 Hello from the National Archives public programs and education staff. My name is Sarah Lyons Davis, and I'm an education specialist at the National Archives in New York City. Welcome to the National Archives Comes Alive Young Learners Program. Today we meet Matthew Henson, portrayed by actor and storyteller Keith Henley of the American Historical Theater. Matthew Henson was an African American explorer who helped Admiral Robert Perry reach the North Pole in April, 1909. He actually accompanied Perry on seven trips to the North Pole region over a 20-year span. Henson learned the Inuit language, built sleds, trained dog teams, and many other jobs on the expeditions. Henson was the first person to reach the pole and responsible for planting the American flag. The National Archives has a number of records related to these Arctic expeditions, including this one of Henson. You see him wearing his fur parka to help combat the extreme cold conditions found in the Arctic. The 1909 expedition was documented in letters, photos, and sketches. Here we have a photograph of the Robert Perry Sledge Party posing with flags at the North Pole. You can see Henson right in the middle planting the polar flag at the North Pole. This image and educational activity can be found on docsteach.org, and we'll share this image again at the end of the program. If you have a question for Matthew Henson, please send it to us via the YouTube chat box and we'll try and answer it at the end of the program. National Archives staff monitors the chat box and please feel free to let us know where you're watching from today. Our programs are brought to you from the National Archives public programs and education team and the National Archives Foundation. You can find information for teacher and student programs on the National Archives website. That's archives.gov under educator resources or learn about upcoming programs under attendant event and on the National Archives Facebook page. And now let us give a warm welcome to Matthew Henson. Wow, good morning, good morning, good morning. I am actually sitting a little, it's kind of warm where I am, a lot warmer than I would be if I was in Greenland wearing this beautiful coat. Basically we would only wear a coat of this magnitude if it was, oh boy, up and towards the North Pole it was almost 60 degrees below zero. You can imagine how cold that is. And it was absolutely frigid. It was very frigid. And, but I'll share some very interesting stories about being at the top of the world. Just imagine standing on the top of the world. It's just absolutely mind-boggling. I can't believe that I actually made it to the top of the world. Poor black man from Maryland standing on the top of the world. Well, let me share, let me start to the beginning and give you an idea of how I got to be, need that particular, became that successful. Well, I was about, oh, let's say, oh, I was 11 years old when I decided to leave home. My mother died when I was very young. My father died when I was nine years old. And of course, after my mother died, he had remarried. My stepmother and I did not get along at all. So I did what most young men, regardless of race or creed, we did a very popular thing. We ran, we're always running. So I get used to it because I did it a couple of times. So I decided to leave home in Maryland and I ended up walking about 50 miles to Washington DC and I lived with my uncle. Now, my uncle had ideas and his idea was for me to go to school and to make something of myself. I wasn't feeling that bad. I didn't see the need for me to go to school. And besides, at 11 years old, I had a lot of adventure in my spirit. I was like, I wanna go do something exciting, something wonderful, something that will, I don't know, but I knew I didn't wanna sit in the school and learn and I just wanted to do something. I didn't know what it was. So when my uncle wasn't paying attention, I ran away. That's the second time. And I ended up on the outskirts of Maryland, the board of Maryland and Washington DC. And I ended up working at this CD pub that was owned by this woman called Aunt Janie. Oh my God, was she a whoop? Oh my Lord, I had so much fun working at her establishment. I learned how to cook and clean and wash dishes and wait on tables and all that. Of course that would be the ideal thing to do, but the most exciting thing was the people that came in to visit her pub. Wow, so many wonderful, hilarious characters, but the main one was Baltimore Jack. Whoa, Baltimore Jack had influenced my life, you would not believe. Every time he would come, he would sit and tell me of the various adventures and things that he did. You see, Baltimore Jack was the captain of his own ship and he sailed the world and did whatever he wanted, go wherever he wanted to go. And he would come back, every time he would go off, he would come back and share those stories with me. And I was like, yeah, that's what I wanted to do. That is so, oh yes, I wanna do that. I wanna do that. So I went, so one day I went and told Aunt Janie, I said, Aunt Janie, guess what? I wanna be the captain of my own ship and I'm gonna sail the world. Yes, that's what I wanna do. Well, Aunt Janie sat me down and she says, man, I don't think that's a wise decision. You see, there are not too many black men who are capable to own their own ship, let alone sail the world. So I think the best thing for you to do is to go back to school, go live with your uncle, go back to school, get an education and make some things. That's not what I wanna do, that's not what I wanna do. I am the permit, I am going to be the captain of my own ship and I am gonna sail the world. Well, around 12, 13 years old, I guess if I'm gonna sail the world and be the captain of my ship, I guess I need to go learn how to sail. So what did I do? I ran away. Number three, I ran away and I walked 60 miles to Baltimore. Well, when I get to Baltimore, I, the first ship I came to was the Katie Hines and the gentleman who was the captain was Captain Charles. Oh, what a wonderful man he was. He was absolutely the best. And I was this really small, squany, little black boy and he was looking for a cabin boy and he took me in, taught me everything I needed to learn about sailing and I became very proficient in every aspect of sailing. I could, not only the cooking and cleaning, but I could build anything. I became a remarkable carpenter. I could make nets. I could mend them. The sails, there was nothing that I could not do. Absolutely nothing. Well, I stayed on the Katie Hines for about eight years and Captain Charles died. And when he died, there was really nothing that was gonna keep me on the, continue to sail, especially with that crew. I had a lot of problems with that crew, but I'll explain that a little later on. So I decided that I will not be the captain of my own ship but I did sail the world. I did sail the world, but I just won't be a captain. So I decided to find something else to do and I ended up working in New York City, in Washington, excuse me, in Washington in a man's head shop. A gentleman by the name of Robert Perry, at this time he was a lieutenant, he comes into the store looking for a cabin boy. Now he talks to the owner, I'm in the back, he talks to the owner and the owner thought of me. And so he introduced us. Now I'm a little too old to be a cabin boy. I'm 20 years old. I'm a little about 20, 21 years old. I'm too old to be a cabin boy and I'm too experienced. And when Mr. Perry began to explain to me what he wanted, I told him what I was capable of doing. And instead of him making me a member of his crew, he needed a cabin boy. And like most white men back in those days, they didn't believe that black men had or that I had that type of experience. But I saw something in his eyes that was different than the others. It actually reminded me of Captain Charles. So I trusted him and I decided to go ahead and be his cabin boy. Well, we get to Nicaragua. Oh, the reason why we went to Nicaragua was because at that time, the country was looking for a place to build a canal and they were surveying various ports and Nicaragua was one of those ports. So there we are in Nicaragua and one of his crewmen had gotten hurt while they were out and I saw him, I grabbed my gear and my first aid kit and I go tend to his needs and then I pick up where he left off and finished the job. Well, Robert Parris standing on the side and he's sitting there going, wow, he really can do everything he said he can do. It's amazing. And then he goes, you know what? That's the man that's going to take me through the North Pole. Well, as the story goes, we ended up going to Greenland trying to make our way to the North Pole and the year was at that time it was like 1891. So here we are on our way to Greenland. We're heading into McCormick Bay. Oh, let me tell you, when we were coming into McCormick Bay, it was the most beautiful sight I had ever seen of the snow-capped mountains and the greenery, it was like our springtime and it was beautiful flowers. It was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. It was absolutely breathtaking. Oh, Greenland is beautiful, absolutely beautiful. And so Robert Perry brought his wife on our first expedition and so all of us are out on the deck and we're all watching this amazing, amazing view of Greenland. And the ship gets caught in the ice and it jolts and you'll never guess what happened. Robert Perry falls and breaks his leg. He broke his leg and you imagine he breaks his leg before we even get started. So while they're mending tended to his knees, myself and several member of the crew were out there chipping at the ice and we get to get the ship free and then we make it into port. Well, once we get there, once we get there, this is the most exciting part of this whole story about my life, is that so we get to the port and everyone comes off the ship and of course the natives, the Inuits, please do not call them Eskimos, they're Inuits. The Inuits are excited, well, they're not really excited because they've seen European men come off the ship. Ships come every now every so often. So they're very used to seeing a lot of white men coming off the ship. But when I surfaced, they were stunned. They were literally stunned. So I walk up to it and I reach out to say hello and how you doing? And immediately they grab my hand and they rub it. Trying to see if whatever's on my skin is gonna come off. I don't know if they thought it was some kind of paint or grease or whatever, but they're rubbing. I mean, everyone I touched, everyone's hand, I tried to extend my hand to, was rubbing and trying to see if it came off. Well, when they realized that I was one of them or I looked like one of them, they were amazed and it was just a wonderful, wonderful meeting. I'll never forget that. And from that day on, the Inuits and I became like family. They adopted me, I learned the language fluently. I was able to learn all the customs and I became a huge part of the community. I wasn't an outsider, I was a family. It was family, it was absolutely family. So we wanna fast forward real quick and we're gonna go to the actual day that Robert Perry and I made it to the North Pole. Well, we get to the North Pole, we're about like 100 miles outside of our destination. And Robert, oh, at that time, well, he's the Admiral now. So at that time, Admiral Perry is looking at his compass and he pulls out his notes and everything and he realizes that we're like 100 and some miles outside of our destination. So the two of us, along with our two Inuits, we make trek. I am the lead sled. And the lead sled is the one who actually pays away and shows, gives direction as to for the rest of the team. So there I am taking off and my Inuit and I get on a lead. Now lead is a piece of ice that breaks off and just floats on the water. And because we are at the top of the world, you'll get a lot of leads. You'll get a lot of ice. And because the planet is constantly shifting, the ice constantly breaks off. So there we are on this lead. And believe it or not, I slipped off and fell into the water. Well, I thought I was gonna die. And immediately my Inuit grabbed my hand and pulls me up and we make it to land. So now we are about 40 some odd miles outside. We wait for Robert Perry to show up. But then Robert Perry shows up and he checks his sextant and he checks his charts and makes sure everything's all right and realizes that we're only like 40 some odd miles out. So he tells me to take off. We were going to make camp, but we decided that we were going, since we're so close, we're gonna keep going. Well, I go off and I go just a few, well, we were supposed to go like 40 miles. Well, I went like 41, maybe 43, somewhere around there about almost 50 miles. Just a little further. And I was where, when I got there, I was there for about, oh, I would say, about 20 minutes to a half hour, then Robert Perry shows up. And once he shows up, he takes out his charts and checks everything and realizes that we had made it. And next thing I know, he pulls out his flag and he poses it and he and I are taking pictures and any of us thought we were crazy, but we're taking pictures because we're taking pictures of the ice. They didn't understand what we were doing. And next thing I know, we're on our way back and Robert Perry stopped talking to me. I don't understand why, but we make it back home and we make it back home. And once we get home, we make it to New York. I'll never forget it. It was this huge parade. The president of the United States was there. The president was there and some members of his cabinet, Congress was there, the governor of New York, the mayor, the reporters and just tons and tons of people. And Robert Perry goes up to the podium and introduces everyone and thanks everyone. And he forgot to mention my name. I spent almost 18 to 20 years tracking through that cold with that man. And on that day, he actually forgot who I was. Wow. Can you imagine, imagine a sharecropper son standing on the top of the world? I can, but I did it. I did it. Thank you. Wow, that was a really incredible story, Mr. Henson. Oh, thank you. Really amazing to hear about your experiences and all the adventures you had and all of the things that you saw. It must have been really amazing. Oh, it was. Oh, I wish I had more time. I would share taste so many more stories. I bet. I have a few questions for you if that's okay. Oh, please. Wonderful. So could you tell us how you manage the dog teams and the sleds? Oh, that's, oh, I love telling that story. Absolutely love telling that story. Well, in order to get the dog sled set up, the first thing you do if you get a bunch of dogs and you put them in a huge room and then what we would do was we would throw out a piece of, we put our piece of meat out in the middle of the floor and you let them fight for it. And the last one standing will be the lead dog. It'll be the lead dog. And every now and then you'll get a female dog that wants to try to challenge the male dog. And so, but they always lose. So once you get the lead dog, now you have to harness them. So in order to harness them, you separate each dog and you pull one dog at a time, you give them a piece of frozen meat. And while they are trying to eat this meat, you are trying to put the harness on. So you can imagine the scratches in the bites and you'll have this. So that's how you would harness the dogs. And once you get them harness, then you have complete control and you can guide them and direct them. They're absolutely, once you get them harness, they are amazing. They're absolutely amazing. I love telling that story though, but thank you for asking. Oh, that's so interesting here. It sounds like your adventures were varied on the past. Oh, very much so. Oh, let me tell you, you have no idea. Oh, I know, I see from your coat and I know you mentioned that it was very cold. But do you have a sense of what the temperature was? Was it the coldest you'd ever experienced? Oh, for me, yes. Sometimes there were times when the temperature would drop 60 degrees below. There were many times. As a matter of fact, the closer to the top of the world, we traveled to colder a God. And it was absolutely, you would have, normally you would have a hood that would cover your face. You have special glasses that were made out of the walrus bone that had just a little slit in it. That protected your eyes because of the ice and the cold. And of course you had boots that were made out of animal skin as well. There were certain boots that you had to wear. It was just, the attire was warm, very, very comfortable and heavy. But it actually protected you. And so yeah, it was something to behold. Let me tell you a very quick story. When we came back from our first expedition, Robert Perry needed to raise some money. So he had this great idea of trying to come up with some ideas. So would you believe, he actually had me wear the entire regalia of the hat, the hood, the coat, the boots, the whole nine yards with a dog sled in the dogs in the middle of July hushed through the streets of New York. Oh my goodness. You'll get a man to how I was sweating in that outfit. And we made it in and the crowd would follow us right into the lecture hall and there I would be standing. I'd be sitting behind him with the dogs while he's lecturing, trying to raise money. And I was like, oh Lord, I wasn't, I know I lost at least 10, 15 pounds that day. But that awareness today, let's kind of remind you that I still, I thought I had to share that one. No, thank you. I imagine that specialized equipment is not meant for New York summers. No, it is not. No, it is not. Actually, it's not even made for New York winter either. It's not. Oh. And what type of food did they have on the expedition? What did you eat on the expedition? So what we did was we had dried walrus meat, whatever. We had dried meat and we also had, a lot of the food was dried. And it was, and the meat was, you needed to dry meat because it had a lot of nutrients in it. And that's actually what was going to save your life. So you wanted to make sure we had plenty of the dried, the various types of meat, of the things that we had hunted. And of course I did all the hunting, but it was, it was good. And there was a certain things, probably things that you probably wouldn't want to eat on a regular basis. But if you're out in that type of terrain and dealing with those types of climates, that's the food that you had to eat. That's the food that you had to eat. Very interesting. Thank you. You're welcome. I know I have learned so much today, Mr. Henson. And I've really, really appreciate your taking the time to tell us your stories about your trip and your life and all of your experiences. So I have one final question for you. Okay. What advice do you, as Matthew Henson, have for young people today? You know, when I was a young man, I had no idea what I wanted to do. And I was determined, and it's like the story, like I said earlier, I was determined that I was going to become the captain of my own ship and I was going to sail the world. Even though my dreams didn't fully get what I wanted, but I did do what was in my heart. So if there is something that is pressing on your mind that you want to do, go ahead and do it. Prepare yourself, work hard at it, and you will achieve it. And for those of us who deal with racism on a daily basis, Captain Charles shared, I was having problems with racism on the ship. And Captain Charles shared with me, he says, you know, Matthew, because of the color of your skin, you're going to come across many adversities or ignorance on a regular basis. And even just as a black man or as a woman, this applies to everyone. Instead of using this as your means of trying to get back and defend yourself, Captain Charles told me to use this. Intelligence will overcome ignorance any day. Instead of you fighting with your fists, use the gift that God has given you with your intelligence. Read, study the people that you come in contact with, study, learn as much as you can about the situation so that you can diffuse it with intelligence because they may not like you, but with your intelligence, they will have to respect you and that's what you want. You want their respect. That's the best way to kill a bully is with knowledge. So if you don't get anything, remember you can overcome anything with hope, with faith in God and intelligence. Well, thank you so much. That's some great advice. And now, before we end our program today, let's take one last look at that Doc's Teach educational activity related to Matthew Henson. And that's docsteach.org. So I hope everyone can join us on March 9th at 11 a.m. Eastern time to meet Julia Childe. Culinary wonder played an important role in communications with the U.S. Government Intelligence Agency, the OSS during World War II. Thank you so much for participating in our program today.