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Dark Companion: The Story of Matthew Henson

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This is the life story of Matthew Henson, the Black explorer who went to the North Pole with Peary. The first-hand tales of Henson's Arctic exploits are told in straightforward prose, full of personal touches. One can almost see the twinkle in Henson's eye as he related these stories to listeners to whom the Arctic was as remote as the moon.

Henson was a key player on one Peary expedition after another from 1892 through 1909. He went with Peary virtually every step of the way on every expedition after Peary's first crossing of Greenland. Henson built sledges and other equipment, handled the dog teams, took his turn out in front by a day or more breaking trail, and, most importantly, developed a close working relationship with the Eskimos, whose assistance was the key to reaching the North Pole. Henson is not shy about his own contribution, and that view is supported by the three introductions to Dark Companion by Peary contemporaries MacMillan, Freuchen and Stefansson. These testimonials alone are reason enough to buy this book. MacMillan, a tenderfoot on the 1909 Peary expedition to the Pole and an Arctic explorer in his own right in later years, readily admitted that Peary took Henson to the pole because, with all of his experience and abilities he was the best man for the job. And Henson's courage -- whether pushing ahead with Peary despite lack of supplies, relying on hunting skills to avoid almost certain starvation, or facing constant danger from moving, crushing, and suddenly parting ice, or fighting walruses from kayaks -- is indisputable.

These Arctic accounts are available in other sources, including Henson's own book, a Negro Explorer at the North Pole, and books by Henson's fellow travelers, Peary, Bartlett, MacMillan and Borup. But only in Dark Companion can one read Henson's account of survival in another inhospitable environment -- late 19th and early 20th century America.

The Arctic was a place where Henson could contribute his full potential. Not because Peary or his white companions were civil rights crusaders, but because the environment of the north simply demanded too much to afford the luxury of limiting any person's contributions on arbitrary racial grounds. By contrast, Henson's life outside the Arctic was a struggle against diminished expectations and unspoken slurs at best and outright racial hatred at worst. But in telling the story, Henson focuses on the exception, the kindness of the sea captain who tutored him and taught him to read, as the defining influence in his life.

Upon returning to America after Peary's expedition to the pole, Henson's contribution went largely unrecognized. In fact, critics openly attacked Peary for taking a Negro on the final leg of the North Pole dash. Early on, the argument, by Cook supporters, was raised that Peary must have taken Henson because he didn't want a "credible" witness. This, the argument goes, would leave Peary free to make phony claims, since Henson would presumably be either too stupid to contradict Peary, would not dare to contradict him, or would be ignored.

Henson continues to be caught in the crossfire of modern Peary critics. To discount the possibility that Peary might have chosen Henson on merit, critics routinely have referred to him as Peary's manservant or valet. Yet Peary listed Henson as an assistant. Henson was only a "valet" once, when surveying in Nicaragua prior to 1892. Some recent critics disparage Henson's lack of "full literacy" and analyze his every statement looking for inconsistencies to prove him a "liar." Henson's recounting of his adventures to Robinson, some 40 to 50 years after the fact, does, to be sure, contain some inconsistencies in the details. Still, one wonders why some critics readily excuse what might charitably be called far greater memory lapses in the accounts of Frederick Cook, a "white man," while branding Henson's mistaken recollections as lies. But Henson never wavered on the essentials: Henson, with all his expert sledding experience, was confident that the expedition had covered the necessary distance from the last navigational observation to the Pole.

One cannot find fault with Robinson's editorial decision to let Henson's recollections speak for him. The opportunity to get Henson's detailed story, under oath, subject to cross examination, while it was fresh in his mind, was passed up when Congress, in its investigation of Peary's claim, did not bother to call Henson as a witness. History will never recover from that shameful oversight, and Robinson could not repair the damage.

This book is not about whether Henson actually stood at the pole, or only 5 or 20 miles from it. It is about one man's decision to be shaped by what was positive in his life. It is about having the courage to face every conceivable danger to participate in a great enterprise on an even playing field. It is about the satisfaction of seeing one's talents and experience put to good use, and of being the one called upon when the need was greatest -- in short, a hero. It is an inspirational story.

Hi.
My name is Aviaq Henson from Greenland.
I believe that Matthew Henson had wrote that book because all he said was true, why would a black man lie to write that book while there was still much of racism in societies. Only a true story would let a black man write in the early times.
Greentings from Greenland.

i must say this book initiated feelings i had not expected.
i bought the book as a source of african american history but
as i read further, i got drawn into the life of a kid from the
last vestiges of slavery who despite the obvious nefarious
conditions for a black kid during those times, was allowed to
follow a dream of exploration by gaining and earning acceptance
from those good people willing to "give the guy a chance".
This book is much more than a story of a black kid who despite
never ending verbal attacks (many to this day)did what he wished
and contributed to humanity, it is a book that proves there
are no limits whenever humans are able to forget their minor
differences and intelligently solve any predicament.
Kudos to Mr. Robinson!!!

I found this book to be inspiring. I have always found 19th and early-20th century polar expeditions fascinating, and this account is a great read. The hardships endured, and the bravery required to undertake such a feat is simply amazing. Do they even make people like this anymore?

The story is gripping in an of itself, but the fact that Mr. Henson, an African-American, teamed up with a white explorer, Peary, makes it even more amazing, and it should be applauded that Peary chose his crew solely on their ability to get this incredible job done, instead of political and sociological considerations.

I recommend this book highly.

This book is an inspirational read. I've always been fascinated by polar explorers (especially the early ones) because of the privations they suffered, and for nothing but recognition and desire to see what hasn't yet been seen.

Juxtapose the sub-plot of a noted Naval navigator, driven to make his mark in the world, forming a relationship with a black man (very free-thinking in those days) that made both men stronger than they would have been on their own, and you have a truly a fascinating story.

It's too bad that so much has to be made of the fact that Henson was a black man, but it mattered then, and sadly, it matters now. If Peary didn't think it was issue 80 years ago, why is race still an issue? This is the question that forms an undercurrent to the story in the book. Someday, perhaps, we'll talk of Peary and Henson's exploits, and the word "black" or "white" will only be relevent when disussing seal noses and snow....

This is a wonderful book for all ages. I wish that I'd read it as a kid because it portrays the enormity of the challenge in a way that astounds the reader.

That Mr. Robinson had the blessing and resources of Mr. Henson really adds to the authenticity of this work. It reads really well. Mr. Robinson assembled the memoirs with great craft and thought without leaving you feeling that the writer was in the way.

Instead, he wrote a compelling story of an amazing feat that brings the reader right inside the story. Honestly, there were so many instances when the descriptions were so perfectly written that I felt that I was there.

From Matt's running away as a child to his tutelage on the sea on to Central America and Greenland.

Matt's early days with the natives of Greenland. Their acceptance of him as a lost brother (ancestral memory of the African Diaspora?.. who knows?) His learning their ways. The bear hunt was incredibly invigorating to read.

There are so many chapters that boggle the mind. The chapter where Peary's toes get frostbitten, and how Matt saves him. This was November in the Arctic. Pitch black; unimaginable cold. The hardship was palpable. And when Matt broke through the ice, I had no idea how he could've survived.

An extremely compelling read. Whether you're 8 or 80, this book is a Great Adventure and I can't imagine anyone having written it better. When you're done, don't forget to visit the website which is a wonderfully rich resource. Verne has devoted a great deal of love and energy into it.

Thanks for preserving this book Verne!

The account of Matthew Henson's life as depicted by this text is extraordinary. I am a teacher and a member of the military and I can vouch for the line that "he was a better man than any of us". This is an excellent choice to read as it provides an exciting nonfiction account of Henson's life. You feel part of the journey that he experienced. I could not put it down and it was better than any fiction novel I have ever read.

I was 14 years of age when I first read Dark Companion, and it set the course of my life. Being a black child, I, like other blacks, or Negroes as we were call then (1948) were told of the so many things we could not do. "White people would never allow you to do this, or that" we the youth were told by our (well meaning) elders. My childhood dreams would be shattered the moment I spoke them aloud,, that is until I read of Mr. Matthew Henson adventures. His life story blow my mind. And convinced me that black people could be heroes too.

After that reading experience, no one could convince me that I couldn't do the things, and live the life, I have lived. Proof, I am now the author of WHAT'S A COMMIE EVER DONE TO BLACK PEOPLE? (a Korean war memoir) Publish by McFarland Publishers 1997. Also, RETURN OF THE AFRICAN AMERICAN, by Kroshka Books, both are true life adventures. I am also nearing the completion of a series of African mythologies (illustrated books of children's stories) Stories I learn during my 11 years of living amongst the people of my ancestors in Ghana, west Africa, who adoptive me during my Sankofa there.

Alone with my grandfather, who was 12, when the civil-war begun, Mr. Matthew A. Henson memories will always remain with me. He was one of the first African-Americans, sources of inspiration to me. And I strongly encourage all to read his Dark Companion. I also salute Mr. Bradley Robinson, and his son, for their authorship.

Curtis J. Morrow Author

This book, first published in 1947, was the first biography of Matthew Henson, the long time associate of the arctic explorer Robert E. Peary, who claimed to have reached the North Pole on April 6, 1909. According to the publisher, the author worked "in close collaboration with Henson" to tell his story, and the story he tells is the stuff of legends-literally. Much of the circumstantial substance of the book is simply at odds with all existing documentary evidence.

On its way to building up Henson's role in Peary's expeditions to an unwarranted degree and at others' expense, including Peary himself, ultimately insinuating that Henson should be credited as the discoverer of the North Pole, Robinson leaves a trail of howlers along the way. In his account of Peary's 1891-92 expedition, Henson builds Peary's winter headquarters nearly single-handedly, when it was really a largely prefabricated building designed to be thrown up in a few days. We learn that expedition member Eivind Astrup, who was barely 5'9" and weighed 170 pounds, was a "broad shouldered giant"; poor Langdon Gibson, divided into two different people as "Gibson " and "Langdon," goes off in different directions in search of his lost companion, John Verhoeff. When it is done, Robinson has the expedition returning to New York instead of Philadelphia, as it truly did. These amazingly elementary gaffs show that Robinson didn't even bother to read Peary's published record of the expedition, Northward, Over the "Great Ice," but rather relied on the aging Henson's faulty memory of events already 50 years in the past.

Robinson's account of Peary's 1898-1902 expedition is hardly better. He has a circumstantial account of a meeting between Peary and his rival, Otto Sverdrup, aboard Peary's ship, which, in common with many other circumstantial accounts in the book, was an event that never happened. He even allows Henson to claim credit for saving Peary's life when Peary froze his toes on a journey to Fort Conger in 1899. Actually, Peary's surgeon was with Peary on this journey and attended to his injuries, but Henson claims the surgeon never left the ship.

Dark Companion also contains "facts" that would be a surprise to the scientific literate. For instance, Henson's observation that "in the Arctic, the sun at its peak of ascension is rarely more than 10 degrees above the horizon," or that "longitude cannot be determined above the 80th parallel." He also learn that Henson lost 60 pounds on his journey to the Pole and back. Considering Henson only weighed about 130 pounds, that is a pretty amazing statement in itself.

Even events of a personal nature that could only have come from Henson don't ring true. Although Robinson states that when Henson met Lucy Ross in 1905 "he was in love for the first time in his life," according to Henson's leading advocate, S. Allen Counter, Henson had in fact been married previously to Eva Flint in 1891 and divorced by her in 1897. And Henson gives Robinson an account of his childhood that is circumstantially incompatible with the account he had given in his own 1912 autobiography A Negro Explorer at the North Pole. In Dark Companion Robinson quotes the kindly old sea captain who took Henson from the wharves of Baltimore to be his cabin boy as saying to him: "Promise me you'll [never lie]. Lying is a bad thing." Evidently, Henson didn't take the Captain's advice. He told conflicting tales about his himself at every turn, and the older he grew the taller they got.

As for the writing style, this book might easily be mistaken as one for pre-adolescents rather than aimed at an adult audience. (The New York Times Book Review compared its style to that of the Rover Boys juvenile novels of the 1900s). But for any level of audience, any author who presents his work as biography has a moral obligation to stick to documentary truth. But this book is full of fantasy. Even S. Allen Counter, who once accepted this book as truth, now calls it a "biographical novel." One can easily sympathize with the neglect of Henson's real accomplishments in exploration and his real contributions to Peary's expeditions in the past as a result of racism. However, righting the wrongs of the past cannot justify writing fiction and presenting it as history.

Fiction, too, is Peary's claim to have reached the North Pole with Henson and four Inuit sledge drivers. Instead, all the evidence (or lack of it) contained in Peary's voluminous papers points to it having been the greatest scientific hoax of the 20th century.

Why doesn't someone write an adult book about Matt Henson? I went looking for a biography of him and all I could find was children's books, and this one, which is apparently supposed to be an adult book, but is written on about a junior-high level. It seems like one of America's greatest black heroes should have had an adult biography written about him by now!