The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1879-03-27
LONG BEFORE COLUMBUS
Was America First Settled by tho Ancic
Irish.

a majority of readers are acquainted
with the legend or tradition of the yoy-
age of st. Brendan and the beautiful
poem on the event by Dennis Florence
Mccarthy. Nearly all the early Irish
geOgraphors describe Hy-Brazil (mean-
ing the Wost), name given by the COM
uion mariners, hence Brazil. There
must have been some cause or there
would not have been legend Tt was
accepted as truthful for centuries, and
curious enough, one Of the first books
printed IN England by Caxton is an ac.
count Of the voyage Of ST. Brendan.
proving at once the popularity of the
story. The tradition was almost forgot
ten or neglected by scholars and historiano
until 1887, when the Royal Society of
Northern Antiguarians of Copenhagen
caused to be collected and published the
Pre- Columbian Voyages to America.
In l84l N. Ludlow Beamish, Fellow OF
the Roya! Society, London, publish ed
Tho Discovery Of America by ,..e
Northmen, in the Tenth Century, with
notices of the early settlements of the
Irish in the Western Hemisphere" ;"
Which threw great deal of light on the
heretofore neglected legend Of St. Bren-
dan: There are various hypothesis more
or less ingenious relating to the peo-
ping of America, prior to discovery by
Columbus, each with some degree of
probability. The learned Rabbi Israel
in his work on 'The hope of Israel" pub
llshed in Amsterdam in 1869, rideavors
10 show that America WAS Peeps by the
lost tribes" while Professor Rafn, of
Copnehagen, claims that people
speaking the Irish language were found
IN Florida, as far back as the Eighth
century. This will in some manner helm
Rev. MIR. Wild, of Brooklyn, out of the
archaeological difficulty he got himself
into whom he declared recently i'm a lee.
ture there that ST. Patrick was no other
than the prophet Jeremiah, and that the
early Irish wese beyond question Of the
"lost tribes" We don't intend tt aettlo
the question. There in one thing e,tain,
however, that if they were four here
they all enigrated at once, M no rice Of
them remains in ireland at the ,,rcsent
day. The Irish were always fond of
rowing. DIR. Won Tschudi, in his cele.
bratod work ION Peruvian Antiquities, says
that according to probable conjecture the
country which lay along from Chesa-
peake Bay, extending down into the
Carolinas and Florida, was peopled by
irishmen. He says in note in the: lat.
ter part Of the work that manuscript
wns found before he finished his book.
which converted the conjecture into GER
tainty. He mentions Northman with
the euphOnic name of Bredvjkingakap-
pi, who had an amour with a sister of
tic powerful chief, Snorne Code. by rea-
son of which he was obliged to emiyrate
to America. This was in 999. There
were no tidngs from him for long time
until an Iceland merchant named Gud-
lief Gudlangson, desired to return from
dublin to Iceland. He took the route
by the west Of Ireland. Itappeara it WAS
us dangerous in those days as these, and
poor Gudlief was driven out to sea. He
was taken after couple of months of
hunger and hardship on the ocean to an
unknown coast, whefe he was made u
prisoner by the natives as soon as he
landed. In short time troop of men
came to him, preceded by standard
ana speaklng Irish, language he could,
speak himself. They were directed by
I'M old man Oh horseback, who comman-
ded Gudlief to be brought before him.
He asked him in the Scandinavian
tongue who he was and where he came
from, and discovering him TO be an Ice
lander. he informed him that he was
Breidvickingakappi, the lover of Thurid.
Scandinavian Princess. He was per-
mltted to return to Iceland, convincing
all that the lover of Thurid was alive,
by ri;.g brought from him which she
had gwen him years previously.
Humbolt in the Kosmos says: "a
country situated further south was named
ny the ancient Scandinavians. Land of
the White man, or Great Ireland. NJ.
Kain is oi the opinion that this country
represents North and South Carolina.
Georgia and Florida. Are Erode, the
most ancient historian of Iceland, In
forms us that Are Marson arrived in 93S
a. u. III that country, where he received
baptism. The same country, the Great
Ireland, has also been mentioned by
Abon Abdallah Mohammed Edrisi, an
Arabian geogragher of the Twelfth Cen
tury, who was born at 'Ceuta' in 1899.
and pursued his studies Mt Cordona. It
was at the invitation of Roger H., King
of Sicily (1130-l154), that this Arabian
author pursued his work, and he is
doubtless indebted to the Normans en-
ploycd at the Court of Palermo for his
information"
Among the most interesting Of the old
snges mentioned by Rain il Thorfin
Ea-lsefne. He was an yceiandic mer.
chant OF royal descent. He was famous
voyager, and his discoveries in America
we've continued from 1907 to 1910. To
Karlsefne, and Snorne, before mentioned.
was assigned the duty OF Y;s;:ine and sx-,
ploring Vineland. They started in the
spring of 1907 with 1G0 msn. Many of
those old sailors are thoroughly de.
scrlbcd. There is one man, for instance
named O'Turnill from Dublin, who was
called the ''hunter." He is described az
large black haired strong man, like q
giant, foul-mouthed of speech, and not
over orthodox as n Christian. He was
well acquainted with foreign parts. He
had been n hunter in Ireland, and seems
acted as steward on board the ship. He
was perpetually quarreling, often drunk
ana was we'll acquainted with the virtues
OF a shiilaleagh. weapon much dreaded
by the Northmen. Tho discoveries OF
Karlsefne are full of interest. His de.
~.ripiions of the people found here cor
RESPOND with those given 600 years later.
A single item from this saga will be OF
interest, as entirely corroborating the
, tradition of st. Brendan. In the third
year of his wandering in Markland he
caine ncross five Shroelings or savages.
One was.a bearded man, two were females,
aud two w"re boys. The boys we're cap
tnred and taught to speak tho language of
the. Northmen. They gave the name OF
their iather M Unvoege, and their moth
er Vathcldi. They stated that beyond
them on the mainland there lived peo-
pc white in colGr, wearing white gar
ments carrying, flags on poles, and shout
ing loudly. They came to the conclu-