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Exhausted, but safely back on land |
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Ootah (top) and Egingwah
(bottom) photographed after they returned.
To appreciate what the return party endured here
are Matt Henson's words from his 1912 book A Negro Explorer at
The North Pole.  "When we (reached land) it was early in the morning of April 23, 1909, nearly 17 days since we left the Pole, but such a 17 days of haste, toil, and misery as cannot be comprehended by the mind. We who experienced it, Commander Peary, the Eskimos, and myself, look back to it as to a horrid nightmare, and to describe it is impossible for me." "After reaching the land again, I gave a keen searching look at each member of the party, and I realized the strain they had been under. Instead of the plump, round countenances I knew so well, I saw lean, gaunt faces, seamed and wrinkled, the faces of old men,.." |
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| Copyright © 1997 Bradley Robinson. All rights reserved. | |||
