The sun. [volume], April 28, 1912, FOURTH SECTION MAGAZINE, Page 12, Image 52

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THE SUN, SUNDAY, APRIL 28, 1912.
VIKING DISCOVERY OF AMERICA CALLED A MYTH
12
Dr. Nansen Rejects Tales Told in Sagas
of Leif Ericsson's Voyages and
Wineland the Good
JUST ns the mm goes down in the
western seu llicro flashes upon
lit" comprehending eyo of children
nnd of child men n vision of a
wonder geography of Uio distant west,
the object of all desire. For one fleeting
blissful glance it in given to the, child to
nee the bright lands which nro not of thin
earth nor yet entirely beyond hope. Here
is darkness mid the night, there Is the land
of brilliant wins, a bath of color. Hero Is
want, yonder grow the fruits of tho soil
in lavish abundance, Out over tho sea
i-dge life drifts sweet In idleness, to-day
man has tolled upon tho ungrateful soil
unci to-mon ow he must wako to toil again.
Seen with hope In a flash of the setting
nun lie the Kortunate Isles at tho further
i-dge of the ocean stream, tho Gardens of
the Hesperldes, Avulon with Its apple
orchards, Hy-llrasall, tho Isle or St. Hran
ilnn, th,o Tlr-nan-Og.
Such fables of the past ore instinct
with life. Geography docs not all at once
wipe out th1 stories which have been
handed down at the sunset hour, belief
The Viking ship from Oscberg near Tonsberg (ninth century)
,Ul pictum rovvrivhitd bu Frrdenclt .1, Stokr Comiani )
isslow to yield to reason and to knowledge.
In the modern times when the maps are
tilled with facts definitely ascertained und
set In mathematical order tho ancient
stories linger and call for other t-ort of
explanation They pa into the category
of folk myth. Some (-Indent" gather
them eagerly and create a science of folk
lore. Other students cling to them us in
some sort a dim hUtorical record; they
hold them as an obK-uro record of a past
and strive to save from each the kernel
of fact about which the accretion of fancy
has obscured the event 'I heirs is per
haps tho le-s grateful task, for one does
not eat n cherry Tor the pit
or this latter order is the work which
Ir. Fritjof Nan-en has iHTformed in the
analysis of the northern tales of tho dis
covery of Wineland the Good, From tho
my t)i of the sagas he tries to save a cen
tral fact, namely that brave Norsemen in
icy seas did discover the continent of
America nearly live centuries before
Columbus sailed over the edge or the
Conception of Northern and Western
Lands in Norse Literature.
western sea, hpfore Cabot and the Cor
tereals really found the great continent
which bars torver the road to Cathay.
All that Is to be known ubout Wineland
the Good, all that the gleemun sang about
that fertile wonderland, about Helluland
which lay hard by, about Marklond, with
its forests, about Furdhustrandlr of tho
marvel strands, about II vitrumunnaland,
where strange white men lived overy
mention which has been preserved in the
records of the past has been gathered
by Dr. Nansen in his work "In Northern
Mists" (Frederick A Stokeji Company).
He has subjected this material to careful
study, he has cut away the trimming of
rud" poetry, he has excised tho contribu
tions of recognizable myth, he has strug
gled hard to preserve to tho credit of his
Norsemen ancestors a central fact that
tli Vikings in their long ships did suc
ceed in reaching America. Of this ono
fact of discovery he thinks there can bo
no doubt.
Runic Stone a Forgery.
'I his Is a theme over which American
ists once fought with norltnony and the
many pages of many volumes did not suf
fice to contain it nil, Iu general the Scan
dinavian authorities lipid Columbus and
Cabot for nto comers to a land long
know , Geographers iu this country
were equally keen In pointing out that
none of the descriptions iu the sagas
coul be made to fit the known conditions
of the climate of the Atlantlo seaboard.
Yet tho Viking discovery found sufficient
adherents hern to wurrunt tho erection
of a slat 10 to Leif F.ricson, Conflrmn
no was nought In the skeleton in armor
and Newport's old mill, iu the ltunlo in
scriptions of the Dighton rock.
A generation ago these details were the
theme of healed controversy. They had
their adherents and their opponents,
Fierce battles were fought In monographs
und it was caueit unpatnotio to avoid
t.ikingouebidenrthoothcr. Vet Dr Nanse n
does not so much as mention them. They
have vanished Iu the rubbish heap us
unworthy of consideration. Hut one of
these Nmericiu evidences comes Into his
nnrrative, that only because it is modern.
Of this he says
"Soin years ago it was asserted that
a atoiiu with a ltunlo inscription had been
found In Minnesota, the to-called Ken
sington atone. On thia Is narrated a
Journey of eight Swedes and twenty-two
Norwegians from Wineland an far as the
country west of the Great Lakes.
But by its Runes and its linguistic form
this inscription betrays itself clearly an
a modern forgery which lias no interest
for us."
It is quito clear then that whatever is
to be known about Wineland must be
derived from the sagas and the ancient
chronicles.
Of those lands of tho western sea which
it was long sought to establish on the
American continent Wineland is first
known in 1070, just four years after Will
iam of Normandy made England his by
conquest at Senlao. Marklund, Ilellu
land and Furdhustrandlr come into
knowledge only in the thirteenth century.
Yet they are described when made, known;
the earliest mention of Wineland In the
pages of Adam of Bremen Is very brief:
"Moreover, he mentioned yet another
island, which had tieen discovered by
many In that ocean, and which is called
Wineland because vines grow there ofi
themselves and givo tho noblest wine.
And that there is ulmndance of unsown
corn we have obtained certain knowledge, I
not by fabulous supposition, but from '
trustworthy information or the Danes."
Voyages of Leif Ericsson.
Arter this introduction Wineland is
seldom mentioned, n mere introduction
of its name, in Are Frodo's "Islcudiuga
bok" and In the "liiindnaniabok." Kven
tho "Kristni-saga" (before 1;I and the'
lleimskringla increase tho knowledge
only by the statement that Ieif the Lucky
found Wineland the Good. In the"F.yr-byggjn-snga"
(about 1250) the added
detail is only to the cfTect that "Snorre
went with Karlso no to Wlucland Uie Good
and when they fought with tho Skru-lings
there in Wineland, Snnrro's sou Thor
brand fell in the fight "
The fuller information logins with the
saga of Krlo tho Ited, written about 1270,
certainly not later than 1300. In this
narrative Lcir, the son or Kric, sailed In 099
rrom Greenland tor Norway, was driven
by gales to the Hebrides and there passed
the summer awaiting a fair wind. Com
ing at last to Norway, ho snt tho winter
at Nldnros in the court of King Olaf
Trygvasson and Iwjcame converted to
Christianity.
Early In the spring of 1000 he set sail
from Norway bound toward his home in
Oreenland. Hut he lost his way and
drifted about until he cams to lands of
which ho hud no suspicion. Here were
self-sown Molds of wheat and trees named
"mosurr." so large that they were used
as house beams. This was Wineland the
Good. Still voyaging, Llf found and
rescued men on a wreck and took them
home with him to Brattalid Intheautumn,
and there Introduced Christianity, and for'
mis reason ne was canen nen me uiiOKy.
In 1003 Eric the Bed and Ielf the Lucky
AMERICAN
Continued from Elrrtnlh Page.
and only consider It as a luxury, as a
nice pastime. Furthermore, every real
artist Is a burn aristocrat, who always
raises a proud wall between the I'hllls-
tines and himself. To an artist the matlc art can only he saved by reper
democratlc doctrine of universal equal- , tolro playhouses like tho New Theatre,
lty Is preposterous. j but society must of course take up the
"Finally, Americans ore not willing i playhouse and help It financially as It
to go to uny sacrifice for art's cake. ' helps the Opera House."
The Idea of u young Yankee bearing
willingly the life of privation which Is
tho llfo of many a young French or
German poet would appear simply pre
posterous. "The young man of the I'nlted States
who possesses poetic gifts tukes up
Journalism and dabbles In versification
as a side line. If ho does not silenced
In ono literary linn of wolk he tries an
other. He would never dream of going
against the dictates of the majority, If
ho has something new, original to say
he will be careful not to frighten his
public, hut to preparo his public for It
gradually,
"The poet, the musician, the painter
must be gentlemen llrst with perfectly
normal thoughts und normal manners.
It Is Interesting to see so-called bn
liemlun clubs meeting at expensive
hotels. Thero cannot be any real ho
hemlans In America, for there are no
real enfes In the Kuropeun sense of the
word.
"It Is very seldom that the lower
classes of the population produce ar
tists, especially literary men. Still It Is
Interesting to note that one of the few
young playwrlKhts who have succeeded
In freeing themselves of tho usual
prudery and conventionality and In pre-;
senttng modern problems on the stage,
Ibigemi Walter, was ac tually near
starving before he made a reputation,
"Whoever knows tho Kngltah stage
knows the American stage except that
things aro u little worse In America.
"Actors, however good they may be,
become stultified by the kjbIbiii which
assisted In fitting out an expedition in
three ships to the new land, but tbey re
mained at home. The leaders were Thor
flnn Karlsevuo and Snorro Thorbrandsson
on one ship, lljarno Grlmolfsson and
rhorhall Gatnlason on the second, and
Thorvard and Thorhall on the third.
After leaving Greenland and the Isles of
Hoars the voyage made its first landrail
In Uellulahd, with large flat stones and
white foxes; next In Maryland, with great
forests and many beasts, then in Furd
hustrandlr. It has !een sought to iden
tify these three places in Iabrador, in
Newfoundland and in Cape Breton.
Thenco the expedition held to warn the
south to a land cut up with bays, and two
messengers who could run swifter than
deer woro sent into the country to explore.
They returned with grapes and solf-sowy
wheat. Somewhat further along they
wintered In a buy and supplies run short.
Tho pious prayed for food and had nono.
Thorhall, the hunter, who was a heathen,
held n conjuration with Thnr, and a little
later a whalo came ashore and gave them
food, but nil were taken sick, this because
of the traffic with tho heathen god, Soon
Kayik Fishers and a Woman's Boat ("umiak").
Greenlander.
they made a miraculous take or fish and
were preserved.
Fought the Skraelings.
In the spring of 1004 Thorhall leTt them
and turned homeward, was driven to tho
coast or Ireland and was made a slave
until his death. But Rarlsovne and
Iljarne sailed southward a long time until
they came to a river which flowed down
from the interior into a lake and thence
into the sea. Hero were fields of wheat
self-sown and vines on all the heights,
fish in all tho streams and abundnnce of
wild animals for food.
All went well during the summer, but
there was a scare from wild men, the first
seen. Nino hide boats came Into their
bay with much waving of poles In the way I
of tho sun. The Norsemen showed u
white shield in token of peace and Die
Mrungers came nshoro. They were small
men and ugly, and they hud ugly hair on
their heads; their eyes were big and they
were broad across the cheeks.
This was the winter camp, a very com
fortable one, since no mow fell and the
cattle wero out at pasture. In the spring
of ions tlw Skrndlngs returned in great
numbers. At flr-t their intercourse was
peaceful and a market was set up.
The liellowing of an o scared the wild'
men away. Three weeks later they came I
The Rock Hvitserk and Fight
twok In force, the poles In their boats
wero now waved wlddershlns, the at
tack was threatening and the Norsomen
took red shields and advanced to the com
bat. The Skradings had catapults apd
tnrew stones and a great blue ball which
made an uirlv nolnn when it rnmn Hnwn
Karlsovne's men took to flight, but tho
pursuit was stayed by a woman. Freydis
of name, who picked up tho sword of
VIEWS OF VERSATILE GERMAN ARTIST
makes them play all their life If not
the same part at least very similar
parts. They must possess an extraor
dinary Intellectual and physical re
servo strength not to succumb to
anaemia or fatty degeneration. Urn-
Church, Schools, Politics.
A chapter on "Things Germany Can
I.earn from America" begins with the
statement that Germany has already
learned too ninny had things from ttit.
GREAT SNAKE
"I was sitting on tho gallery of the
llttlo hotel in one of tho very driest of the
dry towns in thn dry belt of North Caro
lina," said a Now York trotter about the
country, "when u lank and thirsty look
ing not I vo came st rolling wonrlly along the
road, sat down on a plno st unip that sorved
ns u horse block for tho hotel, mopped
his faro, and after a scrutinizing glanoe
or two at the surroundings addressed
mo und said;
"'Do you know, sub, that these prohibi
tion folks aro putting tho axo to the very
roots of the tree of pussnnal liberty, down
h'yuh in No'th t u'linu, sub?'
"I Mild I hoped it wasn't quito as bad
us that
"'Sho'ly, suhl SJio'lyl' insisted the
native, 'And they'vo struck tho blow in
the Cheat Inir Creek nreoinct. suh. the
garden sot of No'th Ca'linu, ami my
' home, suh!
1 "'The blow had mlchtv nenr fell whon
it como to puss that you dasn't give yorn
neighbor or tho wayfaring man a re
fresher nut of yoro bottle without tho jail
staring you in the face, sidi, kase you was
breaking tlio law, und they kept their
oyo ou you so close; and yet, when Capt.
Eskimos playing bill with Stuffed Seil. Wood cut of Fairy Tale engraved by Native
Greenland er.
Thorbrand Hnorrason, who lay dead, and
drove the Skrmllngs to their boats. The
Norsemen lost two, the Skrndlngs four
in this combat. '
Woodcut drawn by Native
There was further exploration In this
summer and u winter camp in the same
favored spot. Iu the summer of 1006
the expedition bore north and eventually
reached Greenland after a variety of
adventures, including the taking of two
hkradlng children whom they brought
back with them to Kric the lied.
In a much condensed form this is the
narrative upon which rests tho claim of
the northern rovers to tho discovery of
this continent.
With tho growth of a new science of
Investigation of the records of the past
It has liecomo possible to subject suoh a
record as this to intelligent examination.
Formerly the attitude of scholarship
was to lop off one improbability ufter
another but to hold that each had some
kernel or fact. In this narrative the
Skni'lings are inconsistent- with them
selves; the former students wero content
to remove the inconsistencies as so many
excrescences but to hold to the Ixilief
that tho Norsemen did see Skra-llngs
and came into conflict with them. The
courses of the voyage aro inconsistent,
but
former scholars considered the In
consistencies us later additions when
knowledge had receded. They believed
'in the successive landfalls In Helluland,
Marklaud, Furdhustrandlr. The names
of the adventurers are so clearly given
with a Greenland Pygmy.
as to make for verisimilitude Erlo tho
Bed, Leif the Lucky, Karlsovne, Snorre,
Bjarne, Freydis. It is hard to conceive
tliat a fable oould havo suoh a list of fam
ilies and friends.
The Myth of Wineland.
But Dr. Nansen with great skill sets
all of these elements into the place proper
to each. He proves that not one of them
United States, such as the speed mania,
the worship of large figures, the snob
bishness of moneyed people, tho level
ing down of culture, tho craze for me
chanical appliances, etc. It continues,
however, In a more flattering tone:
"In one respect ut least Germany
has much to learn from the i'nlted
States. That Is as regards tho church
nnil school system. We Germans will
remain a backward nation as long as
the separation of Church and State Isn't
an accomplished fact, as long as a
German can be socially ostracised and
kept out of employment on nccuunt of
his religious convictions. We will not
be leaders. In culture ho long ns a Ger
KILLED, NO " MORE - ANTIDOTE
Bill Junkln come 'joggln' into my house
from up tho creek ono day, his eyes all
blazing and he in a raging fever, and
hooted to mo that a big moccasin snake
had bit him, they didn't have tho heart
to luy the law onto me for unhiding my
bottle nnd oiirilig half a pint or so into
('apt. Bill to nntldoto that snake plzen.
I'll say that for 'em.
"Thatldoggon moccasin snake had been
lurking round Capt. Bill's for more than a
long time and I guess maybe it wasn't
more than two days ufter Capt. Bill had
como running in to get cured of that snake
bite when I'm banned if thn moccasin
didn't ixiunco on him another timet In ho
came, hooting again, and human nature
wasn't going to son him curl up into fits
and dio just hecuuso tho law wan against
passing out tho bottle that had antidote
in it, and I passed it out to Capt. Bill and
sent him home rejoicing.
" 'Twico more after that Capt. Bill got
bit by that lurking and vindictive mocca
sin snake und cainn dashing in for to get
cured. Then yesterday he came in again,
'I noticed he looked discouraged, and
I said thut snake is shorn keeping ('apt,
Joe mighty busy, Inhibition folks was
is historic in connection with a discovery
of America by his forefathers 000 years
ago. It is much in itself, it speaks vol
umes for the scientllo conscience, that
a man of the northland should wipe from
the record all those beliefs of which the
Scandinavians havo been the most earnest
upholders and the most zealous advocates.
That which gave Wineland its name
is that which destroys Its existence as
a habitation. In every account it is made
to appear that in this western land of
the sea the grape grew in abundance,
that the wine was good, that wheat grew
without the labor of the tiller of the soil.
Dealing first with the former belief
that Wineland was some part of tho At
lantic seaboard of America, Nansen shows
how with better information as to the
producta of the seaboard Statos suc
cessive identifications have sought to
shove Wineland more and more to the
south, from Labrador by way of New
foundland to Nova Scotia, to Mount
Desert, to Cape Cod, to Narragansett
Bay, all in the hope of bringing it to a
point where the grape and wheat might
grow.
Only twenty years ago Wineland was
linked with that other American mystery,
Norumbega; its place was identified with
the Charles River in Massachusetts near
Waltham, and a tower was reared in
commemoration. Nansen shows that nt
the most southern stretch of the coast
which it is at all possible to associate
with Thorflnn K arise, me' s voyage the
only grape is the small and llttlo ap
petizing fox grape, and that even If there
were any who understood the making of
wine, the sour wine derived from this wild
grapo would fall far short of such per
fection as should impress it upon the
voyagers whom the sagas commemorate.
Nor is this destructive criticism all
that Dr. Nansen brings to bear upon this
most determining characteristic of Wine
land the Good. Ho nimmnges the tra
ditions of the remotest past in the be
ginnings of Mediterranean culture, and
with rich result.
He shows how the primitive people
set the eye cf faith upon a land in the
western sea when the weather was serene
In Wineland no snow fell and the cattle
pastured in tho fields tho whole winter
long where the grapo abounded and
wine was for every man to drink, where
the wheat grew in unfilled fields and
toll for bread was tho lot of uone. The
evidence Is conclusive that Wineland
is no more than the Fortunate Isles of
, Homan myth. Med lie va I confirmation
1 of this explanation is found in one of the
maim iu which Wineland is set down as a
northern prolongation or tho Fortunate
I ll.,o l,i ll.n tt-nroi on ff . ,,f
Africa.
Tho Sknvlings in these studies cease
to ls American Indians or Kskimo. They
are no more than the trolls of tho northern
mythology. Tho whale, which tho heathen
Thorhall the Hunter, secured for the
I famishing party by working muglc with
the "redbeurded" one, is the great fish
of St. Brandon's voyage on which his
companions fed miraculously. It is quite
likely that this is from an Oriental source;
perhaps the case or Jonah turned end
for end toward better comprehensihllity
Origin of the Sagas.
A wholly Norwegian contribution is the
description of the landing at Straumsey
on tne way to wineland, wnere the eggs
of birds woro so thick that one could notfwestern F.uropo was in darkness
set tho foot between them applicable
enough in tho proper season to the north-
em skerries, but impossible in autumn,
in which season they are introduced in
Karlsovne's voyage.
Tho runners, faster than the swift deer,
man father, who refuses to turn hlsjstnntly experimenting
children over to the representatives of leal' methods, n thine
Chrlstlanlty, can be haled Into the
ponce couri, ami so ion as atinerenco
to a form of religion recognized by
the Government is a necessary condl-
lion for appointment to any public The descendants of the original Van
"'N""' , , L kees, thnt Is of the first Immigrants
In a country which enjoys unllm-1 from tho llrltlsh Isles, nro not verv ...
..... 1 .... . ...... ,, , I r
urn ii.'cooiii ui iiuiiiKiii, K'llKl.llls llie
la bound to be richer than It Is In
our country.
"In regard to school management
we have much to learn for It Is natural
that n nation which Is youth Itself
should know well how to. treat youth.
Furthermore, the Americans ore con-
standing around there thick, and watch
ing nut, but they didn't seem to care, so
I said to Capt. Bill:
" ' "Well, Captain," I said, "I seo yore bit
again. Come and get your antidote,"
" ' "Colonel," says ho, "I ain't bit, and
thero am t no use! says pore Capt. Bill,
and ho was moaning.
" ' "Ain't bit?" said I, reeling sorry for
Capt. Bill.
" ' "No," says he, wailing sad to hear.
"I ain't bit. They've done gone and
killed tho moccasin snake, suhl"
"The native paused, mopped his head
again, and shaking it mournfully, said:
" 'Ikying tho axo to tho very roots of
pussonal liberty, suh, these prohibition
folks aro, suh, down h'yuh In No'th
Ca'lina, and they've struck the blow in
tho Cheating Creek precinct, tho garden
spot of No'th Ca'lina and my home,
suh!' Do you reckon, suh, they'vo took
to swinging t ho axo into them roots around
h'yuh, suh, so deep that it won't be am
use for a man to hope for being nntidoteii
ir ho goes out and gets bit by a moccasin
snake, suh?'
"I was obliged to tell the native that I
was afraid such was tho situation around
there, and he got down off of the stump
and weut on his way,'
But He Does Hold That Unknown
Norsemen May Have Reached New
World Long Before Columbus
who go out in' advance to And Wineland
and return with grapes and wheat, are
but loosely patched Into the narrative.
The episode Is without purpose They are
gone the three days which Is tho char
acteristic chronology of these legends;
they return, much as did tho spies, with
grapes from Esheol. The promised land
Is proved to be near, yet tho Norsemen
took no steps toward the goal. It was not
for a year that they reached Wineland.
Thero is reason to associato these swift
runners with familiar myths of Thor.
Nor aro tho runners tho only connec
tion with the Thundorer, It has boon
noted that the names of tho adventurers
aro given with great precision to add
verslniilltudotothe narrative. The woman
Froydis, who turned defeat Into victory
and drove tho Skrndlngn, has a name
which nowhore else appears in all Ice
landic literature, but compounds of
Frey are frequent In mythical names of
the northland. Vet if tho list of the
Icelandic Representation of Northern and
Another by Sigurd
names of men bo examined Thorvnld
and Thorfinn, Snorro Thorbrandson and
Thorhall Gatnlason and a dozen more
in like composition, it is not difficult to
seo in this saga a reminiscenco of tho
conflict Iwtwenn older paganism and
newly brought Christianity, with Thor
fighting the Lattltsof Odin and Vnlhnlli.
It is not onough to show a similarity
subsisting tietwnun tho myths of tho
saga of 1-rio tho Hod and tlwso of tho
Mediterranean und tho high north. They
might bo the result of indeondent do
vclopment. for man in the childhood of
his culture is capabfe of but fow ideas,
'oven as are children. Dr. Nansen is at
! pains to point out how tho colportago of
this myth material might hnvo ln
brought to pass.
For the Mediterranean myth cycle he
' shows that in the Wineland saga there
' appears no morn than in Isidore
. Hispalonsis, and this author had tho
widest currency in tho north in the dark
est period of the early Middle Ages. The
northern myths wero treasured in Ico
land and Ireland, two communities in
frequent and intimate relations and
each the seat of an educated culture when
The result of this careful dissection
which Dr. Nanbon has given to tiiis story
of western lands is tho convincing proof
that in every particular it is a complex
oi mytns derived rrom tnuny sources.
that Its central themo is tho ancient fable
with pedagogl
which our so-
called progressive theorbts huven't done
for uges.
"There Is another thing Vnnkees can
teach US .the use of t.nlittrnl tinirnr
... ' "
perlor In numbers to the German Immi
grants, nnd still their political suprem
acy hns never been contested. The
Yankees have shown n decided genius
for colonization and statesmanlike or
ganization, while the Germans haven't
even been able to retain control of tho
various communities they have founded.
Now und then we tlnd a German Mayor,
but he has forgotten his mother tongue
and owes bis political Importance to
Ynnkeo bosses.
"This political Itnpotency of the-Ger-mnn
comes probably from tho fact that
when the bulk of the German Immigra
tion reached the American shores Ger
many, as n country, hud no political
life, while the Kngllsh Immigrants
brought with them a certain familiarity
with parliamentary life.
"In February. 1902. a New York club
Undered to I'rlnce Henry of Prussia a
banquet, In thn course of which a list of
the guests wns presented to his High
ness on n gold charger. That list wns
supposed to symbolize the head nnd
brains of the United States. Wo notice
that only captains of Industry were In
cluded In the list, and that there was
no poet, urtlst or philosopher present.
Will tho dny come In Germany when a
Kulscr will dance before his nation a
('.a nee of the Beven veils, shedding one
by one tho veils of prejudice, and after
ward demand Hint the heud of Germany
bu brought to him on a gold t-hnrgcr?
The charger may not bo of pure gold,
us It wos In the country of lnex
Imusllblu natural resources, but the
heud will cerlnlnly be there'"
With this whimsical prediction the
Uuron closes his book.
of the Fortunate Islands, that, nrrcm
this woof is woven a warp of myth from
many sources with cureless disregard
of the pattern of tho whole. It is all
Nephelococcygla, it is Cloud-cuckoo land,
it can be adjusted to tho netwotk of
geographical coordinates no more thin
the voyages of Ulysess or the search
of tho Golden Fleece.
Whot credit then remains in the
destruction of the saga which mav te.
fleet honor on the early Norso voyager,
whether he le Mt tho Lucky or Thorfinn
KarlsevnoV If not Wineland what did
one or other or these fleets discover?
Did any Viking reach America at all
Vikings Did Come Here.
Dr. Nansen discards everything hut
his belief in the discovery of some part of
this continent by the long ship of some
Viking rover. In the tangle or fable hi
segregates a few incidents which to him
seem to rent on fact. One of these is the
1
Western Lands as Connected with One
Stefanson, 1570.
open market with tho wild men of Wine
land. Here the saga runs'
Then they set up shields nnd held a
market, and the ieoplo wanted most to
buy red cloth; they aUo wanted to buy
swords and spears, but this was forbidden
by Karlsevne nnd Snorro. Tho Skrp linci
gave them untanned skins in exchatup
for the clotji."
Tills in?ident nnd the combat which
followed seem, in Nnnson's judgment, to
refer to something that nctually took
place. It seems to lie quito clear that the
Norcsemen iu Greenland could never
have any memory of defeat nt the h.iniN
of the peaceful Kskimo. Tho most feasible
cvplanntton is that it is a reference to
Fight with Mythical Creatures,
in Icelandic MS.
Irrm
some meeting in America with a war
like people, therefore nt some point along
tho coast south of the Kskimo commu
nities in Uibrndor.
Ano'hci' grouping of incidents which
seems to rsveal n knowledge of Amcica
at flist hand lies in the brief but note
worthy classification of the three land
falls in order, treeless and rooky Hellu
land. well wooded Murkland, fertile Wiac
land. It is in just such order of des Tui
tion that geography knows Labrador,
Newfoundland and uncertain regions of
the coast further south nnd west.
The most convincing eviden,o comes
unexpectedly In tho Icelandic aimiU
nftcr the saga period In 1317 u storm
driven ship rrom Greenland bound for
Marklaud put Into Iceland for succor
This is evidence that such voyages eie
made before tho extinction of the Nnrss
settlements in Greenland. The object
was plain; wood was worth n voy.ise
no matter what its length and no matter
what its perils. This ship diverted frim
tho Marklaud voyage is tho lat reovd
of thn Greenland settlements.
Arrived In Iceland In 1317 the ship
remained over winter; in 1318 it voyaged
to Norway in order to find Its way back
to Greenland, for those ancient seamen
knew no way on tho sea from Iceland
to their home. There was a seven year de
lay in Norway, Tor tho royal truding slilP
did not set out until 13X5, tho last voyage
of tho sort that was made, and after that
voyage nothing is known or the dec.iy
or tho settlements save such memorial
as may be read In tho ruins or runn-leadi
and churches still to bo discerned along
thn coasts
Ono tnoro argument remains, the nrgu
ment based upon tho similarity of th"
Indian game of lacrosse with the ancient
Norso "knuttleikr."
Thus is Wineland the Good, with It'
loud, howling Skrii'lings, carted awav
to tho lumber room or antiquities w ill
many another s't'ory thnt once held i'1"
faith of tho world. Nothing iciiuun
save thn possibility thnt Norsemen did
visit thn American continent If
really did reach tills continent thev I- ft
for geography no benefit of their km l
edge. Upon this land they corfei '"I
no benefit of their spiritual or of l i"r
t4-mpor.ll store uules.4 the lutrodli 1 '
of a wholesome goJiie I mi tuna rcgaid"!