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32X

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WA/P

THE

PRE-COLUMBIAN

DISCOVERY OF AMERICA,

THK NORTHMBN,

WITH

TRANSLATIONS FROM THE ICELANDIC SAGAS.

B. F. DE COSTA.

SECOND KDITIO

ALBANY, N. Y. :

JOEL MUNSELL'S sons, PUBLISHERS.

1890.

r / i f

03-

69604

bEcos-rp) g^p

CONTENTS.

I. Profncc,

II.

in.

IV.

vr.

VII.

VIII.

IX.

<V-.u,.m Intr.Mh,cti„n.- Historic Fancies; Thn s.a .,f Darkno.s.
Jubas Expedition; Traditions; Tl.o .Xortlun.-n; Tlu- Coloni/.a:
...no IcHand; S..ttl..nu.nt of (iroeniand; Or^ani/ation of tl...
< H.rc h; Monun.,.nts an.i In.ins; Kxplorations in iivr.uUuul
n.o l),.c]in.. of (Jrcndan.!; Lost (in...nland Foun.l; Tin- C'luir'
uctrr un.l Achir-vonicnts of the Northnu-n; The Ship.s of th*-
^orthnu.n; The Literutur.. of IcHand; Tho Manuscripts; Tlu-
Iruthtulness of the Narratives; Early VoyuKos fron. En^.Iaa.I
to Iceland. "

Ounnbiorn and his Hocks.

Eric tlie Hed's voyafres to Cireenland and settle-
ment, - . . . _

iiiarne Ileriulfssons voyage to the coast of
America, • . . . _

Leif Ericson's voyage to Viuland, -

Thorvald Ericson's voyage to Vinland, -

Thorstoin Ericson's attempt to Sock Vinland,

Thorfinn Karlsefne's settlement in Vinland,

Freydis\s voyage and seitlemeut in Vinland,

A. D. 98.'}-986.

A. D. 980.

A. D. 1000-1001.

A. I). 1002.

A. D. 1005.

A. D. 1006-1009.

A. D. 1010-1013.

MIXOR XAURATIVES.
I. Are Marson's Sojourn in Ilvitramannaian.l, - -A. D. 983.
II. Voyage of Biorn Asbraudson, .... ^^ ,^ j,yy

III. OudleifGudlaugson's voyage, .... a. D. 1027

IV. Allusions to Voyages found in Ancient Mauu.scrlpt.s.
V. Ueographical Fragments.

PREFACE.

The chief aim of this w„rk is to place M-ithi„ the reach of
tho Enghsh-roadin^r puhh-e every portion of the Jcehindie-
Sagas rehiting to the Pre-Cohnuhian Discovery of A.neric.
by the North.Men, and to the steps by wj.ich that dk
covery was preceded. The reader will, therefore, find in
th.8 volnme material from tlie Sagas not to be found in any
other work in an English form.

The Sagas have been left, in the main, to tell their own
story, though the necessary notes and explanations h.ve
been added.

So long ago as the year 1838, a distinguished writer in
tlie JVortA American Jievlcw, in closing a valuable and
appreoative article on the Sagas relatir.g to An.erica, said :
" Wo trust that some zealous student of these subiects will
be imniediately found, who will put the Icelandic authorities
into an English dress, and p,-epare them, with proper literary
apparatus, for the perusal of tlic general reader."

More than twenty years ago tliis suggestion was acted
upon by the M'riter. Availing himself of the studies of
those who had preceded him, he brought out a volume
devoted to the subject. TJiat work, however, owing to an
unexpected den.and, soon went out of print; while the
progress of discussion, and the nearness of the j>roi.osod
Columbian Celebration, seem to justify a new publication

IMm:fa( K.

In treating tlie Sagas, tlio writor li;is not felt callod upon
to nr (lify Win vicwn on any ini|>()i'tant point, and, snh.stan-
tially, hie interpretation of these docunients is the same as
that nndertakeii in the orii;inal work. Time has only served
to strengtlien liis l)elief in the historical character of the
Sa<^a8, will' all his <^eo«;ra])hical studies pt»int now as form-
erly to New England as the scene of the Noi-thnian's
exploits, many of which have left no record, though val-
uahle traces of Icelandic occupation may yet he found
hctween Capo Cod aiul Nova Scotia.

The author is strengthened in h's o])inions, not only hy his
own stndies, hut hy the growing favor with which the pro-
foutulest scholars in Eiiro|)e regard the Icelandic historical
literature. Everywhere societies, as well as distinguished
students of history, are in one way or another expressing
their belief in the authenticity of the Sagas relating to the
Pre-Columbian Discoverv of America. S. .'aking of the
Icelandic voyagers, and their ac(|uaintance with Anu'rica,
Professor Max Muller says: "I ha\e met with nothing to
shake my belief in the fact that the Northmen possessed
such knowledge."*

This work is not issued with any intention of seeking to
detract from the glory of the achievements of Columl)Us,
though we should remember that the time is rapidly ap-
proaching when history will summon us to honor the
Cabots, the great fellow countrymen of the Genoese, who
saw the Continent of America before Columbus himself
viewed it. The desire is to place bef(»re the reader the
story which precedes that of 1492, and which is so interest-
ing and important.

The author hopes that the text of the Sagas has not been

* Letter to the Author, August 14, 1889.

PUIMACK

mi.>-ii)tcri>reti'(l, nr left ohscuri', t'S|Kri:illy as the Sairaa irlat-
iiii; to tliu Pro-(\»liiiiiI)iiiii vt»viii;t's are ^ivtin in I'ntlrsrior
Rafii's Work cii the Antiiiuitica of Aiiit'ricii, acc-oiiipanieil
1)V lit'lpfiil iintuN and vcr-inns in liUtin and Danisli. In
overv tliiui; ivlatinu ti» tlio latter ton^jiie, the author has had
the invahiahh) assistance and advice ut' one who has Hpokeii
it from ehiklhou(h II(> lias al^o liad must important and
indisponsahlo aid in eonne<'tioii witli the Icelandic.

The gratnnmtieal structure of the Icelandic is simpU;, and
the aim has heeii thmu^jhuut to maintain this Hi!r|»licity in
the translations, so far as the <^enius uf our owi tonj:fue
Would perndt. This work l)ein<^ strictly historical, hoth in
spirit and tlesi^^Mi, the poetical extracts which occur here and
there are translated as literally as possible, without any
attempt to i>arnish them with metre and rhyme. Neverthe-
less examples in rhyme are ^iven in the Notes.

It will be seen that the author differs on some points
from Professor Rafn : yet it is believed that if that ^reat
student of Northern Anticjuities L*ou,ld have ^one over the
subject a^'ain, studying it on the j^round, and amid the
scenes in which so many of the cxj)loit8 of the Northmen
were performed, he would have modified some of his views.

On the other hand, tlie author has sou<j:ht to stren<i;then
several of the eonclnsiuns <.»f that noble and laborious inves-
tigator, and particularly by bringing out more fully the
truthfulness of the leeliiudic descriptions of the coaiit of
Cape Cod, which centuries ago presented an aspect that it
does not now possess.

Let us remember, too, that in vindicating the Northmen
we honor those who not only gave us the first knowledge
possessed of the American Continent, l»ut to whom we are
indebted f(jr much, beside that wo esteem valuable In

I'kkiack.

reality wo faUlo in ii ^n-rut iiiCiiH\iro when wo Hpciik of i»ur
"S;i.\on inlieritatico." It in rutlior tVoiii the Noi'thiiicii that
we hiivo derived (»ur vital eiuT^'.V. 'ti.r freedom of thought,
and, in a measure that wv. do not yet niispect, our streii^'th
of rtpeeeh. Vet, happily, the people are fast becoming con-
scious of their indehtedness ; bo that it is to bo hoped that
the time is not far distant when the Northmen may bo
recor^nized in their right social, political and literary char-
acters, and at the satno time, as navigators, assume their
true position in the Pro-Columbian Discovery of America.

PHE- COLUMBIAN HISCOVI^ItY.

GENEItAI. INTIIODUCTION.

iriSTOKIC KAN( IKS.

Before the pl.insuf E.iropo ro.se mI.ovo ti.e prhneval seas,
1 10 Cntinct of America cmw^^ed fro,,, the watery waste
that (...rireled the whole globe, a,id hcra.ne the sce.ie <,f ai.i-
mate life. Tlie so-called Now World is in reality the Old
and hears abui.dant proof, of lu.ary a^^^e. Ji.a -u what
por.od It l.cca,.ie the abode of ,na,. we are unable even to
conjcc.tnre. Down to the close of the tenth century of the
Chnstian .-ra it had no written history. Traces of a rude
c'lvd./atK.n that 8U<,'n;o.st a high antiquity are bv no means
wanting. Monuments and ,„ound.s remain ihat point to
pcno. s the contemplation of which would r.ause (;hrono8
himself to grow giddy ; yet among all these great and often
nnpress.vo memorials there is no monument, inscription or
ac'ulptured frieze that satisfactorily explains their origin
Irad.tion itself is dnmi), and the theme chief! v kindles
when brought within tlie realm of imagination." We can
only infer that age after age nations and tribes rose to .great-
ness and then fell into decline, barbarism and a rude culture
holding alternate sway.'

Nevertheless, men liave enjoyed no small degree of satis-
faction m conjuring up theories to explain the origin of the
early races on the Western Continent. What a charm
Imgers aroundjhc supposed trans-Atlantic voyages of the

' Of course we must not overlook the recent rcsearclies into
the his cry of Central America, and especiallv the studie in
connection with Yucatan. '

Pre-Columbian Discovery of

hardy riienieian, the hixurious sailors of Tyre, and, later,
of the bold Basque. What stories ini^ht the lost picture-
records of Mexico and the chronicles of Dieppe toll. Now
we are presented with the splendid view of j^reat tleets, the
remnant of some conquered race, bearing across the ocean
to re-create in new and uid<nown lands the cities and monu-
ments they were forever leaving behind; and now it is
simply the story of some storm-tossed mariner, who blindly
drives across the sea to the western strand, and lays the
foundation of empire. Again it is the devotee of mammon,
in search of gainful traffic or golden Hoece, IIow romantic
is the picture of his little solitary bark setting out in the
days of Roman greatness, or in the splendid age of Charle-
magne, sailing trustingly away between the pillars of Her-
cules, and tossing toward the Isles of the Blessed and the
Fountains of Eternal Youth. In time the Ultima Thule
of the known world is passed, and favoring gales bear the
merchant-sailor to new and wondrous lands. We see hira
coasting the unknown shores, passing from cape to cape,
and from bay to inlet, gazing upon tho marvels of the New
World, trafficking with the bronzed Indian, bartering curious
wares for barbaric gold ; and then shaping his course again
for the markets of the distant East, to pour strange tales
into incredulous ears. Still this may not be all fancy. ^

THE SEA. OF DARKNESS.

In early times the Atlantic ocean, like all things without
known bounds, was viewed by man with mixed feelings
of fear and awe. It was called the Sea of Darkness. Yet,
nevertheless, there were those who professed to have some
knowledge of its extent, and of what lay beyond. Tlie
earliest reference to this sea is that by Theopompus, in the

' Proceedings of " The United States Catholic Historical
Society," 1886, for October 39, 1885. The Rev. Joshua P.
Bodfish has a pai)cr on " The Discovery of America by the
Northmen," in which (pp. 2-3-4-5) he helps himself to the
author's Introduction without giving due credit.

America by the Xorthmen.

fourth century before the Christian era, given in a fraij-
ment of ^EUan/ wlicre a vast island is deserihed, lying far
in the west, and peopled by strange races. To this we may
add the reference of Plato- to the island called Atlantis,
which lay west of the Pillars of Hercules, and which was
estimated to be larger than Asia and Africa ccinbined.
Aristotle' also thought that many other lands existed beyond
the Atlantic. Plato sn})poscd that the Atlantis was sunk
by an earthquake, and Grantor declares that he found the
same account related by the Priests of Saiii three hundred
years after the time of Solon, from whom the grandfather of
Critias had his information. Plato says, that after the Atlantis
disappeared, navigation was rendered too difficult to be at-
tempted on account of the slime which resulted from the
siidving of the land. It is probable that lie had in mind the
immense fields of drifting sea-weed found in that locality,
estimated by Humboldt to cover a portion of the Atlantic
ocean six times as large as all Germany.

It is thought that Homer* obtained the idea of his Ely-
sium in the Western ocean from the voyages of the Phe-
nicians, who, as is well known, sailed regularly to the Brit-
ish Islands. They are also supposed by some to have pushed
their discoveries as far as the Western Continent. Cadiz,
situated on the shore of Andalusia, was established by the
Tyrians twelve centuries before the birth of Christ ; and
when Cadiz, the ancient Gadir, was full five hundred years
old, a Greek trader, Cohens, there bought rare mercham^ise,
a long and severe gale having driven his ships beyond the
Pillars of Hercules.

THE IMIENICIANS.

In the ninth century before the Christian era, the Phe-
nicians had established colonies on the western coast of

' Va7'. Hist. lib. iir, cap. xviii.
'See Plato's " Crifias and Timinas."

^ De Mundo, cap. in. See " Prince Hcnrxj the Xavigator,^^
chap. VII, by Major, London, 18G8.
*" Odyssey," book iv, 1. 705.

Pre-Columbian Discovery of

> I

1 ;
1 I

:i I

Africa; and three hundred years later, acecrding to Herod-
otus, Pharaoh Necho, son of Psaininiticus, sent an expedi-
tion, manned by Plienician saihjrs, around the entire coast
of Africa. Vivien de St. Martin fixes tlie date of this ex-
pedition at 570 before Christ. St. Martin, in his account
of tiie voyage, improves sliglitly upon the vicvs of Carl
Muller, and is followed by Bougainville.* A notice of this
■voyage, performed by Haimo under the direction of Pha-
raoh, was inscribed in the Punic language on a Carthage-
nian temple, being afterward translated into Greek.

That the Canary Islands were discovered and colonized
by the Phenicians, there need be no doubt. Tradition had
always located islands in that vicinity. Strabo speaks of
the Islands of the Blessed, as lying not far from Mauritania,
opposite Gadir or Cadiz. He distinctly says, " That those
who pointed out these things were the Phenicians, who,
before the time of Homer, had possession of the best part
of Africa and Spain."- When we remember that the Phe-
nicians sought to monopolize trade, and hold the knowledge
of their commercial resorts a secret, it is not surprising that
we should hear no more of the Fortunate Isles until about
eighty-two years before Christ, when the Roman Sertorius
met some Lusitanian sailors on the coast of Spain who had
just returned from the Fortunate Isles. They are described
as two delightful islands, separated by a narrow strait, dis-
tant from Africa five hundred leagues. Twenty years after
the death of Sertorius, Statins Sel)osns drew up a chart of a
group of five islands, each mentioned by name, and which
Pliny calls the Hesperides, including the Fortunate Isles.
This mention of the Canaries was sixty-three years before
Christ.

jura's kxpedition.
When King Juba II returned to Mauritania, he sent an
expedition to the Fortunate Isles. A fragment of the nar-
ratives of 'lis expedition is found in the works of Pliny.

' See "1 I'ince Henry the Navigator" p. 90.
" Strabo, lib. in.

AmEIUCA by the NORVnMEN.

it an

nar-

fliny.

The islands are described as Iving soutli-w«!st, six hundred
and twenty-five miles from l*urpurariii;. To reach tliem
from the hitter phice, they first sailed two hundred and fifty
miles westward, and then three hundred and seventy-five
miles eastward. Pliny says: "The first is called Ombrios,
and affords no traces of buildiiif^s. It contains a pool in
the midst of mountains, and trees like ferules, from which
water may bo i>ressed. It is bitter from the black kinds,
but from the light kinds ])leasanL to drink. The second is
called Junonia, and contains a small temple built entirely of
stone. Near it is another smaller island having the same
name. Then comes Capraria, which is full of large li/ards.
Within sight of these is Nivaria, named from the snow and
fogs with which it is always covered. Not far from Ni-
varia is Canaria, called thus o?i account of the great number
of large dogs therein, two of which were brought to King
Juba. There were traces of buildings in these islands.
All the islands abound in apples, and in birds of every
kind, and in palms covered with dates, and in the pine nut.
There is also plenty of fish. The papyrus grows there, and
the silurus fish is found in the rivers.'"

The author of Prince Henry the jVav{(/aiot\- says that in
Ombrios, we recognize the Pluvialia of Sebosus. Con-
vallis of Sebosus, in Pliny, becomes Nivaria, the Peak of
Teneriffe, which lifts itself up to the majestic height of
nine thousand feet, its snow-capped i)innacle seeming to
pierce the sky. Plaiuiria is displaced by Canaria, which
term, first applied to the great central island, now gives the
name to the whole group. Ombrios or Pluvialia, evidently
means the island of Pahna, which had "a pool in the midst
of mountains," now rep»'0''3nted by the crater of an extinct
volcano. This the sailors of King Juba evidently' saw.
Major says : " The distance of this island [Pahna] f i om
Fuerteventnrp., agrees with that of the two hundred and
fifty miles indicated by Juba's navigators as existing be-

Pliny's " Natural History," lib. vi, cap. xxxvii.
See p. 137.

Pre-Columbian Discovery of

I ;

1
1 ! I

tween Ombrios and the Purpurariit. It has already been
seen that the latter agree with Lancerote and Fuerteven
tura, in respect of their distance, from the Continent and
from each other, as described by Flntarch. That the Pur-
purarifB are not, as M. Bory de St. Vincent supposed, the
Madeira group, is not only shown by the want of inhab-
itants in the latter, but by the orchil, which supplies the
purple dye, being derived from and sought for especially
from tlie Canaries, and not from the Madeira group, although
it is to be found there. Junonia," he continues, " the near-
est to Ombrios, will be Gomera. It may be presumed that
the temple found therein was, like the island, dedicated to
Juno. Capraria, which implies the island of goats, agrees
correctly with the island of Fern>, . . . for these animals were
found there in large numbers when the island was invaded
by Jean de Betliencourt, in 1402. But a yet more striking
proof of the identity of this island with Capmria, is the
account of the great number of lizards found therein.
Bethencourt's chaplains, describing their visit to the islands,
in 1402, state: 'There are lizards in it as big as cats, but
they are harmless, although very hideous to look at." '"

We see, then, that the navigators of Juba visited the
Canaries' at an early period, as did the Phenicians, who

1 a Prince Henri/ the Navigator," p. 137.

'After this nicntion by Pliny, the Canaries, or Fortunate
Isles, are lost sight of for a period of thirteen hundred years.
In the reign of Edward III of England, at the beginning of
the fourteenth century, one Robert Machin sailed from Bris-
tol for France, carrying away a lady of rank, who had cloi)ed
with him, and was driven by a storm to the Canaries, where
he landed, and thus re-discovered the lost Fortunate Isles.
This fact is curiously established by Major, in the ** Life of
Prince Henry" so that it can no longer be regarded as an
idle tale (see pp. 66-77). In 1341, a voyage was also made to
the Canaries, under the auspices of King Henry of Portugal.
The report, so widely circulated by De Barros, that the
islands were re-discovered by Prince Henry is, therefore, incor-
rect. His expedition reached Porto Santo and Madeira iu
1418-1420.

■im-.

America by the Northmex,

doubtless built tlie temple in the island of Junonia. For
aught we know, early navigators may have passed over
to the Western Continent and laid the foundation of those
strange nations whose monuments still remain. Both Phe-
nician and Tyrian voyages to the Western Continent have
been advocated; while Lord Kingsborough published his
magnificent volumes on the Mexican Antiquities, to show
that the Jews settled this Continent at an early day ' If it
IS true that all the tribes of the earth sprang from one cen-
tral Asiatic family, it is more than likely that the ori-inal
mhabitants of the American Continent crossed the Atlantic
mstead of i)iercing the frozen regions of the north, and com-
ing in by the way of Behring Straits. From the Canaries to
the coast of Florida, it is a short voyage, and the bold sailors
of the Mediterranean, after touching at the Canaries need
only spread their sails before the steady-breathing monsoon,
to hnd themselves wafted safely to the western shore.

TRADITIONS.

There was even a tradition that America was visited by
bt. Columba,^ and also by the Apostle St. Thomas,^ who
penetrated even as far as Peru. This opinion is founded
on the resemblance existing between certain rites and doc-
trines winch see?n to have been held in common by Chris-
tians and the early inhabitants of Mexico. The first Spaiish
missionaries were surprised to find the Mexicans bowing in
adoration before the figure of the cross, and inferred fhat
hese people were of a Christian origin. Yet the inference
has no special^ value, when we remember that Christianity
IS far less ancient than the symbol of the cross, which ex-
l^^^djimong^h^ and other ancient people.

' He also speculates upon the probability of this Continent
havnag been visited by Christian missionadcs. The Ilebiew

l.it.ons of the famous Major Noah. See vol. vi, p. 410
^ Kingsborough's -Mexican Antiquities," vol. vi, p.'^SS.
Ibid., p. 333.

Pre-Columbian Discovery of

!• i

Claims have also been made for the Irish. Broughton
brings forward a passage in which St. Patrick is repre-
sented as sending missionaries to the Isles of America.*
Another claim has been nrged of a more respectable
character, which is snpportcd by striking, though not con-
clusive allusions in the chronicles of the North, in which
a distant land is spoken of as " Ireland the Great." The
Irish, in the early times, might easily have passed over to
the "Western Continent, for which voyage they undoubtedly
liad the facilities. Professor Kafu, after alluding to the
well-known fact that the Northmen were preceded in
Iceland by the Irish, says, that it is by no means im-
probable that the Iri.-h should also have anticipated them
in America. The Irish were a sea-faring peo])le, and have
been assigned a Phenician origin by Moore and others who
have examined the subject.'- If this is so, the tradition
would appear to be somewhat strengthened. Even as early
as the year 296, the Irish are said to liavj invaded Denmark
with a large fleet. In 390, Niall made a descent upon the
coast of Lancashire with a consideral)le navy, whore he was
met by the Roman, Stilicho, whose achievements were

' ''Monastikon Britannicuin," pp. 131-132, 187-188. The
fact that the word America is here used, seems quite suffi-
cient to upset the legend. Speaking of the claims to Pre-
Columbian discovery at the west by the vv.rious eastern
peoples, Mr. Winsor admits that "there is no good reason
why any one of them may not have done all that is claimed."
^'Narrative and Critical History of America," vol. i, p. 59.

' The Irish were early known as Scots, and O'Halloran de-
rives the name from Scota, high priest of Pha3uius, and
ancestor of Mileseuis,

Me quoque vicins pereuntein gentibus, inquit, -
Munivit Stilicho. Totain cum Scotus lerneni,
Movit et iufesto spuniavit remige Thctys.

By liini defended, when tlie neighboring hosts
Of warlike nations spread along our coasts;
When Scots came thundering from the Irish shores,
And the wild ocean foamed with hostile oars.

America by the Northmrv.

cclebnited by Clandian in the days of the Roman occupation
of Enixlaiid. At that ])eriod the Irish were in most respects
in advance of the Northmen, not yet hnvinj; fallen into de-
cline, and cpiite as likely as any people then e.\istiii<; to
brave the dariijersof an ocean vovaife." The Icelamlic docii-
moiits, clearly referi'lnii: to the Irish, will be ^iven in their
jintpcr place, and, in the meanwhile, it need only to l)e added,
tiiat the fpiotation given by the rather credulous Ik-amish
from such an authority as the Turkish Sj)i/ will hardly tend
to strentfthcn their claims, especially where its author, John
Paul Marana, says that in Mexico " the British languapje is
so prevalent," that '' the very towns, bridges, beasts, birds,
rivers, hills, etc., are called by the British or Welsh ^ luunes.'"

' Speaking of Britain and Ireland, Tacitus says of the latter,
that " the approaches and harbors are better known, by rea-
son of commerce and the merchants." — 17/. Aijri., c. ;i4.
The Irish, doubtless, mingled with the Carthageniai'.s in mer-
cantile transactions, and from them they not unlikely received
the rites of Druidism.

* There is a tradition of a Welsh voyage to America iindcr
Prince Madoc, which relates to iiitcviod folio iring the Icelandic
voyages. This voyage by the son of Owen Gwyneth is fixed
for the year 1170, and is based on a Welsh chronicle of no
authority. See Ilackluyt, vol. ill, p. 1. See, also, ^'America
Discovered by the Welsh in 1170," by Bowcn, Philadelphia,
1870; "An Enquiry into the Truth of the Tradition, coneern-
iny the Discovery of America by Prince Madoy ab Owen
Gwyneth, about the year 1170, by John Williams," etc., Lon-
don, 1791, \). 85; and "Farther Observations on the Discovery
of America by Prince Madoy ab Owen Gwyneth," etc., 1792,
p. 51. The following from t)ie London Standard, September
G, 1888, is timely: "Great interest was excited yesterday
in North Wales by the aniu)unccmout that the tomb of Madoc
ap Gryffyddmaelor, a great Welsh warrior in the eleventh
and twelfth centuries, grandson of Owen Gwynedd, Prince
of Wales, had been discovered in the ruins of V^alle Crucis
Abbey, Llangollen. The Rev. H. T. Owen, warden of the

' Turkish Spy, vol. viii, p. 159.
3

Pre-Columbian Discovery of

1''

i 1

; I

In trntli, as the wisli is so often father to the thought, it
would bo an easy task to find resemblance in the languages
of the aboriiiines to almost anv laniruai;e that is sj)oken in
our day so far as mere sounds may be concerned.

liut, notwithstanding the prohahillties of the case, wc
have no solid reason for accepting any of these alleged
voyages as facts. Much labor has been given to the sub-
ject, yet the early history of the American (Continent is still
veiled in mystery, and it is not until near the close of the
tenth century of the present era that we can point to a
genuine trans-Atlantic voyage.

THE NOBTUMEN.

The lirst voyage to America, of which we have any
account, was performed by Northmen. But who were the
Northmen ?

abbey, wlio is now engaged upon some excavations, was
searching for old stained glass in the dormitory, when he dis-
interred a large stone slab, bearing the name of Mudoc, and
an inscription, which has not yet been fully deciphered.
Down the center of the stone is an incised sword in sheath.
Further excavations led to the discovery of four other stones,
each about five feet by eighteen inches; two bear floriated
crosses, one an inscribed spear, and the other a Grecian orna-
ment. The stones form part of the vaulting of the corridor
leading to the old burial ground of the monks. Madoc ap
GrytTydd founded the abbey, which was a Cistercian Monas-
tery, about the year 1200. After the venerable building be-
came a ruin, the chapter-house and scriptorium were used
for several generations as a farmstead, and were practically
destroyed by fire. During the repairs it is conjectured that
the stones of Madoc's tomb were used to complete the vault-
ing. In 1851 the debris covering the area of the abbey was
removed by Lord Dungannon, and the tombs of benefactors
buried in front of the high altar, the figure of a knight in chain
armour, and a stone coffin were laid bare. During the exca-
vations of last year the monk's well and spring were discov-
ered. Sir Theodore and Lady Martin and many others visited
the ruins yesterday."

Amekica hy the Nokthmen'.

The Northmen were the dcscciidaiits oi a nice that in
early times mif^j-ated from Asia and traveled toward the
north, settlin<^ down in what is now the kingdom of Den-
mark. From thence they overran Xorway and Sw'di'n,
and afterward colonized Iceland and Greenland. 'I'heir
langnage was the old Danish (DiJnftk tntuja) once spoken
all over the north,' l»nt which is now preserved in Iceland
alone, heinji; called the Icelandic or old Northern,- npon
which is fomided the modern Swedi i, Danish and Norso or
Norwegian.

After the Northmen had pushed on from Denmark to
Norway, the condition of public affairs gradually became
such that a large portion of the better classes fonnd their
life intolerable. In the reign of Harold Ilarfagr (the Fair-
haired), an attempt was made by the king to deprive the
petty jarls of their ancient udal or feudal rights, and to
usurp all authority for the crown. To this the proud jarls
would not submit ; and, feeling themselves degraded in the
eyes of their retainers, they resolved to leave those lands
and homes which they conld now hardly call their own.
Whither, then, should they go ?

THE COLONIZATION OF ICELAND.

In the cold North sea, a little below the Arctic circle, lay
a great island. As early as the year 8(50, it had been made
known to the Northmen by a Dane of Swedish descent
named Gardar, who called it Gardar's Island, and four years
later by the pirate Nadodd, who sailed thither in 864 and
called it Snowland. Presenting in the main the form of an
irregular ellipse, this island occu])ies an area of about one
hundred and thirty-seven thousand square miles, affording
the dull diversity of valleys without verdure and mountains

'See "Nortliunen in Iceland," Societe dcs Antiquaries du
Nord, Seance du 14 Mai, 1859, pp. 12-14.
jt' 'It is sometimes, though improperly, called tiie Norse.
Societe des Antiquaries, etc., 1840-44, p. 165.

Pke-Collmbia\ Dis(Ovi;i{Y ok

I' I

I *

. I

without trees.' Deaolatioii has there Hxed its aliode. It
broods aiiioii^ the dells, and hxjks down upon the gloomy
Hords. The eoiiiitry ia threadeil with strcHius and dotted
with tarns, vet the y.eoloj'ist finds but little evidenee in the
structure ot the earth to point to the action of water. On
the other hand, every rock and hillside is covered with signs
that prove their igneous origin, and indicate that the entire
islam), at some distant ])criod, has already seethed and bub-
bled in the fervent heat, in anticipntion of the long prom-
ised PaHngeiicsia. Even now the ground trembles in the
throes of the earthquake, the Geyser spouts scalding water,
and the plain belches mud; while the great jokull, clad in
wliitc robes of eternal snow — ti'ue priest of Ormuzd —
brandishes aloft its volcani'^ torch, and threatens to be the
incendiary of the sky.

The greater portion of the land forms the homestead of
the reindeer and the fox, who share their domain with the
occasional white bear that may fioi^t over from Grceidand
on some berg. Only two quadruj)eds, the fox and the
moose, are indigenous. Life is here purchased with a strug-
gle. Indeed the neighboring ocean is more hospitable than
the dry land. Of the thirty-four species of mammalia,
twent}'- four find their food in the roaring main. The same
is true of the feathered tribes, fifty-four out of ninety being
water-fowl. Here ami there luay be seen patches of meadow
and a few sheep j)astnres and tracts jf arable lanil warmed
into fruitfiilness by the brief suiniuer's sun ; yet, on the
whole, so poor is the soil that man, like the lower orders,
must eke out a scanty subbistcnce by resorting to the sea.

It was toward this land, w'hich the settlers called Ice-
land, that the proud Norwegian jarl turned his eyes, and
there lie resolved to fimnd a home. The first settler was
Ingolf. He approached the coast in the year 875, threw

' In the time wlien the Irish monks occupied the island, it
is said that it was " covered with woods between the moun-
tains and the shores."

A.MKIIK'A MY Tin: XOKTIfMEV.

ble tlian
miiialia,
le same
being
leadow
armed
on tlie
)rders,
sea.
ed Ice-
es, and
ler was
tlirew

land, it
moun-

uverboard liis .seifposfs,' and waited to see them touch the
hind. Hut in tliis he was disappointed, and those Macivd
eohimn.s, carved with the imaije.s (»f the p;ods, rh'ifted away
from si^^ht. Ho neverthehtss landed on a pleasant promon-
tory at the tiouth-eastern extremity of the ishmd, and built
his habitation on .he spot wiiieh is eahed Ingolfshofdi to
this day. Three years after, his servants found tlio fiea-
pusts in tiio sonth-westerii |)art of the island, and hither, in
ol)edienee to what was held to i)e the e.xpressed wish of the
fjods,^ ho removed h's household, laying the foundation of
lieikiavik, the capital of this ice-bound isle, lie was rapidly
followed by others, and in a short time no inconsiderable
poj)ulation was gathered here.

But the first Scandinavian settlers did not find this barren
country entirely destitute of human beings. Ari Frodo,''

' Setatak'hir. These were wooden pillars carved with
images, usually of Thor and Odin. In selecting a place for
a settlement these were Hung overboard, and wherever they
were thrown up on the beach, there the settlement was to be
formed.

"In another case a settler did not find his posts for twelve
years, nevertheless he changed his abode then. In Frithiof's
Saga (American edition) cha]). iii, p. 18, we find the fol-
lowing allusion:

" Through the whole length of the hall shone forth the table of oak
w()(jd,
Brighter than steel, and polished; the pillars twain of the high seats
Stood ou each side thereof; two gods deep carved out of elm wood:
Odin with glance of a king, and Frey with the sun on his forehead."

'Ari Hinn Frode, or the Wise. The chief compiler of the
famous Landanama Book, which contains a full account of all
the early settlers in Iceland. It is of the same character,
though vastly superior to the English ^'Doomsday Book"
and is probably the most complete record of the kind ever
made by any nation. Ic contains the names of 3,000 per-
sons, and 1,400 jdaces. It gives a correct account of the
genealogies of the families, and brief notices of personal

Puk-Columhian I)18<()vi:iiy ok

thiiu wliutu tluiro i.s no hi;;Iioi- iuitlioritv, guy.s : " Tlioii
were Imtc (niristiati pt'opU; whom tlio N(»rtliiiieii chIUmI
pjipas, but tlioy at'turwiinl wotit awiiy, l)eL'uutiu tlioy would
not 1)0 liui'u aiiioii^ lioatlions ; and lut't l)c>liiiid tliiMii Irihh
hooks, and hi'lls, and cro/iers, from which it could hu suun
that they wero Irishmen." He rejeats swhstanlially the
same thinjj; in the Laiuhiuiiina Hook,, the aiith(»ritj of
which, no one ac(juainteil with the !5ul»je(;t, will (juestion,
addinj;' that hooks and other relics were found in the island
of Pa])('y and I'apyli, and that the circunistanco is also men-
tioned in English books. The English writings referred to
are those of the venerable Hede.' 'I'his is also stated in an

uchievenicnts. It was begun hy Frodo (i)orn lUOT, dicil ll-iS),
and was continued by Kalstcgg, Slyriner and Thorsilon, and
coni[)loted by Ilauk Erlundsun, Lagtuan, or Governor of Ice-
land, who iliod in the year i;334.

'" Thus saith the holy priest licde. . . . Therefore learned
men think that it is Iceland which is called Thule. . . . Hut
the holy priest liede died Dccxxxv years after the birth of
our Lord Jesus Christ, more than a hundred years before
Iceland was inhabited l)y the Northmen." .Intinnitates
Amcricame, p. 2U2. This extract is followed bv the state-
ment of Ari Erode, and shows that the Irish (Jhristians retired
to Iceland, at a very early day. The Irish monk Dicuil also
refers to this solitary island, which, about the year 795, was
visited by some monks with whom he had conversed.

The earliest known movement northward from England
was that inaugurateil by King Arthur, about the year 505.
The authority on this subject is Geoffrey of Monmouth, who
was bishop of Saint Asaph in 115'^, and who wrote the His-
toria Britonum, a work which afforded a basis for the fables
and romances of the "Knights of the Kound Table.'' Never-
theless, Avhoevcr inclines to turn from all the statements of
Geoffrey, for the reason that they contain much that is untrue,
should ponder the well-considered words of Jlume (" Eng-
land," I, 38, ed. 18:i2), who says of the Prince of Silures:
"This is that Arthur so much celebrated in the songs of
Thalicssin and the other British bards, and whose military

AmKKICA in TIIK XORTUMKN.

II (;Hllc(i

_V \V(»lll(l

MM Irish

I l)(! SL'UII

ill II V tlio
lority of

jllL'StioM,

lit' ishuid
ils<» Micn-
rurn.'d to
k!(l in tin

jil 1148),

(It'll, iiiul

ir ui" Icu-

e leiiruod
. . But

birth of
s hcforc
/y n itate»
10 stiite-
s retired
ciiil also
95, was

Knu'liind
L'iir 505.
th, who
he His-
fables
Never-
lents of
untrue,
<'' Eng-

Si lures:
3ngs of
nilitary

cijition of Kiiii; ()l;if Tryiri^vcsson's Siiga, made near tho
end of the foiirtci'iith ceiitiirv.

The iMitidsrt <>r Ciildces, who had cotne hither froni Ire-
land and tlir Isles (tf lona, to he aloiif with (hmI, took their
de|iartMre on the arrival of the heathen follnwers (d' Odin
and Tlior, and tlu; Nc.rthnien were thus left in iindis|nife<l
posses-^ion (d' the soil. In about twenty years the island
heeanie <jiiite thitikly settled, though the tide of ininiigra-
lion continued to tlow in strongly for fifty years, so that at
the beginning of the tenth century Iceland possessed a po|)U-

aehicvcinents have been blended with so many fables as even
to give oeeusion for iMitertaining u d()ul)t of his real existence,
liut poets," he continues, "though they disligure the most
certain history of their fic-tions, and use strange liberties with
truth, when' they are lh(> sole historians, as among the Mrit-
ons, have eoiumonly some foundation l'(U' their wihlest exag-
gerations." The Hisliop of Saint Asaph, who was not a poet,
may be credited, therefore, when he states such simple facts
as that, about the year 505, King Arthur, after the conipiest
of Ireland, received the submission of the Orkneys and sailed
to Iceland, " whi(di he also siilxlued;" at a subscfpient period
overeoinmg his foes in Norway. (H. ix, c. 10.) The con-
(piost of Ireland cost much bloodshed, but that of Iceland, if
he went there, must have been made without a struggle, since
at that period there could not have been men enough to make
any great resistance.

llakluyt (i, J), treating this matter, quotes from (ialfridus
Monumetensis, Avho says that, after subduing Ireland, Ar-
thur went to Iceland, and '•' ])rought it and tho i)eoplc thereof
under his subjection." The same author mentions " Malua-
sius " as "King" of Iceland, and tells of soldiers that he
furnished.

The '• King," however, may be reduced to a figure of
speech, while there could have been no soldiers, unless, in-
deed, Arthur, as elsewhere stated, transported people to the
north. See " Inventio Fortunata. Arctic Exi)loration,
with an account of Nicholas of Lynn," etc. By B. F. Do
Costa, New York, 1861, p. 5.

■ 1'^

Prk-Columbiax Discovery of

lation variously estimated from sixty to seventy thousand
souls. lint few undertook tlie voyage who were not ahle to
buy their own vessels, in which they carried over their own
cattle, thralls, and household goods. So great was the nuin-
l)cr of people who left Norway, tiiat King Harold trioti to
prevent emigration l)y royal authority, though, as might
have been predicted, his efforts were altogether in vain.
Here, in Iceland, therefore, was formed a large community,
taking the shape of an aristocratic republic, which framed
its own laws, and for a long time maintained a genuine inde-
pendence, in opposition to all the assumptions and threats
of the Norwegian king.

THE SE'n'LKMENT OF GREENLAND.

But as time passed on, the people of Iceland felt a new
impulse for colonization in strange lands, and the tide of
emigration began to tend toward Greenland in the west.
This was chieHy inaugurated by a man named Eric the Red,
born in Norway in the year ',)35. On account of man-
slaughter, he was obliged lo liee from Jardar and take up
his abode in Iceland. The date of removal to Iceland is not
given, though it is said that at that time the island was very
generally inhabited. Here, however, he could not live in
peace, and early in the year Db2, ho was again outlawed for
numslaughtcr by the Thing, and condemned to banishment.
He accordingly fitted out a ship, and announced his deter-
mination to go in search of the land lying in the ocean at
the west, which it was said, Gunnbiorn,' V\i Kragu's son,
saw when, in the year S70, he was driven out to sea by a
storm. Eric sailed westward and found land, where he re-
mained aiul explored the country for three years. At the
end of this period he returned to Iceland, giving the newly-

^All the information which we possess relating to the dis-
covo!\;' by Ciunnbioru is given in the body of this work, in ex-
tracts from Landanama Book.

Amkkica by the Nortumkn. 05

discovered land the name of Greenland,' in order, as he said,
to attract settlors, wiio would be favurahlv impressed l,v so
pleasing a name, which, however, did not oriuhiate with
luni.

The summer after his ret.a-n to Iceland, he sailed once
more lor Greenland, taking, with him a tleet of thirtv-tlvc
ships, only fourteen of which reached their destination, the
rest ben.g cither driven back or lost. This event took place
as the Sao:;i says, tifteen winters'^ before the introduction of
(.hristianity into Iceland, which we know was acco.nplished
in the year A. D. 1000. The date of Eric's second vova.^e
must, therefore, be set down at 985.^ ' "

But, before proceeding to the next step in Icelandic ad-
vcntun.., ,t will be necessary to give a brief sketch of the
progress of the Gree.iland colony, together witb a relation
ot the circumstances which led to its tinal extinction

THE PROGRESS OF THK ORKKXLAND COLONIES.

There is hut little continuity in the historv of the Ice-
landic occupation of Greenland. We have alrJady seen that
the second voyage of Eric the Red took place in the year
985. ColouKsts appear to have followed him in considerable
nu.nbers, and the best portions of the land were soon appro-
priated by the principal men, who gave the chief bays and
capes na.nes that indicated the occupants, followino- the ex-
ample of Eric, who dwelt in Brattahlid, in Ericsfiord

In the year 999, Leif, son of Eric, sailed out of Greenland
to Norway, and passed the winter at the court of Kin.^ Olaf
l^Rgvesson, where he accepted the Christian faith, which

•Claudius Christophossen, the author of some Danis'^
verses relating to the history of Greenland, supposes that
t-Treonland was discovered in the year 770, though he -ave no
roa reason for his belief. M. Peyrnc also tells us of I Papal
Bull, issued ,n 835, by Gregory IV. which refers to tlie con-
version of the Icelanders and (Jreenlanders.

' The Northmen reckonea by tuintcrs.

'See the Saga of Eric the Ked.

Prp:-Columbian Discovery of

/ 1

i i

'i 1%

was then being zealously propagated by the king. He was
accordingly baptized, and, when the spring returned, the
king requested him to undertake the introduction of Chris-
tianity in Greoidand, urging the consideration that no man
was better qualified for the task. Accordingly he set sail
from Norway, with a priest and several members of a re-
ligious order, arriving at Brattahlid, in Greenland, without
any accident,* His pagan father was incensed by the bring-
ing in of the Christian priest, which act he regarded as
pregnant with evil ; yet after some persuasion on the part
of Leif, he renounced heathenism and nominally accepted
Christianity, being baptized by the priest. His wife Thor-
hild made less opposition, and appears to have received the
new faith with much willingness. One of her first acts was
to build a church, which was known far and wide as Thor.
hild's church. These examples appear to have been very
generally followed, and Christianity was adopted in both
Iceland and Greenland at about the same period,^ though its
acceptance did not immediately produce any very radical
change in the spiritual life of the people. In course of time
a nuinber of churches were built, the ruins of which remain
down to our day,^

In the year 1003, the Greenlanders became tributary to
Norway. The principal settlement was formed on the
western coast. What was known as the eastern district did
not extend farther than the southern extremity toward
Cape Farewell. For a long time it was supposed that the
east district was located on the eastern coast of Greenland ;

' The statement, found in several places, that he discovered
Vinland while on his way to Greenland, is incorrect. The
full account of his voyages shows that his Vinland voyage was
an entirely separate thing.

' Gissur the White and Hialto went on the same errand to
Iceland in the year 1000, when the new religion was formally
adopted at the public Thing.

* See Bradford's work on Greenland with an introduction by
the present Avriter.

i>%

America by tue Northmen. 37

but the researches of Captain Graali, whose expedition went
out under the auspices of the Danish gov'ernnient, proved
very conchisively that no settlement ever existed on the east-
ern shore, which for centuries has remained blocked up by
vast accunnilations of ice that iioated down from the Arctic
seas. In early times, as we are informed by the Sagjas, the
eastern coast was more accessible, yet the western shores
were so superior in their attractions that the colonist fixed
his habitation there. Tim site of tlie eastern settlement is
that included in the modern district of Julian's Hope, now
occupied by a Danish colony. The western setthiment is
represented by the habitation of Frederikshab, Godthaab,
Sukkertoppen and Holsteinl.org.

•yto
the
did
ard
the

[and;

id to
Imally

ion by

TUE ORGANIZATION OF THE CHURCH.

In process of time the Christians in Greenland multiplied
to such an extent, both by conversions and by the immigra-
tion from Iceland, that it was found necessai-y, in the be-
ginning of the twelfth century, to take some measures for
the better government of the church, especially as they
could not hope much for regular visits from the bishops of
Iceland. They, therefore, resolved to make an effort to se-
cure a bishop of their own. Eric Gnupson, of Iceland, was
selected for the office, and proceeded to Greenland about the
year 1112, without being regularly consecrated. He re-
turned to Iceland in 1120, and afterward went to Denmark,
where he was consecrated in Lund, by Archbishop Adzer.
Yet he probably never returned to his duties in Greenland,
but soon after resigned that bishopric and accepted an-
other,' thus leaving Greenland without a spiritual director.
''wIn the year 1123, Sokke, one of the principal men of
Greenland, assembled the people and represented to them
that both the welfare of the Christian faith and their own
honor demanded that they should follow the example of
other nations and maintain a bishop. To this view they

1 It will be seen hereafter that he went and established him-
self in Vinland.

Pre-Columbian Discovery of

:i \

gave their iiiiauiinous approval ; and Einar, son of Sokke,
waB appointed a delegate to the court of Ki?ig Sigurd, of
Norway. He carried a present of ivory and fur, and a
petition for the appointment of a bishop. His mission was
successful, and in the year 1126 Arnald, the successor of
Eric,' came into Greenland, and set uj) the Episcopal seat at
Crardar.^ Torfteus and Baron llolberg^ give a list of sev-
enteen bishops who ruled in Greenland, ending with An-
drew. The latter was consecrated and went thither in 1408,
being never heard of afterward.

The history of Old Greenland is found in the Ecclesiasti-
cal Annals, and consists of a mere skeleton of facts. As in
Iceland and Norway there was no end of broils and blood-
shed. A very considerable trade was evidently carried on
between tiiat country and Norway, which is the case at the
present time with Denmark. As the land afforded no
materials for ships, they depended in a great measure upon
others for communication with the mother countries, which
finally proved disastrous.

MONUMENTS AND RUINS IN GKEENLAND.

The villages and farms of clie Northmen in Greenland
were nume'ous. They probably numbered severe' Imn-
drcd, the ruins now left being both abundant and extensive.
Near Igaliko, supposed to be the same as the ancient Emars-
tiord, are the ruins of a church, probably the Cathedral of
Gardar. It is called the Kakortok Church. It was of
simple but massive architecture, and the material was taken
fron) the neighboring cliffs. The stone is rough hewn, and
but few signs of mortar are visible. It is lifty-one feet long

' See " Memoircs des Antiquaires du Nord," p. 383.

2 The location of Gardar is now uncertain. At one time
it was supposed to have been situated on the eastern coast;
but, since it became so clear that the east coast was never in-
habited, that view has been abandoned, though the name
appears in old maps.

3 See Crantz's " Greenland," vol. i, p. 252.

I:|;

America by thk Northmen.

»9

of
of

ceil

time
)ast;
in-
kaine

I
1

and twenty-five wide. The north and south walla are over
four feet thick, while the end walls are 8till more massive.
Nor are other monuments wantinj^. At Ij^aliko, nine
.niles from Julian's Hope, a Greenlander heinc; one day
employed in obtaining stones to repair his house, found
among a pile of fragments a smooth stone that l)ore, wliat
seemed to him, written characters. He nientionei! the cir-
cumstance to Mr. Mathieson, the coUtnial director at Julian's
Hope, who inferred that it must he a runic stone. The
man was so fortunate as to find it afterward, and Mr.
Mathieson accordingly sent it to Copenhagen, where it
arrived in the year 1630. The runes, wliich were perfectly
distinct, showed that it was a toml)stone. The inscription
was translated as follows :

" ViGDis Maks Daughter Kests Here.
May God Gi-adden Her Soul."

Another, found in 1S31, by the Hev. Mr. Do Fries, prin-
cipal of the Moravian Mission, bore the following inscrip-
tion in the runic letter :

" Here Rests Hroar Kolgrimsson."

This stone, now in the mnscum at Copenhagen, was found
built into the wall over the entrance of a Greenland house,
having been taken for that purpose from a heap of ruins,
about two miles north of Friederichsthal. The stone is
more than three feet long, being eighteen inches wide in
the narrowest part, and about live inches thick. It bears
every sign of a high antiquity.

One of the most interesting remains proving the Ice-
landic occupation of Greenland, is the runic stone found
by Parry, in 1824, in the island of Kingiktorsoak, lying in
72° 55' N. and 50° 61' W. It contained a somewhat lengthy
inscription. Copies of it were sent to three of the lirst
scholars of the age, Finn Magnusson, Professor Rask, and
Dr. 13ryniulfson, who, without consulting one another, at
once arrived at the same conclusion, and united in giving
the following translation :

Pre-Columbian Discovery of

'. It
I

i:i

.11

t 'I

'■ !|

"ErLINO SiOIIVATSON and BiORN TlIORDARbON AND

EiNDRiD Oddson, on Satukday UEFORB

A8cp:n8ion week, raised these

marks and cleared

GROUND. 1135.^

The Icelandic colonists in Greenland do not appear to
have been confined to a sfnall portion of territory. We find
considerable relating to this subject in the chronicle attrib-
uted to Ivar Bardsen,^ the steward of one of the bislioj>s
of Greenland ; yet, though used extensively by Torfieus in
his ^^ Greenlandia''''^ modern researches in the country prove

' These inscriptions are all in fair runic letters, about which
there can be no mistake, and are totally unlike the imaginary
runes.

' See Egede's ** Greenland,^' p. xxv; Crantz's ** Greenland,^'
vol, I, pp. 247-8; Purchas, "His Pihjrinies" vol. iii, p, 518;
" Antiquitates Americauce," p. 300. See the Chronicle in
" Sailing Directions of Henry Hudson,^'' Munsell, 18G9.

^ Historia Vinlandice Antiques seu Partes AmerlccB Septen-
trionalis, ubi Noininis ratio recenfetur situs terrce ex dierumbiu
maliuni Sjmtio exjjenditur, Soli fertilatis ct* nicolarum
barbaries, percgrinoruni teinporarius incolnt^is £ gesfa,
vicinariim terraruni nomina and fades Antiquitatihus Is-
landicis in lucetn producta exponunta per Thormodum Tor-
fmum Reruni Norvegicarum Historiograplmm Regium. Hav-
ni(B Ex Typngrapheo Regiw Magist, and Universit 1705. Ini-
pensis Authoris.

Gronlandia Antiqiia seu Gronlandice descriptio, ubi coeli
marisqve natura, tcrrm, locorum £ villarum situs, anima-
lum terrestriuni aqvatilivmqve varia genera, Gentis origo &
incrementa, status Politicus (& Ecclesiasticus, gesta memo-
rabilia S vicissitudines, ex antiqvis memoriis, prmcipue
Islandicis qua fieri potuit industria collecta exponuntur,
authore Thornio TorfcBO, Rerum Norvegicarum Historiographo
Regio, Havim iapud Hieron: Christ: Paiilli Reg: Universit:
BibUopolam. Anno 1715.

America by the Noutiimen.

that it is in some minor respects faulty. In tliis chronicle,
ns in the Sagas, the colonists are 8])oken of as possessing
horses, sheep and oxen ; and their clnirches and religious
houses appear to have been well supported.

I-

U
't-
0-

ue
,r,
Iho
\it:

EXrLORATIONS IN GREENLAND.

Much was done, it apj)cars, in the way of" exploring the
extreme northern portions of the country known as Nordr-
setur. In the year 1266, a voyage was made nnder the
auspices of some of the priests, and the adventurers pene-
trated north of Lancaster Sound, reaching about the same
latitude that was attained by Parry in 1827. This expedi-
tion was of sufficient importance to justify some notice of
it here. The account is found in Antupiitates Americanm
(p. 269), and it sets out with the statement, that the narrative
of the expedition was sent by Haldor, a priest, to Arnald,
the Chaplain of King Magnus in Norway. They sailed out
of Kroksfiardarheidi in an open boat, and met with southerly
winds and thick weatiier, \yhich forced them to let the boat
drive before the wind. When the weather cleared, they
saw a number of islands, together with whales and seals
and bears. They made their way into the most distant
portion of the sea, and observed glaciers south of them as
far as the eye could reach. They also saw indications of the
natives, who were called Skrnellings, but they did not land,
on account of the number of the bears. They, therefore,
put about, and laid their course southward for nearly three
days, finding more islands, with traces of the natives. They
saw a mountain which they called Sniicfell, and on St. James'
day, July 25, they had a severe weather, being obliged to
row much and very hard. It froze during the night in that
region, but the sun was above the horizon both dav and nijjht.
When the sun was on the southern meridian, and a man lay
down crosswise in a six-cared boat, tlie shadow of the gunwale
toward the sun would reach as far as his feet, which, of
course, indicates that the sun was very low. Afterward they

Pue-Columhian D':scovKKr op

all returned in safety to Gardar.* Rafn lixes the position
of the j)oint attained by the expedition in the parallel of
75 46'. Such an achievement at that day indicates a de-
gree of boldness quite surprising.

THE DECLINE OF GREENLAND.

Of the reality and importance of the Greenland colony
there exists no doubt, notwithstanding the records are so
meagre and fragmentary." It maintained its connection
with the mother countries for a period of not less than four
hundred years ; yet it finally disappeared and was almost
forgotten.

Many causes led to the suspension of communication,
though it is difficult to account for the extinction of the
colony, if it actually became extinct. It does not appear
ever to have been in much danger from the Skraillings,
though, on one occasion, in 1349 or later, the natives at-
tacked the western settlement, it is said, and killed eighteen
Greenlanders jf Icelandic lineage, carrying away two boys
captives.^

We hear from the eastern colony as hate as the middle
of the fifteenth century. Trade was carried on with Den-
mark until nearly the end of the fourteenth century, although
the voyages were not regular. The last bishop, Andreas,
was sent out in 1406, and Professor Finn Magnussen has
established the fact that he officiated in the cathedral at
Gardar in 1409.*

! i

^ ^' Ayitiquitates Americanw," I), xxxix.

" For the account of the manuscripts upon which our knowl-
edge of Greenland is founded, see ^' Antiquitaies Ameri-
canm" p. 255.

■^^^Islenzkir AnnaUr."

■* In that year parties arc known to have contracted marriage
at Gardar, from whom Finn Magnussen and other distin-
guished men owe their descent. Hakluyt quotes Lambord, to
the effect that Arthur made his way to Greenland; but we
can understand how the statement originated, since tlie map

lii

Amehica hy the Nokthmen.

Hto

kve
lap

From this time tlio trade l)et\voen Norway and (xroon-
land appears to have hoen given uj), tliougii Wortnius tolii
Peyrere of his haviii<( read in a Danish manuscript, that
down to the year 14S4, tlioro was a com|)any of more than
forty sailors at Bergen, in Norway, who still traded with
Greenland.' J>iit as the revenue at that tiuie belonged to
Queen ^[argaret of Denmark, no one could go to Greenland
without the royal permission. Oiie company (»f sailors who
were driven upon the (Trecnland coast, came near suffering
the penalty of the law on their return. Crantz" says, that
"about the year 153<>, Bishop Amund of Skalholt ni Icehuul
is said to have been driven by a storm, on his return from
Norway, so near the coast of Greenland by Ileriulfness, that
lie could see the people driving in their cattle. But he did
not land, because just then a good wind arose, vvhicli carried
the ship tile same night to Iceland. The Icelander, ISiiernvon
Skardfa, who relates this, also says further, that a Ham-
burgh mariner, Jon Greenlander by name, was driven three
tim -8 on the Greenland island, where lie saw such fisher's
huts for drying fish as they liave in Iceland, but saw
no men ; further, that pieces of shattered boats, nay, in
the year 1025, an entire lioat, fastened together with sinews

of Ptolemy made Greenhmd a western extension of Norway, the
position of the country being misunderstood. The Icelandic
chronicles distinctly say that, half a century before the voyage
of Eric, a great country was known at the west, being called
" Ireland the Great." It would seem that this country was first
reached by the Irish, whose prior discovery was conceded by the
Icelanders. The Irish had described it, evidently, as a land
of verdure, while the Saga says that Eric applied the name
of *• Greenland " to the part he visited, not from any peculiar
fitness but from motives of policy, saying that " men would
be persuaded to go to a land with so good a name." Possibly
the term " Greenland " was originally applied to the whole
of North America, as were other names that finally came to
have a local meaning. See " Verrazano the Explorer."

'Egede's ^'Greenland," p. xlvii.

'Ibid., xlviii.

pRE-CoLUMHtAK DlSCOVEUY 01'

■'i i

1'^ '

!l' '<

and wooden pegs, and pitcilied with seal l>liil)1)ur, have been
driven ashore at Icehind tVoin time to time; and .since then
they found once an oar with a sentence written in llnnic
letters: ^O/'t car ek tlasa,(Jur elk drotldk^ that is, 'Oft
was I tired when I (h'ew thee.' "'

L08T ORKENLANO FOUND.

But, whatever may he the vahio of the preceding state-
ments of Skardfa, it is clear that Greeidand was never
wholly forgotten. The lirst ])erson who proposed to re-
o])on communication was Eric VValkend«)rf, Archbishop of
Drontheim, who familiarized himself with the suhject, and
made every preparation necessary in order to re-establish
the colony ; but, having fallen under the displeasure of King
Christian II, he left the country and went to Kome, where
he died in tlie year 1521. Thns his plans came to nothing.-
Christian III abrogated the decree of Queen Margaret, pro-
hibiting trade with Greenland without the royal })ermis8ion,
and encouraged voyages by fitting out a vessel to search for
Greenland, which, howijver, was not found. In 157S, P>ed-
eric II sent out JVIagnus Ilenningsen. He came in sight of
the land, but does not appear to have had the courage to
proceed further. Crant/, in liis work on Greeidand, gives
an account of a number of voyages undertaken to the coast,
but says that " at last Greenland was so buried in oblivion
that one liardly would believe that such a land as Green-
land was inhabited by Christian Norwegians." ^

It remained, therefore, for Hans Egede,'' in 1721, to re-

' Crantz's " OrecnlanJ,'' vol. i, p. 264.

'Crantz's " Greenland," p. 274.

"^ Ibid., p. 279.

* Hans Egede was a clergyman in priest's orders, and min-
ister of the congregation at Vogen in the northern part of
Norway, where he was highly esteemed and beloved. He
spent tifteen years as a missionary in Greeidand, and died at
Copenhagen, 1758. Reference here is exclusively to the
Scandinavians, as we remember voyages like those of Davis
and Frobisher from England.

I !

n t:

Amei!Ica iiv the Noutiimex. 85

open coiiiiinmication. (.'oluiMhus himseltdid nut eiKlnrcnuicli
<;reiiti.'riii()rtiti('ati(>n tliaii did thisu'iMMl man t'nr tlu; spai't' of
eleven yoai'8,(luriii<^ which |HMi(Ml he labored to persuade the
Danish and Norwei;ian authorities to undertake the re-dis-
covery. I'ut his faith and zeal finally overcaino all hostility
and ridiei'.Ie. On the 2d day of May, 1721, he went on
board the Hope, with his wife and four younjj,' children,
and landed at l^all's river in (ireenland on the third of the
follo\vin<f month. Here he sjuMit the best portion of his
life in tcaehin<? the natives Christianity, which had been
lirst introduced seven centuries I)efore, and in inakini^ those
explorations the results of which tilled the mind of Europe
with surprise, and alTorded a conlirniation of the truthful-
ness of the Icelandic Sa<^;vs.

if
te
it

lis

TIIV OHAKACTEK AND A(.'I1I KVKMKNTS OK TUE NOUTUMKN.

.et US now return to the consideration of the Icelandic
.oyages to the American (Continent, though not without first
seeking a better ac(juaintance with the men by whom they
were performed.

We have already seen that the Xorthmcn were a people
of no inferior attainments. Indeed, they constituted the
most enterprising jiortion of the race, and, on general i>rin-
ciples, we should, therefore, view them as fitted, e^'en above
all the men of their time, for the important work of explo-
ration beyond the seas. They had nuide themselves known
in every })art of the civilized world ' by their daring as sol-
diers and navigators. Straying away into tlie distant east
whence they originally came, we see them laying the founda-
tion of the Russian empire, swinging their l)attle-axes in
the streets of Constantinople, carving their mystic ru|fi8ui)on
the Lions of the Areopagus, and filling the heart of even
the great Charlemagne with dismay. Says Dasent, when
summing up their achievements: "In Byzantium they are
the leaders of the Greek emperor's body guard, and the

1 ny

The motto on the sword of Roger Giiiscard was:
" Appukis et Calaber iSiculus mild Servit et Afer."

;jo

I'kk-Columbian Discovkky of

main wiipport of liU tottering throne. From Kniiico, led by
Hollo, tliuy tuiir iiwiiy liur faircHt province and found a long
lino of kingB. In Saxon Kngland tlicy are the hosoin friends
of bueli kings as Atheistane, and the sworn foes of Etholrcd
the Unready. In Danish England they are the foremost
atnong the thanes of Cannte, Swein and Ilardicanute, and
keep tlovvn the native jjopiilation with an iron iieel. In
Norman England," he c<»ntiniie8, " tiie most serious opposi-
tion the (;on(jueror meets with is from the colonists of liis
own race settled in Northumhrla. He wastes their lands
with fire .md sword, and drives them across the border,
where we still find their energy, their perseverance, and
tiieir sj)cech existing in the lowland Scotch. In Norway
they dive into the river with King Olaf Tryggvesson, the
best and strongest chatnpion of ids age, and hold him down
beneath the waves so long that the bystanders wonder
whether either king or Icelander will ever reappear on the
the snrface.* Some follow Saint Olaf in his crusades against
the old [pagan] faith.^ Some arc his obstinate foes and as-
sist at his martyrdom. Many follow Harold the Stern to
England when he goes to get Ids ' seven feet ' of English
earth, and almost to a man they get their portion of the
same soil, while their names grow bright in song and story."
Finally, " From Iceland as a base, they push on to Green-
land and colonize it : nay, they discover America in those
half-decked barks."^

THE SHIPS OF THr NORTHMEN.

The Northmen were excellent navigators. They were,
moreover, it has been claimed, the first to learn the art of
sailing on the wind. They had good sea-going vessels, some
of which were of large size. We have an account in the

' See Laing's Heimskrimjln, vol. ii, p. 450. This refers to
his swimming match with Kiarten the Icelander, in which
the king was beaten.

'■* See Saga of Saint (not king) Olaf.

^ Des Antiquaires du Nord, 1859.

Amkuioa iiy Tin; Noiitiimen.

Sii^'.'i of Olaf Try^<;vo880ii of i>iic? that, in «uim' rospoctrt wm
rtMiiafI<al)lo. It is said that " tlii' wiiitor after Kin^ Olaf
Trv^i;, v'cssoii caiiio from Ualuf^oLiiid, ho had u <;ri'at ship
hiiilt at Lcdoliaiimier,' which was hir/^'cr than any shi[> in
tho C(»ijiitry, and of which tho heani-Unccs arc still to he
soon. The lonf^th of the keel that rested iijxtn tho ^'rass was
Boveiity-four ells. Thorhcri^ Skaftin;; was tin.) man's iwime
who was the master hiiildtM' nf the sliip, hut there were many
others besides ; some to fell the wood, some to shape it, some
to make nails, somo to carry tiinher, and all that was
used was the hest. The ship was both long and broad

and high si(le<l, and strongly timbered The ship

was a dragon, l)uilt after the one that the kijig liad cap-
tured in llalegoland, bnt it was far longer and more care-
fully put together in all her parts. The Long Serpent [her
name] had thirty-four benches for rowers. The head and
ar(;hod tail were both gilt, and the bulwarks wore as high
as in sea-going ships. This ship was the best and most
costly ever built in Norway." ^

' Lc '"hainiuer. I'hc point of land near the house of Lede,
just below DrouLheim.

' Laing's IIeimskrin(jl(i, vol. i, p. 457. It is related that
while they were planking the shii), **it happened that Thor-
berg had to go home to his farm upon some urgent business;
and as he stayed there a long time, the ship was planked ui)on
both sides when he came back. In the evening the king
went out and Thorbcrg with him, to sec how the ship looked,
and all said that never was seen so large and line a ship
of Avar. Then the king went back to the town. Early tho
next morning the king came back again to the ship, and
Thorbcrg with him. The carpenters were there before them,
but all were standing idle with their hands across. The king
asked, ' What is the matter?' They said the ship was
ruined; for somebody had gone from stem to stern, and cut
one deep notch after another down the one side of the plank-
ing. When the king came nearer he saw that it was so, ami
said with an oath, ' The man shall die who has thus ruined
the ship out of malice, if he can be found, and I will give a

1'rf:-('olumhian niscoviniY of

Liiing computes the toiiiiiige of this ship at about nine
liundred and t'ortv-two tons, thus {jjivinij a leny-th of about
one ' undred feot, which is nearly tiie si/e of ;" forty-two
gun ship. Uy steam tonnai>'e it wouUl ••ive a capacity of a
little less than three h.indred tons, ami one hundred and
twenty horse power. We aj)prehend, however, that the
estimate is suiiiciently lar<^e ; yet we are not concerned to
show any <j;reat capacity for the Icelandic ships. All the
vessels employed in the early times on the American coasts
were small. The Anna Pink, a craft that accHunpanied
Lord Anson in his expedition around the world, measured
oidy sixteen tons' The vessels of the Northmen were
every way adapted for ocean voyages.

great reward to him who iinds him out.' '1 can tell you,
king,' says Thorborg, ' who has done this piece of work.' ' I
don't think that any one is so likely to lind it out as thou art.'
Thorborg says: 'I will tell you, king, who did it, I did it
myself.' The king says, * Thou must restore it all to the
same condition as l)efore, or thy life shall pay for it.' Then
Thorborg wont and chi])j)ed the planks until the deep notches
wer,» all smoothed and made even with the rest; and the king
and all present declared that the ship was much handsomer
on the side of the hull which Thorborg had chipped, aiul
bade him shape the other side iu the same way and gave him
great thanks for the improvement."

' A few } ears ago two very ancient vessels which probably
belonged to the seventh century, were exhumed on the coast
of Denmark, seven thousand feet from the sea, where they
were scuttled and sunk. The changes in the coast linally
left them imbedded in the sand. One vessel was seventy-two
feet long, and nine feet wide amidships. The other was fortj^-
two feet long, and contained two eight-sided spars, twenty-
four feet long. The bottoms were covered with mats of
withes for the purpose of keeping them dry. Among the
contents was a Damascened sword, with runes, showing that
the letter existed among the Northmen in the seveiith cen-
tury. See Horsford's notice of an ancient shi]), *' Add:-"ss
at the unveilmg of the Statue of Lief Brirkson," p. 21. Also
illustrations in '^Narrative and Critical History," i, G3-4.

AmKRICA TJY TirE NOUTIIMKN.

In iiiiiitical kiiowlcdijjo, also, they wc i! not lu^liind tlio
ivj;v. The iniportanco of cultivating the study of uavi^ii-
tion was fidly understood. Tlii' Itiudidf of Oestenlal, in
Norw-iy, tauij;lit his son to ealculute the course of the sun
and moon, and liow to measure time hy the stars. In 1520
Olaus Ma<!;nus complained that the knowledi^e of the people
in this respect had been diminished. In tiiat nolile work
called Speculum Ri'<jah\ the Icelander is tauj:i;ht to make an
especial study of connnerce and navigation, of tlie divisions
of time and the n)oveitient8 of the heavenly bodies, toj^ethcr
with arithmetic, the rifi;gin<i; of vessels and morals} With-
out a hi_i2;h dej^ree of kuowledge they x»uld never have
achieved their many voyag-es.

THK SAOA8 AND THK DISCOVKRY oK AMKKICA.

We find that the Northmen were well ac(piaint(!d with
other parts of the world, and that they ])ossessed all the
means of reaching the (Continent in the west. We c(»me,
therefore, to the (piestiou : Did the Northmen actually dis-
cover aiul explore the coast of the ct)untry now known as
America ^

No one can say that tlio idea wears atiy apjiearance of
im.prohah'Utii i for tliere is certaiidy nothing wonderful in
the exploit. After conceding the fact that colonies of the

' The people of Iceland were always noted for their superi-
ority in tills respect over their kinsmen in Denmark and Nor-
way. There is one significant fact bearmg on this point,
which is this: that, while a few of the jieople of Iceland
went at an early period to engage in piratical excursions with
the vikings of Norway, not a single pirate shi[) ever sailed
from Iceland. Such ways were condemned altogether at an
early day, while various European nations continued to sanc-
tion piracy down to recent periods. Again it should be re-
membered that in Iceland ducMing was also solemnly (leclare<l
illegal as early as 1011, and m Norway the following year;
while in England it did not cease to hi' a part of the judicial
l)roeegs until 1S18. See Sir Eilmund Head's " Viga-Glum
8a<ja,'' p. 1^0.

!i !l

ill

PUK-COLUMBIAX DISCOVERY OF

Northrueii existed in Greenland for at least three hundred
rears, we must prepare ourselves for something of this
kind. Tndeed it is well niijh, if not altoi^ether unreasDiiahle,
to suppose that a sea-farin<^ people like the Northmen could
live for three eenturies within a short voyasje of this Conti-
uent, and never hecome aware of its existence. A supposi-
tion like this iuiplies a rare erechdity, and whoever is ca-
pable of believing it must be capable of believing almost
any thing.

But on this point we are not left to conjecture. The de-
cision, in the absence of proofs like those furnished by
Greenland, turns upon a question oi fact. The point is
this: Do the mamiscripts which describe these vo>ja(jes he-
long to the pre-Cohunhiiin agef If so, then the North-
men are entitled to the credit of the prior discovery of
America. That these manuscripts belong to the pre-Co-
lumbian age is as capable of demonstration as tlie fact that
the writings of Homer existed prior to the age of Christ.
Before intelligent persons deny either of these points they
must first succeed in blotting out numberless pages of well-
known history. The manuscript in which we have versions
of all the Sagas relating to America is found in the cele-
brated Codex Flatdieiisis, a work that was finished in the
year 1387, or 1395 at t!ie latest. This collection, made with
great care and executed in the highest style of art, is now
preserved in its integrity' in the archives of (.'Oi^enhagcn.
These manuscripts were for a time supposed to be lost, l)ut
were ultinuitely found safely lodged in their repository in
the monastery library of the island of Flato, from whence

' Those who imagine thai, these numuscripts, while of pre-
Columbian origin, have been tami)ored with and interpolatrd,
show that they have not the faintest conception of the st'.ite
of the (juestion. The accounts of the voyages of the North-
men to Auicrica form the framework of Sagas which would
actually be destroyed by the elimination of the narratives.
There is only one question to be decided, and that is the date
of the compositions.

America by tttk Northmen.

they were transferred to (\)pcnlia<,^eTi with a largo qnantitv
of otlioi- literary material collectcMl from various loealiticp.
If these Sagas which refer to America were inter]iolatioiis,
it would have early become apparent, as abundant means
exist for detecting fraud;^; yet those who have examined
the whole question do not find any evidctice that invididates
tiieir historical statements. In the absence, therefore, of
respectal)lc testimony to the contrary, we accept it as a fact
that the Sagas relating to America are the productions of
the men who gave them in their present form nearly, if not
quite, an entire century before the age of (^olumbns.

It might also be argued, if it were at all necessary, that,
if these Sagas were post-Columbian compositions drawn
up by Icehmders who were jealous of the fame of the
Genoese navigator, we should certainly be able to point
out something either in their structure, bearing, or style by
which it would be indicated. Yet such is not the case.
These writings reveal no anxiety to show the connection of
the Korthmen with the great land lying at the west. The
authors do not see any thing remarkable or meritorious in
the explorations, which were conducted simply for the pur-
pose of gain. Those marks which would certainly have
been impressed by a more modern writer forging a historical
composition designed to show an occupation of the country
before the time of Columbus, are wholly waiicing. There
is no special pleading or rivalry, and no desire to show prior
and superior knowledge of the country to which the navi-
gators had from time to time sailed. We oidy discover a
straightforward, honest eiuleavor to tell the story of certain
men's lives. This is done in a simple, artless way, and with
every indication of a desire to mete out even-handed justice
to all. Candid readers who come to the subject with minds
free from prejudice will be powerfully impressed with the
belief that they are reading authentic liiEtories written by
honest men.'

' The fact that A[r. Bancroft has in times past expressed
opiniuus in opposition to this view will luirdly have weiglit
8

wmmmm

Pre-Columbian Discovery of

THE LITERATURE OF ICELAND.

Before speaking particularly of tiie substance of tho
Sagas it will be necessary to trace briefly the origin and
history of Icelandic literature in general.

We have already mentioned the fact that Iceland was
mainly settled by Norwegians of superior qualities. This
superiority was always maintained, though it was some-
what slow in manifesting itself in the form of literature.
Prior to the year 1000, the Runic alphabet had existed in

with those familiar with the subject. When that writer com-
posed the first chapter of his History of the United States,
ho might have been excused for setting down the Icelandic
narratives as shadowy fables; but, with all the knowledge shed
upon the subject at present, we have a right to look for some-
thing better. It is, therefore, unsatisfactory to find him per-
petuating his early views in each successive edition of the
work, which show the same knowledge of the subject betrayed
at the beginning. He tells us that these voyages " rest on
narratives mythological in form, and obscure in meaning,"
which certainly cannot be the case. Furthermore they are
"not contemporary;'' which is true, even with regard to Mr.
Bancroft's otun work. Again, "The chief document is an
interpolation in the history of Sturleson." This cannot be
true in the sense intended, for Mr. Bancroft conveys the idea
that the principal narrative first appeared in Sturlcson's his-
tory when published at a late day. It is indeed well known
that one version, but not the principal version, was interpo-
lated in Peringskiold's edition of Sturleson's Heimskrinyla,
printed at Copenhagen. But Bancroft teaches tluit these re-
lations are of a modern date, while it is well known that they
were taken verbatim from Oodcx Flatbiensis, finished in the
year 1395. He is much mistaken in supposing that the north-
ern antiquaries think any more highly of tlie narratives in
question, because they once happened to be printed in con-
nection with Sturleson's great work. He tells us that Sturle-
son "could hardly have neglected the discovery of a conti-
nent," if such an event had taken place. But this, it should

America by the Northmen".

Iceland, but it was generally used for the simplest purposes.'
History and litcratu;u derived no advantage, as the runes
were used chiefly for monumental inscriptions, and for mot-
toes and charms on such things as drinking cups, sacrificial
vessels and swords. Yet the people were not without a
kind of intellectual stimulus. It had long been the custom
to preserve family and general histories, and recite them

be remembered, depends upon whether or not the discovery
was considered of any particular importance. Tliis docs
not appear to have been the case. The fact is nowhere
dAvelt upon for the purpose of exalting the actors. Besides,
as Laing well observes, tlie discovery of land at the west had
nothing to do with his subject, whicn was the history of the
kings of Norway. The discovery of America gave rise to a
little traffic, and nothing more. Moreover the kings of Nor-
way took no part, were not the patrons of the navigators, and
had no influence whatever in instituting a single voyage. Mr.
Bancroft's last objection is that Vlnlaud, the place <" <•
covered, "has been sought in all directions from Greenland
and the St. Lawrence to Africa." This paragraph also con-
veys a false view of the subject, since the location of Vinlund
was as well known to the Northmen as the situation of Ireland,
with which island they had uninterrupted communication.

Washington Irving has expressed doubt in his Life of Co-
lumbus, written as he says, before the means of examining this
question zvere placed within his reach, and in the appendix
of his work he mixes the idle tales of St. Braudan's Isle with
the authentic histories of the Northmen. A very limited in-
quiry would have led him to a different estimate.

' The word rune comes from ryn, a furrow. Odin has the
credit of the invention of runes, yet they are probably of Phe-
niciau origin. They were sometimes used for poetical pur
poses. Halmund, in the Grettir Saga (see Sabing Baring
Gould's Iceland), says to his daughter: ''Thou shalt now
listen whilst I relate my deeds, and sing thereof a song, which
thou shalt afterward cut upon a staff." This indicates the
training the memory must have undergone among the North-
men.

Pre-Columbian Discovi^RY of

from memory as occasion seemed to warrant, Tliis was
done with a wonderful derjree of accuracy and fidelity, by
men more or less trained fur the purpose, and whose
performances at times were altogetlier surprising. They
also had their scalds or poets, who were accustomed
both to repeat the old songs and poems and extemporize
new ones. Every good fighter was expected to prove him-
self a poet when the emeigency required it. The poet was
strongly encouraged. When Ey vind Skialdespilder sang his
great song in praise of Iceland every peasant in the island,
it is said, contributed three pieces of silver to buy a clasp
for his mantel of fifty marks weight. These scalds were
sometimes employed by the politicians, and on one occasion
a satire so neitled Harold, king of Denmark, that he sent a
fleet to ravage Iceland, and made the repetition an offense
punishable with death. The Icelandic poets also went to
England, to the Orkneys and to Norway, where, at the
king's court, they were held in the highest estimation, fur-
nishing poetical effusions on every public or private occasion
which demanded the exercise of their ijifts. The doi^ree to
which they had ciltivated their memories was surprising.
Old Blind Skald Stuf could repeat between two and three
hundred poems. The Saga-men had the same power of
memory. This we know may be improved to almost any
extent by cultivation. But with the advent of Christianity
came the Roman alphabet, which proved an easy method of
expressing thought. Christianity, however, did not stop
here. Its service was a reasonable service, and demanded
of its votaries a high intelligence. The priest of Odin need
do no more than to recite a short vow, or mutter a brief
prayer. He had no divine records to read and to explain.
But the minister of the new religion came with a system
that demanded broader learning and culture than that im-
plied in extemporaneous songs. His calling required the
aid of books, and the very sight of such things proved a
mental stimulus to this hard-brained race. Besides, Chris-
tianity opened to the minds of the people new fields of

America by tiik NoRTn-MEX.

tliought. These rude sons of war soon l)egan to understand
that tliere were certain victories, not to be despised, that
niiglit be gained through peace, and erelong letters caiue to
be somewhat familiar to the public mind. The earliest writ-
ten efforts very naturally related to the lives of the Saints,
which on Sundays and holy days were read in ])ublic for the
editication of the people. During the eleventh century
these exercises shared the public attention with those of the
professional Saga- man, who still labored to hand down the
oral versions of the national history and traditions. In
the beginning of the twelfth century the use of letters was
extended, and at last the Saga-man found his occupation
gone, the national history now lieing diligently gathered up
by zealous students and scribes and committed to the more
lasting custody of the written page. Among the writers
was Ari Frode, who began the com])ilation of the Icelandic
Dooms-day Bool', which contained a record of the early
settlers. Scarcely less useful was Sa^mund the Wise, who
collected the poetical literature of the North and arranged
it in a goodly tome. The example of these great men was
followed, and by the end of the twelfth century all the
Sagas relating to the pagan period of the country had been
reduced to writing. This Avas an era of great literary ac-
tivity, and the century following showed the same zeal.
Finally Iceland possessed a bi'dy of prose literature supe-
rior in quantity and value to that of any other modern
nation of its time.^ Indeed, the natives of Europe at this
period had no prose or other species of literature hardly
worthy of the name ; and, taken altogether, the Sagas
formed the first prose literature in any modern language
spoken by the people.* Says Sir Edmund Head, " No

^ For a list of many Icelandic works, sec the Introduction
of Laing's " Heimskringla." Sec also Horn's ^'History of
the Lilerature of the Scandinavian Xorth." Translated by
Anderson, Chicago, 1884. Also the work of William and
Mary Howitt.

2 Sec Sir Edmund Head's Viga Glum Saga, pp. viii and ix.

I I

.1 I

t ;

i-;

'-'i

■ I "

I fill

! til '

: ,i'l

PUK-COLUMHIAN DiSCOVEUY OF

doul)t tlicre wore translations in Anglo-Saxon from tlie
Latin, by Alfred, of an earlier date, but there was in truth
no vernacular literature. I cannot name," he says, " any
work in high or low Cierman prose whiuh eau be carried
back to this period. In France, prose writing cannot be
said to have begun before the time of Villehardouin (1204),
and Joinville (1202). Castilian prose certaiidy did not com-
mence before the time of Alfonso X (1252). Don Juan
Manvel, tiie author of the Conde Lucanor^ was not born till
1282. The Cronlea General de Espana was not composed
till at least the middle of the thirteenth century. About
the same time the language of Italy was acquiring that
softness and strength which was destined to ap])ear so con-
spicuously in the prose of Boccaccio, and the wi'iters of the
next century." '

Thus, while other nations were without a literature, the
intellect of Iceland was in active exercise, and works were
produced like the Eddaa and the Ileimskringla, works in-
spired by a lofty genius and which will rank with the
writings of Homer and Herodotus while time endures.

In the begimiing of the sixteenth century, however, the
literature of Iceland reached the period of its greatest ex-
cellence, and began to decline. Books continued to be writ-
ten, but works of positive genius were wanting. Yet in
Iceland there has never been an absence of literary industry,
while during the recent period the national reputation has
been sustained by Finn Magnusaen and similar great names.
One hundred years before the Plymouth colonists, following
in the track of Thorwald Ericson, landed on the sands of
Cape Cod, the peoj)le of Iceland had set up the printing
press, and produced numerous works both in the native
language and the Latin tongue.

It is to this people, whom Saxo Grammaticus points out

' Ibid. Of course there was more or less poetry, yet poetry
is early developed among the rudest nations, while good prose
proves that a people have become highly advanced iu mental
culture.

Amkkica uy thk Noutiimkn.

as fv people distinfi^nislioil fur tlioir devotion to letters, that
wc arc indebted for the narratives of the pre-(-oluinbian
voyages to America. Thoui^h first arraiiijjed for oral recita-
tion, the Sajijas, as we liavo seen, were afterward coininitted
to manuscript, the earliest of which do not now exist, while
the latest were those preserved in the celel)rated Flatii col-
lection nearly a centnry before the re-discovery of America
by Colnmbus.

It is no lonii;er necessary to spend much time in this coji-
nection, since the character and value of the Icelandic writ-
in;^s have come to be generally acknowledged, and es]>ecially
since scholars and antiquaries like Humboldt and Max
Muller have fully acknowledged their authenticity and
authority.

COLUMBUS AND TUE NORTH.

It is proper to notice here the fact that not a few have
imagined that the claims of the Northmen have been brought
forward to detract from the fame of Columbus ; yet, nothing
could be farther from the truth, since no one denies that it
was by the discovery of America by Columbus that the Con-
tinent became of great value to the Old World, though we
must always remember that North America is chiefly in-
debted to the Cabots, wlio led the way for English supremacy.

EARLY ENGLISH VOYAGES TO ICELAND.

But nothing should deter us from inquiring into the re-
lation held by Columbus to the pilots and geographers of the
North,* especially since so many fancy that the northern
regions were little visited at the period of his activity. Still
we find that in the fourteenth century the fisheries were
commonly pursued around Iceland, whose people were in

rrs\

' Bulletin de Geographic, 1858, p. 177. Arc Frode, in l^OS^f)
speaking of the visit paid to Iceland by Flokc Vilgerderson,
says that in those times seamen had no loadstone in the north-
ern countries. The Bible Guyot, 1150, speaks of the load-
stone as *' uii pierre laida et brumicre."

PUK-COLUMIU.VN DrscoVIMlV 01"

rcgnlur comijuiiiiciition with (-frcenliuul. Tlio Eiiglisli also
must have known ut' (irt't'iiliind at, tlic time, thonj^h, in cnm-
mon witli tlie peojile of Iceland and Norway, thev did not
ap])i'eeiate the impoilance of tliis )<nowIed<^e. In the four-
teenth century, proof is found hoth in the Icehmdic and
English annals, of the connection between the two countries.
The Icelandic contains indications of the arrival of English
ships, but it is clear that their coniin<^ was so well known as
to gain oidy a casual allusion, the interest standing connected
with the news brought. The entries were nuule at the time,
and are now set down in chronological order iii accordance
with the language of the original. Let us, therefore, notice
these entries.

Ill 1348, news reached Iceland that in England the mor-
tality was so great that 200,000 persons had died.' The
next year the death of English sailors at Bergen, in Norway,
opposite Iceland, was re})orted, and recorded in the Sagas.-
This is all that we find at present in connection with the
fourteenth century in Iceland ; but the reference of the
Saga to the great mortality in England is confirmed by
Stow's " Annales,'' which state that the plague reached Eng-
land in 1348, touching the seaports first. Tlienco, no doubt,
the news was at once carried by fishermen to Iceland.' If
the voyages of the English to Iceland had possessed greater
interest, there would have been some more definite notice
in the Sagas. We arc free, however, to admit that, early
in this century, the merchant trade may have been small, as
in 1328 Edward III does not mention Iceland in his "Y'/'o
Me7'catorihus Ext ran els."" Nor does he mention Denmark
or Norway, but these are included in the general language,
^^Omniuiii aliaru/n Terrarwii et loconiin extranoruntP^

' '* IsUnzkir AnndJar," lh\imx, 1847, p. ^76. The Icelandic
is as follows: " Mannfall uijurlcgt d Englendi sva at tvo
hundred thousand datt nidr.'^

'Ibid., 278.

" Stow's " Anndlar," p. 245, Ed. 1631.

*Kymer's /'Wem, IV, 361.

A.MKItlCA HY TlIK NoUTHMKN.

•I!)

Mcvcrtliolosfi, thv. inaTuliito of Erhviird TIT, dated March
18, l.'}54, rcc()^tii/A!s the faet that the kiiii,' maiiitaiiuMl a
fleet for service in the "parts I'orcal,'' dohii <h; Iladihtii
boiiijii^ the A(hiiiral.' It was |>rol)ah|y desi<i;iu'd to {jnttcct
the lisheriiieii and merchants from pirates aruuiiJ the north
of Britain.

In tlio Icelandic annals of the fifteenth century, the first
clear entry is that of l4o7, when news was receive<l of
the death of the Archhisho|> of York.^ In 1412, it was re-
corded that five Kn<,dish sailors had separated from their
ship and wintered in the island,'' In 14i;}, "thirty more
fishiiif; vessels came from Ei <^land." Some of them were
blown to the northern part of Iceland, and possibly to the
Greenland coast.*

In 1415, six En<i;lish ships sailed to Iceland, and made
their port in the Westmann Islands.'' In 1410, six ships
anchored in Ilafnafiord, in the south-west of Iceland/' In
1419, many English ships were wrecked on the coast of Ice-
land, and u large number of lives were lost.^ The "Annals,"
in the present compilation, end with the year 1430, and
those six entries are all that we find. If carefully consid-
ered, however, it will aj)pear that these mentions really
form meniorahilia. This will be seen by turning to the
English aniuds for the corresponding ])eriod. The first
reference to Iceland in the Fmdera is that of 1415, when
Henry V, for the satisfaction of the King of Denmark,
ordered that during the year none of his subjects should
presume to visit any of " the coasts of the islands belonging

'Ibid., V, 778.
^ Anndlar, p. 383.
Ibid., p. 38G.
'Ibid., p. 388.
Ibid., p. 390.
"Ibid., p. 393.

'Ibid., p. 394. — In this connection the author employs
material given by him in his " hiventio Fortunata," devoted
to the subject of Arctic Discovery.
7

PUK-COLUMHIAN DiSCOVEHY OF

to DeDiimrk and Norway. luul oapocially to the island of
IcL'Iaiid," for tli(! piirposo of lisliiii]^ or tradiii;i;, "otherwise
than according to the ancient custom" {alittr qiidin anti-
qaltuH fieri amftneolt.'" ' This notice was served ni)on the
authorities of tlu5 various seaports of En^danch Here, tlien,
we learn, in connection with 1415, that in the ancient times
voyaji^es to Iceland had heeonie frecjuent. It is clear from
the complaint of the Danish king that the old rides rcspcct-
i!i<^ traffic had heen broken hal)itually, and that they were
now to he observed, at least for one year. Of the exact
nature of the ancient law we cai\not speak, but it would ap-
pear as thou<i;h the ])rohibition related to the shore fisheries,
which they were not to intrude upon, and hence, when the
English went to Iceland, in 1415, they harbored off the
coast of the Westmann Islands. The arrival of the ships,
under the circumstances, formed a noticeable event, and for
this reason it was recorded. The Icelandic Annals add, im-
mediately after mentioning their arrival, that " the ships
brought letters from the King of England to the people and
the chief men of Iceland."

There is, then, a complete agreement between the Eng-
lish and the Icelandic Annals, both showing that an English
fleet visited Iceland in 1415 — a circumstance which should
go very far to establish the general value and credibility of
those records of a distant age.-

In 1416, the English were again in Iceland, but the
Fc&dera does not mention voyages until 1436, when Henry
VI issued a license to John, the Icelandic Bishop of Holem,
then in London, authorizing him to engage John May, with
his ship " Catherine," for a voyage to Iceland, where May,
evidently an old voyager, was to act as his attorney, and
transact certain business for him, the Bishop himself not
wishing to undertake the voyage.^ In 1436, Richard

• ''Foedera," ix, 3^2.

* This agreement between the English and Icehmdic au-
thorities was pointed out now for the first time, in "Inventio
For tun at a."

' ''Fmdera," x, 645 and 659, Ed. 1877.

Amkiuca IIV TIIK NoUTUMKX.

Weston, of London, a •' stocktisliinoni^cr,'' was well known
by the Icelanders.' In 1140, Henry VI sent two bldps to
Iceland, with siip[)lies. It was feared that without this aid
from Kn^^land, the sacraments even would l>e omitted, there
heing neither wine nor salt in the country, and only milk
ami wattir {laoet aquam).-

h\ connection with the year 1445, another voyage is in-
dicated by the Admiralty '' Black l»ook," action having
been taken against William nyggeman, and two men of
Lynn, wiio visited Iceland in a '* dogger," called the; " Trin-
ity." They kidnapped a boy whom they brought to Swete-
sham and held in servitude, contrary to law.^

\\\ 1450, a treaty was made between the Kings of Den-
mark and England, which prohibited trading in Iceland;
but a special provision of I'arliament exem[)ted Thomas
Canynges, Mayor of lirietol, from the prohibition, in con-
sideration of his great services to Ice! ind. lie was accord-
ingly allowed to send two ships thither to load with tish or
other commodities. His trade with Iceland was a matter of
general knowledge, and throws additional light upon a cer-
tain remark by Columbus.

It should be remend)ered also, that the Zeno Brothers
made their voyage to Greenland, and a part of the Ameri-
can coast called Estotiland, and Drogeo, in 1400 ; but it is

'Ibid., X, 76:^. Those supplies were sent to the Hishop
of Skalholt, who alone was authorized by the Synod of Den-
mark to supi)ly the elements of the sacraments to the
churches. See " Kirchengefchichte von Danemark und Nor-
weyan " (Munter), iii, IG.

»Ibid., X, G45.

^" Item quod Willelums Byggcnume do Suctcsham nuigister
cnjusdeni navis vocatie le Trinyte. dictie vulgariter dogger,
Johannis Pigot et Henrici Sorysbi de Lenna Episcopi, circa
festuni Exultacionis Sanct?e Crucis anno dicti regis vicosinio
tertio, cepit unum pucram in partibus do Islandia, ct ipsum
duxit in dictu navi ad ibidem usipie Suotsham, adsibi sorvicn-
dum, contra stati;ta regia in hoc parte facta." — Monitmcnta
Juridicia (Black Book), i, 273.

Pre-Columbian Discovery of

Ji!'

' i

not desirable to dwell upon such a familiar theme here. It
suffices to say : The Zeno Map, published with the luirra-
tive in 1558, shows that the Zeno family had a knowledge
of Greenland that could have been obtained only during the
pre-Columbian times.'

In this connection the investigator nmst not overlook the
voyage of 8kulnu£ tlie Pole, which took place in 147G.
Hakluyt says tlu; . this voyage is mentioned by Gemma
Frisius and Girava.- It is ccrtaiidy referred to on an ancient
globe of about 1540, preserved in Paris, and known as
" The Kouen Globe," whereon, near the north-west coast of
Greenland, is a legend declaring that Skolnus reached that
point in 1470. This globe seems to antedate Gomara (1553),
the earliest author that the writer has been able to consult.

Next, attention should be directed to the voyage of Co-
lumbus, of which the Genoese himself gives the following
account :

"In the month of February, 1477, I sailed a hundred
leagues beyond the island of Thyle, the southern part of
which is distant from the equinoctial 73 degrees, and not 63
as some wish it to be; nor does it lie upon the line where
Ptolemy's west begins, but much more toward the west. And
to this island, v/hicii is as large as England, the English
come for traffic, and especially those of Bristol. And at
the time I was there the sea was not frozen, but in some

' On Zeno, see " The Sailing/ Dircctionf^nf Henry Hudson,^'
p. 5; ■' The Xurthmci in Mui/ie," p. 30. Also a full dis-
cussion of the subject, iu the Hakluyt Society's edition of the
voyage, edited by Major.

* Hakluyt makes his reference iu a general way, giving
neither ciiapter nor page. Frisius i)ublished " Do Principius
Astronomia^ & Cosuiographite," &c., in 15''0. The " Coxmo-
(jraphuiiP," of Hierouiuio (lirava was printed 1550. Gomara
mentions Skolnus in his '' Ilistoria/' c, xxxvii, Ed. 1553. 8ee
"The Sailing Directions of Henry Hudson,^' p. 33, in con-
nection with WytUiet and Pontanus. For Hakluyt, see
Maine Coll., S. 3, vol. ii, p. 148.

America by the Xortiimen.

places the tide rose 26 fathoms [feet], and fell the same.'"'
Whoever wrote the life of the Admiral, there is no question
but that he made the voyage, Finn Magnussen has pointed
out an interestinii^ eonfirination of the statemcnit of Colu:ul>us
respecting the mild weather in 1477, whore he sIk^^^s from
the " Annals," the remarkable fact, that, in 1477, snow had
not been seen at Eyafjord, in the north of Icjland, as late
as March.2

'The Italian runs as follows: " lo navigai I'anno 1477, nol
mose di Fobniio oltra I'ilo isola conto logho, la eiu parte Aus-
trale e lontiina dall' Efjuinottiale sottantatre gradi, et non ses-
santra, come alcuni vogliono: no giace dentro doUa linca, chc
include rOecidonto di Tolomoo, ma e molto piu Occidentalo.
Et a quest' isola, che e tanto grande come I'Inghiltcrra, vanno
gl'Inglcsi con le loro mercatantie, specialmento quelli di
Bristol. Et al tempo, cho io vi andai, non era congololato il
mare che in alcuni luogiii asccndoua vcntcsi braccia, ct dis-
eondona altro tanti in altezza.'' (Ilistoria del 8.1). Fernando
Colombo, 1571, c. iv.) "Braccia" is evidently a clerical
error, as the original ^-^rtanish will doubtless show, if ever
found. That Columbus was familiar with the map in the
Ptolemy of 148G, showing the northern regions, with Creon-
land as an extension of Europe, can hardly be doubted. His
remark respecting Thyle ap[)oars to be intended almost as a
correction of that map, on which the Orcades and Tbylo are
laid down north of Scotland, Thylc being in 03° N., while it
appears again further north as "Islandia.'' This double
representation of Icelaiul on the map was a bluuder, the
island being laid down first according to Ptolemy, and then
according to the prevailing ideas of the day. This peculiar-
ity of the map entitles it to interest as a Coliiml)ian map,
though the feature referred to does not a))pear to have been
remarked upon hitherto by any except the writer.

- The fact was produced from the Annals bv Finti A[agnus-
son, in " Nordixk Ti(Ulcrift for Olk'jnidiijhcd," vol. ii, p.
13f*, It has been suggested, though without reason, that the
voyage of Cobimbus was made in 1407. See Barrow's " Chro-
nological History," p. 20. Columbus gives the wrong lati-

J Hi

Pre-Columbian Discovery of

f !!

To this period belongs the voyage of Robert Alcock, of
Hull, who, in 1478, was commissioned by Edward IV to
send a ship of 240 tons to Iceland, which was " to reload
with fish or other goods."^ He was licensed again in 1483.

Chaucer in the prologue to the Canterbury Tales, shows
by his " Shipman " something of the activity of the British
sailor at this period.

An indication more to our present purpose is found in
the poem on " The Policie of Keeping the Sea," which be-
longs to the middle of the fifteenth century. At that time
the northern region was so well known that the author of
the poem disposes of the subject briefly :

" Of Island to write is little nede.

Save of stockfish; yet forsooth, indeed,
Out of Bristowe, and costes many one,
Men have practiced by needle and stone
Thider wardes within a little while
Within twelve yere, and idthout perill
Gon and come, as men were wont of old
Of Scarborough unto the costes cold."''

Thus, at the time when the poet wrote, Bristol had re-
vived her old enterprise. The maritime enterprise of this
period is greatly underrated by Mr. Froude. The sketch
now given of voyages toward the north, especially during
the fourteeth and fifteenth centuries, is quite general.
It would be easy to swell the citations from various sources,
among which may be mentioned the voyages to the west of
Ireland so , well known to Columbus, as his biography
proves. Yet enough has been said to show the real charac-
ter of the period. The *imes, both before and after the
general date assigned to tiio voyage of Columbus, were

tudes for the places visited, but this may be the fault of the
editor ; while Humboldt says that they were not the result of
his own observations during a rough wintry voyage. See
" Bxamen Critique," ii, 115, and v, 214, n. In 1550 a
Bristol ship was lost at Iceland. See Barrett's Bristol.

i«i^«rfera," XII, 94.

^ Hakluyt, vol. i, p. 201. Ed. 1599-1600.

America by the Northmen.

marked by great activity, and expeditions to the north were
so coiuinon that neither the English nor the Icelanders took
the trouble to mention them, except when they stood con-
nected with circumstances of particular interest. The inter-
course between Iceland and England was so frequent, that
sailors like John May, who served as the representative of
the Bishop of Ilolem, must have acquired a fair knowledge
of the language spoken in that distant isle. Indeed, at one
time, under the Normans, the Icelandic tongue gave a per-
son the advantage at the courts of both England and
France.^

But enough has been said to prove that the voyage of
Columbus, in 1477, formed no novelty. Ilis actions take
their place with entire naturalness in the annals of his age,
there being nothmg in the nature of the voyage to challenge
belief,

Columbus had the most ample opportum"ties for learning
of the voyages of the Northmen. He could not associate
with the Euiflish sailors without hearing more or less about
Iceland, and presumably of Gi-eenland. He must have
known that voyages were made to the west, though it is
probable that he did not appreciate the importance of the
information and failed to put it to use in the traditional con-
nections. He argued, no doubt, that the land at the west
visited by the Icelanders, was not the Indies, of which he
was in search.'' This led him to take the Southern route

' Laing's " JleimsJcringln," vol. i, chap, viii, p. 01.

2 When at the western end of Cuba on his second voyage,
so certain was Columbus that he had reached tlie eastern
coast of Asia that he required his companions, under oath, to
declare that Cuba was not an island but the continent, under
penalty of 10,000 maravcdis, and having their tongues cut
out. See document in Navarrcte's " Collccion," vol. ir, p.
155. See, also, Gravier's translation of tlic Author's
Treatise on the Lenox Globe, " Le (rlabo Lenox de 1511.
Traduit de Anglaies par Gabriel Gravier" Rouen, 1880,
p. 25.

lii'l

• 'I

Pre-Columbian Discovery of

across the Atlantic' In this connection, however, the
aiithor lias no interest in the work of lessening the
deserved fame of Cohnnbus. That Columbus knew of the
westward voyages of the Icelanders is sufficiently evident.
He clearly believed, as the Northmen did, namely, that Green-
land was an extension of Norway, and that Vinland lay
contignons, while what he desired was to reach the eastern
coast of Asia.-

THE PRESENT STATE OF THE DISCUSSION.

About fifty years have passed since the publication of

' See the author's " Columbus and the Geo(jraj}hers of the
North." Hartford, 1872. Those who are interested in belit-
tling the work of Columbus can consult Goodrich's " Life of
Columbus." See, also, ^' An Inglorious Columbus," by Ed.
P. Vining, New York, 1885, a somewhat remarkable book;
together Avith "America not Discovered by Columbus." "An
Historical Sketch of the Discovery of America by the Norse-
men, in the Tenth Century, by Ilasmus B. Anderson, A. M.,
with an Appendix on the Historical, Linguistic and Scientific
Value of the Scandinavian Languages. New and Improved
Edition. Chicago, 1877." On the routes across the Atlan-
tic, see "Narrative and Critical History," iii, 172.

^Theautlior docs not find evidence of any plan or even any
desire on the part of the authorities of the Roman church to
suppress knowledge of the Icelandic voyages, in order to ex-
alt Columbus. When invited to canonize Columbus, the body
to which the subject was referred, reported adversely, one rea-
son being that they had " grave doubts " concerning the private
character of Columbus, a subject that historical writers do not
care to concern themselves about. Besides, in this country
writers of the Roman church incessantly use the establish-
ment of the Icelanders in New England as a ground of their
own ecclesiastical priority. See Roman Catholic writers in
general, and especially Dr. John Gilmary Shay and Dr.
Clarke. On this point see the work of Miss Marie A. Brown on
the Northmen, and the four numbers of her Journal, " Leif
Ericsou."

America by the Northmen.

Rafn's work on the antiquities of America, wliicli gives the
Icelandic text of the Saj^as, accompanied by traiishitioiis in
Latin and Danish. The appearance of that remarkable
work excited surprise in many intellio-ont circles, thouiih a
general knowledge of the Icelandic voyages had long been
in the possession of scholars, especially through the writings
of TorfpBUS. The volume was favorably reviewed by Edward
Everett, and, both in America and Europe, at once com-
manded the attention of historians and antiquaries.' While
some of the more enthusiastic conclusions of Prof. Rafn
have been disallowed, his main proposition has steadily
gained favor, it being conceded that voyages were made by
the Northmen to New England in the eleventh century.

On this subject Humboldt speaks most emphatically, say-
ing with regard to "the undoubted iirst discovery of Amer-
ica, in its northern portion by the Northmen," that, "whilst
the Caliphate still flourished under the Abnssidesat Bagdad,
and Persia was under the dominion of Sanumides, whose age
was so favorable to poetry, America was discovered in the
year 1000 by Leif, son of Eric the Red, by the northern
route and as far 41" 30' north latitude."^

Turning to our own country we have the testimony of a
laborious and painstaking investigator like Palfrey, v. ao
examined the whole subject, and gives us as his final conclu-
sion respecting the Sagas, that "their antiquity and genu-
ineness appear to be well established, nor is there any thing
to bring their credibility into question beyond the general
doubt which always attaches to what is new or strange."^

As the result, historical writers in general accept the
Sagas as authority, and usually locate Leif Ericson's settle-
ment in New England.''

1 ((

North American Review."

' "Cosmos," yo\. II, p. G03. ''Examen Critique."

^ History of New England, vol. ii, p. 53.

* See such works as the Bryant-Gay " History of the United
States.''

Pre-Columbian Discovery of

III

A large proportion of the American school histories give
the voyages of the Nortlimen to America, and there is now
being raised up a generation tliat will he free from that old
bias, which formerly gave Columbus the field, to the exclu-
sion not only of the Northmen, but of the Cabots, who saw
the American Continent before Columbus could possibly
have done so.'

In New England the study of the Icelandic Sagas has
resulted in the erection of a statue to Leif Ericson in the
City of Boston. This was not accomplished without oppo-
sition, the movement luiving been opposed by a class of
men, small in numbers, but whose general attainments and
devotion to the study of historical subjects entitle any opin-
ion they may present to respectful consideration. They
represent what, in some respects, may, perhaps, be regarded
as a conservative element, an element of value in connection
with historical study, oven as when joined to pf)iitics,
theology and sociology. It often, however, misses its aim,
and helps forward, rather than hinders, the progress of a new
line of thouglit. Certain it is in the present case, that op-
position has stimulated investigation and advanced the
influence of the Sagas as historical documents. It is, there-
fore, in vain that those to whom reference is made under-
take to declare, that " There is the same sort of reason for
believing in the existence of Leif Ericson that there is for
believing in the existence of Agamemnon ; they are both
traditions accepted by later writers."

It is sufficiently evident that local feeling, which often
vitiates the studies of the most accomplished men, enters
into this singular declaration. It serves no special pur-
pose, beyond proving a feeling of irritation on tlie part of
men accustomed to have every utterance received with
deference, but who have discovered a certain inability to

' See author's article on the Claim of Cabot in the Independ-
ent, and Dr. Deane's discussion of the Cabot question, Nar-
rative and Critical History, vol. iii, and separate, Cambridge,
1888.

America by the Northmen.

control public opinion in connection with historical monu-
ments. The people have'moved on, and left them behind.
But, notwithstandiiiij their opposition, the study of the
whole subject of Pre-Columbian Discovery is indebted to
their efforts, and the student of the Sa^jjas should regard it
as fortunate, that the o])position has come from so inflnen-
tian a source, since, in the future, when these compositions
shall have gained unanimous belief, it may prove a source of
fiatisfaction to know tiuit the veracity of the old Icelandic
chronicler was established in the face of persevering and
determined organized opposition.' The future of the Ice-
landic Sagas relating to America is plain. Their simple,
unaffected statements, all uncoiored cither by personal
vanity or national ambition, will more and more win the
eontidence of historians, who find in these statements,
committed to writing, as all the testimony proves, in
Pre-Columbian times, convincing and unanswera])le proof
of the fact that Leif Ericson and other adventurers found
America and visited New England during the times and
under the circumstances described.-

' Massachusetts Historical Society Proceedinys, December,
1887. The opinion of so distinguished an Icelandic scholar
as Professor Dasent alone would be accepted in critical circles
as disposing of any opinion propounded by the Committee
responsible for the above statement.

Tp. 76-132, vol. I, "JS^arrative and Critical History," con-
tain a large amount of matter relating to this subject, and
the contribution is one of much value; though it is to be re-
gretted that the labor should be employed, largely, it Avould
seem, for the purpose of belittling the subject. Yet, with
unequalled facilities at the Editor's command, it cannot be
said that the authority of the Sagas has been shaken. We
find, substantially, o})inion arrayed against argument, and the
wealth of bibliography and illustration simply renders more
apparent the weakness of the Editor's cause. Adverse criti-
cism cannot grapple successfully with the subject, and may
be considered as having done its worst, while unfortunately

Pre-Columbian Discoveuy of

Jil

THE ICELANma NAKRATIVES.

It now remains to give the reader some general account
of the contents of tlio narratives \vhi(!li relate more or less
to the discovery of the Western continent. It may be well
first, however, to notice an attempt at criticism made in the
North American Remeio^ which assumes that the Sagas are
simply reductions of old ballads, because Sturleson admits
that ixpart of his " IleimsUringla " was so produced. As it
happens, however, the Vinland Sagas contain only four
poetical fragments, while in the Ileimskringla they abound.
A few verses are also found in Landanama, in its second part,
the origin of which is absolutely known. The tirst part was
composed in the eleventh century and the second in the
fourteenth, when the ballad theory becomes positively ab-
surd. This work likewise contains two more extracts from
the poem " Havgcrdinger," which is also quoted in the Saga
relating to the iirst voyage of Biarne to America, proving
clearly that it was a well-known and popular song, quoted by
the different writers just as Shakespere is quoted to-day.
Sometime, too, these quotations have no real relation to the
subject, having been introduced on the principle which
governs the introductions of songs and hymns on oratorical
occasions in our times.

Nevertheless empty theories like this are devised, showing
that the critic has no proj)er conception of the nature of
Icelandic literature, either in prose or verse. -

In speaking of these records the order followed will be
that which is indicated by the table of contents at the be-
ginning of the volume.

the effect leaves behind on the pages of a noble work what in
the future will be recognized not only as a useful and stimu-
lating contribution, but a scar.

1 July, 1869, pp. 265-72.

2 The critic in question was replied to by the author in
" Notes on a Review of the Pre-Columbian Discovery of
America by the N'orthmen." Charlestown, Mass., 1869.

Ameuica hy the Northmen".

Tlio first extracts fjiven arc very brief. Tliey are taken
from tiie Landaiiaina Book, and relate to the report in
general circulation, indicatiiii^ one (Tiinnl)iorii as the
discoverer of Greenland, an event which has been fixed at
tlie year 870. These fragments also give an acconnt of a
voyage to what was called (iriinnbiorn's Ilocks, where the
adventurers passed the winter, and found in a hole, <»r exca-
vation, a sum of money, which indicated that otliers had
frequented the place before tlieni.

The next narrative relates to the re-discovery of Greenland
by the outlaw, Eric the lied, in 988, who there passed three
years in exile, and afterward returned to Iceland. About
the year 986, he brought out to Greenland a considerable
colony of settlers, who fixed their abode at Brattahlid, in
Ericsfiord.

Then follow two versions of the voyage of Biarne Ileriulf-
son, who, in the same year, 98t!, when sailing for Greenland,
was driven away during a storm, and saw a new land at the
southward, which he did not visit. He was coniidained of,
because he did not describe it carefully, so that Leif had only
the most vague reports for his guidance.

Next follows three accounts of the voyage of Leif, s(jn
of Eric the Red, who, in the year lUOO, sailed from Brattah-
lid to find the land which Biarne saw. Two of these ac-
counts are hardly more than notices of the voyage, but the
third is of considerable length, and details the successes of
Leif, who found and exploi-ed this new land, where he spent
the winter, returning to Greenland the following spring.
With his descriptions we find ourselves on solider ground
than the voyage of Biarne.

After this follows the voyage of Thorvald Ericson, brother
of Leif, who sailed to Vinland from Greenland, which was
the point of departure in all these voyages. This expedition
was begun in 1002, and it cost him his life, as an arrov/
from one of the natives pierced his aide,

Thorstein, his brother, went to seek Vinland, with the
intention of bringing home his body, but failed in the at-

ii il

PllE-COLL'MHIAN DISCOVERY OF

tempt, and was driven l)ac!k, passiiii; the winter in a part of
Greenland remote from IJrattalilld, where he died before the
6prin<^ fully opened.

The must distingiiisshed o.\})lorer was the great Thortinn
Karlsefne, an Icelander whose genealogy runs back in the
old Northern amials, through Danish, Swedish, and even
Scotch and Irish ancestors, some of whom were of royal
blood. In the year 1006 he went to Greenland, where he
met Giidrid, widow of Thorstein, whom he married. Ac-
corn j)an led l)y his wife, who urged him to the undertaking,
he sailed for Vinland in thesj)ringof 1007, with three vessels
and one hundred and sixty men. lie remained in Yinland
three years. Here his son Snorre was born. This Snorre
afterwards became the founder of a great family in Iceland,
which gave the island several of its earlier bishops. Thortinn
finally left Vinland because he found it ditiicult to sustain
himself against the attacks of the natives. He seems to
have spent the most of the time in the vicinity of Mount
Hope Bay in Rhode Island. Of thi'^ expedition we have
three narratives, all of which are given.

The next to undei'take a voyage was a wicked woman
named Freydis, sister of Leif Ericson, who went to Vinland
in 1011, where she lived for a time with her two ships' crews
in the same places occupied by Leif and Thortinn. Before
she returned, she caused the crew of one ship to be cruelly
murdered, assisting in the butchery with her own hands.

After this Ave have what are called the Minor Narratives,
which are not essential, j'et they are given, that the reader
may be in the possession of all that relates to the subject.
The first of these refers to a voyage of Are Marson to a
land south-west of Ireland, called Hvitrammana-land, or
Great Ireland. This was prior to Leif's voyage to Vinland,
or New England, takmg place in the year 983. Hiorn As-
brandson is supposed to have gone to the same place in 999.
The voyage of Gudleif, who went thither, is assigned to the
year 1027. The narrative of Asbrandson is given for the
sake of the allusion at the close.

America iiy the Noktiimen.

Finally wc have a few scraps of history which speak of
a voyajjfu of Jh'shop Eric to Viiilaiid in 1121, <»f the re-dis-
cov((ry of llolliiland (Newfoundlaiid) iji 12>>r», and of a voy-
age to Markland (Xova Scotia) in l.'!47, whither the Nortli-
inen came to cut timber. With such brief notices the ac-
counts come to an end.

THE TKUTHKULNESS OF THE NARRATIVES.

The reader will occasionally find in those narratives in-
Btances of a niarvelons and supernatiu'al charar-ter, but there
is nothing at ail niytli<i!o(>;ical, as persons ii^riorant of their
natnre have supposed. Besides there are nudtitiules of nar-
ratives of a later date, to be found in all langua«ijes, wiiich
contain as many statements of a marvelous nature as these
Sagas, which, nevertheless, contain a sul)stantial ground-work
of truth. All early histories abound in tlie S(ij)ernatural,
and these things are so well kiKjwn that illustrations are
liardly needed here. The relation of prodigies in nowise
destroys the credibility of historical statement. If this weie
not so, we should be obliged to discard the greater portion
of well-known history, and even suspect ])lain mattei's of
fact in the writings of such men as Dr. -lohnson, because
that great scholar fidly believed in the reality of an ap])ari-
tion known in London as the Cock- Lane Ghost. The Sagas
are as free from superstition and imagination as most other
narratives of that age, and are just as much entitled to I)elief.

There will also, in certain cases, be found contradictions.
The statements of the ditferent narratives do not always
coincide. The disagreeinciits are, however, neither very
numerous nor remarkable. The discrepancies are ex-
actly what we should expect to tind in a series of nar-
ratives written at different times aiid by different hands.
The men who recorded the various expeditions to New
England in the eleventh century agi e, on the whole,
quite as well as the writers of our own day, who, with
vastly greater advantages, undertake to narrate the events

Phk-Columhian Discovkry of

Plii'

of tlie c'oloiiiziition of Amoricii iti tho Hcvcntcenth cen-
tiirv.i

TluM'eforo tliesi; iiiiirveloiis ^tiitc'inoiits iiiid oecasioiiiil coii-
tnidictionH in nowise dotract froin tin; historic! vidiio of tlic
dociiimMits tlRMiisclves, which, even in thoir very f.rnthfnl-
TiGHS to tho times, i^ive every evidence of antlienticity and
great wortli. To this general a|)j)earance of tnithfnhiess
we may, however, add the force of those undesigned coin-
cidences between wi'iters widely separated and destitute of
all means of knowing wh;it had been already said. The
same argiinuiut may be used with the Sagas which had been
so powerfully employed by PaU^y and others in vindicating
the historical character of the New Testament." In tliese
narratives, as in thosf; of SS. Paul ami John, it may be
used with ovorwlielming effect. Yet we should not fear to
dispense with all auxiliary aids. We are willing to rest
the whole (juestion of the value of these namitives upon
their (.Kje ', for if the Sagas date back to a period long
prior to the voyage of Columbus, then the Northmen
are entitled to the credit of haviuij been the first Hluro-
peans to land upon these shores. But the date of these

' Tho liability of the l^cst historians to fall into error is
illustrated by Palcy, who shows the serious blunders in the
accounts of the Marquis of Argyll ; death, in the reign of
Charles II: "Lord Clarendon relates that he Avas con-
demned to be hanged, whicli was performed the same day; on
tho contrary, Burnet, Woodrow, lleatli and Echard concur in
stating that he was beheaded, and that he was condemned
upon Saturday and executed on Monday." — Evidences of
Christianity, \rdrt iii, chaj). i. So ]\Ir. Bancroft found it im-
possible to give with any accuracy tho location of the French
colony of St. Savior, established on the coast of Maine, by
Saussayc, in 1G13. Bancroft tells us that it was on the north
bank of the Penobscot, while it is perfectly well known that
it was located on the island of Mount Desert, a long way off,
in the Atlantic ocean.

' This is the language held in the first edition of the work,

AmKRICA HY THK NoKTIlMKN.

narratives has now Itcen settled beyond reasonable (jucs-
tion. Tlio (lonbts of tlie al)lcat critical minds, both in
Europe and America, have been elTectnally laid to rest, and
at tbo end of all the years that have passed since the first
edition of this work came from the |)ress, wo arc ol'liyed to
repeat that the reply now ^iven to the Northern Anti(pniry
is often " some feeble parauraph pointed with a sneer."

We need not, therefore, appear before the public to cry,
" Place for the Northmen ! " They can win their ovn
place, as of old. They are as stronj^ to-day in ideas, as an-
ciently in arms.

MONUMENTS AND REMAINS.

That the Northmen left no pronounced architectural re-
mains in New England may be true. Professor Rafn sup-
posed that lie found in the celebrated Di<(hton Rock' and

though one might infer from the language cm ployed by
Diman in his review of the book in the Xorth American Re-
vieto (July, 18(39) that the author was at that time wJiolly
unacquainted with the fact. Our language seems to luivc
escaped the attention of the reviewer.

' Dighton Rock, known as the Writing Kock, is situated
six and a half miles south of Taunton, Mass., on the east side
of Taunton river, formed by Assonnet Neck. It lies in the
edge of the river, and is left dry at low water. It is a boul-
der of fire graywack, twelve feet long and live feet high, and
faces the bed of the river. Its front is now covered with
chiseled inscriptions of Avhat appear to be letters and outlines
of men, animals and birds. As early as the year 1680, Dr.
Danforth secured a drawing of the upper portion; Cotton
Mather made a full copy in 1712; and in 1788, Professor
Winchrop, of Harvard College, took a full-sized imjiression
on prepared paper. Various other copies have been made at
different times, all of which present substantially the same
features. Yet in the interpretation of the inscription there
has been little agreement. The old rock is a riddle. A copy
of the inscription was shown to a Mohawk chief, who decided
9

Pre-Columbiax Discovery of

the stone miH at Newport, evidences of tlie Icelandic occu-
pntion. Any serious efforts to identify tlie Diglitun in-
scription and the Newport ]\Iill with the age of the North-

that it was nothing less than the representation of a triumph
hy Indians over a wild beast, which took place on this spot.
Mr. Schoolcraft also showed a copy to Chingwank, an Algon-
quin well versed in picture-writing, who gave a similar inter-
pretation. The Roman characters in the central part of the
composition he was finally induced to reject, as having no
connection witli the rest. Whoever compares this inscription
with those of undeniably Indian origin found elscAvhero,
cannot fail to be impressed with the similarity. Neverthe-
less, members of the Koyal Society of Anticpiaries, to whose
notice it was bronght by the lihode Island Historical Society,
felt atrongly persuaded that the ro3k bore evidence of the
Northman's visit to these shores. Mr. Laing, the accom-
plished translator of the Hcimskringla, in discussing the
theories in regard to the inscription, says, that the only
resemblance to letters i? found in the middle of the stone, in
which antiquaries discover the name of Thorfiun, that is,
Thorfinn Karlsofne, the leader of the expedition which came
to New England in 1007. Just over these letters is a charac-
ter, supposed to be Roman also, which may signify NA, or
MA, the letter A being formed by the last branch of M. Now
MA in Icelandic is used as an abbreviation of Maclr, which
signifies the original settler of a country. Close to these two
letters are several numerals, coiistrned to mean one hundred
and fifty-one. According to the account of the voyage, Thor-
finn lost 7iine of the one hundred and sixty men with whom
it is presumed he started, and therefore one Jmndred and fifty-
one would exactly express the number with him at the time
he is supposed to have cut the inscription. This, then,
would mean altogether, that Thorfinn Karlsefne established
himself here with one hundred and fifty-one men. Yet, as
the testimony of this rock is not needed, we may readily
forego any advantage that can be derived from its study.
Besides, the history of similar cases should serve to temper
our zeal. In the time of Saxo Grammatticus (1160), there

AmeuiCa ry the Northmen".

men can only serve to iTijurc a ii;()(t(l cause. If Professor
Rafn could have seen these memorials himself, he woiild
doul)tless have been amoni; the first to question the truth of
the theory which he set forth.

was a stone at lIob^

Run;

)y, near Kunamoo, in the Swedish province
of Bloking, which was su[)i)oscd to be sculptured with runes.
At a hitc day copies were furnished the antiquary, who came
to the conclusion, as Laing tells us, that it Avas a genuine in-
scription, referring to the battle of liraavillc, fought in the
year G80. It afterward turned out that the a|)parent inscri})-
tion was niaile by the disintegration of veins of a soft material
existing in the rock. Yet the Dightou inscription is Ijcyond
rpiestiou the work of man. Mr. A. E. Kendal, writing in
1807, says that there was a traditi' that Assonnet Neck, on
which tongue of land the rock is situated, was once a place
of banishment among the Indians, lie states, further, that
the Indians had a tradition to the effect that in ancient times
some white men in a hinl landed there and were slaughtered
by the aljorigines. They also said thunder and lightning
issued from the bird, which fact ind'C.ues that this event, if
it occurred at all, must be referred to the age of gunpowder,
suggesting the visit made by Verrazano to ^q\v England, but
very likely pointing to some later navigator. Mr. Kendal
mentions the story of a ship's anchor having been found there
at an early day. In former years the rock was fretpiently dug
under by the people, in the hoi)e of llnding concealed treas-
ures. Ic is said that a small rock once existed near by, which
also bore marks of human hands. The Portsmouth and
Tiverton Rocks, described by Mr. Webb (Antiquifufes Aineri-
ciuup, pp. 355-71), are doul^tless Indian inscriptions; Avhile
that on the island of Monhegan, off the coast of Maine, may
perhaps be classed with the rock of Iloby. After all, it is
possible that the cenlrnl portion of the inscription on the
Dightou Rock ma^ be the work of the ^Sorthmen. That two
distinct parties were concerned in making the inscription is
clear from the testimony of the Indians, who did not pretend
to understand the portion thought to refer to Karlsef ne. For
the full discussion, sea Ant iqu Hates Amerkaiup, p. 378, et seq.

Pre-Columbian Discoveuy of

In regard to the structure at Newport, Professor Rafii
says tliat he is inclined to believe " that it had a sacred des-
tination, and that it belonged to some monastery or Chris-
tian place of worship of one of the chief parishes in Vin-
land. In Greenland," he says, " there are to be fonnd ruins
of several round buildings in the vicinity of the churches.
One of this description, in diameter about twenty-six feet,
is situated at the distance of three hundred feet to the east-
ward of the great church in Igalliko ; another of forty-four
feet in diameter, at the distance of four hundred and forty
feet to the eastward of the church in Karkortok ; . . .
a third, of thirty-two feet in diameter amongst the ruins of
sixteen buildings at Kanitsok."^ He supposes that all these
ancient remains of the Icelanders, which are to be seen in
Greenland to-day, are baptisteries, similar to those of Italy.

According to this view, there must have been a consider-
able ecclesiastical establishment in Yinland, which is not
clearly indicated by the Sagas, from which we learn no more
than the simple fact that Bishop Eric sailed on a voyage to
this place in the year 1121. But is it probable that the
Northmen would have erected a liaptistery like this, and, at
the same time, left no other monument? It seems hardly
reasonable. Besides, whoever examines this ancient struct-
ure must be impressed by its modern aspect, so especially
apparent in the mortar, which has been analyzed and found
to be substantially the same as the mortar used in some of
the early structures of New])ort. The displacement of a
portion of the masonry might perhaps reveal some peculiarity
that would eficctually settle the question of its antiquity to
the satisfaction of all if any question remains.-

' Memoirs des Antlqunircs clu Xord, 1839-9, p. 377.

''See Mag. American History, vol. iii, p. 541. The old
mill at Newport stands on an eminence in the center of the
town, being about twenty-four feet high, and twenty-three
feet in diameter. It rests upon eight piers and arches. It
has four small windows, and, liigh up the wall, above the
arches, was a small fireplace. It is first distinctly mentioned

America by the Northmen.

In Greenland tlie evidences of the Nortlnnen's occupa-
tion are abundant, because they were rcirnlarly cstablislied

in the will of Governor Benedict Arnold, of Newport, whore
it is called, "my stone-built wind mill." It is known that
during the eighteenth century it served both as a mill and
powder-house. Edward Felham, who married Governor
Arnold's grand-daughter, in 17-iO also called it " an old stone
mill." Peter Easton, who early went to live in Newi)ort,
wrote in KJtiS, that "this year we built the first windmill; "
and August 28, 1675, he says, '' a storm blew down our wind-
mill." What Easton relates occurred before Governor Arnold
writes about i -^tone windmill, and it is not unreasonable to
suppose that when the one spoken of by Easton was destroyed
ho built something more substantial. Yet we cannot say that
this was actually the case. Some old tower may have been
adapted by him for the purposes of a mill, when the one
mentioned by Easton was destroyed. The family of the Gov-
ernor is said to have come from Warwickshire, England. One
of his farms was called the Leamington Farm, as is supposed,
from the place by that naino near Warwick. In addition to
this, in the Chesterton Parisli, three miles from Leamington,
there is an old windmill similar in construction to that at
Newport. It is supposed that it was erected on pillars for
pneumatic reasons, and, also, that carts might thus go under-
neath to be loaded and unloaded with greater ease. It has
been suggested, that if Gov. Arnold came from Warwick-
shire, of whicii the proof is not given, and //the Chesterton
Mill was standing at tin me of his departure for New Eng-
land, he might have built a mill at Newport after the same
model. Yet this is something we know little about.
Whence came the Chesterton Mill itself? There was a tradi.
Hon that it was built after a design by Inigo Jones, l)ut this
is only a tradition. That structure also might have belonged
to tlie class of Towers, of which one at least was built by
Northmen in Greenland. All is, therefore, in a measure,
doubtful. It will hardly help the Northmen to class this
Newport relic with their works. See Palfrey's Neio England,
vol. I, pp. 57-59. So ihner's Monihli/, March, 1879.

1 !

i ■
I

■ i;

iV-

5 II

Pre-Columbian Discovery of

on the ground for generations, and formed their public and
private edifices of the only material at hand, which was well
nigh imperishable. But their visits to New England were
comparatively few, and were scattered over many years.
Owing to the weakness of their numbers, they found perma-
nent colonies impracticable. Thorfi:m Karlsefne deliber-
ately gave up the attempt at the end of a three years' ex-
periment, saying that it would be impossible to maintain
themselves against the more numerous bands of natives.
Their habitations were temporary. The various companies
that came into Vinland, iiistead of building stone houses
occupied temporary huts or booths, like Leif's booths, and
simply added others similar to them when they afforded in-
sufficient quarters. To ask for monumental proofs of the
occupation of the Northmen is, therefore, unreasonable,
since their wooden huts and timber crosses must soon have
disappeared. The memorial we have a right to expect is
some relic, a coin or amulet, perhaps, that chance may yet
throw in the antiquary's way,' or some excavation, it may

' Many have supposed that the skeleton in armor, dug
up near Fall River, was a relic of the Northmen, being the
remains of one of tliose men killed by the natives in the bat-
tle with Karlsefne. But it would be far more reasonable to
look for traces of the Northmen among the Indians of Gaspe,
who, at an early day, were distinguished for an unusual de-
gree of civilization. Malte Brun tells us that they wor-
shiped the sun, knew the points of the compass, observed the
position of some of the stars, and traced maps of their coun-
try. Before the French missionaries went among them they
worshiped the figure of the cross, and had a tradition that a
venerable person once visited them, during an epidemic,
curing many by the use of that symbol. See Malte Brun's
Geof/raphy (English edition), vol. v, ]). 135. Malte Brun's
authority is Father Leclcrc's "JVuuveUe Relation de la Gas-
pesic," Paris, 1672. See on the Skeleton in Armour Mass.
Hist. Coll. 1837; also Williamson, " the Northmen in Maine,"
Hist. Mag., Jan., 18G9, p. 30. At Pittstou, Me., trees three

■i i aiKtiii i i. ' .,,,.

America by the Northmen. fi

be a trench, condnit, cellar or incipient fortress. In the
meanwhile, among scholars, the Icelandic narratives are
8 eadily wmning their way to unquestioned belief. This is
all the more gratifying in an age like the present, in which
laige portions of history are being dismissed to the realms
of hoary fable, and all the annals of the past are being
studied in a critical spirit, Mdth true aims and a pure

feet in diameter and with six hundred annular rings, were
found associated with brick work, which, so far as appear'
ances went, antedated the trees. In connection with lllin^s
of this sort we may also consult such curious compositions L
Tiaces of the Northmen in America," 1861, by Abuer

PRE-COLUMBIAN DISCOYERY.

I. FRAGMENTS FROM LANDANAMA-BOOK.

The following cxtnicts from the Landanama; ^wq us
the earliest information on record, in regard to the west-
ward movements of the Icelanders. The men referred to
were well known, and the mention of their names and ex-
ploits in this great work, than which no higher authority
could be produced, is graMfying. These extracts, which
are given in the order in which they stand in vol. i, of
GronlamVs Ilistoriske MindesimerJcer, " The Historical
Monuments of Greenland," the greater portion of which
work IS the labor of Finn Magnussen, have probably never
appeared before in an English dress. The first ' extract
simply mentions Gunnbiorn and his Rocks ; the second shows
that Eric the Red obtained at least a portion of his knowl-
edge of Greenland through this person ; the third again
gives the name of Gunnbiorn ; while the fourth furnish'es a
brief account of an early voyage to the Rocks. It appears

' Tlie Landanama-hook. This is probably the most complete
record of the kind over made by any nation. It is of the
same general character as the English Doomsday Book, but
vastly superior in interest and value. It contains the names
of three thousand persons and one thousand four hundred
places. It gives a correct account of genealogies of the first
settlers, with brief notices of their achievements. It was
commenced by the celebrated Frode, the Wise, who was born
1067, and died 1148, and was continued bv Kalstegg, Styi-
mer and Thordsen, being completed by Hank Erleiidson,
Lagman, or Governor of Iceland, who died in the year 1334
10

,ill

Pke-Columuiax Discovery op

'"Mil ill

from tlic3o rcfcroncos, tiwit, })rcvious to tho sailing of Eric
the Red, the cxistonco of huul at tlio west was well uiicler-
stootl. Tlio report (»f (lumihiorn's adver.turo was (]uito
generally circulated amongst the jjcople. Arii Mason's voy-
age to the West, we shall see, was dS'3, or three years earlier.

1. There was a man named Grimkcl [A. D. 876], son of
Ulf llreiparson, called Krage, and brother to (lunnbiorn,^
after whom Gunnbioni's Rocks' are named. He took pos-
session of that piece of land that extends from Berevigs
Roin to Ness Rciin, and out round the point of the cape.
lie lived on Saxahval. lie drove away Saxe, a son of
Alfarin Valeson, and he lived on the Roin of Saxahval.
Alfarin Valeson had first taken possession of the cape be-
tween Berevigs Roin and Enne.

2. Eric Red [A. D. 983] said that he intended to find

' Gunnbiorn appears to liavc been a Northnum who settled
in Iceland at an early day. Nothing more is known of him.

'^ Torfanis says that these rocks lie six sea miles out from
Geirfuglesker, out from Reikiavck, and twelve miles south of
Garde in Greenland, yet they cannot now be found. It is
not too much to suppose that they have been sunk by some
of those fearful convulsions which have taken place in Ice-
land; yet it is quite as reasonable to conclude that these rocks
were located elsewhere, probably nearer the east coast, which
was formerly more accessible than now. In the version of tho
Account of Greenland, by Ivar Bardson {sgo '' Ajitiquiiates
America /KC," p. 301), given from a Faroese Manvscript, and
curiously preserved by Purchas, '^ Hifi Filffrinigne," \o\. iii,
p. 518, we read as follows: " Item, men shall know, that, be-
tween Island and GremJand, lycth a Kisse called Gomibornse-
Skare. There were they wont t'"> haue their passage for Gron-
land. But as they report there is Ice upon the same Risso,
come out of the Long North Bottome, so that we cannot use
the same old Passage as they thinkc." See " Sailing Direc-
tions of Henry Hudson."

A\ri:rucA uy Tin: Xorthmfn.

the la,„l tl.at was seen l.y (}uMMl,iorn/ [Jlf Knu-e's son,
who,, ho was driven by a storn, west from Iceland, and
found GunnI„orn's Pu.dcs. (A. D. STO.] At the sa.ne time
1.0 sa.d ,f he did not find the land he would ret.irn to his
iriends.

3. Two son8 of Gunnbiorn, Ulf Knioe's son, after whom
Cxunnbiorn s Eoelcs were named, svi^.o called Gunstein and
11a dor. They took possession of Skotnfiorden, LmVardeleu
and 0^i,n.rsv.gen to Mjortiord. Herse was Ilaldor'8 son,
lather to Thorniod Kall)rnnarskald.

4. Sna-biorn (Ilohnstein's son), called Galte, owned a sliip
LA D. 070], that lay in the month of Grimsar (in Bor-
Safiorden . Rolf, from Rodesand, bono^ht a half of the ship.
Mch of the parties mnstered twelve men. With Sn.ebiorn
was Ihorkeland Snmarlide, sons of Thor-ier Red, son of
liinar, from Stafholdt.

Sna3biorn also took Tiiorod from Thin<mess, his step-
father and his five sons, and Rolf took St,erbiorn. The last
named recited the following verse, after he had a dream: "

Botli ours
dead I see;
all empty

In Northwestern Sea;
cold wofithor
great suffering,
I expect
Snasbiorn's death. 2

They songl,t Gimnbiorn's Rocks and found land. Sna3biorn
would not permit any one to go ashore in the ni<dit StiL'r-
biorrManded^twithstanding, and found a purse^ with

^Torl-eus says (Greenlandia, p. 73) that -Eric the Red
first lived in Greenland, but it was discovered by the man
called Gunnbiorn. After him Gunnbiorn's Rocks are called"
{M cd. 1755).

' The translation is literal or nearly so, and the sense is ob-
scure.

' The place of concealment appears to have been an excava-

P J.

I^li

Pke-Columhian Discovkhy of

moiioy in un earth hole, and concouled it. Siirehiorn liit
him with an axe so that the jjiirse (lroj)j)ed.

'J'liey built a cahiii tu live in, and it was all covered with
snow. Thorkel Red's son found that there was water on
a shelf that stood out of the cabin window. This was
in the month of Goe.' They shoveled the snow away.
Sntebiorn rigged the ship; Thorod and five of his party
were in the liut, and Stii'rbiorn and several men of Rulf's
party. Some hunted.- Stierbiorn killed Thorud, but both

tion covered Avitli stone or wood. That llio people were some-
times accustonu'd to hide money in this way is evident. This
was hidden there by Irislimen or Icelanders who may have
been on their way to Greenland, though ]»Qssibly hidden by
pirates who early sidled the nortjiei-n seas. We read in the Saga
of Erie the lied, that Eric at lirst intended to go with his
son, Leif, on his voyage to disi'over the land seen by lleriulf,
and which Lei.^ named Vinland. ^* ^ his way to the ship,
Eric's horse stumbled, and he Ml U> ihe ground seriously in-
jured, and was obliged to aba.idon the voyage. He aeeeptod
this as a judgment for having, as one jn-eparation for his ab-
sence, buried his money, where his wife, Thorhikl, would not
be able to tlnd it.

' Tills is believed to have been about February, affording
one of many indications that the climate of that region has
become more rigorous than formerly. The fact that water
did not freeze indicates mild weather, whicli we might infer
from the fact of their rigging their vessels, and from the
preparation made for sea. In regard to the term "Goe,"
" Gr'unlancVs Ilistoriske Mindcsmmrkcr " (vol. i, p. 7), says:
" This name was before used in Denmark, which Etatsraad
Werlauf has discovered on the inscription of a Danish Rune-
Stone."

2 The facts that they engaged in hunting, and that they
built a cabin to live in, might at first lead some to suppose
that the place contained a forest oi- more or less trees, to sup-
ply wood. Yet this does not follow, as driftwood supplied
all wants for brdding purposes where they could not obtain
or use stone. Regarding driftwood, Crantz says, in speaking

America nv titt: N'orthmen,

ho and Rulf killed Sim'hiorn. lied'a sons and all the re«t
woA'c ohli^^ed tu tako tho outli of allei^ianco to aavo their
lives. They arrived on their return at llel«j;eland, Norway,
and later at Vadil in Iceland.'

II. THE COLONIZATION OF (UlEKNLAXD.

The tirst document rolatini;; to tho settlement of (Jrcon-
land l»y the Northmen, is taken from the Saga of Eric tho
Red, as given in Professor Rafn's '''Antiijuitates Aiiieri-

of Greenland: " For as He has deni(!d this frigid, rovky re-
gion the growth of trees, lie has ')id tho storms of the ocean
convey to its shores a groat deal of wood, which accordingly
comes iloatin^ thither, part willioiit ice, but the most })art
along with it., and lodges itself between the i -elands. Were it
not for this, we Europeans should have n; wood to burn
there — Among this wood are great trees torn up Iiy the roots,
which by driving up anil tlowii for many years and dashing
and rubbing on the ice, are (piite bare of braiK bos. A small
part of this driftwood are willows, aider and birch trees,
which come ou.. of the bays in the south; also large trunks

of aspen trees, but the greatest part is i)ine and fir. We

find, also, a good deal of a sort of wood, finely veined, and
with few branches; this, I faiu'v, is larchwood ... .There
is also a solid, reddish wood of a more agreeable fragrancy
than the common fir, with visi)>le cross veins, which I take to
be the same species as tho beautiful silver firs, or zirl)el, that
have the smell of cedar, and grow on the high (Irison hills,
and the Switzers wainscot their I'ooms with them."' — "History
of Greenland," vol. i, p. 37.

^If any confirni;ition wore needed of tho truth of this nar-
rative, or of the killing of Sni\^biorn and Thorod, wo might
look for it in the equally well-known fact, that after the
return of the voyagers to Iceland, the death of these two meu
was fearfully revenged by their friends.

PllK-CoiilMMlAX DlSCOVKKY OF

, (

caniC.'''' nesides tlic liistory of Krict and his sons, tlmt Saga
contains nfttlces of (ttlu-r voyagiis. Tlu' following aro simply
uxtractrt. The vvludu Saga duos not nucussarily sipply to tlio
subject undcM' examination — tlic Discovery of America.
The second extract, wliicli gives more of tlu; particulars, is
from ^UiriitddtuVs lILHforiKkc MimleHiiKvrh'r,^'' vol. ri, p.
201. The third is also taken I'roni the same great historical
depository.

KlltSr NAHKATIVE.

There was a man named Th(»rvald, S(»n of Osvald, son
of Ulf-Oexna Thorerisson. Tliorvald and his son were ob-
liged to leave Jardar' and go to Iceland, on account of
manslaughter. At that time Iceland was generally colo-
nized.- They lirst lived in Drangey, where Tliorvald died.
Then Eric mari'ied Thorhild, daughter of .forund and
Thorbiarg Ivnarrabringa, whom afterward Thorbiorn of
IJaukdalo married. Eric moved from the north, and fixed
his abode in Ericstad opposite Vatshorn. The son of Eric
and Thorhcld was named Leif. But after Eyulf Soers and
Ilohn-Crang Ilafn's murder, Eric was banished from Hauk-
dalc. Erie went westward to 13reidafi(»rd and lived at Oex-
ney in Ericstad. He lent Thorgest his seat-posts,^ and he
could not get them again. He then demanded them. Then
came disputes and hostility between him and Thorgest, which
is told in the history of Eric. Styr Thorgritn's son, Eyulf
of Svinoe, the sons of Brand of Apteltiord and Thorbiorn
Vifilss(jn plead the cause of Eric; Thorder Gellurson and
Thorgeir of Hitardale plead for Thorgest. Eric was declared
outlawed l^y the Thing, and prepared his ship for sea in
Eric's Bay. Styr and the others went with him beyond the
island. [A. D. 9S2.] Then Eric declared it to be his reso-
lution to seek the land which Guimbiorn, Ulf Krage's son,

' South-west of Norway.

* See Colonization of Iceland, in the Introduction.

* See notes to Introduction.

AmKUK'A nv TUK XoitTIIME.V.

saw [A. D. 870] when driven iiitu flio Wcritcrii Ocean,
where he found (iimnljiorn's lidckti, wiyinj;, that if he did
not tiiid tlie hind he would return to his Irieiidi*. Erie set
sail t'roiM Snii'teilsjokui, and t'ouiid land wliieh from itn
ln'i<;ht he called MidjoUnl, imw called IJIaascrk. Thence ho
bailed aloiiji; the shore in a t-ontherly diiectinn, scekiiii,' for
tlie nearest hahitahle land. The liist winter he passed in
Ericseva,' near the middle of the east district. The follow-

m^
seat.

year

he came Into Eriesiiord, where lie tixi'd h

The same summer he expIoriMl the wet'tern desert, and
gave names to many jilaces. The fnllowin^' winter he
passed on a holm opposite Rafiisunipa, and the thii'd year
he came into Iceland and hroiij^ht his shij) int(» lircidationl.
The land which he found, Ik; jiamed (Jreeidand, sayin<r that

men would ho ])ersui

ded t

o go to a land with so go

jod

name.- Eric stayed in Iceland that wintei-, and th(!summer
after he went over to the land which he had tuund, and
fixed his ahodo in Brattaldid in Ericstiord. [A. D. I'SO.]
Men ac(piainted witli affairs, say that this 6am<,' smnmer in
which iM'ic went to settle in Greenland, thirty-five sldps
sailed fr(»m Breiilaliord and Ijoirafjord, of which oidv four-

teen arrived, and tlie rest were driven back or lost, i ins

event took place fifteen winters' before the Christian re-
ligion was established in Iceland. The same summer,
Bishop Frederick and Thorvold Kodraiison went from Ice-

' It is now impossible to identify these localities. The old
view, that what is called the East-bygd, or District, was on
the eastern coast of Greenland, is now abandoned. It is
probable that no settlement was ever etTcctcd on the east
coast, though formerly it was evidently more approachable
than now. See Graah's "Bxpedih'oii."

'•"As we certainly know that Christianity was established in
Iceland in the year A. I). 1000, the final settlement of Eric
and his followers must have taken place during the year as-
signed, viz. : 98o.

''See "Ajitiquitates Americana},'^ p. 15, note <<.

III!

Pre-Columbian Discoveky of

land.* Ainonnf tliose wlio emigrated witli Eric and estab-
lished tlieinselves, were Ileriulf Ileriiilfsfiord who took
lleriulfsiiess, and abude in Ileriiilfsnees, Kctil Ketilstiord,

'Evidently an error. See '^Antiquitatcs Americanw,"' p.
15, note 3. On the state of society in Greenland at this period
the reader may consult Prof. Keyser, from whose work on the
Religion of the Northmen we may give the following, which is
a translation of a part of the Saga of Eric that is given in
Kafn's work:

'• At that time there was a great famine in Greenland.
Those Avho had gone to the wild districts (hunting and fish-
ing) hiid met with little success, on account of the storms and
bad paths. Some had never returned. Tiu'rc was a woman
living in the settlement, whose niinie was Thorbjorg; she was
a Spae-wife, and Avas called the little Vala or Pi-ophctess.
She had nine sisters, of whom she was the only survivor.
Thorbjorg was in the habit of going around to the festivals,
and she was invited chiclly by those who wished to learn their
fate ami the coming seasons. As Thorkel was the best man of
the settlement, it seemed to he incumbent upon him to gain
some information when the i)revailing famine should cease.
Thorkel, therefore, invites the Si)ae-wife to his house and pre-
pares for her a good reception, such as was customary when a
woman of her standing was expected. A cushion was pre-
pared for her; it had to be stulfed witii hen feathers. It was
laid u})on a high seat in the evening, when she came in with
the man who had been sent out to receive her. She was
dressed, on this occasion, as follows : She wore a blue cloak
with fastenings of cords, set with stonos around the border
from top to bottom. Around ln'r neck she had glass beads ;
upon her head a black lambskin hood, lined with white cat-
skin. She carried a staff mounted Avith brass, with the head
inlaid with stones. She was girded with a young bearskin
belt, and to this hung a large pouch in which she kept the
instruments of magic belonging to her occupation. On her
feet she wore shaggy calfskin shoes with long, heavy thongs,
on the ends of which were large br.iss buttons. She had cat-
skin gloves upon her hands, white within, and shaggy. When

■1 J:ii

Ameuica ry tj\e Northmen.

Rafii Rafiislionl. Solvi Solvidale, TTeli:;! Thorbraiulson Alpta-
fi(»nl, Tliorl)j()ni<i;lora Siii'Iefjoi'd, Eiiiar Eiiinrslionl, Ilaf
grim, Ilafgriiiistiord and Vatnaliver, Ai-nlaiiy,', Aridaugs-
fiord and other nicMi went ^o the west district.

she ontorod, every one felt it a dnty to greet her witli rever-
ence; she returned their salutations, according to what she
thought of eaeli iiulividually. Thorkel took the wise; woman
hy the hand, and conducted lier to the seat i)rci)ared for her.
He requested her to cast her eyes over his herds, and jirojierty
and house. She Liaid l)ut little concerning this. In the even-
ing the tabk's were set, und now it shall he toUl what dishes
were made ready for the Spae-wife. There were groats made
of goat's milk; hut her food was ])re})ared from the heart of
every animal in the neighhorhood. She had a brass sjtoon and
a knife of coitper witii a shaft of walrus tootli, and a double
sheath, the point of which was broken off. When the tables
were cleared Thorkell Hondi goes up to Thorbjurg and asks
what she thiidvs of the house and tiie appearance of the people,
and also how soon she will have a revelation concerning the
things lie has asked her about and which the peo])le are all
anxious to know. She answers that she cannot make this
known before morning, after she has slept there over night.
Early in the morning all the arrangements were nuide for her
which belong to the incantation of Seidr. She then asked
them to furnish her with women who knew the magic formulas
of that ceremony, and who are called Vardlokur, /. c, the
watch-guard; but none could be found who knew it, although
inquiry was made at all the neighboring houses. Then (hidrid,
a young girl who was present, said, ' I am not skilled in nnigic,
uor any wise wonum; but my foster-nn^ther in Iceland taught
me a formula, which she called Vardlokur.' Thorkel said,
'Thou art wiser than I thought.' Gr.drid answered, 'This
formula and the proceedings connected M'ith it are of such a
character that I cannot be i)resent to assist with th(!m; for I
am a (Hiristian.' Tliorkel re|)lied, 'Thou coiddst help us in
this nnitter without hartning thyself thereby; I should be glad
to furiush Thorl)jorg what is necessary.' He then ])ersuaded
Gudrid so long that she at length promised to fulfill his wishes.
11

Pre-Columbian Discovery of

if:

.-•\r

The Baptism of Leif the Fortxtnate.

Wlien ihe sixth winter had passed [A. D. 999], since
Eric Red went to hve in Greenland, Leif, son of Eric, wont
over froin Greenland toXorway, and in the antnnm arrived
in Throiidheiin, and came north to King Olaf Trygvesson,'
from Ilegeland, He brought his ship to Nidaros and went
at once to King Olaf. The king comnianded Leif and
some other ])agan men to come to him. They were ex-
horted to accept religion, which the king easily arranged
with Leif, when he and all his sailors were baptized, and
passed the winter with the king, being liberally enter-
tained.

Now Thorbjorg sat upon the witch scat, and the women formed
a circle around her. Gudrid sang the song so beautifully and
well that no one of the bystanders thought that they had ever
heard a fairer song. Even the Spae-wife thought the song
was beautiful to hear, and thanked her for it when done.
* Now,' says Thorbjorg, 'I have reflected upon the matter,
how it will be both with the sickness and the seasons; and
much has now been made clear to me that l)efore was hidden
from me and from others." She then foretold that the famine
and sickness, that were raging, should both disap})ear in the
spring. To Gudrid she prophesied, in return for the services
she had rendered, a very haj)py fate in the future, and also
that a renowned family should be descended from her. After-
ward, ail the company went one after another to consult her
about the future matters that they wished to know, and she
gave thom definite answers. Soon afterward she was invited
to another house, and went hither; and her prophesies con-
cerning the coming events of the year were entirely fulfilled."
'■' The Religion of the Norfhrncji," by Rudolph Keyjcr, p. )i\)2.
' This king propagated Christianity by physical force, and
marked the course of his missionary tours with fire and blood;
which might have been expected from a barbarian just con-
verted from the Av.n'ship of Odin and Thor.

America by the NoiunMEisr.

SECOND NARRATIVE.

Tliorvold the son of Usvold, son of Ulf, son of Oexne-
Tliorer, and liis son, Eric Red, left Jardar in Norway on ac-
count of manslaughter, and took possession of a piece of
land on Ilornastrand [Iceland], and lived there at Orangey.
There Tliorvold died. Eric then married Tliorhild, daughter
of Jorund Atlesou and Thorl)iarg Ivnarrahriiiga, whom
Thorbiorn of Ilaukdale afterward married. Then Eric went
from the north and ploughed the iields in Ilaukdale.
Then he lived in Eriestadt by Vatshorii. There his
thralls^ let a i)iece of rock tumble down over Valthiofs
house in Valthiosfstadt. But his relation, Eyulf Soirs,
killed the thralls at Kneide-Brinke above Vatchorn. For
this cause, Eric killed Eyulf SiWrs. He also killed ilolm-
Ganff Rafn at Leikskaale. Geirstein and Odd at Jorund.

' These thralls were slaves, thougli slavery in Iceland as-
sumed peculiar features. The following, from the ^' thgn of
QisU the Outlaw,'' shows the relation iliat shtves held to free-
men. We read, that on one occasion, (lisli had borrowed a
famous sword of Koll, aiul the latter asked to have it Ijaek,
but Gisli in reply asks if he will sell it, receiving a negative
reply. Then he says: " I will give thee thy freedom and
goods, so that thou mayest fare whither thou wilt with other
men.'' This is also declined, when Gisli continues: " Then
I will give thee thy freedom, and lease, or give thee land, and
besides I will give thee sheep, aud cattle and goods, as much
as thou needest." This he also declines, and Kol, when Gisli
asks him to name a price, offering any sum of money, be-
sides his freedom, and "a becoming match, if thou hast a
liking for any one." But Kol refused to sell it at any price,
which refusal led to a fight, and in the first onset, the slave's
axe sank into Gisli's brain, while the disputed sword, Gvay-
sieel, clove the thick skull of Kol. See the " Sa//a of Gisli
the Outlaw,'' p. 6, F^dinburgh, 1800. Also the Saga of Eric
Red, where Thorbiorn thinks it an indignity that Einar
should ask for th'^ hand of his daughter in marriage, Einar
hcing the sou of a slave.

Plli

Pre-Columbian Discovery of

Eyulf Soirs' relations brought a suit against the slayer. Eric
was then banished from Haukdale and took possession of
the islands, BrokO and Oexno, but lived in Todum at Sy-
dero, the first winter. Then he loaned Thorgest his seat-
posts. Er'.ii moved to Oexno and lived in Ei-icstadt. Then
he demanded his seat-posts, but did not get them. Eric
took them thereafter from l^redobolstad, but Thorgest fol-
lowed him. They fought near the house at Drangey. Two
sons of Thorgest fell, and some other men. Thereafter
tiiey botli kept tlieir followers with them. Styr, Eyulf of
Svino, Thorbrand's sons of Alpteliord. and Thorbion Vitils-
son, were of Eric's party. But Thord Gelleirson, Thorgeir
from Hitardale, Aslak of Langedale, and Hinge's son helped
Thorgest. Eric and his party were sentenced to be ban-
ished at Thorsness Thing. He fitted out a ship in Erics-
fiord, but Eyulf concealed him in Dimonsvaag, while
Thorgest and his men sought after him on the highlands.
Thorbiorn, Eyulf and Styr followed witli Eric out to sea
beyond the islands. He said that he meant to seek the land
Guimbiorn, Ulf Krage's son, saw [A. D. 876] when he
was driven by a storm west from Iceland and found Gunn-
biorn's Rocks ; though he said at the same time if he dis-
covered the land he would return to his friends. [A. D.
982.] Eric laid his course to the west from Snsetieldness,
and approached [Greenland] from the sea to land at Midjo-
kul, in that place that is called Blresark.' From thence he
went along the coast to the south, to see if the land was fit
to live in. The first year he stayed all winter in Erickso,
nearly^ in the middle of the west bygd. The next spring
[A. D. 983] he went to Ericsfiord and there found a dwell-
ing. 'Next summer he went to the west bygd and gave cer-
tain names to many places. The second winter he lived in
Ericshoim, at Hvarfo Fiedspida% and at the third summer
[A. D. 984] he went north to Sna^fiehl, inside of Ilafnsfiord.
He thought then that the place where Ericsfiord bent was
opposite the place where he came. He then returned and

Blue shirt.

Amerioa by the Northmen.

spent the tliird winter m Ericks(") opposi.\ the mouth of
F'-' .sfiorcl. Tlie next sununei' [A. D. OS.Vj ho went to Ice-
land and huided at IJreidatiord. The next winter he stayed
at Holinstater with Ingolf. Next sprii ;;• he foni^lit with
Thorii-est and lost the hattle. That summer Eric bey-an to
settle tlie land which lie had discovered [A. D. ',>8t)J, and
which he called Greenland, because he said that the pco))le
wt)uld not like to move there if the land did not have a
good name.^ Learned men say that twenty-live ships went
that summer to Greenland from Breidaiiord and Bt)i'gaf jord,
but only fourteen arrived. Of the rest, some were driven
back and others were wrecked. This happened fifteen win-
ters before Christianity was introduced into Iceland.

THIKD NARRATIVE.

The land some call Greenland, vvas discovered and
settled from Iceland. Eric the Red was the name of rhe
Breidafiord man who [A. D. 086] went from here [Iceland]
to there, and took possession of that part of the land wiiich
later was called Ericsfiord. lie named the land and called
it Greenland," and said it would encourage people to come
there if the land had a good name. They found there
both east and west, ruins of houses and pieces of boats, and
begun stonework.' From which it is to be seen what kind
of people have lived in Vinland, and which the Greenlanders
call Sknulings and who had been there. He | Eric] began
to settle the land fourteen or fifteen vears before the intro-
duction of Christianity in Iceland. Afterward this was told
of Greenland to Thorkel Gelleirson, by a man who had
himself followed Eric Red.

A7ite, p. Gl.

" Cartier in the Gulf of St. Lawrence gave names that had
been used before.

^ The stonework would point to Europeans, say the Irish,
as stonework was not the characteristic of the SkrivUings.
On the latter see later.

.i : ^

,1 .

Pre-Columbian Discovery or

III. THE VOYAGE OF BIARNE.

Tlie vuyago of Biarne to Greonhuid was attended by
many liardsliips. His vessel was blown away from the
course during a storm, at wiiich time he saw tlio shores of
tlie American Continent, yet lie made no attempt to land.
Of this voyage we have two versions. The first is a trans-
lation of a passage from Codex Flatoiensis^ given in Aiiti-
quitates AmericarKC, p. IT- The second is taken from
GriJnlaniVs Jlidoriske Mm(Usmi2rkei\ or " Greenland's
Historical Monuments, i, 180-1." The date of this voyage
is fixed by the fact that Biarne sailed the same season that his
father settled in Greenland, which, as we learn from the
narrative of Eric, was in the year i)S5, There is a complete
agreement, in the main points, between this account and the
preceding.

|! in

FIRST NARRATIVE.

Heriulf was the son of Bai'd, Heriulf's son. who was a
relation of Ingolf the Landnamsman.' Ingolf gave Heriulf
land between Vog and Ileikianess. Heriulf dwelt first at
Dropstock. His wife was called Thorgird, and their son
was called Biarne." He was a promising young man. In
his earliest youth he had a desire to go abroad, and he soon
gathered property and reputation ; and was by turns a year
abroad, and a year with his father. Biarne was soon in pos-
session of a merchant ship of his own. The last winter
[A. D. 985J while he was in Norway, Heriulf prepared to
go to Greenland with Eric, and gave up his dwelling. There
was a Christian man belonging to the Hebudes along with
Heriulf, who composed the Lay called the llafgerdingar'^
Song, in which is this stave :

' Original settler or freehoklcr, whose name and possessions
were rcorded in the Landanama-book.
' Boar.
* This poem no longer exists. Its subject, the Hafgerdingar,

America by the Northmen. 87

May he whose hand protects so well
The simple inouk in lonely cell,
And o'er the world uiiholiis thci sky,
His own blue hall, still stuud me by,'

rieriulf settled at Ileriiilfiiess [A. D. 985] and beeaiuo a
very distiiiujuished man. Erie lied t(X)k u\) his abode at
Brattlialid, and was in great consideration, and honored by
all. These were Eric's children : Leif. Thorvold, and Thor-
stein ; and his daughter was called P'revdis, She was married
to a man called Thorvald, and they dwelt at Gardar, which
is now a bishop's seat.'' She was a haughty, proud woman ;
and he was but a mean man. She was much given to
gathering wealth. The people of Greenland were heathen
at this time. Biarne came over the same summer [A. D.
985] with his ship to the strand ' which his father had

is doscribod as a fearful body of water, " which sometimes
rises in the sea near Greenland in such a way that three large
rows of waves inclose a ])art of the sea, so that the ship, inside,
is in the greatest danger." — Grunland's Hixioriskv Miudis-
mcprker, vol. i, p. 2(j4l. There does not appear to be any bet-
ter foundation for this notion of the Ilafgerdingar than for
the old accounts of the Maelstrom, once 8uj)posotl to exist on
the coast of Norway. The Hafgardingar may have originated
from seeing the powerful effect of a cross sea acting on the
tide.

' To this translation may be added another in metre, by

Beamish:

O thou who triest holy men !

Now guide me on my wnj',
Lord of the earth's wide vault, extend

Thy gracious hand to me.

This appears to be the earliest Christian prayer thus far
found in connection with this period of American liistory.

-' See later on this subject,

^ JEyrar. Th's is not the name of a place — for Ileriulf
dwelt in Iceland at a place called Dropstock — but of a nat-
ural feature of ground; eyri, still called an ayre in the Ork-

Pre-Columbian Discovery op

Sillied abroad from in tlio s]>ring. Tie was inucli struck
with the news, and would not unl»»ad his vessel. When his
crew asked him what ho intended to do, he replied that
he was resolved to follow his old custom l»y taking up his
winter abode with his father. "So J will steer for Gi-een-
land if ye will iro with me." They one and all agreed to go
with him. Iiiarne said, " Our voyage will l)e thought fool-
ish, as none of iis have been on the Greeidand sea before."
Nevertheless they set out to sea as soon as they were ready,
and sailed for three days, until they lost sight of the land
they left. I'ut when the wind failed, a north wird with
fog set in, and they knew not where they were sailing to;
and this lasted many days. At last they saw the sun, and
could distinguish the quarter of the sky ; so they hoisted sail
again, and sailed a whole day and night, ^v)len they made
land. Tliey s])oke among theinselves what tiiir, land could
be, and Biarne said that, in his opinion, it could not be Green-
land. On the question, if he should sail nearer to it, he said,
"It is my advice that we sail up close to the lund." They
did so ; and they soon saw that the land was without moun-
tains, was covered Avith woods, and that there were small
hills inland.' They left the land on the larboard side, and

ney islands, being a flat, sandy tongue of land, suitable for
landing and drawing u]i boats upon. All ancient dwellings
in those islands, and probably in Iceland also, arc situated so
as to hav/' the advantage of this kind of natural wharf, a '
the spit of land called an ayre, very often has a small lake oi
pond inside of it, which shelters boats. — Labig.

' This we will accept as Labrador, and in the account we
notice that in this Saga the inland elevations are not consid-
ered mountains, though Leif in his account as we shall see
s})eaks of them as " large snowy mountains of the country."
The main feature of a high region characterizes both ac-
counts, and this undesigned coincidence will have more effect
upon the mind than the narratives would have aiforded, if
both had used the same language. Besides we are not to
suppose that Biarne and Leif saw the land in the same

America hy the Noutiimen.

had tlieir sheet on the laiKl.sitle. Then they saiUnl two days
and nights l)efore they <fnt slight of land a<ijain. They asked
Biarne if he thought tliis would !)e Cireuidand ; hut he <;avo
his o[)ini(»ti that tlie land was no more (ireenlaiid than the
hvnd they liad seen hefore. " Vov on (TiHienland, it is said,
there arc great snow mountains," They soon canio near to
the land, and saw that it was Hat and covered with trees.*
Now, as tlie wind fell, tlic ship's people talked of its heing ad-
visahle to make for the land ; Itut Biaruo wouM not agree to
it. They thought that they would need womi and water;
hut Biarne said : " Ye are n(»t in w;intof either.'' Tlie men
hlamed him for this. He ordered them to hoist the ail,
which was done. They now turned the ship's bow from
the land, and kept the sea for three days and nights, with
a fine breeze from south-west. Then they saw a third la ml,
which was high and mountainous, aiul with snowy moun-
tains. Then they asked Biarne if he would land here; but
he refused altogether: " PV^r in my opinion this land is not
what we want." - Now they let the sails stand and ke])t

])lace, and at same point the inland hills would deserve the
name of mountains more than others. Lcif s narrative in-
correctly calls this the last point visited by Biarne before
reaching (ireeidand. Ilelluland the "(ireut '' and the " Lit-
tle" were names applied to Labrador and Newfoundland.
The Sagas furnish the correction. See the notes on the
voyage of Leif which follow. Still it must be confessed
that the statements are obscure, like many English narra-
tions of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.
' The " Markland " of Leif.

^ The details of this voyage are very simple, yet whoever
throws aside his old time prejudices, and considers the whole
subject with the care which it deserves, cannot otherwise than
feel persuaded that Biarne was driven upon this Continent,
and that the land soon was the coast of that great territory
which stretches l)etween Massachusetts and Newfoundland,
for there is no other land to answ('r the descri])tion. Of
course no particular merit can be claimed for this discovery.

PliK-COLUMBrAN DISCOVERY OF

jilorii; tlic land and saw it was an inland.' Tlicn tliey
turned from tlio land and stood out to sea witli the
saniG l)reezu ; hut tlio ^alo increased, :ind r.iarne ordered
a reef to be taken in, and not to sail harder than the
ship and her ta(;kle eonld easily bear. After sailini?
three days and nii^hts, they niade, tlu* tVnirth time, land;
and when tluiy asked Biarne if he tlion<^ht this was Green-
land or not, Hiarnc replied: "This is most like what has
been told me of (Jreeidand ; and here we shall take to the
land." They did so, and came to the land in the eveniriir,
under a neas, where they fonnd a boat. On this ness dwelt
Biarne's father., Ileriidf ; and from that it is called Tleriulf-
nesB. Biarne went to his fathei-'s, irave np sea-flaring, and
after his father's death, continued to dwell there when at
home.

SECOND NARRATIVE.

A man named Ilcvinlf, son of Bard, son of Heriulf," a
relation to Landnainsman Iiif^^olf, who gave the last-named
Ilerinlf the piece of land that lies between Vaag and Kei-
kiancss. The younger Heriulf went to Greenland, when
Erie Red began to settle there, and on his ship was a
Christian man from the South Islands [the Hebrides] who
was the author of the poem, I[av(jerdin<jcu\ in which was
the following verse :

I to tlio monk's protector pray
That lio will give my voyage luck I
The heaven's great Ruler
Save mo from danger .

It was also accidental, something like the discovery of Amer-
ica by Columbus, who, in look.ng for the East Indies,
stumbled upon a new world. Yet Biarnc's discovery soon led
to substantial rcstdts.

' The present Island of Disco, called in the Saga of Karl-
sefue " Riarney."

'' This piece makes no reference to the voyage of Biarne,
but confirms important statements in the first narrative.

AmERK'A hy thm Nouthmkn".

Ucriult" took piwscssioii of lluriiiUrttidrd, uiid lu-ciuiie oiio
of tiu; ciiicit" moil. Eric RimI took to liiiiisclf Ei'icsfiwrd, and
lived ill Brattiihlid, and Leif, liirf eon, after his death. Thotjo
men wlio at the same time went away with Eric took pos-
session of the foUowin^ pieces of land: Ilcrinlf Ili-rinlfs-
fiord, and ho lived in Herinlfness, Ketil Ketilsllord, Kafn
llafnsfiurd. SiUve !S("»lv(,'dale, Snorro Thor])ran(lson Alptt'-
iiord, Tliorl)iorni;'lora Si<ijletioi'd, Einar Einarsiiord, Ilav.
grim llavgrimsliord and V'atnaliverfe, Arnlang Arnlan!;,iiord;
hut some went to the west hygd. A man named Thoikel
Farserk, cousin to Eric Red on their mother's side, went to
Greenland with Eric, and took ])ossession of ITvalsoliord,
together witli the greater ])art of the ])lece of land hetwecn
Eyolfsfiord and Einurstiord, and lived in Ihalusolirde. Emm
him came tlie IlvalsiWiord people, lie was very strong.
Once Eric IL.l visited him, and he would welcome his
guest in the host way possible, but he ha<l no boats at hand
which he could use. He had to swim out to Jlvalso, and
get a full-grown slieep,' and carry it tm his ba(;k liomc
to his house. It was a good half mile. Thorkel was buried
in a cave in the field of llvalsoliord.

IV. LEIF'S VOYAGE TO VINLAND.

This voyage is recorded in the Flatu Manuscript, and is
given in Antiquitates Amerwame, pp. 20-40. It contains the
account of the voyage of Leif, son of Eric the Red, who,
following out the hints of Biarnc, sailed to discover the

' Considerable has been said at various times in opposition
to these accounts, because cattle and sheep, and sometimes
horses, arc mentioned in connection with Greenland. Some
have supposed that, for these reasons, tlic Hnga nnist bi' in-
correct. Yet, in more modern times, tliere has been nothing
to prevent the people from keeping such animals, though it
haf been found better to substitute dogs for horses. Cruntz

IMAGE EVALUATION
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*li

Pre-Columbtax Discovery of

new land, wliicli he eailed Vinland, on iiccount of the ([uan-
titv of vines that ho found i'l-owiiiy: wild. Several extracts
are a|)j)ended, beeause of interest in connection with the
siiltject. The Saga of Eric was written in Greeidand, a
fact not to be overlooked, that of Thorfinn having been
composed in Iceland.'

[A. D. i^sih.] It is next to be told that Biarnc Ileriulfson
came over from Greeidand to Norway, on a visit to Earl
Eric, who received him well. I>iarne tells of this expedition
of his, in which he had discovered unknown land ; and peo-
ple thought he had not been very curious to get knowledge,
as he could not give any account of those countries, and he

says, that in "tlie year 1759, one of our missionaries brought
tlircc sheep with him from Denmark to new llerrnliuth.
These liave so increased by bringing some two, some three
lambs a year, that they have been able to kill some every year
since, to send some to Lichtonfels, for a beginning there, and,
after all, to winter ten at present. We may judge how vastly
sweet and nutritive the grass is here, from the following
tokens: that tlio' tliree lambs come from one ewe, tliey are
larger, even in autumn, than a sheep of a year old in Ger-
many." lie says that in the summer they could i)asture two
hundred sheep around New Herrnhuth; and tliat they form-
erly kept cows, but tliat it pro"ed too much trouble. — Hu-
tory of Greenland, vol. i, page 7-i.

'There are discrepancies between the Saga of Eric and his
soirS, and tliosc relating to Thorfinn, of such a nature as to
leave no doubt tluit they must have come to us from two
wholly distinct sources. Torfanis was the first to direct at-
tention to these discrepancies, at the same time remarking
that they were of a nature to confirm rather than to disprove
the statements. The Eric Sagas were evidently composed in
Greenland, while those rehting to Thorfinn had their origin
in Iceland. The discrepancies are in themselves of very little
consequence, but they serve to establish the important fact
that the Sagas of Eric and oi Thorfinn must be received as
two independent authorities." North American Revieio, vol.
cxix, pp. 265-72. See ante, p. 63.

AmEHIC.V HY TIIK NoilTHMBX.

was somewliat l)laine<l on this account. [A. I), J^Sf).] niiirne
was made a Court man of the earl.aiMl the summer after he
went over to Greenhmd ; and afterward there was nmeh
talk about discoverini^ unknown lands. Lcif, a son of Eric
Red of Brattahlid, wont over' to Biarne lleriulfson, and
boufirht the ship from him, and nuinned tlie vessel, so that
in all, there were thirty-five men on board. Leif l)e,"i;ed his
father Eric to ^o as commander of the expedition ; but he
excused himself, saying he was getriiiir old, and not so able
as formerly to undergo the hardship of a sea voyage. Leif
insisted that he among all their relations was the most likely
to have good luck on sucii an expedition ; and Ei-ic con-
sented, and rode from home with Leif, when they had got
all ready for sea; but as they were getting near the ship,^
the horse on which Eric was riding, stumbled, and he fell
from his horse' and hurt his foot. " It is destined," said
Eric, that I should never discover more lands than this of
Greeidand, on which we live ; and now we must not run
hastily into this adventure.'" Eric ac^iordingly returned

' lie must have gone over to Greenland from Norway then,
as in the year 1000, he returned and introduced Christianity
into Greenland. The language used is iiuloflnite.

* One recension of the Saga of Erie the Kod, states that he
went with Leif on his voyage to Vinland. Finn Magmisscn
says that the error arose from a change of one letter in
a pair of short words. See G rmlancV s Historiskf Mimles-
mcBrker, vol, i, p. 471. In a similar way the change may
liave been made which meorrectly represents Leif as coming
firsi to the hisf point visited by Biarne.

* Horses could be kept in Greenland now, only with much
expense. It appears that anciently it was not so. Un-
doubtedly there has been more or less of change in climate,
during the last thousand years by the procession of the
equinox. Geologists find evidence that at one ])eriod, a highly
tropical climate must have existed in the northern regions.
Fossil figs and tropic trees are among the wonders of Green-
land.

* Superstition was the bane of the Northman's life. lie

lift

Pre-Columrian DrscovETiY of

home to Hnittalilid, but Leii, with lii.s coinnulce in all
thirty-Hvo mon, ri^^cd out their vessel. There was a inau
from the south country called Tyrker,' with the exjiedition.
[A. D. lOOO.J They put the ship in order, and went to sua
when they wore ready. They first came to the land which
Hiarne had last [first] (uscovered," sailed up to it, cast
ancli(jr, put out a boat and went on shore; but there was no
f^rass to be seen. There were large snowy mountains' up
the country ; but all the way from the sea up to these snowy
ridges, the land was one field of snow, and it appeared to
them a country of no advantages. Leif said : " It ohall not
be said of us, as it was of Biarne, that we did not come upon
the land ; for I will give the country a name, and call it Ilel-
luland.^ Then they went on board again and put to sea, and
found another land. They sailed in toward it, put out a boat
and landed. The country was flat, and overgrown with
wood ; and tlie strand far around, consisted of white sand,
and low toward tlie sea. Then Leif said : " AVe shall give
this land a name according to its kind, and called it Mark-
land.' Then they hastened on board, and put to sea again

was also a lirm believer in Fate. The doctrines of Fate held
the (inest Xorthern minds in a vice-like grasp, so that in
many cases their lives were continually overshadowed by a
i;reat sorrow. One of the saddest ilhistrations of tliis belief
may be found in the iSaga of Grettir the Strong (given in
Barmg-Gould's \vor!c on Iceland), a Saga in which the doc-
trine appears with a power that is well nigh api)alling.

' Some suppose that he was a Gorman, others claim that he
was a Turk, as Jiis name might indicate.

"Ante, p. 86.

''Snowy mountains, Joklar miklir, such as Chappcll men-
tions having been seen on tlie coast, June 14, 1818.

* Ilolluland, from Helta, aflat stone, an abundance of which
may be found in Labrador and the region round about. But
it shoidd be noted that the country between the sea and the
mountains or iiills was level. Ante, p. SU, note 2.

•"This agrees with the general features of Nova Scotia. The

AmEUICA ItY THE XORTIIMKN.

with tlie wind from the north-east, anil were out for two duvs
and made land. Tliey sailed tuwiu-d it, and came to an
island' which lay on the north side of the land, where they

Norlh American Pilot describes tlie land around llaliiax, as
"lev in general, and not visible twenty miles off; except
from the (juarter-deck of a seventy-four. AW^togon hills
have a long, level apitearanee, between Cape liCTIave and Port
Mcdway, the coast to the seaward being level and low, and the
shores with white rocks and low, barren i»oitits; from thence
to Shelburne and Port Koseway, are woods. Near Port Ilaldi-
nian^ are several barren places, and thence to Cape Sable,
whicli makes the south-west i)oint into Barrington P>ay, a low
and woody island." Ant iquilatcs Americana', \). \'i'<\. Mark-
land is therefore sujjimaed, with great reason, to be Nova Scotia,
so well described, both in the Saga, and in the Coast Pilot.
Markland means woodland. Two days sail thence, brought
them in view of Cape Cod, though very likely the sading time
is not correct.

' This island has given the inter])reters considerable trouble,
from the fact that it is said to lie to the northward of the land.
Professor Kafn, in order to identify the island with Nan-
tucket, shows that the north point of the Icelandic compass
lay toward the east. But this does not fairly meet the case.
There would, perhaps, have been nodilViculty in the intoriuv-
tation, if the Northern Antiquaries had been accpiainted with
the fact, that in early times an island existed northward from
Nantucket, on the opposite coast of Cape Cod. This island,
together with a large })oint of land, which now has also disap-
peared, existed in the times of Gosnold, who sailed around
Capo Cod, in 1GU2. At one time some doubt existed in regard
to the truthfulness of the accounts of this island, for the
reason that those portions of hind described, no longer existed.
Yet their positions were laid down with seientilic accuracy;
the outer portion of the island being called Point Care, while
the other point was called Point Gilbert. Neither Archer nor
Brereton in their accounts of Gosnold's voyage, give any name
to the island; but Captain John Smith, in 1014, calls it "Isle
Nawset." Snuth's JJi.sfory of Vir(jinia, vol. ii, p. 183. This

PUE-COLUMUIAN DISCOVERY 01"

disembarked* to wait for <,'()()d weather. There was dew
upon tlio ijrass ; and, liaviii<^ aeeideiitly gotten some of the
dew upon their haiitls and put it in tlieir mouths, tliey

ishvnd was of the drift fonuation, and, as hite as half a ecntui'y
ago, a portion of it still remained, being called Slut Bush.
The subject has been very carefully gone over by Mr. Otis, in
his pamphlet on the Dinrooery of an Ancient Ship on Gape
Cod. Professor Agassiz, writing Docember 17, 1863, aays:
" Surprising and perhaps incredible as the statements of Mr.
Amos Otis may appcnr, they are nevertheless the direct and
natural inference of the observations which may be easily made
along the eastern coast of Cape Cod. Having of late felt a
special interest in the geological structure of that renuirkablo
region, I have re])eatedly visited it during the past summer,
and, in company with Mr. Otis, examined, on one occasion,
with the most minute care, the evidence of the former ex-
istence of Isle Nauset and Point Gilbert. I found it as satis-
factory as any geological evidence can be. Besides its scientific
interest," he adds, " this result has some historical import-

' In speaking of the immediate vicinity of Wonder -strand,
the second account of Thorfinn's exi)edition, says : " There
were places without harbors," which has always been the case,
this coast being dangerous; yet it is said above that *' they
landed to wait for good weather." This would be impractica-
ble now, except at Chatham; yet at that day, notwithstand-
ing the absence of harbors, they would find accommodation
for their small vessel somewhere between the island and the
mainland. From Bradford's Hidory, p. 217, we learn that
in 163G-7, there was at this place " a small blind harbore "
that "lyes aboute y" middle of Manamoyake Bay," which to-
day is filled up by recently formed sandy wastes and salt
meadows. This *' bliiul harbore," had at its mouth a treach-
erous bar of sand. If this harbor had existed in the days of the
Northmen, they would not of necessity discover it; and hence
while Lcif might have landed hero and found protection,
Thorfinn, in his nnich larger ship, might have found it need-
ful to anchor, as he api)ears to have done, in the grounds be-
tween Isle Nauset and Point Gilbert, while explorations were
being made on the land.

America ijy the Noutumen.

tlioiight that they had never tasted any thing so sweet as it
was.' Then they went on hoard an<l sailed into a sound-

ance. At all events it fully viiidicatos Archer's account of
the aspect of Cape (Jod, at the time of its discovery in KUri,
and shows him to have been a trutiiful aiui accurate uhserver."
But possibly the vindication mav extend back even to the
Northmen, whom the learned professor and his eo-laborers did
not have in miml; es{)ecially as this discovery will helj* very
materially to explain their descriptions. Now, in tlu' aecouiils
of Thortinn Karlsefne's passage around this part of the Vin-
land, it is said that they called the shore Wondci'-drand, " be-
cause they were so long going by." Any one in sailing past
the coast to-day will be struck witii its length. Hut by
glancing at a reconstructed map of Cape Cod, the reader will
find that the coast line is greatly increased, so that in order to
l)ass aronnd the cape, the navigator must sail a longer distance
than now. Comparing tJie distance travelled with the distance
gained, the Northmen might well grow weary, and call it
'•Wonder-strand." Our knowledge of this island (piite re-
lieves the difficulty that was felt by Professor llafn, who
labored to show that the island in question was Nantucket,
notwithstanding the fact that it lay too far east. For a fuller
knowledge of Isle Nausct, see Ncw-Enrjland Ifi.ston'cal and
Geneahfiicnl lief/ister, vol. xviii, p. 37; and Massachusetts
Historical (hlhctions, vol. viii, series in, pp. 73-93. " Webb's
Island," which existed at the close of the last century, was
the remains of Gosnold's "Point Gilbert." The peoi)le of
Nantnckct formerly used to cut wood there. See Morse's
Universal Gazetteer, vol. i, p. 357, P]d. 1783. Capt. Vetch
anchored under Webb's Island Nov. IG, 1701. See O'Cal-
laghan's curious and interesting monograph: "77/e Voyage
of the Sloop Mary,'" Munsell, Albany, 18GG. O'Callaghan
says that " it has since been swallowed up by the Sea." " Sloop
Mary," pp. ix and 27, also Maxs. J/a*;. (111-151), Avhich says,
"The water is six fathoms deep on this si)ot."

' '* Honey dew," says Dr. Webb, " occurs in this neighbor-
hood." — Antiqnitatcs Aitierirama, ]>. 4-13.

* This sound may have been the water between Point Gil-
bert and Isle Nausct.
13

PUE-COLUMBIAN I)lS( OVKUY 01"

that was hetwceii the isliuid and a ncss' that went out
nortliward from the hind, and sailed westward" past the
nes8. There was very shaUow^ water in ebh ti(h% no that
their ship hiy dry; and there was a h)ni^ way between their
siiii) and the watei'. They were so (h'sirons to i;et to the
land that they would not wait till their ship floated, hut ran
to the land, to a plaec where a riyer eonios out of a lake.
As soon as their ship was afloat they took the boats, rowed
to the ship, towed her up the river,' and from thence into
the lake,'' where they cast anchor, carried their i)eds out of
the ship, and set up their tents. They resolved to put
tilings in order for wintering there, and they erected a large

' Archer says in his account of (JosnoUl's voyage: ** Twelve
leages from [the end ofj Cape Cud, we descried a i)oint
[Point GilhcrtJ with some ])rcach, a good distance olf.*' It
is said that the ness, or cape, went out norfhward hut we
must remember that easticitrd is meant.

'This is ])reeisely tlie course they would steer after doub-
ling tluit ness or ca})c which existed in Closuold's day, and
which he named Point (lilbert. The author docs not agree
with Professor Kafn, in making this point to be at the
eastern entrance to liu/zard's bay. II' lie had known of the
existence of the Isle Nausct, he would not have looked for
the ness in tluit neighborhood. At that time Cape Malabar
probably did not exist, as we know how rapidly land is
formed in the vicinity; yet it would not have attracted
notice in comparison with the great broad point mentioned
by Archer.

' After i)as3ing Point Gilbert, shoal water may almost any-
where be found, which appears to have been the ease
anciently.

* The river may have been Seaconnet passage and Pocasset
river.

' This lake is thought to ansAver Mount Hope Bay. The
writer of the Saga passes over that part of the voyage imme-
diately following the doubling of the ness. The tourist in
traveling that way by rail will at first take Mount Hopo Bay
for a lake.

A.MKIUCA IIY THE NOUTHMKN.

lioiisc. They did not want for salniun,' Itotli in tlic river
and in tlu; lako ; and they thuiight the sai'.iKtn lar^'er than
any they had ever seen i>ei"ure. The (jonntry appeart'd tu
them of so 'rood a kind, that it would not be necessary to
gather fodder for tlit cattle for winter.' There was no frost in
winter/ and the grass was not much witliered. Day and night
were more etiual tiuvn in Greenhind and Icehmd : for on the
shortest day the sun was in the sky between Kyktarstail'

' 8ahnon were formerly so plentiful in this vicinity, that it
is said a rule was made, i)roviding that masters should not
oblige their apprentices to cat this fish more than twice a
week. Still I may repeat arpiotatiou from llcury V (1st A., se.
4, 5): "I warrant you shall lind in the comparisons between
Macedon and Monmouth that the situation, look you, is both
alike. There is a river at Macedon, and there is also nun-e-
overariverat Monmouth; it is called Wye at Monmouth,
but it is out of my i)rains what is the name of the other river,
but 'tis all one; 'tis alike as my lingers is to my lingers, and
there is salmon in both."

'It is well known that cattle in that vicinity can pass the
winter with little or no shelter, and the shee]) on Nantucket,
can, when necessary, take care of themselves.

•'This is ail exaggeration, or, possil)ly the writer, who was
not with the expedition, meant to convey the idea that there
was no frost, comiiared with what was experienced in Green-
land and Iceland. The early narrator of the voyage uiu|ues-
tionably tried to make a good impression as regards the
climate. In so doing, he has been followed by nearly all who
have come after him. Eric the lied told some almost fabu-
lous stories about the climate of Greenland; and yet, because
his accounts do not agree with facts, who is so foolish as to
deny that ho ever saw Greenland ? "With as much reason we
might deny that Lcif came to Vinlaiul. With ecpud reason,
too, we might deny that Morton was ever at Merry Mount;
for he tells us, in his Xeio English ('anann, that coughs and
colds are unknown in New England. Lieutenant-(rovernor
Dudley of Massachusetts complained of false representations
in his day. " J'ootprints of Miles Standish," p. 24.

<This passage was misunderstood by Torfa.'us, the earliest

100

Pre-Columhtan DisoovEnY of

and the Dii^iiiHlfistiid. Now when tlii'v wt^ro roiuly with
their house liiiihlin;^, I A. D. lool] Leif said to his feHow
travelers : '' Now 1 will (Hvide the crew into two divisions
and explore the eoimtry. Half shall stay at home and do

writer who inquired into these questions. Ho was followed
hy IV'ringskiold, Maltc-Hrun and otlicrs, who, by their rcekoii-
iug, made the latitude of Vinland somewhere near Nova
Scoti Yet the recent studies of Rafn and Finn Magnus-
sen, have elucidated the ])oint: ''The Nt)rthmen divided the
heavens or horizons into eight primiipal divisions, and the
times of the day according to the sun's ai)i)arent motion
through those divisions, the passage through each of whicli
they supposed to occupy a period of three hours. The di;y
was therefore divided into i)ortions of time eorresi)onding
with these eight divisions, each of which was called an cykt,
signifying an eighth part. This cykt was again divided, like
each of the grand divisions of the heavens, into two smaller
and equal portions, called sluiul or mnl. In order to deter-
mine these divisions of time, the iidiahitant of each place
carefully observed the diurnal course of the sun, and noted
the terrestrial objects over whicli it soouied to stand. Such
an object, wluithor artificial or natural, was called by the Ice-
landers dagsmark (daymark). Tluy were also led to make
these daymarks by a division of the horizon according to the
principal winds, as well as by the wants of their domestic
economy. The shepherd's rising time, for instance, was
called llirdis rismdU which corresponds with half-past four
o'clock, A. M., and this was the beginning of the natural day
of twenty-four hours. Reckoning from Hlrdix ri.smdl the eight
stiind or eighth half cykt ended at just half-past four p. m.; and
thereforethisparticular period was called ««r' eSoxf'fv, eykt.
This eykt, strictly speaking, commenced at three o'clock, p.m,.
and ended at half-past four p. m., when it was said to be in
eyktarsfadr or the tcvimmition of the eykt. The precise mo-
ment that the sun appeared in this i)lace indicated the termina-
tion of the artificial day {dngr) and half the natural day {dagr)
and was therefore held especially deserving of notice; the hours
of labor, also, are supposed to have ended at this time. Six
o'clock, A. M., was called midr morgun ; half-past seven a.

AmBHK'A. HY THK NOHTnMKK.

101

the work, and the otlior half sluiH .m-uivIi tlio Iiiiid ; but no
tliiit tliev do not <(o J"iirfli('r tl>;m tlicv c'lii cmmk' back in tbo
uveiiin;,', imd that thoy do not wiin<ler froin eudi otli.r."
This thuy eontiniiod to (h) for sonio tiniu. I.eif dian^^t'd
Hl)Oiit, soinutirnuH with thuni and sonictiini's witli those at
home. Loif was a stout and sti-oni; man and of manly ap-
j»earancu, and was, besides, a prudent and sagacious man in
all respciets.

It happened one evening' that a man of tin; party was
missini,', and it was the south eountryman, Tyrker. Lcif
was very sorry for this because Tyrker had lon«; been in
liis father's lionse, and ho loved Tyrker in his childhood.
Leif blamed his comrades very much, and proposed to
^o with twelve men on an expedition vo tind him; but
thoy had ^'one only a short way from the station when Tyr-
ker came to moot them, and ho was joyfully receive<l. i.eif
soon jjerceived that his foster father' was quite merry.

M., Ihtjimal ; nine \. ^t., Pai/rerdantKiL Winter was consid-
ered to commence in Iceland about the seventeenth of October,
and Bishop Tliorlacius, the calculator of the astronomical
calendar, tixcs sunrise in the south of Iceland on the seven-
teenth of October, at half-past seven A. M. At this hour,
according to the Saga, it rose in Vinland on the siiortest day,
and set at half past four i'. m., wlii(;h data tix the latitude of
the place at 41° 43' 10' being nearly that of .Mount Hope
Bay." Sec .\fcm. Anfu/. du Nord, 18:30-7, p. KJo. Uafn's
calculations make the position 41° 24' 10". It is basisd on
the view that the observation was made m Vinland when oidy
the upper portion of the disc had appeared above the horizon.
The difference, of course, is not important. Thus wc know
the position of the Icelandic settlement in New England. See
Antiquitates Americanm, p. 430. Also a dilTorent view in
Clcasby's Icelandic Dictionary, p. 135.

*In those turbulent times children were not brought up at
home, but were sent to be trained up in the families of trusty
friends. This was done to preserve the family line. Often,
in some bloody feud, a whole household would be destroyed,
yet the children being out at foster, would be preserved and

lull

1
ii

102

PllE-CoLUMHIAN l)l.Sn)VKKY OF

T^rkn- liud ii liiyli fort'Iu^iul, 8li!ir|» uyos, with ii siimll fiice,
ftiul was littlo in si/.e, and Ui^lv ; l)iit was verv doxteruiis in all
feats.' Ix'if said to hiin, " Why art thou ho late, my foster

ill duo time coiru' to re])rt'soiit tlie I'amily. In lioif's day
licalhcnisia and lawk'ssiicss woro on tlic decline. Wo havo a
true i)iotui'o given us hy Dasscnt, of the way in which ehiUlron
were treated in the heathen age. lie Hays : " Witii us, an
old house can stand uixm a crooked as well as ui)on a straight
suptjort. Hut in Iceland, in the tenth century, as in all the
hranches of that great family, it was oidy healthy children
that were allowed to live. 'JMie del'ormetl, as a hurden to
tlu'inselves, their friends and to society, were consigned
to destruction hy ex[>osure to the violence of the elements.
This was the father's stern right, and though the mothers
of that age were generally hiest with robust olTspring, still
the right was often exercised. As soon as it was born,
the infant was laid upon the bare gronnd, and, until the father
came and looked at it, heard aiul saw that it was strong in
lung and limb, took it ui) in his arms and handeil it over
to the nurse, its fate hung in the balance aiul life or death
de])ended ui)on the sentence of its sire. That danger over,
it was duly washeil, signed with the Thunderer's [Thor's]
holy hammer — the symbol of all manliness ami strength —
and solemnly received into the family as the faithful cham-
pion of tile ancient gods. When it came to be named there
was what we should call the christening ale. There was
saddling, mounting and riding among kith and kin. Cousins
came in bands from all points of the compass: dependents,

' There is nothing in this to indicate that Tyrker was in-
toxicated, as some have absurdly sup[)osed. In this far off
land he found grai)es, which powerfully reminded him of his
native country, and the association of ideas is so strong, that
when he tirst meets Leif, he breaks out in the language of his
childhood, and, like ordinary epicures, expresses his joy,
which is all the more marked on account of his grotesque
appearance. Is not this a stroke of genuine nature, something
that a writer, framing the account of a fictitious voyage,
would not dream of ? Similar cases arc found in literature.

AMEIUCA in TilE NuhTHMEN.

loa

father ? and wliv *li<lst tlioii leave thv coiiu'iKlort ? " lie flixtko
at first loii^ ill (leniiuii, rolled Ids eves and kidt hid l)rnW8;
hilt they could n<tt niak(! out what ho was sayinir. After a
while, and sonic delay, he said in Norse, "I did not ;^o much
further than they ; and yet I have fomcthint^altoi^cther new
to relate, for I found vines and grapes."' " Is that true, my
foster futliiM" r' said Li'if. '* Ves, true it is," answerc(| he,
" for I was horn where there was no scarcity of ^^rapes."
They slept all ni<;lit, and the next niorninij I.i'if said to his
ujen, " Now weshall have two occupations to attcMid to, an<l
day ahout ; namely, to <^ather i^rape> or cut vini;s, and to fi'll
wood in the forest to lade our vessel.'' This advice; was
followed. It is related that their ^terii hoat was tilled with
grapes, and then a ear^o of wood was hewn for the ves-
sel." Towards spring they made ready and sailed away, and

frecdnien and tliralls all mustered stroii;;:. 'i'lieale is broached,
the hoard is set, and the hciiches are throii;^ed with ^jucsts;
the ndrth and revelry arc at the hi;,'lu'st, when in strides into
the hall a being of awful power, in whom that simple a^^eset
full faith. This was the Xorne, the wandering propheti'ss,
sybil fortune teller, a woman to whom it was given to know
the weirds of men, and who had come to do honor to the
child, and tell his fortune .... After the cl ild was named,
ho was often put out to foster with some neighbor, his father's
inferior in power, and there he grew up with the ehildreii of
the liousC; and contracted those friendships and alTections
which were reckoned better and more binding than the ties
of blood." — Antiquaires dti Xoril, 1859, |)p. S-li.

' Grapes grow wild almost everywhere on this coast. They
may be found on Cape Cod ripeiung among the scrub oaks,
even within the reach of the ocean siu'av, where the author
has often gathered them.

"In Peringskiold's Heimskringln, which Lai ng has followed
in translating Leif's voyage for his a})pendix, this statement
of the cutting of wood is supplemented by the following
statement : " There was also self-sown wheat in the llclds,
and a tree which is called massur. Of all these they took
samples; and some of the trees were so large that they were

5 '

\' :'

! I

'll (!

if;

to«

Pre-Columbian Discovery oj

Lcif f^ave the conntrj' a name from its products, and called
it Vinland.' They now sailed into the open sea and had a
fair wind nntil they came in sight of Greenland and the
lands helow the ice montitains. Then a man pnt in a word
and said to Leif, " Why do you steer so close on the wind T'
Leif replied : " I mind my hehn and tend to other things
too ; do 3^ou notice any thing ?" They said that they saw
nothing remarkable. " I do not know,'^ said Leif, "whether
I sec a ship or a rock." Then they looked and saw that it
was a rock. Rut ho saw so juuch better than they, that ho
discovered men upon the rock. " Xow I will, ' said Leif,
" that we hold to the wind, that we may come up to them
if they should need help ; and if they should not be friendly
inclined, it is in our power to do as we please and not
theirs." Now they sailed under the rock, lowered their
sails, cast anchor, and put out another small boat which they
had with them. Then Tyrker asked who their leader was.
Pie said his nanie was Thorcr, and said he was a Northman ;'■'

used in houses." It is thought that the massur wood was a
species of maple. Others have declared that it must have
been mahogany, and that therefore the account of Leif's dis-
covery is false. They forget that even George Popham, in
writing home to iiis patron from Sagadahoc, in 1G07, says
that among the productions of the country are "nutmegs
and cinnamon." Yet shall wo infer from this that Popham
never saw Now England ?

~^-.,' Ohjiis- Magnus, who wrote 1075, after he had made a
visit to the King of Denmark, at whose court he heard of the
exploits of the Icelanders, says : "Besides it was stated [by
the King] that a region had been discovered by many in that
[Western] ocean which was called W inland, because vines
grow there spontaneously, making oxeellent wine ; for that
fruits, not planted grow there of their own accord, we know
not by false rumors, but by the certain testimony of the
Danes." See, also, Rafn's Anfiquitnfes, etc., p. 319.

'' They were evidently Norwegian traders who were ship-
wrecked while apin'oaching the coast and sailing for the
Greenland ports. Here attention may be called to the truth-

America by the Nouthmen.

105

•'But wliat is your name?" Paid he. Leif told liis name.
"Are you the 8on of Eric tiio Red of Brattahlid ? " he
asked. Leif said that was so. " Now I will," said Leif,

ful description of the Sagas as one proof of their authenticity
and historical value. Wc employ the well-considered words
of Henry Cabot Lodge, who says :

"The Sagas may then be accepted as authentic historical
records. A detailed examination of them would result
in almost complete proof of Norse visits to America. Such
an examination would be impossible within the limits of a
notice, but some of the most striking portions are worth at-
tention. If one takes a map of Korth America, it will be
seen at once that a vessel starting from Cape Farewell and
steering almost due south would make the coast of New-
foundland, possibly Labrador. The Qrst land made by the
Northmen after leaving Greenland was Helluland, distin-
guished by its rocky appearance, like the northern Newfound-
land coast. Further to the south, the next sliores would be
that of Nova Scotia, a thickly wooded country, and called by
the Northmen Markand. Several days of open water and
Cape Cod or Cape Kiarlarness would be reached. The de-
scription of the cape in the Sagas, where it is freciuently
mentioned, corresponds perfectly with Cape Cod. The fea-
tures of the shore are accurately described, long stretches
of flats and sand dunes rising up behind them. To the south
of this cape a bay was entered by the Norsemen, and named
from its numerous currents, for which Buzzards' Bay is re-
markable. The large island covered with the eggs of sea-
birds lies in the southern paj-t of the bay. The long beaches
of Martini's Vineyard and Nantucket are famous to-day, as in
the tenth century, for largo cpiantities of sea-fowl's eggs. Li
this country wild grajjcs grew in great i)rofusion. Even sup-
posing great changes of ciinuite, this fact mny be fairly taken
to exclude Greenland and Labrador, in both of which coun-
tries wild grajjcs would be an anomaly. Grapes do grow,
however, in Rhode Island. Examples might be multiplied.
It is a very strong case of cumulative evidence. Vinland must
have been some portion of the eastern coast of the American
Continent. Nothing then is more likely than that the Norse-
U

'ih[\

In :

106

Pke-Columbian Discovery of

" take yc and all on board my ship, and as much of tlio
goods as the ship will store." They took up this offer, and
sailed away to Ericfiord with the caru'o, and frou) thence to
J»rattahlid, where they unloaded the ship. Leif offered
Tliorer and his wife, (indrid, and three other?., lodg-
ing with himself, and offering lodging elsewhere for the rest
of the people, both of Thorer's crew and his own. Leif
took fifteen men from the rock, and thereafter was called, Leif
the Lucky. After that time Leif advanced greatly in wealth
and consideration. Tliat winter, sickness came among
Thorer's people, and he himself, and a great part of his
crew, died. The same winter Eric lied died. This expe-
dition to Vinland was much talked of, and Leif's brother,
Thorvald, thought that the country ha«l not been explored
enough in different places. Then Leif said to Thorvald,
" You may go, brother, in my ship to Vinland if you like ;
but I will first send the ship for the timber which Thorer
left upon the rock." So it was done.

SECOND NARRATIVE.

I: !

■; !

ill

The same spring King Olaf, as said before, sent Gissur^

and llialte" to Icelanch

The king also sent Leif to Green-

men visited New England. The description of the Sagas co-
incide exactly with the south-eastern coast of Rhode Island
and Massachusetts. The Sagas are in the main certainly ac-
curate and truthful. If these premises are admitted, and it
seems impossible to deny them, the visits of the Norsemen
are sufficiently well proved.'' — North American Review, vol.
cxix, p. 177.

' Gissur, called the White, was one of the greatest lawyers
of Iceland. "We read tlmt *' there was a man named Gissur
White, he was Teit's son, Kettlebiarne the Old's son, of
Mossfell [Iceland]. Bisho]) I^^leif was Gissur's son. Gissur
the White kept house at Mossfell, and was a great Chief."
Saya of h irnt Nial, vol. i, p. 146.

" Hialt was doubtless the same person who entered the
swimming match with King Olaf. See Saga of Olaf Trygg-
vesson.

America by the Xohthmen".

107

land to proclaim Christianity tli"re. The king sent with him
a priest and some other religious men, to baptize the people
and teach them the true faith. Leif sailed the same sum-
mer to Greenland ; lie took up out of tlie ocean the people
of a ship who were on a wreck completely destroyed, and in a
perishing condition. On this same v(»yage he discovered
Vinland the Good,' and came at the close of summer to
Brattahlid, to his father Eric. After that time the people
called him, Leif the Fortunate ; hut his father Eric said
that these two things went against one another; that Leif
had saved the crew of the ship, and delivered them from
death, and that he had [brought] that bad man into Green-
land, that is what he called the ])riest; but after much urging,
Eric was baptized,'- as well as all the people of Greenland.

Tinun NAKRATIVK.

The same winter, Leif. the son of Eric the 'RvA, was iu
high favor with KingOlaf, and embraced Christianity. But
the summer that Gissur went to Iceland, King Olaf sent
Leif to Greenland, to proclaim Christianity, lie sailed the
same summer for Greenland. He found some men in the
sea ou a wreck, and helped them ; the same voyage,^ he dis-
covered Vinland the Good, and came at harvest time to
Greenland. He brought with him a priest and other re-
ligious* men, and went to live at iirattahlid with his father
Eric. He was afterward called, Leif >he Fortunate. But
his father Eric said, tiiat tiieso two things were opposed to
one another, because Leif had saved the crew of the ship,
and brought evil men to Greenland, meaning the priests.

' This is an error, unless the writer means that the voyage
to Vinlan-1, iifterward undertaken, was a part of the same
general expedition. Leif went to Greenland first, as we have
already seen.

''These pagans did not always yield even so readily as Eric.
Some in Norway became martyrs to the faith of Odin. See
Saga of Olaf Tri/i/f/vesson {pas.sim) in vol. I, of HeimskringJa.

" See note to foregoing account.

■• These appear to have been married men or secular clergy.

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108 Pre-Columbian Discovery of

V. TIIOUVALD ERICSON'S EXPEDITIOINT.

The greater ]>ortion of this voyage appears to have been
performed (hiring two summers, tlie expedition, after visiting
the Viny of Boston, finally returning to (Treenland ui\ account
of the death of their leader. The narrative is taken from
Codex Flatoienais^ as given in Antiquitates Americance.

Now Thorvald [A. D. 1002] made ready for his voyage
with thirty men, after consulting his brother Leif. They
rigged their ship, and put to sea. Nothing is related of this
expedition until they came to A^inland, to the booths put up
by Leif, where they secured the ship and tackle, and re-
mained quiet all winter and lived by fishing. In the spring
[A. D. 1003] Thorvald ordered the vessel to be rigged, and
that some men should proceed in the long-boat westward
along the coast, and explore it during the summer.^ They
thought the country beautiful and well wooded, the distance
small between the forest and the sea, and the strand full of
white sand. There were also many islands and very shallow
water. They found no abode for man or beast, but on an
island far toward the west, they found a corn barn con-
structed of wood.^ They found no other traces of human
work, and came back in the autumn to Leif's booths. The fol-
lowing spring [A. D. 1004] Thorvald, with his merchant
ship, proceeded eastward, and toward the north along the
land. Opposite to a cape' they met bad weather, and drove

• Assuming that the expedition was located in llhode Island,
this westward exploration would indicate a movement along
the shore of Connecticut, which answers well enough to the
description.

" A building of this character would point to Europeans,
who, according to the minor narratives, preceded the Iceland-
ers in America,

^ This cape wa. not Point Gilbert, but the terminus of Cape
Cod, known as "Race Point," a dangerous place for uaviga-

I
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1 NAWSET jPt.Care

America by thk Northmek. 109

upon the land and broke the keel, and remained there a long
time to repair the vessel. Thorvald said to his companions"
" We will stiek np the keel here npon the nei=3, and call th
place Kialarness ;" which they did. Then they sailed away
eastward along the country, entering the months of the
bays, to a point of land which was every where covered with
woods. Tiiey moored the vessel to the land, laid out gang-
ways to the shore, and Thorvald, with all his ship's company,
landed. Pie said, " Here it is so beautiful, and I would
willingly set up my abode here.'" They afterward went

tion. It would seem that this was the place referred to, for
the reason that the next i)lace mentioned is tlio shore near
Plymouth, which is readily seen from the end of Cape Cod
in a clear day. Here is a hiatns. It was the vicinity of
Race Point that they called " Kialarness,"' or Keel Cape.
From Cape Cod it would seem they crossed to Plymouth,
whose heights were in view of the capo in clear weather, and
then worked along eastward, though the passage across the
mouth of Cape Cod Bay is not mentioned, reaching the nioutli
of Boston Harbor, where Thorvald said, " Here it is beauti-
ful," even as John Smith wrote of it as "the Paradise of all
these parts," and where evidently the French had been be-
fore him. Indeed every thing goes to prove, that from the
time of Allefonsce, 154:?, down to Bellinger, 1583, the French
must often resorted thither. If we are correct in this view,
Boston is a singularly appropriate place for a monument
to the Northmen. Afterward they speak of "the bay"
and habitations, all of which is in keeping with Boston
Harbor. Whoever takes the trouble to analyze the language,
will discover by the occasional hiatus that the writer speaks
from a fullness of knowledge, and that he could have added
many particulars, showing that he was writing about actual
events.

' Here, Antiquitaies Americanm, p. 43, is followed, instead
of Peringskiold, whose version does not mention the point of
land. This place is regarded as Point Alderton, below Boston
Harbor. Thorvald evidently sailed along the shore to this
point, which is the most remarkable on the east coast.

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Pre-Columbian Discovery op

on board, and saw three specks upon the sand within tho
point, and went to them and funnd there were three skin
boats with three men nnder each boat. They diviiied their
men and took all of them prisoners, except one man, who
escaped with his boat. They killed eight of them, and then
went to the point and looked about them. "Within this
bay tliey saw several eminences, which they took to be habi-
tations. Then a great drowsiness came upon them and they
could not keep themselves awake, but all of them fell
asleep.' A sudden scream came to them, and they all awoke ;
and mixed with the scream they thought they henrd the
words : "Awake, Thorvald, with all thy comrades, if ye
will save your lives. Go on board your ship as fast as you
can, and leave this land without delay." In the same mo-
ment an innumerable multitude, froni the interior of the
bay, came in skin boats and laid themselves alongside. Then
said Thorvald, " We shall put up our war screens^ along the
gunwales and defend ourselves as well as we can, but not
use our weapons much against them." They did so ac-
cordingly. The Skr}\3l lings'^ sliot at them for a while, and

' Nothing supcnuitural is here intended, simply the result
of fatigue.

'' These screens were made of planks which could be quickly
arranged above the bulwarks, thus allording particular pro-
tection against arrows and stones.

' These people arc sometimes called Smiellingar, or small
men. Otiiers deduce their name from sknela, to dry, allud-
ing to their shriveled aspect ; and others from skrwkia to
shout. It is evident from the accounts of Egede and Crautz,
that they formerly inhabited this part of the country, but
were gradually obliged to go northward. It is well known
that in other parts of America, these migrations were com-
mon. These people were more likely to take refuge in
Greenland than the Northmen themselves. Critics have been
concerned to know how it comes that the people met by the
Northmen in New England appeared to be Esquimaux, and
not Ked Indians. This is because the Red Indians had not
then become masters of the coast, which was held by a littoral

America by tiik Nohthmen.

then fled away as fast as tliey cotild. Tlien Tliorvald asked
if anyone was wounded, and tliey said nobody wa^* liurt. fie
said: " I liave a wound under the arm.' An arrow Hew
between the gunwale and the shield under my arm : hero
is the arrow, and it will he my death wo<ind. Now I ad-
vise you to make reaily with all speed to return ; hut ve
shall carry me to the point which I thought would he "so
convenient for a dwelling. It may he that it was true what
I said, that here would T dwell for a while. Ye shall hury
me there, and place a cross at my head and one at my feet
and call the place Crossness." Christianity had been estah-
hshed in Greenla nd at this time ;- hut Eric Red was dead-^

people who once occui)ied the coast from Florida to Green-
land, being the descendants of what may bo cidled the " gla-
cial man." The Indian who said that the Groat 8i)irit cr-ive
him the country, simply wrested it from the Skradlings, whoso
stone implements are now found in the Trenton gravels See
author's "Glacial Man in America;'' Pop. Science Review,
vol. XVIII, ]). 31. The skin boats of the 8kra?llings were in
keeping with habits of the littoral i)cople. The Kod man
who followed used bark, or fashioned canoes out of solid logs
as described by Sebastian Cabot, Verrazano and Lescarbot. '

'The conduct of Thorvald indicates magnanimity of char-
acter, thinking first of his men, and afterward of himself.

' Christianity was introduced by Leif, Tliorvald's brother
in 1001-2. '

•This is evidently an error, for Christianity was introduced
by Leif, before he sailed on his vovage to Vinland. Errors
like this abound in all early annals, and whv should Icelandic
chronicles bo free from them? Every such case will bo im-
partially pointed out. The treatment of this passage by
Smith, in his Dialogues on the Northmen, p. 127, is far from
being candid. He translates the passage thus: '' But E:ric
the lied had died without professing Christianity," and refers
the English reader to the Saga of Thorfinn Karlsofno, Jn-
tiquitates Americanw, pp. 119-20, as if he would there find a
reason for his rendering of the text, which is unecpiivocal, and
IS translated literally above. On turning to the authority in

li,

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112

Pre-Coi-umhian Discovkry of

before Cliristianity was introduced. Now Thorvald died,
and they did everytliin<; as he had ordered. Then tiiey went
away in search of their fellow voyajj^ers,' and they related to
each other all the news. Tlioy remained in tlnnr dwellini^
all winter, and gathered vines and grapes,- and put them on
board their sliips. Toward spring, they prei)ared to return
to Greenland, where they arrived with their vessel, and
landed at Ericstiord, bringing heavy tidings to Leif.

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VI. TIIORSTEIN EKICSON'S ATTEMPT TO FIND

VIN'AND.

This version is from Codex Flatmeiisis, and is given in
Antiquitates Amcncame, pp. 47-55. The expedition was
wholly nnsuccessfid, and the leader finally died without
reaching the desired land. One cannot help believing, not-
withstanding the marvellous events recorded, that the basis
of this account is formed of solid fact. The narrative is
not one likely to l:ave been invented by an impostor, espec-
cially as there w, s no motive suggesting imposture.

In the meantime it had happened in Greenland that
Thorstein of Ericsliord bad married and taken to wife [A.

question, we find nothing m*>rc said tliau that " Eric was
slow to give up Ills [pagan] religion/' and that the affair
caused a separation between him and his Avife. That he was
slow to give up his pagan belief, would seem to indicate that
he did give it up eventually. Moreover we have the direct
statement that he was baptized. See second Narrative of Leif,
p. .

' That is, they returned around Cape Cod to the rendezvous
in Rhode Island.

' Gathering and drying them evidently.

Amkhwa hy Tin: Nouthmiin.

113

D. 1005] Gudrid,' the (laughter of Tliorhiuni, who had been
inarried, as Ijufore reliitod, to Tlioivr, the Earitiiiiin.' Thor-
steiii p]ri('soii bethoiij^dit him now that he would go to Vin-
hmd for his brother Thorvahl's hod v. He riirired out the
same vessel and eho-se an able and stout crew. He had with
him ♦wentyfive men and his wife Gudrid, and as soon as
they were ready he put to sea. They quickly lost si^dit of
the land. They drove about on the ocean the M'hole sum-
mer without knowing where they were, 'and in the first week
of wi"ter^ they landed at Lysifiord in Greenland, in the
western settlement. Thorstein looked for lodgings for his
men and got his whole ship's crew accommodated, but not
liimself and wife, so that for some nights they had to sleep
on board At that time Christianity was but recent in
Greenland. One day, early in the morning, some men came
to tlieir tent and the leader asked them what |)eople were in
the tent i Thorstein replies, " Two ; who is it tliat asksi "
" Thorstein," was the reply, "audi am called Thorstein
the Black, and it is my errand here to offer thee and tliy
wife lodging beside me." Thorstein said he would speak
to his wife about it, and as she gave her consent he airreed
to it. " Then I shall come for you to-morrow with my
horses,' for I do not want means to entertain you ; but few
care to live in my house ; I and my wife live lonely, and I

* This Gudrid Avho was rescued from the rock in the sea by
Leif Ericson, is now married the second time, and as we
shall see later on, was married a third time, and became the
head of a most important family, afterward going to Rome.

2 Norway lay east of Iceland, and hence the people of that
country were sometimes called Eastmen.

•^ If Vinland had been situated in Labrador, it would be
rather idle to suppose that they could have lost the summer
in trying to find it. This expedition aimed at reaching the
place called " Crossaness " near the Bay of Boston.

* Winter began October 17.

' They probably had, at least, dinimutive horses or ponies
in Greenland like those of Iceland to-day.
15

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114

PRK-COLl'MIItAV DlSCOVF.RY OP

nin very gloomy. I Iiavo alrto a difTcrctit relitrion' from
yours, altliuni;li I think the oiiu you liiiv*; tlu' hi'«t." Now
the following moniiii<ij lie ciUiK! for them with horses, and
they took up their ahodc willi Thorstcin Hlaek, wlio was
very friencily toward them. (lu(hid had a goo<l (Mitward ap-
pearance and was knowirii,% and understood well h(»w to
beliave with straiii^ers. Early in tlu; wititer a sickness pre-
vailed amonjij Thorstein Krieson's people, and many of his
ship-men died. He oniered that eotiins should be nuide for
tlio bodies of the dead and tluit thev siiould be brought on
board and stowed away carefully, for he said, ''I will trans-
port all the bodies to Ericsfiord in summer."^ It was not
long before sickness broke out in Thorstein JJlack's house,
and his wife, who was called (irindiild, fell sick first. She
was very stout and as strong as a man, but yet siie could
not bear np against the illness. Soon after Tliorstein Eric-
son also fell sick and they both lay ill in bed at the same
time ; but Grimhild, Thorstein Black's wife, died first.
When she was dead, Thorstein went out of the room for a
skin to lay over the corpse. Then Gudrid said, " My dear
Thorstein, be not long away," whicii he promised. Then said
Thorstein Ericson, " Our liousewife is wonderful, for she
raises herself up with her elbows, moves herself forward
over the bed-frame, and is feeling for her shoes." In the
same moment, Thorstein the Goodman, came back, and in-
stantly, Grindiild laid herself down, so that it made every
beam that was in the house crack. Thorstein now made a
coffin for Grimhild's corpse, removed it outside, and buried
it. He was a stout and strong man, but it required all his
strength to remove the corpse from the house. Now Tlior-
stein Ericson's illness increased upon liim, and he died,
which Gudrid his wife took with great grief. They were
all in the room, and Gndrid had set herself upon a stool be-
fore the bench on which her liusband Tliorsteiu's body lay.

' Thorstein Black was a pagan, who nevertheless saw the
superior value of the new faith.
^ See The Graves of The Northmen, Church Monthly, 1865

AMEiarA BY THE NOKTIIMEN.

IIR

N(»\v Thorstoln the (Toodmiin took (ludrid from tho stool in
his arms, and set liimfiolf witli lier upon a Ikmu-Ii just oppo-
site to Tliorstein's hody,' and spoko imu-li with hrr. Ho con-
Holod her, ami promised to ^» with her in riummor to
Ericf^tiord, with her liiishand Thorstoin's corpse, and thoso
of his crew, " And," said ho, " I shall take with mo many
servants to consohi and assist." Sjie thaidvod him for this.
Thorstein Ericson then raised himself up and said, " Where
is (iiidrid?" And thrico ho said tiiis ; l)ur she was ."ilent.
Then she said to Thorstein the Goodman, " Sliall 1 ^ivo
answer or not ^ " He told her not to answer. Then went
Thoi'stoin the Cioodnian across the room, and sat down in a
chair, and Gndrid sot herself on his knee; and Th(»rstein
the Goodman said:" What wilt thou make known ?" After
a while the corpse replies, " I wish to tell (rudrid her fate
beforehand, that she may bo tho better able to bear my
death; f(jr I have como to a blessed restin<; place. This I
have now to toll theo, Gndrid, that thou wilt be married to
an Iceland man, and ye will live long together and froin
yon will descend man}' men, brave, gallant and wise, and
a well-pleasing race of i)osterity. Yo shall go from Green-
land to Norway, and from thence to Iceland, where
ye shall dwell. Long will ye live together, but thou wilt
survive him; and then thou shalt go abroad, and go south-
ward,'- and shall return to thy honn; in Iceland. And
there must a church be built, and thou must remain there
and be consecrated a nun, and there end thy days."' And

' We must here remember the simplicity of manners, which
then (as now) prevailed among tho Icelanders. The tourist
in Iceland is always surprised by the absence of all prudery.

" That is, visit Italy and ospceially Rome.

^ Whoever inclines to dismiss this narrative as an idle
fiction, must remember that all history is more or less per-
vaded by similar stories. The IJev. Cotton Mather, in his
Magnalia of New England, gives the accouut of a great num-
ber of supernatural events of no better character than this re-
lated in the Saga. Some are ludicrous in the extreme, and

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Pre-Columbian Discovery of

'IN

then Thorstein sank backward, and his corpse was put in
order and carried to the shi)). Thorstein the Goodman did
all that he had pioniised. lie sold in spring [A. D. 1006]

others are horrible, both in their inception and end. Among
other stories, is that of Mr, Phillip Smith, deacon of the
church at Hadley, Mass., and a member of the General Court,
who ai)pears to have been bewitched. Ho was finally obliged
to keej) his bed. Then it is said that tl;e ])eople ''beheld firj
sometimes on the bed ; and when the beholders began to dis-
course of it, it vanished away. Divers people actually felt
something often stir in the bed, at a considerable distance
from the man ; it seemed as big as a cat, but they could never
grasp it. Several trying to lean on the bed's head, tho' the
sick man lay wholly still, the bed would shake so as to knock
their heads uncomfortably. A very strong man could not
lift the sick man, to make him lie more easily, tho' he ap-
ply'd liis utmost strength unto it ; and yet he could go pres-
ently and lift the bedstead and a bed, and a man lying on it,
without any strain to himself at all. Mr. Smith dies . . .
After the opinion of all had protiounc\i him dead, his counte-
nance continued as lively as though he had been alive ....
Divers noises were heard in the room where the corpse lay ;
as the clattering of chairs and stools, whereof no account
could bo given." — Magnalia, ed. 1853, vol. i, p. 455. The
account is vouched for by the a.ithor, who was one of the
most learned divines of his day. Another is given, among
the multitude of which he had the most convincing proof. He
writes: " It was on the 2d day of May, in the year 1687, that
a most ingenious, accomplish'd and well-dispos"d young gen-
tleman, Mr. Joseph Beacon by Name, about 5 o'clock in the
morning, as he lay, whether sleeping or waking he could not
say (but he judged the latter of them), had a view of his
brother, then at London, although he was himself atonr Bos-
ton, distanc'd from him a thousand leagues. This his brother
appear'd to him in tho morning (I say) about 5 o'clock, at
Boston, having on him a Bengale gown, which he usually
wore, with a napkin ty'd about his head; his rounfennnce was
very pale, ghastly, deadly, and he had a bloody wound on the
side of his forehead. ' Brother,' says the alfrighted Joseph,

Ami; RIGA by tiik Northmkn-,

iir

his land and cattle, and went withGudrid and all her goods ;
inade ready the ship, got men fur it, and rheu went to Erics-
fiord. The body was buried at the cimrch.' Giidrid went
to Leif's at JJrattahlid, and Thorstein the Black took his
abode in P:rlcstiord, and dwelt there as long as he lived ;
and was reckoned an able man.

VII. THORFINN KARLSEF^XE'S EXPEDITION TO

VI N LAN I).

This was in many respects the most important expedition
to New England, both as regards the numbers engaged, and

'Brother,' answered the apparition. Said Joseph, 'What's
the matter Brother ? how came you here ? ' The ai)i)arition
replied: 'Brother I have been most barbarously and in-
humanly murdered by a dcbauch'd fellow, to whom I never
did any wrong in my life.' Whereupon he gave a particular
description of the murderer ; adding, ' Brotlier, this fellow,
changing his name, is attempting to come over to New Eng-
land in /})// or IViM; I would pray you on the arrival of
either of those, to get an order from thegovernourto seize the
person whom I now have describ'd, and then do you indict
him for the murder of your brother.' And so he vanished."
Mather thou adds an account, which shows that Beacon's
brother was actually murdered as described, dying within the
very hour in which his apparition appeared in Boston. He
says that the murderer was tried, but, with the aid of his
friends, saved his life. Joseph himself, our author says, died
"ji pious and hopeful death," and gave him the account
written and signed with his own hand. Wlule New England
history abounds with stories like this, men incline to (piestion
an Icelandic writer, because he occasionally indulges in fan-
cies of the same sort. Rather should we look for (liem, as
authentic contemporary signs. These things seem to be
more or less akin to what are called the "spiritual manifesta-
tions " of our modern times, and suggest the well-attested
marvels that disturbed the Wesley family.

' Thorhild's Church. See Antiquitates Amcricanm, p. 119.

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Pre-Columbian Discovery of

the information and experience derived. We have three
different iiccouiits of tlie expedition. The first is from the
somewhat leni^tliy Saira of Thurfinn Karlsef tie, in the Arnce-
Magnican Collection; tlie second is from the Saga of Eric
the Red, being called " The Account of Thorfinn ; " while
the third is a briefer relation from Codex Flat'uiensis. The
first two may 1)0 found in Rafn's Antiquitaies Americana-,
pp. 75-200 ; while the last is also given in the same work,
on pp. 55-64.

The Saga of Kai'lsefne is occupied largely at the begin-
ning with accounts of various matters connected with social
life ; yet, as such subjects are not essential to the treatment
of the voyage, they are all omitted, except the account of
Thorfinn's marriage with the widow of Thorstein Ericson.

The notes to the narrative of Leif's expedition, which
pi'ceede this Saga in the chronological order, do away with
the necessity of treating a number of important points sug-
gested again in the present narrative.

It is believ'ed that the principal manuscript of Thorfinn
Karlsefne is an autograph by one of his descendants, the
celebrated Hank Erin ler, the Governor or Lagman of Ice-
land, In 1295, who also was one of the compilers of the
Landnama-hoh. Erlander was the ninth in descent from
Thorfinn. Torfi^^ns, who supposed that this manuscript was
lost, knew it only through corrupt extracts in the collection
of Biorn Johnson,

There will be found a substantial agreement between the
different accounts, notwithstanding they may not have been
composed by eye witnesses. The differences are evidently
such as would not appear in the case of three writers who
had banded together for the purpose of carrying out a his-
torical fraud. The Saga of Thorfinn, we may again remind
the student, was written in Iceland, while that of Er*' was
composed in Greenland. The account from the Flat'6
Manuscript was, of course, written in the island which
bears that name, and is extremely brief, wanting many essen-
tial particulars. Indeed it is tune that we had done talking

\ >

Amkrica by the Northmen.

119

about fraud in connection with the work of the Icelanders,
wlio knew no spirit of rivalry and were not conipetinfr with
any foreign clainiantsj.

NAKEATIVE OF TIIOKFINN KAKLSEFNE.

There was a man named Thord who dwelt at IKifda. in
Hofda-Strand. He married Fridgcrda, daughter of Thorer
the Idle, and of Fridgerda the daughter of Kiarval. King
of the Irish. Thord Avas the son of Biai-ne l^iitter'-Tub^
son of Thorvald, sou of Aslak, son of Tiiarne Ironsides, son
of Ragriar Lodhrok. They liad a son named Snorre, 'who
married Thorhild the Partridge, daughter of Thord C^eller.
They had a son named Thord Horsehead. Thortiuu Karl-
sefne^ was his son, whose mother's name was Thoruna.
Thorfinn occupied his time in merchant voyages and ^vas
thought a good trader. One summer he fitted out his ship
for a voyage to Greenland, attended by Snorre Thorbrand-
son of Alptafiord, and a crew of forty men. There was a
man named Biarne Grimolfson of Breidafiord, and another
nanied Thorhall Gamlason of Austfiord. These men fitted
out a ship at the same time to voyage to Greenland. They
also had a crew of forty men. This ship and that of Thor-
finn, as soon as they were ready, put to sea. It is not said
how long they were on the voyage ; it is only told that both
ships arrived at Ericsfiord in the autumn of that year.
Leif3 and other people rode down to the ships and friendly

' " Byrdusmjar."

- " Karl is the equivalent of the Anglo-Saxon '• Carl." sio-ni-
fv-inga "Man." -Efni" finds its equivalent in the Latin
Maferia, signifying "Stuff." "Mannsefni" stood for a
"promising man," and " Karlsefni " for a " real " or "sterling "
man. The name was often used in the sense of a nickname,
and indicated that the person to whom it was applied was
made of "good stuff."

3 Throughout this narrative of Thorfinn, the name of Eric
occurs where that of Leif should be given. Eric died five
years before Thorfinn came over to Greenland. This account

PUE-COLUMBIAN DISCOVERY OF

exchanges were made. The captains requested Leif to take
whatever he desired of their goods. Leif, in return, enter-
tained them well and invited the principal men of both ships
to spend the winter with him at Brattahlid. The merchants
accepted his invitation with thanks. Afterward their goods
were moved to Brattahlid, where they had every entertain-
ment tiiat they could desire ; tlierefore their winter <|uarters
pleased them much. When the Yule feast began, Leif was
silent and more depressed than usual. Then Karlsefne
said to Leif: "Are you sick, friend Leif? you do not seem
to be in your usual spirits. You have entertained us most
liberally, for which we desire to render you all the service
in our power. Tell me what it is that ails you." " You have
received what I have been able to offer a'ou," said Leif, " in
the kindest manner and there is no idea in my mind that you
have been wanting in courtesy ; but I am afraid lest when
you go away it may be said that you never saw a Yule' feast
so meanly celebrated as that w^iich draws near at which you
will be entertained by Leif of Brattahlid." " That shall never
be the case, friend," said Karlsefne, " we have ample stores
in the ship ; take of these what you wish and make a feast as
splendid as you please." Leif accepted this offer and the Yule
began. So well were Leif's plans made, that all were sur-
prised that such :; rich feast could be prepared in so poor a
country. After the Yule feast, Karlsefne began to treat
with Leif, as to the marriage of Gudrid, Leif being the per-
son to whom the right of betrothal belonged. Lief gave a

having been written in Iceland, the author made a very natu-
ral mistake in supposing that Erie was still at the head of the
family. The proper change has been made in the translation
to avoid confusion.

' Yule was a pagan festival hold originally in honor of Thor,
the God of War, at the beginning of February, which was
the opening of the Northman's year. But as Christianity
had been established in Greenland for five years, the festival
Avas now probably changed to December, and held in honor
of Christ.

America by the Northmen.

121

■

favorable rei)ly, and said she must fulfill that destiny which
fate had assigned/ and that he had heard of none except a
good report of him; and in the end it turned out that
Ivarlsefne married Gudrid, and their wedding was held at
Brattahlid, tiiis same winter.

[A. D. 1007.J The conversation often turned at Brattah-
lid, on the discovery of Yinland the Good, and they said
that a voyage there had great hope of gain.^ After this
Karlsefno and Snorre made ready for going on a voyage
there the following spring, iiiarne and Thorhall Ganda-
son, before mentioned, joined him witli a ship. There was
a man named Thorvard, who married Freydis, natural
daughter of Eric Red, and lie decided to go with them, as
did also Thorvald, son^ of Eric. Thorhall, commonly
called the Hunter, who had been the huntsman of Eric in
the summer, and his steward in the winter, also went. This
Thorhall was a man of immense size and of great strength,
and dark complexion and taciturn, and when he spoke, it was
always jestingly. He was always inclined to give Leif evil
advice. He was an enemy to Christianity. He knew much
about desert lauds ; and was in the same ship with Thorvord
and Thorvald. These used the ship which brought Thor-
biorn from Iceland. There were in all, forty men and a
hundred.* They sailed to the West district [of Greenland],

' Afite, p. 1:5. Widow of Thorstein Ericson. Eafn thinks,
as she is mentioned in this Saga by two lumics, Gudrid and
Thurid, that one was her name in childhood, and the other
in her maturer years, when Christianity came to have a practi-
cal bearing. Her father's name was Thorbiorn, derived from
Thor. It was supposed that those who bore the names of
gods would find in these names a charm or special protection
from danger.

•'It was gain, not glory. They never boasted of their
voyages.

* This is a mistake, Eric's son was dead and buried at Cros-
saness in Vinland. It must have been another Thorvald.

* The JSTorthmen had two ways of reckoning a hundred,the

KkUffiJS

12^

Pre-Columbian Discovery of

i I Jilt

i;(-

11 1'

:\hi

■'! :? V'

;!i|+:
:;lii

and thence to Blarney ; ^ hence they sailed south a nio^lit and
a day. Then hmd was seen, and they launched a boat and
explored tlie land ; they fonnd great Hat stones, many of
which were tweh'e ells broad. There were a j^reat number
of foxes there. They called the land Ilelluland- Then
they sailed a day and a night in a southerly course, and came
to a land covered with woods, in which there were many
wild animals. Beyond this land to the south-east, lay an
island on which the}' slew a bear. They called the island
Bear island,^ and the land, Markland. Thence they sailed
long st>uth by the land and came to a cape. Tiie laiui jay on
the right [starboard] side of the ship, and there were long
shores of sand. They came to land, and found on the cape,
the keel of a Paip, from which they called the place Kiarlar-
nesr,' and the shores they also called Wonder-strand, because

short and the long. The long hundred was a hundred and
twenty. Wo read in Tegner's Fn'fhiof's Siuja :

" But a house for itself was tlie banquet hall, fashioned in fir wood;

Not five hundred, though told ten dozen to every hundred,

Filled that chamber so vast, when they gathered for Yule-tide

carousing."

American ed., chap, in, p. 13.

Professor Rafn infers that the long hundred was here
meant, because he thinks that the central inscription on
Dighton Rock indicates CLI., the number of men Karlsefne
had with him, after losing nine.

' The present island of Disco, also called by the Northmen,
Blarney, or Bear island.

'■' The northern coast of America was called Helluland the
Great, and Newfoundland, Helluland, or Little Helluland. —
Antiquitates Amcricame, p. 419. The sailing time is put too
short.

* Supposed to be the Isle of Sable, but probably not.

■* Thorvald had left the keel of his vessel here on the point
of this cape, which was Cape Cod. In calling it by this name,
they simply followed his example, as in the case of Helluland
and Markland.

; t

America by the Northmen.

1^>3

it soeiiied so long sailing by.' Then the Imid became in-
dented with coves, and they ran the shii) into a bay,- whither
they directed their conrse. King Olaf Tryggvesson iiad
given Leif two Scuts,' a man r.amed Ilaki and a woman
named Ilekia ; they were swifter of foot than wild animals.

' Ante, p. 9G, n.

' This bay Avas probably the bay then situated between Point
Gilbert and Isle Nauset, which Professor Agassiz ])rovc.s to
have existed. The writers do not mention this island in
either of the accounts of Thorium's voyage; but it has been
shown that Isle Nauset lay close to the shore, so that they
might not know that it ivas an island without par-
ticular examination; and, if they were aware of its existence,
it was not necessary to speak of it. Leif landed upon it and,
therefore, it was mentioned by the autlior who wrote the ac-
count of his voyage. Yet Thorfinn's chroniclers help to
jH-ove its existence, by showing that beyond Wonder-strand
there Avas a bay where tliey rode at anchor for three days. It
must be noticed that the events are not set down in tlieir ex-
act order, for, after the Avritcr gets the vessels into the bay, he
goes back to speak of the landing of the Scots, which is often
the case where a writer is full of his subject. Gosnold an-
chored in tlie same place in the night, and in the morning he
remarked the number of coves, or as he calls them " breaches,"
in the land. The Saga mentions the same thing, saying, that
the land " became indented with coves." These coves have
now disappeared, yet the testimony of Gosnold shows how
accurately the Northmen observed this part of the coast.
Like Gusnold, they found it convenient and safe to lie here
for a while. See Ante, p. 97, on " Sloop Mary."

^ This is the first we hear of slaves in Vinland. We have
already seen that among the proud Northmen, slavery,
"thralldom," w^as a reality. One of the near relations of
Ingolf, the tirst Northman who settled in Iceland, was mur-
dered by his Scotch (Irish) slaves. Sec on their dress, Rafn,
p. 140, note a. The grain found was called " Hveiti," wheat,
or in general language " corn," not meaning the Indian
maise.

124

PllE-COLUMBIAy DiSCOVEUY OP

ir.i'

I .!

liMi

These were in Karlsefne's ship. When they had passed be-
yond Wonder-strand, they put these Scots ashore, and told
them to run over tlie land to the south-west, throe days, and
discover the nature of the land, and then return. They
had a kind of garment that they called kiafal, that was so
made that a hat was on top, and it was open at the sides,
and no arms ; fastened between the legs with a button and
strap, otherwise they were naked. When they returned,
one had in his hand a bunch of grapes, and the other a
spear of wheat. They went on board, and afterward the
co\irse was obstructed by another bay. Beyond this bay
was an island,' on each side of which was a rapid current,
that they called the Isle of Currents.^ There was so great
a number of eider ducks '' there, that they could hardly step
without treading on their eggs. They called this place
Stream Bay.* Here they brought their ships to land,
and prepared to stay. They had with them all
kinds of cattle. The situation of the place* was pleasant,
but they did not care for any thing, except to explore the
land. Here they wintered without sufficient food. The
next summer [A. D. 1008], failing to catch fish, they began
to want food. Then Thorhall the Hunter diappeared.

They found Thorhall, whom they sought three days, on
the top of a rock, where he lay breathing, blowing through
his nose and mouth, and muttering. They asked why he
had gone there. He replied that this was nothing that
concerned them.^ They said that he should go home with

' This, if we are correct, was Nantucket or Martha's Vine-
yard, then perhaps united, forming one island, as great
changes have taken place.

' Straumey, or Straum Isle, which indicates the powerful
currents in this region.

3 The gull, or some similar bird is here referred to.

* Buzzard's Bay. See note to p. 98.

* The shore opposite Martha's Vii^pyard.

* It would appear from what follows that he was engaged in
a heathen invocation. This is the only instance on record of

■li

;: 4/

America by the Noktomen".

125

tliem, which ho did. Afterward a whale was east ashore'
in that phico ; and they assonihled and cut it up, not
knowin<i' what kind of a wlialo it was. Tiiey hoilcd it with
water, and ate it, and were taken sick. Tiien Thorliali
said: " Now you see that Thor^ is more prompt to give
aid than your Christ. This was cast ashore as a rewanl for
the hynm wliich I composed to my patron Thor, who rarely
forsakes me."^ When they know tliis, they cast all the re-
honor being paid to this heathen god on the shores of Xew
England, yet we unwittingly recognize him every time wc say
"Thursday," that is, '' Thor's Day."

' In olden times a certain portion of every whale cast ashore
on Capo Cod, formed a perquisite of the clergy. Drift whales
were set apart to swell the fund in aid of building Trinity
church. New York.

'^Literally the Red-beard, as Thor, the Thunderer, was
supposed to have had a beard of that color. The principal
deity of the Northmen was Odin, a king who died in his bed
in Sweden, and was afterward apotheosized. He was called
the "Terrible god." The souls of men slain in battle were
received by him into the hall of the gods. Next was Frey,
considered a god of earth. Thor the Rod-beard was synony-
mous with Jupiter. These three composed the supremo
couiicd of the gods. Afterward came tlie good and gentle
Balder, with him came Brage, patron of eloquence and
poetry, and his wife Iduna, charged with the care of certain
apples. Also Heimdal the porter of the gods and builder of
the rainbow, and Loke, a kind of Satan or evil principle aided
by his children, the Wolf Fenris, the Serpent Midgard, and
Hela or Death. The American red-breasted Robin is sacred
to the red-bearded Thunderer; which explains the belief in
some quarters, that whoever injures a robin will bo struck by
lightning.

^The Saga has already stated {ante, p. 131) that Thorhall
" know much about desert lands." Ho appears as a stubborn
and pronounced character, full of his own opinions. Now,
therefore, we have an illustration of the man. The critic
should place the man's character and attainments in connec-

12G

PRE-COLUMUIAN DiSCOVEUY OF

mains of the whale into the sea, and coininendcd their affairs
to God. After which the air hecaiiie tiiihier, and oppor-
tunities were given for flshin<^. From tliat time there was
an abundance of food ; and tiiere were beasts on the K'lnd,
eggs in the island, and lish in the sea.

They say that Thorhall desired to go northward around
Wonder-strand to explore Viidand, but Karlsefne wished to
go along the shore south. Then Thorhall prepared liimself
at the island,' but did not have more than nine men in Ills
whole e<»mpany, and all the others went in the company of
Karlsefne. When Thorhall was carrying water to his ship,
he sang this verse :

" Pooplo said when hither I
Cuinc, that I the best
Drink would have, but the land
It justly l)ecome.s me to blame;
I, a warrior, am now obliged
To bear the pail;
Wine touches not my lips,
But I bow down to the spring."

Wlien they had made ready and were about to sail, Thor-
hall sang :

" liCt us return
Thither where [our] country -men rejoice,
Let the ship try
The smooth ways of the sea;
While the strong heroes
Live on Wonder-strand
And there boil whales,
Which is an honor to the land.'"'

tion with this perfornunice and note how thoroughly they are
in keeping. These statements arc of the nature of undesigned
coincidences, and shovv here, as a multitude of instances else-
where demonstrate^ that the writer was treating well-known
characters in connection with a well known voyage. These
arc the points which should be dwelt upon by the student.
* This is obscure about the '' island," but the statement

This is Thorhall's sarcasm.

America by the NoiauMEN.

V47

Afterward ho sailed north to i;o around Wonder-strand
and Kiarhirne98, but when ho wi.shed to nail westward, tliey
were met by a storm from the west and driven to Irehind,
where they were beaten and made alaves. As mercliants'
reported, there Thorliall died.

It is said that KarUofne, witli Sm)rre and liiarne and liis
eonu'ades, sailed along the coast soutii. They sailed loiii^
until they came to a river ilowing down from the land
through a lake into the sea, where there were sandy shoals,
where it was impossible to pass uj), except with the highest
tide. Karlsefne sailed up to the mouth of the river with
his folk, and called tlie place Hop.- Having come to the
land, they saw that where the ground was low corn' grew,

when duly considered proves a^jjain that we arc reading a
genuine narrative, and that there was a well-known island at
this point. Every hiatus in the iiarrati\o must prove sug-
gestive to the critical mind.

' We shall see from another part of this work, that the
trade at that period between Ireland and Iceland, was very
large.

" This may correspond to Mount Hope Bay. The Taunton
river runs through it, and thence flows to the .sea by Pocasset
river and Seaconnet passage. Hop is froni the Icelandic /
Hopi, to recede, hence to form a bay. The coincidence in the
name is curious. The fact that there is no lake here has been
pointed out by one who ajipearcd to have a fair ef(uipment for
criticism ; but who, nevertheless, failed to recognize the fact
that words equivalent to '* Lake " were api)lied by Scandi-
navians to arms and branches of the sea, as well to waters
entirely enclosed by land. In Scotland, where the Northmen
colonized, and so generally employed their own nomenclature,
the popular usage is that of the Scandinavians, arms of the sea
being, like the lakes, designated as " Lochs," while the Irish
have the word "Lough." The Icelandic, in this case, is
"• vatn," generally meaning '' water,'' but in the present con-
nection it means a lake, like the Englisli " Derwent Water."
Rafn translates it lucus.

^ Wheat. " Sialfsana hveitiakrar."

I'
I

i,!

' i':

,11

ISfM:
I. i 'I'

I'M?

lii

128

PitE-COLUMHIAN DiSCOVKUY (»F

and where it wan hifrlier, vines wore found. Every river
was full of lisli.

Tiicy (lu<; pits wluTu the land l)e<;an, and where the land
was hi<^hest ; and when the tide went down, there were
sacred fish ' in the pits. There were a great nuniher of all
kinds of wild beasts in the woods. They stayetl there lialf
a month and enjoyed theuiselves, and did not notice any
tiling ; they had their cattle with them. Early one morinn^,
when they looked around, they saw a great nuvnyskin boats,
and p(»les were swung upon them, and it sounded like reeds
sludvcn \>y the wind, and they pointed to the sun.^ Thvjn
said Karlsefne, " What may this mean { " Snorre Thor-
brandson replied, "It may be that this is a sign of peace, so
let lis take a white shield and Jk^UI it toward them." They
did BO. Thereupon they rowed toward them, wondering at
them, and came to land. These i)eoj)le were swarthy and
tierce, and had Inishy hair on their heads ; they had very
large eyes and broad clioeks. They stayed there for a time,
and gazed upon those they met, and afterward rowed ;iway
southward around the ness.

Karlsefne and his people had made their houses above the
lake, and some of the houses were near the lake, and others
more distant. They wintered there, and there was no snow,

' In Iceland the halibut is called the sacred 6sh. Plinv uses
the same name, which indicates that the water is safe where
they were found. The halibut and most of the Hat fish, such
as flounders, are plentiful in th"t vicmity. The flounders are
easily taken, and those who know how, often find them in
very shoal water, burrowing just under the surface of the sand
like a king crab. The Icelandic name of the fish is " Helgis
fiskar," and the Danish Hcleflyndro," which Eafn (p. 148)
exhibits as Pleorncctes Hippof/lossus. Professor Horsford
points out what ho believes to have been ancient pits to catch
fish, on the Charles river.

'^ Davis, speaking of tlie natives in Greenland, in his voy-
age of 1585, says, that, to indicate peaceful intentions, they
pointed to the sun with tlieir hands, after striking their breasts,

AmEKK A «V Tllli NoKTIlMEN.

i-^'J

and ill] tliL'ir catflo fed tliiMiiHi'lveH on tlie ^rass.' l?iit wlicn
H|tnni; canjo [A. D. 1(I0!)J tlu-v saw utii' morning' early, that
u nnniliei" of eaiioes rowed from tlu; south amund the ness;
80 many, as if tliu sea were sown with coal; poles wore also
swiin^ on each IkkU. Karlsefne and his |»e(»|)le then raised
up the shield, and when they came to<;ether they be<jjan to
trade. Theso people would rather have red cloth ; for this
they olT'ered skins and real furs. They would also buy
swords and spears, hut this, Karlsefne and Siiorro forhade.
For a whole fur skin, the Sknellin^'s took a piece of red
cloth, a span Ion;;-, and hound it round their heads. Thus
went on their tratlie for a time. Next the cloth he<,'an to he
scarce with Karlsefne and his people, and they cut it up into
small pieces, whicrli were rujt wider than a tin<jjer's breath,
and yet the JSkra'llinj^'s t^ave juet as much as before, and
more.

It happened that a bull, which Karlsefne had, ran out of
the wood and roared aloud; this frightened the Sknellings,
and they rushed to their canoes .md rowed away toward the

refusing to trust themselves to the English until thoy had
done the same, through one of their number appointed for the
purpose, '* who stroke his breast and pointed to the sunnc
after their order." This pointing to tlie sun in token of
peace, taken with the description of the people, shows con-
clusively that the people seen by Karlsefne and Davis were of
the same tribe or race, and formerly occupying a more south-
erly locality.

' This is language that might be employed by an Icelander,
to indicate the difference between the new country and his
own. It may have been an intentional exaggeration, similar
to those of Eric in describing Greenland. Yet even if it were
a serious attempt at history, it could not be regarded as farther
from the truth, than Dr. Cotton Mather's description of the
climate of New England, where he tells us, in his Christian
Philosopher, that formerly water, tossed up in the air, came
down ice ; and that in one jdaco in Massachusetts it actually
snowed wool, some of which he preserved in a box in his study.
17

130

Pre-Columbian Discoverv of

sonth. After tluit they were not seen for three wliole weeks.
But at tlie end of that time, a sjjrcat nntnbei- of Skra'llinii:'s
ships wore seen coinin<>j from the south like a rushinii: torrent,
all the ])()les turn';tl from the sun, and they all yelled very
loud. Then Karlsefne's people took a red ' shield and held
it toward them. The Skadlin^s leaped out of their vessels,
and after this, they went against each other and fought.
There was a hot shower of weapons, because the Sknvllings
had slings.'- Karlsefne's people saw that they raised upon a
pole, a very large ball, somethiiig like a sheep's paunch, and
of a bliie color; this they swung from the j)ole over Karl-
sefne's men, upon the groimd, and it made a great noise as
it fell down.-'' This caused great fear with Karlsefne and
his men, so that they only thought of running away ; and
they retreated along the river, for it seemed to them that
the Skri\3lliiigs pressed them on all sides. They did not stop
until they came to some rocks where they made a bold stand.

' The red shield was the sign of war, and the white, of peace.

• Davis mentions their slings, and his general description of
the i)e()ple agrees with that of the Icelanders. See '■'Inventio
Fortunata."

* This can be explained. These iieoi)le, doubtless, had their
own ideas of the best method of conducting a tiglit. They
Avere evidently Esfpiimaux, and formerly, according to Crantz,
appear to have lived < n this coast before it was occupied by
the Indians, who, being a superior race, soon drove them away.
Bat by referring to Schoolcraft's work on the Indians (vol.
I, p. 83) we find that such an instrument was actually em-
ployed in this country at a very early period. Schoolcraft
says that Uiany generations ago the natives used to sew up a
round boulder in the skin of an animal and hang it upon a
pole which was borne by several warriors, and when brought
down suddenly upon a group of men produced consternation
and death. This mode of warfare, learned perha})s by the
Indians from the Skradlings, has not been practiced for the
last three hundred years, but prevailetl at the perioil when the
Northmen were in America.

Amkkica in THE YoninMEN.

131

P>ev(lis came out and saw that Kurlsefne's people fell back,
and she cried out, "Wliy do you nm, strong nu-n as you
are, before these miserable creatures whom I thought you
would knock down like cattle? If I jiad arms, methinks I
could fight better than any of you."' Th.ey gave no heed to
her words. Freydis would go with them, but she was
slower because she was pregnant; still she followed after
them in the woods. She found a dead man in the woods ;
it was Thorbraiul Snorreson, and there stood a flat stone
stuck in his head ; the sword lay naked by his side. This
she took up and made ready to defeud herself. Then came
the Sknellings toward her; she drew out her breasts from
under lier clotlies and dashed them against the naked sword.
By this the Sknvllings became frightened and ran off to
their ships and rowed away.' Karlsefne and his men then
came up and praised her courage. Two men fell on Ivarl-
sefnc's side, but a number of the Sknvllings. Karlsefiu-'s
band was overmatched. Next they went home to their
dwellings aiul bound up their wounds, aiul considered what
crowd that was that pressed upon them from the land side.
It now seemed to them that it could have hardly been real
people fi-om the ships, but that these must have been opti-
cal illusions. The Sknx^llings also found a dead man and an
axe lay by him ; one of them took up the axe and cut wood
with it, and then one after aiu)t]ier did the same and thought
it was a fine thing a?id cut well. After that one took it and
cut at a stone so that tlie axe broke, and then they thou<;ht
that it was of no use because it would not cut stone, and
they cast it away.-

' This appears to have been some piece of feminine bravado
that does uot appear to have gained a correct representation,
though, in the woman's condition, the Sknell^iugs seemed to
understand her.

'Now the narrator goes back to mention what ap})eared to
him curious incidents. Tliesc Skra'llings were still in the
Stone Age, and evidently did not know the use of iron. Stone
was their standard of excellence, and when the iron would

182

Pre-Columbian Discovery of

IC .

Karlsefne and liis people now thouglit they saw, that
althoMtJfli the land had many good qualitieti, they still would
always he exposed to the fear of attacks from the original
dwellers. They decided, therefore, to go awa}' and to re-
turn to their own land. They coasted northward along the
shore^ and found five Skrrellings clad in skins, sleeping near
the sea. They had with them vessels containing animal
marrow mixed with blood.- Karlaefne's people thought that
these men had been banished from the land ; they killed
them. After that they came to a ness, and many wild beasts
were there, and the ness was covered all over with dung
from the beasts which had lain there during the nifflit. Now
they came back to Straumfiord, and there was a plenty of
everything that they wanted to have. [It is thus that some
men say that Biarne and Gudrid stayed behind and one hun-
dred men with them, and did not go farther; but that Karl-
sefne and Snorre went southward and forty men with theni,
and were no longer in Hop than barely two months, and the
same summer came back.]^ Karlsefne then went with one
ship to seek Thorhall the Hunter, but the rest remained
behind, and they sailed northward past Kiarlarness, and
thence westward, and the land was upon their larboard

not cut the stone they threw it away. From the third account
of Kai'lsefne's expedition we shall see that the man killed was
a Skrffilling. Abbott's researches show, beyond question, that
the Indian was preceded by a people like the Esquimaux,
whose stone implcmeuts arc found in the Trenton gravel,
large numbers of which are shown in the Peabody Museum,
Cambridge. See Abbott's work on the Trenton Valley Stone
Implements.

' This may have been a short exploration up Narragrmsett
Bay.

* The ancient Mexicans mixed human blood with bread of-
fered on the altar of their deities.

^The lines inclosed in brackets, convey what the writer
understood to be a mere rumor. This report was evidently
untrue, yet it shows his honest intentions.

i t

America by the Northmen-.

133

hand. There were wild woods over all, as far as they could
seo, and scarcely any open places. When they had sailed
long a river ran out of the land east and west. They
sailed into the mouth of the river, and lay by its bank.^

It chanced one morning that Karlsefne and his people
saw opposite in an open place in the woods, a speck which
glittered in their sight, and they called out towards it, and
it was a Uniped,^ which thereupon hurried down to the

'They appear to have sailed around Cape Cod, then steered
across to Plymouth, coasted up the shore and entered Boston
harbor, or some other river mouth.

""Einfoetingr, from em, one, and fotr, foot. This term
ai)pears to have been given by some old writers, fco one of the
African tribes, on account of a peculiarity of dress, which
Wormskiold describes as a triangular cloth, hanging down so
low, both before and behind, that the feet were concealed.
In an old work called Rimhigla, a tribe of this class, dwell-
ing in Blaland, Ethiopia, are thus described. — Beamish, p.
101. We do not say how far the Saga writer employs his
fancy on the Uniped, yet he is quite excnsable, considering
the weakness of modern writers. In 1G;34, Hans Egede wrote
as follows about a hideous monster: "July G, a most hideous
sea monster was seen, which reared itself so high above the

water, that its head overtopped our mainsail Instead of

fins, it had broad flaps like wings; its body seemed to be over-
grown like shell work ... It was shaped like a serpent be-
hind, and when it dived, raised its tail above the water,

a whole ship's length." — Egede' s Greenland, \). 85; Crantz's
Greenland, vol. iii, p. 116. Hudson even describes a mer-
maid. St. Augustine in one place refers to Unipods.

The Rev. Dr. Cotton Mather, who has before been quoted,
gives among other notable facts in his Magnalia, the state-
ment, that in June, 168?, Mary ilortado, of Salmon Falls,
was going with her husband " over the river in her canoe,
when they saw the head of a man, and about three foot off,

fly

a?:

8 !<":■;

til a

134

Pre-Columbian Discovery of

bank of tlie river, where they lay. Tliorvald Ericson stood
at the hehn, and the Uniped shot an arrow into his bowels.
Thorvald drew oi)t the arrow and said : *' It has killed me !
To a rich land we have come, but hardly shall we enjoy
any benetit from it." Thorvald soon after died^of his
wound. Upon this the Uniped ran away to the northward.
Karlsef ne and his people went after him, and saw him now
and then, and the last time they saw him, he ran out into a
bay. Then they turned back, and a man sang there verses:

The people chased
A uniped

Down to the beach.
Behold he ran
Straight over the sea —
Hear thou, Thorfinn !

They drew off to the northward, and saw the country of
the Unipeds, but the}' would not then expose their men any
longer. They looked upon the mountain range that was
at Hop, and that which they now found.^as all one, and it

the tail of a cat, swimming before the canoe, but no body to

Join them A stone thrown by an invisible hand after this,

caus'd a swelling and a soreness in her head; and she was
bitten on both arms black and blue, and her breast scratch'd.
The impression of the teeth, which were like a man's teeth,
were seen by many. "' — Magnalia, vol. i, p. 454.

'Evidently this name is wrongly given; Thorvald Ericson
had been killed in a previous expedition. The second narra-
tive of Karlsefne says tluit this Tliorvald was a relation of
Eric.

''Probably the Blue Hills of Milton, which are considered
as extending almost if not quite, to Mount Hope, in Rhode
Island. The distance is given conjecturally, but it shows
that the writer was describing a veritable voyage, reminding
one of some of the statements with regard to hills in Wey-
mouth's voyage to Kennebec. Some critics demand from the
Northmen more exact descriptions of the coast than are given
by many navigators of the seventeenth century.

n '

Ameuica by the Nokthmen.

135

also appeared to bo of equal length from Strauinfiord to
both placo°. The third winter they were in Straumtiord.
They now became much divided by party feeling, and the
women were the cause of it, for those wlio were unmarried
would injure those who were married, and hence arose
great disturbance. There was born the first autumn,
Snorre, Karlsefne's son, and he was three years okl when
they went away. Wlien tliey sailed from V inland they
they had a south wind, and then came to Markland, and
found there, five Skrasllings, and one was bearded ; two were
females, and two boys ; they took the boys, but the others
escaped, and the Skrsellings sank down in the ground.^
These boys they took with them ; they taught them the
language, and they were baptized. They called their mother
Vatlielldi, and their father, Uvfvge. They said that two
kings ruled over the Skrfellinge, and that one was named
Avalldania, but the other Valldidia.' They said that no
houses were there. People Hved in caves or in holes. They
said there was a land on the other side, just i)posite tl eir
country, where people lived who wore white clothes, and
carried poles before tliem, and to these were fastened flags
and they shouted loud ; and the people think that this vvas
White-man's land, or Great Ireland.^

^ That is, they fled into hiding places or got into under-
ground abodes.

■^ If we are correct in supposing that there was a glacial
man, and that the Skrwllings were descendants of such a
glacial man, it follows that wc have in the Sagas lonr of liis
words, which may be the oldest known words of human
speech: Vathelldi, Uva?ge, Avalldania, and Valldidia, the
names of the parents of the Sknelling boys, and of the two
kings. At least, in a recent note addressed to the writer,
Prof. Max Muller says, that tlicre is notliing in the language
of the Esquimaux to prevent us from assigning it to an an-
tiquity as high as that of the supi)osod glacial man. See
"Glacial Mayi," etc. Popular S. Rev., wiii, p. 39.

"The location of this place will be discussed in the Minor
Narratives.

136

PllE-COLUMBIAN DISCOVERY OF

1 ■ ''

ill

in'

Biarne Griniolfson was driven with his ship into the Irish
ocean, and tliey came into a worm sea,' and soon the ship
began to sink under them. They had a boat which was
smeared with sea oil, for tlie worms do not attack that.
They went into the boat, and then saw that it could not hold
them all. Tlien said Biarne : "As the boat will not hold
more than half of our men, it is my counsel that lots should
be drawn for those to go in the boat, for it shall not be ac-
cording to rank." This, they all thought so generous an
offer, that no one would oppose it. They then did so that
lots were drawn, and it fell to Biarne to go in the boat,
and the half of the men with him, for the boat had not
room for n)ore. But when they had gotten into the boat,
an Icelandic man that was in the ship, and had come with
Biarne from Iceland, said : " Dost thou mean, Biarne, to
leave me here ? " Biarne said : " So it seems." Then said
the other : " Very different was the promise to my father,
when I went with thee from Iceland, than thus to leave
me, for thou said that we should both share the same fate."
Biarne said, " It shall not be thus ; go down into the
boat, and I will go up into the ship, since I see that
thou art so anxious to live."^ Then Biarne went up into

' This was the teredo, which is often so destructive, and
which caused Columbus to abandon a ship at Puerto Bella,
because he could not keep her afloat. See Irving's "Columbus,"
p. 287.

'^ This was truly in accordance with the noble spirit of the
great Northmen, who had no fear of death, which to heroes,
is the shining gate of Valhalla. Biarne joined Karlsefue
with a ship. Atite, p. 121. There may be some confusion here
so far as relates to the statement that the survivors reached
Dublin. Thorhall, the Hunter, we are elsewhere told, was
driven to Ireland, but Biarne was not with him. The first
narrative states distinctly that he remained with Thorfinn
Karlsefue, and only two ships are mentioned, his own and
Biarne's. It appears, however, that there was a third, prob-
ablj a small one, in which Thorhall, the Hunter, went north-

AmEKICA HY the NOIIIHMEN.

137

the slup, and this man down into tlie boat, and after that
they went on tlieir voyage, until they came to Dublin, in
Ireland and there told these thino-s; but it is most people's
belief that Biarno and his companions were lost in the worm
sea, for notlnng was lieard of them after that time.

THE ACCOUNT OF THORFINN.

That same winter [A. D. 1006-7], tliere was much dis-
cussion about tlie affairs of iirattahlid ; and thev set up the
game of chess, and sought amusement in the reciting of liis-
torvV and in many other tilings, and were able to pass life
joyfully. Karlsefne and Snorre resolved to seek Vin-
land, but there was much discussion about it. P turned out
that Karlsefne and Snorre prepared their ships to seek Vin-
^nd the following summer. [A. D. 1007]. In this enterprise
iiiarneand Thorhall joined as comrades with their own ship
and crew, who were their followers. There was a man named
Thorvald, a relation^ of Eric. Thorhall was called the
Jlunter. He long had hunted with Eric in summer, and
had the care of many things. Thorhall was of great stature,
arge and swarthy face, of a hard nature, taciturn, saying
htt e of affairs, and nevertheless crafty and malicious, alwa^-s
inclined to evil, and opposed in his mind to the Christian
religion, from its first introduction into Greenland Thor
hall indulged in trifling, but nevertheless Erie was used to
his familiarity. He went in the ship with Thorvald, and

ward around Vinland. It may be perfectly true, however,
that two parties from Karlsefne's expedition finally brought
up m Ireland, as the annals of shipwreck furnish multitudes
of most curious and remarkable incidents which outdo the
creations of romance. See the recent case of the woman
carried alone in a small fishing vessel from the coast of Eng-
land in a severe gale, and cast upon the coast of Norway.

• Here wo have a distinct evidence of the fact that historv
wa,« cultivated in Greenland.

' Here, the writer is correct. See a7ite, p. 121
18

138

PUE-COLL'MBIAN DISCOVERY OF

r I'

flit

■i i

filf N

was well acquainted with uninlial)itable places. He used tlie
ship in which Tliorhiorn came; and Karlset'iie engaged com-
rades for the expedition ; and the best part of the sailors of
Greenland were with him. They carried in their ships, forty
and a hundred men. Afterward they sailed to West bygd
and Biarney-isle.' They sailed from Biarney-isle with a north
wind, and were on the sea a day and night, when they found
land, and, sending a boat to the shore, explored the land,
where they" found many flat stones of such great size, that
they exceeded in length the size of two men. There were
foxes there. They gave the land a name, and called it Hellu-
land. After this, they sailed a night and a day with a north
wind. They came to a land in which wei'e great woods and
many animals. South-v est, opposite the land, lay an island.
Here they found a bear, and called the island. Bear island.
This land, where there were woods, the}' called Markland.
After a voyage of a day and a night, they saw land, and
they sailed near the land and saw that it was a cape ; they
kept close to the shore with the wind on the starboai-d side,
and left the land upon the right side of the ship. There
were places without harbors, long shores and sands.'^ When
they went to the shore with a boat, they found the keel of
a ship, and they called the place, Kiarlarness ; ' and they
gave the shore a name, and called it Wonder-strand, be-
cause they were so long going by. Then another bay ex-
tended into the land, and they steered into the bay.^ When

' Disco.

' See on all these passages, a7ite, p. 109. It is rather ab-
surd to suppose that the Northmen would have staid three
years at a point only three days' sail from Greenland, which is
the time given to the Keel Cai>c, without communicating with
home. We must extend the distance.

3 The same bay referred to in the previous account, and
which lay between Point Gilbert and Isle Nauset. Archer,
in his account of Gosnold's voyage, says, that when they
rounded Point Care, the extremity of Isle Nauset, ''We bore
up again Avith the laud, and in the night, came with it anchor-

America by the Northmen.

139

Leif was with King Olaf Tryggvessun, he sent liitn to es-
tablish tlie Cliristlan religion in (Greenland; then the king
gave him two Scots-folk, a man named Hake, and a woman
named Hekia. The king told Leif to take them with liis
men, if he would have his commands done quickly, as they
were swifter than beasts. These folk, Leif and Eric gave
to Karlsefne, as followers. When they were come opposite
Wonder-strand, they put the Scots on the shore, and told
them to run sonthward and ex])lore the country, and return
before the end of three days. They were thus clothed,
having a garment called a Biafal ; ' it was made so that a
hat was on top, open at the sides, without arms, buttoned
between the legs, and fastened with a button and a strap ;
and the j-est was bare.

They came to anchor and lay by, until the three days
passed,- when they returned, one having in his hand a vine,
and tlie other, self-sown wheat. Karlsefne said that they
had found a fruitful land. Afterward they were received
into the ship, and they went on their way until a bay inter-
sected the land. They steered the ship into the bay. On
the outside was an isLand,^ and there was a great tide around
the island. This they called Straumey.-* There was a great
number of birds, and it was scarcely possible to find a place
for their feet among the eggs. Then they steered into a
long bay which they called Straumtiord, where they landed
from their ships and began to prepare habitations.' They

ing in eight fathoms, the ground good." Hero it will be seen

that the Northmen lay safely for three days. Atite, p. 123.

' In the first account it is called a Kiafal.

'The Sloop Mary delayed under similar circumstances.
Ante, p. 97, 7iote.

' The agreement with the first account is substantial.
* This island may have been the m.oderu Nantucket. See
a)ite, p. 105.

' The identification of particular localities may be interest-
ing, but it is not essential so long as we are able" to show the
general agreement of a description with some unmistakable

140

PUE-COLUMUIAN DISCOVERY OF

l> I

■ i

(■ i !

1
%

!
1

brought with tliein all kinds of cattle, and they found suf-
ficient pasturage. There were mountains and the pruspect
was pleasant; but they cared for nothing except to explore
the land ; there was a great abundance of grass. Here they
wintered, and the winter w'as severe, and they did not have
stores laid up, they began to be in want of food and failed
to catch fish. So they sailed over to the island,^ hoping that
they might find means of subsistence either on what they
could catch or what was cast ashore. Hut they found but
little better fare though the cattle were better off. [A. D.
10U8]. Afterward they prayed to God to send them food,
which prayer was not answered as soon as desired. Then
Thorhall disappeared and a search was made which lasted
three days. On the morning of the fourth day Ivarlsefne
and Biarne found him lying on the top of a rock ; there ho
lay stretched out, with open eyes, blowing through his
mouth, and muttering to himself. They asked him why he
liad gone there. lie replied that it did not concern them
and not to wonder as he was old enough to take care of him-

region. Torfieus found, in the various accounts, a region
which lit- expressed by a drawing, showing a large promontory
extending northward similar to Oapc Cod, the general features
of Avhich, in connection with the coast south and south-west,
are well delineated in all the Saga descriptions of " Vinland."
The temperature and productions of the country likewise
agree, and though the sailing distance in reaching the Keel
Cajje {Kiarlarness) may be too short, we can easily under-
stand how that came about and can add to the time what may
be needed; but we cannot modify the general description of
the country with its great cape, the passage around which is
so many times described. These general features are distinct
and indestructible, and show conclusively that the Northmen
in their various expeditions were accustomed to sail around
Cape Cod, finding a rendezvous at the south or south-west not
far from the heel of the cape.

^This incident is not mentioned in tl . first narrative. We
repeat that the island may have been Martha's Vineyard.

AmEKICA IJY THE NORTHMEX.

141

self without their troubling- tliomseivL's witli liis affairs.
They asked hiin to go home with them ; thi.s he did. After
that a whale was cast up and they ran down to cut it up ;
nevertheless they did not know what kind it was. Neither
did Karlsefne, though acquainted wiUi whales, know this
one. Then the cooks dressed the whale and they all ate of
it and it made them all sick. Then Thorhall said, " It is
clear now that the lled-beard is more prompt to give aid
than your Christ. This food is a reward for a hymn which
I nuide to my god Thor, who has seldom deserted me,''
When they heard this none would eat any more, and threw
what was left from the rock, committing themselves to God.
After this the opportunity was given of going after Hsh,
and there was no lack of food. They sailed into Straum-
iiord* and had abundance of food and hunting on the nuiin-
land, with many eggs and fish from the sea.

Now they began to consider where they should settle
next. Thorhall, the Hunter, wished to go northward around
Wonder-strand and Kiarlarness to explore Viidand, but Karl-
sefne wished to go south-west, thinking likely that there
would be larger tracts of country the further they went
south. Thorhall made ready at the island- and only nine
men went with him ; all the rest of the ship folk went with
Karlsefne. One day Thorhall was carrying water to his
ship ; he drank it and sang this verse :

" Observe that it is not said that they loft the " island,"
but that they went to Straumfiord and hunted on the main-
land, which is another of the many coincidences agreeing Avith
the first narrative which mentions their loavimj tlic island.
Such unexpected agreements should not be lost witli students
really bent upon knowing the nature of tliesc composi-
tions.

' These narratives were originally recited, and doubtless in
the hearing of some of those who had taken part in the ex-
pedition, and what island was intended must have been clear
to them. These little omissions prove much to a critical
mind. Ante, p. 109, note.

'1)1

fi'Mlf

IM PUK-COLUMBIAN DISCOVERY OP

" I'oople i)romiHod rao wbon hitluT I
Ciiiiin, th»in tlio best drink
I Mliduld liHvi'i Imt th(! country
I must dcndunco to all;
Hero you arc forced by hund
To bi!iir till' pull to tlip water,
I must bt'ud me down to the spring;
Wine did not como to my lips."

Afterwiird they left the land and Karlsefne went witli
them to tlie island. Before they hoisted sail, Thorhall
Kang these verses :

" Let us return
Homo to our countrymen,
Let the vessel try
The broad path of the sea ;
While the persevering
Men who praise tlio land
Are building' and boil the whales
Here on Wonder- strand."

Thcreui)un they sailed nortliwai'd around Wondei*-strand
and Kialarness. But when they wislied to cruise westward,
a storm came apiinst them, and drove them to Ireland,
where they were beaten and made slaves. There Thorhall
passed his life.-

Karlsefne, with Snorre and Biarno and the rest of his
comrades, sailed south. They sailed long until they came
to a river, which flowed from the land through a lake, and
passed into the sea. Before the mouth of the river were
great islands, and they were not able to enter the river ex-
cept at the highest tide.^ Karlsefne sailed into the mouth

' Notice the word building. Karlsefne evidently erected some
kind of structures as well as Leif, and their enterprise seeks to
excite the ridicule of Thorhall. This version of his song varies
from the previous (p. 126) which does not mention the building.

'' The first narrative says substantially the same thing, that
Thorhall died in Ireland. A7ite, p. 137.

^The first narrative speaks of the shoals. Since that time
changes have taken place in the physical aspects of the
region. On the lake. See ante, p. 127, n. 2.

Ameuka ijy tue Xoutiimkn.

148

(

of tho river, and cullt'd tlio laud Hop. TImti- tluv found
fields, where tlu; land was low, with wild corn, and where
the land was hi<^h, were viiu's. Every river was lull
of fish. They made pits in the sand, where the tide rose
hi;;hest, and at low tide, sacred fish were found in tiiese
pits, and in the \v<)ods was a j^reat luuuher of all kinds of
beasts. Here they stayed half a uu)ntli, cnjoyinu: them-
selves, but ubserviiif^ nothing' new, Karly one nutriiinir, on
luokin<j^ aroimd, they saw nine skin boats, in which were
poles that, vibratini^ toward the sun, <:;ave out a sound like
reeds shaken bv the wiiul. Then Karlsefiie said : " What,
thiidv you, does this mean i " Stiorre said : " It is possible
that it is a sign of peace ; let us raise up a white shield and
hold it toward them : " this they did. Then they rowed
toward them, wondering at them, and came to land. These
men were small of stature and fierce, having a bushy head
of hair, and very great eyes and .wide cheeks. They re-
mained some time wondering at them, and afterward rowed
southward around the cape.' They built dwellings beyond
the lake, others made houses near the mainland, and others
near the lake. Here they spent the winter. No snow fell,'-
and all their cattle fed under the o])en sky. They decided
to explore all the mountains^ that were in Hop ; which
done, they [A. I). 1009] went and passed the third winter
in Straum bay. At this time they had much contention
among themselves, and the unmarried women vexed the
married. The first autumn, Snorre, Karlsefne's son, was
born, and he [was three years old] when they went away.

' This narrative wholly omits the battle with the Skradlings.
Each 'vriter, as in the Gospel narratives, seems to dwell upon
the points in which he or others felt a particular interest.

- This might have been the case on some remarkable season,
like one well-known season in Iceland.

^This range extends to the Blue IlillsofMassaehusotts, which
indicates considerableaetivityincxploration {<nife, p. 134). This
Saga says distinctly that they expected to explore the laud. Dur-
ing the three years spent here Karlsefue must have done much.

.iJl

li.'.'! '

;{

:'l.

Pre-Columbian Discovery of

They had a south wind, and came to Markland, and found
five Sknellings, of whom one was a man, and two women,
and two were boys. Karlsefne took tlic boys, and the
others escaped and sank down into the earth. They carried
the boys away with them, and tauglit them the language,
and they were ^' aptized. The name of tlieir mother was
Vatheldi, and their father, Uva^ge. They said that two
kin>^.s ruled o " the Skrajllinger'a land ; one was named
AvaHdania, and the other, Yalldidia;' that tliey had no
houses, but lived in dens and caves. In another part of the
country, there was a region where the people wore white
clothes, and shouted loud, and carried poles with Hags. This
they thought to be White-man's land.

After this they came into (ireenland, and passed the
winter with Leif, son of Eric Red. Biarne Grimolfson
was carried out into the Greenland^ sea, and came into a
worm sea, which they did not observe, until their ship
was full of worm holes. They considered what should
be done. They had a stern boat, smeared with oil. They
say that wood covered with oil, the worms will not
bore. The result of the council was, that as many should
go into the boat as it would hold. It then appeared
that the boat would not hold more than one-half of the men-
Then Biarne ordered that the men should gc> in the boat by
lot, and not according to rank. As it would not hold all,
they accepted the saying, and when the lots were drawn, the
men went out of the ship into the boat. The lot was, that
Biarne should go down from the ship to the boat with one-
half of the men. Then those to whom the lot fell, went
down from the ship to the boat. When they had come into
the boat, a young Icelander, who was the companion of
Biarne, said : " Now thus do you intend to leave me,
Biarne?'* Biarne replied, "That now seems necessary."
He replied with these words: "Thou art not true to the
promise made when I left my father's house in Iceland."

' See ante, p. 135, n. 2.

'' Also called the Irish sea, and the sea before Vinland.

Ameiuca by the Nouthmex.

146

Biiirne replied : '' Iii this tliin- I do not see any otlier way • "
oontuiuino;, " What course can you suo-^rest \ " He M, '' I
see tlii.s, that we chauije places and thou come up here'and
I go down there/' Hiarne replied : " Let it be so, since I
see that you are so anxious to live, and are fri-htened hy the
prospect of death." Then they changed places, and he de-
scended into the boat with the men, and Biarne went up
into the sliip. It is related that Biarne, and the sailors with
hun ui the ship, perished in tlie worm sea. Those who went
in the boat, went on their course until they came to land
where they told all these things.'

After the next summer, Karlsefne went to Iceland with
his son Snorre, and he went to his own home at Reilcianess.
Ihe daughter of Suoi-re, son of Karlsefne, was llallfri.i',
mother to Bi.hop Thorlak Runolfson. They had a son'
named Thorbiorn, u-hose daughter was named Thoruna
mother of Bishop Biarne. Thorgeir was the name of the
other son of Snorre, Karlscfne's so.., father to In^^veld, and
mothei- of the first bishop of Brand. And this is the end
of the history.

THIRD NARRATIVE,

That sa.ne summer ca.no a ship from Norway to Green-
land. The ma.i was called Thorfinn Karlsefne who steered
the ship. He was a son of Thord Ilesthofde, a son of
Snorre Thordarson, fVom ILifda. Thoriinn Karlsefne was
a man of great wealth, and was in B.-attahiid with Leif
Ericsson. Soon ],o fell in love with (^udrid, and courted
lier, and she referred to Leif to answer for her. Afterward
she was betrothed to l.ini, and their wedding was held the
same winter. At this th.ie, as before, much was spoken
~^L_!!! .^i""' '^''''^'' ' ''"'^ '''^^^ ^^"^'"'^1 and others per-

' The first narrative {anU; p. 137) says that they reached
Dubhii. Wo have suggested that this statement was con-
fused ^vith the case of Thorhall, wlio was carried there
ihe statement of this narrative allows us to suppose that the'
survivors reached Greenland.
It

'mi

Pre-Columbtan^ Discovery of

suadcd Karlsefiie niudi to that expedition. Now this ex-
pedition was I'csolved upon, and tliey got ready a crew of
sixty men, and live women ;' and then they made the
agreement, Karlsefne and liis people, tliat each of them
shonld have equal share in what they made of gain. They
liad M'ith them all kinds of cattle,^ having the intention to
settle in the land, if they could. Karlsefne asked Leif for
his houses in Vinland, but he said he would lend them,
but not give them. Then they put to sea with the ship,
and came to Leif s houses'' safe, and carried up their goods.
They soon had in hand a great and good prize, for a whale
liad been driven on shore, both lai'ge and excellent.^ They

': f

' Tlii.s account loaves out Biarncand Thorhall, who evidently
had two ships. A)ifc, p. 137.

'•' These could be easily carried, especially as their cattle were
snuUl. All the early Portuguese expeditions carried their live
stock with them. See Prince Henry the Navujator.

'' Tlie different events are here stated with some rapidity,
and we seem to reach Leif 's booths or huts sooner than neces-
sary. According to the two previous accounts, they did not
reach the locality of Leif 's booths until the summer after they
found the whale. These booths, it would appear, were at Mt.
Hope Bay. This is cither the rosalt of confusion in the mind
of the writer, or else it is founded on the fact that Leif erected
habitations at hoik places. In the tirst two accounts of Thor-
finn Karlscfne's expedition, Leif's booths arc not alluded to.
There may be no real contradiction after all.

•»The other accounts say that the whale nuide them sick;
but that was not bcca.ise the flesh of the whale was spoiled.
Beamish, in his translation of the song of Thorhall, indeed
makes that disagreeable pagan tell his comrades, that, if they
wish, they

" Fetid wliales may boil
Here ou Furdustrand
Far from Fatherlaud; "

but there is nothing in the text to throw suspicion upon the
whale. The trouble was, i)erhaps, that a sudden overfeeding

America by tiik Northmen.

147

went to it and cut it up, and had no want of food. Tlieir
cattle went up into the land; but soon they were unruly,
and gave trouble to them. Tiiey had one bull with them.
Karlsefne let wood be felled and hewed for sliippiiii;^ it, and
had it laid on a rock to dry. Thev had ail the i;ood of the
products of the land, which were these : both graj)evS and
wood, and other products. After that first winter, and when
summer came [A. D, 1008], they were aware of Sknellings
being there ; and a great troop of men came out of the woods.
The cattle were near to them, and the bull began to bellow
and roar very loud. With that the Sknellings were friifht-
ened, and made off with their bundles, — and these were of
furs and sables and all sorts of skins; and they turned and
wanted to go into the houses, but Karlsefne defended the
doors. Neither party understood the language of the other.
Then the Skrjvllings took their l)nndleH and opened tlieui,
and wanted to have weapons in exchange for them, but
Karlsefne forbade his men to sell weapons. Next he
ado])ted this plan with them, that he told the women to
bear out milk and dairy products to them. When they saw
these things, they would buy them and nothing else.' Now

caused nausea, and the whale was thrown away after-
ward in religious disgust. Yet the event is out of its chron-
ological order, and properly belongs in the account of the
next year, and gives only i\\ii favorable aspect of the case.

' The second narrative makes no mention of the barter,
while the tirst speaks of the anxiety of the natives to secure
red cloth {ante, p. 129). But this reference is perfectly con-
sistent with the first, the red cloth being exhausted, as appears
from the statement. Then, naturally, though it is not men-
tioned in the first account, the Northmen resorted to their
dairy products, which the natives, having no cattle, and not
knowing of such things, received with avidity. One writer
was thus more interested in the dairy, while the other was
struck by what had been told him respecting barter in red
cloth. Thus, wherever we turn in the Sagas, we find the state-
ments agreeing with one another at unexpected points, and sup-

148

Pre-Columbian Discovery of

1^ ■ '

;l:l*^

ll I

the trade for tlie Skra»llings was such, that they carried
away their winniiip;s in their stomachs; and Karlsefne and
liis comrades got both their bags and skin goods, and so
they went away. Next it is to be told, that Karlsefne let a
good strong fence be made around the habitation, and
strengthened it for defense.j At tiiis time Gudrid,- Karl-
sefne's wife, lay in of a male child, and the child was called
Snorre. In the beginning of the next winter, came the
Sknellings again to them, and in much greater numbers
than before, and with the same kind of wares. Then said
Karlsefne to the women, "Now ye shall carry out the same
kind of food as was best liked the last time, and nothing
else. Then they saw that they threw their bundles in over
the fence, while Gudrid sat in the door within, by the cra-
dle of Snorre, her son. There came a shadow to the door,
and a woman went in with a black kirtle on, rather short,
with a snood around her head ; clear, yellow hair ; pale, with
lai'ge eyes, so large that none ever saw such eyes in a human
head. She went to where Gudrid was sitting, and said :
"What art thou called?" "I am called Gudrid; and
what art tliou called i ' ' " I am called Gudrid," said she.
Then the goodwife, Gudrid, put out her hand to her, that
she might sit down beside her. At the same time Gudrid

plemcntingone another, showing that there was a full and tri' a
story of which each, with some slight differences, gave a part.
We repeat again, that this is the line on which the Sagas
should be studied. This internal evidence has been neg-
lected.

' Possibly all evidences of this defense may have disappeared,
yet it is not improbable that such remains may yet be discov-
ered on Mount Hope Buy or in regions on the Massachusetts
and Maine coasts. Possibly camps of the iSorthmen Avere
utilized by the Indians.

■^ This event belongs to llie previous year. These facts are
not given in the other accounts, the writer appearing to have
different information.

America by the Nokthmex.

149

heard a great noise, and the wonian had vanished.'
At tlio same time one of the Sknelliiigs was killed hy
one of Karlsefnc's lioiise men, because he was about to
take one of their weapons ; and they made off as soon as
possil)le, leaving behind them goods and clothes. No one
had seen this woman but G, h-id. "Now," says Karisefne,
" we must be cautious, and take counsel ; for I think they
will come the third time with hostility and nianv people.
We shall now take the plan, that ten men go out to the
ness and show themselves tiiere, and the rest of our men
shall go into the woods and make a clearance for our (iattle
against the time the enemy comes out of the forest; arid we
shall take the bull before us, and let him go in front." So
it happened, that at the place where they were to meet,
there was a lake on the one side, and the forest on the other!
The plan which Karisefne had laid down was adopted. The
Skrtellings came to the place where Karisefne proposed to
fight ; and there was a battle there, and many of the Skr^el-
lings fell. There was one stout, handsome man among the
Skniilling people, and Karisefne thought that he mu^t be
their chief. One of the Skrcellings had taken up an axe and
looked at it a while, and wielded it against one of his com-
rades and cut him down, so that befell dead ii. antly. Then
the stout man took the axe,- looked at it awhile, and threw
it into the sea as far as he could. They then fled to the
woods as fast as possible, and so ended the light. Kari-
sefne stayed there with his men the whole winter; but to-
ward spring he made known that he would not stay there

'This is another somewhat marvelous occurrence, similar to
those with which Cotton Mather and others were accustomed
to ombellisii New England history. It docs not explain it-
self.

» For the previous versions of this affair of the axe, see p. 131
This last account appears a little plainer, but is in agreement
with the first narrative, and also shows that Kai-lsefne liad a
plan of campaign.

150

Pre-Columbian Disooveky of

II ■ I:

■I i

any longer, and would return to Greenland.* Now they
prepared for their voya<ije and took much goods from thence
— vines, grapes and skin wares. They put to sea, and tlieir
ship came to Ericsfiord, and they there passed the winter.

The following summer'' [A. D. 1011], Karlsefne went to
Iceland and Gudrid with him, and he went home to Reiki-
aness. His mother felt that he had made a poor match,
and for this reason Gudrid was not at home the first winter.
But when she saw that Gudrid was a noble woman, she went
Iiome, and they got on well together. Halfrid was the
daughter of Snorre Karlsefneson, mother to Bishop Thor-
lak Runolfson. Their son was named Thorbiorn, and his
daughter, Thoruna, mcther to Bishop Biorne. Thorgeir
was che son of Snorre Karlsefneson, father to Ingveld,
mother of the first Bishop Brand. Snorre Karlsefneson
had a daughter, Steinun, who married Einar, son of Grun-
darketil, son of Thorvald Krok, the son of Thorer, of Espi-
hol ; their son was Thorstein Rauglatr. He was father to
Gudrun, who married Jorund of Keldum. Halla was their

' It is true that he decided to leave the country, but he did
not carry out his intention until the following year, 1010.
This narrative skips over all the events of the third year. It
is nevertheless given, in order that the reader may have the
fullest possible knowledge of any shortcomings that may exist
in the manuscripts. This is done with the more confidence,
for the reason that there is no doubt but that all the narra-
tives contain a broad substratum of solid historical facts which
there should be no difficulty in interpreting.

'■' From the statement at the end of the voyage of Freydis
(see p. 155), we learn that the summer in which he returned
from Iceland, Karlsefne went to Norway, and from thence
the following spring to Iceland. This does not conflict with
the statement in the above narrative, though at first it may
appear to. It does not say that he went the following sum-
mer from Greenland to Iceland, but that on that summer, he
went to Iceland, which is perfectly true, though poorly stated,
and his previous voyage to Norway being ignored.

America by the Northmen.

151

daughter, and she was mother to Flose, father of Valgcrda,,
who was mother of Herr Erlaiid Sterka, fatlier of Ilerr
Hank, the I agman.' Anotlier daughter oi Floso was Thor-
dis, mother of Fru Ingigerd the Rich ; her daughter was
Frn Hallbera, Abbess of Stad, in Reikiauess. Many other
distinguished men in Iceland are tiie descendants of Kari-
sefne and Thurld,^ who are not liere mentioned. God be
with us. Amen.^

VIII. THE VOYAGE OF FREYDIS, IIELGE AND

FINBOGE.

This narrative is found in Antiquitates Americanm, p.
65. It shows that history, among the Icelanders, was not
made subservient to family interests, and the truth was told
without respect to persons. At the conclusion we have a
(supplementary) notice of Thorfinn and Gudrid, aftei their
return to Iceland.

Now tlie conversation began again to turn upon a Vin-
land voyage, as th e expedition was both gainful and honor-

' Ante, p. 118.

' Rafn says that "Thurid " was another name for Gudrid.
Ante, p. 121, n. 2.

' In view of the facts of the case, the notion that any one
of these Icelandic characters is to be viewed as mythical, or
in the category with that of "Agamemnon," appears simply
preposterous. The history of the times proves that they are,
in the truest sense, historical characters. No genealogies,
apart from the Hebrew records, are better known than those
of prominent Icelandic families. There can be no reasonable
doubt cast upon the record which attests the family line of
Gudrid, the foundation of which was begun in New England,
furnishing an important pari of the Episcopal succession
in Iceland. The attempt to question the records suggests, in a
feeble way, the method used to prove that no such person as
Napoleon Bonaparte ever existed.

•)i

! 'I

(

able. The same summer [A. I). 1010] th.it Karlscfne re-
turned from Vinlaud, a ship arrived in Greenhmd from
Norway. Two brotliers commanded the ship, llel<i;e and
Finhoge ; and they remained that winter in Greeidand.
Tlie brothers were of Icehmdic descent, from Eai'ltiorih It
is now to be told, that Freydis, Eric's daughter, caine home
from Garda,' and went to the abode of Finboge and llelgc,
and proposed to them that they should go to Viidand with
their vessel, and have half with her of all the goods tiny
could get there. They agreed to this. Then she Avent to
the abode of her brother Leif, and asked him to give her
the houses he had built in Viidand. He answered as be-
fore, that he would lend, but not give the houses.^ It was
agreed upon between the brothers and Freydis, that each
should have thirtv fighting men, besides women. I^)Ut
Frevdis broke thi:?, and had live men more, and concealed
them. The bntthers knew nothing of it until they arrived
in Vinland."' They went to sea, and had agreed beforehand
to sail in company, if they could do so. The difference
was little, although the brothers came a little earlier, and
had carried up their baggage to Leif's houses. When Frey-
dis came to the land, her people cleared the ship, and carried
her baggage also up to th<i house. Then said Freydis:
" Why are you carrying your things in here;" "Because
we thought," said they, " that the whole of the agreement
with us should be held." She said, " Leif lent the houses
to me, not to you." Then said Helge, " In evil, we brothers
cannot strive with thee ; " and bore out their luggage and
made a shed, and built it farther from the sea, on the borders

' Garda was the Episcopal scat of CIroenlaud, Freydis and
her husband went to Vinlaud with Karlsefne. It was she
who frightened the Skra^llings.

" It would appear from this that the buildings were of a
durable character.

^It ajipears that the route to Vinlaud had become so well
known, that the Saga writers no longer thought it necessary
to describe it.

iim

America by the Nokthmen.

153

of n, lake/ and Bv.t all about it in order. PVeydis had trees
cut down l\>r her hIujj's cargo. Now winter set in, and tiio
brothers proposed to have some jj;anu!s for aiiuisenient to
paflrt the time. So it was done for a time, till discord came
anion<;' theni, and the games were given up, and none went
from one bouse to the other; and tilings went on so during
a great part of tlie winter. It liappened one morning tliat
Frej'dis got out of her berth, and put on her clothes, but
not her siioes; and the weatiier was such tiiat much dew had
fallen. She took the cloak of her husband over her, and
went out, and went to the house of the brothers, and to the
door. A man had gone out a little before and left the door
behind him, half shut. She 0})cned the door, and stood in
the door\\ ay a little, and was silent. Finboge lay the farthest
inside the hut, and was awake. lie said : " What wilt thou
have here, Freydisr' She said, ''I want thee to get up
and go out with me, for I would speak with thee." lie did
so ; they went to a tree that was lying under the eaves of
the hut and sat down. "How dost thou like this place '("
said she. He said, " The country, nicthinks, is good, but I
do not like this quarrel that has arisen among us for I think
there is no cause for it," " Thou art right," eays she, " and
I think so too, and it is my errand to thy dwelling that I
want to buy the ship of your brothers as your ship is larger
than mine and I would break up from hence." " I will let
it be 30," said he, " if that will please thee." Now they
parted so and she went home, and Finboge to his bed. She
went up into her berth and with her cold feet awakened
Thorvard, wlio asked why she was so cold and wet. She
answered with great warmth, " I went to these brothers,"
said she, " to treat about their ship, for 1 want a larger

'Mount Hope Bay often ajjpcars like a lake. Brcreton, in
his account of Gosnold's voyage, calls these same bays, lakes.
He writes: '•' From this [Elizal)eth] island, wo went right
over to the mayne, where we stood a while as ravished at the
beau tie and dilicacy of the sweetnesse, besides divers clcare
lakes, whereof we saw no end."
80

"! >>
I

at-

■Ik.

164

PuK-COLl'MUrAX DrsCOVEHY OF

8hi|),' and they took it so ill that tlioy struck and abused
inc. And tliou, useless man ! will neither avenge luy afTront
nor thy own. Now must I feel that I am away from
Greeidand, but I will separate" from tlu^o if thou doat not
avciii^e this." Then lie could not bear her rejU'oaches and
told his men to rise as fast as possible and take tiieir weap-
ons. They did so and went to the huts of the brothers and
went in as they lay aslecj) and sciized them all, bound tlmm,
and led them out bound, one after the other, and Freydi'^
had each of them put to death as he came out. Now all
the men wore killed, but the women were left and nobody
would kill them. Then said Freydis, " Give me an axe in
my hand." This was done, and she turned on those five
women and did not^ive over until they wore all dead. Now
they returned to their own hut after this evil deed, and the
people could otdy observe that P'reydis thought she had di)ne
exceedingly well, and she said to her comrades, " If it be
our lot to return to Greenland I shall take the life of the
man Avho speaks of this atTair, aiid we shall say that we left
them here when wo went away." Now they got ready the
ship early in si)ring [A. D. 1011], which had belonged to
the brothers, with all the goods they could get on that the
ship would carry, sailed out to sea, and had a good voyage,
and the ship came early in the summer to Eriesfiord. Karl-
sefne was there stilP and had his ship ready for sea, but
waited a wind ; and it was a common saying that never a
richer ship sailed from Greenland than that which he steered.
Freydis went home now to her house which had stood with-
out damage in the meanwhile. She bestowed many gifts on
her followers that they might conceal her wickedness, and
she remained now on her farm. All were not so silent

' Freydis was evidently the principal in most things.

"By the Icelandic law a woman could separate from her
husband for a slight cause.

^According to this statement, the expedition returned very
early, as Karlsefne went to Norway the same season, as pre-
viously told.

Ameuica iiy tiik Nohtii.mhn'.

155

ftbout their misdeeds and wickedness that somethiiij^ did nut
eonio nj) about it. This came at last ti) the cars of Leif, hur
brotiicr, and ho thoni^ht this report was very bad. Ix'if
toolv three men of Freydis's followers and tortnred them to
speak, and they acknowledued the whole alfair and thoii"
tales agreed t(»<i;ether. ''1 do n(»t eare," says Leif, *' to treat
my sister as she deserves; bnt this 1 will foretell them that
their |)osterity will never tiirive,'' So it went that nobody
thon<,dit any thiiii^of them save evil, from that time.' Now
we havo to say that Karlsefne got ready his ship and sailed
out to sea.- He came on well, readied Norway safely, and
remained tin re all winter and sold his wares. He and his
wife were held in esteem by the best i)eo])le in Norway. In
the following spring, he fitted ont lii.i ship for Iceland, and
when he was quite ready, and his shij) lay outside the pier
waiting a wind, there came to him a south-country man,
from Bremen, in Saxon land, who wouhl deal with him fur
his house-bar.' " I will not sell it,'' said he. " I will give
thee half a mark of gold for it," said the south-country
man. Karlsefne thought it was a good offer, and sold it ac-
cordingly. Th(! south-country num went away with his
house-bar, and Karlsefne did not know what wood it was.
It was massur-wood ' from Vinland. Now Karlsefne put to

' If this transaction had occurred during the previous cen-
tury, when paganism universally prevailed, this atrocious act
of the cold-blooded Freydis would have been the i)reludc to
almost endless strife.

'■'This account is supplementary to the foregoing and is
taken from the same work. Karlsefne, of course, sailed from
Greenland.

^ JIusns)iotrii has been translated "house-besom." The
exact meaning is not known. A bosom-shaft would be too
small, however rare the wood, to be made into any thing of
great value. The bar for securing the house door was as com-
mon as necessary in every hov .'e, and this, perhaps, is what is
referred to.

*See note, p. 103.

^
%

' i -
I

i5(;

I'UK-COLUMIIIAN DiSCOVKUY <)!'

scii [A. I). 1012]. aii<l liis sliipcaiiic to land no: 'linf Skiv^a-
tionl,' and tlierc; hv put up liis vessel for winter. In sprin;^
he jiuicliast'd (ilauilneirland,- where he took up his ahoiU',
and dwelt there as long as ho lived, and was a man of ^rcat
consideration, ^[any men are descended from Inin and his
wife Gudrid, and it was a ^ood family. When Ivarlsi'fno
died, (ludrid took the management of his estates, and of
Snorre, her son, wh(» was horn in V inland. When Snorre
was married, (iudrid went out of the countrv, and went to
he south, and eauic hack a;^ain to Snorre's estate, and ho

' In (he north of Iceland.

' Not far from Skiiiialiord, in Iceland.

■' It is understood thai she went to Rome. It may he asked
why she did not spread the news of her son's voyage in those
parts of Europe whither she went, ami u)ake known the dis-
covery of the New World. 'Vo this it may again he rejilicd,
that the Icelanders had lu) idea that they had found a Now
World, and did not appreciate the value of their geographical
knowledge, liesides, there is nothing to i)rove that (^iiulrid,
and others who went to Europe at this ])eriod, did uof make
known the Icelandic discoveries. At that tinu; no interest
was taken in such suhjects. and therefore we have little right
to expect to tind traces of d'N- ussion in relation to what,
among a very small class, would be regarded, at the best, as a
curiousstory. Secnoteon Adamof Hremen, p. lOi.n.l. That
some knowledge was possessed by Rome of the hndandic voy-
ages is highly probable, and, possibly, some fragments relating
to the subject may still exist in the Vatican or some other col-
lection. That any ancient records relating to the subject are
known to the Librarians of Rome is rather unlikely, while it
appears altogether imi)robable to the author, who has some
knowledge respecting the condition of the Libraries in Rome,
that any such knowledge would be suppressed. The Church
of Rome, as we have already seen {Ante, p. 56), has always
been prompt to use the Episcoi)al Icelandic voyages to de-
monstrate the priority of her occupation in America, while
the proposition to canonize Columbus has been bruscpiely
brushed aside. If there are any records at the Vatican relat-

A mi: It If A HY Tiir: NouTirMKN.

IT)?

liad built a dmrrh at (iliiiiil);i'. Aftt-nvanl (iiidiid hociitno
a nun, 5111(1 lived u Iicniiit'ri life, mikI did so as h>\\'^ iis slio
lived.' SnoiTo had a son callod Tliorircir, who wiis father to
I*»ish(.|) nraiid'.s luotluii-, In,<,'vci(l. The daui^ditn- (.f Siiorro
KarJHcfiicson was called IlaU'rid. She; was ujother of Uii-
nolf, the father of P.ishop Tiiorlak. Karisofneaiid (iiidrid
also had a son called Wiiu-n. He was i'ather of Tlioruna, \\w.
mother of I^ishop Hi<")rn. Many |)ooi»le are descended from
Karlsefne, and his kin lia\e been lucky; and KarlsefiK! has
given the most particular accounts of all these travels, of
which soiiiethiii",^ is hero related.

iiiff to the sul)ject, they will no doubt ])o found and published.
Of charts bearing upon the Icelandic discoveries, it is pur-
haps certain that there are none.

' It will be reniendjered that all this was foretold by her
fortncir husband, Thorstein Kricsun, when life was revived
in the house of 'IMiorstein Black, in (Ireeidaiid ; from which
we must infer that the voyage of Thorstein Krieson was com-
posed after, or during, the second widowhootl of (iudrid, and
that eireumstance, connected with Thorstcin's i)ropheey,
were in uccordancc with the spirit of the age, imagined in
order to meet the circumstances of thecase (see \). llo). That
is to say: Tliorstein knew all about his wife's deep religious
feeding and of her favorable opinion of conventual life,"uid,
in his lust hours, spoke of the probabilities of the case, as
many have done before, while some eireumstanees coiiuecled
with his "prophecy" Avere magnilied, and some things were
imagined. The entire matter bears the stamp of the age, and
agrees with many su])erstitions that found a place in New
England. Ante, p. 115, n. 3.

ni ■.

ii:

1 1 1

1: =1
i {

■i ; ,'

MINOR NARRATIVES.

I. ARE MARSON IN HVITRAMAXNA-LAND.

This iifirrativc is from the Landnama-hol\ No. 107.
Folio; colhitcd with ILinksbok, Melabok, and otlicr manu-
scripts, ill tho Arnie- Magna'/ 1 Collo(!tion.

It has fre(iiiently,bo(3ii observed that the Landnama-bok
is of the liii>'hest historical authority. It proves the fact,
that Rafn, the Limerick i reliant, conveyed the narrative
relating to Marsoii, to Iceland from Ireland, where tiie cir-
cumstances of his voyage were well known. The Land-
nama-hoJi, while it gives a tacit approval of the statements
of the narrative, does not enter upon the (piestion of the lo-
cality of the place to which Are Marsoii went. Therefore,
while we accept the narrative as genuine history, we should
exercise due caution in determining the locality of Ilvitra-
inanna-land. Nothing is to be gained l)y making any forced
deductions from the narrative ; especially as the pre-Colum-
bian discovery of America is abundantly proved, without
the aid of this, or any other of the Minor Narratives.

IJlf the Squinter, son of Hogni the White, took the
whole of Reikianess between Thorkatiord and Ilafrafell ; '
he married liiorg, daughter of Eyvind the Eastman,'- sister

1 In Iceland the care bestowed upon genealogies is well il-
lustrated by the pains here taken to give the line of Marson.
It must bo remembered again that Landnama-bok cor-
responds with the English Dooaisday Book, being devoted
to a matter-of-fact account of the people and their lands in
Iceland.

'■* That is, the Norwegian.

:! i

160

Pre-Columbian Discovery of

\)! ' ,.

•i i i

to Tlelge the Lean, They had a son named Atli the Red,
wlio inarried Thorbiorty, sister of Steinolf the Humble.
Their son was named Mar of Ilolum, who married Thor-
katla, daughter of Hergil Xeprass. She had a son named
Are, who [A. D. 92S] was di-iven by a storm to White-
man's land,^ which some call Ireland the Great, which lies

^ Hvib'amnnna-land. It will be remembered that in the
Saga of Thorfinn Karlsefno (p. 135), this land was referred
to by the Skra^ling boys wliom he took prisoners and brought
up. They described it as a land inhabited by a people who
wore white clothes, carried poles before them, and shouted. Yet
the Saga writer there says no more than that the \)QO\}\ct]iink
that this was the place known as Ireland the Great. What
the Skrrellings say does not identify it with the land of Are
Marson; yet, in order to allow Professor Kafn, who held that
this country was America, the full benefit of his theory, we
give the following extract from Wafer's Voyage, which shows
that, in the 3'ear 1G81, when he visited the Isthmus of Da-
rien, there were people among the natives who answered
tolerably well to the description given in Karlsefne's narra-
tive. Wafer says: " They are white, and there are them of
both sexes; j'ct there were few of them in comparison of the
copper colored, possibly but one, to two or three hundred.
They differ from the other Indians, chiefly in respect of color,
though not in that only. Their skins are not of such a
white, as those of fair peoi)le among Europeans, with some
tincture of a blush or sanguine complexion; neither is their
complexion like that of our i)aler people, but 'tis rather a
milk-white, lighter than the color of any Europeans, and
much like that of a white horse .... Their bodies are beset all
over, more or less, with a fine, short, milk-white down....
The men would probably have white bristles for beards, did
they not prevent them by their custom of plucking the young

beard up by the roots Their eyebrows are milk-white also,

and so is the hair of their heads," p. 107. He also adds, that
" The men have a value for Cloaths, and if any of them had
an old shirt given him by any of us, lie would be sure to wear
it, and strut about at no ordinary rate. Besides this, they

it:

America by the Northmen.

161

in the "Western ocean opposite Vinlaud, six^ days' sail west
of Ireland. Are was not allowed to go away, and was

liave a sort of long cotton garments of their oWn," some white,
and others of a rusty black, shaped like our carter's frocks,
hanging down to their heels, with a fringe of the same of
cotton, about a span long, and short, wide, open sleeves,
reaching but to the middle of their arms. .. .They are worn
on some great occasions .... When they are assembled,
they will sometimes walk about the jdace or plantation where
they are, with these, their robes on. And once I saw Ta-
cent. lins walking with two or three hundred of these at-
tenditi_ him, as if he was mustering them. And I took no-
tice that those in the black gowns walked before him, and the
white after him, each having their lances of the same color
with their robes.'* These resemblances are at least curious,
but historians will ask for more solid proof of the identity of
the two people.

' Professor Kafn in, what seems to the author, his needless
anxiety to fix the locality of the White-man's land in America,
says that, as this part of the manuscript is difficult to deci-
pher, the original letters may have gotten changed, and vi in-
serted instead of xx or xi, which numerals would afford time
for the voyager to reach the coast of America, in the vicinity
of Florida. Smith, in his Dialognc^, has suppressed the term
six altogether, and substituted " by a number of days' sail un-
known."' This at least is trifling with the subject. In Gri'm^
land's Histort. Mindes^ncBrker, chiefly the work of Finn
Magnussen, no (juestion is raised on this point. The various
versions all give the nuuiber six, which limits the voyage to
the vicinity of the Azores. Schoning, to whom we are so
largely indebted for the b^st edition of Heimskringla, lays
the scene of Marson's adventure at those islands, and suggests
that they may at that time have covered a larger extent of
territory than the present, and that they may have suffered
from eartliquakes and floods, adding '' It is likely, and all cir-
cumstances show, that the said land has been a piece of North
America." This is a bold, though not very unreasonable
hypothesis, especially as the volcanic character of the islands

Rf *

IB' '■'

I' ' i

'■'M

103

PkK-COLUMMIAN DlBCOVEIlY OF

biiptizod' tliero. This was first told l\y Kiifn, the Linio-
rick triulcr, who livod i'oi- u h)t)^ time in Troliuuh S(> iilso
Tliorkcl, soil of (m'IUm*, tohs tluit certain TcehinihM's said,

is well known. In ISOS, w volcmio inountuin roso to the
lu'ig-ht of 3,500 feet. Vet Sc]i()nin<jj's snj^srostion is not ncodod,
The fact that the islands -.ore not iidiahiUnl when diseovorod
by the I'orttiijucsc docs not, however, settle any tiling against
Scln'tning, hccaiise, in tiie conrsc of live hundred years, the
peo])le might eitlu-r liavi niigrated, or been swept itwtiy by
)>estilence. (Irindanirs Iliatoriske Minilesma'rkcr (vol. i, p.
150) says simply, tliat '* It is f/iouf/hf. tlnit he (Arc Marson)
ended his days in America, or at all events in one of the
larger islands of the west. Some think tliat it was one of the
Azore ishuuls. ' Upon the whole, we ourselves believe to the
contrary, 'i'he projjcr method seems to be that of Kafn, who
would correct the text.

'The fact that Are Marson is said to have been baptized in
Ireland the (Ireat docs not prove that the place, wherever lo-
cated, was inhabited by a colony of Irish Cliristia,ns. Yet
tliis view was urged by Professor Rafn and others, who held
that (ireat Ireland was situated in Florida, A Shawaneso
trtulifioii is given to prove that Florida, was early settled by
white men from over th(> sea. We read that in 1818, "the
Sliawaiicse were estiihlished in Ohio, whither they came from
Florida. Black Hoof, then eighty-live years old, was born
there, and remembered bathing in the sea. lie told the In-
dian Agent, that the people of his tribe ha.d a tradition, that
their ancestors came over the sea, and that for a long time
they kept a yearly sacrihcc for their safe arrival." — Arclmo'
login Amo'irnnn. vol, i, ji. 373. Yet these Indians, the suji-
posed descendants of eminently pious Christians from Ire-
land, were bitterly ojiposed to Christianity, and had no Chris-
tian traditions. It is more reasonable, to allow that six,
should mean eleven or twenty days' sail, notwithstanding
there is ditliculty in tinding I lu' white men for the land in
(luestion. It will be found by the study of the subject of
comph'xion in historical narratives that th':" terms "'white,"
" black " and " red " are used com])aratively. See Vcrrazanc
the Explorer, p. 27.

America by the Noutmmen.

103

who licard Tliorfinn, Eiirl of tlio Orkuovs, suy, tluif, An;
\m\ been pooh aiid known in AVliito-niiin's land, and tliat,
tliouirh not allowod to loavo, Ik; was held in mncli lionor.
Aio had a wife nainod Thorjroir, dnu, alitor of Alf of Dohini.
Thoir sons woro Thorojls, (iudloif and Ilhi<i;o, which in fhc;
family of Roikianoss, Jorund wns lh(! son of Ulf the
Sqnintor. Ho marriod Thorhior(r Knarrahrin<4a. Thoy
had a dauu^litor, Thorhihl, wliom Erio tlio !iod marriod.
Thoy had a son, l.oif tlio Eortunato of Groonland. Jorund
was the natno of tho son of Atli tlio Ucd ; ho marriod
Thordis, daughter of Tliorg<Mr Suda; tlioir dan-^litor was
Thorkatla, who married Thoriril.s K(»llson. .lornnd was also
tho father of Snorrc'

II. BIOIIN ASBRANDSON.

This narrative is taken from I'-yi'hyggia Saga, win'oh
contains tho early history of that part of Icoland lyinir
around Snad'olls, on the west coast. The Saga is not of a
later date than the thirteenth century. It is given liero, not
because it apjdios largely to thomainquestion under consider-
ation, the |)re-Coluinl)ian discovery of America, but rather,
because it will make the reader fully acquainted with the
hero, who afterward ap[ioar8,

'It will appear from this gonpalogical account, that Arc
Marson Avas no obscure or mythological character. In 981
he was one of the prnicii)al men of Icoland, and is highly
sjiokon of. Yet liis connection with Ireland the Circat,
though undoubtedly real, \vA\\\\y pram:^, what may nevcrthe- 1
less bo true — a pro-Scandinavian discovory of America by '
the Irish. This, not im])robable view, demands clearer proof, ^
and will repay investigation. The other characters mentioned
arc equally well known. See Antiqnitatcs Aynermmce, pp
211-13.

^%: !.

1 1

164

Prb-Columhian Drsr-ovRHY of

:il

«!

Bork the Fat, iind Tlionlip, daii^liter of 8ur, liau a daugh-
ter named Thiirid, who married ThorbiiuMi the Fat, living
on tlie estate of Froda. lie was a son of Ortic tlie Lean,
who lield and tilled the farm of Froda. Thorhiin-n Jiad be-
fore been married toThurid, dangliterof Asbrand, of Kamb,
in Breidavik, and sister of BiorneBreidaviking the Athlete,
soon t(» be mentioned in this Saga, and of Arnbi()rn the
Handy. The sons of Thorbiorn and Thurid were Ketil the
Champion, Gnmdang and Ilallsteiii.

Mow this mnst be related of Snorre the I'riest,' that he
undertook the suit for tlie slaying of Thorbiorn, his kins-
man. He also caused his sister to remove to his own home,
at llelgefell, because it was repoi-ted that Biiirn Asbrand,
of Kand), liad come to pay her im])roper attention.

There was a man named Thorodd, of Medalfells Strand,
an npright man and a good merchant. He owned a trading
vessel in which he sailed to distant lands. Thorodd had
sailed to tlie west,^ to Dublin, on a trading voyage. At
tliat time, Sigurd'' Illodverson, Earl of the Orkneys, had
made an expedition toward the west, to the Hebrides and
the Man, and had laid a tribute upon the habitable part of
Man.* Having settled the peace, be left men to collect the

' Priest or Gode. This was the heathen priest of Iceland,
whose duty was to provide the temple offerings, for which pur-
pose a contribution was made by every farm in the vicinity.
This ottice was also united with that of chief judge and advo-
cate, and for the cases conducted by him at the Thing, he re-
ceived tlie customary fees; yet he was obliged to depend for
his support, mainly, upon the products of his farm. The of-
fice was hereditary, but could be sold, assigned, or forfeited,
though men of character and ability, could, indepeudently of
such means, establish themselves in the priesthood.

''Ireland was regarded as the "west,"' the people being ac-
customed to use this expression.

3 Killed in Ireland in a battle, 1013.

* Probably the present " Isle of Man," whicli still retains
" Manx " law.

America hy tiik N()iiTHMi':N-.

1G5

tribute ; tlio carl hlmsoU" returned to the Orkneys. Those
wlio were left to eoUeet the trii)iite, ^'ot nil ready and set
sail with a Houtii- west wind. But after they had sailed some
time, to the south east and east, a jj;rcat storm arose, wliich
drove them to the northward as far as Ireland, and their
vessel was east away on a barren, uninhabited island. Just
as they reached the island, Thorodd the Icelander came sail-
ing by from Dublin. The shipwrecked men bogged for aid.
Thorodd put out a boat and went to them himself. When
lie reached them, the agents of Sigurd promised him money
if he would carry them to their home in the Oi-kneys.
When he told them that he coidd by no means do so, as he
had made all ready to go back to I(!eland, they begged the
harder, l)elioving that neither their money nor their liberty
would he safe in Inland or the Hebrides, whither they had
just befoi-e been with a hostile army. At length Thorodd
came to this, that he would sell them his ship's long-boat for
a large sum of the tribute money ; in this they reached the
Orkneys, and Thorodd sailed to Iceland without a boat.
Having reached the southern shores of the island, he laid
liis course along the coast to the westward, and entered
Breidafiord, and came to the harbor at Dogurdarness. The
same autumn he went to Helgefell to spend the winter with
Snorre the Priest, and from that time he was called Thorodd
the Tribute Taker. This took place just after the mui-dor
of Thorbiorn the Fat. During the same winter Thurid, the
sister of Snorre the Priest, who had been the wife of Thor-
biorn the Fat, was at Helgefell. Thorodd made proi)osals
of marriage to Snorre the Priest, with respect to Thuri(h
Being rich and known by Snorre to be of good repute and
that he would be useful in supporting his administration of
affairs, he consented. Therefore their marriage was cele-
brated during this winter at Snorre's house, at Helgefell.
In the following spring Thorodd set himself up at Froda
and was thought an upright man. But when Thurid went
to Froda, Biorn Asbrandson often paid her visits, and it was
commonly reported that he had corrupted her chastity.

166

PllE-COLUMniAN" DrSCOVERY OP

I I

Thorodd vainly tried to put an end to these visits. At tliat
time Thorodd Wooden Clog lived at Arnnhval. His sons,
Ord and Val, were men grown and youths of the greatest
promise. The men blamed Thorodd for allowing himself
to be insulted so greatly by Biorn, and offered him their aid
if desired, to end his coming. It chanced one time when
Biorn came to Froda, that he sat with Thurid talking. It
was Thorodd's custom when Biorn was there to sit in the
house. But he wm,s now nowhere to be seen. Then Thurid
said, " Take care, Biorn, for I fear Thorodd means to put
a stop to your visits here ; I think he has secured the road
and means to attack you and overpower you with unequal
numbers." Biorn replied, " That is possible," and then
sang these verses :

O Goddess' whom bracelet adorns,
This day (I linger
In my beloved's arms)
Stay longest in the heavens,
As we both must wish;
For I this night am drawn
To drink myself the parentals'
Of my oft departing joys.

Having done this, Biorn took his weapons and went to
return home. As he went up the hill Digramula five men
jumped out upon him from their hiding place. These were
Thorodd and two of his men, and the sons of Thoror
"Wooden Clog. They attacked liiorn, but he defended him-
self bravely and well. The sons of Thoror pressed him
sharply, but he slew them both. Thorodd then fled with
his men, though he himself had only a slight wound, and
the others not any. Biorn went on until he reached home
and entered the house. The lady of the house^ ordered a
maid to place food before him. When the maid came into

' Literally, looman, with reference to Jord, the Earth, one
of the wives of Odin, and also mother of Thor.
' Funeral cups.
' Biorn's mother.

,i ;

America by the Noktiihen.

1G7

the room with the liglit and saw Biorn wounded, she went
and told Aehrand liis fatlier tliat BiOrn had returned covered
with blood. Asbrand came into the room and inquired what
was the cause of his wounds. He said, " Have you and
Thorodd had a tight ? " Biorn replied that it was so. As-
brand asked how the affair ended. Biorn replied with these
verses :

Not so emy against a brave man

It is to fight;

(Wooden Clog's two sons

Now I Lave slain).

As for the ship's commander,

A woman to embrace,

Or for the cowardly,

A golden tribute to buy.'

Asbrand bound up his son's wounds, and his strength was
soon restored. Thorodd went to Snorre the Priest, to talk
with him about setting a suit on foot against Biorn', on ac-
count of the killing of Thoror's sons. This suit was held
in the court of Thorsnesthing. It was settled that Asbrand,
who became surety for his son, should pay the usual fines.
Biorn was exiled for three years,- and went abroad the same
summer. During that sunnner, a son was born to Thnrid
who was called Kiarten. He grew up at home in Froda,
and early gave great hope and promise.

When Biorn crossed the sea he came into Denmark, and
went thence to Jomsberg. At that time Palnatoki was cap-
tam of tlie Jomsb org^ Yikings. Biorn was admitted into

' This is a fling at Thorodd the Tribute Taker.

''This shows, that while Biorn killed the men in self-de-
fense, it was the opinion of the court that he did not get
what he deserved.

'Jomsberg was the head-quarters of an order of vikings or
pirates, where a castle was also built by King Harold Blaat-
and of Denmark. It was situated on one of the outlets of the
Oder, on the coast of Pomerania, and was probably identical
with Julian, founded by the Wends, being recognized as the
island of Wallin, which Adam of Bremen, in the eleventh

1G8

Pke-Collmbian DiscovEiiY or

tlio crow, and won tlio name of tlio Athlete. lie was at
Jotnsbur;^ when Sty il)i<"»i'ii tlie Hardy .issaidted it. He went
into Sweden, wlien th(! Jonisher^ Vikiii«;s aided Styrhiurn ;'
he was in tlie battle of Tynsvall, in which Styrhitirn was
killed, and escajted with the other Jonisvikin^s into the
woods. While Palnatoki lived, Biorn remained with hitn,
distin<,'ni?hed !tmon<^ all, as a man of roniiirkahle courage.

century, described as the largest and most flourishing com-
mercial city in Europe. Burislaus, king of the Wcnils, sur-
rendered the neighboring territory into the hands of Pulna-
toki, a groat chief of Ficjnia, who was pledged to his su]»port.
Accordingly he built a stronghold here, and organ 'zed a band
of i)iriites, covimonly called vikings, though it must be ob-
served, that while every viking was ii))iratc, every jiirate was
not a viking. Oidy those pirates of princely blood were
properly called vikings, or sea-ki ;3, who haunted the vicks,
or bays, and thus derivec. their name. The Jomsvikings
were distinguished for their rare courage, and for the fear-
lessness with which they faced death. They were governed
by strict laws, hedged about by exact requirements, and were
also, it is said, pledged to celibacy. Jomsberg was destroyed
about the year 1175, by Waldeniar the Great, of Denmark,
aided by the Princes of Germany and the King of Barbii-
rossa. Those of thr' pirates who survived, escaped to a place
near the mouth of the Ell)c, where a few years after, they
were anjiihilated by the Danes, who in the reign of Canute
VI completely destroyed their stronghold. Accounts of their
achievements may be found in the Saga of King Olaf 1'ryg-
gvesson (vol. i of Laing's Heiniskringla). The Icelanders
sometimes joined the Norway pirates, as was the case with
Biorn, but they did not semi out pirate ships from Icelandic
ports. Palnatoki died in the year 993.

* Styrb" orn, son of King Olaf, ruled Sweden in connection
with E ic, dialled the Victorious. Styrbiorn's ambition, to
which was idded the crime of murder, led to his disgrace.
lie joincu the vikings, adding sixty ships to their force. He
was killed, as stated, in 984, in a battle with his uncle near
Upsula.

America by the Northmen-.

ion

The samo -mnmor [A. D. 996], the bmthers, Biorn and
Arnhiurii returiiud into Icoland to Riinhavnsos. Bicirri was
always aftorward called tlio Atliluto of Breidavlk. Arnbiorn,
who liad gotten innoh wealth al)road, boiijrht the Hakka
estate in Ran havn, the s;une summer. He lived there with
little show or osteutation, and, in tnowt atlairs. was silent,
but wa.-, novoi'tlieless, a man active in all thini^s. Bi("irn,
his brother, after his return from abroad, lived in spletulor
and elei^anco, for during liis ab.-once, he had truly adopted
the manners of courtiers. He much excelled Arnbiiirn
in personal api)earance, and was none the less active in
execution. ITi^ was far more expert tlian his brother in
martial exercises, having improved much abroad. The
same summer, after his return, there was a general meet-
ing near lleadljrink,' within the bay of Froda. All the
merchai..s rode thither, clothed in colored garments, and
thei'e was a great assembly. Ilouseuife Thurid of Froda,
was there, with whom Biorn began tc talk ; no one censur-
ing, because they expected their conversation would be long,
as they had not seen each other for a great while. On the
same day there was a light, and one of tin' Nordentield men
was mortally wounded, and was carried down under a busli on
the beach. So much blood flowed out of the wound that there
was a large pool of blood in the bush. The bo}' Kiarten,
Thtu'id of Froda's son, was there. He had a little axe in
his hand, and ran to the bush and dipped the axe in the
blood. When the Sondenstield's men rode from the beach
south. Thord Blil) asked Biorn how the conversation be-
tween him and Thurid of Froda ended. Biorn said that lie
was well satisfied. Then Thord asked if he had seen the
boy Kiarten, their and Thorodd's son. " I saw him." .-aid
Biiirn. " What is your opinion of him?'' asked Thord.
Biorn answered with the following song :

near

' Dasont says in describing the coast : *' Now we near the
stupendous crags, of Hofdabrekka, Headbrink, where the
mountains almost stride into the main."
22

170

Prk-Columiiian Discovery op

I' '

; ^.

"T Hiiw a hoy run
With f ('ft r till fiyoH,
Tho woman's liiiagf, to
Tlio wolf's \v(!ll ' in tho wood;
Pi'oplt' will say,
Tbiit Ills true I'liflicr | was]
Ilo tliiit ploii^hud the son,
This the boy does not know."

Thonl said : " Wliat will Thorodd say when ho liuiirs
that tlie boy buloiiijs to you ( " Then IVinru snuy; :

" Thf-n will the noblo horn woman [make]
Thorodd's suspicion
t'oinc true, when shi' gives me
'I'ho sumo kind ol' sons;
Always the slender,
Snow-white woman loved mo,
I still to her
Am a lover."

Tliord said, it will be best for you not to have any thiujj;
to do with each other, and that you turn your thoughts.
" It is L-ertaiuly a good idea." said Hiorn," but it is far from
my intention ; thoujj^h there is some ditt'erence wheu I have
to do with such men as hor brother Snorre.'' '* You must
take care of your own business," said lliord, and that ended
their talk. Bku-u afterward went home to Kamb, and took
the affairs of the family into his own hands, for his father
was now dead. The followinijf winter he determined to
make a journey over the hills, to Thurid. Although Tho-
rodd disliked this, he nevertheless saw that it was not easy
to prevent its occurrence, since before he was defeated by
him, and Bhirn was much stronger, and more skilled in
arms than before. Therefore he bribed Thorgrim Galdra-
kin to raise a snow storm against Biorn when he crossed the
hills. When a day came, Bioi'u made a journey to Froda.
When he proposed to return home, the sky was dark and the
snow-storm began. Wheu he ascended the hills, the cold
became intense, and the snosv fell so thickly that he could

Referrina: to the dead man's blood.

Amerfca hy the Northmkk.

not seeliis way. So(»n the strenuth of the .st<»iin iiicivaPcd
somuc'li tliat lie could lianlly ivalk. His c-L.tlies, already
wet thrcjugh, froze around his l.ody, and lu' wandered, he
did not know wiiere. Tn the course of the ni^'ht ho reached
a cave, and in this cold house ho passed the nii-ht. Then
I3iorn sung :

" Woman tliiit bring«>st
Vestiiu'iit.s,' would
Not like my

Dwelling in such a storm
If she know tliat

IIo who had before steered sliii)s,
Now in the rock cave
I.ay stilT aud cold."

Again he sang :

" The cokl field of the swans,
From the east with loaded ship 1 ploughed,
Because the woman inspired me with love;
I know that I have great trouble si-tTered,
Aud now, for a time, the hero is
Not in a woman's bed, but in a cave."

Biorn stayed three days in the cave, before the storm sub-
sided ; and on the fourth day he came home from the
mountain to Kamb. He was very weary. The servant
asked him where he was during the storm. Biorn sun-- :

" My deeds under
StyrbiOrn's proud banner are known.
It came about that steel-clad Eric
Slew men in battle;
Now I on the wide heath,
liOst my way [and].
Could not in the witch-stronsr
Storm, find the road."'-'

' hi Iceland the women arc accustomed to bring travelers
dry clothes.

* All of these verses are extremely obscure and elliptical,
though far more intelligible to the modern mind than the
compositions which belonged to a still older period. All the

173

Phe-Columbian Discovery of

1 1

r':l

Biorn passed the rest of tlie winter at home ; tlie following
spring his brother Arnbiorn Hxed his abode in IJukka, in
liaunhafn, but Biorn lived at Kanib, and had a grand
house. . . .

This same summer, Tliorodd the Tribute Taker invited
Snorre the Priest, his kinsman, to a feiast at his house in
Froda. Snorre went there with twenty men. In the
course of the feast, Tliorodd told Snorre how much he was
hurt and disgraced by the visits of Biorn Asbrandson, to
Tlmrid, his wife, Snorre's sister, saying that it was right for
Snorre to do away with this scandal. Snorre after ]>assing
some days feasting with Thorodd went home with many
presents. Then Snorre the Priest rode over the hills and
spread the report that he was going down to his ship in the
bay of Raunhafn. This happened in summer, in the time
of haymaking. When he had gone as far south as the Kam-
bian hills, Snorre said : " Now let us ride back from the hills
to Kamb ; let it be known to you," he added, " what 1 wish
to do. I have resolved to attack and dcsti-oy Biorn. But I
am not willing to attack and destroy him in his house, for it
is a strong one, and .i>iorn is stout and active, while our num-
ber is small. Even those who with greater numbers, have
attacked brave men in their houses, have fared badly, an ex-
ample of which you know in the case of Gissur the White ;
who, when with eighty men, they attacked Gunnar' of
Lithend, alone in his house, ma \y were wounded and many
were killed, and they would have been compelled to give up
the attack, if Geir the Priest had not learned that Gunnar
was short of arrows. Therefore," said he, "as we msiy ex-
pect to find Jiiorn out of doors, it being the time of hay.nak-
ing, I appoint you my kinsman, Mar, to give him the first
wound ; but J. wcmld have you know this, that there is no

chief men of Iceland practiced the composition of verse.
Cliaucer makes his parson apologize for his inability to imi-
tate the practice. It was believed that certaii women had
power over storms.

'Sec the Saga of "Burnt Mai," translated by Dasent,

Amekica by thi-; Northmen.

178

room for child's play, and y(»u must L'.\i)uct :i contest witli
a hungry woU', nidess your tir^t wound shall be his death
blow." As they rode from the hills toward his homestead,
they saw Bicirn in the fields ; he was making- a sledge,'
and no one was near him. lie had no weapon but a small
axe, and a large knife in his hand of a span's length, which
he used to round the holei-; in the sledge. Biiu-n saw Snorre
riding down from the hills, and recognized him. Snorre
the Prici-t had on a blue cloak, and rode first. The idea
suddenly occurred to Ijliirn, that he ought to take his knife
and go as fast as he could to meet them, and as soon as he
reached them, lay hold of the sleeve of Snorre with one
hand, and hold the knife in the other, so that he might bo
able to pierce Snorre to the heart, if lie saw that his own
safety recpiired it. Going to meet them, Bic'irn gave them
hail, and Snorre returned the salute. The hands cjf Mar
fell, for he saw that if he attacked Biurn, the latter would
at once kill Snorre. Then J3iorn walked along with Snorre
and his comrades, asked what was the news, keeping his
hands as at tirst. Then he said : " I will not try to conceal,
neighbor Snorre, that my present attitude and look seem
threatening to you, which might appear wrong, but fur that
I have understood that vour C()ming is hostile. Now I de-
sire that if you have any business to transact with me, you
will take another course than the one vou intended, and
that you will transact it openly. If none, I will th.it you
make peaco, which when done, I will return to my work, as
I do not wish to be led about like a fool." Snorre replied :
" Our nmeting has so turned out that we shall at this time
part in the same peace as before ; but I desire to get a jiledge
from you, that from this time you will leave off visiting
Thurid, because if you go on in this, there ran never I)e any
real friendship between us." Biiirn rej)lied : "■ This I will
promise, and will keep it ; but I do not know how 1 shall

' Tiiese sledges were used in drawing hay, as the roads were
then, as now, too poor for carts.

174

Pke-Columbian Discovery of

be able to keep it, so long as Tlmrid and I live in the same
land," " There is nothing so great binding you here," said
Snorre, "as to keep you from going to some other laud."
" What you now say is true," replied Biorn, " and so let it
be, and let onr meeting end with this pledge, that neither
you nor Thorodd shall have any trouble from my visits to
Thm-id, in the next year." With this they parted. Snorre
the Priest rode down to his ship, and then went home to
Ilelgefell. The day after, Biorn rode south to Raunhafn,
and engaged his passage in a ship for the same snuimer [A.
D. 999]. When all was ready they set sail with a north-
east wind wliich blew during the greater part of that siun-
mer. Nothing was heard of the fate of the ship for a very
long time.'

III. GITDLEIF GUDLAUGSON.

This narrative, which shows what became of Biorn As-
brandson, whose adventures are partially related in the pre-
vious sketch, is from the Eyrbyggia Saga. Notwithstanding
the somewhat romantic character of these two narratives,
there can be no doubt but that, in the main, they are true
histories. Yet that they relate to events in America, is not,
perhaps, altogether so certain.

There was a man named Gudleif, the son of Gudlaug tlie

Rich, of Straumtiord and brother uf Thorfinn, from whom

' This is the only paragraph which applies directly to the
subject in hand. The following narrative will bring Biorn to
notice again Note, however, that the north-east wind, long
continued, .vould drive a ship toward the south-west, which,
as we shall see, was the case with the ship in which Biorn
sailed. This forms a curious and unexpected agreement with
what follows.

America by the Northmen.

175

the Stiirlingers are descended. Gndleif was a great iner-
cluint. lie had a trading vessel, and Thorolf Eyrar Loptson
had another, wlien they fought with Gyrid, son of Sigvald
Earl. Gyrid lost an eye in that light. It ha])pcned near
the end of the reign of King Olaf the Saint, that Gudlcif
went on a trading voyage to the west of Dublin. On
his return to Iceland, sailing from the west of Ireland, he
met with north-east winds, and was driven far into the ocean
west, and south-west, so that no land was seen, the sunnner
being now nearly gone. Many prayers were offered that
they might escape from the sea. \t length they saw land.
It was of great extent, but they did not know what land it
was. They took counsel and resolved to make for the land,
thinking it unwise to contend with the violence of the sea.
They found a good harbor, and soon after went ashore. A
number of men came down to them. They did not recog-
nize the people, but thought that their language resembled
the Irish.' In a short time such a number of men had
gathered around them as numbered many hundred. These
attacked them and bound them all and drove them inland.
Afterward they were brought before an assembly, and it
was considered what should be done with them. They
tliouglit that some wished to kill them, and that others were
for dividing them among the villages as slaves. While this
was going on, they saw a great number of men riding- toward
them with a banner lifted up, whence they inferred that
some great man was among them. When the company
drew near, they saw a man riding under the bamier. He

' Few will infer much from this, since nothing is easier than
to find resemblances between languages.

^Thc language may indicate that they were horseback,
though it is not conclusive. At the period referred to, there
may have been no horses in America. They were introduced
by the Spaniards, after the discovery by Colundjus. At least,
such is tae common opinion. This statement is made without
reference to the proofs offered of the existence of the horse at
an earlier period, the remains of which are said to be found.

170

Pre-Columbian Discovery of

was tall and had a martial air, and was ajjed and "jravhaired.
All present treated this man with the utmost honor and
deference. They soon saw tliat their case was roferi-ed to
his decision. He commanded Gudleif and his comrades to
be brought before him. Coming into liis presence, he ad-
dressed them in the Northern tongue, and asked what land
they came from. They replied that the chief part were
Icelanders. The man asked which of them were Icelanders.
Gudleif declared himself to be an Icelander, and saluted
the old ]nan, which he received kindly, and asked what part
of Iceland he came from. He rei)!ied that he came from
the district some called Bogafiord. He asked M'ho lived in
Bogafiord, to which Gudleif replied at some length. After-
ward this man incpiired particularly about all the principal
incn of Bogafiord and Breidafiord. He inquired with special
interest into every thing relating to Snorre the Priest, and
to his sister Thurid, of Froda, and for the great Kiarten,
her son. In the meanwhile tiie natives grew impatient
about the disposition of the sailors. Tlien the great man
left him, and took twelve of the natives apart, and conferred
with them. Afterward he returned. Then the old man
spoke to Gudleif and his comrades and said : " We have had
some debate concerning yf)U, and the people have left the
matter to my decision ; I now ])ermit you to go where you
will, and although summer is nearly gone, I advise jou to
leave at once. These people are of bad faith, and hard to
deal with, and now think they have been deprived of their
right." Then Gudleif asked, "Who shall we say, if we
reach our own country again, to have given us our liberty ? "
lie replied : " That I will not tell you, for I am not willing
that any of my friends or kindred should come liere, and
meet with such a fate as you would have met, but for me.
Age now comes on so fast, that I may almost expect any hour
to be my last. Though I niay live souie time longer, there are
other men of greater influence than myself, now at some dis-
tance from this place, and these would not grant ; . r?! ' or
peace to any strange men." Then he looked tc tlic i'tting vot

AyEUICA BY THE NORTHMEN.

1mm
< 1

of their ship, and stayed at tin's phi/c nntil a fair wind spran<i^
u|), so that thev niii'ht li!avo thi' ixjrt. l>ufure thov went
away, this mail took a gold ring from his liand and gave
it to Gudleif, and also a good sword. Then he said to
Gudleif : "If fortnne permit!., you to reach Iceland, give
this sword to Kiarten, hero of Froda, and this ring to
Thurid, liis mother." Gudleif asked, '' Who shall I say

was the sender of this valuable y;ift i

e iv\

lied

that he sent it who loved the lady of Froda, l)etter than her
brother, the Priest of Ilelgafell. Then if any man desires
to know who sent this valuable gift, repeat my words, that
I forbid any one to seek me, for it i.^ a dangerous voyage,
uidess others should meet with the same fortune as you.
This region is large, but has few good ports, and danger
threatens strangers on all sides from the people, unless it
shall fall to others as yourselves." After this they separated.
Gudleif, with his comrades, went to sea, and reached Ireland
the same autumn, and passed the winter in Dublin. The
next spring they sailed to Iceland, and Gudleif delivered the

ily believed

commoni^^

seen, was Biorn

jewel into the hand of Thurid. It was

that there was no doubt but that the m

Breidaviking Kappa, but there is no other reliable report to

prove this.

ing
ind

ne.
lOur

are

dis-

«...
...lit

IV. ALLUSIONS TO VOYAGES FOUND IN
ANCIENT MANUSCRIPTS.

Professor Rafn, in Antiquitates Americans, gives brief
notices of numerous Icelandic vovages to America, and other
lands to the west, the particulars of which are not recorded.
The works in which these notices appear are of the
highest respectability. It is only necessary here to give the
facts, which have been collected with much care. They
show that the pie-Colund)ian discovery of America left
its recollection scattered througli out pearly the entire body
23

■I

178

PRE-0OLUMBIA]Sr DISCOVERY OF

of Icelandic history. The existence of a great land south-
west of Greenland io referred to, not as a matter of specu-
lation, but as .something perfectly well known. All these
references coniI)ine to furnish indisputable proof of the
positions maintained in this work, showing as they do,
beyond all reasonable question, that the impression which
80 generally prevailed in regard to the discovery of this
land, could not have been the result of a literary fraud. Some
of the facts are given below:
1121 . Eric, Bishop of Greenland,' went to search out Vinland.

Bishop Eric Upse sought Vinland.
1285. \ new land is discovered west from Iceland.

^ew land is found -

Adalbrand and Thorvald, the sons of Ilelge, found
the new land.

Adalbrand and Thorvald found new land \ est of Ice-
land.

The Feather^ Islands are discovered.

'This is found in Ayitudes Islnndoruvi Regii, which gives
the history of Iceland from the beginning down to 1307. Also
in An7ialcs Flateyensis, and in AntiaUs Reseniini. Eric was
appointed Bishop of Greenland, but performed no duties
after his consecration, and eventually resigned that See, in
order to undertake the mission to Vinland. He is also spoken
of in two works as going to Vinland with the title of Bishop
of Greenland, a title which he had several years before his
actual consecration.

'^The manuscript is deficient here, but we must remember
that Greenland had at this time, 1285, been known and ex-
plored for three hundred years, and, therefore, that the land
west of Iceland was beyond Greenland. Otherwise the
entry would have possessed no significance.

^ The Feather Islands are mentioned in the Ldgmanns An-
7iall, or, Annals of the Governors of Iceland, and Annates
iSkalhoUini, or Annals of the Bishopric of Skalholt, written
in the middle of the fourteenth century, long before Colum-
bus went to Iceland. Beamish suggests that these are the
Penguin and Bacaloa Islands.

America by the Northmen.

179

his

ibcr

ex-
jincl.

the

.1/1-
nales
■itten
ilum-
the

1288. Rolf is sent by King Erie to search out the new laud,'

and called on people of Iceland to go with him,

1289. King Eric sends liolf to Iceland to seek out the new

land.

1290. Rolf traveled through Iceland, and called out nion

for a voyage to the new land.

1295. Landa-Rolf died.

1357. There came thirteen large ships to Iceland. Eindride-
suden was wrecked in East Borgafioril, ncai- Lau-
geness. The crew and the greater part of the cargo
were saved. Bessalangen was wrecked outside of
Sida. Of its crew, Ilaldor ^lagre and Gunthorm
Stale, and nineteen men altogether, were drowned.
The cargo suffered also. There were also six ships,
driven back. There came likewise a ship from
Gi-eenland,^ smaller than the smallest of Iceland
ships, that came in the outer bay. It had lost its
anchor. Tliere were seventeen n.en on board, who
had gone to Markland,^ and on their return were
drifted here. But here altogether that winter,
were eighteen large ships, besides the two that
were wrecked in the summer.''

' "The notices of Nyja land and Dunoyjar, would seem to
refer to a re-discovery of some parts of the eastern coast of
America, visited by earlier voyawrs. The original appellation
of Nyjaland, or Nyjafundu-land, would have led naturally to
the modern English name of Newfoimdlaiul, given by Cabot,
to whose knowledge the discovery would [might] have come
through the medium of the commercial intercourse between
England and Iceland in the fifteenth century." Beamish.

- See the Decline of Greenland, in Int. -^duction.

^ Markland (Woodland) was Nova Scotia, as Ave know from
the description of Leif and others. Tliese vessels doubtless
went to get timber. All these accounts show that the
Western ocean was generally navigated in the middle of the
fourteenth century.

* March 13, 1888, the " W. L. White " was abandoned near

180

PuE-CoLUMiiiAN Discovery of

1357. There came a ship from (ireenhuid that had sailed to
Marklaud, and tliere were eight men on board.

V. GEOGIIAPIIICAL FRAGMENTS.

The iirst of these documents is from a work which pro-
fesses to give a description of the earth in the middle age.
From this it appears that the Icelanders liad a correct idea
of the location of Vinland in New England, though they
did not comprehend the fact that they had discovered a new
Continent. The account is found in AntiqiiHates Ameri-
cana>, p. 283. In the appendix of that work may be seen a
yac simile of the original manuscript. Ti'.e second account
is from Anii'juitates Araencana:^ p. 292. It was found
originally in the miscellaneous collection called the Gripla.
The failure to recognize modern discoveries shows that the
des(;ription is Pre-Columbian.

A BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE WHOLE EARTH.

The earth is said to be divided into three parts.' One of
these is called Asia, and extends from north-east to south-
west, and occupies the middle of the earth. In the eastern
part are three separate regions, called Indialand. Tn the
farthest India, the Apostle Bartholomew preached tlu ,ith ;
and where he likewise gave up his hfe (for the name of
Christ). In the nearest India, the Apostle Thomas preached,
and there also he suffered death for the cause of God. In
that part of the earth called Asia, is the city of Nineveh,
greatest of all cities. It is three days' journey in length and
one day's journey in breadth. There is also the city of

Cape May and drifted in a zig-zag course across the Atlantic,
some 5,050 miles, and brought up in the harbor of Stornoway,
NoTomber 20, following.

' This is in accordance with the maps of that early period,
some of which^ undoubtedly, were before the writer's eye.

America my tiiI'] Northmen".

181

Biil)ylon, luicieiit and very hirgu. Tliiire King Nebuchad-
iio;czar formerly reigned, .)Ut now tliat city is so tliorougldy
destroyed that it i.s not iidiahited by men, on aeconnt of
scr[)entri and all manner of noxious creatures. In Asia is
Jerusalem, and also Aiitiocli ; in this city Peter the Ai)ostle
founded an Episcopal seat, and where Jie, the lirst of
all men, sang Mass. Asia Minor is a region of (xreat
Asia. There the Apostle John ]»reached, and there also, in
the city of Ephcsus, is liis toinh. They say that four rivers
flow out of Paradise.' One is culled l*U<»n or (iangcs;
this empties into the sea surrounding the world. T^i^^on
rises under a inountain called Orcobares. The second
river flowing from Paradise, is called Tigris, and the third,
Euphrates. Both empty into the Mediterranean (sea), near
Antioch. The Xile, also called Goon, is the f(Mirth river
that runs from Paradise. It separates Asia from Africa,
and flows through the whole of Egypt.- In Egypt is New
Babylon (Cairo), and the city called Alexandria.

The second part of the earth is called Africa, which ex-
tends from the soutii-west to the north-west.' There are
Serkland, and three regions called Blaland (land of black-
men or negroes). The Mediterranean sea divides Europe
from Africa.

* This is a confused geography, biised on (ronosis ii, 10-15.

^ The modern discoveries in connection with the source of
the Nile are all shown in the maps of Ptolemy, proving
that the great lakes which serve as feeders were svell known
at a very early period. Still the old northern geographer's
ideas were confused.

' This is the way Africa wiis represented at that early pe-
riod. That continent had boon circumnavigated by llanno,
though the majis did not show it, but indicated usually the
northern part of Africa, Avhich was made to appear longest
from east to west. This fact, taken with the fact that the wri-
ter has only a few words to say about Africa, proves that ho
wrote at a very early period, even before the date of pre-Col-
umbian sketches like those of Era Mauro and Bchaim. See
the Atlases of Lclewell and Santarcm. Ante, p. 13,

182

Pke-Columiiiax Discovkuy of

Europe is tliu third part of the eartli, extending from
west and nortli-west to tlio north-east. In the east of
Europe is the kiut>doin of Russia. There arc IIohu<^ard,
Palteskia aiul Sniaieiiskia, South of Russia lies tlie king-
dom of Greece. Of tliis kingdom, the chief city is Con-
stantinople, which our j)eople call Miklagard. In Mikla-
gard is a church, wliich the people call St. Sophia, but the
Northmen call it yEgisif.' This church exceeds all the
other churches in the world, both as respects its structure
and si/e. Bulgaria and a great many islands, called the
Greek islands, belong to the kingdom of Greece. Crete
and Cyprus are tlio most noted of the Greek islands. Sicily
is a great kingdom in that part of the earth called Europe.
Italy is a country south of the great I'idge of mountains,
called by us Mundia [AIjjs]. In the remotest part of Italy
is Ajjulia, called by the Northmen, Pulsland. In the mid-
dle of Italy is Rome. In the north of Italy is Lombardy,
which we call Lombardland. North of the mountains on
the east, is Gernumy, and on the south-west is Erance.
Hispania, which we call Spainland, is a great kingdom that
extends south to the Mediterranean, between Lombardy and
France. The Rhine is a great river that runs north from
Mundia, between Germany aud France. Near the outlets
of the Rhine is Friesland, northward from the sea. North
of Germany is Denmark. The ocean runs into the Baltic
sea, near Denmark. Sweden lies east of Denmark, and
Norway at the north. North of Norway is Finnmark.
The coast bends thence to the north-east, and then toward
the east, until it reaches Permia, which is tributary to
Russia. From Permia, defcrt tracts extend to the north,
reaching as far as Greenland.' Beyond Greenland, south-

' The Northmen were familiar with Constantino])lc.

'' Greenland appears in Ptolemy as an extension of Nor-
way but was not placed sufhciently far west, showing that
the map makers did not fully understand the accounts they
had received. The Northmen understood that a great isth-
mus extended from Norway to Greenland, through the high

America by the Noutumkn.

183

ith-

ward, is irolliilantl ; l)oyoii(l that is Markhmil ; from tlicnno
it is ii(»t far to V inland, wliicli some irieii arc of the opinion
extends to Africa.' Kni,'hmd and SiKjtlaiid are one island;
but each is a separate kiiii,'dom. Ireland is a L>reat island.
Iceland is also a great island nortli of Ireland. All these
countries arc situated in that part of the world called
Europe. Next to Demuark is Lesser Sweden ; then is
Oeland, then (T(jttland, then Ilelsinifeland, then Vermeland,
and the two Kvcndlands, which lie north of P)iarnieland.
From Biarmeland stretches desert land toward the noilli,
until Greenland bei»;ins. South of Gnjeidand is Ilclluland ;
next is Markland. from thence it is not far to V inland the
Good, wliicli some think goes out to Africa; and if this is
so, the s'n must extend between Vinland and Markland."

ico region, making the two lands one ; while fJrcenland
extended to Vinhind, whicli in turn went southward and
turned eastward until it nearly reached Africa. Tn fact
South America pushes eastward within 20 degrees of Cape
Verde, Africa. On the Lenox globe,. loOS-!), tiiose two
points are placed in the same longitude, Africa and South
America overlapping. So much fur the old northern geog-
raphy.

' In the face of this and a multitude of similar statements,
Mr. Bancroft endeavored to make his readers believe that the
locality of Vinland was iincertain. He might, with erpial
propriety, tell us that the location of Massachusetts itself was
uncertain, because, according to the original grant, it ex-
tended to the Pacific ocean, or that \'irginia and Florida
were uncertain localities, because both at one time included
Massachusetts.

" This writer did not appear to be familiar with the narratives
of Karlsefne. The writer's argument is not plain, where
he says, " if this is so," etc.; but as Markland was Xova Sco-
tia and Vinland was ^Eassachusotts, we may perhaps accept
this as a recognition of the G ulf of Maine and Massachusetts
Bay. When, in 15-i3, Allefonsce reached this region he did
not know whither the sea extended : " I have been at a bay

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Pi!

1 i:

It is told tliiit Thorfinn Karlsefne cut wood here [in Mark-
lainl] to oniainent liis liouso,' and went afterward to seek
out Vinland the Good. He came there where they thouij^ht
the hind was, but did not roacli it,^ and g<.t none of the
wealth of the huid. Leif tlie Lucky first discovered Vin-
land, and tlien he met some merchahts in distress at sea,
and by God's grace, saved their lives. He introduced Chris-
tianity into Greeidand, and it flourished so much that an
Episcopal seat was set up in the place called Gardar. Eng-
land and Scotland are an island, and yet each is a separate
kingdom, Ireland is agreat island. These countries are all
in that part of the world called Europe.

FROM ORIPLA.

Bavaria is bounded by Saxony ; Saxony is bounded by
Holstein, and next is Denmark. The sea runs between the
eastern countries. Sweden is east of Denmark. Norway
is to the north. Finmark is east of Norway, and fiom thence
the land extends to the north-east and east until you come
to Biarmeland. This land is under tribute to GardariSge.
Fror-i Biarmeland desert places lie all northward to the land
which is called Greeidand [which, however, the Greenland-
ers do not atfirm, but belie^'c to have seen it otherwise, both
from drift timber that is known and cut down by men, and
also from reindeer which have marks upon their ears, or
bands upon their horns, likewise from sheep which stray
here, of which there are some remaining in Norway, for
one liead hangs in Throndheim, and another in Bergen, and
many others are to be found.]' But there are bays, and the

as far as forty-two degrees between Norumbega [Markland]
and Florida [Massachusetts] but I have not seen the end and
I do not know whether it extends any farther." "The
Nortlmien in Maine,^' p. 94.

' See ante, p. 155, w. 1.

- This is erroneous. Sec Saga of Thorfinn, afite, p. 135.

^The part inclosed in brackets is an interpolation of a re-
cent date.

America by the Northmen.

185

and
and-
both

and
or
stray
', for

and
d the

land etretclies out toward tlic aonth-west ; tlicre are ice
nionnfaitis, and l)ays, and islands lie out in front of the ice
mountains; one of the ico mountains cannot be explored,
and the other is half a montli's sail ; to the third, a week's
sail. Tin's is nearest to the settlement called Ilvidserk.
Thence the land trends north ; but he who desires to go hy
the settlement steers to the south-west. Gardar, the bishop's
seat, is at the bottom of Ericsiiord ; tliere is a church conse-
crated to lioly Nicholas. There are twelve churches in the
eastern settlement and four in the western.

Now it should be told what is opposite Greenland, out
from the bay, which was before named. Furdustrandur^ is
the name of the land ; the cold is so severe that it is not
habitable, so far as is known. South from thence is Hellu-
land, which is called Skra^llings land. Thence it is not far
to Vinland the Good, which some think goes out to Africa.^
Between Vinland and Greenland is Ginnungagajfr, which
runs from the sea called Jlat'e Oceanum, and surrounds the
whole earth.''

a re-

' Not to be confounded witli the place of the same name at
Cape Cod.

2 This is another passage upon which Bancroft absurdly de-
pended to prove tliat the locality of Vinland was unknown,
when in the Sagas the position is minutely described, the
situation being as well known as that of Greenland. See
sketches designed to illustrate this statement in the Narra-
raiive and Critical History, vol. i, pp. 117-132.

' This may perhaps bo viewed as an indication of the " north-
west passage," which in post-Columbian times was supposed
to be a navigable body of water leading to the Pacific, though
in this account the name Vinland is loosely applied, whereas
Vinland lay south of Markland, the present Nova Scotia.
The student should compare these geographical fragments
with the geography of Orosius (A. D. 416), translated and
improved by King Alfred the Great (Cir. 890), and found in
the "Jubilee Edition" of his works, marking the one-thou-
sandth year from his birth. London, 1858, vol. ii, 17-61.
24

iHi

186

Pre-Columbian Discovery of America.

■;,> '

Page 46, contains tl\e only reference to Iceland, but Alfred*
speaks as though the country were well known at the time he
made his translation. This translation is of special interest,
as Alfred adds much knowledge belonging to his own time,
and narrates the facts about 0' there, the Northman, who
was the most northern inhabitant of his race on the west
coast of Norway, north of him being the Finns. Ohthere
made a voyage, the first on record, around the north cape
into the sea at the eastward. Gardar, the Done, had seen
Iceland in 860. On Ohthere, see Hakluyt's " Navigations,"
vol. II, pp. 4-5. Neither Orosius or Alfred could say more
about the southern part of Africa, than that a land of " bar-
ren wliirling-sand" extended southward to the ocean. It is
clear that they knew that Africa had been circumnavigated.

INDEX.

Abbott, 132,w.

Adam of Bremen, 104, n. 1

Adzer, Archbisliop, 27.

Agamemnon, 58.

^Elian, 10.

Africa, 181.

Agassiz, Prof., 96, n.

Alcock, Robert, 54.

Alfred, King, 46, 185, n. 3.

Alfonso, King, 46.

Alps, 182.

Alfefonsco, I09,;i.,183,7i. 2.
Amnnd, Bishop, 33.

Anderson, E., 45, n., 56, 71.
Andreas, 32.

Annales Islandorum Reirii
47, 48. *= '

Annales Regii, 178; Flatey-
enses, 178; Reseniini,

Anson, Lord, 38.
Antioch, 181.

Antiqnitates Americans, 22
^ w., 30, n. 2.
Apostogon Hills 96, n.
Apulia, 107.
Arthur, King, 22, n.

Archffiologia, Americana, 88
n. '

Ardier, 97, n., 98, n.
Ar^vle Marquis of, 64, n.
Aristotle, 11.
Arnold, Bishop, 28
Arnold, Gov. Benedict, 69, n.

Asbrand, ; Biorn, of

Kfimb, 163.
Asia 180; Minor, Arthur,

Aslak,

Assonet Neck, 67.
Athelstanc. 36.
Atlantis, 11.

Avalldania, 135, 144.
^^zore. Island, 162, n.

Babjlon, 181.

Ball's River, 35.
Bavaria, 184.

Bancroft, George, 41, 42, 43,

64, 71. 1. '

Bardarson Ivar, 30, 74, see

Ivar Bert.
Bartholomew, the /'postle,

b:s!^.'"^^p'^'^^^'-

Biarnej Island, 90.
Bede, the Venerable, 22, n
Bergen, 184. ' ' •

Bellinger, 109, ti.
Behaim, 181, n.
geit, Ivar, xxxi, 12, n.
iJethencourt, 14.
Bible, Guyot, 46.

Biarne, Heriulfson, 60, 86 88

188

Index.

llu:^

^i"'

■•i.|if

Biiirne, JJishop, 145.

Bi.'irney, Isle, 122.

Biorii, AslmiiKlsoii Hreidavi-

king, 1G3; exiled, 163;

return s, 104 ; goes

abroad, 174.
Biarmeland, 184.
Blfijsark, 84.

i31ue Hills, 132, 71. 2,143, n. 3.
Boccaccio, 46.
Bork, the Fat, 164.
Bodtish, J. P., 10.
Boston IIar)»or, 109, n.
Bougainville, 12.
Bory, de St. Vincent, 14.
Bradford, 26, n.
Brage, 125, n.
Brattahlid, 25.
Brereton, 95, 9i.
Bristol, 51.

Brown, Marie A., 56, 7i. 2.
Brougliton, 16.
Brun, Make, 70, n.
Bulgaria, 182.
Bull, Pupal, 25, 71. 1.
Burnet, (14, n.
Brjnirlfson, Dr., 29.
Buzzard's Bay, 98, n. 2, 124,

n. 4.
Byggeniane, William, 51.

Cabot, 46, 111, w.

Cadiz, 11, 12.

Canaria, 13.

Canary Islands, 12.

Canute, 36.

Canynges, 51.

Cape Cod, 46, 95 ; old slii])

at, 96.
Cape Sable, 95, n.
Cape Malabar, 98.
Capraria, 13.
Cartier, 85, n.
Chaplains, 14.
Chatham, 96.

Chaucer, 54.

Christiiin III, 34.

(^hrist, 12.

Chi-istopherscn, Claudius, 25.

Claudian, 17.

Clarendon, Lord, 64, n.

Cleasby, lol, n.

Cock Lane Ghost, 63.

Coliuus, 11.

Colonization of Greenland,

24 ; of Iceland, 19.
Columbus, 41, 47, 53, 54, 56,

90,w., 136,7i. l,156,7i.3.
Constantinople, 35.
Crantor, 11.
Crantz, 33, 34, 110, ii.
Crete, 182.
Cronica General de Espana,

46.
Cross, worshiped, 70, n.
Crossness, 110, 113, 7i. 3.
Cuba, 55, n.
Culdees, 23.
Cyprus, 182.

Dagmalstad, 99, 7i. 4.
Danforth, Dr., 65, m.
Darien, Isthmus of, 160.
Dasent, 35, 59, n. 1, 102, w.
Deane, L>r., 58.
De Barros, 14, ;i.
De Costa, 23, fi.
De Fries, Rev., 29.
Denmark, 182.
Dicuil, 22, n.
Dighton Hock, 65, 122.
Diman, Prof., 65, 7i. 1.
Disco, 90, n. 1.
Discrepancies, in Sagas, 92, n.

1.
Donsk tunga, 19.
Doomsday Book, 45, 73, 195.
Drapstock, 21, 23.
Drift-wood, 76, 7i.
Drogeo, 51.^

Index.

Dublin, 164.

I)iidIoj, Lieut. G()v.,99,n. 3
JJiingannon, Lord, Is, n.

Eddas, 40.

Early Cliristianity in Amer

ica, traces of, 15.
J^arth, brief description of

Easton, Peter, 09, n.
Edward III, 14, n., 48.
Egede, Itev. ILins, 33, n

110, n. ' '

&ypt, 181.

Einar, son of 8okke, 28
^indridesuden, the sJiip, 179
Elysium, 12. ^'

England, 183.
Englisb, 48, 49, 50.
J^pncsus, 181.
Eric, Bishop, *28, 64.
Enc the I^ed, 24, 25 ; goes
to Greenland, 79, 85,87-
i-esolves to seek new
Janfl, 78; banished, 78;
returns to Greenland, 79 •
accident, 93. '

Ericstiord, 25,

Ericson,Thorvald,46;goesto

Vinland, 108; his death,

110 ; Ihorstein sails foi-

Vinland, 112; returns,

. 113; his deatii, 11(1.

Erie, Bishop Up^e, 178.

Erlandson, 22, 73, 118.

Esquimaux, 130, n. 3.

Estotiland, 51, 110, 71.

Euphrates, 181.

Europe, 180.

Eyktarstad, 99, 100.

Eyi-byggia Saga, 163.

189

Eimimark, 182.

l^'ish, Sacred, 128.

Elafu, island of, 40.

Florida, 102-184, n.

torsark, Thorkel, swims for

a shcoj), 91,
Fortuimto tyles, 121.
Foster-father, 101, n.
dossils, 93, n. 3.

Fragments, geographical, 180.

n-ance, l.s2.

Frederick, bishoi), 79.

I' ley, 125, n.

Freydis, 151; sails for Vin-
land, 152; quarrels with
the comj)any, 153 ; mur-
ders the brothers and
their company, 154; re-
turns to Greenland. 154
^riesland, 182.

Frithiof's Saga, 21, ;i., 122, n.
Frobhsher, 34, 71.

Fronde, 54.
Erode, the Wise, 73.
Proda, 21.
Frode, Ari, 45.
Fuerteventura, 14.

Feather Islands, 178
Fenris, 125, fi, 2
Finboge, 151-153.

(xalfidus, 23, ti.

Galdrakin, Thorgrini, 170

Ganges, 181.

^ardar, 19, 28, 185.

Gaspe, 70, n.

Geographical Fragments, 180

Geottrey, of JMouniouth, 23
n. '

Germany, 182.

Genesis, Book of, 181, n. 1
Ginnungagah, 185.
Girava, 52, n. 2.
Gisli, the Outlaw, 83
Gissui- the White, 26, n.
OJacial man. 111, ji.
Globe, of Rouen, 52.
Gnupson, Bishop Eric, 27

190

Index.

Goodrich, 56, n. 1.

Godtliaab, 27.

Goe, Month of, 70.

Gumera, 14.

Gornbornese-Skare, 74, n.;
see Gimnbiorn's Rocks.

Gosnold, 95, n. 1, 123, n. 2.

Gould, Sabine-Baring, 43, n.

Graali, Captain, 27.

Grammaticns, Saxo. iO, 66.

Grapes, 54.

Gravier, Gabriel, 55.

Greece, 182.

Greenland, discovery of, 25 ;
progress of, 25 ; tributary
to Norway, 26 ; chnrch
organized in, 27 ; monu-
ments and ruins, 28, 85 ;
explorationsin, 31; trade
of, 32 ; last bishop of,
32 ; decline of, 32 ; lost
Greenland found, 34 ;
Queen Margaret prohib-
its trade, 34; Christi-
anity introduced, 85.

Greenlander, Jon., 33.

Gregory, 25, n. 1.

Grettir, Saga, 43, n.

Grinihild, 114.

Grimolfson, Biarnc, 137 ; lost
in the Worm Sea, 137,
145.

Gripla, 184.

Gudlaugson, Gudleif, 174 ;
carried to sea, 175.

Gudrid, 81 ; second mar-
riage, 113, 115; goes to
Vinland, 51, 64, 72;
goes to Rome, 156, n.

Guiscard, Roger, 35, n. 1.

Gwyneth, Owen, 17, n.

Gunnbiorn, 24, 25, 73, 74,
79 ; his rocks, 61, 74, n.
2, 75; money found at,
75.

Ilafgerdingar, 60, 86, 90.

Hake, 123, 139.

JIaldor, 31.

Halifax, 95.

Hallbera, Fru, Abbess of
Stad, 151.

Hallfrid, 150.

Halmund, 43, n.

Hackluyt, 23, w., 33, n. 4.

Haddon, John de, 49.

Hanno, 12.

Harfagr, Harold, 19, 24.

Hardicanute, 36.

Harold, The Stern, 36.

Harvard College, 05, n.

Head-brink, 109, n.

Hea<l, Sir Edmund, 39,?i. ,145.

Hebrides, 165.

Heimdal, 125, n. 2.

Hekia, 123, 139.

Heimskringla, 30, 37, 45, 46.

Hela, 125, n. 2.

Helge, 151; sailed for Vin-
land, 152; mm-dcred, 153.

Helluland, 89, n., 94, 122.

Henry V, 49.

HeTHiingson, Magnus, 34.

Heriulfson, Biarne, 80 ; goes
to Norway, 80 ; goes to
Greenland, 87 ; sees new
land, 88.

Hesperides, 12.

Hialte, 26, n. 2, 106.

Hiatus, 109, n.

Hispania, 182.

History, Nar. and Crit., 16,
71. 1.

Historiske Mindesmserker,
Gronland's, 73.

Horsford. Prof., 38, n.

Hoby, QQ.

Homer, 11.

Honey Dew, 97, n.

Hop, 127-143 ; see Mt. Hope.

Horn, 45, n.

Index.

Horses, 113, n. 5.
Hort.uJo, l;j3, n. 2.
tiowm, W. and M., 45. «
Hume, 22, n., 155. '
HnsaKnotni, 81, n
Hvalso, <)1.

HuniLoldt, 47, 54, 57.
-tlvalsotiord, 91.
Hudson Henry, 74, n. 2.
Hvidserk, 185.
Hymn to TJior, 125.

Iceland, discovery, 19; col-
o nzafion, 20; birds of,
^0;manima]ia, 20; date
ot manuscripts, 40; the
feaga-men, 44; The Ed

_ aas, 46.

Wuna, 125, n.
Jgalliko, 29, 68.

IiKhans Gaspe, 71, /*., no
Ingigerd, 76. ' '

Ingolf, 20.

Inventio Fortunata, 23, n.,

lona. Isles of, 23

Ireland, 1C5

Ireland the Great, 33, n., 135

Insh Monks, 22; books,' bells
anocroziers of, 22 162
Irving, Washington 43 n
Is ana^s, Blessed? 12
Is and, the, 95, 141.*
Is ands, Greek, 181
Isle of Currents, 139 ; JVau-

of Sable, 122, ti. '

Isles, ot America, 16 ; of the

iflessed, 10.
Isleif, 106.
Italy, 182.

191

Johnson, IJiorn, 118.
•Johnson, Dr., 63
Jomsberg, \'ikings, ]«;4.
Jonee i,„Vo, 6}», ;,.
Jnba II, 12, 13.

Jiilian'K Hope, 29
J«>"o, Temple of, 14
'iiinonia, 13.
J'M'iter, 125, ». 2.
John, Iji«h(.p, 150.

Kalbr„„ar.skald,Thormod75
Kallstegg, 22, n. ""'^^•

ivanitsok, 68.
Karkortok, 28, 68.
Karlsefne ; Thornfinn,62,
^^ 119, w.; goes to

Jardar, 24.
Jerusalem, 181.
John, the Apostle, 181

1 91?!?^' 49; marriage,
121, 145 ; sails for Vin-

^»d. 117, 137; sails past
Wonderstrand,124,138;
trades, 129, 147; battle
with natives, 130; kills
some Skraillings, 132-
returns to Greenland!

K. /^,^'/^"»lyHne, 150.
Kendal, A. E., 67.
geyser, P,-of., 80, n.
Kialarness, 105, 141, n.
Kiarten, 167.

King, Christian II, 34;
Christian III, 34; Fred-

H Juba II, 13. ]^

y?l;0Jafthe'8^-nt
3b; Olaf Tryggvesson
^•^, his swimming match,
3/>; ship of, 37; Nebu-
chadnezzar, 181

Kingiktorsoak, 29.

K^ingsborough, 15.

Ivodranson, Thorvold, 79

Kolgrimsson, Hroar, 29 '

I^rage, Ulf, 24.

19a

Index.

Krukfiflanlarhcidi, 31.

L.'vlU'iul'T, 88, IK

Liiiiij;, ;i'^, 55, (JO.

Liiko, l>s ; houses built ut, 98.

Laiicerotc, 14.

Liuulii-Iiolf, 170.

LaiHlnama Book, 20, 21, 01,
73.

Llaii*;(»llen, 1 <', n.

Lancaster, Sound of, 31.

Lakes, 127, n. 2.

Law of inatriniony, 154,7}. 2.

Leaniin<j^ton, 09.

Leclerc, Father, 7(>, n.

Lcscarbot, 111, n.

Lcdchannnar, 37.

Leif, 20, 58, 82; <jocs to
Vinland, 91 ; returns to
Greenhind, 103; finds
shipwrecked sailors, 105,
107 ; sent to proclaim
Christianity in Green-
land, 107; hie Booths,
70, 108, 147, n.; his
judgment on Frevdis,
152; the Lucky, 107.

Lelewcll, 181, n.

Literature of Iceland, 42 ;
Anglo-Saxon, 40 ; of
France, 40 ; Castilian, 40.

Lizards, 14.

Lodge, Henry Cabot, 105, n.

Lodbrok, Rognar, 49.

Logman's Annall, 178, n. 3.

Loke, 125, n. 2.

Loinbardland, 182.

Loinbardy, 182.

Long Serpent, 37.

Lynn, Nicholas of, 23, n.

Madoc, 17, 18, 71.
Machin, Robert, 14, n.
Madeira, 14.
Madr, 60.

Maelstrom, 87, n.

Magnus, Olaus, 31, 30, 104.

NLignussen, Prof. Finn, 20,

40, 5.'!, 73, 93, n. 2, 101.
MagiKjlia, 110, n.
Maine, 52, n.
Major, 13, 14.
Make I'run, 70, n., 100, n.
Manamoyake Bay, 90, 71.
Manuscripts, date of, 04.
Manvel, .Juan, 40.
Marc Oceanuni, 185.
Martin, Sir Thos. and Lady,

18, n.
Margaret, (^ueen, 33.
Mauro, Fra, 181, n. 3.
Ma ran a, John Raul, 17.
Markland, 14, 122, 138.
Mars, Vigdis, 29.
Marson, Are, 02, 73, 159.
Martha's Vineyard, 105, 12-4,

71. 5.
jMassachusetts, 108, 71.
Massur Wood, 03.
Mather, Dr. Cotton, 65, 7i. 1,

115, 71. 3, 129, 7J., 133.
Mathieson, 29.
May, John, 50, 55.
jMauritania, 12.
Mediterranean, 181.
Merry Mount, 99, 71. 3.
Mexico, British Language in,

17.
Midgard, 125, 71.
Miklagard, 182.
Milesieus, 10, n.
Mill, Newport, 06, 67, 08;

Chesterton, 69.
Mindesmrerker, Greenland's,

78, 86.
Minor Narratives, 159.
Missioiuiries, French, 70, n,.
Money found, 75.
Morse, Abner, 71, 71.
Monhegan, 67, ti.

ISDKX.

Moove, 10. . / »i X- ,

M...,,,,xew.Kn«,yM.,,a..;;i;iV|;i;;^:;r«.

ion

^>ro.siu8, 185, fi. 3.

iMomit I)(>scrt (;4- 7j /I .

Muller, Max, 0, 47, 135, ';.. 2

■Nadodd, 19.
Jfannicket, 139, n. 4.
^iiv.ii-reto, 55, n. 2.
jNeprass, Hergill, 100.
{jewfouiuilaiid, 89, n.

JJicl,ol„s^of L,„,, 23, „.

-Nine veil, 180.
-Nivaria, 13,
^f'alj, M., 15, ;<.

^^orne, the, 103,71.
-Woidrsetiir, 31.

North American Review, 5,
„ ^f^, n., 65, 92, n. 1. '
Northmen, IS; cJiaracterand
achievements of 35 •

r*aloy, Dr. 04, n.
J'alfruy, 57, 0!).
1 id ma, 13.

Pap«v» Island of, 22
■^apyh". Island of, ^^^
1 aradise, 181.
Parentals, 100.
Parry, 29, 31.

sliips of, 30; colonize'
Wnland, 30; discover
America, 39.
Northmen, in Maine, 62, n
Nova Scotia, 105. '

Norombega, 184, n,
Norway, 182.
Nntmegs, 104.
Nyja, 179, n.
Njja Land, 104, n.
^Jjafundn-land, 178.

Ohthere, 180.
Odvssej, 11, ,i. 4.
Oddson, Eindrid, 30.
Odin, 125, n. 2.

J Si^i''",*^''^°' i«» ^- 2.

^ UJaf, the King, 25, 30, 37, 82

Peak of Teneriffe, 13
Pelham, Edward, 09, n.
Penguin Islands, 178, n.
Peringskiold, 42, n., loo, u.,

103, w. 2.
Peter, the Apostle, 181.
' eyrere, 25, 33.
Pharaoh Necho, 12.
Phenieians, 11,
Pigot, John, 51.
Phcenius, 10, n. 2.
Pittston,

Pillarsof Ilercnles, 11
Pison, 181.
Plato, 11.

Pjiny, 13, 128, n.l.

Pinviala, 13.

Plutarch, 14.

Piynionth Colonists, 40.

Point Alderton, 109.

i oint Care, 95, n.l.

Point Gilbert, 95, n. 1, 90

^ 109, 123, n.

1 opham George, 104, n.

J^ ort Ilakhman, 29

Porto Santo, 14.

Priests of Sais, 11.

Portsmouth Ptocks, 07

101

Tni>kx.

1 1

li!

lMuvi:»l!», i:».

Priin't' of Wall's, IT. //.

rriiu'j' llt'iirv llic N'a\ iijjalor.

II, i;?. 11.

i'riiici' Maddc, IT, Is, //.

rtoK'iny, .'?;?,//., r>;5, is2, //. •_*.

Pwrpuniriii'. \\\.
ruivluus liO, /K 1', Ti. /^

IjuoiMi ^lari;an't, M4.

liaro Point, 4(», /<.

Katn, Prof., T, l<;,:i;?, TiT, fiS ;

tln' liiiuorii'k mercliaiit.

It'.;?.
Rask. Prufi'stior, '2S>.
liiMiilulf. :»).
UihI, TluM-UoU, T«5.
lii'tl luMid ; st>i> 'ri\t>r.
IMkiavik, 21, T4, u. 2.
Khiiu', 1S2.
Rohin. the, 125, w. 2.
Kiinlu'jj;la, \<\\\, n. 2.
Ivoijor (iiiiscartl, ;>r).
Kollo, ;{(5.
Koim', 1 ir>, /*. 2.
I'oiiinl Tal.K , 2.
Kuiul' Letters, on an oar, 'M;

aiii- oi' Al|>halt(>t, 42 ; in

(Jrottir Sai:;a, 43, /i.
Ruins, in ({ivenhuul, (iS.
RnnoU'son, Bisliop Thurhik,

145, 150.
Russia, 182.
Rynier, 4S.

Santareni, 181, ii. 2.
SjiMmmd the Wise, 45.
Sa«;adahoi', 104, n.
Sagas, 40.

8t. Asaph, Bisliop of, 23, ;/.
St. Anmistine, 133, w.
St. lirandon, 42.
St. Coluniba, 10; St. Tat-
rick, 16.

St. .lolin. <M.

St. M.irtin. \'i\irn. 12.

St. NirliolM>. 185.

St. I 'a II I. «i|.

St. 'I'lionas, 15.

Salmon, '.•'.•.

Saxoiiv, 181.

Sclioninj;-, lt>2, /i.

Si'lioolcral'l, llenrv. •'•(>, /i.

So.tland, 183.

Scots, hi, n. 2. 123, 13l>.

Sea o( l)arknt-.ss, 10.

Seai'oniiet, 12T.

Seat, Kpiseopal, 181 ; of (Jar-

tlar, 185.
Sehosiis, 12.
SiM'fol'ius, 12.
Setst.'ikkar, 21, n.
Shav, .1. (i., 5«;, ;/. 2.
Sliawanese Indians, HI2, /*.
Shields, 128, 130, 113.
Sicily. 182.

Sii>livatson, Krlin<;, 30.
Ska f ting, .3T.
Skalhot, ilishop of, 33.
Skardfa, liiacriMi von, 33.
Skeh^ton in armor, To, n.
Skialdespilder, j^jvind, 44.
Socii'ty, (lath. His., \{\ n.
Skolnns, 52.
Sknvllings, 31, 85, 110, n. 2,

1 20.
Slaves, 123, 139.
Sloop Mai-y, OT, n.
Slut Hush, 96.
Siniellingar, 41, ii.
Snialenskia, 110.
Sndth, Capt. John, 95, n.;

Joshua Touhnin, 161 ;

Mr. Philip, 116, n.
SniitlTs Dialogues, 111, n.
Suiebiorn, Galtc, 75; killed,

77.
Snow, 143.
Snowland, 19.

rNDKX.

Norvslii, llciirv. M.

^"^"Illll Ih!,||1.|.s,'<»(»

Noloti, II.

•■^{'•viilii,,, K',.„;,|^ ;;,,_
^^l)^'|•|.iunl, 75.
^^tarii..|i, |;{.

;:'-'".<i-ini, Lomion. 17, ,,;

'N.'idlis S,.|,U8I|S, |o

^^'iliVli.., It;, n. i. ""

'"^'•'IH' ll^r,., |;{I, I ID

Stnil.o, ly.

»*»(iiclcson, -12 /;

Nhilut.in, 171.

Shv.„„ j!.,v. |;';o, i;jj> ,.,.j

•^'••w, IS.

^J'lif, tiicSk.tM, 11.

^'.vniicr, 7.*{.

'^iiklvcroiijK.ii^ o^

TiK'iftis, 17.

T.'iiiMioii, |'J7.

'rii.'iliossin, \i\ „

"loi-, l(»2, 125 1.1 1
' liorlici-^r, ;«7

' x.rl.rat.dsoi., |;n.

"""•linn, Karl of (|„, (),|c
"'oHjall tJH, „„„,,,. ,^^^

;n'orliil<|, li,T clnnvli, 2(1

i'"^'"''\'''^ ''isl.o,,, 101,;,
llionxj, 7(; '

1 u,rsto.n niack, i m.
A lor, 8(Mi of Kri(,, los

' 1«>(>|),„„,,„H^ 1,)^

ilimid, 121; ,,

l<!5.

Timber cut, 103.
rivertoT. Rock, 07,

108.

(l:i,

''"I'la-ns, Works of ;[(» ., >\

';'■"."!•"'• '"-li.in, .17.,,.
' i;i(liii(iMs, I.",.

fTnrkisI, S,,v. 17.

I.vi'atis, 1:,.

[Tvikfr, !»|. |(»L».

''"''.vl<". rilinia. :u\.

II"'. '^'•'^'<'. Vs, ,s|.

"^•'^'<'. l-t.\ III.

\'''|Mi.li.'.. i;i.'., 1 1.|.
» •■•l,:^<'i«lii, I.. I.
Vi'diriMi, i.r,.

y.'inl.'oknr. ,S|, ,,.
» -'ifK-.m, i:.(i, ;,
Vrm,/;,„o. ;i;i, ,,., ,;; ^,
\ ikni^r.s, ;{i,^ „

\>[,i,'rn|son, Flokk.., 17
> "It'li.inJoiiiii, hi

N i"l.;n., j^, ,., „„ ,„_

\ivirn.JrSi. M.irlin. 12
^•0-^:- KriMl,,. f:,,|;77

''""••••Mn. lOS; 'j'|„„.

'V '''".v. lis, IM

';'-^;, '.^'1; KinlM.^r,.

••'; Mars„n'H, i;{!,; Ah

"•"'"'•'^••"'h, hi;i; (;„(I-

'•'"'.i.'«';" s, |0(M;{. „^^.
CCS of, 177.

^it'"<'l', l<:0, y,.

W.-ilk,.n.l„rr, Arcl.l.iHJM.M
^iic, .'{.5. '

\V;<'|.l.'s Iskm.l, !)7, n.
VVcl,!,, Dr., (17, ,,;

Wcshna,,,, Islamis, .1!., r,().
>J^c,sf<.n, K.cliurd, r,l.
W.nlcr, Il;{, ;,. 5'.
VVI.ilc, tl.c W. L, 171, ,,

196

Index.

II -fi

Winsoi, Justin, 16, n. 1 ;

History, 50, n. 2.
Whales, 125, 141.
Wheat, 103, 128, 127, 147.
White-man's land, 135, 159,

160.
Williams, John, 17.
Williamson, 70, n.
Winland, 104, n. 1.
Wine, 104, n. 1.
Winthrop, Prof., 65, n.
Wonder-strand, 96, w., 97.

Woodrow, 64, n.
Wormius, 33.
Worm Sea, 136, 144.
Writing Rock; see Dighton
Rock.

Yule, 120, n.

Yucatan, 9, n.

York, Archbishop of, 49.

Zeno, 51 ; map, 52.

)ighton

49.