Belt Valley times. [volume] (Armington, Mont.) 1894-1977, 1926-09-23


these wild Mortimer upon nearly
every rich and fertile country. they
could find. burning. numbering. loot.
Ing. conqnering.
II was the northern peril" the PEG
pie Of that day dreaded. For no coast
dwelier OF England. France. Germany
or Italy could tell ON what morning he
might awake to see the horizon dotted
by the serpent-prowed, long-oared.
shield-hung galleys OF the invaders, or
md his city In the merciless grip OF
half-naked, yellow-haired barharfans.
II was before the day Of telegraphs,
cables or any means of rapid COM
munntcation. Hence, there was no
forewarning of the swift, terrible
raids, no opportunity 10 mass a sufi-
cient force to repel them
Much poetical luster has since been
cast upon the Mortimer. AS a mat
ter Of fact they were simply pirates,
sea-robbers, cutthrOats. They had no
stable government, no modern laws.
Each community was ruled by the ad-
miral Of some particular pirate feet.
He was known as a 'sea king" or vik-
Ing The victims had no way Of re-
taliating. BY the time an army of re-
sistance could be raised the vikings
were at sea again and had vanished
Into the mysterious North. They were
men OF Iron, their climate and poverty
having accustomed them to bear cold,
hunger and every other privation
without Injury. They had no settled
home. no patriotic ambition: no pleas
ures, save war and feasting.
Yet they left their mark on the
world and on its history. Under a
Viking named RolIo a party Of North
men ravaged France in 912 A. D..
plundering Paris and putting the
French king at their mercy. To APP
pease them, the king gave Rollo
vast tract of French land and made
him duke. On this land the raiders
settled, the name Mortimer changing
to Norman, and their new dukedom
taking the title of Normandy. 1t was
direct and near descendant Of Rollo
who was destined later to conquer
England and change the English Ian
guage, law and government.
For two centuries Great Britain |
was devastated by the Mortimer, Al
fred the Great being the only king who
scored any permanent success IN clear
ing the land of them. But on Alfred's
death they returned N fresh numbers
and soon conquered all England For
many years they ruled the country.
Little by little, as large colonies Of |
Mortimer invaded and conquered 9TH
er lands, settling down in their new
they became merged in
the former populations of those coun-
tries, lending fresh -vigor, energy and
hardihood TO the conquered races,
but losing their own Morse identity.
There thus developed a trace OF sea
rover blood In nearly every European
race. leading nations to aggressive
conquest. to exploration, to marine
trade and to personal prowess. In
time Scandinavia lost so many men
BY those wholesale emigrations that
here we're no longer enough left to
other countries.
Eric the Red, a ruddy-haired, rudy
'aced Scandinavian pirate. discovered
Greenland late In the Tenth century
md settled there. Then In the year
900, according to many authorities,
ErIc's son, Left, sailed on a foraging
md exploring expedition. with a crew
4 thirty-hve men. They lost their 2
earrings and sailed westward before
gale. arriving at last at a wonder
nj country such as they had never
efore seen or heard OF 1t was North
america they had blundered upon.
rom the masses OF wild grapes at the
arious spots where they landed. they
AIMED the new country FinelaRd, and
allied back to report their discovery.
Seven years later q colony Of sixty
came to America and,
lnding, II Is said, on the shores Of
node Island. formed what was
tanned to be permanent settlement
his settlement for a time hourisbed
at soon all trace OF Il ends Its PEG
lie were probably massacred by In
Iaps
For 400 years longer, America vas
astined TO lie undiscovered Yet to
le Mortimer this country owes q
asst debt For it was due largely to
lmors and traditions. OF Leifs voy
yes that Columbus first conceived the
ed mat there was . eonsinent to the
Il was due also to the love
the sea and the tendency to ex.
ore implanted in Europeans hearts
! q Morse ancestry that Columbus
wages were rendered possible.
SO America. as well as the older
'untFies OF the earth. has cause a.
ink kindly Of the murderous, yellow
lired Morse giants whose name was
zee a terror TO the whole tigilIzer
DrId