Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1883-07-26
A VERY CURIOUS STORY.
America said TO Have been Settled by
the welsh i'm ITO.
From Arthur's Magazine.

In lecture delivered by Mr. James
Wood of Albany, n. Y, he related
the following curious tradition which
exists among the Welsh:
In ITO, two brothers, David and
Medoc. quarreled for the throne, The
younger, Medoc, becoming disguised
gave up the struggle, and fitting out
ship, sailed west The next year he
returned. said he had discovered a
fruitful country. and called upon his
friends to follow him He had no diff
fculty in filing ten ships with men,
women and children. They sailed
away, and, according to the Welsh
story, We're never heard of again.
This would not be worth much as
history were it not that it seems to be
confirmed by evidence ON this side of
the ocean,
In 1870, 500 years otter Prince Me
doc left Wales, a Welsh minister
named Morgan was sent from New
York to North Carolina to preach to
some Welsh people who settled there.
One day he wandered too far beyond
the outskirts of the settlement and
was captured by Indians They took
him many miles inland and prepared
to burn him at the stake The fagots
were piled around him, and his doom
seemed sealed. Suddenly he eXclaim-
ed in Welsh: Have | come so far to
die like a dog at last To his sur
prise, the Indian chief sprang forward
loosed his bonds and embraced him,
crying in Welsh: No; not if you
speak that language Henceforth
he was the honored guest of the tribe.
Morgan's surprise deepened when
the principal members of the Indian
tribe gathered around him and began
to converse with him in Welsh. He
preached to them, and they under
stood him But what amazed him
most was to discover that they had a
manuscript copy of the bible in the
Welsh language
Morgan relates this story in a letter
sent to friends in Wales. This letter
is well authenticated, but it is the only
evidence that we have in the matter
SO far as we are aware, nothing more
was ever heard of this Indian tribe
who spoke Welsh and had Welsh
bible.
But, about fifteen or twenty years
later, an exploring party, returning
from beyond the Mississippi river, re
late, other wonders, that they found
a tribe of Indians who speak the
Welsh language. They, too, have
manuscript copy of the Welsh bible
None of their number can read it, and
they keep it as a mysterious treasure
carefully rolled up in the skin Of ami
mails.
And, fifteen or twenty years later
still another exploring party brings
US back strange news from the Red
river of the north. They have found
there singular people, with whitened
hairand blue eyes, These people speak
the Welsh language.
Lastly, Catlm speaks of tribe of
white Indians dwelling along the up
per courses of the Missouri. They
are different from the tribes around
them. Some have fair hair and blue
eyes, and their language is strangely
mixed with great number of Welsh
words.
Now, says Mr.. Wood. here we
have five independent accounts, which
seem to tell one story. They are so
strange that historians don't know
what to do with them. Buff Indians
ON the American continent can speak
the W elsh language, they mast have
been taught at some time; if there are
manuscript copies of the Welsh Bible
here, they must have come here some
how. And YOU can put the facts to-
gether as you please,
Another curious fact was stated by
the lecturer In speaking of the dis
coveries of John Cabot, he said in
substance: Here is strange thing
John Cabot reached the shores of
Newfoundland in 1897. only five wears
after Columbus set sail He found
that the Indians We're in possession of
a great number Of French words. and
could understand him when he spoke
to them in that language They knew
the French term for Goldfish and fish
ing. He soon learned that the Breton
fishermen from the rock-bound coast
of northern France were in the habit
of coming to these bleak American
shores in their fishing smacks and
catching the cod with which these
shores abomded Remember. this
was only five years after the time Of
Columbus. If these fearless fisher
men, in their vessels. had been travel
ing backward and forward across the
ocean long enough to teach the Indians
a good part Of their language. who
knows whether or not they saw the
continent of America even before
Columbus did,
vuE IoTTUpN DI-.YN-Ua.,