Transcript Arctic Explorer: the Story of Matthew Henson

By Jeri Ferris
Vocabulary Words to Know
• expedition a
journey made to
accomplish something
• arctichaving to do
with a region of the North
Pole
• glaciers- large slow
moving masses of ice
• constellation- a group of
fixed stars having a name
• insulation- a material
that keeps heat from
being lost
expedition
insulation
arctic
glaciers
constellation
Matt Henson the first African American to
explore the Arctic Region
• A small group of explorers set out to visit the
north pole in June 1891
• The group included Matthew , Robert Peary and
his wife, Josephine
• Matt Henson had worked before with Robert
Peary in exploring jungles
• The boat they sailed on was named the KITE.
They set sail for Greenland
• The trip to Greenland
would be long, so they
needed lots of supplies,
like food and camping
equipment and coal for
fires
• They reached Greenland
on the first day of
summer, June 21
• Icebergs were
everywhere and they
used their boat to break
cracks in them up to go
forward
They landed in McCormick Bay
• They unloaded supplies,
and made a camp
• The boat, Kite, left for
home before the water
froze up again
• Matt celebrated his 25th
birthday in Aug.8
• They ate mock turtle
soup, stew of little auk,
green peas, corn and
apricot pie
• They built a small
wooden house to live in
They meet the Eskimos
• They made friends with the Eskimos
to learn how to survive the winter
• The Eskimos taught them to hunt for
polar bear, seals, walruses, reindeer
and caribou
• The Eskimo woman would chew the
fat off of the animal furs to make
them usuable for coats, hats, boots
• In exchange, they gave the Eskimos,
pots,pans, needles, tools and other
household items.
Matt looked like the Eskimos
• Matt’s skin color was brown
just like the Eskimos
• The Eskimo family, Ikwa, his
wife, and 2 children became
very fond of Matt, and called
him “ Miy Paluk”, meaning
dear little Matthew in Inuit
language
• They had a run- in with some
very unfriendly walruses, and
almost got killed
The Sun was setting for the Winter
By September, the sky grew darker
and then the sun was gone for 6
months
• The men hunted by the full moon and lived in
igloos
• The Eskimos taught them how not to freeze
and how to make clothing out of animal
pelts(skins)
• Matt also learned how to drive a
sledge with a dog team
Eskimo Life
• Matt learned how to make an igloo out of
snow- the Eskimos could do it in about an hour
• They ate frozen meat and raw meat
• They would hunt the white arctic hare by
watching for the shadows on the snow
• They watched for the stars in the sky to help
pass the time
• They lived simply – no laws, no wars, no
schools, no churchs
• They lived only to survive the elements of ice
and snow.
The Sun Appeared
again
• In February, the sun began to come back
• For many days the sky was just pink
• Then every day the sun would stay longer
and longer
• The birds came back, and the water
turned a deep blue
• Matt tried to cross the ice cap with the
group, but his foot became frozen
• He went back to stay with Mrs. Peary to
heal his foot.
Summer came
• While the other men looked for the North
pole, Matt helped at the campsite
• He learned how to cook and to speak the
Eskimo language.
• Peary and one other man crossed the ice
cap, all the others turned back.
• They never did get to the North Pole, but
vowed to try again, Matthew and Robert
Peary
Questions?
1. What did the group try to explore?
South pole___ Africa____ North Pole__
2. Where did they land the boat?
Iceland___ England___ Greenland___
3. How long were they gone?
2months___ 2years___ 5 years____
4. When did this take place?
June 1981___Feb 2003____June 1950___