, 1874-10-04
WHO DISCOVERED AMERICA;

| trlct OF the WOrl4.
WHO DISCOVERED AMERICA:
AMERICA NOT DISCOVERED BY CoLUMBUs: 4
UIiTuN1CAL SKETCH OF THE DISCOVERY AMERICA
| BY THE SoESEAES IN The TENTH CEStCAy. Ey
Il. L. ASnEEsoS, l. 81, Of tie University Ut Ni--
| ctusln. l2!uo, rp+ 1G4~ Chicago: 5. c. G1gss l. Co.
Prof. Anderson writes with tile enthusiasm Of
| l. Norseman in establishing the claims OF bis
| couot1ymen to tho dafingand disputed discovery
OF America; yet he writes with the candoz
requisite to the historian, and with L
logical strength Of argument that indicates
careful preparation Tho mystery that
surrounds Newport Tower, and the D1ghon
Wrltiug-}Ioch Inscription, and the skeleton in
armor e1hutned near Fall River, tease the curl
o6ty, aud excite interest lu any iDgeuiua story
| tdat pIo1nisea to account for their existence.
rrof. Andersou's essay is but SKETCH
All outline merely yet i. is skillfuly traced, ard
made firm in all the outlines. Tile tilling-up uf
the plcture-which, for lack OF authentic ma
! teria}s, must be accomplished solely By the
ianasinasion-Ae has wisely not undertaken.
! Tue argument begins with brief review Of
the claims of the Ilenicians, Greek, LlEh. aud
! We1sh to the discovery Of the Western Con-
tineut. The author thinks it can scarcely
be doubted that the Greek philosopher rytneas
| trayer5rd tho Atlantic Ocean about $40 wears
/ before Christ. Aa th=t may be, by th1s discos-
crv OF Thule <-ce1ana). he at least opened the
way to America for the adventurous Norsemen.
From tue Cauarles, which yero discovered and
coIoaized bY the Pheuicians, the path is short
across tho waters to America, ard the theory is
plausible. which SOME Sustain, that these daring
sailors from the Mediterranean extended their
voyages until thev touched the eastern shores OF
our continent. 1t Is beloved By many that the
Welsh, under the lealersLip OF 1ladoc, made
settlement in this country in l170. In the
EyrbyGEia Saga, it is SAID that Morse
navigator, named Gnllef Gudlansson, undor~
took voyage from Dublin to lceanl, aud
WAS driven by northeast Winds far 10 the we=t
and southwest, when he sjghted lard. entered
good harbor, aud was greeted By d strange peo~
rle who spoke 8 language thas appeared TO be
the Irish. In the Saga OF Ihoriu karjsefne.
this portion of America, supposed TO include
North and South Carolina, Georgia, a1d East
Florida. is called Island eah NyILo.-that is,
Great Iceland. 1t Is claimed that the Irish WHO
visited and Inhabited Iceland in tue latter part Of
the eighth century, and wera found upon the
FARCE Isles ~ ea,ly Us 725, made a voyage across
the Atlantic, and founded 3 colony i'll Amcrica
long before Gudlangsou's voyase which they
called Great Ireland
But Prof. Anderson barely glances 1t these
various theories before turning to the main
question under discussion, VIZ: Who were tho
Norsemen, and what part had they in the dis-
coy.ry Of America: The NoIsemeu vera
branch Of tue Gothic race. chat at an early
date emigrated from Asia. aud, turning their
faces westward and northWard, tualy settled
down III the west portion Of the Kingdom Of
Norway Their language was the Old Morse,
still spoken in Iceland, and the base Of
tho modern Morse. Danish, and Swedish
tongues. They we're bravo aad free
people. and made themselves known
everywhere in the civilized world by
their daring as soldiers nnd navigators. In
the ninth century thev discovered Iceland, aud
established Republic there, which endured 4u0
years. From Iceland it WAS q near aud easy
step to Greenland aud NC find that, in the
teuth century (934). Erik tho Fed surmounted
that STEP and discovered the region to the west
OF which tempest-ros=cd mariners from time to
time had brought hoUe reports, 4 tourishlng
colony was soon growing III Greenland, about
Gardar, tile capital ci:j- This colony, which be-
came subject to Norway IN 12Gl, maintained its
connection with tho uaotLer-coun:rics for four
centuries md then disappeared aud Was nearly
forgotten.
From tic Tcclandic Sagaa comes cur inforn1a-
tiou regarding tho various discoveries OF the
Aorscnen. Those relating to tLe: adventures
III America are included in the celebrated Cudcx
Fiataecusi5,-a book written Oh parchment, and
finished in 1887. This work" says Prof.
Anderson. written with great care. and executed
in tho highest style OF art, is now preserved in
it's integrity in the archives Of Copenhagen, and
acazefully-I: iuted copy of it is to bo found in
Miners library at the University Of Wisconsin.
These S2sas, whose statements arc considered
by tho best authorities as perfectly authentic,
tell US that tho Nolscmen had excellent sea-
going vessels, Eonno of which were OF large size.
Olaf Trygyvason's Saga describes one
Of their shlpR, which was built OF tho
choiceat material, which contained thlrty~four
rowing benches, and la1 length Of ITO feet in
the keel. Its stem and stern were oveflaid with
gold. The Sagas tell us. moreover, that the
No.semen understood tho art Of navigation. and
knew how to calculate the course OF tha sun and
noon. and 10 measure lima by the RtsFs- In
9s6, Blarno, man Of enterprise and the oTncr
Of ! workmanship, sct out from Iceland to
visit G1ecclaud, the residence OF his father.
Uo encountered foga and severe north winde, ]
which drove him far out OF his way, until in
the end, ho aaw tho outlines OF an unknown
land On the Western horizon. On nearing it, the |
shore waa found to be fiat and covered |
with woods, and having rim Of low |
hills in the background. It Tas too |
low and too green. AMI too far south, for the !
country he WAS looking for; therefore Bjaraa ]
did not land, stood out to aca, and saiod on two |
days northHari. Land again c2Ino into sight, |