanded official recognition and a
commensurate pension for Mr. Henson. Through their efforts six bills
had been introduced in Congress. All died in committee.
Congressman Arthur W. Mitchell resurrected the fight in
1935. Scores of prominent Negroes appeared before the House committee
to support the bill Which asked for a gold medal and a $2,500 pension.
They pointed out that the late Rear Admiral P(ary had been awarded a
$5,500 pension and a Congressional medal. They recalled that Henson
had twice saved Peary's life. They charged that Henson's race was
his only barrier to recognition.
The House passed the bill. The Senate killed ito
Matt Henson Retires --3
At the prompting of the reporters, Matt Henson again de-
scribed their arrival at the North Pole on April 6, 1909, the culmina-
tion of a nineteen -year struggle on their part. Together he and Peary
had made eight expeditions into the artic regidns, and five unsuccessful
dashes for the pole. Twice a helpless Peary had been brought back to
civilization by his Negro companion --once when his feet were frozen
and again when he was stricken by pneumonia.
For the last time in the Custom House surroundings, Mr.
Henson recalled the climax of the final dash which had started July 8, 1908.
As trail breaker for the party which included the two Americans
and four Eskimos, the Negro had been the first to arrive at the pole.
*When the compass started to go crazy," he recalled, "I
sat down to wait for Mr. Peary. He arrived about forty-five minutes
later, and we prepared to wait for the dawn to check our exact positions.
Mt. Peary pulled off his boots and warmed his feet on my stomach. We
always did that before going to bed up there."
The next morning when their positions had been verified,
Peary said: "Matt, we've reached the North Pole at last."
With his exhausted leader looking on, Henson planted the
American flag in the barren area.
Matt Henson Retires --4
"That was tbe happiest moment of my life." Mr. Henson said.
Benson's early life fittdd him admirably fot the hardships
he was to undergo with Peary. Born in Charles County, Maryland, in
1866, he was orphaned at the age of four. When he was nine, he ran
away from his foster parents and signed up as a cabin boy on the old
sailing vessel Katie Hines. A few years later, the Katie Hines was
ice -bound for several months in the Baltic Sea.
"That was my first experience with bitter cold, he reaalled„
"and it sure came in handy later."
Peary met Henson in 1887 when the latter was working in a
store in Washington. Informed of the youth's love of travel, the explorer
offered him a job on a surveying expedition in South America. Henson
accepted and for twenty-two years, the two men were never separated.
Critieized for taking a Negro with ham on his dash to the
pole (his critics held that he was afraid that a white man might steal
some of his prestige), Peary once said:
"Matt was a better man than any of my white assistants.
Be made all our sleds. He wad popular with the Eskimos. He could
talk their language like a native. He was the greatest man living for
handling dogs. I couldn't get along without him.
wAtt Henson Retires --5
Despite this tribute, however, and a slowing forward to
fenson's book,"Negro Explorer at the North Pole,", PeLry never publicly
joined the forces which fought for Congressional recognition of his
Negro assistant Henson recalled.
"Mr. Peary was a hard man like that." the assistant sa*d,
"He didn't want to share his honor and his glory with anybody. He wanted
everything for himself and his family. So, according to his lightd,
guess he felt justified."
The Chief Clerk came over and shook his hand, his fellow
workers gathered around to present him with several small mementos,
and Ma tt Henson bade his friends farewell.
When he walked from the room, he bad ended the only reeog-
nition the government had given him for his deed. For President Tart
had appointed him a clerk in the Customs Service for life.