By Jeri Ferris

Vocabulary Words to Know

• expedition - a journey made to accomplish something

• arctic- having 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

arctic

constellation

insulation

glaciers

expedition

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___