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Maps, plates, charts, etc., may be filmed at different reduction ratios. Those too large to be entirely included in one exposure are filmed beginning in the upper left hand corner, left to right and top to bottom, as many frameis as required. The following diagrams illustrate the method: Les cartes, planches, tableaux, e\^c., peuvent dtre filmds d des taux de reduction dirf^rents. Lorsque le document est trop grand pour dtre reproduit en un seul cliche, il est film6 d partir de Tangle sup^rieur gauche, do gauche 6 droite, et de haut en bas, en prenant le nombre d'images ndcessaire. Les diagrammes suivants illustrent la mdthode. rata lelure. 3 32X 1 ■ "t 2 3 [ t 2 4 5 A WA/P OK THE PRE-COLUMBIAN DISCOVERY OF AMERICA, BT THK NORTHMBN, WITH TRANSLATIONS FROM THE ICELANDIC SAGAS. BY B. F. DE COSTA. SECOND KDITIO N ALBANY, N. Y. : JOEL MUNSELL'S sons, PUBLISHERS. 1890. r / i f 03- 69604 bEcos-rp) g^p 4 CONTENTS. I. Profncc, II. in. IV. vr. VII. VIII. IX. X. roi.osod Columbian Celebration, seem to justify a new publication 6 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 I 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. 13 it an nar- fliny. I i 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. 14 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, U 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. 16 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. 17 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 18 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'. 19 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. 20 Pke-Collmbia\ Dis(Ovi;i{Y ok I' I I * V. 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. 91 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 22 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 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'^ 1; n 24 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. 'n 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. 26 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 1 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. 28 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. l! 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 : 30 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. 81 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 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 32 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 11 lii 11 Amehica hy the Nokthmen. 88 l8 1- n- 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. 34 pRE-CoLUMHtAK DlSCOVEUY 01' ii il ■'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\vinrin- 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 i 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. 87 Sii^'.'i of Olaf Try^<;vo880ii of i>iic? that, in «uim' rospoctrt wm rtMiiafI 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'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 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. 41 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 w 42 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 N America by the Northmen". 43 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. 44 Pre-Columbian Discovi^RY of 'I 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. 46 1' 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 ii t ; i-; '-'i ■ I " I fill Ii ! til ' i : ,i'l m 46 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. 47 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\ 1 ' 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." 48 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 )rol)ah|y desi 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 Ene 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. 52 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. 53 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 64 Pre-Columbian Discovery of ii 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. 65 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 $6 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. 57 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.'' 8 58 Pre-Columbian Discovery of h 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. s America by the Northmen. 59 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 60 Pre-Columbian Discoveuy of "t Jil ^1 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". 61 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 es 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. 03 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;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 u 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. 65 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 6G 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". 67 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. Hi 68 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. G9 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 70 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 74 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." f A\ri:rucA uy Tin: Xorthmfn. US 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