, 1881-07-30
THE OLD MORSE VESSEL.



mlnlafcr stevchs' Description Of sho
Ex1s',tscd Hlip l1ullt Thousand
Years Ago.
a iettcr trom tho lion. John l.. Stevens, United
States Mnistcr to swetlst, dated at Stockholm,
nal, gives The following interesting description
Of tho recently cxhumed Morse ycsart:
"Wo wcrc much lnterosted IN seeing tho wolI-
preserved ro'nalnt ut AZ HI Norso vessel bulli a
sd r IL 'fS oes se se, as,
rjord, there is i slnail vlllase ealIod uoxstai,
The iocnl traditions under the naMe u Kings
Hill. IN tho brnaI tclds and meadows
sttshsx T. sa t ts9I r s %ts sE1 # as fGfs 5
round hill, nearly l;1 feot Ia 1lamoioT, which is
YeraS w k f@' o Ene o's +,
generation, haI found hero bis iast rcstinR-
place. surroundcd BY his horeos and his dogs,
ses Ice II. HsGy To9 Of os
wcre aupuuscd hero to kecp watuh and wurti.
az. at'd H.. supoEstit,on md 1ear had ks9r
~ from Inaking exanllnuuon Of the
sippossa ,:, ,xrayc: nut u last tho spirit
o " rs aFa
The result has been tho uncarthtug Of vessol
OF war Of tho niath century, u con'plcto viking
close OF his careor Of exploits nprth aud south,
wIth tho regal honors q bis pcopo and tlu,c.
gau an excavstion, and, diseins, down tron
be rspate tor 1asy az
Association ut Chrlst!unia. The latter sent AT,
tSily pushed iSo Iasssttsai,oa rio % disylns 90.
s' ete su su' of M''fs IL I'D yGng erfs 'nG seSs
ty-hvo fcot IN length, sixteen feet
xts SSss twenty spf sst The dfE"s t;G Found Ys s e fss
ri sst IL s hs ,hs
sp hSsit s taso
sci evidently had becn drawn from tho fjord
on shore and p4ccd on layer0t hazct branches
clny, and tho whole had becn tlllcd with aarth
and sand to form tho tuncrn n.u,lo..
the se, in aeoord with the opInio!. or Tho tltnc,
should cAl! the buried Ch!eftain ha might star.
efaf fa o. tie fa oeean ~ wS a4 It tss
bottom Of tho vessel were found tho ro-
Sons nase over na
ber Ut oars. some Or these for tho ANAL hoats,
others, fula twsnty foot ia length, far hiding tho
finish Of those oars scarccly ntlmlt Of Improve.
mcnt, much like those liz Use Ut tho present day
ada aG sos ts Sas Il ervrt sa II
pile OF oak chtps WINS found al elegantly shaped
hntehGk Ut thu shape pCutlRr to tho young Iron
aEe. Al! along the outer s!des of tho vessel
uIrcuir shields PLACED Iku the scales q tlshatl
s1a te @iSs @ ses o sne vesse sfac cuk I eoss ny
secured to tho bottom. with sunro hutv fur tho
tnast. aud several cos,trivnnccs, shows rlaIu'y
Of the vessc! was constructed tho funeral ehAri-
ber. formed by strong planks mud heaus
Rnboas teea tate teet neso keon seH a
appoluiment mot tho expIorcth. Sotuo ruth
loss hand, noryeu By avarico, had pro-
costly wcnpons and jeweis Of buried heroes iuaun
temptations too stronEf for tho supctstitious ven
e1se oe ts % es
bud been desecrated, Its juweled oontenss tuken
foar utler which the robbcrs had tlose shoir rwork.
"a few humnn bonus. sDnle shreds Ut 4 klnl Ut
esa ssaft ~
on Que or which is rcnarkablo representation
q q cavalier r!th loxsrod ianec: On ench
or Il hoEac md Of TWO dogs. In the forward part
Of tho shtp w, = fnnd a H. tlnsxo s9ppcr
q f'Ilss tha G srsw. hammcsel ia @ out 'e 81 % snSe
tie S antique 'GsSsi Gperio! UT q tue handtcfsft Tie
ing's % s6p and oontonts Is fouSt have beei, care
fully excavAtod and removed 70 Cltlbtlanaa, and
gss 6 G 9d.vs s. xsG l. IN e"as ss ssssg vi.
dIcAte how little ehAnKo has boon made III tho
f0etl1 aud cunning 0E ooeAn craft III tho c0tltur.
les which have elapsed since this waa first
launched on tho WAvc,
q AZ to tho time which has passed since thls
1AIil burlod benvath tho h!llock which tho chief
tAtl's followers rcnred th0ro Ia no doubt among
the antIquurIaua that 1t dates from tho pertou
ternetl tho younEyr Iron Age, distant from our
day l.e0l yeare. The antlqunrsan lnsse,!tns at
Coponhagen. Stockholm. md Christaan!a
whIuh Scandinavian exparts have had Oh
auch subjects. A thousand years slnuo thls
carefully cxarnInatl tls workmanship, On keel.
stem, ribs, nnd cusinRa Wero to bo stGu tnnrkA OF
Ill., I'D iao b9e o. ot ahe III i an5ersuy pSc.
served The workmanship Ut !ran bolts and
r,yats was that of, ,AkIilful hauds, Tho Norwegian
AnIQuArians and officials ttosnrva credit for sa.
curing ~ carefully this spl1tiltl rGtuRlu OF tho
water-Craft OF tho o!tlCA time"