Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1914-05-17

lorway's Liberty
1914, Full Of Interest, Poetry
ValOr
dan Indians of NorthDakota have
Morse blood In their veins. Many OF
them are fair of feature. The expla-
nation is that they were driven west.
ward by other races and tribes. Their
tribal traditions seem to bear out this
claim.
OF No Particular Interest.
| From the termination Of the reign
of Olaf Trygvasson down to 1875 the
history of the Mortimer is of no par.
ticular interest as far as this sketch
is concerned. In that year we find
the rise to power of Magnus the
"Lawmender." Magnus was not only
one of the very first but one of the
very greatest of the law makers of
northern Europe. We find him pro-
lnulgating a fundamental law,
"grundlov'':: we find him establishing
representative government, wherein
delegates from all of Norway assembl
ed in parliament. More than that,
Magnus went one step farther he
abolished "thralldom,' almost six
done away with in the Western Con-
hundred years before slavery was
tinent.
Decline Of Vikings.
After the death of Magnus came
the decline in the power of the Vik-
|ings and the war lords Of the North.
Continual warfare with more power
full enemies eventually impoverished
the nation. The fur. trade declined
and the Hanseatic League of the avar
Eicious commercial cities of Northern
Germany became powerful enough to
drive the Vikings from the seas and
to dominate the Morse commerce.
Norway fond herselffa victim to the
depradations of nations upon whom
she once mad prayed with heavy
hand. Retribution came in the way Of
retaliation. The independence of the
Viking land was at an end. She be-
came the dependency of first one con
queror and then another, until in time
Denmark obtained control,
Triple Bond.
The middle of the fifteenth century
brought forth the Triple Bond, where
by Norway became more firmly fixed
to Denmark. BY the middle of the
sixteenth century the land had de-
clined to state of helplessness
through the ravages of the Wars of
the Reformation. The next two CEN
turtles saw but little improvement in
her stats amonk nations Her kings
dwelt outside her borders and ruled
her with an iron hand. The phlegma-
tic but avaricios German. plundered
her coasts and monopolized her COM
merce; the ruthless Dane robbed, pill
LACED, sacked and RACED her churches
monasteries and ither institutions.
The nation OF less than 100000 Nor
semen was sadly demoralized.
The tragic death in 1714 of the
dashing Carl XII Of Sweden at the
fortress of Fredrikshald in one of his
attacks on Norway averted further
wa for several decades. Norway began
to recupeate; bette days were ahead.
Dispeiis Darkness.
Before the close of the eighteenth
century came Holberg who in a large
measure dispelled the intellectual
darkness, the gloom that had been
thrown over the nation by the insid-
los german influence. Holberg WELD
ed an influential pen. And then comes
Hans Nielsen Hauge, the Wesley Of
Norway" as one writer calls him.
His fearless campaign against the
"rationalism" of the dominant church
brought him fame and honor, also
imprisonment and misery: He died
while fighting for the cause, and has
become Norway's immortal martyr.
la splendid statue has been erected
to his memory 4 on the campus of
Concordia College in Moorhead, MINI
Holberg and Hauge awoke the dor
lnant spirit of the Norwegians. In
1888 the oppressive grain law which
prohibited the importation of grain
from any other country than Denmark
was annulled. BY this time the growth
of the timber trade with England was
adding wealth to the country. The
population was increasing, the be.
ginning of the 10th century witnessed
no less than 100000 inhabitants in
Norway.
National Movement. ~.
The Norwegian national movement
which was to result in the memorable
action at Eidsvold found its incep
ton about 1900. The flames of patri
otism were being famed by Holberg,
Hans Nielsen Hauge, Count Wedel.
Jarlsberg, Jonas Collet and other
leaders that the coming crisis brought
to the forefront. In 1907 the nation
much against her will, became involv
cd in the Napoleonic Wars. On ac-
count of being dependency Of Dem
mark Norway found herself allied
with that country upholding the
cause of Napoleon against Sweden,
England and the other allies. Through
the sensequent destruction of her
commerce the food supply in the
land failed and much misery pre-
vailed. n spite Of the devastations OF
war the Norsemen did not halt in
their march toward Intellectual en-