Perth Amboy evening news., 1923-02-23
Geographic News
Bulletins by the
National Geographic Society
THE VIKINGS

IdE SlhlN0S
Remains of two Viking cities have
just been discovered, Swedish dis
! patches state, on the shores of the
Scandinavian peninsula.
Many persons pigeon-hole the
Vikings along with Captain Kidd and
| Blackboard as nothing more than
| pirates" says a bulletin from the
! Washington, d. c., headquarters of
the National Geographic Society.
but this is no more nearly true than
some of our other congratulations
about peoples we do not know.
1.-THE Vikings had among them
merchants, explorers, lawgivers, and
litterateurs, as well as guerrilla sea
rovers. And If they must be brand
ed a nation of robbers 1t might as
! well be recognized that we are dis
cussing family affairs-opening the
closet to examine our own private
skeletons as it were. For under the
name of Goth, Nerthman and Nor
| man they poured blood into and con-
tributed traits to the people of al
most every country of western and
southern Europe.
Viking Blood in British Stock
! Especially is British stock indebt-
ed TO Viking blood. 1t came early
from their kinsmen the Angles and
Saxons, it came through modification
| of Scot and Celt through Viking col
onies in Scotland and Ireland, 1t
came directly by invasion in the time
| of Canute, and finally came the i'm
| portant contribution of the Normans
Vikings once removed.
1.-THE Vikings were distinctly pro-
ducts of their geographic environ
ment. They may be considered Ger
| mans who were made over by the
more northern winter and led to the
! sea by the fiords and islands of
Scandinavia. Their boats became to
| them what horses are to the Cossack
| or carnels to the desert-dweller. the
! raids in which some OF the young
bloods engaged were not piracy I'M
der the morality OF the day. which
made ones enemies fair marks for
plumber.
Invented "Carbon Copies
Americans should feel sympa-
| thetic toward the Vikings for they
were in many ways, both desirable
and undesirable, the Yankees or
their age, Restless and energetic,
~votaries of the strenuous life, lovers
of adventure, they travelled for the
love of travel and sought wealth
whether in merchant boats or war
craft-for the love Of the seeking.
They loved their politics and enjoy
ed the debates of the Althing as fully
as the fights in which their feasts
often broke up. They were ardent
outdoor sports enthusiasts, engaged
in skiing, snow-shoeing and
in the winter, and staged wrestling
running and jumping matches In the
warmer seasons. They even had thelr
national ball game, a sort or nyprld
between hockey and lacrosse.
"a little imagination might serve
to credit the Vikings with being a
source of. such modern devices as
pure food laws, the carbon copies OF
our business world, and ship subsl-
dies. One old Viking law announces
that it shall be fraud to sell SAND or
shayings for meal Or butter Viklng
merchants checked their wares from
or into their boats by notches on
tallv sticks, and then ingen1ousiy
furnished both buyers and sellers
records for their files by splitting
the stick. King Canute was the VIZ
ing champion of an especially ap-
pealing ship subsidy. He decreed
that n merchant who made three
vovages overseas at his WI expense
should be ennobled.