The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1910-07-17
NHYBARTLETTD DID
NOT GET TO Pole
Peary Had to Send Him Back
With Last OF Supporting
Parties.
---------------
HENSON COULDN'T COMMAND
----
And in Case OF Disaster Whole
Expedition Might Have
Gore to Pieces.
HENSON COULDN'T COMMAND

Commander Robert E. Peary In his
story of the discovery of the North
Pole, to appear in the forthcoming Au-
gust number of Hampton's Magazine,
\ gives for the first time his reasons for
taking Matthew Henson. a negro. with
him to the pole instead of Captain
Bartlett. the last other white man left
with the advance party.
Many have criticized Commander
Peary for not sharing his triumph with
his white companions. but he has re-
(. fused until now to state his reasons for
4 his course. He now seeks to show that
the necessarily limited number of his
party demanded the selection of every
capable member to take charge of the
return supporting parties, the last and
most difficult of which was directed by
Bartlett. Commander PeNy declares
further that because of rectal lack of
Z daring and initiative. Henson would
profanity have persisted had such
task been assigned him.
Commander Peary adds:
Though would naturally have been
glad - takf Bartlett with me to the
end of the Journey it was impossible.
AS l have already noted7 the support
ting party had to be sent back in this
stage of our progress, and Bartlett was
the only man with me at that time who
could positively insure the return OF
1.-THE supporting party to land
II had given Bartlett the post of
honor in command of my last support
ing party for three reasons First, be-
cause of his magnificent handling Of
the Roosevelt; second, because he had
cheerfully and gladly stood between mo
and every possible minor annoyance
from the start of the expedition to that
day; third, because 1t had seemed to
me right that, in view of the noble
-, H., Mat In nyY mir
ration, British subject should, next
ITO an American, be able to say that
he had stood nearest to the North Pole.
Bartlett had been invaluable to me.
Circumstances had thrust upon him
the brunt of the pioneering, instead OF
its being divided among several. and
he had borne it nobly.
with the departure of Captain Bart
lett the main party now consisted of
my own division and Hensons. My
men were Sigloo and E-ging-wah; Hen
sons men We're Oo-tah and Oo-que- ah.
We had five sledges and forty dogs
1.-THE pick of lao with which we had left
the ship We were ready now for the
final dash.
In taking Henson with me to the
pole did just as have done on all my
expeditions for the last fifteen years
where he had been with me at my poinl
man IShad with me for this kind OF
work, with the exception OF the Eski-
mos who, with their racial inheritance
OF lee technics. and their ability Il
handle sledges and dogs. were NOR,
necessary to me as members of my
own individual party than any white
man could have been.
Henson. with his years of Arctic
experience, was almost as skilful al
Lei Ia
handle dogs and sledges. He was a
part of the travelling machine. Had
taken another member of the eX-
petition, he would have been a pas
senger, necessitatlng the carrying OF
extra rations and other minor Inn
pediments. 1t would have amounted
to an additional load on the sedges,
while the taking of Henson was in
the interest of economy of weight.
The second reason was that j
wished TO give Henson some return
FOR his many years of faithful service
TO me, and this was the best thing !
had TO give him.
THE third reason was that while
Henson was more useful TO me than
any other member of my expedition
when it came to travelling with my
last party over the polar ice. he would
least expefitacsd .sof my white con-
panions in getting himself and his
party back 10 the land.
1 If Henson had been sent back with
ono of the supporting parties from a
distance far out on the ice, and If he
had struck conditions similar TO those
u which we had to face on the return
Journey in 1906. he and his party
would never have reached the land.
While faithful to me, and when with
me more effective in covering distance
with sledg than any of the others, he
had not as a racial inheritance the
daring and initiative of my Anglo
Saxon friends. l owed it to him not
TO subject him to dangers and re-
sponsibilities with which he was tenn
peramentally unequal TO cope"