The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1917-09-15

N0RTHMEN MADE
 MANY HISTORIC
 OCEAN VOYAGES
 Here and there, throughout New England. there are certain ruined towers which people will tell you were erected by the Northmen. One of these, for instance, is at Newport, R. l., and another is not far from Boston. Coming upon one of these makes a person ask himself just who were these Mortimer and when, if ever, did they come to the shores of North America. AS a matter of fact, their voyage did probably take place about the year 1000; and, if the old Icelandic "sagas," or song-stories, tell us the truth, then Jeff Ericsson was the first white man who ever landed upon the shores of North America.
 In these ancient shadowy times, there lived a Northman' who was call ed Eric the Red, and for some reason he was exiled to Iceland. Probably he was sent away for having broken some law of the country, for he also got into trouble in Iceland and pres entity set out for still more distant land-one which he had heard lay to the westward of Iceland. Sailing in the direction described, he landed in due time upon the island which he sought; and, after spending some time in exploring it, he resolved to found a colony there. The island he called Greenland, wishing to give ii a name, perhaps, which would sound attractive to possible colonists.
 Now this Eric had a young son whose name was Jeff Ericsson, or Jeff, the son of Eric, you see. This young son spent some time in, Nor way, where he became Christian and to him King Olaf of Norway fin ally gave the task of telling the peo- pie of Greenland about the Christ and the new religion. It was not long after Leif's return that his father and many of the people of the island ac- cepted Christianity. In Greenland today travellers may see occasionally ruins of little churches which are be- lieved to have been built by Jeff anC his followers.
 Among the men who came to settle in Greenland was one who called himself Biarne (which is pronounced bearna), and he told many strange stories of having been blown out 0. his course in sailing to the island during which time he had sighted ar unknown island which lay to the south of Greenland.
 The people used to draw near while he was telling these curious tales, ana ply him with questions about wha' he had seen upon these unknowr shores. But Btarne had not landed ! there and he could not answer man! of the questions; so the curiosity 0: the people was not satisfied and the, continued to talk and wonder abou this land which Biarne had seen. Fol those were days when men knew yer! little about the world in which the. lived; they were continually question ing things which lay even near a hand and about strange lands whicI lay to the westward they knew noth ing at all. At last Jeff Ericsson grey so very curious that he decided tt buy the ship which belonged to thil Biarne and to then set out upon .s NOJ o6O oA 0lSNOSOIy. uAdHy 1AGI agreed to go with him ont his voyage and Jeff tried to persuade his father | Eric, to go along, for he was a ia
 nous voyager; but Eric declined, fo he thought that his task was done il having discovered the great island O. Greenland.
 On and on to the west sailed Lei Ericsson and his followers, in theil quaint little ships with the high cary ed prows, and at last they sighted land whereon were high and snow covered mountains. Of course, the, did not know what this land was, bu historians now say that it was tn, coast of Labrador and that, after ward, Jeff Ericsson and his follower sailed down past the flat and wooded shores of Nova Scotia. Then it il supposed that they came alongside yet more inviting shore, where ther' were woods and meadows and shining sands; so pleasant did this district ap pear that Jeff Ericsson and hi friends carried their tents ashore | lived there for some time and explor
 ed the country. Many delightfu ! things did they discover when out up 1 on these expeditions-a quantity o
 wild grapes growing being perhap
 the most agreeable discovery to mel
 who had been at sea for many weeks
 or perhaps months. The land wher
 they found the grapes Jeff name,
 Vinland, or the land of vines; an,
 historians declare that Leif's grape
 grew either in what is now Rhod
 Island or the southern part of Massa l chusetts.
 Jeff Ericsson ordered his men t
 cut down some trees in order to hay
 some wood to take on board thei
 ship; and you may guess that carg
 of grapes went aboard, too. Then tn
 party sailed back to Greenland Afte
 Jeff had been back :n Greenland fo some time, he married, and his wife hearing of the wonderful Vinlan . which Jeff had discovered; urged hin
 to go back with her and to found colony there. Jeff agreed, and so tn Mortimer seem to have made anothe trip to the shores of North America
 but the colony only lasted about t1re
 years, after which the colonists wen I back again to Greenland. Jeff Fries
 son and his wife took back with them
 upon the long journey, their bab,
 son, Snorre, who we are told wa
 probably born somewhere about Bug
 zard's Bay. If this is a true story
 Leif's little son, Snorn.,, was the frs
 white child born in Massachusetts. 1 And so, once again in Greenland the Mortimer seem to have forgottel