The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1880-07-16
VINO DISCOVERED AMERICA?

\ recent number OF the Notre Dame
Scholastic contained an article entitled
The Hst DISCOVERIES of America
signed -'R. G. J., in which the claim
that Columbus was the first diScOverer
Of America is disputed and the honor
given to the Mortimer and the Irish.
In support of his position the writer
quotes North Ludlow Beamish, Fellow
of the Royal Society. London, and au-
thor OF a work entitled The Discovery
of America 10y the NOTthmen in the
Tenth Century. with Notices of the
Early settlements of the Irish in the
Western Hemisphere.
The writer i'm the Scholastic SAYS 1T
is certain and beyond dispute that this
country was discovered and known by
some manner of means long before Col
umbus- time and it is certain. too.
That the Irish can and may lay claim to
having been at least among the first dis
coverers of this our land.
The English writer, Mr.. Beamish. is
quoted rs follows 1t has been too
much the practice TO decry as fabulous
all statements claiming for the earlier
inhabitants Of Ireland a cOmparativeIv
high degree of advancement and civili-
zatiOn. And notwithstanding the many
valuable publications connected with
the history and antiquities of that cOun-
try, which have from time to time come
forth, ANA the more recent. candid and
eloquent production of Mr. Moore there
are not wanting, even among her sons.
those who. with the anti-Irish feeling of
the bigOtgd Cambreusis. would sink her
in the scale of national distinction and
deny her claims to that early eminence
in religion, learning and the arts which
unquestiOnable records 50 fully testify
v.I- - l.. =.
quiTy viii be sufficient to satisfy the
candid mind that Erin had good claim
to be called the school OF the West, and
her sons
Inclyte gems hOminum, milite, pace, fide'
''This much. at least. will the follow
ing pages clearly show That sixty-five
years before the discovery of Iceland by /.
the North men i'm the ninth century. ;
Irish emigrduts had visited and inhabit- .
ed That island: that about the year 72j.
IRISH ecciesIastIcS had sought seclusiOR .
upon the Farce Islands that in the .
tenth century voyages between Iceland .
and Ireland were Of fOrdiuary'occurreDce.
and in She eleventh century country
west from Ireland, and south of that /
part Of the American continent which
was discovered by the adventurous
Mortimer in the preceding age was
White Mans Land, or Great Ireland
From what cause. " adds Mr.. Beam
ISh, could the name of Great ireland .
have arisen but from the fact of the
country having been cOlOnized bv the
Irish Coming from their own green
isle 10 vast continent possessing many
OF the fertile qualities OF their native
land, the appellatiOns would have been
natural and appropriate and costume.
color or peculiar habits might have
given rise to the country being denOmi-
mated w Mte Mans Land by the neigh
boring ESquimaUN. Nor does this con
clusion involve any imprObability.
We have seen that the Irish visited
and inhabited Iceland towards the close
OF the eighth Ceutury-to have accom-
lrlsled which they must have trayersed
% strong ocean Go the extent of about
-ilIi hundred miles. 4 hundred wears
before the time of Dicuil-namely, in
lle year s-5-thay had heen found upOn
the Farce Islands
IN Jia ihtE century voyages between
reldud and Iceland were of ordinary
occurrence. And i'm the beginning of .
.he eleventh century White Mans Land
'I JFeai Ireland is mentioned not as a ;
le"ly discovered country but as a land .
oHg known hy tLiS name 30 the North
ucu.
'NCithgr the Irelandfc historian nor
iaVIgatOrs We're in the least degree in
crested I'm giving currency to any fable
eSIyetnS an Irish settlement Oh the
.ot-hern shores Of North America. for
HrE set mp DO claim to the discovery OF
i-- part of tue Western Continent their
interest being limited TO the coast north
b laH Chesapeake Bay The discover
US uL ueIaud and Great ireland ap-
ear To have been totally independent of
scH g,Her- The latter i5Ouiv incident
iit alluded to 10y northern ulvigators.
y ilh jhe lame they are familiar. but of
ie peculiar location Of the couutrvtHev
ie ISH1EuIt nor was il till after the
'jUin dEtho kariselue from NiueIand
, lHil. ana tHa Information he obtain
U from Tie ~NTrlings of ESquimauy
i2 were captured during the VOYAGE.
!+t the NoTJImCu became convinced
bait lHe White Mans Land or Great
.eiaHd was part OF the same vast conti-
ni ot which ilclluIand NarkIand and
ueIaud formed PORTIONS.
lh lNji. says the Scholastic writer. the
oval Society of Northern Antiquities
copenhagen published a book entitled
American Antiquities or Accounts
om Northern Writers Respectinp
mcrIca before the Time of Columbus. .
hich agrees with other authorities i'm =
y ING or being of the opinion that the =
mi mentioned by Humboldt in his
huSmos as the land called bv the
'aHdIHavians Land of the White Men --
treat ireland, 80 is the country now i
cludIHg North and South Carolina.
eorgia and Florida. and that in those -
'uhlIeS people speaking the Irish Ian
Jage were found as far back as tile
ghlh century. This Great Ireland has n
ITIT of 1.yrf e
ahommCd EdTist. an eminent Arabian
ographer, of the twelfth century. who
ln.l>hcd-ur rather wrOte-his work
IdeT the patronage of the King of Sici-
lll@0-ll5ll, and very probably re- al
wed his Information from the Normans -
the Court Of Palermo. Again. we -
.d that Ares Erode. the most ancient =
.d reliable historian Of Iceland, makes 81
anuou of Are Marson, who arrived i'm
tedt Ireland y ID. sos, and there
-eiyed baptism