The Washington herald., 1911-07-02
Who Discovered
America
COPYRIGHT BY JAMES ELVERSON

IVI clincd to the belief that Left Erlck
0J son and his NOrsemen visited the
shores of this country years before
Columbus sailed from the port Of Palos The
rartisans of Left Erickson have based their
claims chiefly upon the existence of alleged
ruins in New England which were apparently
built by Norsemen. For some time past sci
entiiic circles have been Interested i'll investl'
cations which have been i'll progress at Water
town, Mass, where the chief of these runs
appeared to exist The ruins seemed to be
those of an ancient Scandinavian city.
These Investigations have been under the
direction of Professor Mctiee, of the United
States Bureau of Ethnology. The bureau de-
tailed the professor to find out whether the
Gujns near Watertown were as has been claim
l. "a, the remains of the scandinavian city OF
Norumbega, which has lately been found to
b. described in the sagas OF Norway and Swe'
den as "A colony founded in the year A. ID.
1000, by Left Erickson.
The officials of the bureau were inclined to
the belief that these ruins were merely traces
of race Of American Indians. but Professor
McGee. having concluded his work, is conf
dent that they not, none of the abort.
glncs of America were ever known to build
their houses after the modes of architecture
there found, and that the resemblance which
these structures bear to the descriptions in
the Scandinavian sagas Is by no means I'M
aginative.
The most important ruins which were in
vestigated were two great structures known
i'll the Scandinavian sagas as long houses"
from which record they are believed to be no
less than the houses OF Left Erickson himself,
and that of Torbrandson, his companion.
They are buried under from six TO eighteen
inches of SOIL which must have been the
work Of centuries.
There is "a great Resemblance between the
ruined habitations and certain type Of Swc.
and NOFWpnIan houses nd n In m
found today in Iceland. Smaller houses, also
of stone, have been found in the same vicin.
ity, and they are supposed 10 be the homes of
the common people, being uniform in archi-
lecture. No mortar used in their con-
struction nor apparently any metal tools.
Professor McGee insists that they could not
have been built by some ancient native Amer-
can race. He says it is evident that the work
was done by men who came to strange
shore without any tools for building.
The locality Of their settlement shows that
they were seafaring men, Slnd the condition
of the ruins that the building was done about
the ruins has been found to compare more
favorably with that of ancient Norway than
any other known country. Also maps have
been found showing the upper coasts of North
America, published long before the time of
Columbus.
These facts have led Professor McCee to
declare that Left Erickson came to America
years before Columbus, and built the city
whose ruins he has examined. As he repre-
sents the United States Bureau of Ethnolopy
it is likely that this branch of the government
will indorse his views and so lead to the de-
thronement of Columbus from his position of
Americas discoverer.
Whatever may be the result, there can be
but little detraction from the credit due to
the Genoan, for 1t was he who first called the
worlds attention to the world, and led
to its colonization and settlement.
All the information which first led to the
he Al.
est visitors TO our shores from the Eastern
Continent il contained in a series of old
manuscripts, which have been for hundreds of
,l, Xears IN the the possession Of few families of
in the libraries of those countries not coming
recently.
They were first translated into English for
Ihe columbian Exposition, where they were ex-
hIbited, but, like many other things, were
passed over by the visitors without apprecia-
non OF their true value. while they crowded
the Convent of LaRabida, where Columbus
relics were shown.
These manuscripts. which are known az the
sagas, consist of many stories relating to the
voyages of the hero, Left Erickson. WHICH dis.
agree rs to minor facts having been handed
down for generations, from mouth to mouth,
being told as freside stories during the LONG
nights OF the Northern regions.
Strange to say, they were not put upon ma
per until the fourteenth century, when the
ScandlnaVian priests inscribed them for the
libraries, where they have since remained I
Three Of these, which have come to light
treat wholly OF the discovery of America, but
they all differ in regard to the dates. dis.
lance and the time taken for the Journey.
not to mention other details
One of he chief contentious of the parti
sans of Columbus was that the Vikings could
not have crossed the Atlantic IN their small
boats but this was disproved by the adyen. i,
turous trip of the Viking ship, which came TO !
this country from Norway simply to prove !
that Left Ericksons ships could have accom-. !
plished the journey.