| A Tenderfoot
with Peary |
| by George Borup, 1911, Published by Stokes |
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Borup writes this about Peary—"Always
kind, considerate, giving us fellows good advice, going out of his way to
help us. Had the Commander been the grim, military martinet or despot his
enemies make him out to be, he would never have gotten the work out of
either the Eskimos or us fellows, and it was due to his great determination,
his never knowing when he was licked, and his ability to encourage and hold
all of us together, to hold every man to the main purpose of the Expedition,
that the American Flag is where it now is—at the North Pole." |
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Borup had so much fun with Peary that he never wanted to go
home. He ends his book by saying—
| "...instead of being happy at the idea of getting home
again, we were a sorrowful lot. What wouldn't we have given to have had
the bow of the Roosevelt turned the other way!" |
George Borup was a fun loving young Yale graduate who was selected for
Peary's 1909 North Pole team. This athletic charmer would have married
Peary's daughter but he drowned in a boating accident. His was the first
book after Peary's about the trip. The following year Matthew Henson
published his account, and later MacMillan wrote one, too. |
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(above) Borup spoke highly of Matthew Henson (at left) of
whom he wrote "Then, Matt Henson, a
jack-of-all-trades, and differing from that person in being apparently a
master of them all; a dandy sledge maker, good shot, and as good a dog
driver as the best Eskimos. Many have been the criticisms of the Commander
for having taken Matt with him in the final dash, but we who knew his merits
felt that Matt, from his long training in the North, thoroughly deserved to
go." |
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(Below) Borup is best remembered for his knack of posing
Eskimos. |
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