Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1875-10-20

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of the faculty in the Univ ersity of
Wisconsin, and he has given special
study to the subject on which he
writes. 1t is claimed by him that
the valiant Norsemen whose Vik-
ings secured the sea coasts of the
European Continent, founding col
onies from which have grown in
later years our Anglo Saxon Race,
and the best approaches toward CIV
ilization, were also the discoveries
of America. The fruits of their
wanderings and settlements on this
side of the Atlantic, more or less
hypothetical as they may have been,
appear to have been set down by
the writers of that heroic age, and
according to the theory advanced by
Mr.. Anderson, that section of liter
ature, too much neglected by the
European students of to-day, must
have fallen under the notice of
Christopher Columbus, Immediately
before the Great Geographer COM
menced to sue the crowned heads of
his generation, for ships wherewith
to start upon his discovery. The
Sagas and Eddas of the Morse stud
ent are quite familiar ground to the
genial Professor, and their story SO
far as it touches this Continent, is
told by him in such manner as
that the German, Irish and Welsh
sections of our population must be-
come interested in what seems to be
the half dreamy history of the dar-
ing of their ancestors. Valiant Red
Cloud and avaricious Spotted Tail
who have recently bargained for the
sale of the part of the Black Hills
at a price equivalent to the revenues
of principality must become of
nearer kin to the modern shilelah
Spinner Of Donnybrooll Fair, when
he is informed on good authority
that Gudleif Gudlangson, a Morse
navigator sailing from Dublin in
1929, some forty years before the
descent OF; William the Conquerer,
on the fertile plains of England, dis
covered America south of the Chesa-
peak Bay, and found there people
who spake an unknown tongue
which rather resembled Irish. If
the brave Gudleif had brought
away with him a black thorn shilelah
the argument would necessarily
| have been more conclusive, but al
though no such exponent of Hiber-
Man thought and sentiment was
secured by him, the relation is full
Of interest.
In the Saga of Thorin Karlsefne,
the portion of this Continent there
supposed to be indicated is called
s'Great Ireland" and that fact gives
color to the kind of proprietary
right, which is exercised by the En-
erald Islanders of to-day, in running
the machine of political parties here.
One hundred years after Gudlang-
sons visit, it is claimed that the
Welsh under the leadership of Prince
Madoc abandoned the mountains
which were to ennoble Glendower
and established colony on some por-
ton of this vast territory, and there
is no man able to prove that Madoc
and his followers failed to effect
landing here. The Germans must
take an interest in a work which re-
fleets upon a countryman of theirs
the credit of having been the means
whereby Columbus first learned of
the writings of Karlsefne; result
compared with which the best out
come of the nie6elumgeu lied, is but
the merest bagatelle.
/ This country is in reality the old
world, and Europe as compared
herewith is mere parvenu among
! Continents, therefore it is inevitable,
that there must have been many
populations at various times, fight
ing the battle of life among itsislands,
upon its lakes, and Eover its vast prai-
ries. Probably the Greek philosopher,
Pytheas traversed the Atlantic in