If 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 N ^ 
 
 
 

 
 
THE 
 
 ■DISCOVERY OF AMERICA 
 
 BY 
 
 THE NORTHMEN 
 
 IN 
 
 THE TENTH CENTURY. 
 
 COMPRISING TRANSLATIONS OF ALL THE MOST IMPORTANT 
 
 ORIGINAL NARRATIVES 
 
 OF THIS EVENT; TOGETHER WITH A CRITICAL EXAMINATION OF THEIR 
 
 authenticity; TO WHICH is added, an examination of the 
 
 COMPARATIVE MERITS OF THE NORTHMEN AND COLUMBUS. 
 
 JOSHUA TOULMIN "SMITH, 
 
 FELLOW OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF NORTHERN ANTIO.U ARIES, 
 AUTHOR OF " COMPARATIVE VIEW OF ANCIENT HISTORY," ETC. ETC. 
 
 WITH MAPS AND PLATES. 
 
 SECOND EDITION. 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 WILLIAM S. ORR & CO., AMEN CORNER, 
 
 1842. 
 
PRINTED BY RICHARD AND JOHN E. TAYLOR, 
 RED LION COURT, FLEET STREET. 
 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 J. HE object of the following pages is twofold : — 
 first, to present the English reader with accurate 
 accounts of the discovery of, early voyages to, and 
 settlements in, the Western Hemisphere, and con- 
 tinent of North America, by Europeans :— secondly, 
 to prove that those accounts are authentic. 
 
 The honour of being the first European who trod 
 the shores of the New World has long been assigned 
 to Christoval Colon, commonly called Christo- 
 pher Columbus. In ignorance of the previous 
 discovery and exploration of the same land by other 
 parties, in a much more remote period, the assign- 
 ment of this honour to him might appear just. 
 When, however, it is shown that these disco- 
 veries were in fact made at a much earlier period, 
 and in a much more complete manner, by the inha* 
 bitants of a distinct and remote nation, the honour 
 which has surrounded his name should be transferred 
 to them. Columbus may have touched upon Ame- 
 A 2 
 
rica in the fifteenth century, but the Northmen^ 
 without any of the advantages of advanced science 
 which he possessed, discovered and explored it in the 
 tenth*'. 
 
 If, then, the discoveries and voyages of Columbus 
 have ever been esteemed objects of interest and im- 
 portance, the discoveries and voyages of the North- 
 men, five centuries previously, should certainly be 
 esteemed of at least equal interest and importance. 
 That interest should be increased by the fact that the 
 latter discovered and explored the very same shores 
 where now a race of Anglo-Saxon blood has fixed 
 its habitation, and made the very same regions of 
 America the seat of wide and important commerce. 
 
 To all who take interest in the history of man, in 
 the history of human enterprise, in the history of 
 geographical science, in the history of the advance of 
 nations and of the human mind, these discoveries 
 must be interesting. The circumstances under which 
 they were made should make them of an interest sur- 
 passing that attending the discoveries of any modern 
 navigator, — Columbus himself, and Cabot, not ex- 
 cepted. That interest can, in no degree, be confined 
 to the inhabitants of the lands themselves thus dis- 
 
 * Particular attention is requested to Note A, on this subject, in the 
 Appendix, in which are discussed the comparative merits of the North- 
 men and Columbus, 
 
covered. It must be felt throughout the civilized 
 world. Almost every nation in Europe had some 
 share in the modern settlement of America. It was, 
 especially, British enterprise which first, in modern 
 times, made the regions explored by the Northmen 
 well known ; and from our own country it was that 
 colonies were established in those regions, the most 
 flourishing of which exist in the very spots best 
 known to the Northmen. The closest intercourse 
 and the nearest ties of affinity still make England as 
 much interested as ever, perhaps more so, in these 
 colonies ; and all which relates to the antiquities of 
 the regions of their settlement must therefore be 
 valuable to the English reader. 
 
 Moreover the Northmen, the original discoverers 
 of those lands, were of the closest kindred with the 
 very same stock whence our own Anglo-Saxon race 
 is sprung, and the very qualities which are so striking- 
 ly displayed by the adventurous heroes whose exploits 
 will be here detailed, are those which have ever 
 adorned the British character and given it its pecu- 
 liar mark, and raised it to the rank it holds among 
 the nations of the earth. 
 
 The original records of these discoveries of the 
 Northmen have recently been published by the Royal 
 Society of Northern Antiquaries at Copenhagen. 
 The volume, however, in which they are contained 
 
(Antiquitates Americance) is one which, from its 
 price, and the circumstance of its being in foreign 
 languages, (ancient Islandic, Danish, and Latin,} 
 must be inaccessible to the majority of readers. The 
 object of the present work is to render the subject 
 familiar to all, — to present the complete narratives 
 of these discoveries, translated from the original re- 
 cords, as contained in the volume mentioned, with 
 such historical and other illustrations as may tend to 
 elucidate the subject, and add to its interest; and to 
 present any additional facts to which the author has 
 had access, bearing upon the subject. A personal 
 acquaintance with the regions to which this volume 
 chiefly refers, acquired during a temporary residence 
 there, has afforded the author some peculiar means 
 of gathering this information. 
 
 As, however, the original manuscript documents, 
 though long before the learned world, have only re- 
 cently been at all generally known to exist, it was 
 desirable to adduce proof of their genuineness and au- 
 thenticity, and to meet every objection which has been 
 or may be made to them, at the same time that they 
 were thus made public. This the author has accord- 
 ingly attempted in the following pages. It seemed 
 the more desirable to do this here, inasmuch as it has 
 been barely touched upon in the Antiquitates Ame- 
 ricance* A mode of argument has, in pursuance of 
 
this design, been purposely adopted which is most 
 suited to induce general conviction. Another might 
 have been adopted, but one less suited and less inter- 
 esting to the general reader. The argument is drawn 
 chiefly from a source now generally acknowledged to 
 be the most conclusive, as well as attractive, namely, 
 the internal evidence, — a mode of reasoning so suc- 
 cessfully adopted in Paley's Horce Paulina. 
 
 In order to present the subject under these dif- 
 ferent aspects, — the detail of facts, the proof of their 
 authenticity, and the discussion of all objections, — in 
 the most convenient and pleasing form, the author 
 has thrown the whole into the form of dramatic dia- 
 logue. Room is thus afforded for varying the inter- 
 est, and for different episodical allusions; while a fami- 
 liarity of style is admitted, which would have other- 
 wise been out of place, but which is useful in the dis- 
 cussion of such a subject, and is indeed especially 
 suited to the treatment of a subject liable to be, and 
 which has been, distorted and misrepresented with 
 all kinds of minute and cavilling objection ; to the 
 illustration of minute points, which, stated in a di- 
 dactic form, would appear trifling, but which still bear 
 importantly on the main question ; and to affording 
 the most easy and natural means of unfolding and 
 following, one by one, the various points of an argu- 
 ment depending in many respects on minute criticism, 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 with an exhaustive and yet not uninteresting parti- 
 cularity in illustration and in notice of objection. 
 Different characters are presented, sustaining differ- 
 ent parts ; and the unities of time, place, and cha- 
 racter have been attempted to be preserved. The 
 scene is laid in Newport, Rhode Island, United States, 
 for reasons which will appear obvious upon perusal. 
 Inspection of a common map of the United States, 
 and comparison with the maps in this volume, will 
 give amply sufficient familiarity with all localities to 
 which allusion is made. Most of the illustrations 
 are drawn from scenes or facts familiar to the En- 
 glish reader. 
 
 One remark must be added. In accordance with 
 the very commendable practice now generally adopted 
 by the best writers, all the names mentioned are given 
 in their actual and original forms, and not in the bar- 
 barous forms in which they usually appear. The 
 utility of this practice will be self-evident, since the 
 perverted forms in common use only serve to obstruct 
 ease of research. Who, for example, in perusing 
 ancient or original records, and meeting with the 
 names Colon, Svend, or Knud, would imagine that 
 he was reading of the individuals of whom he had 
 been accustomed to hear as Columbus, Siveyio, and 
 Canute ? Though, at first, the correct forms may 
 sound harsh, the ear will soon become accustomed to 
 
them, and they will appear as euphonious as the cor- 
 rupted and unauthorized forms. It may be observed 
 that thejitial r in the Norse names has been omitted, 
 as being a consonantal sound incapable of being ut- 
 tered in its place, and only giving, therefore, an un- 
 necessary harshness to the appearance of these names. 
 It was not indeed, according to Professor Rask, an- 
 ciently sounded among the Northmen themselves. 
 
 It may be added that this was the first work pub- 
 lished in England, or in the English language, on 
 the interesting and important subject of which it 
 treats : since its first publication another work, 
 with the same title, has appeared. The author of 
 the present work having himself travelled over the 
 country, the discovery and geography of which are 
 discussed in the following pages, is able to speak 
 of many facts from personal knowledge and observa- 
 tion, and thus to illustrate the argument more use- 
 fully and with greater accuracy. 
 
 The author has, besides numerous complimentary 
 notices from the public press, been gratified by many 
 private testimonials to the merit and interest of the 
 work. Among the rest Professor Rafn, Secretary 
 to the Royal Society of Northern Antiquaries, and 
 editor of the "Antiquitates Americanae, " remarks, in 
 a letter dated Copenhagen, June 29, 1839: "On be- 
 half of the Society, and on my own behalf, I thank 
 you for your work. * * I find your exposition of 
 
the subject highly interesting •/' which testimony has 
 been since still more strongly confirmed by the same 
 high authority, not only generally, but with special 
 reference to particular points here first attempted to 
 be established. Among the rest, as to the position 
 assigned in this work to the land visited by u4ri 
 Marson and Biorn Ashrandson (see Chap. V.), and 
 the ground on which it has been so assigned. 
 
 Some corrections and a few additions are made in 
 this edition. One of the latter (p. 292. note) is of 
 much importance as affording very strong additional 
 presumptive evidence of the Northern origin of the 
 Assonet Rock. Another on p. 51 gives a curious 
 illustration of the subject, while the note added to 
 p. 265 affords a striking proof of the correctness of 
 the argument. An index also has been added. 
 
 The eyktarstad and dagmalastad being apples of 
 discord in the eyes of some who are unwilling to be 
 satisfied, the author must be content to refer such 
 for full details on this point, and on the old northern 
 division of time in general, to the " Specimen Calen- 
 darii," &c, in the edition of " Edda Saemmdar hinns 
 Froda," published by the Arnsemagnaean Commis- 
 sion, vol. iii. pp. 999-1124, and to an article in the 
 ci Memoires de la Societe Royale des Antiquaires du 
 Nord," 1836-1837, pp. 165-192. 
 
 London, Oct. 31st, 1842. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 Page 
 
 Statement of Subject. — Not a recent Speculation, but a Fact 
 long known and published. — How shown to be true. — 
 Probability of its truth.— Proof of actual Authenticity of 
 Documents, and Truth of Narrations. — External Evidence. 
 — Internal Evidence. 1 — Whether any Knowledge of a 
 Western Continent among Ancient Greeks and Romans. 
 — Utility of a Knowledge of this Subject 1 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 Discovery of Iceland by Naddodd, (A.D. S6l.) — Discovery 
 of America (in Greenland) by Eirek the Red, (982.) — 
 Expeditions to the Northern Regions. — Discovery, of the 
 more southern regions of North America by Biarni Heri- 
 ulfson, (985.) — Introduction of Christianity into Green- 
 land by Leif Eirekson, (999-) — Expedition of Leif 
 Eirekson to Vinland (New England), and residence there, 
 (1000.) — Expedition ofTHORVALD Eirekson to Vinland, 
 (1002.) — Residence and death there, (1004.) — Expedition 
 of Thorstein Eirekson, (1005.)— Story of Gudrid. — 
 Death of Thorstein, (1005.)— Return of Gudrid, (1006.) 43 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Arrival of Ti-iorfinn Karlsefni in Greenland, (A.D. 1006.) 
 —Marriage with Gudrid, (1006-7.) — Expedition to Fin- 
 land, (1007.) — Arrival at Kialarness, (Cape Cod.) — Win- 
 ters (1007-8) in Straumfiord, (Buzzard's Bay.)— Snorri 
 Thorfinnson born there, (1007.)— Thorfinn passes on 
 toHup, (Rhode Island,) (1008.)— Winters there, (1008-9.) 
 
XII CONTENTS. 
 
 Page 
 — Indian Traditions and Names. — Thorfinn encounters 
 the Natives, (1009.) — Sails up the Bay (to Providences- 
 Returns to Straumfiord, (1009.) — Expedition along the 
 Eastern Coast, (1009.)— Winters at Straumfiord, (1009- 
 10.)— Returns to Greenland, (1010.)— Two Natives taken 
 on way home. — Destruction of Biarni Grimolfson. — 
 Thorfinn settles at Glaumbce, in Iceland 140 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Ancient Ballad in which Vinland is mentioned. — Latest 
 recorded visits to the Continent of America by the North- 
 men. — Continued Intercourse with those regions. — Per- 
 manent Colonies established by the Northmen in the 
 Western Hemisphere 197 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 Irish in America. — Northmen in Huitramannaland, 
 (Southern States of United States.)— Ari Marson,(A.D. 
 983.) — History of Biorn Asbrandson. — Voyage of 
 Gudleif Gudlaugson (1028.) 231 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Remains of Northmen existing in America.— Buildings and 
 Inscriptions in Greenland, and in New England. — Body 
 found at Fall River 273 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 Note A. — On the Comparative Merits of the Northmen and 
 Columbus 307 
 
 Chart of the World, according to Icelandic Manuscripts of 
 the thirteenth century 339 
 
 Note B. — On the traditionary Records of the Northern 
 
 Nations 341 
 
 INDEX 345 
 
THE 
 
 NORTHMEN 
 
 IN 
 
 AMERICA. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 Statement of Subject. — Not a recent Speculation, but a Fact long ' 
 known and published. — How shown to be true. — Probability of its 
 truth. — Proof of actual Authenticity of Documents, and Truth of 
 Narrations. — External Evidence. — Internal Evidence. — Whether 
 any Knowledge of a Western Continent among Ancient Greeks and 
 Romans. — Utility of a Knowledge of this Subject. 
 
 VV HAT ! exclaimed the doctor ; do you pretend to tell 
 me that Columbus was not the discoverer- of America ? 
 
 Undoubtedly', was the reply ; I pretend to tell you that 
 America was known to Europeans at least live hundred 
 years before the time of Columbus's, or, more properly, 
 Colon's alleged discovery. 
 
 The expression of Dr. Dubital's countenance, during 
 this reply, was one of mingled surprise and incredulity. 
 Being a man of travel, and possessing no small idea of the 
 superiority of his own knowledge and opinion over that of 
 all his neighbours, he was extremely unwilling, at any 
 time, to discover, or even to have it hinted, that there was 
 " any thing in heaven or earth which was not dreamed of 
 in his philosophy." 
 
 B 
 
\L THE NORTHMEN 
 
 After a moment's silence, he rejoined: — You do not 
 speak seriously, Mr. Norset. 
 
 Indeed I do. Most soberly and seriously, I mean to an- 
 nounce to you the fact, of which, in truth, I am surprised 
 that you should have hitherto been unaware, that America 
 was discovered by the Northmen, at least five centuries 
 before the date of Colon's voyage to this country. 
 
 Unaware ! yes, indeed, I was unaware of such a fact, 
 as you are pleased to call it. A man can certainly never 
 know all the strange theories and new-fangled notions in 
 which some folks choose to wander now-a-days. 
 
 No theory, my dear doctor, nor new-fangled notion 
 either; as I shall be able, very satisfactorily, to show 
 you. 
 
 Do you then profess to assert, — to come plainly to the 
 point, — that this town of Newport and State of Rhode Is- 
 land were ever visited by Europeans before the time of 
 Columbus, or Colon,* if you will? 
 
 There, doctor, you go a little too far. I find no men- 
 tion made either of Newport or Rhode Island in the tra- 
 vels of Colon. A man may easily visit America, without 
 ever seeing Rhode Island ; but, since you have thus put 
 your question, I will answer, that I do pretend to assert, 
 that, by a somewhat singular coincidence, perhaps, the 
 very spot whereon chance has thrown you and me together, 
 and whereon the town of Newport now stands, was ac- 
 tually visited by the Northmen, and that the country in its 
 immediate vicinity was especially well known to them, five 
 centuries anterior to the voyages of Colon. 
 
 Well, well, said the doctor, his expression of incredulity 
 and wonder increasing at every word of this reply ; I know 
 not what we shall hear next. We all know that Colon dis- 
 covered America; and I see not why any one should 
 
 * See Preface, page ix. 
 
IN AMERICA. 3 
 
 doubt the truth of his discoveries, or want to rob him of 
 the credit of them, at this time of day*. 
 
 Rob him of the credit of them ! doctor ; — no one wants 
 to rob him of any credit that belongs to him. It is a mere 
 question of fact. 
 
 Yes, I know it is a question of fact ; and every body 
 knows the fact to be, that Colon discovered America in 
 1492, and that his was the first European foot that ever 
 touched this soil. 
 
 Doctor, you must excuse me ; but just let me ask you 
 how you know all this ? 
 
 Know it ! why, every one knows it ; history tells us so, 
 to be sure. 
 
 Good ; — pray what history tells you so ? 
 
 Why, the History of America, and the History of Spain, 
 and, — and, — surely, Mr. Norset, you do n't mean seriously 
 to doubt what every body knows. 
 
 Certainly not ; provided, always, that it be true ; but I 
 must most seriously declare to you, doctor, that, by pre- 
 cisely the same means that you say you know that Colon 
 discovered America in 1492, I know that Biarni Heri- 
 ulfson discovered these very regions of America in which 
 we now are in 985 f. 
 
 Biarni Heriulfson ! 985 ! pray, sir, where did you learn 
 all this ? I never heard of Biarni Heriulfson before. 
 
 Doctor, you must pardon me, but it is barely possible 
 that you may never have heard of Biarni Heriulfson be- 
 fore, and that he yet may have existed. I fear we should 
 never get on very fast, if every man were to refuse to be- 
 lieve every thing that he had not before known. 
 
 Be good enough to inform me who this Biarni Heriulf- 
 
 * Particular attention is requested to the note A, in the Appendix, 
 in which the comparative merits of Colon and of the Northmen are dis- 
 cussed. 
 
 t Eirek the Red was the actual discoverer of America, in 982 
 See Chap. II. 
 
 b2 
 
4 THE NORTHMEN 
 
 son was, then. I certainly shall be glad to hear some- 
 thing about the man who is to lay poor Colon on the shelf. 
 
 You lament over Colon's fading laurels, doctor ; I would 
 recommend you to compose a dirge upon the occasion. 
 As to Biarni Heriulfson, it would be too long a story to tell 
 you, just now ; and besides, what would be the use of my 
 giving you a history, unless you believe the sources of my 
 information to be authentic ? 
 
 Ay, truly, and it will be hard to prove them so. 
 
 Not quite so difficult as you imagine. Let me attempt 
 this. Suppose — ■ 
 
 No supposition, I beg, sir ; pray confine yourself to facts. 
 I said it was some strange theory, and methinks I was not 
 far wrong, for you begin by a supposition. 
 
 Not so fast, doctor. Every proposition in Euclid is 
 founded, in truth, upon a supposition. Certain points in 
 a supposed case are proved, and then compared with the 
 points of the particular case in the proposition. And so 
 it must be done, more or less, in almost every argument. 
 I beg, therefore, that you will allow me to proceed with 
 my supposition. I assure you I will wander into no theo- 
 retic ground. 
 
 Let us hear your supposition, then, said the doctor, with 
 something like a sneer. 
 
 Since the notion of a supposition appears to trouble 
 you so much, doctor, I will even take a fact, though it 
 will have precisely the same effect upon the argument. 
 Doubtless you have heard of the previously unknown work 
 of Epicurus, which has been recently published ? 
 
 His work, "De Natura," you mean: certainly I have. 
 What has Epicurus, or his works, to do with Biarni Heri- 
 ulfson, or any other discoverer of America ? 
 
 Just this much, — neither you, nor any body else, was 
 aware that the work of Epicurus was in existence, or 
 what were its contents ; and yet, when, after having lain 
 under the ashes of Vesuvius for upwards of seventeen long 
 
INT AMERICA. 5 
 
 centuries, it is at length brought to light, neither you, nor 
 any one else, hesitates to receive it as authentic.* It is 
 very possible, then, that other manuscripts, of less antiquity, 
 may have lain hidden for a length of time, owing to va- 
 rious circumstances, and may now, for the first time, b& 
 brought to light without any possible impeachment of then- 
 authenticity. 
 
 That sounds somewhat plausible, perhaps ; but it does 
 not go far towards proving your point. I want to know 
 how it is that this history you talk about has remained so 
 long hidden and unknown. 
 
 Nay, doctor, you must pardon me ; it was yourself who 
 stated that you had never heard of Biarni Heriulfson and 
 of these discoveries. I mean only to say that they have 
 not lain hidden. Whether they have been generally known 
 or not is another question. It is not the fault of the hi- 
 stories, if, being published, they have not been read. I 
 could name to you many printed books, — books which have 
 been long printed, some of them upwards of two centuries, 
 — in which the fact of America having been discovered 
 long anterior to the voyages of Colon is mentioned. I 
 certainly am surprised that none of these have ever fallen 
 in your way. 
 
 No wonder at all, sir. They are evidently some obscure 
 works. You mentioned that they had not been much read. 
 
 Excuse me ; I said it was not the fault of the books, if 
 people would not read them ; which I said, because you 
 stated that you had never read them. Do you consider 
 the name of Torfceusf obscure, or that of Wormius, or of 
 
 * This curious and interesting work was published in 1818, (having 
 been previously, for the first time, published in 1809,) under the fol- 
 lowing title : " Epicurei Fragmenta Librorum II. et XII. de Natura, 
 in Voluminibus Papyraceis ex Herculano erutis reperta. Lipsiae, 1818." 
 
 f Torfocus's Grmnlandia Antiqua, Hafniac, 1706, and IJistoria Vin- 
 iandice antiqua, sen partis Americce Septemtrionatis, Hafniaj, 1705, 
 
b THE NORTHMEN 
 
 Adam of Bremen ; or, more recently, is the name of Malte 
 Brun especially obscure, or even that of Pinkerton ? 
 These are some, among many, who have mentioned these 
 discoveries. 
 
 Their allusions, then, are only indefinite and vague, and 
 require some theory like yours to make them have any 
 meaning. 
 
 Nay, how could they all have got their indefinite and 
 vague notions ? You might say this of an obscure passage 
 in some single ancient manuscript, perhaps, but not of a 
 statement successively made in several ancient and modern 
 works. You shall judge of their vagueness from the lan- 
 
 &c. Wormius published at Oxford in 1716, a Latin translation of an 
 ancient Icelandic authentic work, in which Vinland is noticed. Mention 
 ■will be made of Adam of Bremen in a subsequent page. Malte Brun 
 and Pinkerton are too well known to need any reference to their works. 
 It is proper that mention should be here made of the allusions to this 
 subject in Wheaton's " History of the Northmen." The author of 
 that work alludes to the discovery of Vinland, &c. and gives a meagre 
 outline, though somewhat more fully than Pinkerton, as quoted, of the 
 expedition thither. He is also more correct in his localities than 
 Malte Brun and Pinkerton. He does not, however, give the full par- 
 ticulars connected with the subject, nor, indeed, any of the details ne- 
 cessary to determining the internal evidence. Henderson, in his 
 " Journal of a Residence in Iceland," alludes to the same facts, though 
 very briefly. He uses the following language, " The fact that America 
 also was first discovered by the Icelanders, though less generally 
 known, is perfectly well authenticated by the northern historians." 
 Like Wheaton, he also names Biarni Heriulfson as the discoverer of 
 the regions above alluded to, (pp. 2 and 4,) — Eirek the Red being the 
 actual discoverer of America, — although, like him also, he gives the 
 wrong date to the transaction. All these minute points, as to the 
 differences in dates, &c. given by different authors, might be easily ex- 
 plained, could a lengthened disquisition on the subject be here given. 
 It would be out of place, however ; and the narratives given in this vo- 
 lume are too clear and precise, and their authenticity and truth too 
 well proved, to render any such disquisitions necessary. These allu- 
 sions are only made to show how idle is the charge, so often ignorantly 
 made, that the idea of the discovery of America by the Northmen is a 
 new-fangled theory and notion. 
 
IN AMERICA. 
 
 guage of Pinkerton, which I copied out the other day on 
 account of its subject, and believe I have got in my pocket- 
 book. Speaking of the discovery of America, he says, 
 " The first discovery of America is generally ascribed to 
 Christoval Colon, or, as commonly called, from the first 
 Latin writings on the subject, Christopher Columbus. 
 But, as it is now universally admitted that Greenland 
 forms part of America, the discovery must of course be 
 traced to the first visitation of Greenland by the Norwe- 
 gians, in the year 982, which was followed, in the year 
 1003, by the discovery of Vinland, which seems to have 
 been a part of Labrador, or of Newfoundland. The colony 
 in Vinland was soon destroyed by intestine divisions ; but 
 that in Greenland continued to flourish till maritime inter- 
 course was impeded by the encroaching shoals of arctic 
 ice." And a little after, in his table of the early expeditions 
 to America, he adds, " 982, Greenland discovered by the 
 Norwegians, who planted a colony. 1003, Vinland, that 
 is, a part of Labrador or Newfoundland, visited by the 
 Norwegians, and a small colony left, which, however, soon 
 perished."* Now there is nothing particularly vague here ; 
 the statements are made as simple matters of fact, of which 
 
 * Pinkerton's Modern Geography, 3rd edition, Vol. II. pp. 208 and 
 210. In the first volume of the same work, p. 342, occurs the follow- 
 ing passage : — " In this reign of Olaf I. Vinland, or Wineland, a more 
 southern part of North America, was discovered by Biarni, and by Leif, 
 son of Eric the Red, A. D. 1003. The little colony settled in Vinland 
 about 1006, perished from intestine divisions. The country was so 
 called from some wild grapes, or berries ; and is supposed," &c. &c. 
 Pinkerton had never seen the original authorities, and only drew infor- 
 mation from Torfoeus. Hence his errors of dates, &c. A note is added 
 to the above passage, to the following effect : — " It is singular enough, 
 that, while the Welsh antiquaries deafen us with the imaginary dis- 
 covery of America by Madoc, A. D. 1170, the Norwegians have been 
 contented with a simple unpretending narration of the facts ;" — this con- 
 trast being obviously strong evidence of the truth of the latter accounts. 
 Let it be remembered that Pinkerton's Geography was published up- 
 
8 THE NORTHMEN 
 
 no one can doubt the truth ; and these passages must have 
 been read by some thousands of people, for the edition 
 from which I quote them is the third through which the 
 work has passed. 
 
 Well, and is it Vinland that you pretend to say that 
 the Northmen called America ? 
 
 That is the name which they gave to a part of their dis- 
 coveries in America, though Pinkerton, as also Malte 
 Brun, assign it a wrong situation. 
 
 I thought there would be something wrong about it. 
 Their tale then does not quite agree with your theory. 
 
 Their tale, doctor, if you will have it so, does agree with 
 what you are pleased to call my theory, in the main facts. 
 The situation of Vinland they certainly somewhat mis- 
 placed, but the cause of their error is very easily to be ex- 
 plained.* This error is not very great, after all; and, 
 even if it were greater, still I presume you will not deny 
 that Greenland, and Newfoundland, and Labrador, are at 
 least as much parts of America as the West Indies are. If, 
 therefore, Colon, visiting the latter, is said to have disco- 
 vered America, surely the Northmen, visiting the former, 
 may, with more propriety, be said to have been the disco- 
 verers of this vast continent. 
 
 Upon my word, Mr. Norset, you have a cunning way of 
 getting out of all the difficulties ; but you have not quite 
 escaped them yet. Pray, upon what authority does Pink- 
 erton, or Malte Brun, state these facts ? 
 
 Why, doctor, I am free to confess that their authority 
 was not derived from any original authentic documents ; — - 
 nay, be not in such a hurry to catch at my admission ; — 
 I was going to say that their authority was not derived 
 
 wards of twenty-six years before the work of the Northern Anti- 
 quarian Society. 
 
 * See it explained in the following chapter, where allusion is made 
 to the length of the shortest day in Vinland. 
 
IN AMERICA. 9 
 
 from any original authentic documents any more than your 
 authority, Dr. Dubital, for the belief that Colon alone, and 
 first, discovered America is derived from any original au- 
 thentic documents. 
 
 What, sir, do you mean to say that I have no authority 
 for believing that America was visited by Colon ? 
 , I mean to say no such thing, sir. You have authority, 
 and good authority, but you have no original authority. 
 Your authority is derived from sources which, only at third 
 or fourth rate, had any origin in the authentic documents 
 relating to his voyages. 
 
 Well, sir, what of that ? you do not, surely, doubt the 
 truth of the accounts on that score ? 
 
 Certainly not ; but, by precisely the same token, I must 
 not allow you to doubt of the truth of the accounts given 
 by Malte Brun and Pinkerton, of the discoveries of the 
 Northmen, because their authority was not derived from 
 reference to the original authentic documents relating those 
 discoveries : their authority was derived from the history 
 of Torfceus [Torfi], who derived his information, how- 
 ever, from these original authentic sources. 
 
 You talk a great deal about original authentic sources : 
 pray, sir, what are they ? or, rather, what were they ? for 
 I suspect you will tell us some plausible story about their 
 former existence, but present loss. 
 
 Not so; these ancient, authentic documents not only 
 had a former existence, but have a present existence ; for 
 I am happy to inform you that the parchment manuscripts 
 which contain them are, at this moment, in a state of high 
 preservation. 
 
 Really, sir, you seem determined to hedge me in on all 
 sides ; and, of course, as you assert all this, I cannot tell 
 whether it is so or not. It is a marvellous story, altogether. 
 But, supposing all you say, or assume, to be correct, you 
 cannot deny that the alleged facts, as to the early disco- 
 b 5 
 
10 THE NORTHMEN 
 
 veries of the Northmen, are generally unknown. How do 
 you account for this if they be true ? 
 
 That may seem, at first sight, a difficult question to an- 
 swer ; but I do not think it really is so. Little attention 
 was paid to literature at the time of these discoveries, and 
 for several centuries later, except in the very land from 
 which the discoverers came, namely Iceland. Iceland was 
 little known to the rest of the world, and the records of 
 these discoveries lay in the archives of that island. Be- 
 sides the little intercourse had with Iceland by the rest of 
 Europe, the language in which these records were written 
 was unknown to those portions of Europe in which letters 
 were subsequently chiefly cultivated. When, therefore, 
 Colon made his voyages to America, — all the rest of Eu- 
 rope being ignorant of the former discoveries, and his ap- 
 pearing brilliant, owing to the enterprises which followed 
 them, — enterprises which are to be attributed to the ad- 
 vance of Europe, in his age, so far beyond its condition in 
 the tenth century,— the name of Colon was covered with 
 glory. And you know, doctor when once a fixed idea has 
 taken possession of men's minds, how hard it is to get rid 
 of it, however false it may be. 
 
 A very tolerable explanation ; but I think it is strange 
 nobody should have heard of these alleged discoveries be- 
 fore. 
 
 I must beg you to recollect that, as I have already shown 
 you, it is not the fact that nobody has heard of them. 
 Though they may not have been generally known, there 
 was every means for their becoming known ; and if they 
 have remained generally unknown, it is from the same 
 cause that I have already mentioned, — that the fixed eye 
 of prejudice can see nothing but its own idea, however 
 contraiy to truth that idea, as in this case, may be ; and 
 however clearly the actual truth may, as has here also been 
 the case, be presented to the view. Many works have been 
 
IN AMERICA. 11 
 
 published, aye, even, as I have shown you, in our own lan- 
 guage, in which the facts have been distinctly stated. You 
 cannot be permitted to shut your eyes to this fact, though 
 all who oppose the authenticity of these discoveries deli- 
 berately do so. 
 
 Here, then, there is a contradiction : you give reasons 
 for the discoveries not being known, and yet assert that 
 they were known. 
 
 Pray, distinguish the facts, doctor. They were known 
 in Iceland ; but I have already given the reasons why, 
 though known there, they should be unknown to the rest 
 of Europe. 
 
 Then how came they ever to find their way into the 
 works of Torfi, or Malte Brun, or Pinkerton ? And, hav- 
 ing found their way into their works, how came they to 
 remain any longer generally unknown ? 
 
 Both questions are easy to answer. The antiquities of 
 the Northmen were studied by Torfi, who was himself one 
 of that race, and who had access to the archives of Ice- 
 land. He therefore, like others in Iceland, was well ac- 
 quainted with the facts. He published the account of 
 them in a Latin book, in 1705, which was not, like ancient 
 Icelandic parchments, inaccessible. Subsequent candid 
 historians and geographers have learned the facts from 
 him, and recorded them ; but, long ere his work was pub- 
 lished, the idea of Colon's being the first discoverer of 
 America had taken possession of men's minds, and all state- 
 ments to the contrary have been unheeded and unnoticed, 
 though often made. There has, moreover, been this dis- 
 advantage attending the case ; while all the narrative of 
 Colon's adventures has been long before the world, and 
 well known, merely the bare fact of the discoveries of the 
 Northmen has been usually stated. It is only by the pub- 
 lication, in a familiar form, of the full details of these dis- 
 
12 THE NORTHMEN 
 
 coveries, that we can ever expect men's minds in genera! 
 to be directed towards them, with an interest which will 
 end in a conviction of their truth. 
 
 At this moment the door opened, when the doctor, 
 whose brow had become somewhat troubled at the turn 
 the argument had taken, rose from his seat, and thus ad- 
 dressed the gentleman who entered : 
 
 Well, Mr. Cassall, what think you ? Strange things we 
 hear in these days. I begin to doubt whether you are 
 yourself or not. Mr. Norset has been endeavouring to 
 convince me that Colon was not the first discoverer of 
 America. 
 
 Ha ! ha ! exclaimed Mr. Norset, you have lost a scene, 
 Mr. Cassall. The doctor has been bewailing the fate of 
 Christoval Colon. He seems desperately afraid that, if the 
 credit of Colon is impaired, the history of the world will 
 soon come to a full slop. 
 
 Upon my word, Mr. Norset, said the doctor, it is too 
 bad, after trying to take away the credit of Colon, to utter 
 now an execrable pun upon his name. You seem to take 
 no little delight in depriving a great man of his honours. 
 
 There, doctor, I assure you, you completely mistake me. 
 As Aristotle said of Plato, I honour Colon much, but I 
 honour truth more. It is no little honour to Colon to have 
 achieved what he did ; but I do maintain that he was not 
 the first discoverer of America. Fie was the first of his 
 own age who navigated the broad Atlantic, and that is no 
 small honour; and he established a connection between 
 parts of America and Europe, which were before unknown 
 to each other, which is a greater honour still ; but he was 
 himself ignorant of his discoveries, and there can be little 
 doubt that he had gained the chief confirmation of his idea 
 of the existence of terra firma in the western ocean, during 
 the visit which he is known to have made, before his west- 
 
IX AMERICA. 13 
 
 em voyage,* to Iceland. I confess I have been a little 
 amused at your zeal in behalf of Colon's sole credit as dis- 
 coverer, and at your unwillingness to listen to, or admit, 
 any thing which could possibly affect his credit, whatever 
 foundation there might be for any such allegations. This 
 circumstance may have made my language appear less re- 
 spectful towards him than my feelings really are. 
 
 Well, sir, I am glad, however, you grant that some cre- 
 dit belongs to Colon ; but you have done little yet towards 
 convincing me of the truth of your assertions. Pray, Mr. 
 Cassall, have you heard any thing of these discoveries of 
 the Northmen ? And do you give any credit to what, with 
 all deference to Mr. Norset, I must call such absurd non- 
 sense ? 
 
 Why, yes, I have seen something about them in some of 
 the periodicals ; but I confess I am not greatly inclined, 
 from what I have seen there, to give much credit to the 
 accounts. 
 
 I am not surprised to hear you say so, remarked Mr. 
 Norset. It is not very probable that any one, from read- 
 ing the notices of this subject in the periodicals, the greater 
 portion of them at least, f would be able to form a very 
 correct judgement on the matter. The reason is obvious. 
 It is evident, to any person who has seen the original do- 
 cuments, that few, if any, of the writers of the reviews and 
 notices in those periodicals have been at the pains to read 
 those original documents, or the illustrations which accom- 
 pany them. Nor, it must be confessed, is this much to be 
 wondered at ; for, in these degenerate days of duodecimos 
 and diamond editions, most persons turn in horror from the 
 
 * Colon visited Iceland in 1477. See note A, in the Appendix, as to 
 the results of the discoveries of the Northmen, &c. 
 
 f It is unnecessary here to specify any of the periodicals. It may 
 he merely stated that the least candid review, as far as memory serves, 
 is the article in the " Foreign Quarterly." 
 
14 THE NORTHMEN 
 
 contemplation, much more perusal, of a ponderous quarto, 
 especially when, as in this case, that quarto is in the Latin 
 language. 
 
 What do you mean ? exclaimed the doctor : I thought 
 you said that Make Brun and Pinkerton never consulted 
 the original documents, which they surely would have clone, 
 if a sight of them was to be obtained. You said, too, that 
 these documents were in the Northern language, and lying 
 in the archives of Iceland. What, then, is the meaning of 
 your now talking about ponderous quartos in the Latin 
 language? These could not be inaccessible to any one who 
 wished to get at a little knowledge. 
 
 Very true, doctor. It does not follow, however, that, 
 because these documents were at one time lying in the 
 archives of Iceland, and in the Northern language, they 
 should lie there for ever, and remain for ever untranslated. 
 The fact is this ; that these original documents have been 
 recently published, with a Danish and Latin translation, 
 together with some valuable literary illustrations — in the 
 shape of extracts from contemporary Icelandic writers, 
 particulars as to the manuscripts of these documents and 
 as to various ancient inscriptions, and brief geographical 
 notices, — under the auspices of the Royal Society of 
 Northern Antiquarians of Copenhagen.* Thus is the my- 
 stery of the " ponderous quarto" expounded. 
 
 And this explains another mystery. I was wondering 
 what could have caused notices of this subject to appear 
 in the periodicals just now, when, by your own acknow- 
 ledgment, the facts have been, hitherto, generally un- 
 known. 
 
 * " ANTiauiTATES Americans : sive Scriptores Septentrionales 
 Rerum Ante-Columbianarum in America. Edidit Societas Regia An- 
 tiquarioruni Septentrionalium. Hafnise, 1837." This work will be 
 quoted throughout the following pages by the contraction " Antiq. 
 Am." 
 
IX AMERICA. 15 
 
 You are right, doctor ; and as you are not so much ter- 
 rifkd at the idea of a Latin quarto as most people, let me 
 advise you to go to the volume in question for your in- 
 formation, and not to trust to any reviews. 
 
 But how do you know that the reviewers have not read 
 the book ? 
 
 By reference to the reviews themselves. They all bear 
 evident marks of having been gleaned from the synopsis 
 placed at the beginning of the work, and which is, I think 
 unfortunately, in English. Remarks and objections are 
 made, which could not possibly have been made, if each of 
 the documents contained in the volume had been carefully 
 perused, together with the illustrations added by C.C.Rafn, 
 the learned and careful editor of the volume. 
 
 Come, said the doctor, — taking his seat, and drawing 
 his chair closer to the table, some curiosity and interest 
 having evidently at length become excited in his mind, — 
 come, we are perhaps getting to something more tangible 
 at last. Let us hear what this volume contains ; but, bear 
 this in mind, Mr. Norset, I am not a whit the more con- 
 vinced of the truth of the facts, because the Royal Society 
 of Northern Antiquarians has published a volume. It would 
 not be difficult to fabricate a set of documents, and put 
 them forth in support of a fanciful theory. • 
 
 Really, Dr. Dubital, I think it is hardly fair or candid 
 to allow even the supposition to cross your mind, that a 
 respectable society, like the Royal Society of Northern 
 Antiquarians, — a society to which historical literature has 
 been already much indebted, — should fabricate a set of 
 documents in support of any theory ; or should even give 
 the sanction of their name to the publication of any work 
 or documents, the authenticity of which was not beyond 
 a doubt. 
 
 This is all very well, said the doctor, but I will not trust 
 to any Society, that all published under its auspices shall 
 
16 THE NORTHMEN 
 
 be authentic. If I am to believe any thing about this 
 Northmen story, I must know something more satisfactory 
 than this, in order to prove the authenticity of the docu- 
 ments which contain the information. I certainly shall else 
 set it all down to the score of theory. 
 
 I must say, remarked Mr. Cassall, that it sounded rather 
 too much like theory in the reviews which I have read. 
 
 Well, said Mr. Norset, we will leave the reviews to them- 
 selves for the present ; they are certainly of no authority 
 whatever, in the matter.* And pray, doctor, what is it 
 that will afford you any satisfaction, touching the matter 
 in question ? 
 
 Suppose you first inform us what the documents are, of 
 which you have said so much, and which are to establish 
 the truth of these alleged discoveries of the Northmen. I 
 presume you can tell me, shortly, what kind of documents 
 they are. 
 
 This is no difficult matter, if by documents you mean — 
 as the word in truth signifies — all the records which testify 
 of these matters. The documents relating to this subject 
 may be divided into two classes, — the one comprising ma- 
 nuscripts, or ancient copies of manuscripts, written within 
 a short period after the occurrence of the facts which they 
 relate ; — the other comprising monuments actually existing 
 at this day in the countries visited, and which monuments 
 were the work of the Northmen themselves. 
 
 * It may be observed, once for all, that allusion is here made to the 
 reviews simply for the purpose of answering, in the following pages, 
 all the remarks and objections which have been made in them. This 
 is necessary in order to establish the truth of the facts, since, upon 
 those unacquainted with the real bearings of the question, these re- 
 views may have had some influence. It has been the author's object, 
 however, to answer all the objections, and meet all the difficulties, 
 which can be raised, as well as those which have been raised. He has 
 aimed also at explaining all allusions which might seem doubtful, or, 
 in any way, give occasion to any appearance of obscurity. 
 
IN AMERICA. 17 
 
 Ha ! said the doctor, with a half sneer on his counte- 
 nance ; monuments in the countries visited ! There are 
 many of these in America, doubtless ? 
 
 There are, indeed, doctor. 
 
 Incredible and absurd ! Who ever heard of any monu- 
 ments of the Northmen in America ? 
 
 You never have, doctor, that's very evident; and that 
 is just all that your indignation proves. They do exist, 
 however, — of that there can be no doubt. What if I tell 
 you that they exist in this very neighbourhood ; one of 
 them within half a mile of the very house in which we sit? 
 
 Why, I shall say that, if you do tell me so, it will be just 
 of a piece with all the rest of the story that you have been 
 now telling me. 
 
 Well, doctor, said Mr. Cassall, I am much of your opi- 
 nion ; but, nevertheless, suppose we hear what Mr. Norset 
 has to say upon this subject. I presume nobody would 
 advance such an assertion, unless he imagined there were 
 some grounds for believing it correct. 
 
 There seems little ground for this new assertion, an- 
 swered the doctor, but we will hear what there is to be 
 said upon the subject. 
 
 You are very condescending, Dr. Dubital, it must be 
 allowed. We had better proceed, however, regularly in 
 the matter, and take up the first class of documents in 
 the first place. 
 
 With all my heart, sir. What proof can you bring of 
 the authenticity of the ancient manuscripts of which you 
 spoke ? 
 
 Just let me call your attention to one fact, doctor, be- 
 fore we enter on this proof. It may serve, added Mr. Nor- 
 set, with a smile, to mollify your ideas of the excessive 
 absurdity of the proposition as to the discovery of America 
 by the Northmen. There is an atlas lying by your side, 
 doctor. Have the goodness to open it at the map of the 
 
18 THE NORTHMEN 
 
 Atlantic ocean, or at the maps of the two hemispheres. 
 Now, I wish you particularly to observe the distance be- 
 tween Norway and Iceland, and the distances between Ice- 
 land and Greenland, and Greenland and Newfoundland. 
 You cannot of course fail to perceive that it is much more 
 than twice the distance between Norway and Iceland, that 
 it is between Iceland and Greenland ; and not far from 
 twice the distance that it is between Greenland and La- 
 brador, and thence on to Newfoundland.* 
 
 Well, sir, I see that. 
 
 You will not, I presume, doctor, deny that Iceland was, 
 in the ninth century, viz. 861 and 875, discovered and 
 settled by the Northmen ; this being a fact which is as well 
 known to be authentic as that Iceland exists, — and a fact 
 which every body, having the slightest acquaintance with 
 history ; well knows. 
 
 Certainly not ; but this does not prove that the North- 
 men discovered America in the tenth century. 
 
 True, but it proves sufficient for my purpose. It proves 
 that they traversed the broad western ocean to a far greater 
 extent westward of their native home in Norway, in order 
 to reach Iceland, than it was necessary to traverse the 
 same ocean, beyond that island, in order to reach Green- 
 land, — which I shall show you that it is equally certain 
 they colonized in the following century,— and so to reach 
 the continent of North America. What say you, doctor ? 
 
 The doctor looked puzzled ; he had not expected to be 
 so caught by self-evident facts before his own eyes. Mr. 
 Cassall remarked, — Certainly these facts lessen the appear- 
 ance of impossibility, or even of improbability ; in the pro- 
 position that America was discovered by the Northmen in 
 the tenth century. 
 
 That is the very point I want to establish. It is so evi- 
 
 * See the chart of tracks. 
 
IN AMERICA. 19 
 
 dent that the most sceptical cannot cavil at it. It is, then, 
 clear that there is nothing improbable in the account of 
 the expeditions even to the more southern regions of Ame- 
 rica, all of which, excepting one, were made from Green- 
 land, though by Norwegians, who had gone to Iceland, and 
 thence to Greenland, for the sake of traffic. Thus Iceland 
 was, you see, a kind of half-way house to the Northmen, 
 for they stayed there 100 years before they went on to 
 Greenland, and it was, comparatively, an easy matter for 
 them to go onward from Greenland to Newfoundland, and 
 thence to the more southern regions of the continent of 
 North America. I have £hus, then, shown that there is no 
 improbability in the narratives contained in these docu- 
 ments, — which is an important point in proving their truth, 
 since, by destroying the improbability, it is shown that the 
 probability of authenticity and truth exists, which is always 
 an important step towards proving actual authenticity and 
 truth. We will now, if the doctor pleases, proceed to 
 show positively that the documents are authentic, and that 
 the narratives are true. 
 
 Proceed, sir, said the doctor, shortly. 
 
 In the first place, then, let us discuss the external evi- 
 dence. You are well aware of the custom prevalent in the 
 olden time, among all nations, of handing down the records 
 of their actions by tradition ; especially that, among the 
 northern nations, there existed a race of men called Scalds 
 or bards, and Saga-men or history narrators, whose sole and 
 peculiar occupation was the recitation, in verse and prose, 
 of the deeds of their ancestors,* and that the main facts 
 recorded in these traditions were historically accurate, with 
 a little high colouring, perhaps, here and there, to add to the 
 renown of the hero whose adventures were recorded. Now, 
 
 * This subject deserves more extended remark. Some further ob- 
 servations upon it wdl be found in Note B, in the Appendix, to which 
 the reader's attention is requested. 
 
20 THE NORTHMEN 
 
 the discovery of a new country was a vast achievement, and 
 would be matter of especial commemoration in these tra- 
 ditions ; so that, although the accounts might not have 
 been committed to writing for a century, or upwards, after 
 the occurrence of the event itself, still there would be every 
 ground to admit the perfect authenticity of the main facts 
 recorded in the documents in which such traditions were at 
 length embodied. 
 
 Do you call this proof, sir? I must see a document 
 written by the man himself, who is alleged to have made 
 this discovery, and which you can prove to have been so 
 written, before I will allow the authenticity of any docu- 
 ments upon the subject ; and it does not follow that, even 
 then, I will admit all contained in those documents to be 
 correct. 
 
 As for that, we have records, written by the discoverers 
 themselves, in the monuments of their own making, now 
 existing in this country ; but, as we are not to discuss that 
 point at present, I will say nothing on that score. The fact 
 appears to me, doctor, to be simply this : — you have been 
 studying Dr. Whately's " Historical Doubts." 
 
 Dr. Whately's " Historical Doubts " ! I never heard of 
 such a book. 
 
 I am surprised to hear it ; for your mode of arguing so 
 strongly reminded me of the mode of arguing there em- 
 ployed, that I thought you must have made the work a 
 study. Pray did you ever hear of Napoleon Bonaparte ? 
 
 To be sure I have. 
 
 But how do you know that such a man ever existed ? 
 you never saw him, or saw even any thing of his hand- 
 writing, or any single thing which he is said to have done. 
 How, then, can you pretend to tell that he ever lived ? 
 
 Really, Mr. Norset, this is rather too much. He must 
 be a fool that doubts whether Napoleon ever lived, — a uni- 
 versally known fact, with which every child is familiar. 
 
IN AMERICA. 21 
 
 So you think, doctor ; but I ask you for your proof, and 
 you give me none. You call it a " universally known fact;" 
 but that is neither proof nor argument. It was a uni- 
 versally recognized fact, that the sun moves round the 
 earth, till, one day, Galileo ventured to broach a contrary 
 notion. Of course, being a new idea, it was contrary to 
 Scripture, — a universal authority in matters of science, — 
 and Galileo was imprisoned by the cardinals. Still the sun 
 does not move round the earth, notwithstanding the vin- 
 dication by the cardinals of this as a " universally known 
 fact." 
 
 Do you really mean to doubt, then, that Napoleon Bona- 
 parte ever lived ? 
 
 I do not mean to doubt it. I merely put the question to 
 you because that is the subject treated of in Dr. Whately's 
 " Historical Doubts." He there enters into an argument 
 to prove that such a man never lived. Nay, so complete 
 and convincing was this argument, that many persons 
 imagined the fact was intended to be seriously contro- 
 verted ; insomuch that Dr. Whately was obliged to insert, 
 in the fourth edition of the work, a notice that it was not 
 his intention seriously to doubt of Napoleon's existence, but 
 merely to show — having special reference to Hume's " Essay 
 on Miracles," — that a clever man might argue about, and 
 dispute the truth of any, the best established or most incon- 
 trovertible, fact ; and that, under the cloak of philosophical 
 inquiry and investigation, it is very possible to depart 
 widely from a candid and truly philosophical examination 
 of evidence. 
 
 Do you mean to imply, asked the doctor, somewhat 
 nettled at what he conceived to be a personal allusion, that 
 the doubts which 1 have uttered have been such a depar- 
 ture from a candid and truly philosophical examination of 
 evidence ? 
 
 In truth, doctor, I must be pardoned, if I think that such 
 
22 THE NORTHMEN 
 
 has been somewhat the case. You must be aware that you 
 have asked for evidence which it is clearly impossible to 
 obtain, on this, or, it might almost be said, on any other 
 subject. 
 
 What evidence, then, do you profess to give of the 
 authenticity of these manuscripts ? 
 
 If you meet a man walking in the street with tottering 
 step, wasted strength, wrinkled brow, and hollow cheek, do 
 you think it necessary to ascertain the exact year of his 
 birth, before determining whether he be an old or a young 
 man? 
 
 Certainly not ; every body would see that he was an old 
 man, by his mere looks. 
 
 Well, doctor, it is by precisely the same kind of evidence 
 that one point, as to the authenticity of these documents, 
 is capable of being determined. Parchment, like human 
 muscle, waxes old in time, and puts on as visible appear- 
 ances of old age. Moreover, a different character of lan- 
 guage and form of letter is more or less peculiar to every 
 age ; more decidedly so in former than in recent times. 
 
 I am perfectly aware of all this. How does it bear upon 
 the question ? 
 
 Thus : — if certain manuscripts are produced, marked by 
 certain characteristics, which those whose attention has 
 been devoted to this subject know to distinguish a particu- 
 lar age, the evidence is conclusive, in so far, that these 
 manuscripts originated in that particular age. Do you 
 dispute this argument? 
 
 I do not know that I can dispute it. 
 
 Then, doctor, please to observe what I have now to say. 
 I alluded, just now, to the Scalds and Saga-men and their 
 traditions, in order to show that, had the traditions of these 
 expeditions been much more vague, and the period of their 
 committal to writing much more recent, than they actually 
 were in the case before us, they would still be, in a great 
 
IN AMERICA. 23 
 
 measure, entitled to credit. The fact is, however, as .you 
 know, that while literary darkness overspread the whole of 
 Europe for many centuries following the tenth, letters were, 
 during that very time, highly cultivated in Iceland. That 
 is the very time and country in which these documents 
 must, if authentic, have originated ; and these facts render 
 it in itself not improbable that they did then originate ; 
 which, as we saw before, is equivalent to its being probable 
 that they did so originate. Hence, the proof of their actual 
 authenticity becomes easier and more complete ; and the 
 reference to the characteristics to which I have alluded 
 will, of course, be more thorough and satisfactory. You 
 acknowledge you cannot dispute the correctness and sound- 
 ness of the argument, or proof, drawn from the presence 
 of those characteristics. Well, then, all those character- 
 istics exist and are present in the case of the manuscripts 
 in question.* 
 
 Stay — how do you know this to be the fact ? 
 
 I know by ample testimony, — such as will satisfy any 
 candid mind. We have the testimony of honourable men, 
 no way interested, except in the discovery of truth, and 
 whose testimony is given in a public and open manner ; 
 in such a manner that the proof of its falsity is within the 
 reach of any who will take the trouble to investigate. The 
 manuscripts themselves are still in existence in the Royal 
 and other libraries at Copenhagen. Of course all the world 
 cannot see them, any more than you can see Napoleon ; 
 we must, necessarily, take the testimony of those who have 
 seen them, as conclusive. 
 
 Certainly, doctor, observed Mr. Cassall, you will not 
 refuse to receive such testimony? 
 
 * Engraved specimens, coloured so as to become facsimiles of the 
 original parchments, are given in the Antiq. Am. These are valuable, 
 as enabling any person to inspect, for himself, the appearances of the 
 originals of these interesting documents. 
 
24< THE NORTHMEN 
 
 No ; I do not profess to dispute it, if it is thus given. 
 
 Of that, replied Mr. Norset, your own eyes may satisfy 
 you, for it is contained in the volume which I have al- 
 ready mentioned. 
 
 Very well, sir ; how far does this carry you? 
 
 It proves, — and the fact is beyond the possibility of 
 controversy, — that the manuscripts are authentic docu- 
 ments of an age long anterior to the time of Colon; it 
 proves that they originated at a time when, according to 
 the dates assigned to the events recorded in them, the 
 authors of them might have made themselves acquainted 
 with the truth of the facts related. 
 
 Upon my word, Mr. Norset, you get on by slow 
 degrees. You rest the authenticity of these alleged 
 discoveries upon the fact, that the authors of the narra- 
 tives might have known whether they were true or not. 
 Perhaps they might ; what of that ? they are just as 
 likely to have known them to be false, as true ; and 
 probably the whole narratives are a parcel of fables 
 invented by them. 
 
 I really admire, Dr. Dubital, the facility with which 
 you jump to your conclusions. It is necessary for me, 
 truly, to get on by slow degrees, when I am met by such 
 cavils and objections at every step. Let me make each 
 step sure, however, and we shall soon, now, come to a 
 satisfactory conclusion in the way of proof. You ac- 
 knowledge that I have established the authenticity of 
 these manuscripts, in so far as that they were written at 
 a time when their authors might have made themselves 
 acquainted with the facts recorded, if these facts were 
 true. Well, then, we must now resort to another mode 
 of evidence, in order to show that the principal facts and 
 details recorded are true ; which established, the manu- 
 scripts themselves become authority for the truth of other 
 details. 
 
IN AMERICA. 25 
 
 And pray, sir, what is this evidence? 
 
 It is the internal evidence contained in the manuscripts 
 themselves. If, having been written three hundred years 
 before the time of Colon, and a much longer period before 
 the modern discovery and settlement of the coasts described, 
 they accurately describe the coasts of particular parts of 
 America, we have, in that fact, evidence that the accounts 
 contained in them are true ; since it is only by the facts 
 narrated being true, that the writers could have had the 
 means of framing these accurate descriptions. If, more- 
 over, we find that different accounts of the same trans- 
 actions were written by different individuals, in different 
 places, and at different times, and yet that they all agree 
 in the main facts narrated, we have another internal proof, 
 of the strongest kind, of the truth of the facts so recorded, 
 as well as of the authenticity of the documents in which 
 they are recorded. Each of these modes of proof holds 
 good in the present case. 
 
 Do you mean, then, to assert that each of the manu- 
 scripts precisely agrees, in its statements, with the facts 
 recorded in all the others? 
 
 I certainly do not mean to make such an assertion. If 
 it were the fact, — and it is very important to bear this in 
 mind, — if it were the fact, it would be the strongest pos- 
 sible evidence, that neither the narratives were true, nor the 
 manuscripts authentic. It would plainly indicate a con- 
 certed scheme between the writers of the different records. 
 The presence of variations between different narratives of 
 the same transaction is a proof that there is no concert be- 
 tween the different authors of the different narratives, and 
 thus testifies to their authenticity, as distinct records, ori- 
 ginating in different individuals, unknown to, and uncon- 
 nected with, or copying from, each other. Each record 
 thus becomes separate testimony to the truth of the facts 
 stated in all ; and, — since it is morally impossible that 
 c 
 
26 THE NORTHMEN 
 
 different authors, without connivance or concert, should 
 agree in the invention and detail of a particular narrative, 
 — if documents are found which do thus agree in the main 
 facts, it is complete proof of the truth of the narration. 
 Thus, these variations are almost as necessary to the proof 
 of the authenticity of the documents, as the concidences and 
 agreements are to the proof of the truth of the narration, 
 — with this essential difference, that the former without the 
 latter proves nothing, except that the whole is false, while 
 the latter without the former proves something, but not so 
 strongly as when both are found. ( When both are thus 
 found together, the proof in all points amounts to demon- 
 stration. Archdeacon Paley has some admirable remarks 
 in reference to this subject in one of his works which I 
 should like to read to you. 
 
 Inquiry was made, and the book being found, Mr. Norset 
 read the following passage : — " I know not a more rash 
 or unphilosophical conduct of the understanding, than to 
 reject the substance of a story, by reason of some diversity 
 in the circumstances with which it is related. The usual 
 character of human testimony is substantial truth under 
 circumstantial variety. This is what the daily experience 
 of courts of justice teaches. When accounts of a transac- 
 tion come from the mouth of different witnesses, it is seldom 
 that it is not possible to pick out apparent or real incon- 
 sistencies between them. These inconsistencies are studi- 
 ously displayed by an adverse pleader, but oftentimes with 
 little impression upon the minds of the judges. On the 
 contrary, a close and minute agreement induces the suspicion 
 of confederacy and fraud. When written histories touch 
 upon the same scenes of action, the comparison almost al- 
 ways affords ground for a like reflection. Numerous and 
 sometimes important variations present themselves ; not 
 seldom, also, absolute and final contradictions ; yet neither 
 one nor the other are deemed sufficient to shake the credi- 
 
IX AMERICA. 27 
 
 bility of the mail) fact. The embassy of the Jews to de- 
 precate the execution of Claudius's order to place his 
 statue in their temple, Philo places in harvest, Josephus 
 in seed-time ; both contemporary writers. No reader is 
 led by this inconsistency to doubt, whether such an em- 
 bassy was sent, or whether such an order was given. Our 
 own history supplies examples of the same kind. In the 
 account of the Marquis of Argyll's death, in the reign of 
 Charles the Second, we have a very remarkable contradic- 
 tion. Lord Clarendon relates that he was condemned to 
 be hanged, which was performed the same day ; on the 
 contrary, Burnet, Woodrow, Heath, Echard, concur in 
 stating that he was beheaded ; and that he was condemned 
 upon the Saturday, and executed upon the Monday. Was 
 any reader of English history ever sceptic enough to raise 
 from hence a question whether the Marquis of Argyll was 
 executed or not? "* Do you acknowledge the justice of 
 these remarks, doctor? 
 
 I do not know that they can be gainsayed ; but I think 
 it is rather going out of the way to quote Paley in refer- 
 ence to the present subject. 
 
 I dare say you do, doctor ; because his remarks tell 
 rather against your anxiety to overthrow the credit of these 
 Northmen narratives. Nothing can be more strictly legi- 
 timate, however, than to quote him, inasmuch as he is treat- 
 ing of precisely the same class of topic as we are discussing, 
 viz. the validity of testimony drawn from different, and, in 
 some instances, apparently inconsistent, narratives. You 
 acknowledge, then, that, if there were a precise accordance 
 in all the details of each narrative, it would be the strong- 
 est argument against their authenticity as distinct docu- 
 ments? 
 
 Why, yes, there can be no doubt about that, if, as you 
 
 * Evidences of Christianity, part iii. chap. i. 
 c2 
 
28 THE NORTHMEN 
 
 say, they profess to have been written by different indivi- 
 duals, and at different times. 
 
 Such is the fact. There never could be a more complete 
 mass of internal evidence afforded by any documents than 
 is afforded by these in this respect. We find every one of 
 the narratives agreeing in the main facts related by each ; 
 but that precise coincidence in every detail, which invariably 
 argues spuriousness, is absent, for we. find some facts re- 
 lated in each one, with respect to which* all the others are 
 silent, — which facts, however, are not inconsistent with 
 those related by the others. We find-, again, in several 
 instances, a main fact stated similarly in each narrative, 
 while the incidental circumstances, stated in* the different 
 narratives to have attended that fact, differ. 
 
 How do you mean? Let us have an example. I do not 
 like these generalities. They are a very convenient way 
 of getting over a difficulty. 
 
 You shall have an example which is at least as strong as 
 any that exists, and exhibits, between the different accounts, 
 at least as great inconsistency. A certain tract of land is 
 stated, in the different accounts, to have been visited, and 
 is, in all, described with more or less accuracy, and called 
 by the same name, that of Kialar-ness. The account of 
 the origin of the name, however, differs in each narrative. 
 In one it is stated that the vessel of Thorvald* being 
 driven on shore there, the keel was damaged ; whereupon 
 a fresh keel was made, and the place called, by him, Kialar- 
 ness, (keel promontory,) from that circumstance. In 
 another, it is stated thai Thorfinn,-\ coming to the same 
 spot, found there a keel erected on the shore, whereupon 
 the place was named, by him, Kialar-ness. In each of 
 these cases the description of the place corresponds, and 
 likewise the name ; the incidental circumstances alone differ. 
 
 * Antiq. Am. p. 42. t Antiq. Am. p. 139. 
 
IN AMERICA. 29 
 
 Again, in one account it is stated that Thorvald, the son of 
 Eirek the Red, sailed to Vinland on his own account, and 
 while on an exploring expedition, landed at a certain spot, and 
 was there killed in an encounter with the natives, called, in 
 all the narratives, Skraelings. In another, it is stated that 
 Thorvald went with Thorfinn, and, as they were going on 
 an exploring expedition, the party landed at a spot, the 
 description of which corresponds with the description in 
 the former narrative, and Thorvald was accidentally killed 
 by a Skraeling under somewhat different circumstances to 
 those mentioned in the other account. Here, again, the 
 main fact is the same in both narratives ; some of the de- 
 tails differ. Nothing can be a greater proof, both of the 
 authenticity of the manuscripts, and of the truth of the 
 narratives contained in them, than instances of this kind. 
 Many other instances I might give, of similar coincidences 
 in statements of the main facts, accompanied by partial 
 differences in the details. 
 
 Well, doctor, asked Mr. Cassall, what do you say to this ? 
 It seems to me pretty conclusive. 
 
 The doctor looked rather annoyed at being called upon 
 to express an opinion on this point, and answered shortly ; 
 If such are the facts, I cannot say any thing against them. 
 
 You may easily satisfy yourself on that point, replied 
 Mr. Norset, by reference to the book itself. I'll give you 
 chapter and verse for it, I promise you. But I have other 
 proofs, and those not weak ones. It is worthy of obser- 
 vation, that the personages who figure in these narratives 
 are not fictitious personages ; that is, they are not indivi- 
 duals whose names are not elsewhere found. They are 
 all characters icell known in history, and we find incidental 
 and casual allusions to the well-known events of their 
 history, mixed up with the narratives. These facts are 
 worthy of attention. 
 
 But, said the doctor, though they be known historical 
 
30 THE NORTHMEN 
 
 characters, these may still be fables fastened to their names. 
 I must have more proofs yet. 
 
 Fables could not so easily have been fastened to their 
 names without detection, nor is it probable that it would 
 have been attempted in the mode of these narratives. 
 But, however, I have abundance more proof. I have 
 shown you that these narratives contain details which it is 
 absolutely impossible that they should contain, unless the 
 whole of the main facts related are true ; details of a geo- 
 graphical nature I mean. I have shown you that, though 
 written at different times and by different individuals — 
 
 Stop there a moment, Mr. Norset ; how do you know by 
 whom they were written ? It may be very easy to show 
 that they must have been written by different individuals ; 
 but do you pretend to have any clue by which you are 
 able to discover by whom they were written ? 
 
 I do, doctor ; and I shall have something to say upon 
 that topic by and by, when, if you like it, we will exa- 
 mine each document separately ; meantime, let us proceed 
 straight forward. I was saying that I had shown that, 
 although these narratives were written by different indivi- 
 duals and at different times, there yet exists between all of 
 them a coincidence in the main facts, while in some of the 
 d etails there are trifling variations ; and that Ave have thus 
 a very strong internal proof of the authenticity of the 
 documents, and of the truth of the narratives. I have 
 now further to observe, that there exists another proof 
 equally strong, — it can hardly be stronger, — of this au- 
 thenticity and truth. It is this : there is frequent casual 
 and merely incidental mention of that which implies the 
 authenticity of these documents, and the truth of the nar- 
 ratives contained in them, in works well known to be of 
 undoubted authenticity, and which were written about the 
 same time as the documents in question, but with totally 
 different objects, on totally different subjects, by a totally 
 
IN AMERICA. 31 
 
 different class of authors, in different countries, and under 
 different circumstances in every respect. Adam of Bre- 
 men, doctor ; you have heard of him ? 
 
 Why, you have already mentioned him : nobody who 
 knows much of literature, can be ignorant of his name, 
 nor of the authenticity of his writings. 
 
 Well, doctor, you know, as well as I do, that Adam of 
 Bremen lived and wrote in the eleventh century ; some few 
 years, he added, casting a sly look at the doctor, before 
 your friend Colon discovered America. 
 
 Well, sir, what of that ? said the doctor, his equanimity 
 somewhat disturbed. 
 
 Just this, doctor ; you know, I suppose, that Adam of 
 Bremen wrote a book, " On the Propagation of the Chris- 
 tian Religion in the North of Europe ;" and that, at the 
 end of this book, he added a brief tractate, (as the old 
 writers would say,) entitled, " On the Position of Denmark, 
 and other regions beyond Denmark," — rather a compre- 
 hensive title : well, doctor, in this work is found the follow- 
 ing incidental remark, which my memory retains on account 
 of its importance to the present subject : pray attend, 
 doctor ; it is only a few lines, though of a volume of im- 
 portance to the present argument : now, doctor, mark 
 me ; " Prseterea unam adhuc regionem — " 
 
 Pray, pardon me, interrupted Mr. Cassall ; it is all very 
 well for you and the doctor to read Latin together ; but, 
 alas for me ! you might just as well read Chinese or Hin- 
 dostanee. May I crave that you will give us the passage 
 in plain English ? 
 
 Certainly, with the doctor's consent. I was only afraid 
 that he might cavil at my translation, and say, perhaps, 
 that I misrepresented the original. 
 
 O, translate it, said the doctor ; I will look at the Latin 
 afterwards.* 
 
 * For the reasons stated in the text, the original shall be here add- 
 
32 THE NORTHMEN 
 
 " Besides these, he," — that is, you must understand? 
 King Svend, whose information Adam committed to wri- 
 ting, — " besides these, he mentioned another region, which 
 had been visited by many, lying in that ocean," that is y 
 the ocean which extends between Norway, Iceland, and 
 Greenland, " which is called Winland, because vines grow 
 there spontaneously, producing very good wine; corn like- 
 wise springs up there without sowing. This," he adds, 
 " we learn not from fabulous report, but from the accurate 
 accounts of the Danes," the very same race of men, you 
 know, doctor, who, as these ancient manuscripts inform 
 us, discovered this Vinland. What do you think of that ? 
 
 Why, it is an interpolation, I have no doubt. 
 
 An interpolation ! you are driven hard for an objection. 
 The very printed copy from which I quote was printed in 
 1629, and manuscript copies of the original, of a date an- 
 terior to the time of Colon, are still in existence, in which 
 the passage is contained complete. 
 
 Doctor, you wo n't be able to stand against this much 
 longer, said Mr. Cassall, with a smile. 
 
 The doctor gave a kind of internal growl, but said no- 
 thing. 
 
 No, the truth is, said Mr. Norset, that this remarkable 
 passage is almost sufficient of itself to establish the authen- 
 ticity of the documents, and truth of the narratives, whose 
 authenticity and truth we are discussing. Here we are in- 
 formed of two facts: 1st, of the existence of a land, as 
 known in the eleventh century, whose situation and produce 
 are described ; and, 2nd, it is added, merely incidentally, 
 that information concerning this country was derived from 
 the Danes, or men of the same race and kindred as the 
 
 ed: "Prseterea unam aclinic regionem recitavit, amultis in eo repertam 
 oceano, quse dicitur Winland, eo quod ibi vites sponte nascantur, \inum 
 optime ferentes ; nam et fruges ibi nop seminatas habundare, non fabn- 
 losa opinione, sed certa comperimus relatione Danorum." 
 
IN AMERICA. 33 
 
 discoverers themselves, as stated in these narratives. Now- 
 all this is contained in a few lines of a work well known, 
 and of undoubted authenticity ; a few lines which might 
 easily escape the reader, and which must have escaped 
 thousands of readers ; but which, from this very circum- 
 stance of its inconspicuousness and incidental occur- 
 rence, is so much the stronger testimony in favour of my 
 point. 
 
 How do you make that appear ? 
 
 Let me quote you a few words from another work of Dr. 
 Paley, and you will immediately see clearly the force of my 
 remark. Speaking of coincidences in different narratives, 
 he observes: — " If some of the coincidences alleged appear 
 to be minute, circuitous, or oblique, let him (the reader) re- 
 flect that this veiy indirectness and subtilty is that which 
 gives force and propriety to the example. Broad, obvious, 
 and explicit agreements, prove little ; because it may be 
 suggested that the insertion of such is the ordinary expe- 
 dient of every forgery ;" — and again, " it should be remem- 
 bered, concerning these coincidences, that it is one thing 
 to be minute, and another to be precarious ; one thing to 
 be unobserved, and another to be obscure ; one thing to be 
 circuitous or oblique, and another to be forced, dubious, 
 or fanciful."* It is obvious that these remarks apply 
 equally well to coincidences between different parts of the 
 same narrative, as to coincidences between different narra- 
 tives. In the former mode we shall have frequent occasion 
 to apply them as we discuss each narrative separately. It 
 is one of the strongest points of internal evidence. In the 
 case before us, however, we have works on totally different 
 topics, in different languages, though written at about the 
 same time necessarily unknown to each other, in which yet 
 a coincidence of this kind occurs ; though it may have been 
 
 * Horae Paulinse, chap. i. 
 c5 
 
34? THE NORTHMEN 
 
 unobserved, yet not obscure ;. though incidental, yet not 
 forced, dubious, or fanciful. 
 
 It must be confessed, said the doctor, that this is a strong 
 argument ; but I must hear these narratives in detail, be- 
 fore I can grant that the full coincidence, asserted by you, 
 does exist. 
 
 I am glad I have excited in you a curiosity to hear the 
 narratives in detail. You shall have them, and welcome. 
 
 Stay a little ; are any of these coincidences found in the 
 writings of any other, besides Adam of Bremen ? 
 
 Yes, in several. For example, in the works of Ordericus 
 Vitalis, who also lived in the eleventh century, and during 
 part of the twelfth, — and who wrote an " Ecclesiastical 
 History," published by Duchesne, in 1619, — occurs another 
 more casual allusion to Vinland and its situation.* It is 
 unnecessary to trouble you with the passage. Many other 
 instances might be quoted. Then, again, we find in works 
 of fiction of a very ancient date, — a date long anterior to 
 the time of Colon, — allusion made to Vinland, as a land 
 well and commonly known to exist. 
 
 Can you quote any one of these ? 
 
 It would occupy too much time to quote any just now? 
 our discussion has already been so long protracted ; but I 
 will quote one curious old ballad to you at some other 
 time, if you are disposed to listen to the narratives of the 
 discovery of America, contained in the several ancient 
 manuscripts now published. 
 
 I cannot flatter you by saying that you have yet con- 
 vinced me that these narratives are true. I will, however, 
 listen to them separately, and shall then be better able to 
 judge whether all your observations and arguments are 
 perfectly just. If they prove so, why, certainly, I do n't 
 exactly know what must be said as to your proposition of 
 
 * See Antiq. Am. p. 337. 
 
IN AMERICA. 35 
 
 the discovery of America by the Northmen. But I do not 
 grant that you have yet proved your point. 
 
 I think we shall manage the rest very easily, when we 
 examine the narratives themselves. We have not time for 
 this now, I think ; but perhaps we shall be able to do it 
 this afternoon, or to-morrow morning. 
 
 As soon as you like, said the doctor : but stay a mo- 
 ment, sir ; a thought strikes me, which will, perhaps, make 
 you give up your whole argument without further dis- 
 cussion. 
 
 What is it, doctor ? I 'm all impatience. 
 
 It is this, replied the doctor, with a triumphant air ; I 
 want to know why, — if your arguments will prove the 
 authenticity and truth of the narratives of which you have 
 been speaking, and thus prove that the Northmen discovered 
 America in the tenth century, — arguments of a similar 
 nature may not be applied to show that neither to Colon, 
 nor the Northmen, was the credit of this discovery due ; 
 but that the ancient Greeks and Romans possessed a know- 
 ledge of this continent, which could only have been derived 
 from personal acquaintance with its shores. I say that the 
 same arguments hold good in each case. 
 
 No, no, doctor ; the same coat will not fit the two cases. 
 
 But I say that it will fit them, sir ; and I will not be 
 laughed out of my idea. 
 
 Nay, doctor ; I should be sorry to laugh you out of any 
 of your ideas. But the two cases are wholly different ; 
 there is neither probability nor coincidence, neither exter- 
 nal nor internal proof to be any where perceived in the 
 case of the Greek and Roman fancied discoveries : there 
 is no document or narrative which supports the notion. 
 In truth, doctor, such an idea can have no actual founda- 
 tion whatever. 
 
 Well, sir, you are bound to show that such is the case, 
 and not merely to assert it. 
 
36 THE NORTHMEN 
 
 That may be done without much difficulty. In the first 
 place, let us take Plato's allusions in his Timceus and Critias, 
 What are they ? He makes one of the persons in the dia- 
 logue speak of a certain island, greater than Africa and 
 Asia, situated in the immediate vicinity of the Columns of 
 Hercules, that is, straits of Gibraltar ; of an invasion of 
 Greece by the inhabitants ; of the empire of these people 
 extending over Egypt ; and, finally, makes him relate, that 
 soon after the invasion of Greece, a tremendous earthquake 
 happened, and, lo and behold, one fine morning this won- 
 derful island and all its inhabitants were not : the island of 
 Atlantis had sunk beneath a whirlpool ; from which time 
 the ocean became incapable of navigation, on account of 
 the quantity of mud which the sunken island had occa- 
 sioned ! This is the history which Critias tells Socrates 
 that his grandfather, who derived his information from 
 Solon, had related to him.* He tells a notable tale, too, of 
 the population of this Atlantis by the sons of Neptune, f 
 and gives a glowing description of the produce of the land, 
 where every thing that the heart could desire, or the thought 
 conceive, was produced spontaneously in rich abundance. 
 Especially does he note the great number of elephants, and 
 other animals of vast size, in meadows, lakes, and streams, 
 on mountain, and in valley. What a remarkable air of 
 probability there is over this whole account ! What re- 
 markable coincidences are presented between this descrip- 
 tion, and the actual aspect and condition of America, 
 especially as to geographical situation, and, as to produce, 
 but, above all, as to its stability ! Surely, doctor, you 
 would have us believe that you are wading through a sea 
 of mud, when you conceive that accounts and details such 
 as these are capable of destroying the validity of the argu- 
 ments I have been stating. 
 
 * See Plato's Tirnaeus, ad init. 
 t See Plato's Critias, ad init. 
 
IN AMERICA. 37 
 
 The doctor seemed either not disposed, or unable, to 
 make any reply to these remarks. After a silence of a few 
 moments, Mr. Cassall inquired, — 
 
 Are there no other allusions made in any of the ancient 
 writers to which the doctor's idea may refer ? 
 
 An obscure allusion is made by iElian,* in which it is 
 said that " Europe, Asia, and Africa, compose an island, 
 around which flows ocean," the great boundary of the 
 world ; " that only is continent which exists beyond the 
 ocean." There is certainly little ground here for sup- 
 posing a knowledge of America to have been intimated. 
 There is even less of probability, or coincidence* than in 
 the former case. Ocean was the name applied by the an- 
 cients to the extreme boundary of the whole known world. 
 There is here, then, an acknowledgment that, if there is a 
 continent, — of which the writer could have had no definite 
 idea, but to which, as far as any idea is discoverable, 
 America certainly does not correspond, — it lay beyond the 
 whole known world. The words of Aristotle are the most 
 worthy to be quoted on this subject. In one of his nu- 
 merous works j- he remarks: — " The whole habitable world 
 consists of an island, surrounded by an ocean called the 
 Atlantic. It is probable, however, that many other lands 
 exist, opposite to this, across the ocean, some less, some 
 greater than this ; but all, except this, invisible to us." 
 Here is any thing but an expression of a hnoioledge of any 
 of these other worlds. All is supposition, which, you 
 know, the doctor can by no means admit as argument. 
 
 Are no other allusions met with, again inquired Mr. 
 Cassall, which may refer to this western continent ? 
 
 There is a curious tale told us by Pomponius Mela, \ 
 which may, perhaps, be supposed to be, in some way, con- 
 
 * Var. Hint. lib. iii. cap. xviii. 
 
 f De Mundo, cap. iii. 
 
 % De Situ Orbis, lib. iii. cap. v. 
 
38 THE NORTHMEN 
 
 nected with America, though no allusion is made to any 
 distant unknown land. It is stated, that when Q. Metellus 
 Celer went as proconsul to Gaul, certain Indians were 
 given him by the king of the Germans, which Indians, as 
 Metellus was informed, had been driven by tempest out of 
 the Indian sea, and were found on the coast of Germany. 
 Now, as of course they could not have been carried from 
 the Indian ocean to Germany by any tempest, — which, 
 however, alone, it is the purpose of the narration to esta- 
 blish,— it may be said that the individuals thus found on 
 the coast of Germany, if any ever were found under these 
 circumstances, which is most improbable, must have been 
 driven there from the coast of America. The whole story 
 is, however, so obviously a mere marvellous invention, that 
 no person can rationally frame any theory upon it. And 
 even supposing it true, and supposing it further true that 
 they were actually carried from America, no idea of such 
 a fact was entertained by those who found them, nor is any 
 such idea hinted at by Pomponius Mela ; but the whole 
 story is related to prove a directly contrary idea, namely, 
 that they came direct across the ocean from India to Ger- 
 many, no continent whatever intervening. 
 
 Upon my word, doctor, said Mr. Cassall, I am rather 
 afraid your objection must be wafted away upon the breeze 
 that bore it hither, for I can see no appearance at all indi- 
 cated, in any of these quotations from the ancients, of any 
 knowledge possessed by them of America. 
 
 Mr. Norset was very particular indeed to make a great 
 argument for the authenticity of the documents relating to 
 the Northmen, said the doctor, out of minute and casual 
 coincidences ; but he will not allow any force at all to the 
 same argument, in respect of the ancient Greek and Roman 
 authors. 
 
 Indeed, you are most welcome, doctor, answered Mr. 
 Norset, to the full benefit of all such evidence. But where 
 
IN AMERICA. 39 
 
 can you find a particle of it ? Here are vague, indefinite 
 allusions ; but, where there is the slightest degree of defi- 
 niteness, it is far from exhibiting any coincidence with the 
 existing state of this country, in any one way. There is 
 any thing but even a minute or oblique coincidence, as Dr. 
 Paley terms it. All is obscure ; and if you pretend to see 
 any coincidence, why, I can only say, and every one else 
 will say, in his words, that it is most " forced, dubious, and 
 fanciful." 
 
 So, then, you deny that the ancients had any idea of 
 the existence of another region of the world, besides Eu- 
 rope, Asia, and Africa ? 
 
 No, I do not. I deny that they had the slightest knowledge 
 of any other region, but I do not deny that they may have 
 had some vague idea of the possible existence of such 
 region. The words of Aristotle, which I quoted, exhibit 
 such an idea, though most vague and indefinite, and, as the 
 fact is, incorrect. The remarkable words put, by Seneca, 
 into the mouth of the Chorus, at the close of the second 
 act of his Medea, afford, perhaps, the most accurate and 
 definite allusion which has been made by any of the an- 
 cient writers to a western region beyond Europe. In even 
 this case, however, there is no knowledge pretended of the 
 region alluded to ; and it must, in truth, be confessed, that 
 when the passage is taken in connection with its context, 
 it loses much of the force which, taken separately, it 
 appears to have, and which has occasioned some persons 
 to consider it as almost a prophetic prediction of the dis- 
 covery of America. 
 
 I do not at this moment remember the passage to which 
 you allude, said Mr. Cassall, though I have some notion of 
 having seen it somewhere quoted. Will you be good 
 enough to repeat it, or at least a translation of it ? 
 
 The following translation, said Mr. Norset, will convey, 
 I think, pretty accurately, the sense of the original ; — 
 
40 THE NORTHMEN 
 
 Naught now its ancient place retains : 
 Araxes' banks the Indian gains ; 
 The Persian, Elbe and Rhine hath found, 
 ■ Far from his country's ancient hound. 
 And ages yet to come shall see 
 Old ocean's limits pass'd and free, 
 Where lands, wide-stretch'd, beyond our view lie 
 Remoter than remotest Thule. 
 
 And so you will not allow, said the doctor, that the credit 
 of your Northmen's discoveries is at all affected by any 
 knowledge possessed by the ancients ? 
 
 Most assuredly not, doctor. Even if the ancients had 
 known America, and I shall be glad if you will discover 
 any account of any voyage made by them across the At- 
 lantic, that knowledge has, undoubtedly, been totally lost 
 to the world, and was so, especially, to these Northmen, 
 who probably never heard of Plato, or iElian, or Aristotle, 
 or Seneca. No, my Northmen stand as boldly before you 
 as ever, and claim, still, to have been the first Europeans, 
 as far as we have any record, who ever trod a transatlantic 
 shore. 
 
 Well, we shall see when we come to the narrative. 
 Perhaps they may have been accidentally driven here. It 
 will not, after all, be much to their honour. 
 
 You quite mistake the matter, doctor : I shall be able to 
 show you that they visited this country for the express 
 purpose of exploration ; that we have positive records of 
 their residence on this continent, at different times, for 
 periods of some years' duration, during which time the 
 birth of one individual is recorded to have taken place, the 
 ancestor of many well-known and illustrious characters, 
 some of whom are now living. 
 
 Your pretensions seem to increase, Mr. Norset. You 
 will have some difficulty in proving all these statements. 
 
 Not at all, doctor, I believe. Moreover, I shall be able 
 to show you that permanent colonies were certainly planted 
 
IN AMERICA. 41 
 
 by them in America ; nay, that probably a settlement was 
 formed on this very spot. 
 
 I am little inclined to think you can do that. But there 
 is one question more which I must ask you now. 
 What is that ? 
 
 Just tell me, supposing you are able to prove all that 
 you say you can, what is the use of it when it is proved? 
 
 I am truly surprised that you should ask such a ques- 
 tion, doctor. If by use you mean use in a pounds, shil- 
 lings and pence point of view, I have nothing to say to you. 
 I am not aware that the proof of the truth on falsity of 
 these narratives will ever put a farthing in the pocket of 
 any man. 
 
 I do n't exactly mean use in this respect ; but tell me 
 of what use, in any way, it can be. 
 
 Willingly. Did you never consider the knowledge of 
 Colon's expeditions of any use or value ? The knowledge 
 of the expeditions of the Northmen must necessarily be, 
 at least, of as much use and value. It ought to be of 
 more. Any thing is useful which serves in any way to 
 give healthy exercise to any of man's intellectual or moral 
 powers ; inasmuch as every thing which gives this exercise 
 must be a source of increase, in one way or another, to the 
 sum of man's happiness. 
 
 Increase of man's happiness ! How will knowing that 
 the Northmen discovered America eight centuries and a 
 half ago increase my happiness ? 
 
 It may and ought to do so, directly in many ways, indi- 
 rectly in many others. Is it source of no pleasure to dwell 
 upon the noble and great actions of the past ? Is there 
 no pleasure, or interest, or utility, to be derived from the 
 comparison of events of former times with those of our own 
 day ? Is there no lesson to be learned from reviewing the 
 achievements and enterprises of former times, marking the 
 opportunities and advantages possessed by those who 
 
42 THE NORTHMEN IN AMERICA. 
 
 achieved them, and drawing the comparison between these 
 and the opportunities and advantages which the present 
 day affords, and the achievements and enterprises which the 
 present day exhibits ? The facts in question are also pecu- 
 liarly interesting and useful in a geographical point of 
 view. They serve, moreover, to exhibit the degree in 
 which various faculties were, at this early period, called into 
 activity, which led to the execution of such bold enter- 
 prises ; all of which is, as Vossius truly says, " Philosophy 
 teaching by examples."* 
 
 I perceive somewhat the drift of your meaning. But, 
 upon my word, it will rather pull down one's pride and 
 boasting about our advanced and enterprising age, if you 
 can show that, eight hundred and fifty years ago, such en- 
 terprises, — then so full of every peril and difficulty, so far 
 surpassing what would now attend them, or what even would 
 attend them in the age of Colon, — were undertaken and 
 successfully accomplished. 
 
 That is precisely, doctor, one of the indirectly useful 
 lessons which the study of this subject teaches. 
 
 * The author may be here allowed to refer, for an explanation of the 
 real use of history in general, of course including facts of the nature 
 here discussed, to " Observations on the Use and Study of History," 
 prefixed to his " Comparative View of Ancient Histoiy, and explanation 
 of Chronological Eras." 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 Discovery of Iceland by Xaddodd, (A.D. 861.) — Discover}- of America, 
 in Greenland, by Eirek the Red (982.) — Expeditions to Northern 
 Regions. — Discovery of the more southern regions of America by 
 Biarni IIeriulfsox, (985.) — Introduction of Christianity into 
 Greenland by Leif Eireksox, (999.) — Expedition of Leif Eireksox 
 to Finland, and residence there, (1000.) — Expedition of Thorvald 
 Eireksox to Viuland, (1002.) — Residence and Death there, (1004.) 
 Expedition of Thorsteix Eireksox, (1005.) — Story of Gudrid. — 
 Death of Thorsteix, (1005.)— Return of Gudrid, (1006.) 
 
 Well, doctor, I hope your dreams have not been dis- 
 turbed by warring images. Methinks the ghost of Colon 
 should have risen to rebuke you for listening to any account 
 of the discoveries of the Northmen ; or perhaps that navi- 
 gator, with his gallant crew, contesting with Biarni Heri- 
 ulfson and his company, have played a busy scene before 
 your fancy's view, when, in the silent hour of night, deep 
 sleep falleth upon man. 
 
 No, I cannot say I have troubled myself much about the 
 Northmen, or their discoveries, since we talked about them 
 yesterday. 
 
 Perhaps, then, doctor, as you seem so indifferent about 
 them and their doings, you will be unwilling to listen, as 
 you proposed yesterday, to any account of their discoveries ; 
 and I should be sorry to inflict such a task upon you, as to 
 oblige you to listen to that in which you take so little 
 interest. 
 
 At this moment Mr. Cassall entered hastily. Taking his 
 seat, he said, — I have hastened as quickly as possible from 
 the post-office, for I was afraid that I should be too late 
 for the promised narratives. 
 
44- THE NORTHMEN 
 
 O, said Mr. Norset, there was no danger of that ; for the 
 doctor, here, does not seem anxious to hear them at all. 
 
 Ah ! ah ! said Mr. Cassall, casting a glance at the doctor, 
 I see very plainly how it is ; the doctor does not like to 
 acknowledge that you have succeeded in exciting any in- 
 terest in his mind on this subject. But I can tell you that 
 he does want to hear the narratives, and is much interested; 
 for it was only an hour ago, as I was leaving the house, 
 that he called me back, and enjoined me to be quick, in 
 order that we might have time for the narratives this 
 morning. 
 
 The doctor looked as if he did not know exactly Avhat 
 to answer to this. At length he said, — If we are to have 
 these narratives, we had better lose no time about it. 
 
 As little as you like, doctor. You see I have the " pon- 
 derous quarto" by me, and we will cull its pages as soon as 
 you please. Are there any questions which you would 
 wish to ask before I begin ? 
 
 Yes ; we must have one or two matters settled, which you 
 promised, yesterday, that you would touch upon when we 
 came to speak of the contents of the documents. In the 
 first place, I want to know what these manuscripts are. 
 You spoke of them yesterday only as a whole, taken 
 altogether. 
 
 The account given of them in the Preface to this vo- 
 lume, and in the notes prefixed to each separate document, 
 is most satisfactory, and enters into full details as to their 
 history. Do you wish me to retail to you all these 
 minutiae ? 
 
 No, no ; we should never get to the narratives to-day, 
 at that rate ; — just tell us what the separate original manu- 
 scripts contained in the book are ; what is their date ; and, 
 if you can, by whom they were written. 
 
 That will not take long. There are two principal nar- 
 ratives, — 
 
IN AMERICA. 45 
 
 Two narratives ! interrupted the doctor ; so that is all ? 
 I certainly thought, after all you said, that there would be 
 a dozen at least. 
 
 Dr. Dubital, exclaimed Mr. Norset, I do admire your 
 virtuous indignation. How many narratives have you of 
 the destruction of Jerusalem ? 
 
 What has that to do with the discoveries of the North- 
 men ? 
 
 It has this to do with it. You do n't pretend to doubt 
 the truth of the main facts of Josephus's History ; and yet 
 you have no more real authority for the authenticity of 
 these, — ay, or of any fact mentioned in Tacitus, or any 
 other ancient writer, than you have, in these two manu- 
 scripts, for the discoveries of the Northmen. It is not be- 
 cause the former have been often copied that they be- 
 come any better authority. Not that I pretend to doubt 
 them ; but they must stand precisely on the same footing, 
 in this respect, as these " only two " narratives of the North- 
 men. But you are decidedly in too great a hurry to find 
 something wrong about these poor Northmen. I began to 
 say that there are two principal narratives contained in 
 this book, but was going on to mention that there are ex- 
 tracts given from many other ancient manuscripts, — up- 
 wards of a dozen, doctor, by a great number, — in which 
 incidental allusion is made to the same facts which are re- 
 lated in detail in these two principal narratives ; besides 
 several other minor narratives bearing upon the same sub- 
 ject. Does that satisfy you ? 
 
 Of course, the more references there are, the more com- 
 plete must be the proof of authenticity, replied the doctor, 
 in a half-disappointed tone. 
 
 Just so ; and I think, therefore, that the Royal Society 
 of Northern Antiquarians has acted wisely in publishing 
 all these extracts. The incidental mention of the facts 
 alluded to in them, all comes, you know, under that class 
 
46 THE NORTHMEN 
 
 of evidence for the authenticity of the whole which I no- 
 ticed yesterday, when I quoted Paley's Horse Paulinse. 
 
 Well, sir, we'll let Paley and his Horae Paulinae alone 
 now, if you please. What are these two principal narra- 
 tives ? 
 
 Each of them gives a somewhat detailed account of the 
 discovery of America. The same general facts are rela- 
 ted in each, but the design of the narrators appears to 
 have been different ; the one desiring principally to com- 
 memorate the deeds of Eirek the Red and his sons ; the 
 other desiring to commemorate the achievements of Thor- 
 finn Karlsefni. Thus the details contained in the two 
 differ in some measure. The former gives a more detailed 
 account of the deeds of Eirek and his sons, touching but 
 slightly upon those of Thorfinn : the latter touches more 
 slightly upon the deeds of Eirek and his sons, and is espe- 
 cially particular about those of Thorfinn. 
 
 Do you intend, then, to give us the benefit of each nar- 
 rative separately? 
 
 No ; I propose to make but one narrative of it, taking, 
 as the chief authority for each portion, the original docu- 
 ment which treats most fully of the transactions of each 
 individual, comparing throughout, however, the two ac- 
 counts together. 
 
 That will be much the best way, I think. Is the whole 
 narrative a long one ? 
 
 Too long for us to go through the whole at one sitting. 
 The following arrangement will, I think, be most conve- 
 nient. We will this morning take the narratives of the dis- 
 coveries and expeditions of Eirek the Red and his imme- 
 diate family and connections. This afternoon or to-mor- 
 row we will take the narrative of the expedition of Thorfinn 
 Karlsefni ; and we will leave the minor narratives to be 
 examined on a separate and subsequent occasion. 
 
 That arrangement is judicious. But I have yet one 
 
IN AMERICA. 47 
 
 more question to ask : are the manuscripts, from which 
 this book is printed, the genuine original documents of 
 these narratives ? because, you know — 
 
 — That you would like to fasten some more objection 
 upon it, if they are not, doctor. Well, it is not certain that 
 they are so ; — they are probably not the first written docu- 
 ments, but copies of them, made not very long after the 
 date of the originals, and bearing all the marks of exact 
 copies, inasmuch as the forms of style and narrative are 
 evidently those of the remote period in which the original 
 documents were produced. 
 
 If they are merely casual manuscripts of this kind, said 
 the doctor, I do n't think much of their authenticity. 
 
 But they are not merely casual manuscripts ; they form 
 parts of historical collections made at a very early period in 
 Iceland, which, as I have already observed, and as you are 
 well aware, was, for a long time, the seat of great learning 
 and valuable literature. They at this time exist in these 
 same collections, which, however, have been transferred, 
 the one to the Royal library, the other to the library of the 
 university, of Copenhagen. Moreover, other copies of the 
 same and parts of the same narratives exist elsewhere, by 
 which their correctness is capable of being well established. 
 Observe that it is positively certain these copies were made 
 long anterior to the time of your old friend Colon. 
 
 I will only ask you at present one more question, ob- 
 served the doctor. Have you any clue to the authors of 
 these narratives ? 
 
 We have some clue to the authors of them, especially 
 of that which treats particularly of Thorfinn. The one 
 entitled, " Account of Eirek the Red, and of Greenland," 
 appears, from internal evidence, to have been originally 
 written in Greenland, and to have been subsequently taken 
 to Iceland.* There are minute errors contained in it 
 
 * See Antiq. Am. Prsef. p. xv. 
 
48 THE NORTHMEN 
 
 (which would never have been found in a fabrication, doc- 
 tor,) showing that the writer was not well acquainted with 
 Iceland ; and Eirek the Red, as we shall see, resided in 
 Greenland. As to the " Account of Thorfinn Karlsefni," 
 there is little doubt that the writer of this was one of the 
 numerous descendants of Thorfinn, many of whom filled 
 conspicuous offices in the beginning of the twelfth century. 
 His family was one of high station, and its history occupies 
 a prominent position in the early history of Iceland. 
 Three bishops, men of letters, his immediate descendants, 
 lived at the end of the eleventh and beginning of the 
 twelfth centuries, and there is every internal probability 
 that one of these committed to writing those records which 
 we now have, and which originally proceeded from the 
 mouth of Thorfinn himself. We find it mentioned in one 
 of these records that " Thorfinn detailed the accounts of 
 all these transactions very accurately," which marks very 
 clearly the authority upon which the original traditions 
 were committed to writing. 
 
 I had no idea, remarked Mr. Cassall, that so good an ac- 
 count could be given of these manuscripts. Nothing of 
 all this is mentioned in any of the reviews. 
 
 Doubtless not, replied Mr. Norset. The information 
 cannot be obtained without the perusal of the whole vo- 
 lume. Still fuller details will be there found on all these 
 topics. 
 
 I suppose, said the doctor, the narrative is a curious, 
 quaint kind of a story, with a great deal of extraneous mat- 
 ter introduced. 
 
 Of course there is considerable quaintness. It is chiefly 
 a simple and " unvarnished tale," briefly told. There is, to 
 be sure, some extraneous matter introduced, though very 
 little. As must be expected, we meet with evidence of the 
 superstitious notions of the times, and have, now and then, 
 something of a supernatural character introduced into the 
 narrative. 
 
IN AMERICA. 4:9 
 
 I hope you will not omit this, said Mr. Cassall. I should 
 like to see what kind of spirits walked the earth in the 
 tenth century. 
 
 Yes, replied Mr. Xorset; it will not occupy much of our 
 time, and will serve to give some insight into the habits 
 and modes of thinking of the northern race, at this early 
 period. 
 
 Come, said the doctor, I suppose we are ready for the 
 narrative now. But do n't be too sure that I shall find no 
 Haws in its accuracy, and in the coincidences of which you 
 have said so much. 
 
 I know very well that you will pick a hole where you 
 can, doctor. You are welcome to do so. I will give you 
 every opportunity, because we shall only get the nearer to 
 the truth by looking out for all the flaws and inconsisten- 
 cies which you are so anxious to discover. 
 
 Proceed, sir. 
 
 My notion is this, then ; to proceed straight forward 
 with the narrative, as it is here in the book ; stopping, 
 however, at each step, to examine geographical bearings ; 
 and you are either of you welcome to interrupt me with 
 your questions as often as you like. 
 
 Agreed, said Dr. Dubital and Mr. Cassall, in one 
 breath. 
 
 One thing I must premise, which is this : — these ancient 
 writers are exceedingly fond of giving long strings of genea- 
 logies, which, of course, have little to do with the main 
 facts of the history, however valuable they may be on some 
 accounts. I shall not pretend to give you all these, nor all 
 the minute details of localities connected with them, which 
 are sometimes given. 
 
 We shall be quite content to dispense with each of 
 these. 
 
 To enter, then, upon the narrative : — our main authority 
 must, in the first case, be the narrative entitled "An account 
 
 D 
 
50 THE NORTHMEN 
 
 of Eirek the Red, and of Greenland ; " any variations be- 
 tween the narrative here given, and that contained in the 
 '/ Account of Thorfinn Karhefni," being noticed. As I 
 have already mentioned, however, that the former narrative 
 is more complete than the latter, with respect to matters 
 affecting Eirek and his sons, I shall not stop to point out 
 every thing which, being related in the one, is omitted in 
 the other, but only such cases as differ in the two accounts. 
 I suppose that will be a fair procedure ? 
 
 Yes, we will allow that, said the doctor ; it is the dif- 
 ferences that we must have, in order to see whether the 
 authenticity of the documents, or the truth of the narra- 
 tives, cannot be impeached. 
 
 Attend, then, to the narrative :* 
 
 " There was a man named Thorvald, of goodly lineage. 
 Thorvald and his son Eirek, surnamed the Red, were 
 compelled to fly from Jadar, (on the south- west of Nor- 
 way,) on account of a homicide committed by them. They 
 settled in Iceland, at that time thoroughly colonized : — " 
 
 Pardon me for interrupting you so soon, said Mr. Cassall ; 
 but may I ask when, and by whom, Iceland was first settled ? 
 I do not recall the facts. 
 
 Certainly ; was the reply. Iceland was colonizedf by 
 Ingolf, a Norwegian, or Northman, and his followers, in 
 
 * Antiq. Am. p. 7. In the following translations, the author's 
 object will be, to give the sense of the original, in terms as nearly 
 approaching to a literal translation as the idioms of the two languages 
 will permit. Of course, the brief, simple style, and the quaintness of 
 writings of this early date, ought to be preserved ; they will, therefore, 
 be here found ; and will be seen to carry, in their own simple brevity, 
 evidence of the truth of the narratives which are related. 
 
 f A chart lias been carefully prepared by the author, in which will 
 be seen laid down the tracks pursued by all the prominent northern 
 navigators (as learnt from the ancient MSS.) to the western hemi- 
 sphere. The tracks of Naddodd and of Eirek the Red are there laid 
 down. 
 
IN AMERICA. 51 
 
 875. He was the first who cast his door-posts towards the 
 Icelandic shores*. The island had, however, been dis- 
 covered a i't'\\ years previously, in 861, by a pirate, or 
 trader, — for the term pirate was hardly understood in the 
 same sense then as at present, — named Naddodd. It is, 
 however, a very remarkable fact, and one well worthy to 
 be recorded, that Iceland was inhabited by a race of Chris- 
 tians long before the pagan Northmen settled there ; which 
 latter were not converted to Christianity till the year 1000. 
 We have the highest authority for the truth of this fact. I 
 will quote the words of the celebrated Landnamabok (Land 
 
 * There was a very curious custom prevalent among the Northmen. 
 The columns raised in front of their houses were esteemed sacred. 
 They were held, while stationary, in much the same estimation as the 
 ares et foci among the Romans. They were generally rudely carved 
 at the top, to represent Thor, or some other of their gods, and stood as 
 the door-posts of the house of the head of every family. When the 
 household was removed, these columns were carefully preserved, and 
 erected where the new habitation was fixed. They were thus, in emi- 
 gration, esteemed somewhat like the household gods of the ancients. 
 The most peculiar part of the superstition attached to them was this : 
 when the party emigrated to a foreign land, across the sea, he took 
 these sacred columns with him, and, when he approached the shore of 
 the new land, he cast them overboard; and, where they were driven 
 ashore, he fixed his dwelling. Thus Ingolf did when he went to Ice- 
 land, and the circumstances attending this event show the extent to 
 which this superstition was carried. He cast his door-posts towards 
 the shore, but they floated for a long time, and were driven out of sight. 
 At length he landed on a promontory at the south-eastern extremity of 
 the island, called, to this day, Ingolfshofdi. Three years afterwards, 
 some of his servants were exploring on the extreme south-western part 
 of the island, and found there these very columns cast ashore. They in- 
 formed Ingolf, and, although the spot where he then dwelt was pleasant 
 and fertile, and the one where the columns were discovered remarkably 
 sterile and desert, he yet removed his whole family to the latter, and 
 there erected his dwelling. This latter place was subsequently called 
 Reykiarvik, and is, at this day, the capital of Iceland. It is not un- 
 worthy of notice that the expression " pull up stakes " still prevails in 
 some places in England to express removing the dwelling. The idea 
 seems the same, and doubtless it is a lineal descendant of the old custom. 
 d2 
 
52 THE NORTHMEN 
 
 roll of the first settlers in Iceland), the authenticity of which 
 none can dispute. " But, before Iceland was settled by the 
 Northmen, there lived men there called by the Northmen, 
 Vavm. These men were Christians, and are believed to 
 have come from the west, over the sea." This expression, 
 "■from the west" would seem to imply that they came from 
 America. There can, however, be no doubt that it refers 
 to Ireland, which country was usually known to the North- 
 men by the name of the " west country," as being west in 
 respect of Norway, their original home. We shall meet 
 with numerous instances of this use of the term. That this 
 is the true sense here, the remainder of this passage shows : 
 " for there were found Irish books, and various instruments, 
 whence it was known that they were Westmen. These 
 things have been found in Papey (" Isle of the Papee," — 
 an island on the east coast of Iceland, still known by the 
 same name*,) and Papyli (a settlement in the interior). 
 It is also recorded in English books, that in that time ex- 
 peditions were made to this country (Iceland)." f 
 
 This is indeed a remarkable passage. Is there no more 
 information given as to these Papce? 
 
 None whatever. The fact itself is mentioned in several 
 other ancient manuscripts besides the Landnamabok, but 
 with no fuller details, except that these Christians left the 
 land as soon as the heathens settled there. 
 
 From the time of Ingolf, then, Iceland has been in- 
 habited by a race of Norwegian origin ? 
 
 Exactly so ; and for the greater portion of the time in 
 close connection with the parent state. To proceed : — The 
 father of Eirek soon died, but Eirek seemed to have inhe- 
 
 * This island will be seen marked with particular conspicuousness 
 in the map to Henderson's Iceland, no reference whatever being, how- 
 ever, made by him to the facts above stated. 
 
 f See the " Islands Landnamabok," in " Islendinga Sogur," (Kau- 
 pmannahofn 1829,) 1 Bindi, p. 23. 
 
IN AMERICA. 53 
 
 rited some portion of his spirit, for he got into quarrels 
 ■with his Icelandic neighbours, of which homicide was again 
 the consequence ; though the last quarrel seems to have 
 originated in an injury unjustly inflicted upon him. "Having 
 been condemned by the court," proceeds the narrative, " he 
 fitted out a vessel. When all was ready, those who had 
 been the partisans of Eirek in the recent quarrel, accom- 
 panied him to some distance. Eirek informed them that 
 he had determined to seek the land which Gunnbiorn had 
 seen, when, driven into the western ocean, he had found the 
 islands thence called the rocks of Gunnbiorn." 
 
 "Where are these islands situated ? interrupted Mr. 
 Cassall. 
 
 They are supposed to have been situated at nearly an 
 equal distance between Iceland and Greenland, was the 
 reply of Mr. Norset. Of their actual existence and acces- 
 sibility formerly, there can be no doubt, since they are 
 mentioned in the oldest and most authentic records of Ice- 
 land. They are, however, now totally unknown. Whether 
 they have been submerged, or whether the danger and diffi- 
 culty of navigating that region of the ocean at this day, so 
 much greater than formerly, is the cause of their being 
 unknown, is uncertain. 
 
 It is singular that, having been thus known within re- 
 cord, they should be unknown now, if they have not been 
 submerged. 
 
 Why, the fact is, the ocean in this region has, since its 
 first navigation by the Northmen, become gradually 
 blocked up, if I may so speak, by the descent of arctic 
 ice ; so that the track which was formerly navigated is 
 now totally impassable. There is a curious account of 
 the course pursued to Greenland contained in this volume,* 
 in which the old track is mentioned, and its gradual stop- 
 
 * Antiq. Am. p. 302, &c. 
 
54 THE NORTHMEN 
 
 page noticed. This account was written in the fourteenth 
 or early part of the fifteenth century. 
 
 I was not aware that such a change had taken place in 
 the condition of these regions. The fact of this change is 
 remarkable. 
 
 So in truth it is. It is historically important. To pro- 
 ceed with the narrative : — Eirek determined to seek the 
 rocks of Gunnbiorn, " saying that if he found land there 
 he would revisit his friends. He set sail from Snsefells- 
 jokul* (a mountain on the western coast of Iceland). At 
 length he found land, and called the place Midjokul. 
 Thence he coasted along the shore in a southerly direc- 
 tion, in order to observe whether the land were habitable. 
 He passed the first winter in Eireksey, (Eirek's island,) 
 near the middle of Eastbygd," (eastern habitable tract). 
 Snsefellsjokul, Midjokul, Eireksey, Eastbygd ! exclaimed 
 the doctor; certainly these Northmen could give hard 
 names, if they could do nothing else. And pray, sir, in 
 what part of the world were Midjokul and Eastbygd? 
 
 That is very easy to determine, doctor. Where do you 
 think a man would be most likely to be carried, if he sailed 
 west from Iceland as Eirek did ? Just glance at the map, 
 and you will see in a moment that it must be Gree?iland. 
 There can be no doubt about this matter, for, from the 
 first discovery of the land by Eirek, it was regularly colo- 
 nized and inhabited, till the colony was driven out, or de- 
 stroyed, by the encroachments of the arctic ice. 
 
 And, pray, in what part of Greenland was Eastbygd ? 
 
 There were two principal settlements in Greenland ; 
 
 one on the western coast, the other on the south-western 
 
 extremity of the peninsula. The former was termed 
 
 Westbygd, the latter, as lying more to the eastward, 
 
 * An interesting description of the present appearance of Snsefells- 
 jokul is given in Henderson's " Journal of a Residence in Iceland." 
 
IX AMERICA. 55 
 
 Eastbygd. Eastbygd appears to have always contained 
 the most populous colony. I must observe that in the 
 " account of Thorfinn," Eireksey is placed in Westbygd, 
 and not Eastbygd. 
 
 What, an inconsistency already ! cried the doctor, with 
 an expression of some exultation. 
 
 No very great inconsistency, doctor. Eireksey was 
 merely the name given to the spot where Eirek passed his 
 first winter. He left it immediately, as we shall see, and 
 never returned ; so that the exact situation was probably 
 never known. Moreover, the different manuscripts of the 
 " account of Thorfinn " differ in the reading of this word, 
 some making it Eastbygd, as in the " account of Eirek the 
 Red." So you get no possible objection out of this diver- 
 sity, doctor. 
 
 I hate various readings, said the doctor. 
 
 I do n't, said Mr. Nors'et ; for they often enable you to 
 reconcile the sense of a passage. Many a time have I 
 found a gleam of light shed over a page of Cicero, by a 
 various reading. In the case before us, Eastbygd is, 
 there can be little doubt, the correct reading. You will 
 observe, doctor, that this, at first sight, plain inconsistency, 
 would never have appeared in a fabrication. This very 
 case becomes, therefore, an internal proof of the authen- 
 ticity of the documents, and truth of the narratives. But 
 to proceed : — " In the following spring, Eirek entered 
 Eireksfiord, (Eirek's creek or inlet,) and there fixed his re- 
 sidence. During the summer of the same year, he ex- 
 plored the western part of the country, imposing names on 
 various places. He passed the following winter also in 
 this land, but in the third summer he returned to Iceland. 
 He called the land which he had thus discovered, Green- 
 land, saying that men would be induced to emigrate 
 thither, by a name so inviting." 
 
 Upon my word, said Mr. Cassall, that was a cunning 
 scheme. 
 
56 THE NORTHMEN 
 
 It was, indeed, replied Mr. Norset; Eirek evidently 
 knew what he was about. 
 
 Was Eirek, then, the first who discovered Greenland ? 
 
 So it would appear from all authentic accounts. There 
 is, it is true, mention made of Greenland in a papal bull of 
 Gregory IV. A.D. 835 ; but there is not the slightest 
 doubt, from the internal evidence, that this bull was either 
 altogether a forgery of a later day, or that, being actually 
 promulgated at this date, the passage relating to Green- 
 land was spuriously inserted at a much more recent period, 
 for ambitious purposes. 
 
 Was Greenland ever much further explored, as well as 
 settled, after the time of Eirek ? He seems to have spent 
 a whole season in explorations. 
 
 The discoveries of the Northmen in the Arctic Regions 
 are little less remarkable than their discoveries in the more 
 southern regions of the continent of America ; and of the 
 former there can be no possible doubt. Not even the 
 doctor will be able to cavil at their truth. 
 
 Dear me, said the doctor, rousing himself, what is your 
 evidence here, that you seem so confident in its strength ? 
 
 The evidence is perfectly conclusive. There is an in- 
 teresting narrative contained in this book, of a voyage of 
 discovery made up Baffin's Bay, and through Wellington 
 Channel, as they are now termed, and most probably fur- 
 ther.* With this narrative I will not trouble you in detail. 
 But I will state that, in the year 1824, an inscription and 
 other monuments were found in the island of Kingiktor- 
 soak, on the west coast of Greenland, in 72° 55' of north 
 latitude, which inscription is now in the possession of the 
 Royal Society of Northern Antiquarians. It is in the 
 Runic character, and establishes, beyond the possibility of 
 
 * See the track of these navigators laid down in the chart. It is. 
 there designated hy the name of " Track of the men of Nordrseta." 
 Nordrseta was the name of a station of the Northmen in the northern 
 part of Greenland. Its position will be seen in the chart. 
 
IN- AMERICA. Ol 
 
 doubt, the fact, that the bold Northmen navigated these 
 northern regions, beyond which even the boldest British 
 navigators have scarcely passed, in the twelfth century. 
 These are facts, doctor; you are fond of facts ; there is no 
 hypothesis or supposition. 
 
 Well, said the doctor, I will, for once, allow that, the 
 facts being as you state, there cannot be any doubt of the 
 truth of these extraordinary explorations, — for I will allow 
 them to have been extraordinary. 
 
 Then let me ask you, doctor, whether, granting, as you 
 necessarily must, the truth of these extremely arctic explo- 
 rations, you can any longer doubt the high probability of 
 the discovery of this more Southern portion of America by 
 the same men ? I need not say that, in the discovery of 
 Greenland, — which it is thus proved that they did make, — 
 they had in fact discovered America. 
 
 You have completely tripped up the doctor, Mr. Norset, 
 said Mr. Cassall, and caught him before he was aware of it. 
 Do you wish Colon good morning, doctor? 
 
 The doctor hesitated, and appeax-ed anxious to find some 
 mode of escaping from his dilemma. 
 
 Well, said he at last, with a kind of effort, I suppose, 
 then, the Northmen did discover America. I wish you had 
 not got that inscription from Kingiktorsoak. I could have 
 battled out the manuscript. 
 
 I dare say you would have tried, doctor, though perhaps 
 not successfully ; however, that valuable inscription has 
 saved me all my labour, because it is one concerning which 
 there can be no shade of doubt, being entirely in the Rnnic 
 character, and straight-forward and plain enough. I will 
 describe.' it when we come to talk of the second class of 
 documents. 
 
 It does not follow, however, said the doctor, that, because 
 the Northmen thus explored Greenland and the arctic re- 
 
58 THE NORTHMEN 
 
 gions, they should have explored, as you assert, these more 
 southern parts of the American continent. 
 
 It does not absolutely follow, I know, but it is rendered 
 very probable, and, by the testimony which we have, the 
 fact can be completely established. At any rate, in dis- 
 covering Greenland, they discovered America at least as 
 much as Colon ever did, and that is my grand point at 
 present. 
 
 I am afraid we shall forget all about Eirek the Red, said 
 Mr. Cassall. Pray, what became of him after his return 
 to Iceland ? 
 
 He stayed there during the winter and early part of the 
 following year. " In the ensuing summer, he returned to 
 the land which he had discovered, to fix there his perma- 
 nent residence." 
 
 Is there any possibility of fixing the date of this event? 
 inquired Mr. Cassall. 
 
 Happily there is, and that very exactly. The narrative 
 adds, " This event happened fifteen winters before the 
 Christian religion was established in Iceland." Now, it is 
 a well-known historical fact, that the Christian religion 
 was established in Iceland, through the efforts of Olaf, king 
 of Norway, in the year 1000. The emigration to Green- 
 land, therefore, took place in the year 985, and the dis- 
 covery of the country by Eirek three years earlier, namely, 
 982. The names of many persons are recorded who ac- 
 companied Eirek the Red to Greenland, and fixed their 
 habitation there ; out of 25 ships which accompanied him, 
 only 14 reached Greenland, the rest being lost or driven 
 back to Iceland. Among those which reached Greenland, 
 the ship of Heriulf, the father of Biarni Heriulfson, was 
 one. Heriulf was kinsman to Ingolf, the first settler in Ice- 
 land. 
 
 I presume, then, that the surname Heriulfson merely 
 
IN AMERICA. 59 
 
 signifies " son of Heriulf," just as we have surnames, 
 Johnson, IVilliamson, <S:c. ? 
 
 Exactly so. The son frequently took his father's name 
 as an addition to his own, and was always designated by it 
 as a surname, when the father's name was well known. 
 
 What happened after the colonization of Greenland? 
 inquired the doctor. 
 
 The narrative proceeds immediately following to allude 
 to an event in Leif Eirekson's (son of Eirek) history ; but 
 we will pass over that for the present, as we shall recur to 
 his history more in detail by and by. We come next to 
 the account of the discovery of the more southern regions 
 of the continent of North America by Biarui Heriulfson. 
 
 Now, doctor, said Mr. Cassall, I hope you are all in 
 readiness with your weapons of contest. 
 
 I am glad that we have got to Biarni Heriulfson at last, 
 said the doctor. We shall soon see, now, whether there is 
 any truth in this story. 
 
 I must remark, said Mr. Norset, that no mention is 
 made of Biarni Heriulfson in the " account of Thorfinn 
 Karlsefni." 
 
 So, said the doctor, there is no allusion to him, except 
 in this narrative. How then do we know that such a man 
 as Heriulf ever lived, or went to Greenland ? Your reed 
 begins to shake, Mr. Norset. 
 
 The breeze will pass over it without inflicting any bruise 
 or injury, replied Mr. Norset. There is allusion made to 
 Heriulf in another manuscript, quoted in this volume.* 
 and that manuscript, too, one of the highest possible au- 
 thority, no less than the Landnamabok of Iceland, to which 
 I have before alluded, and whose authenticity no one will 
 impeach. 
 
 Well, what says the Landnamabok about him? 
 
 * Antiq. Am. p. 187. 
 
60 THE NORTHMEN 
 
 It simply states that Heriulf went with Eirek the Red to 
 Greenland. One or two of those " incidental coinci- 
 dences " occur, between the brief notice in the Landna- 
 mabok and the details in the " account of Eirek the Red 
 and of Greenland," which are such strong proofs of authen- 
 ticity, — such as the name of one of the companions of 
 Heriulf, a Christian, and an incident which is mentioned 
 as having happened to him. The detail of the events of 
 the subsequent voyage of Biarni is not given ; it would be 
 totally out of place in the Landnamabok. 
 
 But how do you explain the circumstance of there 
 being no mention made of Biarni Heriulfson in the " ac- 
 count of Thorfinn" ? 
 
 You may be sure of this, doctor, that this mention would 
 not have been omitted, had these accounts been fabri- 
 cations. Being authentic, however, the circumstance of 
 the omission is very easy to be explained. Biarni Heri- 
 ulfson, as you will presently see, though he saw these 
 coasts and described them, yet did not land here. He 
 carried the report home to others, and they came out on 
 exploring expeditions. The greatest credit and honour 
 were then justly esteemed to belong to them, and their 
 names were principally celebrated. Since the narrative of 
 Eirek the Red, however, was composed in Greenland, and 
 Biarni was the son of one of Eirek's companions, and was 
 well known to Eirek's sons, who most probably dictated 
 the original composition of this narrative, it was natural 
 that his voyage should be noticed by them, though it was 
 passed over in silence by the Icelandic narrator, to whom 
 Biarni was unknown, or by whom, if known, his voyage 
 was considered of little importance. 
 
 Well, I shall find some flaw in your narrative, yet. 
 Pray attempt it. Now I beg your attention to this 
 brief account of Biarni's voyage, because much of the geo- 
 graphical question hinges in some measure upon it. 
 
IN AMERICA. 61 
 
 (i Heriulf had a wife named Thorgerd, and a son named 
 Biarni, — a youth of great promise. This young man was 
 seized with a great desire to travel, and was successful in ob- 
 taining both fortune and honour. He passed the winters 
 alternately abroad and at home with his father. Biarni had 
 recently fitted out a merchant vessel, and had spent the 
 last winter in Norway. During his absence it was, that 
 Heriulf had passed over, with his whole household, in 
 company with Eirek, to Greenland. In the same ship 
 with Heriulf," continues the narrative episodically, — and 
 this is the incident alluded to in the Landnamabok, — " was 
 a Christian from the Hebrides ; — " 
 
 I beg your pardon, exclaimed the doctor ; but why, in 
 the name of goodness, should the writer of this narrative, 
 or of the Landnamabok, go out of his way to tell us about 
 a Christian, from the Hebrides or any where else, being in 
 the same ship with Heriulf? 
 
 For an obvious reason, answered Mr. Norset. The 
 Northmen of Iceland and Greenland were as yet pagans. 
 A Christian was a kind of lusus, and his presence a re- 
 markable circumstance, especially when, as we shall pre- 
 sently see to have been the case with this Christian, he 
 took occasion to give public evidence of his confidence in 
 his faith. 
 
 And I must crave your pardon, too, for detaining you, 
 said Mr. Cassall ; but how came any one from the He- 
 brides to be in the ship of Heriulf? 
 
 Because the Hebrides originally formed part of the do- 
 minion of these Northmen, and there was frequent com- 
 munication between them and the others of their race. To 
 traverse the ocean was, to all these islanders, almost the 
 chief occupation of their lives. 
 
 What became, then, of this Christian ? 
 
 He is merely introduced on account of a prayer which 
 he offered up while the ship was passing a dangerous 
 
62 THE NORTHMEN 
 
 whirlpool which lay in that region of the ocean. This 
 prayer, it may be presumed, appeared so remarkable to his 
 companions, that the fact was recorded, and a scrap of a 
 single verse — for his prayer was in the form of a hymn 
 ■ — preserved. This may be pretty correctly translated as 
 follows : — * 
 
 " thou, who holy men dost try, 
 Benignant, — guide me on my way ; 
 Of heaven and earth, thou Lord on high, 
 From ill protect my path alway." 
 
 Then we hear no more of this Christian ? 
 
 Not a word. 
 
 Short and pithy, it must be confessed. 
 
 The narrative goes on : — " Heriulf fixed his residence at 
 Heriulf-ness : he was a man of great authority. Eirek the 
 Red fixed his seat at Brattahlid." 
 
 Were these in Eastbygd or Westbygd? asked Mr. 
 Cassail. 
 
 Both in Eastbygd ; that was always the most flourish- 
 ing and favourite colony. Their situation was, therefore, 
 towards the south-western extremity of the peninsula of 
 Greenland. 
 
 " In all this region," continues our narrative, " Eirek 
 possessed chief authority. All were subject to his will. 
 These were his children, Leif, Thorvald, and Thorstein ; 
 he had also a daughter named Freydis. She was mar- 
 ried to a man named Thorvard, and they lived at Gardar, 
 which became subsequently the Episcopal seat ; she was 
 overbearing, Thorvard weak-minded ; she married him for 
 the sake of his money." 
 
 * It has been the object of the author, in converting into English 
 verse this and all other poetical remains in these documents, to adhere, 
 as closely as possible, to the metre of the original, as well as to its 
 style and quaintness. 
 
IN AMERICA. 63 
 
 What ! was that folly committed in those days ! ex- 
 claimed the doctor. 
 
 Folly, you may well call it, and crime too, remarked 
 Me. Norset. It was even so. 
 
 " Biarni, * during the same summer, arrived at the port 
 of Eyrar, (south west of Iceland,) his father having just 
 before left the island. Biarni, somewhat troubled, was 
 unwilling to disembark. When the sailors inquired what 
 course he intended to pursue, he replied, ' To do as I have 
 been accustomed, and spend the winter with my father. I 
 wish, therefore, to proceed to Greenland, if you are willing 
 to accompany me thither.' All professed their willingness 
 to accede to his desires. Then said Biarni, ' Our course 
 seems somewhat foolish, when none among us has ever 
 crossed the Greenland ocean.' Nevertheless, they put. out 
 to sea, when they had refitted their vessel. They made 
 sail for three days,f until they were out of sight of land. 
 The fair wind then fell, and strong north-easterly I winds 
 sprang up, accompanied by thick fogs. They were borne 
 before the wind for many days, they knew not whither. 
 At length, the light of day being once more visible, they 
 were able to discern the face of heaven. They sailed one 
 day further before they saw land. As they discussed 
 what land it was that they then saw, Biarni said that he 
 thought it could not be Greenland. They asked him 
 whether he would wish to make for land or not. ' My 
 advice is,' said he, ' that we approach nearer the land.' 
 They did so, and presently perceived (now, doctor, attend) 
 that the land was not mountainous — " 
 
 Rather strange, interrupted the doctor, to observe such 
 
 * Antiq. Am. p. 20. 
 
 t For the track pursued by Biarni see the chart. 
 
 t Cf. Antiq. Am. p. 428, note b. 
 
64> THE NORTHMEN 
 
 a negative quality as that the land was " not mountainous." 
 This is rather suspicious, methinks. 
 
 Just the contrary, doctor. The fact of its being not 
 mountainous was precisely a fact which was calculated to 
 attract their particular attention, the narrative being a true 
 one, — but most improbable to have been thus noticed in a 
 fabrication, — since Iceland, and Norway, and almost all the 
 lands they knew, were mountainous to a very great degree. 
 The mention of this land, then, as not mountainous, is a 
 striking illustration or proof of the truth and authenticity 
 of the narrative, especially when, as we shall see, it corre- 
 sponds so exactly with the actual fact of the geographical 
 nature of the tract thus seen. 
 
 Do you pretend, then, to be able to determine what 
 land this was, from these vague remarks ? Much credit, 
 truly, will be due to your story, if this is your mode of de- 
 termining geography ! 
 
 Do n't be in quite such a hurry, doctor, again I must 
 caution you. We have not yet finished the description of 
 this land. Perhaps if you will allow me to do so, and will 
 attend carefully to the remainder of the narrative, ob- 
 serving narrowly the course which was sailed, you will see 
 that we have some distinct clue to the fixing of the actual 
 geographical position of the lands thus seen. 
 
 Proceed, then ; we shall soon see. 
 
 " — They perceived that the land was not mountainous, 
 but was covered with wood, and had rising ground in 
 many parts. Leaving the land to the left hand, — or the 
 larboard, if you like, — they put the ship about, with the 
 stern towards land. Then they sailed two days before 
 they saw land again. They asked Biarni whether he 
 thought that this was Greenland. He said that he did not 
 think that this was Greenland any more than the former 
 land, ' for they told me,' said he, ' that there are great 
 
IX AMERICA. 
 
 mountains of ice in Greenland.' Presently, drawing 
 nearer, they perceived that this land was low and level, 
 and overgrown with Avood. Then, the fair wind falling, 
 the sailors said that they should like to land. Biarni 
 would not permit it : — " 
 
 He does not seem to have had much curiosity, said Mr. 
 Cassall. 
 
 All this adds to the evident authenticity and truth of the 
 narrative, remarked Mr. Norset. This want of curiosity, 
 as, at first sight, you justly term it, would not have been 
 seen in a fabrication, especially thus unaccompanied by 
 any explanation of its cause. The account being true, 
 however, it is easy to explain very naturally what, at first 
 sight, seems a want of curiosity ; and the explanation be- 
 comes one of those oblique coincidences which are such 
 strong internal evidence of truth. Biarni, you know, was 
 seeking to reach his father's residence, there to spend the 
 winter. It was already late in the season when his com- 
 pany had left Iceland. They had been driven much out 
 of their course by adverse weather, and had lost much 
 time. He was anxious to lose as little more as possible. 
 
 Well, that certainly accounts for it. 
 
 The sailors strongly urged him to land, as we shall see. 
 " They pretended," continues the narrative, " that there 
 was a want of wood and water. ' You need neither of 
 these,' said Biarni; hence arose, however, some complaint 
 on the part of the sailors. At length, they hoisted sail, 
 and, turning their prow from land, they stood out again to 
 sea ; and, having sailed three days, with a south-west wind, 
 they saw land the third time. This land was high and 
 mountainous, and Covered with ice. They asked Biarni 
 whether he wished to land here. He said no ; ' for this 
 land appears to me little inviting.' Without relaxing sail, 
 therefore, they coasted along the shore, till they perceived 
 that this was an island. They then put the ship about, 
 
66 THE NORTHMEN 
 
 with the stern towards land, and stood out again to sea," — 
 now mark what follows, doctor, — " with the same wind, 
 which, blowing up very strong, Biarni desired his men to 
 shorten sail, forbidding them to carry more sail than, with 
 such a heavy wind, would be safe. When they had thus 
 sailed four days, they saw land the fourth time. Then they 
 asked Biarni whether he thought that this was Greenland, 
 or not. He answered, ' This, indeed, corresponds to the 
 description which was given me of Greenland : let us make 
 for land.' They did so, and approached, towards evening, 
 a certain promontory. It was on this very promontory 
 that Heriulf, the father of Biarni, dwelt. [This would 
 naturally be approached first, being almost the extreme 
 southern point of Greenland.] Then Biarni betook him- 
 self to his father's house, and, having relinquished a sea- 
 faring life, he remained with his father as long as he lived ; 
 and, after his death, took possession of his estate." And 
 thus ends the account of Biarni Heriulfson ; and no ac- 
 count could, I am sure, bear about it more internal evi- 
 dence of its truth. 
 
 That may be very true as to other particulars, said the 
 doctor ; but we have the geographical points to determine 
 yet. What tracts of land were those seen by Biarni ? 
 Unless you can clearly show this, and can show that a co- 
 incidence exists between the descriptions here given and 
 the actual condition of these lands, the whole thing falls to 
 the ground. 
 
 That may be done without difficulty. In order to show 
 this in the clearest and fairest manner, let me request you 
 and Mr. Cassall to take the map, — the atlas lies by your 
 side, — and, following the description of Biarni's course, 
 say what four points you think must be indicated. This is 
 what I did before I read the geographical notices contained 
 in this book, and I found the points which I fixed upon 
 precisely to correspond with those which these notices 
 
IN AMERICA. 67 
 
 suggest. Now remember, Biarni left Iceland, (its south- 
 west extremity,) of course going to the westward ; after 
 some time a strong north-easterly wind sprang up, which 
 lasted many days. One point is deserving notice here : 
 Biarni was seeking Greenland, which he knew lay to the 
 west of Iceland. It is obvious, therefore, that during all 
 his course, he would attempt to steer ivest, but especially so 
 on the day during which, after the tempest had abated, he 
 sailed on without coming within sight of land. Thus, then, 
 although the tempest was only north by east, he would be 
 driven more to the westward, that is, nearer to the Ameri- 
 can coast, than the mere force of the tempest alone would 
 carry him. When the storm had ceased, Biarni came, after 
 a day's sailing, within sight of land. Putting about, the 
 land lying to the larboard, he stood out to sea, and came, 
 after two days' sailing, again in sight of land. Standing 
 out to sea again, with a south-west wind, he came, in three 
 days' time, to another land, which, sailing round, he dis- 
 covered to be an island. Putting the ship about a second 
 time, and standing out to sea yet again, he sailed for four 
 days with the same wind, only blowing more heavily, and 
 saw land the fourth time, for which he made, and found it 
 to be Greenland. Observe all these particulars, the last 
 point being known to be Greenland, and the others to be 
 situated to the south-ioest of it, at distances in the propor- 
 tion of 4, 3, and 2, though with, stronger winds to the 4 
 than to the 3 and 2. You will not fail to observe the inci- 
 dental expression, — a remarkable one, as I think you will 
 allow, — that, after having reached the first land seen, and 
 the third, the ship ivas put about before standing out to 
 sea. This is not said in the case of the second land seen. 
 Obviously, then, the course from the first to the second was 
 different from that by which the ship had been driven to 
 the first : the course from the second to the third was the 
 same with that from the first to the second ; the prow was 
 
68 THE NORTHMEN 
 
 merely turned from land ; that is, the vessel put out to sea ; 
 while, after having coasted round the third land, and dis- 
 covered that it was an island, the ship ivas obliged to be put 
 about again before it could go on in the same course, ( from 
 south-west to north-east,) as it had pursued from the second 
 to the third land. I call your particular attention to these 
 facts, because, as you will presently see, they afford a very 
 remarkable illustration of the " oblique coincidence," — 
 " minute," but not " obscure, forced, dubious, or fanciful," 
 ■ — and a coincidence which is so purely incidental that it is 
 morally impossible it could, by any chance, have crept into 
 a fabrication. Now observe if there is any course, in which 
 all the conditions and circumstances thus noticed must be 
 present, if the narrative be a true one. What do you make 
 of it ? remember that, in each case, after seeing land, the 
 ship stood out to sea till land was seen again : of course, 
 then, the three points must be three promontories. 
 
 I should certainly say, observed Mr. Cassall, after glan- 
 cing at the map for a few minutes, that there can be no 
 doubt or difficulty at all about the matter ; I mean, speak- 
 ing of relative position only, not considering the descrip- 
 tions of the country. 
 
 No ; we will leave the latter point for the present, and 
 refer now only to relative position. What do you make of 
 it? 
 
 Why, said he, following the map with his finger as he 
 spoke, I cannot conceive that it is possible for there to be 
 any doubt about the matter. Here is Iceland ; on the one 
 side Europe, on the other America ; the one to the south- 
 east, the other to the south-west, of Iceland. Biarni leaves 
 Eyrar, on the southern coast of Iceland, and sails for three 
 days in an unknown course and ocean, but more or less to 
 the westward. That would take him, I suppose, to about 
 63° north latitude, and 30° west longitude from Greenwich. 
 He is then driven for many days by a strong north-easterly 
 
IN AMERICA. bb» 
 
 wind. This must, of absolute necessity, carry him towards 
 the eastern coast of this continent of North America. Well, 
 when the fogs clear off, he sails a day longer, and then sees 
 land and makes towards it ; now, then, we have to deter- 
 mine what point of land this was. It appears to me that 
 this becomes very plain upon comparison of the incidental 
 remarks as to the number of days' sailing, and as to the 
 course of the vessel. After he had seen the first land, he 
 put the ship about, the land lying to the larboard. • This is, 
 of course, just as good as telling us that he sailed from the 
 south-west to the north-east, since he had been driven to 
 that land from the north-east. We are, moreover, told that 
 this sail was made with a "favourable wind," and the sub- 
 sequent sail, from the second point to the third, was made 
 without putting the ship about, that is, on in the same course, 
 and we are specifically told that this latter sail, as well as 
 the next, was made with a southrwest wind. Certainly all 
 these coinciding data afford strong internal evidence of 
 truth. Well, we want three points at the proportionable 
 distances from each other of 2 and 3, the last of these being, 
 with stronger winds, though in the same direction, at the 
 proportionable distance of 4 from a known point, namely, 
 the southern extremity of Greenland ; this last being also 
 discovered, by coasting round it, to be an island, and the 
 ship being obliged to he put about again before they could, 
 after having coasted that island, reach Greenland by sail- 
 ing to the north-east. It is impossible that the promon- 
 tories or headlands which he saw could be otherwise than 
 these three ; first, that which is formed by the three States 
 of Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island,* 
 
 * The most prominent point of this promontory is Cape Cod. It 
 must here be observed that there is some uncertainty about the name 
 of this promontory. While almost every map applies the name Cape 
 Cod to the extreme northern point of this promontory only, and the 
 name Barnstable to the main portion of the promontory, the ivhole of 
 
70 THE NORTHMEN 
 
 included with which Long Island would, as seen at a 
 distance, in approaching from the ocean, appear a part ; 
 second, Nova Scotia, most probably the point of Cape 
 Sable ; third, Newfoundland. 
 
 Exactly, exclaimed Mr. Norset, an expression of real 
 gratification glowing on his countenance ; those were the 
 points on which I myself fixed, before reading the annota- 
 tions in this volume, and I think that every body must fix 
 upon them. They are those fixed upon by Rafn in his 
 Annotations. Every point of the description of the course 
 of the vessel is exact ; first, after three days' sail to the 
 westward of Iceland, being carried many days to the south- 
 west ; then, having come within sight of land, putting the 
 ship about, the land lying to the larboard, and sailing on 
 for two days ; then, sailing for three days to the north- 
 east, from the second headland to the third, which is pre- 
 cisely the relative situation of St. John's, the most promi- 
 nent part of Newfoundland, to Nova Scotia ; thence, sailing 
 along the coast of Newfoundland, till they discovered that 
 it was an island, — which must have carried them as far as 
 Belle Isle ; thence, putting about, and sailing on with a 
 strong south-west wind, till they reached Greenland. You 
 ought, too, particularly to observe the forms of the different 
 headlands; those of Cape Cod and Newfoundland lie almost 
 due east and west, and north and south, the northern cape 
 of each, however, inclining to the west ; Nova Scotia, on 
 the contrary, lies almost due north-east by south-west. It 
 would be absolutely necessary, therefore, in order to sail 
 from either Cape Cod or Newfoundland, in a direction 
 from south-west to north-east, to put the ship about toith 
 the stern towards land ; while this would not be necessary, 
 
 the promontory seems to be vernacularly termed Cape Cod. Let it be 
 understood, then, that, throughout this work, the term Cape Cod will 
 be applied to the whole of the ^ shaped promontory, extending from 
 Buzzard's Bay, westward and northward. 
 
IN AMERICA. 71 
 
 or possible, in the case of Nova Scotia. All that could be 
 done in the latter case, would be to " turn the prow from 
 land," and so to put out to sea. In each case, the land 
 Mould necessarily lie to larboard in their north-east course. 
 Could any thing be more precise than the whole of the 
 facts and circumstances stated ; and yet told in such a 
 way, in the narrative, that the facts, whence we are able 
 with such certainty to fix on the localities, are merely 
 dropped incidentally ? Is it possible to doubt the authen- 
 ticity of the document, or the truth of the narrative, when 
 we see how precisely these incidental notices correspond 
 with the facts as they exist, and with the circumstances, ^as 
 they must have been, if the narrative be a time one ? It is 
 impossible to have fabricated such remarkable incidental 
 coincidences. The internal evidence amounts to demon- 
 stration. What say you, doctor; do you give up your 
 opposition ? 
 
 The doctor had looked about him during the whole of 
 the remarks of the last two speakers, apparently somewhat 
 puzzled what to think or say. He looked first at one, and 
 then at the other, and then at the map ; then pulled off his 
 spectacles, wiped them and put them on again, and then 
 gazed alternately as before. At last he said, — as a man 
 speaks who has but one hope left him, — I want to know 
 how it was, that, if Biarni was driven from the north-east 
 so far as to come within sight of Cape Cod, he did not see 
 the other promontories of Newfoundland and Nova Scotia, 
 as he was driven down, but only as he returned ? Come, 
 added he; looking at Mr. Norset as if he had made a great 
 discovery, 1 think that I have found a fatal flaw in your 
 narrative at last. 
 
 Not so fast, doctor, replied Mr. Norset with a smile ; do 
 you not remember that it is expressly, though incidentally, 
 stated that he was driven by a north-east wind, accompa- 
 nied by thick, dense fogs ? Ah I doctor, you look dis- 
 
72 THE NORTHMEN 
 
 heartened, and well you may ; for you well know that he 
 might have passed within a quarter of a mile of land, and 
 could not have seen it through the fog ; and you will re- 
 member that, after the fogs cleared off, he sailed only one 
 day before seeing Cape Cod. Nova Scotia is more than 
 one day's sail from Cape Cod; so that that point must have 
 been passed, and out of sight, before the fogs cleared off. 
 Thus it is, you see, doctor, that all the parts of a true nar- 
 rative are consistent with each other. It would have been 
 impossible but that, in a fabrication, we should have found 
 some inconsistencies of this kind. 
 
 Well, well, it all looks very fair. I dare say you think 
 you 've made it out now, beyond the possibility of a doubt; 
 but there are the descriptions of the headlands seen to 
 come yet. Perhaps we shall find that the writer of the 
 narrative has not chanced to hit quite so luckily there. 
 He could hardly have contrived to make his tale coincide, 
 in all points, with facts about which he could know nothing 
 at all. 
 
 Chanced to hit ! doctor, exclaimed Mr. Norset ; upon 
 my word, you have no right now, at any rate, to talk as if 
 you knew this was all a fable. You will have the good- 
 ness to observe that it is in vain to profess to believe that 
 the manuscripts of these documents are fictitious. It is 
 positively certain that these manuscripts were written some 
 centuries before the time of Colon, being, then, merely the 
 writing down of traditions, whose value has been seen.* 
 What we have to do now is, to determine whether they 
 contain genuine details of true expeditions. If they con- 
 tain only fables, it is impossible that we should find de- 
 scriptions, facts, and circumstances, corresponding with 
 what must have been present if the accounts had been 
 true; because the writers could have no means, before 
 
 * See p. 19, ante, and especially note B, in the Appendix. 
 
IN AMERICA. 73 
 
 America had been explored, of making the fabrication, not 
 possessing a knowledge of the facts brought together in 
 the fable. You have seen that these descriptions, facts, 
 and circumstances, do actually correspond with what must 
 have been present if the narration be true. It is perfectly 
 idle, therefore, to talk of a " tale," and " hitting luckily." 
 I assert that the truth of this narrative has been already 
 demonstrated. But, however, I will take you at your word. 
 The writer could not have made " his tale coincide in all 
 points with facts about which he knew nothing at all," un- 
 less his tale were a true history. Let us proceed, then, to 
 examine the local descriptions. But you must remember 
 that Biarni did not land: he saw the coasts only from some 
 distance in his ship ; the descriptions will therefore accord 
 with the aspect the coasts would present at a distant view 
 from the ocean, and not with such as they would present 
 on closer actual exploration. 
 
 Very well, said the doctor ; let us first see w r hat is said 
 about the first land which he approached. 
 
 It is in these words, said Mr. Norset : " They perceived 
 that the land was not mountainous, but was covered with 
 wood, and had rising ground in many parts." Now, doctor, 
 you have been upon the ocean, and have approached these 
 shores in the very neighbourhood which you have deter- 
 mined must correspond to the first point seen by Biarni. 
 I ask you if it were possible to describe more precisely, in 
 so few words, the aspect of Long Island, and of the coasts 
 of Rhode Island and Massachusetts ? remembering, as you 
 always must, that before the settlement of this country 
 from England, the whole coast was much more densely 
 wooded than at present. 
 
 I cannot say that I could give a better description. 
 
 Is this correspondence of the description with the fact, 
 then, think you, one of those happy accidents which the 
 
 E 
 
74 THE NORTHMEN 
 
 inventor of this tale " chanced to hit upon " ? asked Mr. 
 Norset, pointedly. 
 
 The doctor drew down his lip, but answered nothing. 
 
 The description of the second land seen is as follows : 
 " They perceived that the land was low and level, and 
 overgrown with wood." Whether this agrees or not with 
 Nova Scotia, and particularly with the point of Cape Sable, 
 — which Mr. Cassall marked, — will be clear from compa- 
 ring it with the following description of a modern writer." 
 " Cape Sable, which makes the south-west point into Bar- 
 rington Bay, is a low, woody island" &c. We shall find 
 descriptions given of this part of the coast by the subse- 
 quent northern visitors, who explored it more thoroughly, 
 which, going more into detail, describe other peculiarities 
 of this coast. It must be perceived, however, that the brief 
 account thus given by Biarni agrees, as far as it goes, with 
 that of modern navigators. Thus, the writer above quoted 
 says again, of this coast, " The land is low in general, and 
 not visible twenty miles off, except from the quarter-deck 
 of a seventy-four. Aspotogon Hills have a long, level ap- 
 pearance. Between Cape Le Have and Port Medway, the 
 coast to the seaward being level and low and the shores 
 marked with white rocks, with low barren points ; from 
 thence, to Shelburne and Port Rose way, are woods-"* 
 and another writer observes, " From Port Ilaldimatid to 
 Cape Sable, the land appears level and lota." 
 
 All this is certainly sufficiently precise, remarked Mr. 
 Cassall. What is the description of the third land seen, 
 which I marked as Newfoundland ? 
 
 " This land was high and mountainous, and covered 
 with ice;" and " they sailed along the shore till they per- 
 ceived that this was an island" and Biarni said that he 
 
 * See the various authorities cited in the Antiq. Am. p. 423. 
 
IK AMERICA. (5 
 
 would not land, " because (he country appeared little in- 
 viting" 
 
 And does this correspond with the descriptions of modern 
 navigators ? 
 
 Precisely, as seen from the sea. The following is the 
 language of one, — speaking of the harbour of St. John's, 
 the most prominent point of Newfoundland, — " The most 
 loftily perpendicular precipices ris.e to an amazing height 
 upon the north side, and the southern shore only appears 
 less striking in its altitude from a comparison with the 
 opposite rocks.*' Again, speaking of a headland near St. 
 John's, he says, " The summit of this majestic headland 
 was now (14th June) covered with snow." The same 
 writer describes Belle Isle as " a high and barren island. 
 Several tremendous icebergs had grounded beneath its 
 craggy precipices," &c. The description given by the 
 subsequent northern visitors is the same as that of Biarni, 
 only adding, — which they observed because they landed 
 here, which he did not, — that between these precipices and 
 the sea was plain rock, whereon no living thing could grow. 
 This is well known to be the fact. Is it, then, necessary 
 to point out the justness of the reason given by Biarni for 
 not landing, namely, " because the country seemed little 
 inviting"? I need not add that Newfoundland is an island; 
 which, by " sailing round," they would necessarily dis- 
 cover. 
 
 Well, doctor, said Mr. Cassall, turning to the doctor, 
 what do you say now, to all these descriptions of the coasts? 
 Are they prodigiously at variance with the fact ? 
 
 There may be some agreement, perhaps, said the doctor, 
 in no pleasant tone ; but I shall yet be able to show the 
 account inconsistent with itself. We have yet to see 
 whether the accounts of the distances sailed in the lengths 
 of time stated, are not what is beyond the possibility of 
 fact. 
 
 e2 
 
76 THE NORTHMEN 
 
 I had almost forgotten that point, said Mr. Norset ; but 
 I think you will make nothing more of it than you have 
 done of any of the others. It can be shown that a day's 
 sailing, with fair wind, was estimated, by the Northmen, at 
 an average of from one hundred and eight to one hundred 
 and twenty sea miles (English*.) 
 
 Stay, said the doctor, I think that average too great. 
 
 Perhaps your voyages have been unfortunate, doctor. I 
 know that the last time I crossed the Atlantic, which was 
 in September, 1837, we ran two hundred and twenty knots 
 in one day, which is far beyond the above average. 
 
 Very well ; apply this average. What is the distance 
 between Cape Cod on the first promontory, to Cape Sable 
 on the second ? 
 
 It is about two hundred and ten miles. This they made 
 in two days. Nothing is said about the wind except that 
 it was " favourable." We may, therefore, presume it to 
 have been a fair one, but not a very heavy one. This 
 distance coincides with the account, you see, even though 
 you take some miles on either side of each of these points. 
 
 And how long were they in sailing from Nova Scotia to 
 Newfoundland ? 
 
 Three days; which allows from three hundred and twenty 
 to three hundred and sixty miles, according to their 
 average ; and we are told that they had a south-west, or di- 
 rectly favourable wind ; so you may take almost any point 
 on the coast of Nova Scotia, and still the distance will 
 correspond. 
 
 Doctor, I am afraid you will fail here, again, said Mr. 
 Cassall. You have only one chance left, and that is be- 
 tween Newfoundland and Greenland. If you are lost in 
 that ocean, I know not what will become of you. 
 
 * This will be seen upon reference to note A, in the Appendix, where 
 the time of sailing between Norway and Iceland, &c. is stated. 
 
IN AMERICA. 77 
 
 Yes ; but I think I shall beat him there, cried the 
 doctor, exultingly. We shall find the time allowed for 
 that sail too short, I am certain. 
 
 Do n't be too sure, doctor, said Mr. Norset. I suspect 
 we shall find this very point only a further incidental, but 
 very strong, confirmation of the truth of the whole account. 
 Let us see : the distance between Belle Isle, in Newfound- 
 land, and Greenland, is about six hundred miles. They 
 made the* distance in four days, which, according to the 
 average, should give only from four hundred and thirty to 
 four hundred and eighty miles, — 
 
 There ! I thought I should catch you there ! cried the 
 doctor, pulling off his spectacles and rubbing them with 
 energy. 
 
 Not so fast, doctor. The account particularly specifies, 
 that, during this sail, the wind rose much higher than be- 
 fore, still bearing them directly on their course. This 
 would necessarily make them greatly exceed. the average. 
 If they made sail as fast as we did in the good ship " South 
 America," they would make eight hundred and eighty 
 miles in the four days, which would carry them to Green- 
 land, and nearly halfway back again. As of course, how- 
 ever, they had not such a good vessel, the distance of six 
 hundred miles stated to have been made by them is just 
 about what we might reasonably expect ; certainly not be- 
 yond the mark. 
 
 The doctor laid his spectacles on the table, and looked 
 quite blank. 
 
 This incidental circumstance, continued Mr. Norset, of 
 an apparent inconsistency at first sight, and real accuracy 
 and consistency when examined, is a remarkable and ex, 
 ceedingly strong instance of that " oblique " coincidence 
 which Paley mentions as so important in internal evidence, 
 and which serves, more than any thing else, to testify to 
 the truth of a narrative. It is fair to say, that such a co- 
 
78 THE NORTHMEN 
 
 incidence could not have crept into a fabrication or a 
 forgery. 
 
 I must say, remarked Mr. Cassall, that I cannot see 
 how any reasonable or candid person can entertain the 
 slightest doubt of the truth and perfect authenticity of 
 this narrative. I never remember to have seen or read 
 any such brief account, which contained such a mass of 
 internal evidence, or the internal evidence of the truth of 
 which was stronger, if so strong. 
 
 You may indeed say, observed Mr. Norset, — " if so 
 strong ;" for we find confirmation at every step. 
 
 It is then established beyond doubt, said Mr. Cassall, 
 that Biarni Heriulfson discovered extensive regions of the 
 continent of North America, south of Greenland, in the 
 year 985 ; that was, I think, the year in which it was 
 stated that Eirek the Red, with Heriulf and others, finally 
 settled in Greenland. 
 
 It was so ; and Biarni reached Iceland just after his 
 father had left, and immediately followed him, reaching 
 Greenland at the end of the same summer. 
 
 After all, at length remarked the doctor, I do n't see 
 that very much credit is due to this Biarni Heriulfson. 
 It was only by accident, by mere chance, to make the 
 best of it, that he discovered these shores. 
 
 That is right, doctor ; that is right. It would be a pity 
 to grant him any credit for the discovery. Biarni sailed 
 from Iceland in search of Greenland, — a land unknown to 
 him, which he had never seen. He traversed boldly an 
 unknown ocean in the search for it. He discovered, on 
 his way, another, and totally unknown and unimagined 
 land. And what did Colon do ? He went in search of a 
 land which was well known. It was Asia which he sought, 
 and Asia alone whose eastern shores he believed, to his 
 dying hour, that he had discovered. He sought, however, 
 to approach it by a different route. He traversed, too, an 
 
IN AMERICA. 1\) 
 
 lUifcnowii ocean, but with far more advantageous circum- 
 stances than Biarni ; for he had the compass and the 
 quadrant to guide him, and ships well appointed for a 
 distant and dangerous voyage. Neither of these aids ac- 
 companied Biarni. Colon, too, on his way, touched upon 
 another land, though he imagined that it was the land he 
 sought. Did you never deem that any credit was due to 
 him, I pray ? Was there ever a discovery made in this 
 world, the first idea of which was not derived from what 
 you are pleased to call accident!!* 
 
 The doctor did not seem disposed to make any reply to 
 these remarks and interrogatories. After a short pause, 
 Mr. Cassall inquired : — 
 
 "What followed, on the arrival of Biarni in Greenland ? 
 You have led us to anticipate several voyages, subsequently 
 undertaken, for the purpose of exploring the regions thus 
 discovered. I presume they originated in the reports of 
 Biarni. 
 
 The narrative proceeds to inform usf that Biarni subse- 
 quently visited Eirek, one of the Jarls or princes of Nor- 
 way. The date of this event we can ascertain pretty 
 nearly, by reference to other facts. We have seen that 
 Biarni remained with his father till the death of the latter, 
 which, from the mode in which the fact is mentioned, we 
 must conclude to have been some years later. Again, we 
 subsequently learn that Leif, the son of Eirek, bought the 
 ship in which Biarni returned to Greenland, and went 
 himself to Vinland, in the year 1000. This could not 
 have been long after Biarni's return from Norway, as the 
 ship would not improve by lying on the strand. , We 
 gather, moreover, some light from the page of external 
 history, in this matter. The Eirek Jarl, whom Biarni 
 
 * See this point examined in note A, in the Appendix, 
 f Antiq. Am. p. 26. 
 
SO THE NORTHMEN 
 
 visited, could be no other than Eirek, son of Hakon Jar!, 
 which latter was killed in the year 995, and a monarch, of 
 a different family, elected. It may be safely determined, 
 then, that the voyage of Biarni to Norway took place about 
 the year 995. 
 
 How does Biarni's visit to Norway bear upon the matter 
 before us? 
 
 It bears directly upon it ; for we are told that the rela- 
 tions which Biarni gave, while in Norway, of the circum- 
 stances of his voyage, excited much interest and curiosity, 
 and that he was much blamed for not having explored 
 with greater care the newly-discovered lands. It happened, 
 as we shall presently see, that Leif, the son of Eirek the 
 Red, about that time, namely, in the year 999, visited 
 Olaf, king of Norway. Either the interest excited in his 
 mind, while in Greenland, was rekindled here, and his de- 
 termination made to explore the unknown lands ; or he 
 now first heard the particulars, having been too young, at 
 the time of Biarni's arrival in Greenland, to understand op 
 feel interested in his adventures. The latter was probably 
 the case, as he must have been a mere child when Eirek. 
 his father, passed over to Greenland, which was in the 
 same year in which Biarni arrived there. However this 
 may be, certain it is, that on his return to Greenland, 
 " Leif, the son of Eirek," in the words of the narrative, 
 " had an interview with Biarni Heriulfson, and bought of 
 him his ship, which he fitted out, and manned with thirty- 
 five men." 
 
 At what date was this ? 
 
 We learn, from collating other accounts with the one 
 we are now pursuing,* that it was in the same year in 
 
 * Cf. Antiq. Am. pp. 15, 26, 113, 191, 193, &c. External history 
 may again be brought in aid; for this king Olaf (Tryggvason) only- 
 reigned from 995 to 1000, in which latter year he was killed. The 
 authentic history of the northern nations serves very much to, illustrate 
 
:i k: 
 
 y 
 H .si 
 
 t" - 
 
 fe v 
 
 & 
 
 - 
 
IN T AMERICA. 
 
 8] 
 
 which Christianity was introduced into Iceland, namely, 
 the year 1000. 
 
 By the way, you noticed that there was a passage pre- 
 viously occurring in the narrative, and relating to Leif, 
 which you passed over as out of place. What does it 
 contain ? 
 
 It states that, fourteen years* after Eirek the Red had 
 gone to Greenland (that is, A.D. 999), Leif, his eldest son, 
 went to Norway, where he was hospitably entertained by 
 king Olaf. The king was a zealous Christian, and, as the 
 narrative states, " exhorted him, as he did all pagans who 
 came to him, to embrace Christianity. To which request 
 Leif consented without any difficulty ; and he and all his 
 sailors were baptized." 
 
 There had, then, been no attempt at the introduction of 
 Christianity into Greenland before this time? 
 
 None : Leif was the first who introduced Christianity 
 into Greenland. We find a particular notice of this trans- 
 action in the other principal narrative, — the " account of 
 Thorfinn," — which is confirmed by other extracts in this 
 volume.f In that narrative, however, the voyage of Leif 
 to this continent is merely glanced at, while — 
 
 Stop a moment, cried the doctor ; how do you explain 
 the circumstance, that the narrative of Leif's voyage is 
 so slightly passed over in the "account of Thorfinn," — 
 though detailed at full length in the "account of Eirek 
 the Red," — while the account of his introduction of Chris- 
 
 and prove the authenticity and truth of the documents contained iu 
 the Antiq. Am. It might have been well, if the editor of that volume 
 had deduced illustrations from it. The instances above given show- 
 how effectually it may be done, and other instances will be introduced. 
 
 * See Antiq. Am. p. 15, note 3, the correctness of which will be 
 rendered evident from collating the different passages mentioned in 
 last note. 
 
 t See places cited in note to previous page. 
 E 5 
 
82 THE NORTHMEN 
 
 tianity into Greenland is detailed so fully in the former, 
 though only his own conversion is mentioned in the latter ? 
 That is not difficult to explain, doctor. I have already 
 shown you, that it is probable that the individual who first 
 committed to writing the " account of Thorfinn," was 
 one of the bishops, the descendants of that man. Of course 
 he would feel a particular interest in matters relating to 
 :he progress of his church, especially in a sister colony ; 
 md the intercourse between Norway and Iceland being 
 nore frequent and close than that between Norway and 
 jreenland, he would have greater access to the means of 
 nformation as to the details of Leif 's visit, and of his per- 
 suasion, by Olaf, to introduce Christianity into Greenland. 
 Hie non-statement of the introduction of Christianity into 
 Jreenland, in this part of the " account of Eirek," is a 
 matter of no surprise. The author was treating of a dif- 
 ferent topic. We shall, however, find the fact of that in- 
 troduction mentoned elsewhere in this account. This 
 diversity in the two accounts, — neither of which contra- 
 dicts the other, but each of which, on the contrary, con- 
 firms the other as far as it goes, but is, in some points, 
 more, in others less, full in its details, — is but another 
 proof of the authenticity of all the documents and truth 
 of the whole narratives, since it shows that the different 
 narratives were compiled without concert, or the author 
 of one having any knowledge of the contents of the other. 
 It is to be observed, that the " account of Thorfinn" gives 
 much the fuller details of all points connected with the in- 
 troduction and propagation of Christianity. Its author- 
 ship, as before stated, explains the cause of this. 
 
 Upon my word, said the doctor, you will not allow me 
 to find a single flaw in the narrative. 
 
 It really is uncharitable, is it not ? How happy you 
 would be doctor, if you could find one ! However, I was 
 about to observe that full details of the voyages of the 
 
IX AMERICA. 83 
 
 sons of Eirek the Red are contained in the " account of 
 Eirek." It is not to be supposed that the narrator of the 
 exploits of Thorfinn troubled himself much with those of 
 others, or knew much about the family of Eirek, which 
 had quitted Iceland so long before. Hence the paucity 
 of particulars contained in it, concerning Eirek and his 
 sons. They are only given with any detail, in the points 
 connected in any way with Thorfinn. Hence, as we shall 
 see, the somewhat detailed account of Thorstein, Eirek's 
 youngest son, the first husband of Gudrid, who subse- 
 quently became the wife of Thorfinn. 
 
 ■Will you now proceed with the narrative? asked Mr. 
 Cassall. 
 
 Yes ; let us hear what is further to be said : I dare say 
 we shall detect some inconsistencies and contradictions 
 here, at any rate, said the doctor. 
 
 We proceed, then, next, to the narrative of the ex- 
 pedition of Leif. Pray keep your eyes and ears about 
 you, doctor, to detect all inconsistencies. 
 
 Leif, we are told, purchased the vessel of Biarni, and 
 manned it with a crew of thirty-five. " He requested his 
 father Eirek to become the leader of the expedition. Eirek 
 excused himself on the score of his advanced age, saying 
 that he could ill bear the fatigues and dangers of the voy- 
 age. Leif urged that the constant good fortune of his 
 family would attend him. Eirek yielded to this appeal, 
 and, when all was ready, rode down on horseback to the 
 vessel, which lay at but a short distance from his residence. 
 The horse on which Eirek rode, stumbled, — whereby Eirek 
 was thrown, and injured his foot. Then he said, 'For- 
 tune will not permit me to discover more lands than this 
 which we inhabit ; I will proceed no further with you." 
 Eirek then returned home, to Brattahlid. Leif, with his 
 thirty-five companions, went on board. Among them was 
 
84 THE NORTHMEN 
 
 a man from the south country, (that is, a German,) named 
 Tyrker. 
 
 " All being now ready, they set sail, and the first land 
 to which they came was that last seen by Biarni."* 
 
 How did they know that? asked the doctor. 
 
 I am surprised you should ask such a question, replied 
 Mr. Norset. Had not Leif purchased Biarni's vessel ? and 
 is it not most probable that he was accompanied by some 
 of Biarni's former companions ? Besides, Biarni had de- 
 scribed the lands which he had seen, and their situation, 
 and it is obvious that Leif would gather all the information 
 from him that he could, and that he would make direct for 
 the land described as being nearest to Greenland. But 
 Leif himself describes the aspect of the land very precisely, 
 and you shall judge for yourself of its correctness, as ap- 
 plied to Newfoundland. It corresponds, most exactly, with 
 the description, as far as it goes, of Biarni, though, also, 
 with the more particular descriptions given by all modern 
 explorers of that region. 
 
 " They make direct for land, cast anchor, and put out 
 a boat — " 
 
 They had some more curiosity than Biarni, then, said 
 Mr. Cassall, notwithstanding the land was so uninviting. 
 
 They went out expressly for the purpose of exploring, 
 you must remember, observed Mr. Norset. 
 
 " — Having landed, they found no herbage. All above 
 were frozen heights ; and the whole space between these 
 and the sea was occupied by bare flat rocks ; whence they 
 judged this to be a barren land. Then said Leif, ' We will 
 not do as Biarni did, who never set foot on shore : I will 
 give a name to this land, and will call it Helluland* 
 (that is, land of broad stones). 
 
 * For the track pursued hy Leif see the chart. 
 
IN AMERICA. 85 
 
 •' After this they put out to sea, and came to another 
 land, — " 
 
 I suppose, remarked Mr. Cassall, that they would make 
 direct for the second headland seen by Biarni ; that is, 
 Nova Scotia. 
 
 One may almost say, answered Mr. Norset, that of course 
 they would do so. 
 
 •'Of course" nothing of the kind, said the doctor; why- 
 should they " of course" do so ? 
 
 For an obvious reason, replied Mr. Norset : they went 
 out for the express purpose of exploring the lands seen by 
 Biarni. They received from him, as we are informed in 
 the narrative, accounts of these, as seen by him. They 
 would naturally obtain from him all the information which 
 they could, and steer their course, as nearly as possible, in 
 the same track which he had sailed. Thus the three head- 
 lands which he had successively seen and described, would 
 be seen successively by them. Moreover, it would be al- 
 most impossible for them to sail along the ocean in that di- 
 rection without falling, in succession, upon these three 
 promontories. 
 
 This may be all very well for you to argue, but, if you 
 have no other proof that it was the same land, I will take 
 this argument as worth very little. 
 
 It fortunately happens then, doctor, for the satisfaction 
 of all such unreasonable sceptics as yourself, that wc are 
 able, most completely, to identify the land thus seen, \virlt 
 the shores of Nova Scotia. The narrative continues : — 
 " They approached the shore, and, having cast anchor, put 
 out a boat, and set foot ashore. This land was low and 
 level, and covered, with ivood ;" — thus agreeing, you see, 
 precisely with Biarni's description of the land. But there 
 was this difference : Leif landed, and saw and examined 
 the shore with closer inspection ; Biarni saw it only at a 
 distance. We may therefore expect some more minute 
 particulars to be given in this case, as in the case of New- 
 
86 THE NORTHMEN 
 
 foundland, by Leif, than by Biarni. Accordingly, Leif not 
 only saw that the land was low, and covered with wood, 
 but adds, — " in many places where they explored, there 
 were white sands, and a gradual rise of the coast." These 
 white sands, on the shores of Nova Scotia, are noticed by 
 all the authors whom I have already quoted, and by all 
 travellers who have examined and described those coasts. 
 In a passage which I quoted before, we saw that certain 
 hills have a "long, level appearance," as seen from the 
 ocean : when the spectator landed, he would necessarily 
 see that they were rising ground. Can any description be 
 more precisely accurate ? and yet carrying, in the very 
 circumstance of its greater fullness than that of Biarni, 
 evidence of the authenticity and truth of each part of the 
 narrative, since we learn that each saw the coasts under 
 different circumstances; that difference being precisely 
 such as would occasion this difference in the description 
 of the aspect. 
 
 In my opinion, said the doctor, these descriptions are 
 too accurate.* I am sure that this is all a fabrication. 
 
 Too accurate ! what do you mean, doctor ? you surely 
 are not in earnest ? 
 
 Yes, but I am. I say that the descriptions are too ac- 
 curate, and that they therefore show that the whole is a 
 fabrication. 
 
 Too accurate ! well, I never heard of any thing being 
 too accurate before. Do you think the Northmen could 
 not see ? or that they must necessarily walk backwards, or 
 hold their heads between their knees, or some other 
 strange antic, that they should be unable to see correctly, 
 and afterwards describe what they saw ? There is nothing 
 
 * An objection so absurd as this would not have been noticed here, 
 but that it has been raised by one of the reviews. The author is not 
 sure which review has thus distinguished itself by its superior sagacity, 
 but believes, as far as memory will serve, that it was the Foreign 
 Quarterly. 
 
IN AMERICA. 87 
 
 so very difficult, cither to remember or describe, in low 
 and woody, and white sand hills. Really, doctor, I must 
 Bay that I never did hear such an absurd objection in the 
 whole course of my life. Too accurate ! ! Doctor, do you 
 know in what year Rome was founded ? 
 
 To be sure I do ; 753 B. C. What has that to do 
 with it ? 
 
 'Wait a minute, and you shall see. Do you know in 
 what year Troy was taken ? 
 
 I hope so; 1184- B.C. But I never knew that the 
 Trojans were Northmen before. 
 
 You do n't say so, doctor ! but do you know in what 
 year the Olympiads began to be reckoned ? 
 
 776 B.C. 
 
 Doctor, said Mr. Norset then, very gravely, I can see 
 you know nothing at all about ancient history, for you are 
 much " too accurate." 
 
 The doctor looked quite confounded ; while Mr. Cassall 
 burst into a loud laugh, and exclaimed, — 
 
 Ha ! ha ! ha ! that is good ; that serves you right, doctor. 
 I am sure it would be much more difficult for you or me, 
 or any one else of common capacity, to remember even 
 these three dates accurately, than to remember the appear- 
 ances of these lands, and to describe them in the short and 
 simple, but correct mariner in which these descriptions have 
 been given in the narrative, or any other descriptions that 
 we have yet had ; — * 
 
 Or shall have, added Mr. Norset. I certainly never 
 heard of such an objection as this before. If it was any 
 body else but the doctor, I should certainly say that it 
 argued only a want of candour, and a determination to 
 cavil, where no rational grounds of doubt could be found 
 to exist. If we had long laboured descriptions, you might, 
 
 * See note 13, in the Appendix ; the last paragraph. 
 
88 THE NORTHMEN 
 
 indeed, under some circumstances, talk of their being tot 
 accurate to be authentic ; but that is not the case here ; 
 we have just, and only, a few simple remarks in the same 
 plain and unostentatious style as all the rest of the narra- 
 tive, — bearing about it, in its very simplicity, the evidence 
 of truth, — in which remarks is contained a very brief no- 
 tice of the most striking external features only of each spot. 
 There is nothing artificial, nothing laboured, and, unless 
 you suppose that the Northmen were incapable of seeing, 
 of distinguishing high from low, white from black, why, 
 such an objection as " too accurate" is devoid even of ra- 
 tionality, much less ingenuity. 
 
 Do n't be too severe upon the doctor, said Mr. Cassall, 
 laughing. 
 
 I do n't want to be severe upon him, but I certainly can 
 with little patience hear all sorts of objections thrown out, 
 merely for the sake of objections and of impeaching the 
 credit of an authentic, a proved authentic, narrative ; — for 
 the authenticity of this narrative has been already com- 
 pletely proved. The absurdity of such an objection, and of 
 inferring from it that these narratives are fabrications, bev 
 comes more glaring when you remember that it is, at any 
 rate, positively certain, beyond the possibility of doubt, that 
 the identical manuscripts from which these narratives are 
 printed, so that interpolation is impossible, were written 
 some centuries before the expeditions of Colon ; before the 
 time, therefore, when, unless the narratives be true, it 
 would have been possible to describe these shores at all. 
 In saying, then, that the descriptions are too accurate for 
 truth, a complicated absurdity is involved, which destroys 
 itself by assuming more than is physically possible ; which, 
 therefore, must be rather more improbable than that these 
 narratives are true. 
 
 The doctor, during all this discourse, made no remark. 
 He rolled his eyes from one object to another, apparently 
 
IN AMERICA. 89 
 
 taking consolation in the folds of his own self-compla- 
 cency. 
 
 The very circumstance, continued Mr. Norset, of the 
 difference between the descriptions of Leif and those of 
 Biarni, the two agreeing precisely as far as they go, but 
 that of Leif being more full, since he landed and Biarni 
 did not, is, as I have before said, of itself evidence of 
 the truth of the whole narrative. These observations will 
 apply as well to the descriptions which follow, as to those 
 which we have already heard. 
 
 Let us now, then, proceed with the narrative, said Mr. 
 Cassall. 
 
 " The land was low and level and covered with wood : 
 in many places where they explored, there were white 
 sands, with a gradual rise of the shore. Then said Leif, 
 ' This land shall take its name from that which most abounds 
 here. It shall be called Markland' (that is, land of 
 woods). They then reembarked as quickly as possible. 
 They put out to sea, and sailed for two days, with a north- 
 east wind, till they again came in sight of land." 
 
 This, I suppose, observed Mr. Cassall, was the same 
 that Biarni first saw, namely, the promontory formed by 
 Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island. 
 
 Obviously so ; you observe that Leif was two days, with 
 a north-east wind, in sailing from Nova Scotia hither, as 
 Biarni was two days, with a south-west wind, in sailing 
 hence to Nova Scotia. We must expect, however, that 
 Leif would not merely take a distant view of the land, but 
 would inspect it more closely, and give us more full par- 
 ticulars, as he has done in each previous case. Accord- 
 ingly, thus the narrative proceeds : — " They came again in 
 sight of land, approaching which, they touched upon an 
 island lying opposite to the north-easterly* part of the main 
 
 * Cf. Antiq. Am. pp. 30 and 428. 
 
90 THE NORTHMEN 
 
 land. Here they landed, and found the air remarkably 
 pleasant. They observed the grass covered with much 
 dew. When they touched this accidentally, and raised the 
 hand to the mouth, they perceived a sweetness which they 
 had not before noticed." 
 
 Surely, interposed Mr. Cassall, this island must be 
 Nantucket. I know that honey-dew is found there,* for 
 I have seen it myself; but that island hardly lies opposite 
 to the north-easterly part of the main land. 
 
 Looking at the map, it does not appear to lie to the 
 northward of Cape Cod, answered Mr. Norset; but you 
 will remember that Leif put out to sea from Nova Scotia, 
 and sailed with a north-east or north east by east wind. 
 The first land he saw would be the most prominent point of 
 Cape Cod towards the east, which you will immediately 
 perceive to be the neighbourhood of Chatham Beach, im- 
 mediately opposite to which Nantucket lies. This point 
 of the land would necessarily appear to, and be considered 
 by, him as the northerly or north-easterly point of the main 
 land. You will presently see that he subsequently en- 
 tered Nantucket Bay, and sailed on through Vineyard 
 Sound, to do which he must necessarily have gone in a 
 more or less southerly direction from the point of the main 
 land opposite to Nantucket, which point is Chatham or 
 Monomoy Beach. He might, therefore, justly describe this 
 island as lying opposite to the northerly or north-easterly 
 part of the main land. Leif appears never to have seen or 
 explored the north-western tongue of Cape Cod. He gives 
 no description of it, as the subsequent navigators do ; and, 
 coming in, as he did, from the open sea, and from the 
 north-east, it is not probable that he would see it, or that, 
 if he did, he would observe its characteristics. He made 
 
 * Cf. p. 443, of Antiq. Am. ; in addition to which the author 
 the testimony of residents in Nantucket to the same fact. 
 
IS' AMERICA. 91 
 
 for the most prominent headland, which must necessarily 
 have been the extreme eastern point of the peninsula of 
 Barnstable, or Cape Cod.* I must observe, however, that 
 the coast in this region has undergone changes, since the 
 time in which these expeditions were made, by the action 
 of the Gulf Stream, as I shall have occasion to show more 
 particularly by and by.f It is most probable, indeed al- 
 most certain, that the extreme eastern part of the promon- 
 tory existed formerly more prominent than at present, and 
 that several islands lay to the eastward of Nantucket as 
 well as of the main land. We find many large shoals in 
 each of these situations at the present day, which are 
 daily becoming less. It might have been on one of these 
 islands that Leif touched, and the point to which it was 
 opposite would be still more to the north-east than Chatham 
 Beach. This probability renders the passage we are dis- 
 cussing still clearer, although there is in the facts, as at 
 present existing, no contradiction to the account given in 
 the narrative. I must remark that this explanation affords 
 another important instance of the valuable " oblicjue coin- 
 cidence," and becomes, therefore, another internal evidence 
 of the truth of the whole narrative. 
 
 Well, observed the doctor, it is the being an island op- 
 posite the main land, and finding honey-dew there, that 
 seem to identify this spot with Nantucket ; but I should 
 like to see some more evidence of its identity before I feel 
 quite satisfied on the point. 
 
 You will have that presently, doctor, and so strong that 
 it will be impossible any longer to doubt that it must have 
 been either Nantucket, or one of the at present partially 
 submerged islands which lie to the eastward or north-east- 
 
 * See note, p. 69, to which attention is here again called, in order 
 'o avoid the possibility of misapprehension. 
 •(• See the next chapter, in treating of Straumfiord. 
 
92 THE NORTHMEN 
 
 ward of Nantucket. One thing more, however, I must 
 observe, before we continue the narrative, and that is, that 
 Biarni came within sight of this promontory after having 
 been driven down south-west from the open northern sea. 
 He would, therefore, necessarily see the country more in 
 the aspect in which you would see it in sailing up from 
 New York to Halifax (New Brunswick) outside Long 
 Island, and his description of the country is most exactly 
 corresponding to the aspect of it as thus seen, " not moun- 
 tainous, but well wooded, and with many elevations.'' 
 Leif, on the contrary, sailed directly south-west from Nova 
 Scotia, and would, therefore, necessarily see it as you 
 would see it in sailing from Halifax to New York ; in 
 which case, the eastern point of Cape Cod, or the island of 
 Nantucket, would first strike the eye. 
 
 Certainly, said Mr. Cassall, the direction in which they 
 came makes some difference. 
 
 To proceed with the narrative : " Returning to their 
 ship, they sailed through a bay which lay between the is- 
 land and a promontory* running towards the north-east," — 
 obviously Nantucket Bay, between Nantucket and Martha's 
 Vineyard on the one side, and Cape Cod on the other, — 
 " and directing their course westward, they passed beyond 
 this promontory." They would perceive, immediately on 
 passing the mouth of Buzzard's Bay, that the land they had 
 just passed was a promontory : they had already seen its 
 north-eastern extremity. " In this bay, when the tide was 
 low, there were shallows left, of very great extent." > Is it 
 possible for any description to be more peculiarly charac- 
 teristic of the whole coast of this bay, both on the side of 
 
 * The term used in the original is ness, which signifies my projection 
 or jutting out of land into the sea, and might, therefore, properly be 
 applied to this land, although they were ignorant of its being an actual 
 narrow strip of land. See, as to the use of this term ness, in chap, 3, 
 
IN AMERICA. 93 
 
 the islands and on that of Cape Cod ? About Nantucket, 
 especially, these shoals could hardly have failed to attract 
 the attention of the most careless. I should think that 
 this is specific enough to satisfy even the doctor. I have, 
 moreover, the testimony of one of the oldest inhabitants of 
 Nantucket, that these shoals were formerly even more ex- 
 tensive than at present. 
 
 Go on, said the doctor, looking round him with an air 
 of great complacency. 
 
 " So great was the desire of the men to land, that, with- 
 out waiting for the high tide to carry them nearer, they 
 went ashore, at a place where a river poured out of a lake. 
 When the tide rose, they took their boat and rowed back 
 to the ship, and passed first up the river, and then into the 
 lake." 
 
 And what do you presume to be the locality of this 
 description ? asked the doctor. 
 
 You must satisfy yourself about that point, by examin- 
 ing the maps of Massachusetts and Rhode Island* care- 
 fully, and collating them with the narrative. We are told 
 that they had " passed beyond " the neck of land. They 
 had passed, therefore, beyond the peninsula of Cape Cod, 
 and the mouth of Buzzai'd's Bay. Then they came to 
 land at a place where a river flowed out of a lake. In 
 order to ascertain what river this is, we must observe the 
 
 * In order to render the geography of these parts, which is import- 
 ant to the present subject, more clear, an accurate map of Massachu- 
 setts and Rhode Island has been added, exhibiting all the localities to 
 which allusion is here made. In all common atlases, these coasts are 
 remarkably inaccurate. That of the U. K. Society, published in Lon- 
 don, is by far the best ; superior to any published in America. That 
 atlas also gives a very good map of Greenland, which scarcely any 
 other atlas gives in more than the rudest form. All the modern settle- 
 ments, subsequently mentioned, will be found in this map of Green- 
 land. 
 
94? THE NORTHMEN 
 
 incidents. It was a river which could be sailed up, in 
 one of their large merchant vessels, at high tide, and the 
 lake navigated by the same vessel. It must have been a 
 river of some, though no great length, from the expres- 
 sion employed, that they " passed up the river, and thence 
 into the lake" — which clearly indicates that they went up 
 some distance. 
 
 It appears to me, answered Mr. Cassall, after a short 
 time, that they must have passed up Seaeonnet Passage, 
 and Pocasset River, and thus into Mount Hope Bay. 
 The description of all the parts corresponds exactly with 
 he actual condition of these localities. Mount Hope 
 Bay is, in truth, a lake, with a river passing through it, 
 one of whose courses towards the sea is on the east, the 
 other on the west side of the island of Rhode Island. Leif 
 appears to have taken, — as he naturally would do, coming 
 to it first, and being unacquainted with the geography of 
 the neighbourhood, — the eastern course, and to have 
 passed up Pocasset River. Pocasset River is, I believe, 
 only navigable at high tide,* on account of the sandy shoals 
 which lie in its bed. 
 
 Your conclusion is the one to which, I think, every one 
 must come, said Mr. Norset. It must be remembered, too, 
 that it can be geologically proved that all the shoals in this 
 neighbourhood were, at the date referred to in this narra- 
 tive, more extensive than at present, and the coasts of 
 Rhode Island and Seaeonnet, and the whole bed of the 
 Pocasset River, are, even now, shoaly. Leif and his com- 
 panions might well be impatient, then, at the distance from 
 shore at which they were compelled to cast anchor, and at 
 the obstruction to their passing up the river till high tide. 
 There can certainly be no doubt as to this locality. What 
 says the doctor on the subject? 
 
 * Cf. Antiq. Am. p. 432. 
 
IK AMERICA. 95 
 
 0, said the doctor, you may take them up what rivers 
 and lakes you please. I suppose I must take it all just as 
 you give it to me. 
 
 What exemplary resignation ! said Mr. Norset, laugh- 
 ing : — something like the Frenchman's celebrated decla- 
 ration, " I will be drowned, for nobody shall save me." 
 But let us proceed : — 
 
 " Having cast anchor " in the lake, " they disembarked, 
 and erected temporary habitations. Having subsequently 
 determined, however, to remain there during the winter, 
 they built more permanent dwellings. Both in the river 
 and in the lake, there was a great abundance of salmon, 
 and of greater size than they had before seen." 
 
 I know, said Mr. Cassall, that salmon is caught there ; 
 and it is well known that the abundance was formerly 
 very much greater than at present. Indeed, it was for- 
 merly so great that there existed, a few years ago, a regu- 
 lation in some of the towns in that neighbourhood, that no 
 master should feed his apprentices on salmon more than 
 twice a week ! The fish was so cheap that the apprentices 
 got scarcely any thing else. 
 
 A very proper regulation, and confirmatory of the truth 
 of this narrative. To proceed : — 
 
 " So great was the goodness of the land," — you will re- 
 member the comparatively sterile regions of Iceland and 
 Greenland which they had left, — " that they concei^d 
 that cattle would be able to find provender in winter, none 
 of that intense cold occurring to which they were accus- 
 tomed in their own country, and the grass not withering 
 very much." 
 
 What is that ? said the doctor. 
 
 I thought the doctor would catch at this, said Mr. Nor- 
 set, with a smile : the winters, doctor, — they found them 
 not severe. 
 
 Not severe ! I am sure they have them severe enough 
 
96 THE NORTHMEN 
 
 at Boston now, and I do n't suppose they were much 
 milder in the days of the Northmen than now. 
 
 Very likely not, doctor; all this may be very true,* 
 and yet there be no inconsistency in this account, but, on 
 the contrary, a greater evidence of authenticity than any 
 other mode of statement could have been, in its being one 
 of the " oblique coincidences " of Paley, and one which 
 could not have been found in a fabrication. Do you think 
 the winters are ever so cold, even at Boston, as they are in 
 Greenland and Iceland ? 
 
 Why, no, I suppose not. 
 
 Well, then, of course these Northmen could only speak 
 from comparison. These winters were mild to them, com- 
 paratively with the winters to which they were accustomed. 
 Moreover, the winters in Rhode Island are seldom, or 
 never, so severe as in Massachusetts, — owing to the pecu- 
 liar situation of that tract of country, and to its openness 
 on all sides to the benefit of the sea breezes, whence it de- 
 rives almost the same advantage, in temperature, from the 
 circumfluence of the ocean, that an island in the same lati- 
 tude would do. I have been informed, by those well and 
 Jong acquainted with this State, that there seldom falls 
 enough snow here to admit of sleighing, which is so com- 
 mon in Massachusetts ; and that very frequently the dust is 
 flying in the streets of Providence, while the snow lies so 
 deep and solid in Boston and the neighbourhood, — these 
 two cities lying within forty miles of each other, — that 
 
 * It is worthy of observation, however, that it is highly probable 
 the winters in general were milder in New England, at the period al- 
 luded to, than at present. The reason of this will be immediately ob- 
 vious upon reference to the facts already detailed, concerning the de- 
 scent of arctic ice. (See p. 53.) It is undoubted that the climate of 
 Iceland and Greenland has become more severe from this cause, and 
 it would seem that the influence of the same cause must necessarily 
 have extended to this region of the continent. 
 
IN AMERICA. 97 
 
 sleighing is actually going forward there. But even in 
 many parts of Massachusetts cattle are not necessarily or 
 universally, even now, housed in winter. Thus, in this 
 very volume, p. 368, we have the following public testi- 
 mony of one well acquainted with these districts of the 
 country, — and who rendered considerable and valuable as- 
 sistance to the Antiquarian Society of Copenhagen, in one 
 part of these investigations. Speaking of the neighbour- 
 hood of Mount Hope Bay, he says ; — " Most winters a 
 scanty subsistence might be procured by cattle ; but this 
 is not depended upon. Farmers generally house their 
 cattle in winter ; but whether this was formerly the case, 
 cannot say. We do not consider it absolutely necessary, 
 though a prudent husbandman will do it." If, under any 
 circumstances, it can now be considered as not absolutely 
 necessary, can we wonder that the Northmen, coming from 
 the bleak and sterile regions of Iceland and Greenland, 
 and being by no means such " good husbandmen " as our 
 present farmers, imagined it unnecessary ? This gentle- 
 man proceeds : " Some individuals in that vicinity do not 
 shelter their sheep, and say they thrive well, and become ro- 
 bust. On the island of Nantucket, east of Martha's Vineyard, 
 one of the most bleak, sterile, and, to the agriculturist, for- 
 bidding spots we have, the sheep are not, and have not been, 
 since its first settlement, housed or protected in any manner 
 whatever. In the Narraganset country, situated west of 
 the bay, sheep are sometimes kept in the open air through 
 the winter season." You will observe that the narrative 
 does not state that the grass remained uninjured. It simply 
 states that it was not much injured, — that is, of course, 
 comparatively with what it was in their own country. 
 We shall find, subsequently, that one winter passed here, 
 was severe even to the Northmen. 
 
 It certainly is impossible, observed Mr. Cassall, to deny 
 the justness and propriety and force of your remarks as to 
 
9b THE NORTHMEN 
 
 the winter. The points you have alluded to being remem- 
 bered, there is nothing like an inconsistency in the narra- 
 tive. On the contrary, it becomes, as you remarked, a 
 strong case of" oblique coincidence," and affords, therefore, 
 another internal testimony of the truth of the whole narra- 
 tive. What follows this account of the winter season? 
 
 We come next to an important observation, though oc- 
 curring merely incidentally, in speaking of the winter. It 
 enables us to fix positively the latitude of the country thus 
 visited ; and by it all our previous conclusions are verified 
 and confirmed. 
 
 Pray, what is that? exclaimed the doctor, with no slight 
 expression of surprise. 
 
 " The equality in the length of the days was greater 
 there than in Greenland or Iceland. On the shortest day 
 the sun remained above the horizon from half past seven 
 in the morning till half past four in the afternoon." 
 
 Half past seven and half past four ! said the doctor ; 
 why, these Northmen did n't calculate time as we do. 
 
 No, answered Mr. Norset, but they calculated in a man- 
 ner as exact. 
 
 Pray, what was that? asked Mr. Cassall. 
 
 They divided the day into eight portions, each of which 
 they called an eykt. Each eykt was distinguished by a 
 particular name ; and there were two points in one day in 
 the year, (the first day of winter,) which were anciently 
 distinguished by two particular names, (eyktarstad and 
 dagmalastad,) which names indicated the points of time at 
 which, on that particular day of the year, the sun set and 
 rose in one of the principal places in* Iceland. These 
 
 * See Antiq. Am. p. 435, note b, and the authorities there cited. It 
 must be observed that this elucidation of the meaning of the terms 
 eyktarstad and dagmalastad has been made by parties who were in no 
 way interested in supporting, and had no reference to, the remarkable 
 confirmation given by this passage to the conclusions which have been 
 
IN AMERICA. 99 
 
 terms were sometimes, as in the case before us, employed, 
 as designative of those particular points of time in the day, 
 (namely, half past four, and half past seven,) in an arbi- 
 trary sense, applied to any day in the year. The passage 
 before us may, then, be correctly paraphrased as follows : 
 — " On the shortest day in Vinland, the sun rose and set 
 at the same time that it rises and sets on the 17th of Octo- 
 ber at Skalholt, in Iceland." This time is half past seven 
 in the morning, and half past four in the afternoon. Now 
 the sun can only rise and set precisely at half past seven and 
 half past four, on the shortest day, in latitude 41° 24/ 10", 
 which you will immediately perceive to be almost exactly 
 that of Mount Hope Bay. As of course the Northmen 
 did not make their observations to the minuteness of a few 
 seconds, this slight variation in latitude is obviously no 
 inconsistency. 
 
 How did they contrive to measure time in those days ? 
 they had no clocks and watches. 
 
 That cannot be determined. It is certain that they had 
 some means, and very exact ones, too, of measuring time. 
 What they were is not known. It would, however, be no 
 difficult matter, without the aid of instruments, to compare 
 the length of the day and night, and observe with what 
 part of the year, in Iceland, this proportion, on the shortest 
 day in Vinland, agreed. There can be little doubt, how- 
 ever, that they had some kind of sun-dial, — an instrument 
 much more ancient and correct than the clock, though not 
 so convenient. It is well worthy of observation here, that 
 the cause which led Torn* — copied by Malte Brun, Pink- 
 erton, and others, — to fix on Newfoundland as the locality 
 of Vinland, as I mentioned yesterday, was the misinter- 
 
 drawn, as to the locality of Vinland, from the previous points of this 
 narration. It is the elucidation in which the great majority of Scan- 
 dinavian scholars are agreed. 
 
 f2 
 
100 THE NORTHMEN 
 
 pretation of this very passage. He took eight and four as 
 the two hours, instead of half past seven and half past four. 
 The consequence was, that he fixed on latitude 49, instead 
 of 41,— which former is that of Newfoundland. This error, 
 and its cause, are well exposed, in a long extract given 
 from the works of a disinterested party, in the volume be- 
 fore us.* It is singular that, with descriptions of the 
 country before him, every line of which belied the locality 
 of Newfoundland, Torfi should have fallen into this error ; 
 especially, too, when the very fact of mention being made 
 of the contrast between the equality of days in Vinland, and 
 their inequality in Iceland and Greenland, would seem, of 
 itself, to imply a greater equality and contrast than the 
 length of days in Newfoundland presents. The circum- 
 stance of his falling into this error is, however, evidence of 
 the absence of all desire to bend one fact into support of 
 another, where their connection was not obvious. 
 
 That observation about the length of the shortest day 
 is, certainly, said the doctor, the most satisfactory means 
 of settling the locality. 
 
 I hardly know, said Mr. Norset, whether it is, in reality, 
 more precise or satisfactory than that afforded by the other 
 points of the narrative, when these are carefully examined. 
 It certainly is most satisfactory to find the conclusions, de- 
 rived from these other sources, confirmed by this observa- 
 tion. But, to proceed with our narrative : — 
 
 " Their dwellings being completed, Leif said to his 
 companions, — ' I propose that our numbers be divided into 
 two companies; for I wish to explore the country ; each 
 one of these companies shall, alternately, remain at home, 
 and go out exploring. Let the exploring party, however, 
 never go further than that they may return home the same 
 evening ; neither let them separate one from another.' It 
 
 * Antiq. Am. note to p. 435. 
 
IN AMERICA. 101 
 
 was so arranged. Leif himself, on alternate days, went 
 out exploring and remained at home. Leif was a man 
 strong ami of great stature, of dignified aspect, wise and 
 moderate in all things. 
 
 " It happened, one evening, that one of the company 
 was missing. This was Tyrker the German. Leif felt 
 much concerned, for Tyrker had lived with him and his 
 father for a long time, and had been very fond of Leif in 
 his childhood ; wherefore Leif severely blamed his com- 
 rades, and went himself, with twelve others, to seek the 
 man. When they had gone but a short distance from 
 the dwelling, Tyrker met them, to their no small joy. 
 Leif soon perceived that Tyrker had not his usual manner. 
 He was (naturally) erect in countenance, his eyes con- 
 stantly rolling, his face hollow, his stature short, his body 
 spare, and he was possessed of great skill in every kind 
 of smith's work. Then said Leif to him, ' Why have you 
 staid out so late, friend, and separated yourself from your 
 companions?' For some time Tyrker gave no answer, 
 except in German, and rolled his eyes (as usual) here and 
 there, and twisted his mouth. They could not understand 
 what he said. After some time he spoke in the Norse 
 language, and said, ' I have not been much further, but I 
 have something new to tell you ; I have found vines and 
 grapes.' ' Is this true ? ' asked Leif. ' Yes, indeed it is,' 
 answered he ; ' I was brought up in a land where there 
 was abundance of vines and grapes.'" 
 
 A pretty fellow Tyrker was, said the doctor, to play 
 such antics because he had found a few grapes. 
 
 I suppose, observed Mr. Cassall, that it was so long 
 since he had seen or tasted this delicious fruit, which, in 
 his younger days, he had known so well, that, when he 
 unexpectedly fell in with it here, he was almost as much 
 intoxicated with joy, as, under other circumstances, he 
 
102 THE NORTHMEN 
 
 might have been with the generous juice of that same 
 fruit. 
 
 Intoxicated ! repeated the doctor, catching at the word. 
 No, no, that will not quite do ; nobody was ever yet intoxi- 
 cated with fresh grapes : some inconsistency here, Mr. 
 Norset.* 
 
 I did not say " intoxicated with grapes," interrupted Mr. 
 Cassall; I said " almost as much intoxicated with joy, as 
 if he had been drinking the generous juice." I merely 
 used the word " intoxicated" as applying to both cases, — 
 joy and wine. I see nothing in the narrative which inti- 
 mates that he was intoxicated with any thing else than joy. 
 
 But the doctor had got hold of too good an idea, in his 
 own opinion, to give it up so easily, and went on repeating, 
 — intoxicated with fresh grapes ! intoxicated with fresh 
 grapes I 
 
 At length Mr. Norset replied to this ejaculation in the 
 following manner : — 
 
 Really, doctor, I hardly know what crotchet you have 
 got into your head now, but it is one for which the nar- 
 rative certainly does not give you the slightest handle. 
 What are the facts ? Tyrker was a native of a country 
 where vines abounded ; he had been, therefore, in his 
 youth, well acquainted with their delicious fruit. But the 
 last twenty years, or more, of his life had been passed in 
 the north country, where vines grew not, and their fruit, 
 unless imported, was unknown. He little expected to 
 meet with vines again in this expedition, and, when he did 
 so, he was naturally delighted. He gathered the delicious 
 
 * An objection like this, which is totally unjustified by any expres- 
 sion in the original, would not have been inserted and answered here ; 
 but that it was, on one occasion, made to the author in conversation ; 
 and some misapprehension may arise, in some minds, as to the cause of 
 Tyrker's talking in German, and expressing such joy at finding grapes. 
 
IX AMERICA. 103 
 
 fruit and eat it, and what a gush of feeling would rush 
 across his mind as he did so! He would be transported 
 back, by association, to his native land, where he had last 
 seen vines and gathered grapes. He would forget his 
 companions and their country for the time, and all would 
 again seem German. It is not only, then, not singular, 
 but it is a remarkable testimony to Hie truth of this narra- 
 tive, that we are told that, when Leif and his cotnpanions 
 approached, Tijrher at first answered their inquiries in 
 German. We see here the simple operation of natural as- 
 sociation within him. No fabrication could have been so 
 true to nature. At first sight, it may not strike the mind, 
 but, when examined, this becomes a truly interesting as 
 well as remarkable case of " oblique coincidence ; " an in- 
 stance which could not have been designed. It shows the 
 plain simplicity of truth with which the whole narrative is 
 told. There Mas no sign of intoxication about Tyrker. 
 He exhibited unusual joy, and he twisted his mouth, as 
 many thousands have done since, at the thought of a deli- 
 cious morsel. He soon recalled his wandering memory, 
 and answered in Norse, and in a straightforward, simple 
 manner, showing Leif that he had the means of knowing 
 vines from weeds, and grapes from berries. How much 
 was generally thought of this discovery of vines, we shall 
 presently see, when we find that the country was named 
 from the circumstance ; and that, on a subsequent expe- 
 dition, one party came out expressly because he was told 
 of the vines, and went back in dudgeon because he did not 
 find them so soon as he expected. 
 
 Well, well, said the doctor, I suppose I must give it up 
 as usual; but are vines found wild in that part of the 
 country ? 
 
 Why, doctor, said Mr. Norset, have you been in this 
 neighbourhood so little as not to know that vines grow 
 wild, in great abundance, in many parts ? I could show 
 
104 THE NORTHMEN 
 
 you some magnificent specimens of vines, gathered from 
 the woods not far from here. In many accounts of these 
 regions it is expressly stated that a " great abundance " 
 of vines are found wild in this neighbourhood ; many of 
 which produce very fine fruit, as I myself know from posi- 
 tive personal experience. And whence do you think 
 Marthas Vineyard, and Vineyard Sound, took their 
 names, but from the profusion of vines found on the 
 island and adjoining coasts ? This is expressly recorded 
 to have been the fact by the first settlers in those parts. 
 I have, moreover, the testimony of residents in Blackstone 
 Valley, in the immediate neighbourhood of Mount Hope 
 Bay, that vines are found wild in great abundance in that 
 valley, many of them producing good fruit. 
 
 Well, said the doctor, I have never been nearer to this 
 part than Boston before, and I did not know that vines 
 were so common. 
 
 This vine story is a remarkable confirmation of the truth 
 of the whole narrative, observed Mr. Cassall. 
 
 It is, indeed, said Mr. Norset. In fact, every line of the 
 narrative confirms and strengthens the authenticity and 
 truth of every other, and of the whole. We only accu- 
 mulate evidence as we advance. We now approach the 
 conclusion of the narrative of Leif's expedition. The ac- 
 count proceeds : — " They passed this night in sleep. On 
 the following morning Leif said to his companions,— 
 1 There are two matters now to be attended to, on alternate 
 days, — to gather grapes, or (as a means of saving time and 
 trouble) cut down vines, and to fell timber with which we 
 may load the ship.' The task was immediately commenced. 
 It is said that their long boat was filled with grapes. And 
 now, having felled timber to load their ship, and the spring 
 coming on, they made all ready for their departure 
 (A.D. 1001). Leif gave the land a name expressive of 
 its good produce, and called it Vinland (land of wine). 
 
IN AMERICA. 105 
 
 They then put out to sea, having a fair wind, and, at length, 
 came within sight of Greenland and her icy mountains. 
 As they approached, one of the men asked Leif, ' Why do 
 you steer the ship to that quarter, directly in the teeth of 
 the wind ? ' Leif answered, ' I guide the helm, and look 
 out at the same time ; tell me if you see any thing.' All 
 denied that they saw any thing at all of particular import- 
 ance. ' I am not sure,' said Leif, ' whether it is a ship or 
 a rock which I see in the distance.' They all presently see 
 it, and pronounce it to be a rock. Leif had so much 
 sharper eyes than all the others, that he saw men upon the 
 rock.* ' Now,' said Leif, ' I am desirous of striving even 
 against the wind, so that we may reach those yonder ; per- 
 chance they may have need of our assistance, and their 
 necessity calls upon us to render them our aid ; if they are 
 hostile, there can be no danger, for they will be altogether 
 in our power.' They make for the rock, furl their sails, 
 cast anchor, and put out the boat — " 
 
 There ! exclaimed the doctor, I have completely caught 
 you at last ; and he rubbed his hands with inexpressible 
 glee. 
 
 Why, doctor, what 's the matter ? asked Mr. Norset, 
 half dismayed, and half amused. 
 
 Oh ! I have completely caught you ; it is impossible 
 you should escape now. Did not the narrative state that 
 they loaded the ship's boat quite full with grapes? How, 
 then, could they "put out the boat"? asked the doctor, 
 in a tone of the greatest exultation. 
 
 Really, doctor, I beg your pardon for causing all this 
 excitement. Be calm, I pray. Had this been a fabrica- 
 tion, doubtless this inconsistency would have actually been 
 found ; but, as it is, it was only my error ; in reading 
 straight onward I omitted two little words, which are, how- 
 
 * Cf. Antiq. Am. p. 37 and p. 191. 
 F 5 
 
106 THE NORTHMEN 
 
 ever, of a world of importance. You will remember that 
 it was the long-boat which they filled with grapes. The 
 original, in this place, runs literally thus : "They put 
 out the other small boat which they had carried with them." 
 Have you caught me completely, doctor? added he, look- 
 ing at the doctor with a peculiar glance of the eye. 
 
 The doctor looked perfectly disconcerted. The ex- 
 pression of his countenance changed immediately from 
 glee to the most thorough gall, and every fibre of his body 
 seemed to partake of the electric change. 
 
 We will now proceed, doctor, with your permission, said 
 Mr. Norset, with affected humility, seeing that you have 
 yet left us one leg to stand upon : — " They put out the 
 other small boat which they had carried with them. Then 
 Tyrker demanded who was the captain of the band ? (on 
 the rock.) The captain answered that his name was 
 Thorer, and that he was a Norwegian by birth. He then 
 asked, ' What is your name ? ' Leif gave his name. ' Are 
 you the son of Eirek the Red of Brattahlid ? ' Leif told 
 him that he was. ' I wish now,' added Leif, ' to offer you 
 all a place in my ship, and to take also as much of your 
 goods as my ship will carry.' They accepted his offer. 
 The vessel then sailed up Eireksfiord until they reached 
 Brattahlid, where they disembarked. Then Leif offered to 
 Thorer and his wife, and three of his men, to take up their 
 residence with him. He showed hospitalities likewise to 
 all the others, as well the sailors of Thorer as his ow r n. 
 There were fifteen men thus preserved by Leif, and from 
 that time he was called Leif the Lucky* 
 
 " This expedition contributed both to the wealth and 
 honour of Leif. In the following winter, a disease attack- 
 ed the company of Thorer, to which that man himself and 
 many of his companions fell victims. Eirek the Red also 
 died during that winter. 
 
 " There was much talk, now, of the expedition of Leif; 
 
IN AMERICA. 1()7 
 
 and Thorvald, his brother, considered that the lands \md 
 been too little explored. Then said Leif to Thorvald, 
 1 Go, brother, take my ship to Vinland ; but first fetch 
 away from the rock all that Thorer left there.' Thorvald 
 did so." 
 
 Then we have thus an end of the expedition of Leif, 
 said Mr. Cassall. I must say that I think its details have 
 been exceedingly interesting. It is impossible any longer 
 to doubt that the shores of New England were not only 
 seen, but visited, and a residence of some time fixed upon 
 them, five centuries before Colon touched the islands of 
 the West Indies, by a European race whose nation and 
 language, and the authentic written records of whose ex- 
 peditions, still exist. The details are indeed full of deep 
 interest ; far more so than I could have anticipated. 
 
 You will find, said Mr. Norset, that the de'tails of the 
 remaining narratives are full of as deep, if not much deeper 
 interest. You will find in them, too, as many marks of 
 truth and authenticity as we have found in the narratives 
 of Biarni and of Leif. We proceed next to the narrative 
 
 OF THE EXPEDITION OF THORVALD. 
 
 What was the date of the commencement of this expe- 
 dition ? asked Mr. Cassall. 
 
 We learn this, answered Mr. Norset, from comparing 
 the different incidents and statements which have already 
 come under our attention. Leif, we found, went to Vin- 
 land in the year 1000. He stayed there during the winter, 
 and returned to Greenland in the following spring. It is 
 related that, during the winter next following his return, 
 (1001-2,) Thorer and Eirek the Red both died; and it 
 was just at the same time that Thorvald's determination to 
 undertake the voyage to Vinland was made, as we learn 
 from the fact, that Leif, when he granted his brother the 
 use of his ship, desired him first to fetch the remainder of the 
 wreck of Thorer's ship from the rock where that man was 
 
108 THE NORTHMEN 
 
 found. Thorvald appears to have lost no time in fitting 
 out his vessel and undertaking the voyage. It was, then, 
 in the following spring, — for it was in the spring that the 
 Northmen always undertook important and distant voyages, 
 — that he left Greenland ; that is, the spring of 1002. 
 
 That appears satisfactory and clear, said Mr. Cassalh 
 Will you now proceed with Thorvald's narrative ? 
 
 " Now Thorvald made preparations for this expedition 
 under the authority of his brother Leif ;" — which expres- 
 sion shows that the voyage was undertaken after the death 
 of Eirek the Red, and when Leif; had succeeded to his 
 authority ; — " taking with him thirty companions. They 
 fitted out the ship, and put out to sea,* but nothing is 
 recorded concerning the events of the voyage ; " — which 
 statement is a proof that the writer of this narrative was 
 anxious to make no statements which were not authorized 
 by certain positive tradition. \ 
 
 Yes, yes, said the doctor, that is very fine indeed ; but 
 pray why were the details of Thorvald's voyage less com- 
 plete than those of others ? 
 
 I am glad you asked the question, doctor ; because it 
 gives me the opportunity of calling your attention to the 
 difference which does exist in this respect between the 
 narrative of Thorvald's expedition and the others record- 
 ed ; and which difference is another strong internal evidence 
 of the truth and correctness of the whole. We shall pre- 
 sently see that Thorvald never returned from this expedi- 
 tion, but perished on his way home. His sailors, of course, 
 were less careful than himself about particulars. Hence 
 the imperfection of the narrative of this expedition in many 
 points noticed in all the others. We find, here, only the 
 most marked leading circumstances stated, which it was 
 
 * For the track of Thorvald, see the chart. 
 
 t See ante, p. 19, and note B, in the Appendix. 
 
IK AMERICA. 109 
 
 impossible to forget, while many details, which Thorvald 
 would doubtless have recorded, have thus been lost. A 
 striking and, I may add, unfortunate instance of this will 
 be seen, in a voyage of exploration which was made to the 
 westward of Vinland. To proceed: — 
 
 "Nothing is recorded concerning the events of the voyage 
 before their arrival at Leifsbudir, (or Leifsbooths, which was 
 the name given to the dwellings erected by Leif,) in Vin- 
 land, where, the ship being drawn ashore, they passed the 
 winter, (1002-3,) supporting themselves by catching fish." 
 
 And how do you mean to pretend that Thorvald knew 
 when he got to Vinland ; or how did he know where to 
 find Leifsbooths? This looks rather suspicious, said the 
 doctor, with a very significant glance of the eye and nod 
 of the head. 
 
 Have you forgotten, doctor, replied Mr. Norset, that 
 Thorvald had the use of Leif's ship ? Do you think that 
 he left Greenland without making a single inquiry of his 
 brother, as to the course which he had sailed, or the ap- 
 pearances and relative positions of the different localities? 
 Or do you think it likely that he would dismiss every one 
 of Leif's sailors, for the sake of taking in a fresh and to- 
 tally inexperienced crew ? not to speak of the probability 
 of there being plenty of sailors to be had, at that early 
 period of Greenland's settlement, when she had not been 
 colonized more than sixteen years ! 
 
 Perhaps that will explain it, said the doctor, in a con- 
 descending tone. 
 
 Perhaps it will, ay! There is a great deal of doubt 
 about it, is there not ? said Mr. Norset, with a smile. 
 
 " In the ensuing spring, Thorvald desired his men to 
 make ready the ship, and selected some to go in the ship's 
 boat along the western coast, and to explore it through the 
 summer. The country seemed fair and woody, there be- 
 ing but little distance between the forests and the ocean, 
 
110 THE NORTHMEN 
 
 and much white sandy shore. There was a great number 
 of islands and numerous shallows." 
 
 Is that the expedition to which you alluded, asked Mr. 
 Cassall, as the one concerning which the details have un- 
 fortunately been lost? 
 
 It is, answered Mr. Norset ; and we may truly call the 
 loss of those details unfortunate. It would have been 
 easy, the doctor will of course perceive, for very full 
 details to have been inserted in a fabrication. The brief 
 facts stated, however, are, as far as they go, precisely ac- 
 curate, as descriptive of the condition, before the forests 
 were cleared, of the whole eastern coast of Connecticut, 
 Long Island, New Jersey, and, indeed, of all along the 
 eastern coast of the United States. It is not a little curi- 
 ous that the description given of these very coasts in 
 the account of the expedition of Verrazzani, the French 
 navigator, in 1524*, corresponds almost precisely, in brevity 
 and language, with that thus given by Thorvald's men. 
 I quote from the pages of one strongly prejudiced against 
 the discoveries of the Northmen, and who, therefore, can- 
 not have intended to afford any corroborative testimony to 
 the truth of the narratives of their expeditions. His testi- 
 mony is of course the more valuable on this account. 
 Describing the course of Verrazzani along these same 
 coasts, he says,* " All the shore was shoal, but free from 
 rocks, and covered with fine sand ; the country was flat" 
 The doctor will of course rejoice in this authority. Where 
 the description in our narrative differs from this, it differs 
 from it only in being fuller and more accurate ; as far as 
 they go together, they precisely coincide. These parts of 
 the coast necessarily lay to the westward of the position of 
 ;Leifsbooths. From the mouth of Seaconnet Passage they 
 must necessarily go direct west, in order to coast along 
 
 * Bancroft's History of the United States, vol. i. p. 16. 4tli ed. 
 
IN AMERICA. Ill 
 
 these shores. The exploration probably extended as far 
 south as the Carolinas, or still farther, since they were 
 absent several months ; the account stating, as we shall 
 presently see, that they did not return till autumn, having 
 left Leifsbooths in the spring. 
 
 The fact of this expedition is interesting, said Mr. Cas- 
 sall, although such a very brief notice of it is given. 
 
 Very much so. The want of fuller details is, however, 
 greatly to be regretted ; the narrative only further states 
 with respect to it, — " They found no habitations of men 
 or beasts there, except in an island, far west, where they 
 saw a single wooden shed." This was sufficient to prove 
 that the land was inhabited, though, as they do not appear 
 to have penetrated at all into the interior, they saw no 
 more of the natives. " They found nothing more of hu- 
 man workmanship, and in the autumn they returned to 
 Leifsbooths. 
 
 " The next summer," — so that Thorvald and his com- 
 panions had already remained at Leifsbooths, in Vinland, 
 for two whole years, — " the next summer, (being A.D. 
 1004,) Thorvald, with a portion of his company, in the 
 great ship, coasted along the eastern shore," — that is, ne- 
 cessarily, the coast of the peninsula of Cape Cod, — " and 
 passed round the land to the northward — " 
 
 Ah ! cried Mr. Cassall, that is curious. It corresponds 
 exactly to the shape of this peninsular promontory. Does 
 he get to the extreme northern point of the promontory of 
 Cape Cod? 
 
 We shall see. The narrative proceeds : — " They were 
 then driven by a storm against a neck of land,* and the 
 
 * In the Antiq. Am. p. 426, occurs the following with reference to 
 the passage of which this text is a translation : — " Istud promontorium 
 a veteribus dicitur Andne.s, i.e. lingula tense, alii ohversa, ad ora sinus: 
 cui definitioni promontorii Cape Cod situs respondet, alii proniontorio, 
 Cape Ann dicto, ad oppositum litus ostii sinus Massachuseti, directe 
 
112 THE NORTHMEN 
 
 ship having stranded, the keel was damaged. Remaining 
 here for some time, they repaired their ship. Then Thor- 
 vald said to his companions, ' Now let us fix up the keel 
 on this neck of land, and let us call the place Kialar- 
 ness' (Keel promontory)." 
 
 And, pray, where is Kialar-ness situated ? asked the 
 doctor. 
 
 There cannot be much difficulty about that, answered 
 Mr. Norset. We have seen that they sailed round the 
 peninsular promontory of Cape Cod, and up to the north- 
 ward. The neck of land must necessarily be near the 
 northern extremity of the long narrow neck of Cape Cod. 
 This appears plain enough, but will, if possible, become 
 plainer, when we come to the account of Thorfinn's visiting 
 Kialar-ness. Let us proceed : — 
 
 " Having done as he desired, they sailed along the coast, 
 leaving that neck to the eastward, and entered the mouths 
 of the neighbouring bays," — of which you know that there 
 are many along that coast, — " until they came to a certain 
 promontory which was covered with wood. Here they 
 cast anchor, and prepared to land ; and Thorvald and all 
 his companions went on shore. Then said Thorvald, 
 e This is a pleasant place, and here I should like to fix my 
 habitation.'" 
 
 Here the doctor, who had evidently been anxious to 
 throw in a word during the whole of this description, ex- 
 claimed, — 
 
 And, pray, what point is this, where Thorvald would 
 have liked to have fixed his habitation ? 
 
 It is not very easy to determine exactly the promontory 
 to which allusion is here made, answered Mr. Norset. 
 
 obversi." This interpretation, of course, adds greatly to the strength 
 of the above passage, in proving the identity of the promontory spoken 
 of with Cape Cod. 
 
IX AMERICA. 113 
 
 There is, however, I think, the best reason to conclude 
 that the promontory to the south-east of Boston Bay is 
 here signified, commonly called Point Alderton. The 
 promontory of Gurnet Point would seem to correspond to 
 the account given of the place, but that, from the preced- 
 ing narrative, it would appear that, before coming to this 
 promontory, they must have passed the mouths of several 
 small bays, which they could hardly have done before 
 reaching Gurnet Point, but which they must have done 
 before reaching Point Alderton. The aspect of Point 
 Alderton, as described by Hitchcock, in his " Report on 
 the Geology of Massachusetts," p. 96, precisely corresponds 
 to what we gather from the narrative before us. It would 
 seem, too, from the subsequent details in this narrative, 
 that the bay within the promontory must have been one 
 of considerable size, — larger than Plymouth harbour. 
 However, as to the precise locality of this promontory, 
 we are able to determine with less positive certainty than 
 with respect to the other places which have been men- 
 tioned. 
 
 I am glad, said the doctor, that you have the modesty 
 to allow that there is one locality which it is possible for 
 you not to be able to identify. 
 
 I am obliged to you, doctor. You will, of course, not 
 fail to observe that, had this account been a fabrication, 
 we should have had as precise means given us of deter- 
 mining the locality of this spot, as we have had of deter- 
 mining any other locality. 
 
 The doctor appeared rather annoyed at having thus 
 drawn on himself exactly the reverse aspect of evidence 
 to that which he had an idea that his insinuation con- 
 tained. 
 
 " They afterwards," — continues the narrative, which, 
 as before noticed, is doubtless thus brief, owing to the 
 
114? THE NORTHMEN 
 
 misfortune which subsequently befel Thorvald, — " they 
 afterwards, having returned to their ship, perceived, on 
 the sandy shore of the bay, within the promontory, three 
 elevations. They went towards them, and saw three small 
 boats made of skins, (that is, canoes,) and under each, 
 three men. They seized all of these except one, who 
 escaped with his canoe. They killed those whom they 
 had taken. Having returned to the promontory, they 
 looked round, and saw, in the inner bay, several eleva- 
 tions, which they considered to be habitations. — " 
 
 So, then, said the doctor, they met with some natives at 
 last. 
 
 They did, to their cost. 
 
 To whose cost clo you mean ? I think it was to the 
 cost of the natives. 
 
 It was, however, to the cost of Thorvald's party ; for 
 they lost their bold leader, and he lost his life. 
 
 Well, I think it served them right. I do n't see what 
 business they had to put the natives to death, whether 
 they found them under canoes or any thing else. 
 
 Probably some symptoms of hostility were shown, or 
 some circumstance rendered it necessary, in the eyes of 
 Thorvald, to destroy them. At any rate, doctor, I hope 
 you will not be too sentimental on the subject ; for, though 
 I would by no means defend any cruelty of the North- 
 men, yet no treatment that the natives received at their 
 hands can exceed, in cruelty, that which they have since 
 received at the hands of European nations boasting a 
 higher degree of refinement and civilization. You will 
 especially remember the treatment inflicted upon them by 
 your worthy friends, the Spanish colonists, though I do n't 
 know that they are receiving much better treatment at the 
 present day, at the hands of a government which boasts 
 much of its preeminent liberality. 
 
IN AMERICA. 115 
 
 I cannot pretend to defend the treatment the Indians 
 have received from the early settlers, whether Spanish 
 or English, or which they are receiving at this day 
 from our own government. I believe, indeed, it is inde- 
 fensible. 
 
 I am truly glad, doctor, to hear you acknowledge this 
 so candidly. I have not heard one honest American, since 
 the barbarous, unjust, and cruel affair of the Cherokees in 
 Georgia,* who has uttered different sentiments. The day 
 of retribution will come. 
 
 It is more to the selfishness of individuals, said the doc- 
 tor, than to the cruelty of the government, or of the peo- 
 ple at large, that these outrages on humanity have owed 
 their existence. 
 
 There I perfectly agree with you ; but the whole com- 
 munity ought to rise, as one man, against such outrages, 
 as, much to its credit, the public press in general did in 
 the case of the Cherokees ; and there ought to be moral 
 courage enough in those in high places to resist the perpe- 
 tration of such flagrant violations of all the laws of God 
 and rights of man. 
 
 True, true ; but let us dismiss this topic now, or it will 
 carry us too far from our subject. I acknowledge that it 
 is impossible for us to say a word, without self-rebuke, 
 against any conduct of the Northmen to the natives. 
 
 The narrative proceeds: — "They were all afterwards 
 overcome by such a heavy sleep, that none of them were 
 able to keep watch. After some time, a loud shout was 
 
 * It would occupy too much space to exhibit here the details of this 
 transaction. It is sufficient to say, that the Cherokees, having de- 
 voted themselves to the arts of peace, and having equalled in most 
 respects their white neighbours in civilization, were compelled to quit 
 the homes of their fathers, and seek a new and distant resting-place 
 beyond the Mississippi. 
 
116 THE NORTHMEN 
 
 heard, which roused them all, and the words which roused 
 them were these : — ' Awake, Thorvald, and all thy com- 
 pany, if you wish to preserve your lives ; embark im- 
 mediately, and make the best of your way from the 
 land.' — " 
 
 And, pray, who was the speaker of these portentous 
 words ? asked the doctor. 
 
 It does not appear from the narrative ; but we must 
 presume that it was one of the company who was awa- 
 kened before the others, and, seeing their danger, aroused 
 his companions. There is no intimation or expression from 
 which it can be gathered that this was a superstitious tale 
 of any unearthly visitant. 
 
 " Then an innumerable multitude of canoes was seen 
 approaching from the inner bay, by which Thorvald's 
 party was immediately attacked. Then said Thorvald, 
 ' Let us raise protections over the sides of the ship, and 
 defend ourselves as well as we are able ; though we can 
 avail little against this multitude.' So it was done. The 
 Skraelings — " 
 
 Skraelings ! who were they ? asked the doctor. 
 Such is the name we find given to the natives through- 
 out these narratives ; whence it is derived is uncertain. 
 
 " The Skraelings cast their weapons at them for some 
 time, and then precipitously retired. Then Thorvald in- 
 quired what wounds his men had received. They denied 
 that any of them had been at all wounded. ' I have re- 
 ceived a wound under my arm,' said Thorvald, ' with an 
 arrow, which, flying between the ship's side and the edge 
 of my shield, fastened itself in my armpit ; here is the ar- 
 row ; this will cause my death.' " 
 
 The arrow must have been poisoned, said the doctor, 
 or I imagine that death would not necessarily have been 
 occasioned from a wound in that situation. 
 
IN AMERICA. 117 
 
 Most probably it was poisoned. We know that the na- 
 tives have been in the habit of poisoning the arrows em- 
 ployed in their conflicts with their enemies. The words 
 of Thorvald proceed : — " ' Now it is my advice that you 
 prepare to return home as quickly as possible ; but me 
 you shall carry to the promontory which seemed to me so 
 pleasant a place to dwell in : perhaps the words which fell 
 from me shall prove true, and I shall indeed abide there 
 for a season. There bury me, and place a cross at my 
 head, and another at my feet, and call that place for ever 
 more, Krossa-ness' (promontory of the crosses). At 
 that time, Greenland had been converted to Christianity," 
 (this being A.D. 100-t, and Christianity having been in- 
 troduced by Leif, in 999, as we have seen,) " but Eirek 
 the Red had died without professing Christianity.* Then 
 Thorvald expired. Every thing was done according to his 
 directions ; and those who had gone with him on this ex- 
 pedition, having joined their companions at Leifsbooths, 
 informed them of all that had happened. They passed 
 the following winter (the third, 1004-5,) there, and pre- 
 pared quantities of grapes to carry home. Early in the 
 following spring, (1005,) they set sail for Greenland, and 
 arrived safely in Eireksfiord, having much melancholy in- 
 telligence to convey to Leif." 
 
 And so this was the end of Thorvald ! said Mr. Cassall, 
 in a tone of commiseration : really, his was a melancholy 
 fate. There was a boldness and a spirit in his enterprise, 
 which far exceeded that of his brother Leif. He seemed 
 determined to explore the country thoroughly, sending 
 and accompanying parties east and west. I have no doubt 
 
 * Antiq. Am. Cf. pp. 46, 119, and 120. In the latter place the 
 progress of Christianity is more particularly detailed, and Eirek's un- 
 willingness to abandon his ancient faith is mentioned. 
 
118 THE NORTHMEN 
 
 that we have lost much of a very interesting narrative, 
 owing to his premature death. 
 
 I agree with you, said Mr. Norset. There is no doubt 
 that his explorations were carried further than those of 
 any other who visited America at this period. But, how- 
 ever, the doctor will now be convinced that one of my 
 most important propositions is established, namely, that 
 the Northmen not only actually visited these shores of 
 New England, for the express purpose of exploration, but 
 that they made, at different times, residences of a consider- 
 able length here. Thus Leif, as we have seen, erected 
 habitations, and dwelt in them for one year. The com- 
 panions of Thorvald (he himself dying at the end of the 
 second year) dwelt in them for three full years. What 
 say you, doctor ? 
 
 If it is all true, they certainly did, answered the doctor. 
 
 I '11 allow you the benefit of all the ifs you like, know- 
 ing that it is impossible for you, or any one else, by 
 any fair or candid argument, to convert that if into a 
 negative. 
 
 Pray, what follows the narrative of Thorvald in the 
 "Account of Eirek the Red, and of Greenland"? asked 
 Mr. Cassall. 
 
 A narrative of an expedition of Thorstein, the youngest 
 son of Eirek, follows, which expedition was, however, un- 
 successful. There are some curious details contained in 
 this account, which give an insight into the manners and 
 also the superstitions of the times, and may be worth re- 
 peating, if you are willing to listen to them. 
 
 I shall be much pleased to hear them, said Mr. Cassall, 
 if it will be agreeable to the doctor. 
 
 What I we are coming to the tales of superstitions now, 
 are we ? said the doctor. Let us hear them, by all means. 
 I suppose you will not insist upon my placing implicit 
 
IN AMERICA. 119 
 
 credit in all that is here related ? added he, glancing the 
 corner of his eye at Mr. Norset. 
 
 O, doctor, you are at perfect liberty to please yourself 
 in that respect. I must observe, however, as regards these 
 portions of the narrative, that there is nothing related but 
 what might have been absolutely and strictly true, but 
 which yet, — when looked at through the superstitious light 
 in which we know that, until a comparatively recent period, 
 and sometimes even now, many circumstances and events 
 were viewed which natural phenomena are sufficient to ex- 
 plain, — might be easily tinged with that supernatural air 
 which it is possible to throw over almost every transaction. 
 Of course you will be able to separate this merely extra- 
 neous character from the real facts of the narration. The 
 whole gives an interesting insight into the habits and modes 
 of thinking and feeling of the times. I will proceed, then, 
 straight forward with the narrative. 
 
 Pardon me a moment, said Mr.Cassall; did you not say 
 that Thorstein was the first husband of Gudrid, who sub- 
 sequently became the wife of Thorfinn ? and that details 
 were given, in the " account of Thorfinn," as well as in 
 that " of Eirek the Red, and of Greenland," of Thorstein 
 and Gudrid ?* 
 
 I did. 
 
 Are the details similar in each account ? 
 
 They are similar in all the main facts. In some of the 
 circumstantial details there are variations. Thus, for ex- 
 ample, it is not stated in the " account of Thorfinn," that 
 Thorstein ever contemplated visiting Vinland. This fact 
 might easily be omitted as unimportant, or be unknown, 
 since the truth was that he never reached Vinland. Both 
 accounts state the place and time and cause of his death in 
 a similar manner, with similar details of all the principal 
 
 * See ante, p. 83. 
 
120 THE NORTHMEN 
 
 attendant circumstances ; which latter details comprise 
 much the principal portion of this part of the narrative in 
 each account. 
 
 If that is the case, said the doctor, I suppose that 
 Gudrid plays rather a conspicuous figure in these trans- 
 actions ? 
 
 She does, answered Mr. Norset. 
 
 Well, then, have you no details concerning her early 
 history ? We know Eirek and his history pretty well by 
 this time, and his sons come to us with somewhat familiar 
 faces ; but Gudrid comes upon the stage quite a stranger 
 and unknown. We certainly ought to have some more 
 ceremonious introduction to her ladyship. Know you 
 nothing of her birth, parentage, and education ? 
 
 O yes ! somewhat full details are given of her early 
 history, and as she makes so conspicuous a figure in the 
 subsequent narrative of Thorfinn, it may, perhaps, be as 
 well, as you suggest, to glance at those details. 
 
 Pray let us have all the particulars which you possess 
 concerning her, said the doctor. 
 
 Such being your wish, we will take that which relates 
 to her early history, in the first place, and afterwards 
 proceed to the narrative connected with her first husband, 
 Thorstein. 
 
 So be it, said the doctor ; to which arrangement Mr. 
 Cassall signified his assent. 
 
 As this is merely a kind of episode to our narrative, re<- 
 marked Mr. Norset, and is not therefore liable to give rise, 
 in its details, to any controversy, we shall proceed more 
 rapidly than we have hitherto done. Now, gentlemen, 
 attention ! — 
 
 " There* was a sea-king (arch-pirate) named Olaf, 
 commonly known by the name of Olaf the White. He 
 
 * Antiq. Am. p. 84. 
 
IK AMERICA. 121 
 
 was the son of king Ixgiald, son of Helga, son of Ola f, 
 son of Gudred, son of Halfdan Whitefoot, king of 
 Upland. Olaf went on expeditions into the western 
 country, and subjected to his rule Dublin, in Ireland, and 
 the whole county of Dublin, and ruled there with the title 
 of king. 
 
 " He married a wife named Aud, the daughter of Ketil 
 Pugnose, the son of Biarni Splay-foot, a man of high 
 station in Norway." 
 
 Elegant cognomens these Northmen give, remarked the 
 doctor. 
 
 " They had a son named Thorstein the Red. Olaf 
 fell in battle in Ireland. Aud and Thorstein then retired 
 to Sudreyjar {Hebrides, west of Scotland). There Thor- 
 stein married Thorid, daughter of Eyvind Eastman, 
 (that is, from the east country,) and sister of Helga the 
 Lean. They had many children. 
 
 " Thorstein lived as a sea-king: he joined himself with 
 Sigurd Jarl the Powerful, son of Epstein the Noisy. 
 They seized Caithness, Sutherland, Ross, and Murray, (in 
 Scotland,) and more than half of Scotland, which Thor- 
 stein ruled with the title of king, until, deceived by the 
 craft of the Scots, he was slain in battle. Aud was in 
 Caithness when she heard of the slaughter of Thorstein. 
 She caused a vessel to be secretly fitted out, and went to 
 the Orkneys. There she left Gro, the daughter of Thor- 
 stein the Red, and mother of Grelad, whom Thorfinn Jarl 
 married. 
 
 " Afterwards Aud went to Iceland with a ship's crew of 
 twenty freed men. She staid the first winter at Biarn- 
 haven, with her brother Biarni. She afterwards took pos- 
 session of Dal A land. She worshipped at Krosshol ; for 
 she had been baptized, and was a zealous Christian. She 
 was accompanied to Iceland by many men of renown, who, 
 having been taken prisoners in piratical expeditions in the 
 
 G 
 
122 THE NORTHMEN 
 
 west, were called retainers. One of these was named Vifil. 
 He was of noble birth, and had been taken prisoner in the 
 west country, (neighbourhood of Ireland,) and was called 
 a retainer, until Aud gave him his freedom. 
 
 " When Aud gave lands to all her followers, Vifil asked 
 her why she gave him no land, as she did to all the others. 
 Aud said that it mattered little, for that, wherever he was, 
 he would be esteemed noble. She afterwards gave him 
 Vifilsdal, (Vale of Vifil,) where he subsequently dwelt. 
 He married. His sons were Thorbiorn and Thorgeir, 
 youths of great promise, who grew up under their father's 
 roof. 
 
 " Thorgeir,* the (eldest) son of Vifil, married Arnor, 
 daughter of Einar of Laugarbrekk. The name of 
 another daughter of Einar was Hallveig, whom Thor- 
 biorn (the younger son of Vifil) married, the farm of 
 Laugarbrekk, in Hellisval, being given as her portion. 
 Thither Thorbiorn went to live, and acquired great honour. 
 He was a good neighbour, and was liberal and sumptuous 
 in his mode of living. He had a daughter named Gudrid. 
 She excelled all other women in beauty ; in every accom- 
 plishment and grace, she surpassed all others. 
 
 " There was a man named Orm, who lived at Arnastap. 
 He had a wife named Halldis. Orm was a good neigh- 
 bour, and a fast friend of Thorbiorn ; — and Gudrid often 
 passed some time at his house. 
 
 " There was a man named Thorgeir, living at Thor- 
 geirsfel, and very wealthy. He had been a freed man. 
 He had a son named Einar, of handsome form, well en- 
 dowed by nature with all that is most noble, and fond of 
 magnificence. Einar was a merchant, and had met with 
 great success. He passed the winters alternately in Ice- 
 land and in Norway. 
 
 * Antiq. Am. p. 95. 
 
IX AMERICA. 123 
 
 '• It happened one autumn that Einar, being in Iceland, 
 brought his merchandise to Snjofellstrand. He came to 
 Arnastap. Orm offered him the hospitalities of his house. 
 These Einar accepted, for a friendship had long existed 
 between them. Einar exhibited his goods to Orm and his 
 family, and desired lus host to accept whatever he liked. 
 Orm thanked him, with many compliments. 
 
 '• While they were thus engaged, a female passed the 
 door. Einar asked Orm who that lovely damsel was. ' I 
 have not seen her before,' he said. Orm answered, — ' It is 
 Gudrid, my guest, the daughter of Thorbiorn, of Laugar- 
 brekk.' Then said Einar, ' That is well: has she many 
 suitors ? ' Orm answered, ' There have been many, but 
 the task is not easy ; for both her father and herself are 
 very difficult to satisfy in the choice of a husband.' ' I 
 am desirous,' said Einar, ' of becoming a suitor; and I 
 could wish that you would open the matter to Thorbiorn, 
 her father, and do all in your power to bring it about : you 
 will ever deserve my devoted friendship if you shall ac- 
 complish the end. Thorbiorn must easily perceive that 
 this connection will be advantageous to us both ; for he is 
 a most excellent man, and of good estate ; but I have been 
 told that his property is rapidly decreasing. My father 
 and myself possess great wealth ; wherefore this matter 
 will be highly to the interest of Thorbiorn.' 
 
 " ' I consider you as my friend, indeed,' replied Orm ; 
 ' but I am anxious not to move in this affair ; for Thorbi- 
 orn is high-tempered and proud.' Einar professed that he 
 would be satisfied with no excuse. Orm at length con- 
 sented to do as he wished. Einar then returned home. 
 
 " After some time, Thorbiorn, as was his wont, prepared 
 a sumptuous autumnal feast ; for he delighted in magni- 
 ficence. Orm of Arnastap was present, with many other 
 friends of Thorbiorn. In the course of conversation with 
 Thorbiorn, Orm mentioned that Einar, of Thorgeirsfel, had 
 g2 
 
124 'THE NORTHMEN 
 
 recently been with him. He proceeded to solicit for a 
 wife in the name of Einar, urging the benefits of the con- 
 nection, and saying, ' This matter will be very advantageous 
 to you, friend, in a pecuniary point of view.' Thorbiorn 
 answered, — ' I little expected this from you ; that I should 
 marry my daughter to the son of a slave ! You imagine, 
 perhaps, that money fails me, that you make such a pro- 
 position. She shall remain no longer with you, since you 
 consider her worthy of so mean an estate.' 
 
 " Orm returned home, as did all the others. Gudrid 
 remained at her father's house during the whole winter. 
 In the following spring, Thorbiorn again gave a feast ; the 
 company was numerous, for it was a very great feast. In 
 the midst of the banquet, Thorbiorn, silence having been 
 obtained, thus spoke : — ' I have lived here long, and have 
 found all men kind and friendly, and all our intercourse 
 has been most happy. At length, however, I find myself 
 threatened with pecuniary difficulties, although, till this 
 time, I have been considered to abound in wealth. I pre- 
 fer to leave the country, rather than lose the station which 
 I hold ; wherefore I design to seek a home elsewhere, in 
 preference to reducing my present establishment : I shall 
 rely on the promises which Eirek the Red, my friend, made, 
 when we separated in Breidafiord. I have determined, in 
 the ensuing summer, to go to Greenland.' 
 
 " All were grieved at this sudden change ; for Thor- 
 biorn was much beloved. They knew, however, that it 
 was in vain to expostulate. 
 
 " Thorbiorn presented gifts to all ; the banquet closed, 
 and each returned to his own home. Thorbiorn sold his 
 lands, and bought a ship in the port of Hraunhafn. Thirty 
 men accompanied him, among whom Avere Orm of Arnas- 
 tap, and his wife, together with other friends of Thorbiorn, 
 who were unwilling to separate from him. 
 
 i( They put out to sea. After they had been some time 
 
IN AMERICA. 125 
 
 at sea, the wind fell. They wandered from their course, 
 and met with many disasters. Disease attacked them : 
 Orm and Halldis, his wife, died, and half of the whole 
 company. The ship was tossed on the ocean, and all the 
 survivors underwent much suffering and hardship in every 
 way. At length, in the beginning of winter, they reached 
 Heriulfness, in Greenland. 
 
 " There was a man then living in Heriulfness, named 
 Thorkel, a man of great authority. He extended hospi- 
 talities to Thorbiorn and all his companions through the 
 whole of this winter, and treated them very kindly. 
 
 " There was at that time a great scarcity in Greenland, 
 for those who had gone out had some of them returned 
 with small supplies ; others had not yet returned at all. 
 
 " There lived in that neighbourhood a woman named 
 Thorbiorg. She was a fortune-teller, and was called the 
 Little Witch. She had had nine sisters, all fortune-tell- 
 ers, bat she alone survived. It was the habit of Thorbiorg 
 to attend the feasts usually given in winter ; those persons 
 chiefly inviting her, who desired to learn their future for- 
 tunes, or the prospects of the supplies. Thorkel being one 
 of the principal inhabitants, it seemed to be his place to 
 ascertain when the present scarcity would be relieved. He 
 therefore invited the fortune-teller, and treated her with 
 great courtesy, as was the custom when such women were 
 entertained. 
 
 " An elevated seat was prepared for her, on which was 
 a cushion stuffed with cock's feathers. When evening was 
 come, she arrived, accompanied by a man who had been 
 sent to meet her. She was clothed as follows : — her outer 
 garment was a blue cloak, trimmed all over with ribands, 
 and ornamented with precious stones all round the border. 
 She had on a necklace of glass beads. On her head she 
 wore a black hood, made of lamb's-skin, lined with white 
 cats' skins. She carried in her hand a staff, ornamented 
 
126 THE NORTHMEN 
 
 with copper, and which had precious stones fixed into its 
 head. She was girt with a girdle made of bark, from which 
 hung a large leathern pouch, in which she carried the in- 
 struments of her incantations. On her feet she wore high 
 shoes, covered with hair, and made of calf-skin, with long 
 latchets, to the extremities of which were fastened little 
 balls of tin. Her hands were covered with gloves of cat- 
 skin, white and hairy on the inside. 
 
 " As she entered, all esteemed it their duty to address 
 her in respectful terms. She returned their salutations as 
 she thought proper. Thorkel, the host, led her by the 
 hand to the seat prepared for her, and asked her to cast 
 her eyes (as in bestowal of a blessing) over all his house- 
 hold. She was exceedingly brief-spoken on all matters. 
 
 " As the evening advanced, the tables were laid. It is 
 here proper to state what dish was prepared for the fortune- 
 teller. A mess was made of goats' milk and the hearts of 
 all the animals which could be obtained. She used a 
 copper spoon, and a brazen knife, the handle of which was 
 made of a twisted tooth, and the point of which was 
 broken. 
 
 " The tables having been cleared, Thorkel, the host, 
 advancing towards Thorbiorg, asked her how the arrange- 
 ments of his household pleased her, and how soon she 
 would be able to give any answer concerning those mat- 
 ters on which they all anxiously desired to consult her. 
 She said she should be unable to give any answer before 
 the following day. 
 
 " The next day, towards evening, all preparations were 
 made which she required for her incantations. She de- 
 sired that some women should be found who could sing 
 the mystic verses necessary to the incantation, and which 
 are called Vardlokkur (allurers of the tutelary genii)» 
 No woman could be found able to sing these verses, al- 
 though they sought over the whole neighbourhood. 
 
IN AMERICA. 127 
 
 " Then said Giftlrid, — ' I am neither learned nor a pro- 
 phetess ; but Halldis, my friend, taught me a song in 
 Iceland which she called Yardlokkur.' ' Happy circum- 
 stance!'* exclaimed Thorkcl; but she answered, 'I can- 
 not take any part in this matter, for I am a Christian 
 woman.' Thorbiorg replied, — ' You may render great 
 assistance to others, and without any loss to yourself. I 
 demand of Thorkel all things necessary.' Then Thorkel 
 strongly endeavoured to persuade Gudrid, and she at 
 length consented to do as he wished. All the women then 
 surrounded the place of incantation, Thorbiorg sitting on 
 the elevation in the midst. Gudrid sang the mystic verses 
 in tones so sweet, and with such grace, that each one 
 present thought that he had never heard any thing so 
 musical or sweet before. 
 
 " The fortune-teller, having thanked her for her ser- 
 vices, declared that many spirits had been allured by the 
 sweetness of the verses so exquisitely sung, and would 
 now be present with their aid, ' who before,' she added. 
 ' had intended to be adverse to us, or to render us no aid. 
 Many things are now known to me which were before 
 unknown as well to me as to others. This I have to say 
 to you, Thorkel, that this scarcity will endure no longer 
 than the present winter, and that the coming spring will 
 hail a happier year. The diseases which now oppress your 
 people will leave them sooner than you have imagined.' 
 
 " ' To you, Gudrid,' she continued, ' for the assistance 
 which you have rendered, I will give an immediate re- 
 ward ; for your future fates are known to me. You will 
 marry a man, here in Greenland, of most honourable sta- 
 
 * This expression, in the original, (see Antiq. Am. p. 109,) refers to 
 the great knowledge which Gudrid exhihited in being acquainted with 
 these verses. The sense, however, is best rendered, it is thought, by 
 translating it as above. 
 
128 THE NORTHMEN 
 
 tion, but you will not enjoy him long ; for your life will be 
 passed in Iceland, where a great and noble race shall spring 
 from you. A more glorious destiny awaits your offspring, 
 than it is in my power to testify. And now, daughter, 
 hail ! and fare thee well ! ' 
 
 " Then all the men approached the witch, each to seek 
 what most he desired to know. She was not difficult to 
 be entreated, nor did her responses err. Presently others 
 sent for her from other places, being desirous to consult 
 her, and she left the house of Thorkel. 
 
 " But Thorbiorn went away, for he was unwilling to be 
 in the house while such superstitions were entertained, 
 The weather became milder, as Thorbiorg had foretold, 
 Thorbiorn immediately got ready his vessel and pursued 
 his course, till he came to Brattahlid. Eirek received him 
 in a very friendly manner, rejoicing at his arrival. Thor- 
 biorn spent the whole of that year in the house of Eirek, 
 as did his sailors among the neighbours. In the ensuing 
 spring, Eirek gave Thorbiorn land in Stokkaness, where he 
 built a sumptuous mansion, and thenceforth dwelt there." 
 
 And thus, said Mr. Norset, ends the account of Gudrid. 
 
 A most marvellous kind of a narrative, truly, said the 
 doctor. However, we are better acquainted with the lady 
 than we were. After all, the superstitions of these people 
 were not much greater, if at all, than what prevailed very 
 commonly among our own people, until a comparatively 
 recent period, and which are not totally extinguished yet, 
 in the minds of many. 
 
 True, doctor ; and you will acknowledge, I think, that 
 the narrative thus- given, though, as you say, a marvellous 
 kind of a story, bears about it, in its details, the character 
 of the age to which it is ascribed, and that it has the aspect 
 of truth. 
 
 Perhaps I may admit that, said the doctor ; but you gar® 
 nothing to your argument from such an admission. 
 
IM AMERICA. 129 
 
 Yes I do, answered Mr. Norset ; the admission of the 
 authentic character of one part of a narration necessarily 
 spreads itself over the whole, and becomes testimony to the 
 truth of the remainder. 
 
 Well, well, said the doctor, we shall see about that pre- 
 sently ; but I must take good care not to make any more 
 admissions. 
 
 You cannot help yourself, doctor, said Mr. Norset, 
 smiling ; they drop incidentally, before you are aware of it, 
 as must necessarily be the case in discussing a subject of 
 this kind, where the unity of the testimony is so complete. 
 
 I suppose, interposed Mr. Cassall, that we may now 
 return to the account of Thorstein, and his expedition, 
 having had this episode concerning Gudrid his wife. 
 
 We will, if you please; and then we shall see something 
 more of the superstitions of the age. It is obvious that 
 the station of Thorfinn and his descendants led to the re- 
 cording of these imagined prodigies. We know that there 
 is a disposition, even in our own day, to throw something 
 of the wonderful about the birth, or early years, of any 
 character which has subsequently attained to great cele- 
 brity. 
 
 The prodigies in the narration of Thorstein's history 
 relate, then, to Gudrid, I presume ? 
 
 They do principally concern her, and may, therefore, 
 properly be considered as a part of her history. 
 
 This narration, I think you said, is contained both in the 
 account of Eirek the Red, and in that of Thorfinn ? 
 
 No ; the narrative of Thorstein's intended expedition is 
 contained only in the " account of Eirek the Red, and of 
 Greenland" The remainder of the details, in which Gudrid 
 figures, is contained in each account, and at pretty nearly 
 the same length, and with very slight difference in the 
 facts stated. We will compare the accounts as we proceed. 
 The narrative, continuing from the account of Thorvald's 
 go 
 
130 THE NORTHMEN 
 
 death, proceeds thus ; — and you will perceive that it takes 
 up the thread of Gudrid's history where the episode which 
 we have just perused left it : — 
 
 " In* the mean time, (that is, in the winter of 1004-5, 
 before the return of Thorvald's ship,) the following circum- 
 stance had transpired in Greenland. Thorstein Eirek- 
 son had married Gudrid, the daughter of Thorbiorn. 
 
 " Thorstein was seized with a strong desire to pass over 
 to Vinland, to fetch the body of his brother Thorvald. He 
 therefore fitted out a vessel, with that design in view, and 
 manned it with twenty -five men, selected for their strength 
 and stature, besides himself and Gudrid. When all was 
 ready, they put out to sea, and were soon out of sight of 
 land. Through the whole summer they were tossed on 
 the deep, and were driven they knew not whither. In the 
 first week of winter, f (that is, about 20th October,) they 
 made land, which they found to be in Lysufiord, on the 
 western coast of Greenland. Thorstein endeavoured to 
 find accommodation for his men, and succeeded in obtain- 
 ing it for all of them. He himself and his wife were with- 
 out any accommodation. They remained, therefore, for 
 some days in the ship. 
 
 " At that time the Christian religion had been but re- 
 cently introduced. — " 
 
 Pardon me, interrupted Mr. Cassall, but what was the 
 date of Thorstein's expedition ? 
 
 It would appear to have been undertaken immediately, 
 or almost immediately, after the return of the ship of 
 Thorvald, bearing the tidings of that leader's death. We 
 are told that, " in the mean time," — that is, before the re- 
 
 * Antiq. Am. p. 47. See also, ante, p. 117. 
 
 t The winter was reckoned by the ancient Northmen to commence 
 on the first Saturday which fell between the 10th and 18th days of 
 October. Cf. Antiq. Am. 48, note a, and 437, note b, &c. 
 
IN' AMERICA. 131 
 
 turn of the ship, — Thorstein had married Gudrid; and, 
 from a collation of the different accounts, it appears that 
 he cannot have lived more than a year after the marriage. 
 So that his voyage was undertaken in the summer of 1005, 
 and his death took place in the winter of the same year. 
 
 " It happened one clay that some men came early in the 
 morning to Thorstein's cabin. Their leader asked how 
 many men there -were in the cabin ? Thorstein answered, 
 1 There are two ; Avhom do you seek ? ' The stranger 
 replied, — 'I am Thorstein, surnamed Thorstein the 
 Swarthy ; I have come here to offer to you and your 
 wife entertainment at my house.' The offer, after some de- 
 liberation, he accepted. Then said Thorstein the Swarthy, 
 — ' I will come, to-morrow, with a yoke of oxen, to bring 
 you to my house. I want nothing that can conduce to 
 your entertainment ; but it is tedious staying with me, on 
 account of the loneliness of my family, for there are only 
 two of us, I and my wife. I am also of a different reli- 
 gion to you, though I consider yours as the more excel- 
 lent.' On the following morning he came, with a yoke of 
 oxen, and took them to his house ; and they remained 
 with Thorstein the Swarthy, who entertained them hospi- 
 tably." 
 
 This was a curious kind of a rencounter, however, said 
 the doctor. Pray, who was this Thorstein the Swarthy, 
 who came in such a singular manner, and lived in such 
 solitude, and adhered to one religion, though he considered 
 another to be better ? He must have been a singular 
 character. 
 
 So the narrative gives us to understand. We are, how- 
 ever, told little of his history. 
 
 And do both the narratives carry Thorstein Eirekson 
 to the house of this Thorstein the Swarthy ? 
 
 They do ; though, as I have before mentioned, nothing 
 is said, in the narrative of Thorfinn, about his having been 
 
132 THE NORTHMEN 
 
 driven there after the failure of his unfortunate expedition.* 
 It is from this point that the two accounts agree. 
 
 Proceed, then. 
 
 " Gudrid was conspicuous for the comeliness of her form, 
 fo her prudence, and for her good discourse. 
 
 " It happened, in the ensuing winter, (1005-6,) that a 
 severe disease attacked the sailors of Thorstein Eirekson, 
 which carried off many of them. Thorstein commanded 
 that coffins should be made for the bodies of all the dead, 
 and that they should be carried down to the ship ; ' for I 
 intend,' said he, ' to carry them all to Eireksfiord in the 
 ensuing summer ' (to be buried). 
 
 " It was not long before the same disease entered the 
 family of Thorstein, (the Swarthy,) whose wife, named 
 Grimhild," — or, according to the other account^ Sigrid, 
 — " was the first attacked ; and, although she was of 
 great size and strength, she yet became the victim of the 
 disease." In the " account of Thorfinn," some curious 
 particulars as to her illness are given, which, as they 
 record one of those cases of spectral illusions which have 
 so often been referred to supernatural agency, and given 
 rise to stories of ghosts and spiritual visitants, may be 
 worthy record. 
 
 I do not understand, interrupted the doctor, how it 
 happens that such full particulars should be given in the 
 " account of Thorfinn " of this part of the history of 
 Eirek's family, when such meagre details are given of 
 all other parts of the history of that family. 
 
 I have already f told you, answered Mr. Norset, that 
 Gudrid became the wife of Thorfinn. All these details 
 concern her more or less immediately, and there is, there- 
 fore, just the same reason for their being found in the 
 
 * The reason of which has been explained, ante, p. 119 ; and see 
 next page. f Ante, pp. 83 and 119. 
 
IN AMERICA. 133 
 
 account of Thorfinn, as there is for details of the progress 
 of Christianity being found there. It was a branch of the 
 subject in which the narrator of Thorfinn's history was as 
 much interested as the narrator of Eirek's history, and 
 one in which each would have precisely the same source 
 of information, namely, Gudrid herself. It is obvious 
 that the first Icelandic narrator, probably Thorfinn himself, 
 who handed down these facts to the Saga-men, would, 
 through Gudrid, have every means of knowing all these 
 details accurately, which he would not have with respect 
 to other points in the history of Eirek's family. The cir- 
 cumstance, then, of the fullness of these particular details, 
 and the meagreness of the others relating to the family of 
 Eirek, in the "account of Thorfinn," affords a very 
 striking additional internal proof of the truth and authen- 
 ticity of both the narratives. But, to proceed with the 
 account of Grimhild's illness, as given in the "account of 
 Thorfinn" 
 
 "One* evening Grimhild expressed her desire to go 
 outside the house with Gudrid. When they had reached 
 the outer door, Grimhild uttered a loud cry. Said Gudrid, 
 ' We have been incautious, for you are little able to bear 
 the cold draught ; let us go back into the house as cmickly 
 as possible.' Grimhild answered, ' We cannot easily go 
 back, as it is ; for here, before the door, moves the whole 
 band of the dead men, and I recognize among them your 
 husband Thorstein, and myself also. I never saw a sight 
 so dreadful ! ' Not long after, she added, ' Now, Gudrid, 
 let us go back, for I do not any longer see the crowd.' 
 Thorstein, too, had disappeared, whom she had just seen, 
 with a whip in his hand, as if lashing the crowd of men. 
 Then they went back into the house. Before morning, 
 Grimhild died ; a coffin was made for her body. The 
 
 Antiq. Am. p. 124. 
 
134 THE NORTHMEN 
 
 same day the men went out to fish, and Thorstein the 
 Swarthy accompanied them to the fishing stations : when 
 dawn appeared, he went down to see how much they had 
 caught. Thorstein Eirekson sent a messenger after him, 
 desiring him to return, for that his wife Grimhild did not. 
 lie quiet. He came and laid her straight." Or, as the 
 other account relates it, — the main facts being the same:* 
 — " Grimhild died ; and, when she was dead, Thorstein 
 went out to fetch a plank on which to lay her body. 
 Gudrid said to him, ' You will not be long, Thorstein ? ' 
 He promised to return immediately. Then said Thorstein 
 Eirekson, ' There is something remarkable about Grimhild, 
 for she stirs on her couch, and her foot moves as if seeking 
 to touch the ground.' Just then, Thorstein, the host, re- 
 turned, and, at the same moment, Grimhild fell back with 
 such . violence that every beam in the house creaked. 
 Then Thorstein made a coffin for Grimhild, and placed 
 her therein. 
 
 " At the close of the same day, Thorstein Eirekson 
 died, and Gudrid his wife was much afflicted. Thenf 
 Thorstein the Swarthy desired Gudrid to retire and rest 
 herself, for that he would watch by the dead body. He £ 
 endeavoured to comfort and console her in every mode, 
 and promised that he would take her, together with the 
 dead body of her husband Thorstein, and those of all his 
 men, to Eireksfiord ; ' and I will also,' he added, ' send for 
 some friends here to comfort you.' She thanked him. At 
 this moment, Thorstein Eirekson rose and cried, — ' Where 
 is Gudrid ? ' Thrice he repeated these words, and then 
 was silent;" — or, according to the other account §, which 
 is, upon the whole, probably the most correct, though the 
 difference is very slight ; — " Thorstein Eirekson called for 
 
 * Antiq. Am. p. 51. f Ibid. p. 126. % Ibid. p. 52. 
 
 § Ibid. p. 126. Cf. through remainder, the two narratives together. 
 
IK AMERICA. 135 
 
 Gudrid, saying that he wished to speak to her. Thorstein 
 the Swarthy went to Gudrid, roused her, and, having de- 
 sired her to mark herself with the cross, and to ask the 
 aid of her God, he told her what Thorstein Eirekson had 
 said ; — ' He wishes you to go to him : — so determine 
 whether you will or no, for I do not know how to advise 
 you.' She answered, — ' Perhaps this extraordinary cir- 
 cumstance has reference to some events of futurity. I 
 trust that God will protect me, and I will, therefore, under 
 his mercy, venture to go to my husband and hear what he 
 wishes to say.' " 
 
 I hardly understand all this, said Mr. Cassall. Did they 
 imagine that these marvels took place after the deaths of 
 the parties ? 
 
 Undoubtedly that was their idea. Thus the motions of 
 Grimhild caused astonishment, because it was thought 
 that she had been dead before, whereas, doubtless, she had 
 not. And so with respect to Thorstein. It was imagined 
 that he had died, when he had only become temporarily 
 insensible through weakness. On his recovery, he called 
 for his wife ; but, all having thought him dead, this dread 
 and hesitation were occasioned ; hence, the air of mystery 
 thrown over the whole transaction, and the prophetic 
 character which was given to his words in the repetition. 
 The account proceeds : — 
 
 " ' I will go to my husband, and hear what he wishes to 
 say, for I shall be unable, at any rate, to escape it if it 
 forebodes evil. The matter may be of importance.' Then 
 Gudrid went to Thorstein. He seemed to her to pour 
 forth tears. He spoke a few words in a low tone to her, 
 which none but herself could hear; afterwards he spoke 
 as follows, in the hearing of all : * — < They are blessed who 
 hold the (Christian) faith, for they will have salvation and 
 
 * Cf. Antiq. Am. pp. 53 and 128. 
 
136 THE NORTHMEN 
 
 mercy ; and yet many observe the faith but ill ; for it has 
 been the custom here, in Greenland, from the time that 
 Christianity was first introduced, that men should be buried 
 in unconsecrated ground, few funeral rites being performed. 
 I wish that you should carry me, and the other men who 
 have died, and bury us in a consecrated church.' He also 
 foretold to her something of her future lot, indicating that 
 a high destiny awaited her ; and he besought her not to 
 marry any man of Greenland. He desired her to bestow 
 a part of his money on a church, and a part on the poor. 
 Having thus spoken, he expired. 
 
 "It had been the custom in Greenland, from the in- 
 troduction of Christianity, that the dead should be buried 
 on the farms where they died, the ground being unconse- 
 crated, and merely a stake driven into the ground over 
 the breast of the deceased. Afterwards, when the priests 
 came, the stake was drawn out, and holy water poured in, 
 and funeral rites, though so late, performed. 
 
 " Thorstein the Swarthy * did all that he had promised. 
 In the following spring, (A.D. 1006,) he sold his farm and 
 cattle, and carried Gudrid and all her property down to 
 the ship. He fitted out the ship and manned it, and went 
 to Eireksfiord. The bodies of Thorstein and of the others 
 were there buried in the church, with proper funeral rites. 
 Gudrid betook herself to Leif, at Brattahlid. Thorstein 
 the Swarthy took upon himself the management of a farm 
 in Eireksfiord, and dwelt there as long as he lived, much 
 respected." 
 
 Thus ends the history of Thorstein. 
 
 Poor Thorstein ! said Mr. Cassall. Really, the sons of 
 Eirek were, with the exception of Leif, most unfortunate. 
 Well might he be called Leif the Lucky, for he escaped 
 those dangers to which each of his brothers fell a victim. 
 
 * Antiq. Am. p. 54. 
 
IN AMERICA. 137 
 
 And, pray, what does the doctor think of these portions 
 of the narrative ? asked Mr. Norset, with a smile. 
 
 O, remarked the doctor, you said you did not require 
 me to believe all that is here told; and so I have not 
 troubled myself to point out the obvious absurdities as you 
 proceeded. 
 
 Do you then think that there is any thing in this last 
 portion of the narrative, — (you admitted that the story of 
 Gudrid bore about it the character of truth,) — that may 
 not very easily be explained by reference to simple and 
 well-known natural phenomena? 
 
 Certainly not, answered the doctor, contemptuously ; 
 who can doubt it ? Is it not, therefore, most absurd to pre- 
 tend to put any faith in a tale which contains such marvels 
 made out of nothing at all ? 
 
 There, doctor, you and I come to quite different con- 
 clusions. You acknowledge that there is nothing here but 
 what is explicable by reference to simple natural pheno- 
 mena. And you know, as well as I do, what superstitions 
 prevailed in the age in which these circumstances are re- 
 corded to have taken place, and, indeed, till a much later 
 period. You know how easy it is. to throw a supernatural 
 air over very many natural phenomena, and how constantly 
 it was done in that age. Well, then, it certainly amounts 
 to a very great proof of the authenticity and perfect truth 
 of both the narratives in which these details are contained, 
 when we find that all the facts narrated, even in this part, 
 although a superstitious air of supernaturality is thus 
 thrown over them, are yet, every one of them, perfectly 
 simple and explicable, and likely to have occurred. They 
 are not wondrous prodigies, such as a " Tale of the Genii " 
 contains, but simple, probable phenomena, viewed and re- 
 corded by a superstitious mind, and tinged, in the record* 
 with the hue in which he viewed them, 
 
138 THE NORTHMEN 
 
 Humph ! said the doctor ; you contrive to turn every- 
 thing to the support of your own view of the question. 
 
 Nay, doctor, it is no turning. Such is, unfortunately 
 for you, the natural tendency of truth. All its parts 
 cohere, and mutually establish and support each other. 
 
 Does this, then, asked Mr. Cassall, bring us to the close 
 of the narrative of Eirek the Red, and his sons ? 
 
 It brings us to the close of all the most important par- 
 ticulars of that narrative. There is an account given of 
 an expedition to Vinland of Freydis, the daughter of 
 Eirek, and her husband Thorvard, accompanied by two 
 brothers, Helgi and Finnbogi, merchants from Norway. 
 This expedition did not occur till six years after that of 
 Thorstein, (A.D. 1011,) and until after the return of 
 Thorfinn. It will be hardly worth while to occupy our 
 time with the details of this expedition, however, since no 
 fresh discoveries are recorded, and nothing is exhibited to 
 us but the character of a cruel and hard-hearted woman, 
 reckless of her conduct, and mindful only of the gain she 
 made. By her treachery the brothers and their whole 
 company were destroyed, and their vessel, which was 
 larger than her husband's, was seized and laden. Her 
 conduct was subsequently made known to Leif by some 
 of her own company, and his justly excited anger was only 
 restrained from inflicting the punishment due to her crimes, 
 by the consideration of the ill effect which it would have 
 upon the dignity of his family. He contented himself with 
 pronouncing his opinion of her conduct, and withholding 
 from her children all places of trust and honour. 
 
 Then we proceed next to the " account of Thorfinn "? 
 
 We will do so this afternoon or to-morrow. Our pre- 
 sent discussion has already occupied almost the whole of 
 this morning. It has been protracted much longer than I 
 expected. 
 
IN AMERICA. 139 
 
 I am most anxious to hear the narrative of Thorfinn. 
 Is there much contained in it which has not been detailed 
 in the preceding narratives ? or does he make any fresh 
 explorations? 
 
 Both these. The whole narrative is different in many 
 respects, and, perhaps, more interesting; and there are 
 several fresh facts recorded with respect to the regions 
 explored by Eirek's sons, which are valuable and in- 
 teresting. 
 
 Then I think we had better devote this afternoon to the 
 continuation of the subject. I am certainly very anxious 
 to hear something more of Gudrid, and to become ac- 
 quainted with the heroes of the next expedition. What 
 says the doctor ? 
 
 With all my heart. We will have it this afternoon, if 
 you please, said the doctor, carelessly. 
 
 Now, seriously and soberly, doctor, said Mr. Norset, do 
 you mean to say that you can any longer have the slightest 
 doubt that the Northmen did discover and explore, to a 
 great extent, the shores of the continent of North America 
 south of Greenland? — You have been compelled to ac- 
 knowledge their discovery of Greenland, and thus, in fact, 
 of America. — Or do you pretend to doubt that they ex- 
 plored, and not only so, but that they fixed their abode on, 
 the shores of New England, five centuries before the 
 discoveries and expeditions of Christoval Colon? 
 
 Well, well, said the doctor, — apparently not well pleased 
 to be called upon for a straight-forward answer. — perhaps 
 there may be something in it; perhaps they did come 
 here ; I suppose they did. 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 Arrival of Thorfinn Karlsefni in Greenland, (A.D. 1006.) — Mar 
 riage with Gudrid, (1006-7.)— Expedition to Vinland, (1007.)— 
 Arrival at Kialarness, (Cape Cod.) — Winters (1007-8) in Straum- 
 fiord, (Buzzard's Bay.) — Snorri Thorfinnson born there, (1007.) 
 Thorfinn passes on to Hop, (Rhode Islanfl,) (1008.) — Winters there, 
 (1008-9.) — Indian Traditions and Names. — Thorfinn encounters the 
 Natives, (1009.) — Sails up the Bay (towards Providence.) — Returns 
 to Straumfiord, (1009.) — Expedition along the Eastern Coast, (1009.) 
 — Winters at Straumfiord, (1009-10.) — Returns to Greenland, 
 (1010.) — Two Natives taken on way home. — Destruction of Biarni 
 Grimolfson. — Thorfinn settles at Glaumbce, in Iceland. 
 
 What I doctor,— you are beforehand with me this after- 
 noon ! exclaimed Mr. Norset, entering the room. Who 
 could have dreamed that you were so very impatient to 
 hear the continuation of these narratives, that you must 
 come here directly after dinner ? I took my hat for half 
 an hour, and have been sauntering beyond the old fort, 
 here on the Point, indulging my fancy with visions of the 
 doings of the Northmen, when they visited this neighbour- 
 hood. .Doubtless their footsteps traversed this very part 
 of the island. 
 
 Indulging your fancy, ay ? said the doctor ; observe 
 that, Mr. Cassall. 
 
 Well, doctor, and what of that ? asked Mr. Norset. 
 
 O, nothing, nothing, said the doctor, carelessly; only 
 indulging your fancy a little ; — quite necessary in the 
 matter of these Northmen, you know. 
 
 I understand you, doctor ; but you will not be able to 
 hang a very weighty argument upon that hook. Did you 
 never read of the landing of the Pilgrim fathers ? 
 
THE NORTHMEN IN A:\fERICA. 14-1 
 
 Certainly. I have. 
 
 And did your imagination never conjure up the scene, 
 with all the distinct vividness almost of reality ? If not, I 
 fear that you took little interest in the narrative. 
 
 Yes ; I believe the scene passed before my mind's 
 eye. 
 
 And did you ever doubt the reality and truth of the 
 narrative itself, because thus your fancy drew from it a 
 picture ? 
 
 I cannot say that I did. 
 
 Neither, then, can you take any exception, in the pre- 
 sent case, to the truth and perfect historical authenticity of 
 these facts, because my fancy has been roaming free, and 
 conjuring up scenes which, if those narratives are true, 
 must have had a probable existence, — if they are not true, 
 can never have existed. The very wandering of the ima- 
 gination, in this case, is closely dependent upon the esta- 
 blished truth of the narrations, inasmuch as the mind can- 
 not conceive of the vivid reality of the scenes, unless fully 
 convinced, first, of the indubitable truth of the facts upon 
 which those scenes must have depended for their possible 
 existence. Almost the whole pleasure, in such wander- 
 ings of the fancy, consists in the accompanying conviction 
 of their truth. You are, however, impatient to hear the 
 continuation of the narrative, I perceive, by your taking 
 your station here so early. 
 
 The doctor made no reply, but his motions betrayed 
 evident symptoms of impatience, though he was unwilling 
 to make acknowledgement of its existence. 
 
 We shall not occupy quite so much time this afternoon 
 as we did this morning, observed Mr. Norset, since the 
 
 NARRATIVE OF THE EXPEDITION OF ThORFINN will alone 
 
 fall under our notice, with but few other incidental facts. 
 This narrative is somewhat longer, it is true, than any of 
 those, taken singly, which we have already examined. Its 
 
142 THE NORTHMEN 
 
 details will, however, I think, be sufficiently interesting to 
 compensate for its greater length. 
 
 One word before you begin, interposed the doctor.. You 
 said, I think, that the particulars of this narrative are con- 
 tained only in the " account of Thorfinn " ? 
 
 Not so, answered Mr. Norset. I stated that the fullest 
 details are there given . A sketch of the transactions is 
 found in the " account of Eirek the Red, and of Green- 
 land" in which all the main facts are the same, but only 
 very brief details are given. The cause of this, and the 
 internal proof which it affords of the authenticity of the 
 documents, and truth of the narratives, I have already ex- 
 plained.* 
 
 I remember, now, that you did allude to these circum- 
 stances. Are there any other authorities given in that 
 volume for the facts detailed in this narrative ? 
 
 There are, — as in the case of the principal narratives 
 contained in the " account of Eirek the Red, and of Green- 
 land"- — several extracts given from other documents, in 
 which allusion is made, more or less in detail, to the ex- 
 pedition of Thorfinn. There, is moreover, another detailed 
 account of many of the circumstances of the expedition 
 added to the main narrative, in which the correspondence 
 in statements is very exact : some few minute particulars 
 alone differ. The document whence this latter is printed 
 professes to be a copy — it is a manuscript — of a much 
 more ancient manuscript. The originals of each of these 
 two documents were, in all probability, the committal to 
 writing of the same tradition. 
 
 Very well, sir ; we will see what appearance of authen- 
 ticity is exhibited. Pray commence. 
 
 You are quite impatient, doctor. We will pursue the 
 same plan with this as with the former narratives, and 
 
 * See, ante, chap. i. p. 27, &c. and chap. ii. p. 46, &c. and p. 136. 
 
IN AMERICA. 143 
 
 discuss any points which may arise, as Ave proceed. I must 
 observe that the events detailed in this narrative com- 
 mence very soon after the point of time to which the last 
 narrative which we discussed this morning — that of Thor- 
 stein — carried us, namely, about the time of the return of 
 Gudrid to Brattahlid, in the spring of 1006. It is neces- 
 sary to remember this, in order to the ascertainment of 
 the date of Thornnn's expedition. Before arriving at the 
 narrative of the expedition itself, we have a few words on 
 the race and country, and other particulars, of Thorfinn 
 himself. The account commences thus : — 
 
 " There* was a man named Thord, who lived at Hofd,f 
 in Hofdastrand (north of Iceland). He married Frid- 
 gerd, daughter of Thorer the Idle, and of Fridgerd, 
 daughter of Kiarval, king of the Irish. Thord was the 
 son of Biarni Butter-tub, son of Thorvald, son of 
 Asleik, son of Biarni Ironsides, son of Ragnar Lod- 
 brok (Hairy-breeches). Thord and Fridgerd had a son 
 named Snorri, who married Thorhild the Partridge, 
 daughter of Thord the Loud. They had a son named 
 Thord Horsehead. Thorfinn Karlseeni was his 
 son, whose mother's name was Thorunn." 
 
 Well, cried the doctor, — whose eyes had rolled, and 
 whose face had moved in singular contortions, during the 
 recital of these names, — what extraordinary surnames they 
 did give to their ancestors! Biarni Butler-Tub ! The 
 titles were more appropriate than elegant, that is certain. 
 
 " Thorfinn occupied his time in mercantile expedi- 
 tions, and was esteemed a skilful merchant. One summer 
 
 * Antiq. Am. p. 130. 
 
 f This place, with most others mentioned in the narratives con- 
 tained in this volume, will be found marked in the map affixed to Hen- 
 derson's Iceland. Most of the localities in Iceland still retain their 
 ancient names. 
 
144 THE NORTHMEN 
 
 be fitted out his ship for a voyage to Greenland, accom- 
 panied by Snorri Thorbrandson, of Alptafiord, and a 
 company of forty men. There was a man named Biarni 
 Grimolfson, of Breidafiord, and another named Thor- 
 hall Gamlason, of Austfiord. These men fitted out a 
 ship, at the same time, to go to Greenland. They had 
 also a company of forty men. This ship and that of Thor- 
 finn, as soon as they were ready, were put out to sea. It 
 is not recorded," (that is, by the Saga-men, or tradition 
 bearers,) " how long they were on the voyage : it is only 
 stated that both ships arrived at Eireksfiord in the autumn 
 of that year (1006). Leif and others rode down to the 
 ship, and friendly greetings took place on both sides." 
 
 I must here remark, said Mr. Norset, that in the " ac- 
 count of Thorfinn" the name of Eirek occurs instead of 
 that of Leif. 
 
 Indeed ! said the doctor, leaning forward, as if to seize 
 the statement with avidity, in the hope of being able to 
 impeach the credit of the narrative. 
 
 Do n't be in too great a hurry, doctor, continued Mr. 
 Norset, smiling ; there is nothing very wonderful about it. 
 In the other account the name of Leif occurs throughout, 
 and it is evident that the occurrence of that of Eirek, in 
 the " account of Thorfinn" is only an error of ignorance 
 or carelessness. As, in the " account of Eirek," there are 
 contained certain errors as to the family of Tho:finn 
 which no Icelander would have made, so, in the " account 
 of Thorfinn" there are contained certain errors as to the 
 family of Eirek which no Greenlander would have made. 
 Eirek had died five winters previously, and Leif had suc- 
 ceeded to his place and rank. The narrator of the " ac- 
 count of Thorfinn" knowing that the name of Eirek oc- 
 curred in one connection, and knowing that he was the 
 founder of, and principal man in, the colony of Greenland, 
 doubtless considered the name of Leif only an error for 
 
IN AMERICA. 145 
 
 iamc of his father, being unacquainted with the par- 
 Jars of Eirek's death. You will, of course, doctor, par- 
 • rly observe that these errors, so palpable upon com- 
 parison of the two accounts, would never have been found 
 fabrication. They atfect, however, no single fact of 
 arrative ; they are unimportant, except inasmuch as 
 it they stamp the records in which they are contained 
 with that proof of authenticity which consists in evidence 
 diversity of authors, places, and times, in the origin 
 of particular documents, between which, nevertheless, an 
 ice of all concert is manifest, at the same time that a 
 uity is present in all the main facts narrated. 
 This error would certainly have seemed an inconsistency, 
 remarked Mr. Cassall, but for this explanation, which un- 
 doubtedly makes the fact bear strongly in proof of the 
 uticity of both the documents. It is something like 
 ! ; case, though perhaps not quite so marked, of the duke 
 of Argyle, quoted by Paley. 
 
 Go on, said the doctor, condescendingly ; — Leif or 
 k ; — it is not of much use caviling about a single 
 name. 
 
 Especially, said Mr. Norset, when it cannot be done 
 with any show of reason or argument. 
 
 " Leif and others rode down to the ship, and friendly 
 hanges took place. The captains requested Leif 
 to accept whatever he chose to take of their merchandise. 
 Leif, in return, entertained them handsomely, and invited 
 the chief men in both ships to spend the winter with him 
 at Brattahlid. They accepted his invitation with many 
 thanks. Then their goods were carried to Brattahlid, 
 where they themselves had every entertainment which they 
 could desire ; wherefore their winter quarters pleased them 
 much. 
 
 " As the feast of Yule (Christmas) drew nigh, Leif 
 became silent and low-spirited, more than he was wont. 
 
 H 
 
146 THE NORTHMEN 
 
 Thorfinn said to him, < Are you ill, friend Leif ? we think 
 that you do not seem in your usual spirits. You have en- 
 tertained us most hospitably, for which we are anxious to 
 render you all the service in our power. Tell me what it 
 is that ails you ! ' ' You have received what I have been 
 able to offer you,' said Leif, ' in the kindest manner, and 
 there is no idea in my mind that you have been deficient 
 in any courtesy ; but I fear lest, when you go elsewhere, 
 it may be said that you never witnessed a Yule feast so 
 meanly celebrated as that which approaches, at which you 
 will be entertained by Leif of Brattahlid ! ' 
 
 " ' That shall never be the case, friend,' answered Thor- 
 finn. ' We have abundant stores in the ship ; take of these 
 as much as you need, and prepare a feast as magnificent 
 as you please.' Leif accepted his offer, and the Yule com- 
 menced ; and so well were Leif 's arrangements made, that 
 all were astonished that such a sumptuous feast could be 
 provided in so poor a country. After the Yule, Thorfinn 
 began to treat with Leif as to the marriage of Gudrid ; 
 Leif being the person to whom the right of betrothment 
 belonged. Leif gave a favourable ear to his advances, say- 
 ing that she must necessarily fulfil that destiny which fate 
 had appointed, and that he had heard nothing of Thorfinn 
 but what was honourable. In the end, Thorfinn Karlsefni 
 married Gudrid, and their nuptials were celebrated at Brat- 
 tahlid during this same winter" (1006-7). The date is as- 
 certained from the circumstance of its being mentioned in 
 the " account of Eirek," &c. that Thorfinn and his com- 
 panions arrived in Greenland in the summer of the same 
 year as that in which Gudrid returned to Brattahlid after 
 the death of Thorstein. 
 
 " The conversation frequently turned, at Brattahlid, on 
 the discovery of Vinland the Good ; many saying that an 
 expedition there held out a fair prospect of gain. At 
 length Thorfinn and Snorri made preparations for going 
 
IX AMERICA. 147 
 
 on an expedition thither in the following spring, (1007). 
 Biarni Grimolfson and Thorhall Gamlason, already men- 
 tioned, determined to accompany them. Thorvard, the 
 husband of Freydis, the daughter of Eirek, went with them, 
 as also did Thorvald Eirekson." 
 
 Thorvald Eirekson ! said the doctor ; I thought he had 
 been killed some time before ? 
 
 Do you not remember, answered Mr. Norset, that I 
 mentioned this case, yesterday,* as one in which the main 
 facts related in the two accounts were the same, but with 
 some difference in the particulars ? We shall find an ac- 
 count of the death of Thorvald related in this narrative, in 
 nearly the same manner as it is related in the " account of 
 Eirek." It is most probable that some confusion of names 
 exists here, for, in the second " account of Thorfinn" f 
 it is stated that " Thorvald, a kinsman of Eirek, went with 
 Thorfinn." There can, therefore, be little doubt that there 
 was some Thorvald, a relation of Eirek, who did go with 
 Thorfinn, and that the narrator of the " account of Thor- 
 finn" being unacquainted with the particulars of Eirek's 
 family, has confused this Thorvald with Thorvald the son 
 of Eirek, and so plaeed the particulars of the death of the 
 latter, which he had heard, to the account of the former, 
 who was not the son, but the kinsman of Eirek. 
 
 I now remember your mentioning this variation in the 
 accounts, said the doctor. I had forgotten it. I will give 
 you the benefit of your explanation. 
 
 Truly, I am greatly indebted to your generosity, said 
 Mr. Norset, with assumed humility. 
 
 " They were also accompanied by Thorhall, commonly 
 
 * Ante, p. 28. 
 
 f Antiq. Am. p. 168. When the second account of Thorfinn is men- 
 tioned, reference is always made to the additional account mentioned, 
 ante, p. 142. 
 
 h2 
 
148 THE NORTHMEN 
 
 called the Hunter, who had, for many years, been the 
 huntsman of Eirek during the summer, and his steward 
 during the winter. This Thorhall was a man of gigantic 
 stature and of great strength, and swarthy in complexion : 
 he was a man of very few words, and when he did speak 
 it was chiefly in a bantering manner : he was given to evil 
 counsel, and had been ill affected to Christianity ever since 
 its introduction into Greenland. He possessed, however, 
 much knowledge of uninhabited lands. He was in the 
 same ship with Thorvard and Thorvald. These latter made 
 use of the ship which had brought Thorbiorn from Ice- 
 land."* So that this expedition consisted of three ships. 
 " There were in all," — look, doctor, and Mr. Cassall, — 
 this number of men, — " CXL." 
 
 And, pray, why do you write that number down on 
 paper in Roman numerals, instead of stating it in straight- 
 forward language ? asked the doctor. 
 
 Because, answered Mr. Norset, ' thereby hangs a tale.' 
 
 The doctor and Mr. Cassall both looked somewhat 
 puzzled. 
 
 Nothing very much out of the way, doctor ; only it is 
 desirable to call your attention to the fact. Had I said 
 140, in plain English, it would have misled you ; — and, 
 had I said 160, without noticing the mode in which the 
 number is recorded, it would not have been strictly 
 candid. 
 
 But do you mean to say, asked Mr. Cassall, that 140 
 and 160 are the same? 
 
 Certainly not ; but I mean to say that the Roman nu- 
 
 * Thorbiorn must have reached Greenland in the course of the year 
 1000 or 1001, since his family were Christians, and Christianity was 
 not introduced into Iceland till 1000, and he reached Greenland before 
 Eirek died, which was in the winter of 1001-2. This date agrees 
 well with all the incidental particulars mentioned concerning him and 
 his family. 
 
IN AMERICA. 149 
 
 merals, " CXL," mean in this place 160, whereas, you 
 might have taken them to mean 140: some explanation 
 thus becomes necessary. The doctor may. be aware that 
 the hundred usually comprised, among the northern na- 
 tions, in the middle ages, six score, or 120. 
 
 I know that it sometimes did. 
 
 It is to be presumed, then, that such is its meaning in 
 this place. 
 
 'It is to be presumed'! exclaimed the doctor; — and 
 what may be the reason of that, sir ? I imagine you say 
 that it is to be presumed to indicate 120 in this place, in 
 order to fit some theory, or accord with some other state- 
 ments. This is suspicious. 
 
 You are welcome to your suspicions, doctor. They are 
 groundless. There is no theory to support, for, in every 
 one of the documents, of any kind, wherein numerals occur, 
 they are found to be expressed in Roman, and not in Arabic 
 numerals.* The question is simply one of fact. The 
 Roman numeral C, may signify either 100 or 120 ; that is, 
 either the short hundred of five score, or the long hundred 
 of six score. The question is, whether the short or the, 
 long hundred is here signified : — 
 
 Pardon me, interrupted Mr. Cassall ; I never heard of 
 short and long hundred before. I thought the hundred 
 always consisted of five score. 
 
 By no means. The hundred very commonly, if not 
 generally, in use among the Northern European nations, 
 formerly comprised 120, or six score. Indeed, this com- 
 putation is not out of use at the present day, even in En- 
 gland, by the name of the " long hundred." Certain articles 
 are still always sold, in certain parts of the country, by the 
 long hundred. In avoirdupois weight, the hundred, in 
 England, always consists of five score and a dozen, or 112; 
 
 * See Antiq, Am, p. 462. 
 
150 THE NORTHMEN 
 
 — and so it did in the United States until recently, as you 
 know. A ton of coal, in England, now contains 240 
 pounds, or nearly one eighth, more than the same nominal 
 weight does in the United States. This shows that one 
 hundred does not always consist of five score. 
 
 Then you imagine that, in this case, Thorfinn had with 
 him 160 men, and not 140 ? 
 
 Such would seem to have been the case, according to 
 the known common usage of the hundred by the Northern 
 nations of that date. Pray observe, however, that this in- 
 terpretation is made with no reference to any thing what- 
 ever, except the point of fact. Whether it means 160 or 
 140, is a matter of not the slightest importance to the nar- 
 rative, or the other facts. It is not a little absurd, there- 
 fore, to raise an objection, as some of the reviews have 
 done, — and which is a proof of the nOn-perusal of this 
 volume by their authors, — against this interpretation, and 
 mark it as an impeachment of the truth of the narrative. 
 Such an objection is not quite so rational or well founded 
 as if any one were to object to the authenticity of the 
 whole Roman history, because Quintilian gives us to un- 
 derstand* that Cicero's name was always pronounced, 
 among his contemporaries, as Kikero, whereas, we are 
 accustomed to pronounce it with the C soft. We will now 
 proceed with the narrative. 
 
 " There were one hundred and sixty men in all. They 
 took with them all kinds of live stock, for they designed to 
 colonize the land. Thorfinn asked Leif to give him the 
 dwellings which he had erected in Vinland. Leif told him 
 that he would grant him the use of them, but that he could 
 not give them to him.f 
 
 " Then they sailed to Westbygd, and thence to Bjar- 
 ney ; — " 
 
 * Quint, de Inst. Orat. lib. i. t Antiq. Am. Cf. p. 57°. 
 
IN AMERICA. 151 
 
 And what and where is Bjarney ? asked the doctor. 
 
 The name Bjarney, literally bear island, seems to have 
 been indifferently applied to many islands. Thus the pre- 
 sent isle of Disco was called Bjarney ; and we have men- 
 tion presently made of another island, called Bjarney, at 
 a great distance from Disco. The Bjarney just mentioned 
 was probably one of the numerous islands on the coast of 
 Labrador, below Cumberland, in Hudson's Straits, upon 
 which they would naturally touch on their way from West- 
 bygd to Helluland.* That this was the case, is rendered 
 probable from the fact that they were only two days in 
 sailing from Bjarney to Helluland. It is obvious that it 
 could not have been Disco, since that island lies far to the 
 north of Westbygd, and would have been far, indeed, out 
 of their course in going to Vinland. 
 
 " Thence they sailed for two days towards the south. 
 Land being seen, they put out a boat, and explored. They 
 found vast flat stones, many of which were twelve ells 
 broad. There was a great number of foxes there." You 
 perceive that this description coincides precisely in fact, 
 though expressed in different terms, with that of Leif. 
 We have modern descriptions of this region, which, be- 
 sides according, as we have seen, with the general tenor of 
 
 * It is worthy of observation, however, that the whole of the coast 
 of Labrador, and the northern coast of North America to the west of 
 Greenland, was called, by the ancient Icelandic geographers, (whose 
 writings are still in existence,) Helluland, being distinguished, how- 
 ever, from the present Newfoundland by the addition Helluland it 
 Mikla, or Great Helluland, whereas the island was simply Hellu- 
 land, or Litla Helluland. It would seem that Thorfinn was anxious 
 to explore all these coasts. Thus, he took with him Thorhall, " who 
 was well acquainted with the uninhabitable tracts," and went to West- 
 bygd : he then apparently went to this Bjarney, and thence sailed to 
 Labrador or Helluland it Mikla, which he coasted along, till he reached 
 Newfoundland or Litla Helluland. (See his track, as laid down in the 
 Chart.) 
 
152 THE NORTHMEN 
 
 these descriptions, make particular mention of the large 
 flat stones.* 
 
 Go on, said the doctor ; T want Thorfinn to reach Vin- 
 land ; and I do not intend to detain you much'before you 
 carry him there, unless we come to something very out- 
 rageous. I will not complain of this description. We all 
 know that there are plenty of foxes in that region. 
 
 I dare say, answered Mr. Norset, that you will find work 
 for yourself before we reach Vinland ; for we have some 
 particulars concerning the intervening region which we 
 have not before had. But, to proceed ; — though I should 
 remark that the narrator of this expedition, being anxious 
 to give all the honour he could to Thorfinn, makes him 
 bestow names on all the places visited ; — whereas, we have 
 seen that Leif and Thorvald first named the different 
 lands : these names Thorfinn, of course, learned during 
 his stay with Leif, — which stay, as well as Leif s expedi- 
 tion, is recorded in all the narratives. The same names 
 are bestowed on the different lands in each account. 
 
 " They called that land Helluland. Thence they sailed 
 two days in a southerly course, and came to a land covered 
 with wood, and in which were many wild animals. ^Beyond 
 this land, to the south-east, lay an island, on which they 
 killed a bear. They called the island Bjarney, and the 
 land Markland."f 
 
 Bjarney, said Mr. Cassall, must be Cape Sable Isle. The 
 situation of that island corresponds exactly with the de- 
 scription. I suppose that Thorfinn first touched on Nova 
 Scotia in a more northerly part than Leif, as he reached it 
 in two days. He would then coast along till Bjarney was 
 reached. 
 
 * Antiq. Am. p. 419. 
 
 t Gaspar de Corte Real, who touched on Nova Scotia in 1501, called 
 it Terra Verde, a name very similar in meaning to the Norse, Mavk- 
 land. See ante, p. 89, 
 
IN* AMERICA. 153 
 
 Most probably your conjecture is correct ; but you per- 
 ceive that the details here are meagre, not being so full 
 as in the account of Leif's voyage. The express object of 
 Thorfinn was to reach Vinland ; and he evidently did not 
 trouble himself much about intervening lands, nor was he 
 so careful in the description of them as the other navi- 
 gators. As far as he goes, he corroborates the statements 
 of these others. His meagreness in this part of the nar- 
 rative is an incidental proof of the genuineness of the 
 whole, since we know that his avowed destination was 
 Vinland. I beg your particular attention to what imme- 
 diately follows, as it opens a description which we have not 
 before had. 
 
 " Thence, (that is, from the island Bjarney,) they sailed 
 towards the south for two days,* and arrived at a ness, or 
 promontory of land. They sailed along the shores of this 
 promontory, the land lying to the starboard. These shores 
 were extensive and sandy. They made for land, and found 
 on the ness the keel of a ship," (doubtless the same that 
 Thorvald had set up there ;) " wherefore they called the 
 place Kialarness. And they called the shores Furdu- 
 straxdir, (shores of great length., or iconderful shores,) 
 because the coasting along them seemed tiresome," on 
 account of their desertness. 
 
 We have reached Kialarness again, at last, said the doc- 
 tor. Is Thorfinn's Kialarness the same as Thorvald's ? 
 
 Undoubtedly. Mark the description, and you can have 
 no doubt about the matter. They sail southward for two 
 days from Cape Sable Isle, off Nova Scotia, and come to a 
 ness, or neck of land, which, sailing on, they keep to the 
 right hand of the ship. Does not this exactly correspond 
 to the neck of Cape Cod ? 
 
 * Cf. Antiq. Am. pp. 170 and 139. 
 
 h5 
 
154- THE NORTHMEN 
 
 And what, then, is the meaning of the long sandy shores, 
 and why did not Thorvald allude to these ? 
 
 Both these questions are easy to answer ; but we will, if 
 you please, take the last first. Do you not remember that 
 Thorvald was driven along these coasts by a tempest, and 
 only ran aground at the extremity of the cape ? He had 
 something else to do then, than examine the nature of the 
 coast as he was driven past ; and he could not, probably, 
 have discovered its aspect, if he had looked, in that state of 
 the weather. None other besides Thorvald and Thorfinn 
 coasted this cape, as far as we are informed in these records; 
 and the circumstance of Thorvald's having been driven past 
 by a tempest, and the narrator of his voyage not describing it, 
 while Thorfinn coasted leisurely along, and the narrator of 
 his voyage thus more carefully describes it, is a strong in- 
 ternal evidence of the authenticity of each narrative. 
 
 But how do you explain the long sandy shores ? 
 
 How do I explain it ! You have never been down on 
 Cape Cod, I presume, doctor, or you would not ask such a 
 question ? 
 
 No, I never was in that vicinity. 
 
 Then you may judge of the correctness of Thorfinn's 
 description by the following fact. It was only last night 
 that I was spending the evening with a friend in this 
 neighbourhood, and he happened to mention a journey he 
 had made to Cape Cod to attend some meeting. In the 
 course of his narration, he stated, without any question or 
 allusion on my part, that he never was in such a desolate 
 and dreary place in his life as Cape Cod. He said he 
 never felt any thing like Nostalgia in his life, except three 
 times. The strongest was while at Cape Cod ; and so 
 dreary and desolate did he find its desert sands, that he 
 preferred retui'ning home to Boston, where he then resided, 
 twice in the course of three days, to staying on that coast 
 
IN AMERICA. 155 
 
 during the interval. The same testimony is borne by all 
 travellers. Hitchcock, in his Report on the Geology of 
 Massachusetts, p. 96, &c, says of Cape Cod, — " The dunes, 
 or sand-hills, which are often nearly or quite barren of 
 vegetation, and of snowy whiteness, forcibly attract atten- 
 tion, on account of tJieir peculiarity. As we approach the 
 extremity of the Cape, the sand and barrenness increase ; 
 and, in not a few places, it would need only a party of 
 Bedouin Arabs to cross the traveller's path, to make him 
 feel that he was in the depths of an Arabian or Libyan 
 desert." 
 
 Certainly, said Mr. Cassall, that is pretty strong con- 
 firmation of the correctness of Thorfinn's description. So 
 they called it Furdustrandir, because of the extent of the 
 coast? 
 
 So the account says ; and well might they apply the 
 term to a shore so long, barren, and monotonous. Its 
 dreariness would necessarily make the passage by it appear 
 particularly tiresome. The reason for the name, however, 
 was probably added by the person who committed Thor- 
 finn's narrative to writing. Furdustrandir means, literally, 
 wonderful shores. This term may be derived from its re- 
 markably tiresome length, but is, perhaps, hardly so likely 
 to be so, as from another circumstance, which is, indeed, a 
 much more wonderful circumstance attending that locality. 
 Hitchcock, in the work just quoted, p. 98, remarks, — " In 
 crossing the sands of the Cape, I noticed a singular mirage, 
 or deception. In Orleans, for instance, we seemed to be 
 ascending at an angle of three or four degrees, nor was I 
 convinced that such was not the case, until, turning about, 
 I perceived that a similar ascent appeared in the road just 
 passed over." This phenomenon may have been observed 
 by Thorfinn's party, who, we know, must have landed here, 
 as they found the keel standing on the neck, — and have 
 given origin to the name Furdustrandir. 
 
156 THE NORTHMEN 
 
 More probably than the other derivation of the word, I 
 think, said the doctor. And where did they go after passing 
 these " wonderful shores " ? 
 
 " They afterwards came to a bay,* and directed the 
 course of their vessels into this bay." 
 
 That must be Nantucket Bay, remarked Mr. Cassall. 
 They must necessarily reach that arm of the sea, after 
 coasting the tongue of Cape Cod. 
 
 Doubtless you are correct, said Mr. Norset, as the fol- 
 lowing particulars of the narrative will very clearly show. 
 I may remark that Thorfinn describes the whole of this 
 coasting voyage with care. You have seen, and will pre- 
 sently see further, that he notices facts which are not re- 
 lated in any of the other narratives, while the descriptions 
 in all the narratives are able to be identified with the same 
 localities. 
 
 " King Olaf Tryggvason," the same whom we saw that 
 Leif visited,-)- " had given to Leif two Scots, a man named 
 Haki, and a woman named Hekia : they were swifter of 
 foot than wild animals. These Leif had given to Thorfinn, 
 and they were then in his ship. When they had passed 
 beyond Furdustrandir, he put these Scots on shore, direct- 
 ing them to run over the country towards the south-west J 
 for three days, and then return. They were very lightly 
 clad. The ships lay to during their absence. When they 
 returned, one carried in his hand a bunch of grapes, the 
 other an ear of corn. They went on board, and then the 
 ships proceeded on their course, until the land was inter- 
 sected by another bay." 
 
 That must necessarily be Buzzard's Bay, said Mr. Cas- 
 
 * The original here literally signifies " the land became bay-ey ;" 
 that is, had a bend inwards, so as to form a bay. The translation 
 given expresses the sense correctly. See Antiq. Am. pp. 139 and 171. 
 
 t See ante, pp. 80 and 81. 
 
 % Cf. Antiq. Am, pp. 1 10 and 428. 
 
IX AMERICA. 157 
 
 sail, who, (luring the whole discussion of these narratives, 
 kept the map constantly in his hand, following the course 
 of the voyagers with his pencil. 
 Obviously so, said Mr. Norset. 
 
 " Outwards from this bay lay an island, on each side of 
 which there was a very rapid current. They called this 
 island Straumey (isle of currents). There was so great 
 a number of eider ducks there, that they could hardly walk 
 without treading on the eggs."* 
 
 What island is this ? impaired the doctor. 
 It must, I presume, have been either the present island 
 of Marthas Vineyard, or the connected islands of Cutty- 
 hunk and Nashawcnna, between which, even now, a high 
 shoal runs. Perhaps the latter locality is more probably 
 correct than the former. Its correctness, however, sup- 
 poses certain effects of the current, which I will notice 
 presently. 
 
 And what is the meaning of the egg story, and the rapid 
 current ? Are either of these found here ? 
 
 As to the eggs, it is the fact that the eider duck is still 
 found in some of the islands of Massachusetts :f probably 
 before the settlement of the country they abounded much 
 more commonly than at present. You are aware, — or may 
 be, by looking at the map, — that there are now islands in 
 Buzzard's Bay and Nantucket Bay, and elsewhere on these 
 coasts, called Egg Islands, which name can be derived 
 
 * Precisely the same form of expression was on one occasion made 
 use of to the author, by a gentleman in Boston, U.S., who was de- 
 scribing some parts of Boston Bay during a certain season of the year 
 (the same as that in which Thorfinn reached Straumey). The only 
 difference was, that the eggs mentioned by this gentleman were those 
 of gulls ; those seen by Thorfinn are said to have been those of eider 
 ducks. 
 
 f See annot. jEdr, in Antiq. Am. p. 444, being a quotation from 
 Ebeliru/s " Erdbesclireibuug und Geschichte von Amerika," (1794,) i. 
 p. 210. 
 
158 THE NORTHMEN 
 
 from no other circumstance than the abundance of eggs 
 found there, either now, or formerly. 
 
 They must have found this neighbourhood offer com- 
 fortable quarters, I should think, said the doctor. They 
 had better have staid here. 
 
 They appear to have been somewhat of your opinion, 
 doctor; for they did pitch their tent in the neighbourhood 
 of Buzzard's Bay for a time. 
 
 You have not explained the rapid currents, said the 
 doctor. 
 
 These rapid currents were occasioned by the Gulf 
 Stream, the course of which, passing northward from the 
 Gulf of Mexico, lies at no great distance from the whole 
 of the eastern coast of the United States, and is known to 
 have lain still nearer to this coast in former times than at 
 present. A glance at the map will show you that it must, 
 even now, produce the effects described around all the 
 islands in this neighbourhood, and remarkably so up Buz- 
 zard's Bay. That this is the case will be seen by inspect- 
 ing the modern accounts of these localities.* I even heard 
 a gentleman remark, the other day, not having the slightest 
 reference to the topic before us, that many captains, who 
 had crossed the Atlantic fifty times without a single qualm, 
 were made sea-sick immediately on entering the waters in 
 this neighbourhood. It is, moreover, a known fact to 
 geologists, that the Gulf Stream is turned to the eastward 
 by the shoals of Nantucket, f It is to be observed that 
 this current has necessarily had some effect upon the con- 
 dition of the land in these regions. Some changes have 
 taken place within the memory of man. It is very proba- 
 ble that some of the islands in this neighbourhood were 
 formerly connected with the main-land ; perhaps the whole 
 
 * Autiq. Am. p. 428, note e. 
 
 t See Lyell's Geology, 5th edition, vol. i. p. 
 
IN AMERICA. 159 
 
 string of islands extending from the south-western extre- 
 mity of the peninsula of Cape Cod, below Falmouth, for- 
 merly composed a portion of the main-land of that penin- 
 sula. 
 
 What have these changes to do with this subject ? 
 
 They are very clearly connected with it. Thus, — sup- 
 posing that, at the time of these voyages, this string of 
 islands, with the exception of Cuttyhunk and Nasha- 
 wenna, the connection of which with the main-land may 
 probably be referred to a still more remote period, was 
 formerly connected with the main-land, — it appears very 
 natural that Leif and Thorvald, who did not coast along, 
 as Thorfinn appears to have done, should have passed 
 Buzzard's Bay, without sailing up it, or noticing these 
 islands. Again, the present narration speaks of an 
 island. There is the island of Martha's Vineyard, to be 
 sure, much larger than any of the others, — and it is, 
 indeed, very probable that Martha's Vineyard and Nan- 
 tucket were formerly connected, — but there are several 
 other islands lying immediately at the mouth of the bay. 
 They would probably have been noticed, had they existed. 
 
 Ah, said the doctor, I thought we should find that you 
 would have recourse to a parcel of conjectures to support 
 your tales. 
 
 You might think so, doctor; but your thoughts were 
 still vain imaginings. I have had no recourse to any con- 
 jecture to support any tales. In the narrative before us, 
 there is nothing inconsistent with the localities as they ac- 
 tually now exist ; but, upon referring to certain changes, 
 which the known laws of nature are calculated to have 
 worked, we find the consistency and correctness of the 
 narrative to be still more striking. Knowing what these 
 laws of nature are, we know that what is now has been 
 different in former times. Where is the sun at this mo- 
 ment? 
 
160 THE NORTHMEN 
 
 Verging towards the west. 
 
 Do you thence infer that he has always been in that 
 aspect ? 
 
 To be sure not. 
 
 Why not ? How can you know otherwise ? 
 
 Because I know that his daily course is from east to 
 west. 
 
 Then you know that a change is constantly taking 
 place in his position, or rather in the position of the earth 
 with respect to him. You know that his past position 
 has been different from his present one. You would not, 
 then, doubt any man's statement, because he said that, 
 when a certain fact took place, the sun was in the east, 
 although, when you now look, you see him in the west. 
 The course of the Gulf Stream, and the effects produced 
 by it, are regulated by laws as certain as is the course of 
 the ecliptic. There is, therefore, no more conjecture in 
 alluding to the changes which it must have produced in 
 Buzzard's Bay, or elsewhere, than there is in alluding to 
 the sun's eastward aspect this morning. I suppose you 
 remember that 
 
 " Harry of Monmouth, Lancaster, and Derby," 
 
 as Shakspeare styles him, succeeded to the throne of 
 England in 1399? 
 
 Certainly, I do : — was he a Northman ? added the 
 doctor, with something like a sneer. 
 
 No, he was not a Northman, any more than all the 
 Anglo-Saxon race are of the same stock with the North- 
 men of old ; but you may perhaps remember, also, that 
 this same Henry IV. landed at Ravenspur, in Yorkshire, 
 which place was then a considerable port ? 
 
 What of that, sir ? 
 
 It may seem perhaps to you a curious and fanciful con- 
 jecture, but it is, nevertheless, a, fact, that this very Raven- 
 
IN" AMERICA. 161 
 
 spur is now about two miles out in the ocean,* and no- 
 thing but a sand-bank, which may be partly seen at low 
 water. Now I beg you will never believe the page of 
 English history again, because, in order to do so, you 
 must have recourse to the conjecture that there was once 
 land, and a considerable town, where now there are seen 
 only the wasting waters of the ocean. 
 
 The doctor looked puzzled, and somewhat troubled. 
 He briefly observed, — I never heard of that fact before. 
 
 It is a fact, nevertheless ; and I could name a hundred 
 such, along the eastern coast of England, — towns and 
 villages, once existing, now far within the ocean. \ Ob- 
 serve, this Ravenspur was in existence four hundred years 
 ago, and now is looked for vainly. There is no current 
 continually driving against that shore like the Gulf Stream 
 against Martha's Vineyard and the coast of Massachusetts. 
 It is upwards of eight hundred years since the Northmen 
 navigated these waters. Certainly, then 3 it is no conjecture 
 to speak of the changes which the coast must necessarily 
 have undergone within that time, or to allude to land sub- 
 merged, and now appearing only in part, as islands. Nay, 
 
 * See Lyell's Geology, vol. i. p. 402, and Camden's Britannia, 
 (Gough's edition, folio,) vol. iii. p. 77. The reader will find mention 
 in both these places, of various other towns washed away, some of them 
 even since Camden's time. Among these are Auburn, Hartburn, 
 Hyde, Owthorne, Kilnsea, Fismerk, Tharlet-thorp, Redwayr, Penys- 
 thorp, Upsall, and Potterfleet. 
 
 t If the eye is cast along the map of the eastern coast of England, 
 it cannot fail to be attracted by the very extensive shoals in The 
 Wash, between Norfolk and Lincolnshire. Many towns and villages 
 have here, too, disappeared. It is probable that, at no very distant 
 date, the shoals between Boston Deeps and the coast of Lincoln were 
 main-land. The course of the Withaw, on which the ancient town of 
 Boston stands, is clearly discernible through these shoals at the pre- 
 sent day ; and it seems probable that, at the time Boston first rose into 
 existence, (before the eighth century,) that town lay much farther 
 from the ocean than at present. 
 
162 THE NORTHMEN 
 
 I have, as I mentioned this morning, the positive testimony 
 of one of the oldest residents in the island of Nantucket to 
 the fact, that the visible shoals of that island have under- 
 gone a remarkable change within his memory and obser- 
 vation ; and that many islands, which formerly appeared 
 above the water on those shoals, are now no longer seen. 
 Is it, then, conjecture to speak of the likelihood of the 
 former union of Martha's Vineyard with Nantucket, as 
 also of that of the chain of islands off the south-west extre- 
 mity of Cape Cod with the main-land ? The effect of the 
 current on this coast may be conceived from the fact which 
 I have already noticed, that it is the Banks of Nantucket 
 which turn the course of the Gulf Stream, at the depth of 
 from two hundred to three hundred feet below the surface 
 of the water.* 
 
 The doctor was silent. He endeavoured to look as if it 
 were a matter of indifference to him, whether Martha's 
 Vineyard and Nantucket were ever united or not. He 
 appeared, however, quite relieved when, after a few mo- 
 ments' silence, Mr. Cassall inquired, — How do you ac- 
 count for the fact that neither Leif nor Thorvald remark- 
 ed this current ? 
 
 It is not difficult to account for this circumstance, an- 
 swered Mr. Norset. In the first place, it is to be observed 
 that Thorfinn's whole course, from the time he reached 
 Kialarness, appears to have been carefully coasting along 
 the shore, while both Leif and Thorvald, according to the 
 accounts, stood out to open sea as far as they were able. 
 The latter would not, therefore, observe the currents on 
 each side of the island. It was on the north side of Nan- 
 
 * Lyell's Geology, vol. i. p. 384. These very extensive banks will 
 be seen represented in D'Anville's Atlas, Map of " Amerique Septem- 
 trionale." The reader cannot fail to perceive that the argument above, 
 and the fact of these very extensive loiver shoals, strengthen the ar- 
 gument on ante pp. 90 and 91. 
 
IN AMERICA. 163 
 
 tucket that Leif landed, where these currents would not 
 be visible. They did not pass up Buzzard's Bay at all, 
 but crossed its mouth direct; and the current would thus 
 not be noticed by them as any thing extraordinary, though 
 it might have the effect of driving their vessel towards 
 shore, and thus carrying them nearer to Seaconnet. Cross- 
 ing these waters with a favourable wind, they would, not 
 expecting the swell occasioned by the current, not distin- 
 guish the swell from that occasioned by the wind. The 
 current would affect them but for a very short distance, 
 since they did not, like Thorfinn, pass up and explore 
 Buzzard's Bay. It was, doubtless, his experience in passing 
 up and coasting along the shores of this bay, that directed 
 his attention especially to the current. He would there 
 experience its effects for a length of time, and perceive its 
 continuance during the whole months of his stay on the 
 coast. One thing, at any rate, is obvious, that this non- 
 mention of the current by Leif and Thorvald, and the no- 
 tice of it by Thorfinn, are evidences of the authenticity of 
 each account, since such a palpable omission in the ac- 
 counts of the two former would never have occurred in a 
 fabrication. 
 
 That is clear, said Mr. Cassall. Let us now, if you 
 please, proceed with the narrative. 
 
 The very next clause in the narrative is important, since 
 it shows that it was, as I have just suggested, the circum- 
 stance of their passing up the bay, which called the atten- 
 tion of Thorfinn and his company to the current. 
 
 " They directed their course into this bay,* and called 
 it Strau.mfiord (that is, Stream Bay, or Bay of Cur- 
 rents). Here they disembarked, and made preparations 
 for remaining. They had carried out with them every 
 kind of cattle, and found abundance of pasturage. The 
 
 * Cf. Antiq. Am. pp. 141 and 173. 
 
164 THE NORTHMEN 
 
 situation of this place was pleasant. They occupied their 
 time chiefly in exploring the land. Here they passed the 
 winter" (1007-8). I must call your attention, in this 
 place, to the fact, that a son was born to Thorfinn and 
 Gudrid during the autumn of this year, after they had 
 established themselves in their quarters on the shores of 
 Straumfiord. This fact is not stated in this place, in the 
 narrative, but it is stated subsequently.* Snorri Thor- 
 finnson was thus born, in the present state of Massachu- 
 setts, in the year 1007, being the first, of European blood, 
 of whose birth in America we have any record. From 
 him the celebrated living sculptor, Thorvaldson, is lineally 
 descended, besides a long train of learned and illustrious 
 characters, who have flourished during the last eight cen- 
 turies in Iceland and Denmark. We proceed now to the 
 transactions of the winter ; and here I must remark that 
 the account of what passed during this winter is more 
 carefully, and obviously more correctly, related in the ex- 
 tract appended to the " account of Thorfinn," than in that 
 account itself. 
 
 How do you know that the former is the more correct ? 
 asked the doctor. 
 
 Simply because it is simple, and clear, and straight-for- 
 ward ; whereas some words or lines seem omitted in the 
 latter, which renders it not so clear. The main facts of 
 the narrative are not affected by the difference in any way ; 
 so do not be alarmed, doctor. 
 
 " That winter was very severe,"! — so you see that they 
 had one severe winter here, — " and, as they had no stores 
 provided, provisions ran short, for they could neither hunt 
 nor fish. So they passed over onto the island, hoping that 
 they might there find the means of subsistence, either in 
 what they should catch, or what should be cast ashore, 
 
 * Antiq. Ara. p. 161, t Antiq. Am. p. 174, 
 
IN AMERICA. 165 
 
 They found, however, little better means of subsistence there 
 than before, though the cattle were somewhat better off. 
 Then they prayed to God that he would send them food ; 
 which prayer was not answered so soon as they desired. 
 
 " About this time Thorhall was missing, and they went 
 out to seek for him. Their search lasted for three days. 
 On the morning of the fourth day, Thorfinn and Biarni 
 Grimolfson found him lying on the top of a rock. There 
 he lay, stretched out, with his eyes open, blowing through 
 his mouth and nose, and mumbling to himself. They 
 asked him why he had gone there. He answered, — that 
 it was no business of theirs ; that he was old enough to 
 take care of himself without their troubling themselves 
 with his affairs. They asked him to return home with 
 them, which he did. 
 
 " A short time after, a whale was cast ashore, — " 
 A whale ! exclaimed the doctor ; whales are not found 
 there, I am sure. 
 
 You are mistaken, doctor; whales of some kinds are 
 found there, and were formerly so in such abundance, that 
 regular fisheries for them were carried on in those waters. 
 There is a rock at the entrance of Narraganset Bay, called 
 at this day Whale Rock, which must derive its name from 
 that animal. It is the fact that whales do occasionally 
 make their appearance, even now, in Narraganset Bay, and 
 formerly they were common along the whole coast, but 
 especially in Nantucket Bay and Buzzard's Bay. There 
 is nothing wonderful, then, in one of this species being 
 cast ashore near Buzzard's Bay. The account of this 
 whale which follows, — " they knew not what kind of whale 
 it was ; even Thorfinn, though well accpjainted with whales, 
 did not know it," — is a curious and very strong internal 
 proof of the truth and accuracy of the narrative ; for it is 
 also the fact that the whale which mostly frequents these 
 
166 THE NORTHMEN 
 
 waters is of a species which is seldom found in the waters 
 of Greenland, &c. where the Northmen were accustomed 
 to fish. It is the " Right Wliale " (Balsena Mysticetus). 
 The "Fin-back" (Balsena Physalus) was also formerly 
 found in these waters. 
 
 To proceed ; — " A whale was cast ashore, and they all 
 ran down eagerly to cut it up ; but none knew what kind 
 of whale it was. Neither did Thorfinn, though well ac- 
 quainted with whales, know this one. The cooks dressed 
 the whale, and they all eat of it, but were all taken ill im- 
 mediately afterwards.* Then said Thorhall, ' Now you 
 see that Thor is more ready to give aid than your Christ. 
 This food is the reward of a hymn which I composed to 
 Thor, my god, who has rarely forsaken me.' When they 
 heard this, none would eat any more ; and so they threw 
 all the remainder of the flesh from the rocks, commending 
 themselves to God." 
 
 I suppose, then, remarked Mr. Cassall, that this Thorhall 
 was the only heathen among the company ? 
 
 It would appear that almost all the Northmen had, ere 
 this, been converted to Christianity. It is to be presumed, 
 therefore, that all the rest of the company were Christians, 
 especially as Thorhall is specified and distinguished as not 
 being a Christian. It is worth while to observe, here, the 
 singular inconsistency of these men, and how little of real 
 Christianity there could be in them. They professed to 
 believe in Christ and his religion as the only true one, and, 
 of course, that no other gods save one could have existence ; 
 and yet, when they heard that a prayer to Thor had brought 
 a gift, they were horrified ; thus implying that they really 
 
 * It must be presumed that this illness was occasioned at least as 
 much by their eating heartily, after so long a scarcity, as by any un- 
 wholesome quality in the flesh of the whale. 
 
IN AMERICA. 167 
 
 did, notwithstanding their professed faith, believe in Thor, 
 and in his power, and appearing to think, that he divided 
 empire with the only true God. 
 
 Well, observed the doctor, I should not have noticed 
 this inconsistency ; but it really is a striking one when 
 considered. But history shows us that this was the very 
 general idea of those who, in the middle ages, became con- 
 verts. They seemed to think that the religion they adopted 
 did little more than put one god in competition with an- 
 other for the throne of universal power. 
 
 True, doctor ; and the consideration is a sad one. It 
 makes one feel strongly how little there is in the mere 
 name of Christian, without the spirit and the knowledge 
 which that pure religion should impart. 
 
 The narrative continues : — " They threw all into the 
 sea, commending themselves to God. After which the air 
 became milder;* they were again able to go fishing, nor, 
 from that time, was there any want of provisions, for there 
 were abundance of wild animals hunted on the main-land, 
 of eggs taken on the island, and of fish caught in the sea. 
 
 " And now they began to dispute as to where they 
 should next go. Thorhall the Hunter wished to go north, 
 round Furdustrandir and Kialarness, and so to explore 
 Vinland. Thorfinn wished to coast along the shore to- 
 wards the south-west, considering it as probable that there 
 would be a more extensive tract of country the further 
 south they went.f It was thought more advisable that 
 each should explore separately. Thorhall, therefore, made 
 
 * Cf. Antiq. Am. pp. 143 and 176. 
 
 t Doubtless this idea was gained from the reports of Thorvald's ex- 
 pedition south, and from the knowledge that in Europe the continent 
 extended far to the south, whence Thorfinn judged, by analogy, that 
 it would do so here. It shows, at any rate, how much more just ideas 
 the Northmen had of the western continent than were entertained 
 by Colon. 
 
168 THE NORTHMEN 
 
 preparations on the island, his whole company consisting 
 of nine only : all the others accompanied Thorfinn. 
 
 " One clay, as Thorhall was carrying water to his ship, 
 he drank and sang these verses," — which are what I re- 
 ferred to this morning, when I stated that it was the ex- 
 pectation of procuring wine which induced one of Thor- 
 finn's companions to come here, — and which I may thus 
 translate : — 
 
 I left the shores of Eireksfiord 
 To seek, oh cursed Vinland, thine, 
 Each warrior pledging there his word 
 That we should here quaff choicest -wine. 
 Great Odin, Warrior God, see how 
 These water-pails I carry now ; 
 No wine my lips have touched, but low 
 At humblest fountain I must bow. 
 
 " When all was ready, and they were about to set. sail, 
 Thorhall sang : — 
 
 Now home our joyful course we '11 take, 
 Where friends untroubled winters lead : 
 Now let our vessel swiftly make 
 Her channel o'er the ocean's bed ; 
 And let the battle-loving crew 
 Who here rejoice, and praise the land, — 
 Let them catch whales, and eat them too, 
 And let them dwell in FurdustrancL* 
 
 " Thorhall's party then sailed northwards, round Fur- 
 dustrandir and Kialarness. But when they desired to sail 
 thence, westward, (as of course they must do, from Kia- 
 larness, in order to coast along the eastern shores of the 
 continent, and as we saw that Thorvald did,) they were 
 met by an adverse tempest, and driven off, on to the coast 
 of Ireland, and there were beaten and made slaves ; and 
 there, as the merchants reported, Thorhall died." 
 
 * Furdustrandir is merely the plural of Furdustrand ; so that the 
 use of the singular here is perfectly legitimate. 
 
IX AMERICA. 169 
 
 What merchants wore those ? asked the doctor. 
 
 The Icelanders traded much to Ireland, and the mer- 
 chants (.>!' tin- two countries were, at that time, well known 
 to each other. They were the greatest navigators of the 
 age. We shall, by and by, have an account of some voy- 
 ages between the two islands. 
 
 Whither did Thorfinn proceed, asked Mr. Cassall, after 
 the desertion of Thorhall ? 
 
 " Thorfinn, with Snorri Thorbrandson and Biarni Gri- 
 molfson, and all the rest of the company, sailed towards 
 the south-west." This was, necessarily, in the spring of 
 1008, since they had passed the preceding winter (1007-8) 
 on the shores of Straumfiord. You will remember that 
 Thorfinn's party coasted along the whole way from Kia- 
 larness. They did the same in sailing out of Straumfiord, 
 for we have just seen it expressly stated that, when Thor- 
 hall wished to sail north, Thorfinn wished to coast along 
 the shore to the south-west; and the numerous inlets in 
 that bay would lengthen the course considerably. The 
 strength of the opposing current would be another reason 
 for their coasting in this case. " They went on for some 
 time, until they came to a river, which, flowing from land, 
 passed through a lake into the sea. They found sandy 
 shoals there, so that they could not pass up the river ex- 
 cept at high tide." 
 
 This exactly corresponds again, interrupted Mr. Cassall, 
 to the former description of Pocasset River and Mount 
 Hope Bay, and to the actual condition of those parts. 
 
 Precisely, answered Mr. Norset. It is obvious that 
 Thorfinn would receive from Leif, — permission to make 
 use of whose erections he had obtained, — an accurate ac- 
 count of the spot where he had dwelt, and would make for 
 it, since its situation and produce were so advantageous. 
 He would, without doubt, have with him some of the men 
 who had accompanied Leif and Thorvald. It must be 
 i 
 
170 THE NORTHMEN 
 
 remarked that, in the " account of Eirek the Red, and of 
 Greenland," in the particulars respecting Thorfinn, it is 
 expressly stated that he reached Leifsbudir, which state- 
 ment, agreeing as it does with the description in the " ac- 
 count of Thorfinn," places the matter beyond a doubt.* 
 
 " Thorfinn and his companions sailed up as far as the 
 mouth of the river, (that is, necessarily, the point of its 
 opening out into the lake,) and called the place Hop." 
 
 Hop ! exclaimed Mr. Cassall, that is remarkable ; the 
 name is Mount Hope Bay at this day, as I have just 
 noticed. 
 
 And it is well known, observed Mr. Norset, that that 
 name is merely a corruption of the Indian name Haup, 
 which word was pronounced in exactly the same manner 
 as the Norse Hop.f 
 
 Hold ! cried the doctor ; what theory are you going to 
 build up now ? Were the Indians the same as the North- 
 
 men 
 
 It is to be presumed that they were not, doctor ; but it 
 does not follow that this coincidence in the name should 
 not open to us some important light. We shall presently 
 find that, though Thorfinn and Biarni Grimolfson returned 
 to Iceland, there is no record that either of the other 
 leaders who accompanied them, Thorhall GamlasonJ or 
 Snorri Thorbrandson, did so. It is not improbable that 
 these, with their followers, remained.^ They would neces- 
 sarily, having no women among them, marry among the 
 Indians ; and though thus most traces of their origin would 
 be lost in a few generations, yet some words and names 
 
 * For further illustration of the necessity of this locality, see Antiq. 
 Am. p. 432. 
 
 f Antiq. Am. p. 455. 
 
 t This Thorhall Gamlason must not be confused with Thorhall the 
 Hunter. 
 
 § See this subject treated more fully in chap. v. 
 
iy AMERICA. 171 
 
 and customs might be retained. I say this is highly pro- 
 bable. I do not want you to believe it for a fact. It is a 
 fact, however, that the Indian name of this spot was the 
 same with that given to it by the Northmen, — a name 
 which designated, as we shall see, not only the lake, but 
 the land adjoining it on either side. Whence the Indian 
 name is derived is unknown, and what is its signification 
 in their language is unknown. It is hardly probable, how- 
 ever, that such a coincidence in name Mould have been 
 found without any connection, traditionary or otherwise, as 
 I have suggested, between the parties applying the name. 
 It is, moreover, a fact, and a most important one in refer- 
 ence to the present subject, though the editor of the Anti- 
 quitates Americana does not appear to have taken notice 
 of it, notwithstanding the passage which records it is quoted 
 by him, — that " there was a tradition current with the oldest 
 Indians (in these parts) that tJiere came a ivooden house 
 and men of another country in it, swimming up the river 
 Assoonet, as this {Taunton River) was then called, wJio 
 fought the Indians with mighty success, &c." * 
 
 Oh yes, said the doctor ; a tradition made to suit the 
 occasion. 
 
 No, doctor, you are quite wrong there ; for this tradition 
 is recorded, and I give it in the very words as recorded, by 
 Michael Lort, vice-president of the (London) Antiquarian 
 Society, in a work published in 1 787,+ ne having no idea 
 of these discoveries of the Northmen, and making no use 
 whatever of the tradition. It is, in that work, given as an 
 extract from a letter dated more than half a century earlier. 
 It is certainly a great pity that he did not detail the " et 
 ccetera" contained in that letter. They might have thrown 
 some more light upon the matter before us. The tradi- 
 
 * See Antiq. Am. p. 374. 
 f Archaeologia, vol. viii. p. 290, &c. 
 i 2 
 
 A 
 
172 THE NORTHMEN 
 
 tion, as it stands, is one of much importance in corrobOra* 
 tion of the present narrative. 
 
 Stay, said the doctor ; what is that about " fighting the 
 Indians with mighty success"? Did the Northmen ever 
 fight the Indians? 
 
 They did, at this very place ; and a great number of 
 Indians were slain, as we shall see presently. 
 
 Well, said Mr. Cassall, this tradition is certainly a cu- 
 rious and important one. Is there any thing else in Indian 
 traditions, or words, or names, which throws light upon 
 this matter ? 
 
 This subject has not been sufficiently investigated. It is, 
 however, the fact, that the name applied by these Indians 
 to Cape Cod was almost precisely the same as the Norse 
 term for the same promontory. The Northmen called it 
 Kialar-ness, the Kialar being merely an adjective, de- 
 scriptive of the kind of Ness ; the latter term signifying 
 simply promontory. This term ness* is frequently found 
 used, both by the Northmen of old, and in kindred lands 
 at the present day, as descriptive of promontories ; and was 
 probably used alone as the common designation of this 
 spot, the prefix Kialar being merely added to distinguish 
 it from Krossa-ness and other nesses. Thus we have 
 Sheer-ness, axvX Dunge-ness, in Kent; Holder-ness, the 
 south-east promontory of Yorkshire ; Orford-ness, in Suf- 
 folk, and many other nesses in England ; while we have 
 Kaith-ness, Broom-ness, Tarbet-ness, and innumerable 
 other nesses in Scotland. In Iceland we find many tongues 
 
 . * In Old Bailey's English Dictionary, (folio edition, 1736,) we find 
 the term " Ness, or Ne.ese" given as a noun substantive, with the fol- 
 lowing explanation : "A promontory that runs into the sea like a 
 nose :"— and he states that it is '" a term, with some alterations, pecu- 
 liar to all the Northerns." It may also be added that in one instance 
 the English form is used, Unaltered : — in " Hope's NosE"---one of the 
 capes of Torbay in Devonshire. This name is curious, as affording a 
 double coincidence. (See p, . 1 70, in /reference to the word " Hop.") 
 
IN AMERICA. 173 
 
 of land designated by the term ?iess alone, without any di- 
 stinctive appellation. We find, indeed, this single appella- 
 tion in England; thus, there is The Naze, (which word is 
 the same as ness,) a considerable promontory in Essex, 
 which resembles in shape almost precisely the Kialar-ness 
 in question. There is also Lindes-nces, more commonly 
 called simply The Naze, at the southern extremity of Nor- 
 way. In Scotland we also find Ness Head, Sec. The 
 Indian name for the ness in question was nauset, or nesset, 
 the obvious resemblance of which term to ness or naze, 
 and the probability of its being a corruption of that word, 
 are sufficiently clear. 
 
 Well, well, said the doctor, I do n't think much of these 
 names. 
 
 Perhaps not, answered Mr. Norset, if taken alone. I 
 do not wish to found any theory upon them. The narra- 
 tive is sufficiently clear, and its authenticity sufficiently 
 obvious, without them. But they are curious, when taken 
 in connection with these proven points. This branch of 
 the subject deserves further investigation. It is only to 
 be feared that almost all knowledge of the habits and lan- 
 guage of the Indians in these parts is now irrecoverably 
 lost, so that it will be impossible to pursue the investiga- 
 tion so far as might have been wished. Still, the tradi- 
 tion of the wooden house is saved, and that even you, doc- 
 tor, will acknowledge to be curious and important. 
 
 Why, it is a tradition, to be sure, answered the doctor, 
 carelessly, unable to dispute the fact, or disallow its force, 
 and yet most unwilling to acknowledge his perception of 
 the latter. 
 
 And what was done after the arrival of the ships at 
 Hop ? asked Mr. Cassall. 
 
 The narrative goes on to state that, — " Having landed, 
 they observed that where the land was low, corn grew 
 wild ; where it rose higher, vines were found." We have 
 
174* THE NORTHMEN 
 
 already seen that vines and corn do grow wild in these 
 parts. " Every river was full of fish. They dug pits in 
 the sand, where the tide rose the highest, and at low tide 
 there remained sacred Jish in these pits." 
 
 And, pray, what were " sacred fish"? asked the doctor. 
 
 They were the same with that kind of flat fish which we 
 now call halibut, and which is still called, in Iceland, by 
 the ancient name of " sacred fish." The cause of the name 
 " sacred fish" (sacri pisces) may be learned from Pliny.* 
 who tells us* that it was always a sign of secure water 
 where these fish were seen, because they were never found 
 in the same waters with the dog-fish. It is well known 
 that many of the flounder kind, (pleuronectes,) among 
 which is the halibut, (hippoglossus vulgaris,) frequent the 
 shores of Massachusetts. 
 
 " In the forests there were a great number of wild beasts 
 of all kinds — " 
 
 Wild beasts I exclaimed the doctor ; I begin to grow 
 alarmed. 
 
 Pray calm yourself, doctor ; there is no intimation that 
 these wild beasts were of a very dangerous description. 
 In truth, the contrary is expressly to be gathered from the 
 language subsequently used, where we are told of the 
 men going into the woods for various purposes. That wild 
 animals of many kinds formerly frequented these woods, 
 is a fact which cannot be disputed. The Indians resorted 
 to this spot, as a hunting-ground, for that very reason ; 
 and many of these animals, though now chiefly extirpated 
 by the clearing and settling of the land, are still found on 
 the mountains and less frequented parts.f In some of 
 the old grave-yards in this neighbourhood you may see, — 
 
 * Hist. Nat. lib. ix. cap. 70. ad fin. ; and Cf. Antiq. Am. p. 148. 
 note a. 
 f See Antiq. Am. pp. 364 and 369. 
 
IN AMERICA. 175 
 
 for I have seen them myself, — large heavy masses of rock 
 thrown completely over the most ancient graves, which 
 tradition tells us was done for the express purpose of pro- 
 tecting the bodies from the wolves and other wild animals. 
 " They passed half a month here, (at Hop,) carelessly, 
 having brought with them their cattle. One morning, as 
 they were looking round, they saw a great number of 
 canoes, in which poles were carried. These poles, vi- 
 brating in the direction of the sun, emitted a sound like 
 reeds shaken by the wind." This mode of balancing their 
 poles appears, from subsequent accounts, to have been the 
 sign of peace. " Then said Thorfinn, ' What do you think 
 this means ? ' Snorri Thorbrandson answered, < Perhaps 
 it is a sign of peace ; let us take a white shield, (the sign 
 of peace among the Northmen,) and hold out towards 
 them.' They did so. Then those in the canoes rowed 
 towards them, seeming to wonder who they were, and 
 landed. They were swarthy in complexion, short and 
 savage in appearance, with ugly hair, great eyes, and broad 
 cheeks. When they had staid some time, and gazed at the 
 strangers in astonishment, they departed, and retired beyond 
 the promontory to the south-west. 
 
 " Thorfinn and his companions erected dwellings at a 
 little distance from the lake ; some nearer, others further 
 off." It is obvious that the dwellings erected by Leif, for 
 his company of thirty-five, would not accommodate Thor- 
 finn and his company of one hundred and fifty-one. " They 
 passed the winter (their second, 1008-9,) here. No snow 
 fell, and all their cattle lived unhoused." 
 
 No snow ! repeated the doctor, with an expression of 
 surprise. 
 
 No snow, doctor! what of that? Did I not answer 
 your winterly ohjection before ? * There was no snow, 
 
 * See ante, p. 95, &c. 
 
176 THE NORTHMEN 
 
 comparatively with what they had in Greenland and Ice- 
 land. This is all that Ave are to understand. There was 
 so little, it appears, that the cattle could find provender. 
 We have already seen that snow seldom falls, in many parts 
 of Rhode Island, of sufficient depth to permit of sleighing. 
 Just think of the last two winters we have had, even in 
 Boston, which is much colder than Rhode Island, and you 
 will remember — for you say you were there during part of 
 each, — that there was no time when cattle might not have 
 found provender sufficient in the open fields ; while nothing 
 to call snow fell. 
 
 But these years are exceptions,* said the doctor. 
 
 And do you think exceptions never occurred formerly, 
 as well as now ? We have already seen that the previous 
 winter, spent at Straumfiord, was so severe a one, that they 
 were unable to procure any food, either from the water or 
 the land ; so that there were severe winters at that time, 
 without a doubt. But that there were also mild ones then, 
 as well as now, it is only natural to suppose. At any rate, 
 almost any of the winters of this climate would be mild to 
 them. The winter they passed at Straumfiord must have 
 been one of unusual seventy. 
 
 The doctor looked up, and gazed across the room, with 
 the air of a man who does not choose to be satisfied or con- 
 vinced, but does not think it safe to argue. 
 
 One thing, doctor, I must again recall to your mind, 
 continued Mr. Norset ; that these statements, as to the 
 winters, being contrary to what a superficial reader might 
 expect, who did not consider the comparative state of the 
 countries spoken of, would never have appeared in a fabri- 
 cation. They are stamped with authenticity from the very 
 circumstance of their apparent inconsistency ; this appa- 
 
 * The attention of the reader is requested to the note on this su&» 
 ject, ante, p. 9Cu 
 
IN AMERICA. 177 
 
 rent inconsistency becoming, however, upon careful ob- 
 servation, a strong instance of necessary coincidence ; thus 
 affording an admirable illustration of what Paley calls the 
 " oblique coincidence." 
 
 The doctor's countenance immediately underwent a 
 change ; for he could not but feel the justice of these re- 
 marks, though loath to acknowledge it. 
 
 Let us now proceed with the narrative : — 
 
 " One morning, in the following spring, (1009,) they saw 
 a great number of canoes approaching from beyond the 
 promontory at the south-west." 
 
 This promontory must have been that of Bristol Neck, 
 I presume ? said Mr. Cassall. 
 
 Undoubtedly, answered Mr. Norset. 
 
 " They were in such great numbers, that the whole water 
 looked as if it were sprinkled with cinders. Poles were, as 
 before, suspended in each canoe. Thorfinn and his party 
 held out shields ; after which a barter of goods commenced 
 between them. These people desired, above all things, to 
 obtain some red cloth ; in exchange for which they offered 
 various kinds of skins, some perfectly gray. They were 
 anxious, also, to purchase swords and spears ; but this 
 Thorfinn and Snorri forbade. For a narrow strip of red 
 cloth they gave a whole skin, and tied the cloth round their 
 heads. Thus they went on bartering for some time. When 
 the supply of cloth began to run short, Thorfinn's people 
 cut it into pieces so small that they did not exceed a fin- 
 ger's breadth; and yet the Skraelings gave for them as 
 much as, or even more than, before." 
 
 What skins were these ? asked the doctor. 
 
 There are a variety of animals found in these regions, 
 whose skins answer to the description which we have. 
 Among these are the squirrel, the weasel, the ermine, and 
 others. 
 
 They were generous of their goods, I think.. 
 15 
 
178 THE NORTHMEN 
 
 No particular generosity ; the bargain was equally ad- 
 vantageous on both sides. The Skreelings could get red cloth 
 nowhere else, while the skins were of little value to them, 
 being the fruits of their hunting expeditions, and capable, 
 therefore, of being easily replaced. The red cloth, on the 
 contrary, was of little value to the Northmen, while they 
 valued the skins highly, It was a good bargain on each 
 side, according to the most approved doctrines of the 
 " demand and supply" system of political economy. 
 
 Let it pass, then. What happened after all the red cloth 
 had been bought up ? 
 
 We are told in the narrative of Tliorfinn, contained in 
 " the account of Eirek the Red, and of Greenland," that 
 the women, of whom there were five according to that 
 account, made milk porridge,* and gave to the Skrselings, 
 which so tickled their palates that they would purchase 
 nothing else, but gave skins for this. It is very probable 
 that this really took place. If so, it was most likely a de~ 
 vice hit upon after all the reel cloth had been disposed of. 
 and when the Northmen were anxious to get more skins, 
 but knew not what to offer for them. Nothing is said? 
 however, about the milk porridge in the " account of 
 Tliorfinn," which proceeds : — - 
 
 " It happened that a bull, which Tliorfinn had brought 
 with him, rushing from the woods, bellowed lustily just as 
 this traffic was going on. The Skrselings were terribly 
 alarmed at this, and, running down quickly to their canoes, 
 rowed back towards the south-west ; from which time they 
 were not seen for three weeks. At the end of that time a 
 vast number of the canoes of the Skrselings was seen coming 
 from the south-west. All their poles were, on this occa- 
 sion, turned opposite to the sun, and they all howled fear- 
 fully. Thorfinn's party raised the red shield." These were 
 
 * Antiq. Am. p. 59. 
 
IN AMERICA. 179 
 
 the signs of war on each side. " The Skraelings landed, 
 and a battle followed. There was a galling discharge of 
 weapons, for the Skraelings used slings. Thorfinn's party 
 saw the Skraelings raise on a long pole a large globe, not 
 unlike a sheep's belly, and almost of a blue colour. They 
 hurled this from the pole towards the party of Thorfinn, 
 and, as it fell, it made a great noise." 
 
 What warlike engine had the Indians or Skraelings got 
 here ? asked the doctor. The narrative begins to deal 
 somewhat in the marvellous, methinks. 
 
 Not so, doctor, answered Mr. Norset. Some tribes of 
 Esquimaux are, at this day, in the habit of employing a 
 globe like that described, — being merely a distended blad- 
 der or otherwise, — in fishing ; which they do in order to 
 direct their fishing-poles with more certain aim. In the 
 case before us, the bladder was probably attached, Avith the 
 same object, to a parcel of stones. Such a charge would 
 certainly prove destructive, were it to fall on any human 
 being ; while so singular an instrument of warfare was well 
 calculated to terrify the Northmen. The effect of the 
 bladder would be precisely the same as that of the feather 
 of an arrow. This does not appear to have been a com- 
 mon instrument of warfare among the Skraelings, since no 
 mention of it is made elsewhere; nor is more than one 
 mentioned to have been employed in this engagement. It 
 seems to have been the invention of the moment. This, 
 however, cannot be positively stated to have been the case. 
 It is not improbable that so simple though cumbrous an 
 instrument might have been in use occasionally. You 
 know the mode of warfare among the natives was totally 
 different formerly, to what it has been since they have 
 possessed the rifle and the tomahawk. 
 
 " The sight of this," continues the narrative, " excited 
 great alarm among the followers of Thorfinn ; so that they 
 began immediately to fly along the course of the river, for 
 
J 80 THE NORTHMEN 
 
 they imagined themselves to be surrounded on all sides b^" 
 the Skrselings. They did not halt till they' reached some 
 rocks,* where they turned about and fought valiantly. 
 Freydis going out (of the dwellings) and seeing the fol- 
 lowers of Thorfinn flying, exclaimed, ' Why do strong men, 
 like you, run from such weak wretches, whom you ought 
 to destroy like cattle ? If I were armed, I believe that I 
 should fight more bravely than any of you.' They regarded 
 not her words. Freydis endeavoured to keep up with 
 them, but was unable to do so, owing to the state of her 
 health ; yet she followed them as far as the neighbouring 
 wood. The Skrselings pursued her. She saw a man lying 
 dead. This was Thorbrand, the son of Snorri, in whose 
 head a flat stone was sticking. His sword lay naked by 
 his side. This she seized, and prepared to defend herself. 
 The Skrselings came up with her. She struck her breast 
 with the naked sword, which so astonished the Skrselings 
 that they fled back to their canoes, and rowed off as fast 
 as possible." 
 
 How came the sight of this woman so much to alarm 
 them ? asked the doctor. 
 
 It is easy to understand that. They were unaccustomed 
 
 * It is stated, in answer to queries addressed by the R. S. N. A. to 
 the Rhode Island Historical Society, — and which answers were given 
 without the slightest knowledge of the object of the queries, — that 
 " there is a strip of land occupying this section of Massachusetts, and 
 lying on both sides of Taunton River, consisting of the Greywacke 
 formation ; and, as is observed by Professor Hitchcock, ' this rock in 
 no place rises into any thing like mountain ridges, &c.' " (See Antiq. 
 Am. p. 369.) This information affords a striking confirmation of the 
 truth of the particulars narrated in the documents as above ; and of 
 the correctness of the localities assigned. The " rocks " mentioned in 
 the narrative were, obviously, mere masses of very trifling elevation, 
 just sufficient to afford a skreen on one side from their enemies. This 
 coincides precisely with the ridge of Greywacke mentioned, both in 
 situation and elevation. The internal evidence thus afforded cannot 
 fail to be perceived. 
 
IN AMERICA. 181 
 
 to see a female in the battle-field. Seeing Freydis in 
 that particular attitude, and under those particular cir- 
 cumstances, they were very likely to be seized with some 
 superstitious panic. Moreover, the Northmen were then, 
 as we are informed, fighting valiantly at the rocks hard by: 
 the Skraelings, discomfited by them, were thus prepared to 
 be panic struck. 
 
 " The followers of Thorfinn coming up to her, extolled 
 her courage. Two of their number fell, together with a 
 vast number of the Skraelings." So you see, doctor, that 
 the tradition and this account coincide, in stating that " the 
 strangers fought the Indians with mighty success." 
 
 " Then the followers of Thorfinn, having been so hard 
 pressed by the mere numbers of the enemy, returned home 
 and dressed their wounds. Considering how great had 
 been the multitude which had attacked them, they per- 
 ceived that those who had come up from the canoes could 
 have been only a single band ; that the remainder, and 
 greater part, must have come upon them from ambush. 
 
 " The Skraelings (in the course of the battle) found a 
 dead man, and a battle-axe lying near him. One of them 
 took up the axe and cut wood with it; then one after the 
 other did the same, thinking it an instrument of great 
 value, and very sharp. Presently one of them took it and 
 struck it against a stone, so that the axe broke. Finding 
 that it would not cut stone, they thought it useless, and 
 threw it away. 
 
 " Thorfinn and his companions now thought it obvious 
 that, although the quality of the land was excellent, yet. 
 there would always be danger to be apprehended from the 
 natives. They therefore prepared to depart, and to return 
 to their native country. They first sailed round the land 
 to the northward. They took, near the shore, five Skrae- 
 lings clothed in skins, and sleeping ; these hud witli them 
 boxes containing marrow mixed with blood. Thorfinn 
 
182 ' THE NORTHMEN 
 
 presumed them to have been exiled from the country. 
 His people killed them. They afterwards came to a pro- 
 montory abounding in wild animals, as they judged from 
 the marks found in the sand." 
 
 And where is this promontory ? asked the doctor. 
 
 I should imagine, answered Mr. Norset, that there can be 
 little doubt this paragraph refers to an expedition made, 
 before finally quitting Hop, round Bristol Neck, and up 
 Narraganset Bay to the northward, towards the promon- 
 tory on which the present city of Providence stands. 
 This very promontory may have been the one mentioned, 
 though it was perhaps most probably either that of Chip- 
 inoxet Point or that of Sowams. The words of the nar- 
 rative are clear as to the direction of the course taken, and 
 the mention of a promontory is also distinct. From the 
 tenor of this part of the narrative, this expedition was ob- 
 viously only a short one ; and, from what follows, it seems 
 clear, also, that it must have been made before they left 
 Hop for Straumfiord. It was natural that they should ex- 
 plore the coast in their more immediate neighbourhood 
 before finally quitting it. 
 
 Yes, said Mr. Cassall, keeping his eye on the map ; it 
 seems evident that the course you indicate was the one 
 thus taken. Since there was an abundance of wild ani- 
 mals in this neighbourhood, it was to be expected that 
 their tracks should be found here. 
 
 The narrative, resumed Mr. Norset, thus continues : — 
 " They then went again to Straumfiord, (1009,) where 
 there were abundant supplies of all that they needed." 
 Then follows a clause which is clearly the record of some 
 less perfect tradition than that embodied in the rest of the 
 document. The whole style and manner are different, and 
 the very mode in which it is inserted shows that, in the 
 opinion of him who committed it to writing, it was not de- 
 serving of credit. It is, moreover, inconsistent with all the 
 
IN AMERICA. 183 
 
 preceding parts of the narrative in this account, and with 
 each of the other detailed narratives contained in the vo- 
 lume, as well as with all other evidence. It is, therefore, 
 by this internal evidence, to be rejected as an erroneous 
 and imperfect tradition, which, however, the compiler of 
 this document inserted, in his anxiety to preserve all per- 
 taining to this subject, and in his candour, and perfect 
 consciousness of the truth of that which he was relating. 
 
 Come, come, said the doctor ; I do not like this at all. 
 I suppose there is something here which will invalidate all 
 the rest. Pray, let us hear it. 
 
 I expected this, doctor. But, however, this passage 
 does not invalidate any one of the main facts of the narra- 
 tive in the slightest degree. The only thing that it can 
 affect is the length of time during which Thorfinn re- 
 mained at Hop. By the same rules of evidence, however, 
 which have been all along adopted, this passage must be 
 rejected as spurious. But you shall judge for yourself. 
 It is in the following w r ords : 
 
 " So?)ie say" — very different, you see, from the straight- 
 forward, simple tone of all that precedes, and, as you will 
 see, of all that follows, — " Some say that Biarni and Gudrid 
 remained here (at Straumfiord) with one hundred men, 
 and that they never went any further ; that Thorfinn and 
 iSnorri went towards the south-west with forty men, and 
 that they remained no longer at Hop than barely two 
 months, returning the same summer." You see now, very 
 plainly, that the only question is a question of time. You 
 see, too, that the passage is disconnected from that which 
 it adjoins, and that it is inserted in a manner which shows 
 that the writer himself doubts of its correctness. 
 
 I must say, remarked the doctor, that I do not see how 
 any exception can be taken to your explanation. Nothing 
 appears to be got by this passage in any way. 
 
 That is very clear, said Mr. Norset. It is merely a 
 
lS4t THE NORTHMEN 
 
 question of criticism. At the same time it is perfectly 
 obvious that the passage would never have been inserted 
 in a fabrication. It becomes, therefore, another internal 
 proof of the authenticity and truth of these narratives. 
 Let us proceed : — 
 
 " Afterwards, (that is after they had arrived at Straum- 
 fiord,) Thorfinn went, with one ship, to seek Thorhall the 
 Hunter, the rest remaining at Straumfiord." We see, 
 from this passage, how the confusion in the imperfect 
 tradition just quoted must have arisen. Observe this, 
 doctor, I beg, for it is a striking instance of " oblique 
 coincidence," affording exceedingly strong internal evi- 
 dence of the authenticity of the whole. Thorfinn left all 
 the others at Straumfiord, while he went, with one ship's 
 company, to search for Thorhall. Biarni and Gudrid 
 were, in this case, left behind. This departure was then 
 confused with his first departure from Straumfiord, when 
 he went thence to Hop, — the objects of the different ex- 
 peditions being confounded. Thus Thorfinn did leave 
 Straumfiord with forty men, (the number of his ship's crew, 
 as we learn from a previous passage,*) leaving Biarni and 
 Gudrid and all the rest behind, — but it was not when he went 
 to Hop ; it was on a different occasion, and for a different 
 purpose. This case, I repeat, affords another exceedingly 
 interesting illustration of the oblique coincidence; one in 
 which an apparent inconsistency again assists us in the dis- 
 covery of truth ; in which the errors in one tradition aid 
 us in ascertaining the correctness of certain facts stated in 
 another and distinct tradition. 
 
 Indeed, observed Mr. Cassall, I agree with you. I 
 hardly ever remember to have seen or heard a more striking 
 instance illustrative of this mode of proof. It is certainly 
 utterly impossible that there could have been any designed 
 
 * Ante, p. 144. 
 
IX AMERICA. 185 
 
 coincidence here. Let us now hear what course Thorfinn 
 took in the search for Thorhall. 
 
 " Sailing northward round Kialarness, they went west- 
 ward, after passing that promontory, — the land lying to 
 their left hand (larboard). There they saw extended 
 forests. When they had sailed for some time they came 
 to a place where a river flowed from south-east to north- 
 west. Having entered its mouth, they cast anchor on the 
 south-western bank." Here we have the other version of 
 the death of Thorvald, to which I have already alluded. 
 
 " One morning the followers of Thorfinn saw, in an 
 open place in the wood, something at a distance which 
 glittered. When they shouted, it moved. This was a 
 uniped — " 
 
 A uniped ! exclaimed the doctor. We have got to the 
 land of wonders at last, however. Who ever heard of an 
 animal with one leg before ? 
 
 Every body who has heard the wonderful story of Myn- 
 heer Vonwodenblock's cork leg, which " walked of Europe 
 all the tour." But, seriously, doctor, here is no mystery. 
 From what follows, we learn that this was known to be a 
 man who was seen ; and the appearance of being one- 
 legged was doubtless occasioned by his dress. If you 
 have seen Mr. Catlin's valuable and interesting Indian 
 Gallery, you must remember that there are many cos- 
 tumes, even now in use among Indian tribes, which, from 
 their singular form, would give to the wearer, seen from 
 a distance, the appearance of being a uniped. We know 
 that the Northmen were superstitious, and inclined to 
 the marvellous ; and the dress being different from their 
 own, and giving so singular an appearance to the wearer, 
 they never stopped to consider the cause of the appearance, 
 but set the object down at once as a uniped. 
 
 " This was a uniped, who immediately betook himself 
 
186 THE NORTHMEN 
 
 to the bank of the river, where the ship lay. Thorvald 
 Eirekson was sitting near the helm. The uniped shot an 
 arrow at him. Thorvald, having extracted the arrow, 
 said, — ' We have found a rich land, but shall enjoy it 
 little.' After a short time, Thorvald died of the wound. 
 The uniped subsequently retired. Thorfinn's crew pur- 
 sued him. They presently saw him run into a neighbour- 
 ing creek. They then returned, and one of them sang 
 these verses : * 
 
 Pursue we did, — 
 'T is true, no more, — 
 The uniped 
 Down to the shore. 
 
 The wondrous man 
 His course quite clear 
 Through ocean ran ! 
 Hear ! Thorfinn, hear ! 
 
 " Then, having returned, (that is, the whole ship's com- 
 pany having returned to Kialarness,) they sailed towards 
 the south ; for imagining that this was the land of the 
 unipeds, they were unwilling to expose themselves to 
 danger any longer. They concluded that the hills which 
 were in Hop were the same as those which they here 
 saw." 
 
 This remark, observed Mr. Cassall, seems to render 
 " assurance doubly sure." These hills must, I presume, 
 have been the "Blue Hills," whose principal elevation is 
 at Milton. Hop, I suppose, extended to some distance in- 
 land, as appears indeed evident from the narrative ; and 
 the spot just alluded to as the death-place of Thorvald you 
 
 * These verses are exceedingly peculiar, both in style and metre, 
 in the original. This peculiarity the author has in both respects en- 
 deavoured to imitate in the translation. 
 
IN AMERICA. 187 
 
 showed before * to be most probably Point Alderton, the 
 correctness of which locality is confirmed by the remarks 
 in this part of the narrative. 
 
 Yes, answered Mr. Norset, there can be little doubt, 
 from the language in the narrative, that Hop extended up 
 the country to a considerable distance, probably several 
 miles. They remained here, you will remember, a full 
 year or more; they hunted and fished in "the rivers-" 
 built some dwellings near the lake, others further off; &C 
 — all showing that they must have become well accptainted 
 with the interior. And the whole tract was called Hop. 
 The Blue Hills would then, certainly, be within the range 
 of Hop ; and from Point Alderton, and in approaching 
 Boston Harbour, these hills may be distinctly seen.f 
 
 " They passed the winter (1009-10) in Straumfiord. 
 Snorri Thorfinnson had been born during the first autumn, 
 (that is, as I mentioned before in its place, soon after their 
 first arrival at Straumfiord, in 1007,) and was in his third 
 year when they left Vinland;" — the whole of this tract 
 was called Vinland, you will remember. 
 
 " Setting sail from Vinland, (in the spring of 1010,) 
 with southerly winds, they touched at Markland, and 
 found there five Skreelings, of whom one was a grown 
 man, two were women, and two boys. Thorfinn's party 
 
 * Ante, p. 113. 
 
 f It may not be amiss to notice that the following expression, made 
 use of in the second account of Thorfinn, clearly shows that these hills 
 had no great elevation. " They determined to explore all the hills 
 which were in II6p." Antiq. Am. p. 181. They could not very easily 
 have explored, and would not have been very likely to determine to 
 explore, all or any part of a range of Alpine hills. The expression 
 shows, also, that they did explore the interior of the country ; which, 
 also, very clearly appears to have been done by others, from the men- 
 tion of the exploring parties in the account of the expedition of Leif; 
 see ante, p. 100. See also ante, p. 163, for other internal explorations 
 by Thorfinn's party. 
 
188 THE NORTHiMEN 
 
 seized the boys, the others escaping and hiding themselves 
 in caves. They took these two boys with them, taught 
 them their language, and baptized them. The boys called 
 their mother Vethilldi, and their father Uvaage. They 
 said that chiefs ruled over the Skrselings, of whom one 
 was named Avalldania, the other Valldidida; that they had 
 no houses, but lived in caverns, and the hollows of rocks ; 
 that beyond their country was another, the inhabitants of 
 which were clothed in white, and carried before them long 
 poles with flags, and shouted with a loud voice. It was 
 thought that this must be Huitramannaland, (white man's 
 land,) or Irland it Mikla (Great Ireland)." 
 
 Huitramannaland ! said the doctor ; what a name ! Pray, 
 where was this ? 
 
 You shall hear all about it by and by, said Mr. Norset. 
 Let us now finish this narrative, which we have almost 
 brought to a conclusion. 
 
 " They afterwards (1010) reached Eireksfiord, in Green- 
 land, and passed the winter there.* But Biarni Grimolf- 
 son and his crew were driven out into the Greenland 
 ocean." In one account it is stated the Irish ocean ; the 
 same region of the open ocean is doubtless signified. 
 
 " The sea was full of marine worms, which they did not 
 perceive till their ship began to sink." 
 
 Quite time to perceive it then, in truth, said the doctor. 
 
 " They had with them a boat, covered with seal oil. 
 
 * This passage is omitted in the first " account of Thorfinn," but 
 occurs in the second. It also occurs in the details of Thorfinn's ex- 
 pedition in the " account of Eirek the Red." It is so obviously an 
 accidental omission in the first of these accounts, that it is needless 
 making any argument on the subject in the text. The next mention 
 of Thorfinn, in that very account, implies this passage. It commences, 
 " The next summer Thorfinn returned to Iceland." He could have 
 returned to Iceland the nest summer in no way but by haying spent 
 the intervening months in Greenland. 
 
IN' AMERICA. 189 
 
 This the marine worm does not touch. They found that 
 the boat would not hold them all. Then said Biarni, 
 1 Since the boat cannot carry more than half our number, 
 I think we had better cast lots who shall go aboard her; 
 for rank is not to be considered in such a matter.' All 
 agreed. The lots were cast. It so fell that Biarni and 
 half his company should go aboard the boat. 
 
 " When they had gone aboard, a man, an Icelander, 
 who was in the ship, and who had accompanied Biarni from 
 Iceland, cried, — ' Will you leave me here, Biarni ? ' Biarni 
 answered, — ' It cannot be helped.' Said he, — ' You pro- 
 mised my parents very differently, when I left Iceland, 
 than that you would thus desert me. You promised that 
 the same fortune should be shared by both.' Biarni re- 
 plied, — ' That cannot be ; but do you come down into the 
 boat, and I will go up again into the ship ; for I see that 
 you are fond of life.' So Biarni went into the ship again, 
 and this man came down into the boat. Then those in the 
 boat went on till they came to land, where they told all. 
 It was generally believed that Biarni and his companions 
 perished in the ocean, for nothing more was ever heard of 
 them." 
 
 We now come to the conclusion of Thorfinn's history. 
 This, in the " account of Thorfinn," is exceedingly brief, 
 and for an obvious reason, — namely, that his whole life in 
 Iceland, and the condition of his family, were so well known, 
 that it was needless to detail any particulars concerning 
 them in the accounts of his expedition published in Ice- 
 land : these, as we have seen, were first detailed by him- 
 self, and afterwards, only a few years after his death, com- 
 mitted to writing. In Greenland, on the contrary, where 
 he was less known, and where the "account of Eirek" 
 was written, the particulars concerning him would not be 
 complete without a few facts, such as could be obtained, 
 as to the subsequent history of his family. Accordingly, 
 
190 THE NORTHMEN 
 
 we find these particulars in the " account of Eirek." These 
 diversities in the two documents afford another strong in- 
 ternal proof of the authenticity of each, as a distinct docu- 
 ment, and of the accuracy and truth of the contents of 
 each. It is morally impossible they could ever have been 
 found in fabrications. The " account of Thorfinn" merely 
 adds that, "in the ensuing summer, (1011,) Thorfinn 
 returned to Iceland, to Reynisness, (a promontory on the 
 northern coast ;) but his mother, not being pleased at his 
 marriage, would not permit Gudrid to enter her- house the 
 first year. She subsequently, however, became reconciled 
 to her." A pedigree of some of Thorfmn's descendants is 
 added to this document as it at present stands, — added, 
 however, as a glance must serve to show, not by the nar- 
 rator, but by the person who committed the narrative to 
 writing. For further particulars, though brief, as to Thor- 
 finn's history, we must turn to the " account of Eirek the 
 Red, and of Greenland," which proceeds as follows : — 
 
 " Thorfinn"* having, as we have already seen, arrived 
 safely at Eireksfiord, and staid there one winter, " fitted 
 out his ship and put out to sea ; it being commonly thought 
 that so rich a cargo had never left Greenland. After a 
 prosperous voyage, he reached Norway in safety ; where, 
 staying the winter, he disposed of his merchandise. He 
 and his wife were received with the greatest courtesy by 
 the first men in Norway. In the following spring he made 
 preparations for returning to Iceland. When all was 
 ready, and the vessel only waiting for a fair wind, a cer- 
 tain southerner came to him from Bremen in Saxony. He 
 wanted to buy a weathercock f which Thorfinn had. ' I 
 do not wish to sell it,' was the reply. ' I will give you 
 half a mark of gold for it,' said the southerner. The 
 
 * Antiq. Am. p. 72, &c. 
 
 t Cf, Antiq. Am. pp. 74 and 441, note c. 
 
IN AMERICA. 191 
 
 price appeared to Thorfinn so great that he agreed to sell 
 it. The southerner took the weathercock, but Thorfinn 
 knew not of what sort of wood it was made. It was the 
 Maesur, (?»acer, that is, maple,) which he had brought 
 from Yinland. Then Thorfinn set sail and arrived at 
 Skagafiord, in the north quarter of Iceland," not far from 
 Reynisness. " There he remained during the winter. In 
 the following spring, he bought the Glaumbce.* estate, on 
 which he built a house, and where he lived during the re- 
 mainder of his life, much honoured. 
 
 " From him and his wife sprang a numerous and illus- 
 trious race. Thorfinn being dead, Gudrid and Snorri re- 
 mained on the estate, — the latter being the son born in 
 Vinland. When Snorri married, Gudrid took a journey 
 to Rome, and afterwards returned to her son's house, who 
 had, meantime, built a church at Glaurnba?. Gudrid sub- 
 sequently entered a convent, and passed the remainder of 
 her life in solitude." The account concludes with stating 
 that " Thorfinn himself has given a more accurate account 
 than any other man, concerning the events of these expedi- 
 tions ; " — which passage, occurring, remember, in the " ac- 
 count of Eirek the Red," is certainly as much as to say, — 
 " I have given you the best account I could. If you want 
 to know the whole story thoroughly, you must hear the 
 record which Thorfinn himself has left of it ; which, though 
 I have not heard it, will, of course, be more complete and 
 perfect than mine, or any body's else ;" and which record, 
 doctor, is the one which has been our chief guide through 
 all the details. 
 
 Thus we have brought the account of Thorfinn's adven- 
 tures to a conclusion. 
 
 Is it ended ? asked the doctor. 
 
 * All these places will be found marked in the map to Henderson's 
 Iceland. Thev still retain their ancient names. 
 
192 THE NORTH MEN 
 
 It is, answered Mr. Norset ; and you really look as if 
 you were sorry that the narrative has closed. 
 
 O, said the doctor, one always feels some regret when a 
 tale is finished in which any interest has been taken. 
 
 Then you acknowledge your interest in the matter? 
 But do you not know, doctor, that it is always when the 
 most complete appearance of truth exists in a narrative, 
 that the most deep interest is taken ? Too many points 
 have been established in which the simple garb of honest 
 truth has been recognized, through coincidences which it 
 is impossible could have been the result of accident or de- 
 sign, for you now to talk of any of these narratives as 
 fiction. I must distinctly say that if you do pretend to 
 doubt their truth, after the illustrations of their truth with 
 which I have presented you, I cannot argue further. No 
 human testimony can satisfy you. There is no book, docu- 
 ment, or record, ancient or modern, the authenticity and 
 truth of which is established upon sounder and completer 
 testimony, — few on so complete, — as is the authenticity 
 and truth of these documents and narratives. The kind 
 of testimony to which I allude is the internal testimony, 
 consisting of undesigned coincidences existing between dif- 
 ferent parts of the same narratives, and the like coinci- 
 dences existing between parts of distinct narratives, origin- 
 ating in different individuals, without one having know- 
 ledge of or reference to, the contents of the other. This 
 evidence is complete in the present case, and it amounts, 
 in truth, as I have before said, to demonstration. But X 
 have already said, and many a wiser man has said before 
 me, that there is no fact the best established, and no evi- 
 dence the most impregnable, against which it is not possi- 
 ble to cavil and dispute. 
 
 Stop, stop, said the doctor ; I do not wish to cavil. I 
 must acknowledge that your case has been made out pretty 
 well. 
 
IX AMERICA. 193 
 
 Nay, doctor ; you said, yesterday morning, when we 
 win discussing the mode of proof, that, if I could esta- 
 blish the existence of the internal coincidental proof in 
 these narratives, you should be satisfied. I have esta- 
 blished it. 
 
 Let me ask you one question, said the doctor, wishing 
 to evade a direct reply to these remarks: — Have you 
 brought up all the inconsistencies, or apparent inconsist- 
 encies, which exist in the narratives, and fairly compared 
 the whole ? 
 
 I have done so, throughout, with the greatest care. I 
 can safely and distinctly assert that there is not, to my 
 knowledge and belief, after a most thorough examination 
 of all the original records, a single apparent inconsistency 
 which I have not displayed. If there be any, it must have 
 been so minute that it escaped my searching attention. 
 Yes, doctorj you have had all the apparent inconsistencies ; 
 and it has been clearly seen that the only points established 
 by them are, the real consistency of every part of each nar- 
 rative with every other, and, — which, to the demonstration 
 of the truth of the narratives, is scarcely less important,— 
 that the different documents, though coinciding in the 
 statement of all the main facts, were written by different 
 individuals, without any knowledge of, or concert with, 
 each other, or each other's writings.* 
 
 I must say, remarked Mr. Cassall, that I think it is now 
 
 * It will be perceived that the mention made, in the " account of 
 Eirek," of the tradition left by Thorfinn, corroborates this statement. 
 The author of that " account " informs us that he had heard that Thor- 
 finn had left such a tradition. He presumes that this must, of neces- 
 sity, be more complete than his own, which was gathered from indivi- 
 duals less interested in, and less qualified to relate, the events of the 
 expedition ; but he had no knowledge of the contents of the tradition 
 recorded by Thorfinn, — otherwise he would have given them. 
 K 
 
194 THE NORTHMEN 
 
 very clear that the Northmen not only discovered this 
 continent, but that they also explored it well, and that 
 they passed some years of residence here, in New England. 
 Let us see ; Thorfinn's party remained here three winters, 
 did they not ? 
 
 They did. They left Greenland in the spring of 1007, 
 staid at Straumfiord (Buzzard's Bay) during the follow- 
 ing winter, (1007-8,) in the autumn preceding which 
 Snorri Thorfinnson was born; staid the following winter 
 (1008-9) at Hop; and the next (1009-10) again at 
 Straumfiord ; and returned to Greenland in the spring of 
 1010, after an absence of three years. You will remember 
 that Thorvald's party resided here for the space of three 
 years also, from the summer of 1002, to the spring of 
 1005; and that Leif's party resided here one year, — from 
 1000 to 1001 ; in addition to which, Freydis and her hus- 
 band remained here one year, from 1011 to 1012. Thus 
 Ave have recorded histories of the residence of the North- 
 men in New England during a space of eight years. 
 We shall afterwards find that it is highly probable their 
 stay was more continued. 
 
 You mentioned yesterday, observed the doctor, that, be- 
 sides these two principal accounts, — that of " Eirek the 
 Red, and of Greenland," and that " of Thorfinn Karlsefni," 
 — there were several extracts relating to the same dis- 
 coveries printed in that book ; those extracts being made 
 from many other ancient manuscripts. What are they ? 
 
 It will not be worth while to detail each one. They are 
 of two kinds : — First, extracts from different ancient works, 
 in which mention is made of different individuals who figure 
 in these narratives, and allusion incidentally made to their 
 histories, which incidental allusions corroborate the truth 
 of these narratives, thus affording other incidental proof of 
 their authenticity and truth. Second, of extracts from 
 
IX AMERICA. 195 
 
 several ancient geographical and other works, in which 
 mention is made of \ 'inland and other places visited on the 
 continent <>f America, and the authors of which works 
 lived at different times, many of them in- different countries, 
 and under totally different circumstances, from the authors 
 of these narratives. To this class belongs the extract from 
 Adam of Bremen, which I quoted yesterday. You will 
 immediately perceive how strong is the testimony afforded 
 by both these classes of extracts. In some instances there 
 is some diversity in unimportant points, which serves to 
 enhance the value of the testimony, being a further proof 
 of the absence of all concert or design. Thus, in one ex- 
 tract,* the history of Biarni Grimolfson is correctly given, 
 as in all the other narratives, but he is called Thorbiarni, 
 and the surname Karhefni is added to his name, — the 
 same surname which Tliorfinn bore, but which his com- 
 panion, Biarnij had earned as rightfully, — signifying, as it 
 did, able to achieve. 
 
 We will not, then, call upon you for these extracts in 
 detail ; but there is one extract which we cannot allow you 
 to omit. 
 
 What is that ? 
 
 You know you stated, yesterday, that, among the ex- 
 tracts, were some which showed that the knowledge of this 
 country was so general among the Northmen formerly, 
 that, even in fictions, it is found mentioned. 
 
 The instance to which I alluded is one among several 
 which might be quoted. It is an ancient ballad, and is 
 printed at full length in this volume. 
 
 Is it a long or a short piece ? 
 
 It is rather long, but we have yet an hour and a half 
 before tea, and shall have more than abundance of time to 
 
 Antiq. Am. p. 196. 
 k2 
 
196 THE NORTHMEN IN AMERICA. 
 
 read it, and discuss all that remains relating to Vinland. 
 If you are so minded, therefore, we will proceed with this 
 ballad now. 
 
 At this moment the doctor was called away by a visitor. 
 He rose to answer the call, saying, — 
 
 I will be back in a few minutes ; and we will then, if you 
 please, " give ear unto your song." 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Ancient Ballad in which Vixlaxd is mentioned. — Latest recorded 
 Visits to the Continent of America by the Northmen. — Continued in- 
 tercourse with those regions. — Permanent Colonies established by 
 the Northmen in the Western Hemisphere. 
 
 I have kept my word, said the doctor, entering the room 
 again, after an absence of a quarter of an hour, and have 
 soon returned. Let us now proceed with this fiction which 
 you mentioned. 
 
 Willingly. It is, as I have stated, in the form of a bal- 
 lad, and — 
 
 Stay, interrupted the doctor. Before you tell us about 
 its character, and origin, and history, I must beg you to 
 let us understand one point, on which at present I feel 
 rather in the dark. What can this or any other fiction 
 do, in any way, towards proof of the authenticity of these 
 accounts of the Northmen's discoveries ? 
 
 You will perceive that this ballad affords strong and 
 indeed absolute testimony to three things : 1. That Vinland 
 was a region well known to exist by the author of the 
 ballad, and generally at the time in which he lived. He 
 alludes to it in a manner which shows that he alluded to 
 that which was well and commonly known. 2. It shows 
 that this Vinland was commonly known to be at a great 
 distance from Ireland, over the sea, so that to reach it was 
 no slight achievement. And, 3. It shows that voyages 
 were sometimes made from Ireland to Vinland, which I 
 shall have occasion, to-morrow, to show you was likewise 
 the case as to other parts of America. 
 
198 THE NORTHMEN 
 
 You do not pretend to say that there is any truth in the 
 ballad?' 
 
 It is not improbable that it may have a foundation in 
 historical fact, the details being an embellishment. The 
 ballad is an extremely ancient one. It was made in the 
 Faroe Isles, between Britain and Iceland, which isles are 
 celebrated for the traditions of this kind which their bards 
 preserved in verse. Several volumes of these ancient 
 historical ballads are in existence. Some have been pub- 
 lished, others are still in manuscript. The present one, 
 with the exception of its publication in this volume,* lies 
 still in manuscript in the Royal Library at Copenhagen. 
 
 Is it all about Vinland ? 
 
 No ; it relates a tradition concerning the son of a certain 
 prince of Upland, (in Sweden,) who went to Ireland to seek 
 the king's daughter in marriage, and met with refusals 
 from the father. Many fatal deeds follow, and at length 
 the princess agrees to marry him if he will kill the kings 
 of Vinland. In relation to this point it is to be observed 
 that, in the Faroe Isles, it was commonly believed that 
 Vinland was discovered from Ireland, and that the Irish 
 sailed thither and had many battles with the natives, who, 
 as we have seen from the " account of Thorfinn Karlsefni," 
 and as we know to have been the case, and to be now the 
 case, were under chiefs, to whom, as they held the same 
 rank, the Northmen gave the same title as to their own 
 kings. These facts will take away from what might, at 
 first sight, seem the absurdity in what relates to Vinland 
 in the following account. The whole story is highly em- 
 bellished, as was to be expected, by the author's fancy. 
 
 I presume, as the ballad is so ancient, that its language 
 and style are peculiarly quaint ? 
 
 * Antiq. Am. p, 319, 
 
IN T AMERICA. 199 
 
 They are so ; and I will endeavour, in translating it, to 
 preserve, as far as possible, the style and quaintness of th,e 
 original.* Shall I now commence ? 
 
 As soon as you like. 
 
 Snctent SallaU 
 
 of 
 jrinn the faiv. 
 
 1 A prince there dwelt in Upland once ; 
 
 (I love due order to maintain :) 
 
 This prince he had two goodly sons, 
 
 Whom easily I here may name : 
 
 2 This prince he had two sons most rare, . 
 
 Whom easily I here may name, — 
 Holdan the Strong and Finn the Fair, 
 Both widely known to martial fame. 
 
 3 Of these, the birthright Holdan owned : 
 
 Finn was in years the younger still ; 
 On him were nature's -gifts bestowed, 
 But fate and fortune used him ill. 
 
 4 This Finn once met his comrades free, 
 
 And thus to them his thoughts expressed :— 
 " Where dwells the damsel worthy me ? 
 
 Long on my mind this thought has pressed." 
 
 * The author has endeavoured to preserve also the style of. rhythm 
 and verse employed in the original, which is of the same nature as that 
 employed in the old English ballads, as will he immediately recognised 
 by those familiar with the noble ballads of " Chevy Chase," &c. It 
 must be stated that the original ballad consists of one hundred and 
 four verses, but fearing that the insertion of the whole might be 
 esteemed tedious, the author has reduced the number to ninety-one. 
 No material passage has been omitted, but merely some of the unim- 
 portant adornments. 
 
200 THE NORTHMEN 
 
 5 To him his comrades thus reply : — 
 
 " Oh why of us dost thou inquire ? 
 Thou knowest best where turns thine eye, 
 Where fixes most thy strong desire. 
 
 6 " But now, to prove our love and faith, 
 
 We '11 name a maid of noblest race : 
 The Irish king a daughter hath, 
 Renowned for every female grace. 
 
 7 " A daughter hath the Irish king, 
 
 For grace and wisdom far renowned ; 
 If her in marriage thou should'st join, 
 T would to thy honour much redound/' 
 
 8 " If then this maid," thus answered Finn,, 
 
 " So worthy is of my estate, 
 I '11 seek her of the Irish king, 
 Whatever fortune me await." 
 
 9 Then Finn the Fair, he straight began 
 
 To fit his vessels out with care ; 
 
 The cables all, through every span, 
 
 With purest gold entwined are. 
 
 10 Then Finn the Fair, he straight began 
 
 To fit his vessels out with care ; 
 And many a goodly hogshead ran 
 
 With well-brewed ale and wine most rare, 
 
 1 1 And Finn his ships he did supply 
 
 With choicest gifts, a generous store ; 
 Each plank which meets the gazer's eye. 
 With golden plates is covered o'er. 
 
 12 Each beak is painted deepest black, 
 
 Each vessel's sides are brightest blue, 
 
 Nor burnished gold the mast-heads lack, 
 
 Resplendent, glittering in the view. 
 
IX AMERICA. 201 
 
 13 His silken sails he raises then, 
 
 On yards of gold extended wide, 
 His sails he never furls again 
 
 Till Ireland from the helm he spied. 
 
 14 A shepherd on the plain reclined, 
 
 The royal herds he there was tending ; 
 He sees, full borne before the wind, 
 A stately vessel thither wending. 
 
 15 His flocks he drives within the fold, 
 
 Xor leaves them there, unguarded all. 
 Then dons his mantle, and, untold, 
 He enters cmick the monarch's hall. 
 
 16 He dons his mantle, and, untold, 
 
 He enters quick the monarch's hall. 
 " In one thing sure," he utters bold, 
 " I now am wiser than you all. 
 
 17 "In one thing sure," he utters bold, 
 
 " I, wiser than you all, do boast : 
 I see a stately vessel hold 
 
 Her gallant course for Ireland's coast." 
 
 18 " See you a stately vessel hold 
 
 Her gallant course to Ireland's shore ? 
 Some noble prince now, doubtless, would 
 My beauteous daughter's hand implore." 
 
 19 Now, where the vessel first drew nigh 
 
 The pleasant shores of Ireland's strand, 
 Her anchor cast, she fast doth lie 
 Above the beds of whitest sand. 
 
 20 Then Finn the Fair, upon the land, 
 
 Leaps from her sides, the first of all ; 
 Then follows straight a goodly band 
 Of harnessed warriors, at his call. 
 
202 
 
 THE NORTHMEN 
 
 21 Then Finn, within the garden nigh,. 
 
 His gorgeous mantle o'er him threw; 
 And, so attired, with bearing high, 
 Straight to the palace hall he drew .-. 
 
 22 And so attired, with bearing high, 
 
 Straight to the palace hall he drew : 
 Five hundred men were seated nigh 
 The Irish king before his view. 
 
 23 Across the pavement of the hall 
 
 Finn goes in ancient manner brief: 
 In one short word he opens all 
 
 His business, — and demands a wife. 
 
 24 Finn stands upon the pavement then,. 
 
 And brief expresses his demand ; — 
 " All hail ! thou doughty Irish king ! 
 I seek to win thy daughter's hand." 
 
 25 Then answered straight the Irish king, 
 
 Sword-girt, and sitting on his throne,— 
 " What name and honour dost thou bring, 
 What land thee for her chief does own I " 
 
 26 " My name is Finn the Fair," he said, 
 
 " And brother mine is Holdan Strong: 
 My father, Ulvur, prince of dread, 
 
 Who loved my mother, Gartru, long/' 
 
 27 Then said the king, — " Unequal seems 
 
 This match to kindred of the maid ; 
 Her father, king of mighty realms ; 
 Thine, but a prince of small estate." 
 
 28 Upon the pavement of the hall 
 
 Finn stands, regardful of his right, 
 At length thus sounds his haughty call, — ■ 
 " O king, I am your equal quite : 
 
IK AMERICA. 203 
 
 29 " But if thou dost refuse the maid, 
 
 Before that I shall now depart, 
 Full low thy head shall here be laid, 
 And many a youth's who takes thy part. 
 
 30 " But, if your daughter you deny 
 
 In marriage now to me to give, 
 Your skill in arms you e'en must try, 
 If you another hour would live." 
 
 31 Across the pavement of the hall 
 
 Finn bounds with agile step and strong ; 
 Full eighteen knights before him fall, 
 As toward the door he hastes along. 
 
 32 Across the pavement of the hall 
 
 Finn bounds, before their swords him reach ; 
 But eighteen of his followers fall, 
 Which makes an equal loss to each. 
 
 33 Full eighteen doughty warriors there, 
 
 Oppressed with wounds, before him fell, 
 Ere they could seize on Finn the Fair, 
 And cast him in the donjon cell. 
 
 34 At length they seize on Finn the Fair, 
 
 And into donjon him they cast ; 
 Nor gyves nor heavy chains they spare, 
 But lock his limbs together fast. 
 
 35 And then they seized on Finn the Fair, 
 
 And in the donjon cold him laid ; 
 Then fastens grief and wild despair 
 On Ingeborg, the royal maid. 
 
 36 Then Ingeborg, the royal maid, 
 
 In loose attire her father found : 
 With naked feet, — a linen braid 
 
 Around her silken tresses bound ; — 
 
204 THE NORTHMEN 
 
 37 Then Ingeborg, the royal maid, 
 
 Upon her knees before him there, — 
 " O grant, my father," thus she said, 
 " This knight a husband to my prayer/" 
 
 38 Then said the king, — " Unequal seems 
 
 This match to all thy kindred, maid r 
 Thy father, king of mighty realms ; 
 His, but a prince of small estate." 
 
 39 Then Ingeborg, worse than before 
 
 Her grief and anger kindled, spake j 
 She vows that she will never more 
 Her father's counsel ask or take. 
 
 40 Her messenger she calls in haste, 
 
 And on him puts a robe so gay : 
 " A trusty page thou ever wast," 
 
 She said, and bade him speed his way., 
 
 4 1 Swift-footed was this page, I Ween, 
 
 As messenger should always be ; 
 And on his garb the rose was seen 
 
 With lilies twined, which worked had she. 
 
 42 " Now hear, my trusty page," she said ; 
 
 ** Forget not what thy errand is ; 
 In sleep lay not thy weary head, 
 Till thou hast told to Holdan this." 
 
 43 Then quickly went that page, I ween, 
 
 Nor staid till he had reached the land 
 Where many a noted mark was seen 
 
 Which told the strength of Holdan's hand, 
 
 44 This little page he entered straight 
 
 The presence hall of Holdan Strong, 
 Who sat there, on a lofty seat, 
 
 With troubled look, the crowd among. 
 
IN AMERICA. 205 
 
 45 " Now welcome, page," cried Holdan then, 
 
 " Now welcome to this palace mine : 
 Come, drink, and tell thy errand when 
 
 Thy thirst is quenched with mead or wine." 
 
 46 " Oh little does thy mead allure," 
 
 He answered ; " less thy costly wine ; 
 Far other errand have I, sure, 
 
 Which brings me now to thee and thine. 
 
 47 " Know, might) 7 Holdan, that I come, 
 
 A message sad to bring to thee ; 
 
 Upon thy brother, far from home, 
 
 Misfortunes dire attendant be." 
 
 48 Then Holdan straight with anger burned ; — 
 
 The tables from before him flung ; — 
 The numerous goblets, overturned, 
 
 Poured forth, in streams, the beverage strong. 
 
 49 Forth from his seat then Holdan leaped ; 
 
 His rage and anger kindled high ; 
 
 And, from the table, by him swept, 
 
 Fifteen gold cups in fragments lie. 
 
 50 Then Holdan leads a mighty band ; 
 
 Both slaves and free enlisted are ; 
 Where one was called two eager stand, 
 Sworn to revenge bold Finn the Fair. 
 
 51 His silken sails he raises then, 
 
 On yards of gold extended wide ; 
 His sails he never furls again, 
 Till Ireland from the helm he spied. 
 
 52 Above the beds of whitest sand, 
 
 Her anchor cast, the vessel lay ; 
 Holdan the Strong, the first did stand 
 Upon the Irish coast that day. 
 
206 THE NORTHMEN 
 
 53 The distant coast he first annoyed, 
 
 And thence advancing, secretly, 
 By fire and sword he fierce destroyed 
 Each town and village he came nigh. 
 
 54 Then Holdan, — every act, in turn, 
 
 And injury suffered, first reviewed, — 
 Resolves the citadel to burn, 
 
 And all escape he does preclude. 
 
 55 O then the Irish king, he cried, — 
 
 He cried with voice both loud and strong,' 
 " Oh why this night am I betrayed ? 
 On whom have I inflicted wrong ? " 
 
 56 Then answered Holdan Strong to him, 
 
 He answered straight in words but few, — 
 " O king of Ireland, well, I ween, 
 
 My brother once was known to you." 
 
 57 Then answer gave the Irish king, — 
 
 By sad estate compelled to own, — 
 " Not death did I e'er on him bring, 
 But into donjon he was thrown." 
 
 58 Then Holdan straight the donjon seeks, 
 
 None daring any let* to be ; 
 The doors, of iron tough, he breaks, 
 
 And from his chains then sets him free. 
 
 59 The door, of iron tough, he breaks, 
 
 And from his chains then sets him free ; 
 " Arise, my brother," thus he speaks, 
 " If thou art willing hence to flee." 
 
 * Let, — hindrance, obstruction : so used by all old writers. 
 
IN AMERICA. 207 
 
 60 Up leaped, that instant, Finn the Fair, 
 
 While rage sat darkening o'er his brow : 
 " The king I must a tribute bear, 
 For this cold iron lent me now." 
 
 61 Then sat him down brave Holdan there, 
 
 And to his brother thus resumed : — 
 " Attend, my brother, lend thine ear, — 
 The king with fire has been consumed." 
 
 62 Then out they went the donjon walls 
 
 Unhurt, and none does hindrance bear ; 
 Thence to the stately palace halls, 
 To Ingeborg, they both repair. 
 
 63 " Hail, Ingeborg ! thou royal maid ! 
 
 Both fair and beautiful art thou : 
 Wilt thou this prince elect," they said, 
 " And take him for thy husband now?" 
 
 64 Then Ingeborg doth answer make, — 
 
 " This matter is most hard to do ; 
 
 But, if the Vinland kings you '11 take r 
 
 An answer, sure, I '11 give to you." 
 
 65 Then powerful Holdan thus replied, — 
 
 " 'T will grief and sorrow bring to all ; 
 For who shall reach the Vinland tide, 
 Him perils dire shall sure befall." 
 
 66 Then Finn the Fair, with rapid stride, 
 
 The palace quits, and seeks the shore : 
 " To Vinland straight my course I '11 guide, 
 Though Ingeborg I ne'er see more." 
 
 67 His silken sails he raises then, 
 
 On yards of gold extended wide ; 
 His sails he never furls again, 
 
 Till Vinland from the helm he spied. 
 
208 THE NORTHMEN 
 
 68 Then Finn, within the garden nigh, 
 
 His costly robe he o'er him threw ; 
 And, so attired, with bearing high, 
 Straight to the palace halls he drew. 
 
 69 And, so attired, with bearing high, 
 
 Straight to the palace halls he drew : 
 Five hundred men were standing nigh 
 The Vinland kings before his view. 
 
 70 Then entered Finn the palace hall, 
 
 And stood before them, face to face : 
 
 The kings sat on their thrones, and all, 
 
 Unmoved and silent, kept their place. 
 
 71 It was the morning of the day, 
 
 Scarce yet aurora's light appeared, 
 When there the Vinland kings, they say, 
 Twelve hundred armed men prepared. 
 
 72 And there the Vinland kings, they say, 
 
 Twelve hundred armed men prepared ; 
 'Gainst these, brave Finn the Fair, that day, 
 To try his strength, unaided, dared. 
 
 73 And in the midst Finn now is seen, 
 
 Active in fight before them all : 
 Loud clang their arms that time, I ween ; 
 Now two, now three, before him fall. 
 
 74 And in the midst Finn still is seen, 
 
 In strength he far surpasses all : 
 Loud clang their arms again, I ween ; 
 Now five, now six, before him fall. 
 
 75 For two whole days the fight did last ; 
 
 From clashing swords the lightnings played ; 
 Nor on the earth his footstep passed, — 
 His slaughtered foes his path he made. 
 
IN AMERICA. Vl)b 
 
 70 And in the midst Finn still is seen, 
 
 Not dares, for honour's sake, to flee ; 
 And now, 't is said, that there remain 
 Of all that host but only three. 
 
 77 And in the midst Finn still is seen ; — 
 
 Full well his deeds are known to fame ; — 
 And Vinland king the first, I ween, 
 By his good sword is hewn in twain. 
 
 78. And in the midst Finn still is borne, 
 
 Nor dares, for honour's sake, to flee ; 
 The second Vinland king that morn 
 His sword hath hewn in pieces three. 
 
 79 Just then a dragon, o'er his head, 
 
 His fatal venom pouring, flew ; 
 And Finn himself at length lay dead, 
 "Whom poison, and not arms, subdue. 
 
 80 When Finn thus Holdan, furious, saw, 
 
 By poison, and not arms, subdued, 
 Then Vinland king the third, straightway, 
 With his good sword in twain he hewed. 
 
 81 Then fast and swiftly Holdan rides 
 
 All through the forest dark and green ; 
 Nor hawk, nor hound, nor beast besides, 
 So swift and fast was ever seen. 
 
 82 His silken sails he raises then, 
 
 On yards of gold extended wide ; 
 His sails he never furls again, 
 
 Till Ireland from the helm he spied. 
 
 S3 Then Ingeborg, the royal maid, 
 
 Was sitting in her window-bay : * 
 
 * .Bay-window seems more correct than bow-vrm&ow, though the 
 two are used indifferently. Bay is simply hollow or open, and has the 
 same sense when applied to a window as when applied to a portion of 
 the ocean. 
 
210 THE NORTHMEN 
 
 " That is not Finn the Fair," she said, 
 " Who yonder guides his helm this way." 
 
 84 Then Ingeborg, the royal maid, — 
 
 In wealth and beauty rich was she, — 
 " That is not Finn the Fair," she said, 
 " Full well I know that is not he." 
 
 85 Above the beds of whitest sand, 
 
 Her anchor cast, the vessel lay : 
 
 Holdan the Strong the first did stand 
 
 Upon the Irish coast that day ; — 
 
 86 And then, .within the garden nigh, 
 
 His gorgeous mantle o'er him threw ; 
 And, so attired, with bearing high, 
 Toward princess Ingeborg he drew. 
 
 87 "Hail! Ingeborg! thou royal maid ! 
 
 Both fair and beautiful art thou : 
 Wilt thou this prince elect," he said, 
 " And Ireland's king create him now ? " 
 
 88 Then Ingeborg, the royal maid, — 
 
 She clasped a wand of purest gold, — 
 " None, after Finn the Fair," she said, 
 " In love I ever more can hold." 
 
 89 Then Ingeborg, the royal maid, — 
 
 Whom deepest grief did sore oppress, — 
 " None now, since Finn the Fair is dead, 
 Can I as husband e'er address." 
 
 90 One night, within the citadel, 
 
 This royal maid she rested there ; 
 But soon, o'ercome, a victim fell 
 To sorrow, grief, and black despair. 
 
 91 Then fast within the citadel, 
 
 Full many a year lived Holdan Strong ; 
 But heavy care, I ween full well, 
 
 Through day and night oppressed him long. 
 
IN AMERICA. 211 
 
 Verily, quoth the doctor, at the conclusion of this ballad, 
 this is a wonderful history. Why, what with towns, vil- 
 lages, and citadels, destroyed by fire and sword, — knights 
 slain. — and other acts achieved, the " famous ballad of 
 Chevy Chase," where 
 
 •' In one day, fifty knights were slain, 
 With lords of great renown," 
 
 is nothing to it. Samson himself, with the jaw-bone of 
 the ass, never did so much execution as this Finn the Fair, 
 who, single-handed, fought twelve hundred men, and killed 
 them all save one. 
 
 He must certainly have had rather a hard time of it, I 
 should think, said Mr. Cassall. It was quite a pity the 
 dragon should spit upon him, just as he was about to slay 
 his last man, and thus snatch from him his triumph, and 
 the high reward of the hand of " Ingeborg, the royal maid." 
 Nobody can doubt the antiquity of this ballad, that is very 
 clear. If ever any thing bore about it internal evidence of 
 its antiquity, this does. 
 
 True, said Mr. Norset ; and therefore not even the doctor 
 can say of it, as the Quaker said of " Paradise Lost," that it 
 proves nothing. It clearly proves the knowledge of Vin- 
 land possessed by the Northmen resident in the Faroe 
 Isles, at the early date at which it was composed. 
 
 It is very well, however, said the doctor, that you have 
 got something else besides this ballad, in order to show 
 that the Northmen discovered Vinland. 
 
 Ileally, doctor, you are very perverse ; — excuse my 
 speaking freely. I never pretended that this ballad proves 
 the discoveries of the Northmen, or of any body else. I 
 only pretended that it proves that Vinland (which you 
 have seen, and which nobody ever doubted, to be in Ame- 
 
212 THE NORTHMEN 
 
 rica,*) was known to Europeans long anterior to the time 
 of Colon ; and thus it affords corroborative testimony to 
 the truth of the accounts of the discovery of Vinland which 
 we have already dicussed. I suppose you do n't pretend 
 to imagine that this ballad happened, by mere accidental 
 
 * In Bancroft's " History of the United States," (fourth edition, 
 vol. i. p. 6,) it is stated, in the course of some most remarkable observa- 
 tions as to these discoveries of the Northmen, — which will be noticed 
 in note A, in the Appendix, — that " Vinland has been sought in all di- 
 rections, from Greenland and the St. Lawrence to Africa." That state- 
 ment is directly contrary to fact ; and it is not a little remarkable that 
 every one of the three references made in that work in support of that 
 statement, proves the direct opposite to be the fact ; namely, that Hel- 
 luland, Markland, and Vinland, were situated to the south of, and at no 
 great distance from, Greenland. The situations are, in all three, laid 
 down in the most specific and distinct terms possible ; it being added to 
 each account, that some had thought that these coasts, beyond Vinland, 
 extended so far that they reached to Africa ; — an addition which tes- 
 tifies, at the same time, to the authenticity of the documents, — since 
 the situation of Vinland, as known to, and described by, these writers, 
 corresponds precisely with that laid down in all other authorities, as 
 being within a reasonable distance to the south of Greenland ; and 
 since yet there is an error in speaking of it as extending so far as to 
 join Africa ; — and to the extent of the voyages of the Northmen to the 
 south, as made by Thorvald's party, &c, whence the ideas of the still 
 further extent of the country had arisen. It is to be presumed that 
 the errors in statement, in this portion of Mr. Bancroft's work, origi- 
 nated in the prejudiced view in which all accounts, which might seem 
 to detract from the merit of Colon were beheld, and not in any de- 
 signed misrepresentation. It is proper to add that Vinland has never 
 yet been sought for, or, in any work except Mr. Bancroft's, been, in the 
 slightest degree, hinted to have existed, in either Greenland or Africa. 
 It has been uniformly stated to have been a portion of North America 
 south of Greenland ; and the difference in assigning its precise locality 
 has never been very great. The difference which has existed is ex- 
 ceedingly easy to be explained, originating in a simple error in calcula- 
 tion. See ante, chap. ii. p. 99. It is difficult to conceive how any 
 one, who has paid the slightest attention to this subject, should be un- 
 acquainted with, or have really mistaken, these facts. 
 
IN AMERICA. 213 
 
 coincidence, to make mention of the same land, the discovery 
 of which i> detailed in the narratives? 
 
 Why, no. I do n't mean that; only you must not make 
 an ancient ballad of too much authority. 
 
 If I were to do so, doctor, you might well say that the 
 whole argument which I have been supporting, is not 
 " worth an old songT No such thing, however. I main- 
 tain that I have already, by the exhibition of the over- 
 whelming mass of internal evidence contained in the 
 narratives themselves, completely demonstrated the truth 
 of the positions which I have been endeavouring to esta- 
 blish. All that I thus now adduce, and even all that I shall 
 adduce, from the second class of documents, is merely in- 
 teresting corroborative and illustrative testimony, as I may 
 term it. 
 
 Have we now, then, taken notice of all the written docu- 
 ments relating to Vinland ? 
 
 Yes, I believe we have taken a review of the whole ; 
 though, as to a large poition, the mention has been no 
 more than a bare allusion. 
 
 Are there, then, no allusions made to any expeditions to 
 Vinland subsequent to that of Thorium ? 
 
 You will remember that the expedition of Freydis and 
 the brothers Helgi and Finnbogi, took place subsequently 
 to that of Thorfinn.* It is very probable that detailed 
 narratives may ol^o exist of other expeditions of early 
 explorers in those parts; but those here published are 
 amply sufficient to establish the points which I have in 
 view. — 
 
 No hint, then, is given in this volume, interrupted the 
 doctor, of any recorded visit to Vinland after that of 
 Freydis ? 
 
 I did not say that, doctor; I intimated only that no 
 
 * See ante, p. 138. 
 
214; THE NORTHMEN 
 
 detailed narrative is given. There are allusions to other 
 visits, and that, too, in terms which render it certain that 
 such expeditions were frequent. 
 
 When, and by whom, were they made ? 
 
 That is more than I can pretend to tell you. It is 
 probable that they became so frequent that no separate 
 record was kept of them after the expeditions of the early 
 explorers.* The following passage, in the " account of 
 Eirek the Red, and of Greenland," f renders it certain that 
 such expeditions were frequent. It occurs at the com- 
 mencement of the narrative of the expedition of Freydis, 
 which it seemed unnecessary to detail to you. " Expe- 
 ditions to Vinland became now very frequent matters of 
 consideration, for that expedition was commonly esteemed 
 both lucrative and honoicrable." You will observe that this 
 passage occurs in the account relating almost exclusively 
 to Greenland, whence all the exploring expeditions to Vin- 
 land had departed. It is an internal evidence of truth, that 
 it occurs in this, and not in the other account. I presume 
 you will not dispute the importance of this passage ? 
 
 It certainly is a striking passage, said the doctor ; but I 
 should very much like to have some positive records of 
 some of these expeditions. 
 
 Perhaps I can give you some clue of that kind, doctor ; 
 but suppose we discuss first, as these expeditions were at 
 a later date, the proposition of the establishment of per- 
 manent colonies by the Northmen, at this remote period, 
 in their discoveries in the western hemisphere. 
 
 * In addition to this it must be remembered that, when, as will pre- 
 sently be seen, the settlements in Greenland were destroyed and broken 
 up, the greater portion of the records of that country, — from which it 
 was that the voyages to Vinland, &c. were made, — would be lost or 
 destroyed, so that the details of expeditions, |if any were recorded, 
 would be lost also. 
 
 f Antiq. Am. p. 65. 
 
IN" AMERICA. 215 
 
 Permanent colonies ! exclaimed the doctor ; we have no 
 allusions which can favour that idea. 
 
 Let us consider that point a little more carefully, doctor, 
 and you may think differently. Iceland is at least as much 
 an American island as St. Domingo, or any of the West 
 Indies; and no one will dispute that a colony was esta- 
 blished there by the Northmen, which exists to this day, 
 exhibiting a high degree of intellectual and moral culti- 
 vation. Neither will any one pretend to dispute the set- 
 tlement and long continuance of a flourishing colony in 
 Greenland, — as much a part of North America as New- 
 foundland or Florida. It is certain and undoubted, then, 
 that the Northmen did establish permanent and flourish- 
 ing colonies in their discoveries in the western hemisphere, 
 and on the American quarter of the globe, more than six 
 centuries before the time of Colon. This you will not 
 pretend to dispute, I presume ? 
 
 The doctor seemed taken by surprise, and, after some 
 hesitation, answered, — I never viewed those settlements in 
 that light before. 
 
 I cannot help that, answered Mr, Norset ; perhaps you 
 never considered the landing of Colon on the island of 
 St. Domingo, and the settlement of a colony there by the 
 Spaniards under him, in the light of the settlement of 
 America ? 
 
 The doctor seemed less able to reply than before. After 
 a silence of a few moments, Mr. Norset continued : — 
 
 You know that these acts with reference to St. Domingo 
 have been generally considered as the settlement of the 
 country, and justly so. It is ecpaally or, rather, more 
 necessary and just that the acts of the Northmen, with 
 reference to Iceland and Greenland, should be considered 
 as the settlement of America by them ; and the results of 
 those settlements have been far happier than the results 
 of the Spanish settlements. 
 
216 THE NORTHMEN 
 
 Then you do not pretend to assert that any settlement 
 was formed by them in the more southern part of this con- 
 tinent of North America, — in Vinland, or otherwise? 
 
 I do not pretend to assert positively that such was the 
 case, or even to lay very much stress upon the probability 
 of such having been the case. Still there is considerable 
 probability that such settlement was formed.* 
 
 Pray, tell me how you would make that appear. 
 
 You must remember, doctor, that, though several leaders 
 are stated to have accompanied Thorfinn to Vinland, — 
 namely, Snorri Thorbrandson, Biarni Grimolfson, and 
 Thorhall Gamlason, — yet the return of only Thorfinn and 
 Biarni is related. It is very possible, therefore, that 
 Snorri Thorbrandson and Thorhall Gamlason, with their 
 men, may have chosen to remain in Vinland, some perhaps 
 at Hop, others at Straumfiord, permanently. We know 
 that this was the intention of all, when they went out, and 
 that they took with them all kinds of live stock for the 
 purpose. Though Thorfinn and his men, and Biarni with 
 his men, chose to return, it does not follow that Snorri and 
 Thorhall and their followers did so. They may have re- 
 mained, and their men intermarried with the natives, and 
 thus some Norse customs and words, — as we have seen in 
 the cases of Hop and of Nessat, the two localities with 
 which we know that they were best acquainted, — have 
 been retained. I say that this is probable ; I do not pre- 
 tend to assert that it is fact.f 
 
 * See ante, pp. 170 and 172, as to the names Hop and Ness. 
 
 t It is worthy of remark, that many authors have stated the fact of 
 the settlement of a colony by the Northmen in Vinland as a matter of 
 which there can be no doubt. Thus Pinlcerlon, vol. i. p. 3 12, — " The 
 little colony settled in Vinland, about 1006, perished from intestine 
 divisions." Whcoton, History of the Northmen, p. 28, &c. — " A part 
 of Thorfinn's company still remained in Vinland, and they were after- 
 wards joined by two Icelandic chieftains, &c. . . .No subsequent traces 
 
IN AMERICA. 217 
 
 Since you yourself profess that we have now got into 
 the region of doubt only, said the doctor, let us quit it. and 
 turn to those more certain hints which you said exist of 
 visits to this country. 
 
 of the Norman colony in America are to be found until the year 1059, 
 when it is said that an Irish or Saxon priest, named Jon or John, who 
 had preached for some time as a missionary in Iceland, went to Vin- 
 land, for the purpose of converting the colonists to Christianity, where 
 he was murdered by the heathens." Of this John notice will be taken 
 presently in the text. This author adds, — " The colony established by 
 them (the Northmen) probably perished in the same manner with the 
 ancient establishments in Greenland. Some faint traces of its existence 
 may, perhaps, be found in the relations of the Jesuit missionaries re- 
 specting a native tribe in the district of Gaspe, at the mouth of the St. 
 Lawrence, who are said to have attained a certain degree of civilization, 
 to have worshipped the sun, and observed the position of the stars. 
 Others revered the symbol of the cross, before the arrival of the French 
 missionaries, which, according to their tradition, had been taught them 
 by a venerable person, who cured, by this means, a terrible epidemic 
 which raged among them." Henderson's Iceland, Introduc. — " The 
 American continent was visited, &c. and a colony of Norwegians was 
 afterwards settled there, (in Vinland,) and continued to trade with the 
 natives for the period of nearly two centuries after the country had been 
 discovered." Many other quotations to the same effect might be made 
 from other works. Thus it will be seen that the fact of the settlement 
 of a permanent colony in New England by the Northmen is considered 
 by these authorities, — and they are high ones, — as established beyond 
 doubt. Since, however, the author of tins work is anxious to fix the 
 reader's attention on no proposition, as established, which he cannot 
 demonstrate to be necessarily true by the most rigid criticism of origi- 
 nal authorities, he is unwilling to claim this proposition, of the settle- 
 ment of a permanent colony in Vinland by the Northmen, as one which 
 is established. He does not himself consider that it is so, but conceives 
 that there exists a probability of its being fact. It is the less necessary 
 to lay any stress upon the probability of this being the fact, in order to 
 establish the importance of the results of the discoveries of the North- 
 men in America, inasmuch as it is beyond the possibility of controversy 
 that important and flourishing colonies were established by them in 
 Iceland and Greenland, both, indisputably, immediate members of that 
 quarter of the globe, — portions of the western hemisphere, 
 L 
 
218 THE NORTHMEN 
 
 Willingly. A visit of one John, an Irish or Saxon 
 priest, to Vinland, in 1059, is recorded by some authori- 
 ties. It is stated that he went for the purpose of preach- 
 ing Christianity, and that he was killed in the country. 
 Detailed relations are, moreover, given of voyages made 
 hither by two Venetians, by name Zeni, in the service of 
 a northern prince, in the fourteenth century, and who 
 found marks of the former voyages. Both these accounts, 
 however, — though, if it were desired to support a fabri- 
 cated tale, they might aid us much, — as my object is solely 
 the ascertainment of truth, ought, I think, after a candid 
 examination at the bar of severe historical criticism, to be 
 rejected as probably not genuine; the former, because it 
 seems probable that it was not Vinland, but a district in 
 Europe, which John visited, there being some inconsisten- 
 cies in the account of his visiting Vinland ;* the latter, be- 
 cause no accounts were published, or ever known to have 
 existed, of the voyages narrated, of an earlier date than 
 1558 ;f and thus, although the accounts themselves do not 
 seem wholly improbable, their truth is incapable of being 
 rigidly tested, since they were not announced till after the 
 discoveries of Colon and Cabot. 
 
 We are still, then, said the doctor, as much in the land 
 of doubt as ever. Shall we find no more rest for the 
 soles of our feet ? 
 
 O yes, answered Mr. Norset ; we have now done with 
 the doubtful, and come again to the certain and undoubt- 
 edly authentic. We find it related in the ancient and 
 contemporary^ and indisputably authentic " Annals of 
 Iceland," that, in the year 1121, Eirek, bishop of Green- 
 land, sailed thence to Vinland. 
 
 * See Antiq. Am. p. 461. 
 
 t See Irving's " Columbus," Appendix, art. xiv. 
 
 + See Antiq. Am. p. 256, &c. 
 
IN AMERICA. 219 
 
 Well, said the doctor, it seems to me that here again 
 you are involved in some kind of contradiction. You 
 spoke of there having been, in all probability, so many 
 expeditions to Vinland that no separate record was kept 
 of them ; and yet we here find a record of Bishop Eirek's 
 expedition. How do you explain this ? 
 
 There is not the slightest difficulty about the matter. 
 Do n't you often see it stated, in the London papers, that 
 
 the lord chancellor went from his house in street 
 
 to the House of Lords, at such and such o'clock? Why 
 should his particular progress be mentioned, when hun- 
 dreds of lords and gentlemen walk the same route every 
 day? Just because the lord chancellor happens to hold 
 one of the highest and most important stations in the em- 
 pire ; and it is well that it should be made publicly known 
 whether or not he is attentive to his duty. Well, it is just 
 the same in the case before us. Hundreds might have gone 
 from Greenland to Vinland, and their expeditions not have 
 been esteemed matters worthy of record ; but Eirek was 
 bishop of Greenland : he held the most important and dig- 
 nified office in that important colony. The circumstance of 
 his making a voyage to Vinland was, then, a circumstance 
 worthy of all record, and was likely to be noticed, even in 
 an Icelandic chronicle. 
 
 What was the object of his visit? 
 
 Of that we are not informed. The " Annals " of those 
 days were little more than calendars of events, with no de- 
 tail of cause or consequence. It is only rational to pre- 
 sume that he went thither for the purpose either of at- 
 tempting the conversion of the natives to Christianity, or 
 of performing episcopal offices among the colonists, — the 
 descendants of those whose progress we have followed,* 
 
 * See note to page 216, ante. The voyage of Eirek to Vinland 
 in itself corroborative of the probable existence of a colony there. 
 
220 
 
 THE NORTHMEN 
 
 and whose numbers had probably been increased by sub- 
 sequent settlers. Eirek was the Jlrst bishop of Greenland,* 
 and would esteem it his duty to visit all settlements imme- 
 diately connected, as Vinland was, with Greenland. No 
 record exists of the return of Eirek. It is therefore to be 
 presumed that he ended his days in Vinland. 
 
 And this, then, is the latest record that exists of these 
 parts of the continent of North America being visited by 
 the Northmen ? said the doctor inquiringly. 
 
 Not so, answered Mr. Norset. We find it incidentally 
 mentioned in the same " Annals of Iceland," in a list of 
 disasters from tempests which occurred in the year 1347, 
 that, in that year, a Greenland ship, which had been on a 
 voyage to Markland, was driven, by stress of weather, to 
 the port of Straumfiord, in Iceland. This is mentioned in 
 such a manner as to render it self-evident that the ship 
 had been to Markland on a regular trading voyage,! — 
 most probably, as many trading voyages are made thither 
 now, for timber. The mode in which the voyage is men- 
 tioned, indicates clearly, also, that such voyages were fre- 
 quent. 
 
 But how does it happen, asked Mr. Cassall, that, if in- 
 tercourse was thus kept up for so long a time with the 
 continent of America, which it would certainly seem im- 
 possible any longer to doubt, the circumstance has not 
 been generally known, or that this intercourse at any 
 time ceased ? 
 
 The reason of this is clear. The intercourse with the 
 continent was always kept up through Greenland, as the 
 nearest point to it. Now Greenland itself, though for four 
 centuries and a half a flourishing and populous colony, 
 having constant intercourse with the parent state in Eu- 
 
 * Excerp. ex Annal. Island. 1121 al. and Antiq. Am. p. 407. 
 f Antiq, Am. p. 265. 
 
IX AMERICA. 221 
 
 rope, underwent the same fate as Vinland has certainly 
 done. Her colony -was gradually destroyed by the change 
 of climate,* and by contests with the natives, and was 
 neglected by the parent state, owing to the wars which 
 raged between her and her neighbours.f For nearly three 
 centuries the land was as if it had never been known. 
 Instead of the frequent intercourse formerly had with it 
 from Iceland and Norway and Denmark, none now took 
 place, with mere casual and very rare exceptions. Of 
 course, then, all expeditions immediately connected with 
 
 * See ante, p. 53, for an explanation of the cause of this. See also 
 the Athenaeum of May 18, 1839, for remarkable facts as to change of 
 climate at present going on, in the same way, in the north of Europe. 
 
 t There is a remarkable obscurity, it may be termed mystery, hang- 
 ing over the fate of the colony in Greenland. The last bishop was 
 appointed in 1406. Since that time the colony has never been heard of. 
 It has by many, until recently, been supposed that it still existed, 
 though cut off from all communication with the rest of the world, but 
 that communication ceased, as hinted in the text, owing to the wars 
 which broke out between the Danes and Swedes. When the colony 
 was last heard of, in the fifteenth century, it consisted of 280 settle- 
 ments. It seems impossible to conceive but that it must have existed 
 for some time after intercourse with the parent state had ceased. That 
 cessation must, however, have contributed very much to its decline, 
 since, owing to the climate, very much even of the necessaries and 
 simple decencies of life must have been supplied from Europe. Dis- 
 ease, want, and insubordination would probably be the result of these 
 circumstances, which the increasing rigour of the climate, owing to the 
 descent of the arctic ice, would tend to increase. Thus would the 
 colonists become an easy prey to the attacks of the natives. Certain it 
 is, that, while extensive ruins have been found all along the line of the 
 ancient settlements, no living traces of the colony itself have ever been 
 discovered. It has " died and left no sign." See Antiq. Am. De Grcen- 
 landia. An interesting volume on the antiquities of Greenland is about 
 to appear, under the auspices of the Society of Northern Antiquarians. 
 A brief account of Greenland and its ancient settlement will be found 
 in the Penny Magazine for October, 1838, p. 385. This account is, as 
 far as it goes, generally correct, although the statements as to Gunn- 
 biorn are erroneous. See ante, pp. 53, 54 and 55. 
 
222 THE NORTHMEN 
 
 its commercial relations ceased also ; and, ceasing, were 
 forgotten in general, although the records of them lived, 
 as we have seen, in traditions long before that time com- 
 mitted to writing, and existing in the libraries of the learn- 
 ed. These were circumstances, it must be obvious, over 
 which the settlers could have no control. They cannot, 
 therefore, detract from the merit and honour of the discov- 
 ery of and settlement in, the western hemisphere by the 
 Northmen. 
 
 How long is it, asked Mr. Cassall, since Greenland has 
 again become the seat of a colony, or since intercourse has 
 again been opened between her and Europe ? 
 
 It is only since 1721 that she has again attracted any 
 attention. Colonies have, since that date, been again 
 planted there from the mother country of the ancient 
 colonists. 
 
 And about what date did the desertion of the ancient 
 colony take place ? 
 
 The desertion of Greenland took place more than half a 
 century before the expeditions of Colon, and the discovery 
 of Newfoundland by Cabot.* 
 
 Let us see, said Mr. Cassall, Colon's first voyage took 
 place in 1492, and Cabot's in 1497. Greenland was then 
 deserted at the beginning or middle of the fifteenth cen- 
 tury ? 
 
 It was so, answered Mr. Norset. But, touching Cabot's 
 visit to, and discovery of, Newfoundland, I must remark 
 that, as Colon had in all probability gained some notion 
 of the existence of land in the western ocean during his 
 visit to Iceland, so Cabot, in his intercourse with the Da- 
 nish monarch, between whom and the merchants of En- 
 gland he negotiated, in the year 1495, concerning the trade 
 
 * As this family became Anglicised, the Anglicised name may pro- 
 perly he retained. 
 
IN AMERICA. 223 
 
 with Iceland, — which negotiations would necessarily lead 
 him into minute investigations with respect to Iceland and 
 her connections, — had, in all likelihood, obtained some 
 knowledge of the existence and situation of the northern 
 portion of the American continent; that is, Vinland, Mark- 
 land, Helluland, and Greenland. At any rate, it is a re- 
 markable fact, that his charter was obtained from Henry 
 VII. the very next year after these negotiations had been 
 concluded, and his expedition to Newfoundland (Helluland) 
 was undertaken in the year following. It is remarkable, 
 too, that he appears to have steered directly for that land 
 with the position of which the Icelanders would generally 
 be most familiar, namely, the more directly northward por- 
 tion of the continent of North America. 
 
 Poor Cabot ! — you snatch his laurels from him also. 
 But I do not comprehend your last allusion. Pray ex- 
 plain it. 
 
 Let me allude to your first remark in the first place. I 
 wish you would understand that I am desiring to snatch 
 no laurels from the head of Cabot, or of any one else. His 
 was a noble and an enterprising expedition. But he must 
 have got the idea into his head, in some way, that he should 
 find something by sailing west. Else he would have been 
 an arrant fool, and so would Colon, for ever undertaking 
 such an expedition. All 1 have done is to explain /tow 
 these ideas got into the heads of either. His name is still 
 to be honoured, as the first European in recent times, that 
 is, in immediate connection with present settlements in the 
 lands visited, who touched the shores of the continent of 
 North America. It appears however to me, to be evident 
 that he himself did not consider the land visited as a dis- 
 covery, but only as a land visited or found anew. The 
 very name given to the land visited by him, — Newfound- 
 land, — indicates a consciousness that this was only a 
 
224 THE NORTHMEN 
 
 re-discovery, and not the original discovery of the 
 land.* 
 
 Really, said the doctor, I won't give up Cabot in this 
 way, especially when we have no record of any visitation 
 to Newfoundland by the Northmen for 500 years, or 
 nearly so, before the time of Cabot. 
 
 Very likely, doctor, you may not like to give up Cabot, 
 as you call it, — why, I cannot tell ; but you are wrong as 
 to the non-visitation of Newfoundland by the Northmen 
 during all this period. We have two distinct records of 
 visits made to it, — records, I beg you particularly to observe, 
 which exist to this day, in the handwriting of contemporaries 
 of the events recorded.^ Two brothers, Adalbrand and 
 Thorvald,J whose names are well known in the Icelandic 
 history of that period, did visit this very land in the year 
 1285 ; and it is a remarkable fact, that this land is spoken 
 of in the records of their visit, the authenticity of which, 
 as contemporary records, is beyond the possibility of ques- 
 tion, in the very same terms, in the Icelandic language, 
 that it was called by Cabot's companions ; which name it 
 has ever since retained ; namely, " Nyja fundu land," 
 literally, Newfoundland. The situation of this Nyja fundu 
 land is distinctly stated ; and it may be said to be physi- 
 
 * Even Mr. Bancroft, though he professes to discredit the whole ac- 
 count of the discoveries of the Northmen, (Hist. U. S. pp. 6 and 7, and 
 see this passage examined in note A,) contradicts himself in a re- 
 markable manner, only two pages after his denunciation of those dis- 
 coveries, and virtually admits their truth, and even suggests that Ca- 
 bot's expedition, perhaps, had some connection with them. His words 
 are these, (p. 8,) — " Nor is it impossible that some uncertain traditions ' 
 respecting the remote discoveries which Icelanders had made in Green- 
 land towards the north-west, where the lands did nearest meet, should 
 have excited firm and pregnant conjectures." 
 
 t See Antiq. Am. pp. 256, 257 and 259. 
 
 % See their track laid down in the chart. 
 
IN AMERICA. 225 
 
 cally impossible that any other than Newfoundland can be 
 the locality designated. It is also remarkable, as confirm- 
 atory of this being the locality designated, that, in some 
 of the ancient records, some islands, called " Duneyjar,"' 
 (or feather islaiids,) are spoken of as having been dis- 
 covered. Now, it is well known that this name might, 
 with great propriety, be applied to most of the islands on 
 the Newfoundland coast, where the Canada duck so much 
 abounds, that the eggs, which are found covering the 
 ground at certain seasons of the year, are imported in 
 great quantities into the United States and elsewhere. 
 
 Then this land is not, in these records, identified with 
 Helluland, which we have seen to be Newfoundland? said 
 Mr. Cassall. How do you explain that circumstance ? 
 
 It may easily be explained in many ways. The writer 
 of these brief records, which merely state the fact of the 
 voyage of Adalbrand and Thorvald, might have been 
 ignorant of the records of the former visits to Helluland. 
 You will remember that it was esteemed an uninviting 
 shore, and probably it was never visited again after the 
 first explorations. It would necessarily, therefore, be less 
 familiar than Markland and Vinland. Moreover the visit 
 of Adalbrand and Thorvald was accidental, not designed. 
 The recorders of the fact, therefore, would merely state 
 the fact, without inquiring whether it was the same as that 
 already known as Helluland, which all their contemporary 
 geographers described, however, as lying in that situ- 
 ation. 
 
 Were there no further measures taken with reference to 
 the land thus visited? Was no notice taken, at this time, 
 of its existence ? 
 
 Circumstances prevented the brothers from prosecuting 
 
 their explorations. Adalbrand died in the year following, 
 
 and Thorvald became involved in violent and agitating 
 
 controversies, by which his attention was drawn in a com- 
 
 l 5 
 
226 THE NORTHMEN 
 
 pletely contrary direction. However, the matter did not 
 die out unheeded. Eirek, king of Norway, determined to 
 have the land further explored; and it is expressly recorded 
 by the same contemporary annalists that, in the year 1288, 
 one Rolf was sent out, by the king, for the especial pur- 
 pose of exploring?' We have no records of the result of 
 his explorations ; but the surname given to him, Landa- 
 Rolf leads us to presume that they were extensive. 
 
 That seems satisfactory as far as it goes, said Mr. 
 Cassall. 
 
 It is satisfactory, also, in this respect, observed Mr. 
 Norset ; that, however much any unreasonable sceptic may 
 be inclined to cavil at the authenticity of the records of 
 the discovery of Helluland, Markland, or Vinland, — 
 Greenland it is impossible for a moment to doubt, — by 
 the Northmen in the tenth century, it is utterly impossible 
 for any one to doubt the authenticity of these records of the 
 voyages of Adalbrand and Thorvald and Rolf to the coast 
 of the continent of North America south of Greenland, in 
 the thirteenth century.^ So that, at any rate, the North- 
 men preceded Cabot by two centuries in their exploration 
 of the North American continent. It will, however, I 
 think, be of little use to place daylight clearness before the 
 vision of him who cannot be convinced, by such evidence 
 as I have adduced, of the authenticity of the records of 
 the more ancient expeditions of the Northmen. 
 
 I confess, said Mr. Cassall, that you have compelled me 
 to acknowledge the same thing, though, at first, I little 
 thought that such evidence could be adduced. Doctor, 
 
 * Antiq. Am. p. 263. 
 
 f It is worthy of observation, that some of the manuscripts which 
 exist, detailing the discoveries of the Northmen in the western hemi- 
 sphere, (as detailed in chapters ii. and iii.) are of an actually older date 
 than the time of these later recorded expeditions. 
 
IN AMERICA. L"-', 
 
 what have you now to say to the truth of the proposition 
 which startled you so much at first, — tluit America, the 
 very shores of New England, were discovered by the 
 Northmen in the tenth century, five centuries before the 
 time of Colon ? 
 
 Humph ! said the doctor, not liking such a direct mode 
 of interrogation, and wishing to give an evasive answer ; I 
 think Colon's discoveries have been very beneficial. 
 
 Come, come, doctor, said Mr. Norset, jocularly; we will 
 not let you off in that way. You are welcome, if it pleases 
 you, to talk of " Colon's discoveries." I will allow that he 
 discovered the West Indies, — the most important part of 
 America, doubtless, in your opinion, — five centuries after 
 the discovery of the continent of North America by the 
 Northmen. He never discovered or visited one inch of 
 this northern continent,* which, in my humble opinion, is 
 of far higher importance than all the Indies, East and West. 
 More credit is due to Cabot than to him, on that score. I 
 see how it is, doctor : you put me in mind of what is said 
 in Hudibras, that 
 
 " A man convinced against his will, 
 Is of the same opinion still ; 
 AVliich he may adhere to, or disown, 
 For reasons to himself best known." 
 
 * It must not he imagined that this is written in ignorance of the 
 events of the third and fourth voyages of Colon. The neighbourhood 
 of Cape Honduras cannot certainly be properly called a part of the 
 continent of North America, in reference to the vastness and extent 
 of that continent, of which Columbus never had any idea. It is well 
 known, too, that he merely coasted along that shore and the shore of 
 Paria to a small extent, and made no stay, and neither effected nor at- 
 tempted any settlement thereupon. He effected a settlement in St. 
 Domingo only. It will be shown, in note A, that the Northmen had a 
 correct idea of the extent of the new continent which they had dis- 
 covered, ami that they never, as did Colon, confuse it with Asia, but 
 considered it as a distinct continent. 
 
228 THE NORTHMEN 
 
 Now you know well enough, doctor, that you are convinced 
 of the truth of these discoveries. You know you could 
 not help acknowledging, this morning, that there was 
 something in the narrative of Leif. It has been " against 
 your will" to be thus convinced ; but, certainly, doctor, 
 the truth is worth having at. any price, — even the relin- 
 quishment of an old and long-cherished notion. So I beg 
 you won't at one time " adhere to," and at another " dis- 
 own," your conviction, for any reasons, but frankly confess 
 that you are satisfied of the established truth of the pro- 
 position, — that the Northmen discovered and explored the 
 continent of North America in the tenth century ; and that, 
 not merely by accident, and as driven here by stress of 
 tveather, but in expeditions undertaken for the express pur- 
 pose of exploration and settlement ; and that residences of 
 several years were, at different times, made here, in New 
 England, — and 'probably permanent colonies established. 
 
 But the doctor was not accustomed to give a direct an- 
 swer to any question which in any way involved a com- 
 promise of his prejudices, or an acknowledgement of any 
 conviction of his own error or ignorance. He, therefore, 
 again evaded a reply, — in which evasion, however, was 
 necessarily implied the acknowledgement of the justice of 
 Mr. Norset's remarks, — by observing, — 
 
 But, surely, Mr. Norset, you do not conceive that ex- 
 tensive colonies were founded here ? 
 
 No ; it would seem improbable that extensive colonies 
 were founded on this part of the continent. They were 
 so in Greenland, however. The natives were then, in these 
 regions, existing in numbers and power sufficient to resist 
 any invasion of such small parties as the Northmen could 
 bring. The country had not then been devastated by dis- 
 ease, as when subsequent colonists landed here. The pro- 
 bability is, that some remained here, who intermarried 
 with the natives, and whose descendants soon became 
 
IN AMERICA. 229 
 
 mixed with them so as to be hardly distinguishable. There 
 can be no doubt, however, that the country was visited 
 continuously till the colonies of Greenland were deserted ; 
 and dirl'erent parties probably remained here at different 
 times, and settled in the country. 
 
 It is certainly, observed Mr. Cassall, a very interesting 
 thing to know that the Northmen, so long ago, visited this 
 country, and were especially acquainted with this part of 
 it in which we now are, — New England, — and this parti- 
 cular neighbourhood more especially. 
 
 It is interesting, said Mr. Norset, and it will become 
 more so, when, as I shall show you, it can be rendered 
 pretty nearly certain that remains of these very North- 
 men exist here now. Rhode Island seems to have been 
 a favourite resort of theirs, for many of their works are 
 here. 
 
 That remains to be proved, interrupted the doctor. 
 
 So it does, said Mr. Norset; but, however, the proof of 
 it will have nothing to do with the truth of the discoveries 
 themselves. It will merely add to the interest of the sub- 
 ject, to know that we have about us visible and tangible 
 signs of these discoveries, and of the presence of the dis- 
 coverers here. 
 
 You stated, observed the doctor, that there are some 
 minor narratives contained in that volume, and you have 
 intimated that they relate to visits made to the more 
 southern parts of the continent of North America. We 
 must not forget these. 
 
 We will not forget them, doctor; but they are not so 
 important as those which we have already examined, nor 
 will they occupy our attention so long. They are less 
 precise, though not less authentic, and leave us more with 
 a clue to search for something more, than with any positive 
 and definite knowledge of any thing, in the shape of de- 
 tails, beyond the mere fact of such visits having been 
 
230 THE NORTHMEN IN AMERICA. 
 
 made, and of the existence and extent of the continent 
 having been well known. They are curious, however, and 
 the incidents related in them may be called romantic. 
 They also have an immediate bearing upon the question 
 of the discovery of the continent of North America. They 
 will therefore be interesting. 
 
 The sooner we have them the better, so that we may 
 have the whole fresh in our minds together. Suppose 
 we spend to-morrow morning over them. What say 
 you ? 
 
 With all my heart, doctor. I hope neither the ghost 
 of Colon nor of Cabot will rise in rebuke of you this 
 night, and frighten you from any further investigation of 
 the subject. 
 
 I care not for Colon, or Cabot either, said the doctor, 
 with affected carelessness, but evidently not well pleased 
 at the laugh being turned against him for his zealous op- 
 position to any infringement of the supposed " vested 
 rights " of those two worthies, which had been established 
 by the authority of " universal consent," through so many 
 centuries. 
 
 I am glad to hear it, doctor. Never care for old friends 
 in adversity, you know, is the order of the day. Well, I 
 ain going to spend the evening in the neighbourhood of 
 some of the remains of your new friends, the Northmen, 
 which I intend that you shall visit with me to-morrow. 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 Irish in America. — Northmen- in Huitramaxxalaxd (Southern 
 States of United States).— Ari M arson (A.D. 983).— History of 
 Biorx Asbraxdsox. — Voyage of Gudleif Gudlaugsox. 
 
 Soon after breakfast, next morning, the different parties 
 at Mrs. Goff 's boarding-house, decidedly the pleasantest in 
 Newport, made their arrangements for the morning. 
 Some ordered carriages to go down to the beach ; others 
 preferred to spend the hours in boating on the neighbour- 
 ing bay. But our worthy friend, Dr. Dubital, though in- 
 vited to join parties for each purpose, refused all solicita- 
 tions. 
 
 No sooner had the various seekers after pleasure in 
 these different modes taken their departure, than the doctor 
 reminded Mr. Norsetof his promise to continue the subject 
 to which the greater portion of the previous clay had been 
 devoted, saying, in his peculiar manner, — 
 
 You have forgotten the Northmen, have n't you ? 
 
 Your question reminds me, answered Mr. Norset, laugh- 
 ing, of the judicious answer of the Quaker to one who 
 tli us phrased his interrogatory, — "You couldn't lend me 
 sixpence, could you? " "Friend," — said he, with the gravity 
 distinguishing the much respected body to which he be- 
 longed, — "Friend, I do not understand thee; thou first 
 tellest me a lie, and then askest me a question." Now, 
 doctor, you never heard that before, did you ? 
 
 Pray, Mr. Norset, said the doctor, somewhat crustily, 
 let us have no more of your jokes. 
 
232 
 
 THE NORTHMEN 
 
 Jokes ! doctor ; I never joke. Gravity, sir, is the very 
 essence of my nature. I 'm as grave, sir, as the man they 
 found at Fall River the other day. 
 
 Man found at Fall River ! what do you mean ? 
 
 Seriously and soberly, they found a Northman up at Fall 
 River the other clay. 
 
 What Northman ? asked the doctor, raising his voice 
 almost to a shout. 
 
 Nay, that 's more than I can tell ; I never had the plea- 
 sure of his acquaintance, answered Mr. Norset. 
 
 Then how do you know that he was a Northman ? 
 
 Because he carried a tongue on his breast, and that told 
 me so ; and another tied round him, and that told me so, 
 too. However, let that pass. I '11 tell you all about the 
 Northman at Fall River by and by. Meantime, let us sit 
 down and take the matter quietly. 
 
 The doctor was somewhat pacified by Mr. Norset's 
 tone and manner, and took his seat without further cere- 
 mony. Mr. Cassall shortly after entered. 
 
 Shall we now proceed, said the doctor, to the subject ? 
 What is it, Mr. Norset, that we have to hear about the 
 Northmen this morning ? for you did not fully explain it 
 yesterday. You merely stated that there are some minor 
 narratives, which relate to visits made to the southern 
 portion of these United States. 
 
 We shall have to take a passing glance at others besides 
 the Northmen, this morning, said Mr. Norset, though the 
 chief portion of these minor narratives relates, as before, to 
 expeditions of the Northmen. We shall meet with allu- 
 sions which would seem to indicate that the Irish were 
 acquainted with the southern parts of North America about 
 the same time that the Northmen discovered the northern 
 parts of the same continent. 
 
 What ! exclaimed the doctor ; the Irish ! Then your 
 Northmen, after all, were not the discoverers of America ? 
 
IX AMERICA. 233 
 
 I never wished, doctor, to take to my Northmen, as you 
 call them, any credit which does not belong to them. 
 As far as we have any allusions to, or distinct authentic 
 records of, voyages and expeditions to America, the 
 Northmen were the first Europeans who visited this conti- 
 nent. The point, however, which it has been my object to 
 prove to you is, that they did discover and explore Ame- 
 rica in the tenth century, not that they were the first 
 who ever visited these shores, though I think there can be 
 no doubt that such was the fact. The allusions to the 
 Irish are, as you will see, vague, and do not give us any 
 certain information. Nor does it appear that, if they are 
 to be considered as rendering the Irish expeditions certain, 
 those expeditions were anterior to the expeditions of the 
 Northmen, while these allusions, and the whole of the an- 
 cient documents, do render it perfectly clear that the 
 Northmen were in no degree aware, when they discovered 
 and first visited Vinland and the rest, that these coasts had 
 any connection with the parts visited by the Irish. Hui- 
 tramannaland, or Irland it Mikla, (Great Ireland,) 
 — as the parts visited by the Irish were called, — appears to 
 have been considered an island, until the description re- 
 ceived by Thorfinn and his companions of the country be- 
 yond Vinland, and the adventures presently to be recorded, 
 induced the Northmen to believe that Huitramannaland 
 must lie beyond but adjoin Vinland. No permanent settle- 
 ment appears to have been ever made by the Irish in this 
 Huitramannaland. 
 
 How, then, came it to be called Great Ireland? asked 
 the doctor. 
 
 Simply because Ireland was the " western country," 
 according to the appellation of the Northmen, and Huitra- 
 mannaland lay to the west of Ireland. This circumstance, 
 and the visitation of the land by the Irish, most probably 
 procured it the name of Great Ireland. The Icelanders 
 
234 THE NORTHMEN 
 
 at first knew it only by the accounts of the Irish mer- 
 chants, and the latter would, not unnaturally, apply this 
 name to the newly-discovered tract. There was no con- 
 nection between the two discoveries, if that of the Irish 
 was ever made, which remains to be proved. Supposing 
 it correct that the Irish visited Huitramannaland about the 
 same time that the Northmen discovered and explored all 
 the northern shores of North America, the Northmen had 
 still the superior honour of discovering that the whole was 
 one vast continent, and that Huitramannaland was but a 
 continuation of Vinland ; the undoubted fact of which 
 knowledge being possessed by them, exhibits a much 
 grander and more sublime idea of their discoveries than 
 ever was entertained by Colon of his discoveries, or of 
 their possible reality.* 
 
 Well, said the doctor, but you know there has been Dr. 
 Hawkes lecturing at New York about the former race who 
 inhabited America. Does not that rather upset the credit 
 of your Northmen ? 
 
 What do you mean, doctor ? We all knew, before Dr. 
 Hawkes told us so, that America was inhabited long before 
 any European foot touched her soil, and we shall all feel 
 much obliged to Dr. Hawkes, or any body else, who will 
 tell us any thing about the earlier inhabitants. But they 
 have nothing to do with any discoveries of America by Eu- 
 ropeans, any opening a communication between the two 
 countries. These latter are our present points of inquiry, 
 and of these I maintain that the Northmen were the 
 achievers. Whoever these ancient people were, they were 
 unknown to the eastern continent. No benefit was derived 
 from one by the other ; no communication subsisted. The 
 Northmen first made the country of this race known, after 
 the race itself had become extinct, except, perhaps, in 
 
 * See further on this subject, note A, in the Appendix. 
 
IX AMERICA. 235 
 
 Mexico : they first opened a communication which has 
 never ceased, and made the western hemisphere prove a 
 most beneficial source of enterprise and plaee of residence. 
 Though a part of their discoveries became, after a time, — 
 owing, as I have shown, to circumstcmces over which they 
 had no control, — deserted and generally forgotten, yet 
 still the record of those discoveries lives, and proves their 
 enterprise ; and their descendants still inhabit one portion 
 of their discoveries in that western hemisphere, and are, it 
 is not too much to say, the happiest people upon earth, the 
 most generally intelligent, the most generally moral.* 
 
 Perhaps your observations are just. Indeed, I don't 
 see how they can be contradicted ; but what do you say 
 to the alleged discoveries of the Welch in America ? 
 
 I have little to say to them. They are as much beside 
 the question as the existence of the ancient inhabitants 
 of this continent. Many persons believe that the accounts 
 of the expedition of Madoc are entirely a fable.f I 
 will not pretend to give any opinion on the subject. Mr. 
 Bartlett has carefully investigated this matter, and it is to 
 be hoped that he will favour the world with the result of 
 his investigations. Be the accounts of these circumstances 
 true or false, it affects in no way the question of the 
 Northmen being the first discoverers of America. It is 
 not pretended that the expedition of prince Madoc took 
 place until the year 1170, nearly two centuries after the 
 discoveries of the Northmen. 
 
 To quit the ancient inhabitants and the Welch, then ; — 
 what ground is there for supposing that the Irish ever 
 touched upon these shores of North America? 
 
 * A brief, but generally correct, and easily accessible account of 
 Iceland, its former and present condition, will be found in the Penny 
 Magazine for 1833, pp. 442 and 452. 
 
 f See p. 7, note. 
 
236 THE NORTHMEN 
 
 We find some allusions, in various ancient and an* 
 thentic documents,* which we will presently examine, 
 which render it probable that the coast of America was 
 visited by the Irish about the same time that, or a few 
 years after, Biarni first saw it. We have already seen that 
 it was believed, in the Faroe Isles, that Vinland was visited 
 by the Irish, though this belief doubtless grew out of the 
 knowledge which was had of the existence of Vinland, 
 confused with the knowledge of the voyages of the Irish 
 to Huitramannaland. We have also seen that, when 
 Thorfinn and his companions were told, by the captives 
 taken in returning home, of a certain race of men who 
 lived in an adjoining land beyond Vinland, they concluded 
 they must be inhabitants of Huitramannaland, (xoliite mans 
 land, so called probably from the white dresses mentioned 
 to Thorfinn,) or Great Ireland.\ It would seem, then, 
 that rumours of the existence of Great Ireland had reached 
 the Northmen before this time, — which was twenty-five 
 years after the discovery of America by Biarni Heriulfson, 
 — though they had never seen it. That, when America 
 was discovered by them, they had no idea of the existence 
 of Huitramannaland, and that, until after the voyage of 
 
 * The circumstance of these allusions being thus made is another 
 proof of the authenticity of all these ancient Icelandic documents, — 
 both those which have been examined, and those which remain to be 
 examined, — since it shows that the narrators were careful only of the 
 truth, and did not wish to monopolize to themselves (as is insinuated by 
 Bancroft, in his Hist. U. S. — see note A, 3) the credit of being the only 
 people of their day who made distant expeditions. 
 
 f It would seem very probable, however, that those accounts did in 
 reality refer to Mexico. They coincide with the degree of civilization 
 known to have existed in that country anciently, and the situation, as 
 described by the captive Skralings, may agree with Mexico as well as 
 with the country nearer Vinland. It was natural that the Northmen, 
 being totally ignorant of the country, should localize the description 
 which they heard with the land which they had heard mentioned by 
 the Irish. 
 
IN AMERICA. 237 
 
 Thorfinn, they had no idea of any connection existing be- 
 tween their discoveries and Huitramannaland, is evident, 
 from the mode in which those discoveries are narrated, 
 and the simple, honest, straight-forward mode in which 
 Huitramannaland is always spoken of. The same accounts 
 show, as I have already noticed, and as you will presently 
 see, that they afterwards became convinced that Huitra- 
 mannaland was a part of the same vast continent of which 
 Helluland, Markland, and Vinland formed extensive por- 
 tions. 
 
 Then there are no distinct detailed narratives of any 
 Irish expeditions ? said the doctor, inquiringly. 
 
 No ; there are facts stated, as we have just seen, and 
 shall presently see more fully, the truth of which almost 
 implies that such expeditions were made. 
 
 And what authority have you for believing these state- 
 ments to be correct ? 
 
 Every authority, doctor. In the first place, it is evident 
 that, if these accounts had been fabricated to prove the 
 discoveries of the Northmen, we should never have 
 found any thing about the Irish. The fact that we do find 
 such allusions is, then, internal evidence of the truth of the 
 narratives in all points. Second, — one of the principal 
 actual authorities* for the facts stated, both as to the 
 visits of the Northmen and of the Irish to Great Ireland, 
 is the Landnamabok, whose authenticity none, pretending 
 any acquaintance with literary matters, will venture to 
 doubt. Third, — there is nothing improbable in the facts 
 stated themselves. As I observed, in our first conversa- 
 tion on this subject, if you look at the map and see how 
 far it is between Ireland and Iceland, — the discovery 
 
 * See the incorrect statement made in Bancroft's Hist. U. S. quoted 
 in note A, {figure 17). This is a fair sample of the value of the whole 
 of that passage. 
 
238 THE NORTHMEN 
 
 and settlement of which latter by the Northmen, in the 
 ninth century, we have seen to be an undoubted fact* — 
 you can no longer, with any reason, doubt of the probabi- 
 lity of voyages being made even to these southern regions 
 of the continent of North America. Voyages to Iceland 
 from Ireland were frequent.* Why should they not have 
 sometimes extended to America? The ocean between 
 Ireland and Iceland is as dangerous, requires every Avhit 
 as much skill in nautical science to cross it, as the naviga- 
 tion of the broad Atlantic. It is little further from Ireland 
 to Huitramannaland than it is from Iceland to Vinland, 
 which we have seen to have been accomplished. If, there- 
 fore, authentic histories record that the broad Atlantic was 
 traversed, either by Northmen or Irish, no rational person 
 has a right to doubt it. The Landnamabok and many 
 other authentic documents do record the fact, that the 
 voyage was made more than once by Northmen, and make 
 allusions which seem to imply that it had been sometimes 
 made by Irish. You have no right therefore to be un- 
 willing to give credit to the facts thus stated, or to the 
 allusions thus made. 
 
 Still, — to keep our attention at present on the Irish, — 
 if such allusions do indicate such facts, one would expect 
 that more detailed records should remain. 
 
 And who can say that they do not remain ? The records 
 we have in this book are from Iceland only. They are not 
 likely to record in detail any expeditions of Irish adven- 
 turers. It is very possible that there may exist ancient 
 Irish manuscripts, in which these facts will be found de- 
 tailed. Attention deserves to be carefully given to the in- 
 vestigation of this matter. Do not forget, doctor, that the 
 
 * It would certainly, however, seem that these voyages between Ice- 
 land and Ireland were more frequently made by Icelandic merchants 
 than bv Irish. 
 
IN AMERICA. 239 
 
 tradition is common in Iceland, and the fact is, as we have 
 seen,* recorded in ancient and authentic documents, that 
 Christian men were living in Iceland when the Northmen 
 first settled there. These came from the icest, — by which, 
 however, is meant, not America, but Ireland ; which, as I 
 showed you, was commonly called " the western country," 
 being west with respect to Xoricuy, the father-land of all 
 the Northmen. 
 
 What has that to do with the Irish making expeditions 
 to America ? 
 
 It proves how far across the broad ocean they had been 
 and might be carried ; for, though neither Northmen nor 
 Irish appear to have known any thing about these Papa:, 
 or their origin, but only to have presumed them to be 
 Christians, and of Irish origin, from the remnants of their 
 instruments which were found ; yet, still, it is very possi- 
 ble that a crew may have been early driven to Iceland by 
 storm, and taken shelter there, and nothing more have 
 been ever heard of them in their native land, and thus this 
 presumption be correct. That the Papae were but few in 
 number, the record of them, and the fact of their flying 
 before the small band of first Northman settlers, clearly 
 show. Voyages to Iceland however, were, it is well known, 
 subsequently made from the northern islands, England 
 and Ireland, — so that these people were accustomed to 
 traverse the broad ocean depths. 
 
 Upon my word, said Mr. Cassall, I had no notion we 
 should find the Irish brought into this matter. I should 
 like to hear something more about their doings in these 
 parts. 
 
 I am sorry your curiosity, as well as my own, cannot 
 be more gratified, answered Mr. Norset. All that touches 
 at all upon them, or throws any light upon this matter, I 
 
 * Ante, p. 51. 
 
240 THE NORTHMEN 
 
 will read to you in full ; which I shall be able to do in a 
 short space of time, as it will not open much room for 
 debate. 
 
 I think you have given us to understand, said the doc- 
 tor, that all you have here relates to the visits of the 
 Northmen to Huitramannaland, and that all which respects 
 the Irish is introduced merely in an incidental manner. 
 
 Just so, doctor ; but what is thus introduced is on many 
 accounts the more valuable by reason of its very incidental 
 introduction. 
 
 Perhaps so. But before you begin, will you let us know 
 what are the manuscripts from which these accounts are 
 taken, and to what individuals they relate ? 
 
 As to the individuals mentioned, I must state here, as 
 in the case of the individuals mentioned in the narratives 
 which we have already discussed, that they are all histo- 
 rical personages, — individuals whose names appear very 
 conspicuously on the page of the external and undoubted 
 authentic history of Iceland and Norway. As to the docu- 
 ments in which these facts are recorded, they may be 
 divided into parcels. The first two relate to a man of 
 high station and great power, named Am Marson, (son 
 of Mar,) whose family and immediate descendants are still 
 in existence. He was carried by a tempest to Huitraman- 
 naland in 983. The first authority for this is that ex- 
 tremely ancient and valuable record, the Landnamabok ; 
 the second, a more recent manuscript, but one copied from 
 ancient records. The other two relate to the history and 
 adventures of one Biorn Asbrandson Breidvikinga- 
 kappi, — a man of great note in his day, — and to a voyage 
 made, and interview had with the same Biorn, by one 
 Gudleif Gudlaugson.* The authorities for these two 
 
 * A facsimile of the entire manuscript containing the account of 
 Gudleif 's voyage, is given in the Antiq. Am. 
 
IX AMERICA. 211 
 
 latter arc very numerous ancient manuscripts existing in 
 different libraries, and whose authenticity is firmly esta- 
 blished. 
 
 Let us, then, hear what is said of Ari Marson. 
 
 You must first remember that Huitramannaland is inti- 
 mated, in " the account of Thorfinn," to be situated in the 
 same western ocean as, but down to the south of, Viuland. 
 We shall see how far the accounts which will now be 
 given agree with or corroborate this intimation. The ac- 
 count of Ari Marson is a short one. It is, however, as 
 long as could be expected to be given concerning one in-, 
 dividual in the Landnamabok. 
 
 " Ulf* the Squinter, son of Hogxi the White, occu- 
 pied the whole of Reykianess, (south-west promontory of 
 Iceland.) between Thorskafiord and Hafrafell. He had a 
 wife named Biorg, the daughter of Eyvind the East- 
 countryman. They had a son named Atli the Red, who 
 married Tiiorbiorg, sister of Steinolf the Humble. These 
 had a son named Mar of Solum, who married Thor- 
 kotlu, daughter of Hergil. They had a son named Ari, 
 who was driven by a tempest to Huitramannaland, 
 (white man's land,) which some call Irland it Mikla, 
 (Great Ireland,) which lies in the western ocean, near to 
 Vinland the Good, ivest from Ireland," — by a number of 
 days' sail, which is uncertain, f some error having crept 
 into the original in these figures. " Ari was not permitted 
 to depart thence, but was baptized there — " 
 
 Baptized ! exclaimed the doctor. What ! were there 
 Christians there ? 
 
 It is difficult, on account of the exceeding brevity of 
 these particulars, to understand this passage. Whether 
 he was baptized by the natives, or by some of those who, 
 as we learn from what follows, subsequently touched upon 
 
 * Antiq. Am. p. 210. t Ibid. p. 417. 
 
242 THE NORTHMEN 
 
 the land, does not appear. It is possible that a crew of 
 Christians may have been driven to this shore, and settled 
 there. From what follows as to the information gathered 
 from Thorfinn, Jarl of the Orkneys, it will be seen that 
 there must have been occasional intercourse with these 
 parts of America by the Northmen. 
 
 But how, asked the doctor, if he never returned, could 
 they learn that he was baptized ? 
 
 That the narrative proceeds to inform us. It conti- 
 nues : — " So Rafn the Limerick merchant first stated, who 
 lived for a long time at Limerick in Ireland." Rafn was 
 kinsman to Ari Marson, and lived at the beginning or 
 middle of the eleventh century. " So also Thorkel, the 
 son of Geller, (grandson of Ari Marson,) says that certain 
 Icelanders stated, who heard Thorfinn, Jarl of the Ork- 
 neys,"* — also kinsman to Ari Marson, and born 1008, 
 died 1064, — " relate that Ari had been seen and known in 
 Huitramannaland, and that, although not permitted to de- 
 part thence, he was there held in great honour. 
 
 " Ari had a wife named Thorgerd, daughter of Alf of 
 Dolum. Their sons were Thorgils, Gudleif, and Illugi ; 
 which is the family of Reykianess." Then follows a passage 
 which shows that Eirek the Red was connected with the 
 family of this Ari Marson, and which it may not be amiss 
 to repeat, as all these historical allusions afford corrobora- 
 tion of the authenticity of the different narratives. " Jo- 
 rund was the son of Ulf the Squinter. He married 
 Thorbiorg Knarrarbring. They had a daughter, 
 Thjodhild, whom Eirek the Red married. They had a 
 son, Leif the Lucky, of Greenland." It is worthy of re- 
 mark that the writer of this account was Ari the Learned, 
 born 1067, and who flourished at the end of the eleventh 
 
 * The grandson of him before mentioned, p. 121, to have married 
 Grelad. 
 
IN AMERICA. 243 
 
 and beginning of the twelfth centuries, and who therefore 
 lived within a century after Ari Marson's departure from 
 Ireland. He was immediately descended from Ari Marson, 
 and would, of course, be anxious and careful to obtain the 
 most accurate accounts of his ancestor. You will observe 
 the situation of Huitramannaland as here stated ; — " In the 
 western ocean, near Vinland, and west of Ireland." It 
 must, of necessity, be that portion of the country now 
 known as the midland or southern States of the Union. 
 
 There is just enough about the matter, in this passage, 
 to excite curiosity, said the doctor, and little to satisfy it. 
 
 There I will grant you are right, said Mr. Norset. All 
 that we can gather from the details which are given is, 
 that the Northmen did frequently touch upon different 
 parts* of the more southern coasts of this continent, both 
 accidentally and designedly. But we gain little definite 
 information, such as we have in the case of Vinland. 
 
 What says the second document relating to Ari Mar- 
 son ? 
 
 It is extremely brief, being merely incidentally intro- 
 duced in a geographical work. It runs thus :— 
 
 " To the south of habitable Greenland there are unin- 
 habited and wild tracts, and enormous icebergs." This 
 must, of course, be Labrador, called by them Helluland.-f 
 " The country of the Skraelings lies beyond these ; Mark- 
 land beyond this, and Vinland the Good beyond the last. 
 Next to this, and something beyond it, lies Albania, that 
 is, Huitramannaland, whither, formerly, vessels came from 
 
 * That they were different parts of the coast on which different na- 
 vigators touched, appears evident from the account of the voyage of 
 Gudleif Gudlaugson. Others must have touched on a more hospitable 
 region, and such must have been the region to which Ari Marson was 
 carried, else none could have returned to tell Thorfinn Jarl that Ari 
 Marson had been seen. 
 
 t See note to ante, p. 151. 
 
 M 2 
 
244 THE NORTHMEN 
 
 Ireland. There several Irishmen and Icelanders saw and 
 recognized Ari, the son of Mar and Kotlu, of Reykianess, 
 concerning whom nothing had been heard for a long time, 
 and who had been made their chief by the inhabitants of 
 the land." 
 
 This is vague enough, remarked the doctor. 
 
 Rather vague, in truth, answered Mr. Norset. All that 
 we definitely learn from it is, that the Northmen were well 
 aware of the fact, — which they learned from the explora- 
 tions of Thorvald Eirekson, Which you will recall ; from 
 the reports heard by Thorfinn ; and from the voyages of 
 some of their countrymen to Huitramannaland, as it was 
 called, — that Helluland, Markland, Vinland, and Huitra- 
 mannaland, were all parts of one vast continent in the 
 ivestern hemisphere. One thing I cannot forbear to re- 
 mark, doctor, — that the very vagueness and incomplete- 
 ness of all these passages is a thorough proof of their au- 
 thenticity. There would have been no such vagueness in 
 a fable or a fabrication. Here is strongly impressed the 
 consciousness of truth and simple fact. There is no vague- 
 ness nor uncertainty as to the fact of these parts and their 
 situation being known ; but we are left in darkness as to 
 all details of expeditions thither. It would have been 
 easy to fabricate these. As it is, we have only allusions, 
 which render it certain that such expeditions were made ; 
 the only details which we have being those, which I will 
 presently read, of an accidental but remarkable discovery 
 of one who had long been considered lost, upon those 
 shores. The situation of Huitramannaland is identified, 
 in each extract, beyond the possibility of dispute, with the 
 same region, the midland or southern States. The differ- 
 ent accounts, though differing in the mode of their de- 
 scription, all agree in their actual description. 
 
 Upon my word, said the doctor, after a silence of a few 
 moments, I do n't like this indefiniteness at all. I very 
 
IN AMERICA. 345 
 
 much question — the doctor paused in the middle of his 
 sentence, as if suddenly recollecting himself. Mr. Norset 
 immediately replied : — 
 
 I do n't like the indefiniteness either, doctor, because I 
 should like to know as much as possible about these in- 
 teresting discoveries ; but I know that we cannot, in a true 
 history, always get exactly what we want. Had this been 
 a fabrication, you know, doctor, it would have been easy 
 enough to have been just as precise about Huitramanna- 
 land as about Vinland. This indefiniteness is, under the 
 circumstances, as I have already said, a strong internal 
 evidence of authenticity. There is sufficient definiteness 
 to show that the Northmen were accpiainted with, and 
 made expeditions to, the southern portion of the United 
 States, though details of expeditions thither are wanting. 
 We must take what we have got, and make the best of it. 
 I told you, before we began, that we should not get any 
 thing so satisfactory here as in the case of Vinland. Per- 
 haps, however, we shall find something more satisfactory 
 when we come to the history of Biorn Asbrandson. 
 Pray, proceed with his history, then. 
 It is considerably longer than that of Ari Marson. I 
 told you that there was something which might be called 
 romantic about it ; so do n't be surprised at the details. 
 There are no supernatural visitants, however. 
 
 " Bork the Fat,* and Thordis, daughter of Sur, had 
 a daughter named Thurid, who was married to Thor- 
 biorn the Fat, living on the estate of Froda. ' Thorbiorn 
 had before been married to Thurid, daughter of Asbrand 
 of Kamb in Breidavik,\ and sister of Biorn Breidvikin- 
 gakappi, presently to be more particularly mentioned, 
 
 * Antiq. Am. p. 216. 
 
 f All the localities thus mentioned, together with most others which 
 will be mentioned in this narrative, are situated on the ness on the 
 western coast of Iceland, between Breidaiiord and Faxafiord. 
 
246 THE NORTHMEN 
 
 and of Arnbiorn the Hardy. The sons of Thorbiorn 
 and Thurid were Ketil the Champion, Gunnlaug and 
 Hallstein. 
 
 " Something must be related of Snorri Godi.* He un- 
 dertook the process for the death of Thorbiorn his kins- 
 man.f He also obliged his sister Thurid to remove to his 
 own house at Helgafell ; for it was rumoured that Biorn 
 Asbrandson paid close attentions to her. 
 
 " There was a man named Thorodd, of Medalfells- 
 strond, a worthy man and a good merchant. He owned 
 a merchant ship, in which he sailed to foreign parts. 
 Thorodd had sailed to the west, to Dublin," — here you 
 see, doctor, we have Ireland again spoken of as " the 
 west," by an Icelander, — " to transact business. At that 
 time Sigurd Hlodveroson, Jarl of the Orkneys,^ had 
 made an expedition towards the west, to the Hebrides and 
 to Man, and had imposed a tribute on the inhabited part 
 of Man. Having concluded peace, he left men to collect 
 the tribute ; the Jarl himself returned to the Orkneys. 
 
 " Those who were left to collect the tribute, having got 
 all ready, set sail with a south-west wind. But when they 
 had sailed some time, the wind shifted to the south-east 
 and east, and a violent tempest arose which drove them to 
 
 * The principal chieftains among the ancient Icelanders fulfilled at 
 the same time the office of priests and duties of civil riders. The title 
 Godi, derived from the same word which is applied to designate the 
 deity, was given to those who thus discharged both offices, on account 
 of their supposed connection with, or derived authority from, that 
 deity. This was in the days of paganism. Snorri (Thorgrimsson) 
 Godi lived anterior to, as well as after, the introduction of Christianity 
 into Iceland. He occupies a remarkably conspicuous station in the 
 history of the times. 
 
 f This was the husband of Thurid, mentioned just before. He was 
 murdered in a quarrel. 
 
 J This Sigurd Jarl died in 1013. He was son of Thorfinn Jarl and 
 Grclad, mentioned, ante, p. 121. The date is worthy to be remembered. 
 This expedition took place many years before his death. 
 
IN AMERICA. 247 
 
 the northward as far as Ireland, and there their ship was 
 wrecked on an uninhabited and barren island. Just as 
 they reached the island, Thorodd the Icelander, sailing 
 from Dublin, passed. The shipwrecked crew implored 
 aid. Thorodd, having put out a boat, himself went to 
 them. When he reached them, the officers of Sigurd pro- 
 mised him money if he would carry them home to the 
 Orkneys. When he told them that he could not possibly 
 do so, having already made all arrangements for returning 
 to Iceland, they more urgently entreated him, thinking 
 that neither their money nor liberties would be safe if they 
 went either to Ireland or the Hebrides, which they had so 
 recently entered with a hostile army. 
 
 " At length Thorodd agreed to sell the long-boat of his 
 ship to them for a large sum. In this they reached the 
 Orkneys, and Thorodd sailed to Iceland without a boat. 
 Having reached the southern shores of the island, he 
 directed his course along the coast to the westward, and 
 entered Breidafiord, where he came to harbour at Dogur- 
 dar-ness. 
 
 " The same autumn he went to Helgafell, to spend the 
 winter with Snorri Godi ; and from that time he was 
 called Thorodd the Tribute-buyer. This happened a 
 little after the murder of Thorbiorn the Fat. 
 
 " During the same winter, Thurid, sister of Snorri 
 Godi, who had been the wife of Thorbiorn the Fat, was at 
 Helgafell. Thorodd made proposals of marriage to Snorri 
 Godi, respecting Thurid. Being wealthy, and known by 
 Snorri to be of good standing, and that he would be likely 
 to be useful to him, he agreed to his proposals. So their 
 marriage was celebrated during the same winter at Snorri's 
 house at Helgafell. 
 
 " In the following spring, Thorodd established himself 
 at Froda, and was esteemed a worthy man. 
 
 *" But, when Thurid went to Froda, Biorn Asbrandson 
 
2-18 THE NORTHMEN 
 
 paid her frequent visits. Thorodd endeavoured to put a 
 stop to his visits, but in vain. 
 
 " At that time, Thorer Wooden-clog lived at Arnarh- 
 vol. His sons Orn and Val were grown up, and youths 
 of great promise. These men greatly blamed Thorodd for 
 suffering himself to be so much insulted by Biorn, and of- 
 fered him their assistance, if he wished to put a stop to his 
 visits. 
 
 " It happened one time, when Biorn was at Froda, that 
 he sat talking with Thurid. It was always Thorodd's 
 habit, when Biorn was there, to sit in the house. He was 
 now nowhere to be seen. Then said Thurid, — ' Look to 
 it, Biorn ; for I have an idea Thorodd intends to put a stop 
 to your visits here ; I believe that he has secured the road, 
 and that he designs to attack you and overpower you with 
 numbers.' ' Perhaps it may be so,' answered Biorn, and 
 he sang these verses : — 
 
 goddess,* how we both were blest, 
 If yonder glorious orb of day 
 His course, 'twixt heaven and ocean dark. 
 Should, for one little hour, delay. 
 Delay avails not. Thou, my love, 
 The sorrow-bringing news dost tell, 
 That we this evening here must bid 
 Our mournful, long, and last farewelL 
 
 " Biorn then took his arms and went on his way home- 
 ward. As he was lounting the hill Digramul, five men. 
 leaped out upon him from ambush. These were Thorodd 
 and two of his men, and the sons of Thorer Wooden-clog. 
 They attacked Biorn, but he defended himself well and 
 bravely. 
 
 " The sons of Thorer pressed him hard, and even 
 wounded him, but he slew them both. Thorodd then fled 
 
 * Jord, the wife of Odin. 
 
IN' AMERICA. 249 
 
 •with his men, though he himself had only a slight wound, 
 neither of them any. 
 
 " Biorn proceeded onwards, till he reached home, He 
 entered the hall. His mother desired a maid to place 
 food before him. When the maid came into the room 
 with a light, and saw Biorn wounded, she went and told 
 Asbrand, Lis father, that Biorn had returned home covered 
 with blood. Asbrand entered the room, and asked what 
 was the cause of his wounds. ' Have you and Thorodd 
 had a fight ?' he impaired. Biorn told him that such had 
 been the case. Asbrand asked what had been the result. 
 Biorn answered in these verses : — 
 
 Not with the like success can he 
 
 A valiant warrior's rage arouse, 
 
 (For Thorer's sons I both have slain 
 
 Great sorrow to their father's house) * 
 
 As when his idle hours he spends 
 
 In dalliance with a woman fair ; 
 
 Or when, though weak in warlike deeds, 
 
 A purchased tribute t he may bear. 
 
 " Asbrand bound up his son's wounds, and he soon re- 
 gained his strength. Thorodd went to Snorri Godi to 
 consult with him about instituting a process against Biorn, 
 on account of the slaughter of the sons of Thorer. This 
 process was maintained in the court of Thorsnesthing. 
 It was adjudged that Asbrand, who had become bound for 
 his son, should pay the usual fines. Biorn was exiled for 
 three years, and left Iceland the same summer. During 
 that same summer a son was born to Thurid, who was 
 called Kjartan, and was brought up at Froda. 
 
 " Biorn went to Denmark, and thence to Jomsborg 
 (near the mouth of the Oder, on the coast of Pomerania 
 
 * These two lines occur parenthetically in the original, as here 
 translated. 
 
 f In allusion to the affair whence Thorodd acquired the name of 
 Tribute-Buyer. 
 
 M 5 
 
c 250 THE NORTHMEN' 
 
 in Prussia). At that time Palnatoki was captain of the 
 knights of Jomsborg. Biorn was admitted into the com- 
 pany, and attained the name of Kappi (Champion)." 
 
 May I ask, interrupted Mr. Cassall, who the knights of 
 Jomsborg were ? 
 
 They were a famous band of knights, organized in the 
 tenth century, by Palnatoki, a powerful chieftain of the 
 north, into a military company under remarkably strict 
 regulations. They became of such note that men of the 
 highest rank and station sought admission to the company. 
 The title of champion was given only to those among 
 them most distinguished for bravery and prowess. 
 
 " He was at Jomsborg when Styrbiorn the Hardy at- 
 tacked it. He went into Sweden when the knights of 
 Jomsborg aided Styrbiorn. He was in the battle of 
 Fyrisvall, in which Styrbiorn was killed ; and thence he 
 escaped with the other knights of Jomsborg. As long as 
 Palnatoki lived* Biorn lived with him, and was esteemed 
 a man of extraordinary courage." 
 
 We have then a break in the narrative, which subse- 
 quently proceeds : — 
 
 " In the same summer, (about 996,) the brothers Biorn 
 and Arnbiorn returned to Iceland. Biorn was always 
 afterwards called Breidvikingakappi (champion of 
 Breidavik), Arnbiorn, who had acquired great wealth 
 abroad, bought, the same summer, the Bakk estate in 
 Raunhafn.f He lived there with little ostentation, but 
 was active and vigilant. Biorn, his brother, lived in 
 great splendour and luxury ; for, during his absence, he 
 had adopted the manners of courtiers and nobles. He 
 greatly exceeded Arnbiorn in personal qualities, and was 
 nothing inferior to him in activity. He was also far more 
 
 * Palnatoki died about 993, or 994. 
 
 f On the same ness as before mentioned. 
 
IN AMERICA. 251 
 
 skilled than his brother in martial exercises, for he had 
 improved himself much in these while abroad. 
 
 " During this same summer, soon after the return of 
 Biorn, a general meeting was held near Haugabrekk, on 
 the bay of Froda. All the merchants rode thither, clad 
 in coloured garments, and there was a great assemblage. 
 Thurid of Froda was there, with whom Biorn immediately 
 entered into conversation ; and no one censured them for 
 talking long together, for it had been several years* since 
 they had met. Kjartan, the son of Thurid, was present 
 at this assembly, and exhibited his manly nature. 
 
 " Biorn afterwards returned to Kamb, and took the 
 estate into his own hands ; for his father was then dead. In 
 the following winter he determined to make a visit across 
 the hills to Thurid. Although Thorodd disliked this, yet 
 he did not know how to prevent it, since he had before been 
 worsted by Biorn ; and the latter was now much stronger 
 and more skilled in arms than before. He therefore bribed 
 Thorgrim Galdrakinn, (a witch,) by a large sum, to raise 
 a snow-storm against Biorn as he crossed the hills. 
 
 " Biorn went from home one day to Froda. As he was 
 returning in the evening the sky grew dark and a snow- 
 storm commenced. As he ascended the hills the cold be- 
 came intense, and the snow fell so thickly that he could not 
 see his way. Presently the violence of the storm increased 
 so much that he could hardly walk. His garments, already 
 
 * It must have been at least ten or twelve, or more, years since 
 Biorn quitted Iceland, since it is mentioned in the narrative that Thu- 
 rid had a son born the same summer that Biorn left ; and it is inci- 
 dentally mentioned again, in this place, that this son, then a youth, 
 was present at this meeting. These facts are important as internal 
 evidence of the truth of the narrative, as will presently be seen. 
 There are some details given in the original which are omitted here. 
 They do not affect the main point of the narrative, but refer entirely 
 to Kjartan. See Antiq. Am. p. 230. 
 
252 THE NORTHMEN 
 
 soaked through, froze round his body, and he wandered he 
 knew not whither. In the course of the night he reached 
 a cave, which he entered, and in this cold chamber he 
 passed the night. Then he sang the following verses," — 
 to understand which, you must know that it was the cus- 
 tom, in Iceland, in these ancient times, and indeed still is 
 so,* for the females of the family to provide warm garments 
 for travellers oppressed by fatigue or tempest ; and to dis- 
 charge several minor offices conducive to their comfort : — 
 
 " gentle maid, whose wonted care 
 Brings ease to traveller way-worn, 
 111 would'st thou think thy task performed 
 This night, if me, thus all forlorn, 
 Thine eyes could see, by tempest dark, 
 And raging wind, now driven here, 
 Erom pelting storm escape to find 
 In icy walls of cavern drear. 
 
 " Again he sang : — • 
 
 " Far from my native land, my course, 
 Extending o'er the ocean tide, 
 Has stretched ; — thus exiled for the love 
 Of one, by evil fate denied. 
 Oft has my hand, mid battles dire, 
 In deeds of arms its strength displayed : 
 No rest shall e'er by me be found, 
 In frozen cave now, weary, laid. 
 
 " Biorn remained in the cavern three whole days before 
 the storm abated. On the fourth day he returned home, 
 worn out by fatigue. 
 
 " When his servants inquired where he had been during 
 the storm, he answered, — 
 
 " Well known to fame are all my deeds 
 When I did join brave Styrbiorn's host ; 
 
 * The singular but ancient customs still prevailing in Iceland, in 
 this respect, are alluded to by Henderson. Their singularity forcibly 
 attracted the attention of that traveller. 
 
IN AMERICA. 253 
 
 When Eirek slew our army's pride, 
 And Styrbiorn life and fortune lost. 
 But, wandering o'er the mountain range, 
 No martial skill availed me now ; 
 My homeward patb the witch concealed 
 By darkened sky and drifted snow. 
 
 " Biorn passed the remainder of the winter at home. 
 
 " One summer, Thorodd the Tribute-buyer invited 
 Snorri Godi, his kinsman, to a feast at his house at Froda. 
 Snorri went there, with twenty men. In the course of the 
 banquet, Thorodd told Snorri how much he was injured 
 and insulted by Biorn Asbrandson, who still came to see 
 his wife Thurid, the sister of Snorri Godi ; adding, that it 
 behoved Snorri to destroy the evil. Snorri, after passing 
 some days with Thorodd, went home, with many presents 
 from Thorodd. Snorri Godi rode over the hills, and 
 spread a report that he was going down to his ship in the 
 Bay of Raunhafn. This w r as in summer, about the time of 
 haymaking, 
 
 " When he had gone south as far as the Kambian hills, 
 Snorri said, — 'Let us ride back now, from the hills to 
 Kamb : I wish to inform you,' he added, ' that I have de- 
 termined to attack Biorn and destroy him. I am unwill- 
 ing, how r ever, to attack him in his house, for it is a strong 
 one, and Biorn is stout and valiant, while our number is 
 small. Even those who, with greater numbers, have at- 
 tacked brave men in their houses, have fared badly : an 
 example of which you know in the case of Geir Godi, and 
 Gissur the White ; who, when w r ith eighty men they at- 
 tacked Gunnar of Hlidarend alone, in his house, many 
 were wounded and many killed, and they would have been 
 compelled to give up the attack, if Geir Godi had not 
 learned that Gunnar was short of arrows. Therefore,' said 
 he, ' as we may now expect to find Biorn out of doors, it 
 being the time of haymaking, I appoint you, kinsman Mar, 
 
254 THE NORTHMEN 
 
 to give him the first wound ; but observe that he is no man 
 for child's play, and you must expect a contest with a hun- 
 gry wolf, unless your first wound shall be his death blow.' 
 
 " As they rode towards his farm, from the hills, they 
 saw Biorn in the fields. He was making a dray, and no 
 one was near him. He had no arms, except a small axe 
 and a knife which he held in his hand, and with which he 
 was fashioning the dray : the blade of the knife was about 
 a span long. 
 
 " Biorn saw Snorri Godi and his men riding down from 
 the hills, and recognized them. Snorri Godi had on a blue 
 cloak, and rode first. A sudden thought seized Biorn, 
 that he should take his knife and go to meet them as 
 quickly as he could ; and, as soon as he reached them, 
 should seize the sleeve of Snorri with one hand, and should 
 hold the knife in the other, so that he might be able to 
 strike Snorri to the heart, if he saw that it was necessary 
 to his own safety. 
 
 " Going therefore to meet them, Biorn bade them hail, 
 and Snorri Godi returned his salutation. The hands of 
 Mar fell, for he saw that, if he attacked Biorn, the latter 
 would immediately kill Snorri. Then Biorn, walking along 
 with Snorri Godi and his companions, asked what news 
 there was — keeping his hands as at first. Then said he, — 
 ' I will not pretend to conceal, neighbour Snorri, that my 
 present appearance and attitude seem threatening you ; — 
 which might indeed appear blamable, were it not that I have 
 reason to believe that you have come here with hostile in- 
 tentions. But now I desire that, if you have any business 
 to transact with me, you will pursue a different course to 
 that which you have intended, and that you will transact 
 it openly. If you have none, swear peace, which, if you 
 will do, I will return to my occupation ; for I do net wish 
 to be led here like a fool.' ' Our meeting has so fallen 
 out,' answered Snorri, ' that we shall, this time, separate 
 
IN AMERICA. 255 
 
 as much in peace as we were before. I wish, however, to 
 obtain a promise from you, that you will abstain from visit- 
 ing Thurid ; for, if you will persist in this, there never can 
 be any sincere friendship between us.' Biorn answered, — 
 1 This will I promise ; and I will observe it; but I know 
 not how I shall be able to observe it, while I and Thurid 
 live in the same land.' ' There is nothing so important de- 
 taining you here,' answered Snorri, 'as to prevent your 
 going to some other country.' ' That is true,' said Biorn, 
 ' and so let it be ; let our interview close with this promise, 
 — that neither you nor Thorodd shall have cause to take 
 any umbrage from my visits to Thurid in time to come.' 
 
 " They parted. Snorri Godi rode down to his ship, and 
 then went home to Helgafell. The next day, Biorn rode 
 down to Hraunhafn, and engaged his passage in a ship 
 for the same summer. When all was ready they set sail, 
 with a north-east wind" — observe the wind, doctor, — 
 " which wind prevailed during a great part of that summer. 
 Of the fate of that ship nothing was for a long time 
 heard." And that is the end of this history. 
 
 That the end ! said the doctor. What has this story to 
 do with Huitramannaland ? I've been waiting patiently 
 in the expectation of hearing that country mentioned every 
 moment. 
 
 Well, doctor, you have just heard, that " of the fate of 
 that ship nothing was heard for a long time." Now don't 
 you think it very likely that Biorn was carried in that ship 
 to Huitramannaland? 
 
 Carried to Huitramannaland ! exclaimed the doctor, 
 with evident signs of vexation ; just as likely to have been 
 carried to the moon. 
 
 Upon my word, doctor, I thought that, as you are, as 
 we all know, exceedingly apt at jumping to conclusions, — 
 as witness your eagerness many times during our discus- 
 sion of this matter, — you would certainly come to the im- 
 
256 THE NORTHMEN 
 
 mediate conclusion that it was to Huitramannaland that 
 Biorn Asbrandson was carried ; and that this was the rea- 
 son nothing was heard of him for so long a time : you re- 
 member that I stated, at first, that there were two docu- 
 ments relating to Biorn Asbrandson, as there were two 
 relating to Ari Marson. It is necessary that the first of 
 these, the one we have just perused, should be given, in 
 order properly to understand the second, — the one which, 
 if you please, we will now take. 
 
 The doctor seemed to grow somewhat pacified under 
 these remarks, and observed, — 
 
 If this second document will really throw some light 
 upon Huitramannaland, let us have it ; but not if it is to 
 leave us as much in the dark as this first one has done. 
 
 Allow me to ask, interposed Mr. Cassall, what was the 
 date of Biorn Asbrandson's departure from Iceland ? 
 
 We learn, from a comparison of the different facts men- 
 tioned therein, many of which, — such as the battle of 
 Fyrisvall, the death of Palnatoki, &c. — are well-known and 
 authentic historical events, that it must have been about 
 the year 998 that Biorn finally left Iceland. 
 
 I must say, added Mr. Cassall, that he was badly used : 
 I do not mean in being required not to visit Thurid.: — 
 I mean in his marriage with her being prevented by Snorri 
 Godi, while Thorodd was immediately accepted and forced 
 upon her for a husband, merely because he was wealthy, 
 though without possessing half so much excellence as Biorn 
 in the qualities either of body or mind ; — for Biorn must 
 have been somewhat refined, to have been so apt and not 
 inelegant a poet. All the evil and annoyance which fol- 
 lowed to Thorodd and Snorri were deserved by them. 
 
 I agree with you, said Mr. Norset ; but you see that 
 then, as well as now, wealth was thought, by some, a thing 
 much more to be considered in the marriage of a ward or 
 relative than worth or sincere affection. Still, Biorn's 
 
IN AMERICA. '257 
 
 conduct, after the marriage of Thurid had taken place, 
 however iniquitously, is not to be justified. 
 
 True, true, answered Mr. Cassall. 
 
 And now, said the doctor, let us proceed with this se- 
 cond document relating to Biorn Asbrandson, and see if it 
 throws any light upon the history of Huitramannaland. 
 
 You shall have it, doctor, immediately ; and I hope that 
 it may afford you some satisfaction, though again I remind 
 you that it will probably more excite than gratify your 
 curiosity. It does, however, bear directly upon the sub- 
 ject. It contains an account of a voyage made by one 
 
 GUDLEIF GUDLAUGSON. It is as follows : 
 
 " There was a man named Gudleif, the son of Gud- 
 laug the Wealthy, of Straumjiord, (western coast of 
 Iceland,) and from whom the Sturlungar (family of 
 Sturla, conspicuous in the annals of Iceland, and among 
 whom the celebrated Snorri Sturluson, author of the Heim- 
 skringla, is most renowned,) are descended. Gudleif was 
 an accomplished merchant. He had a merchant ship, and 
 Thorolf Eyra-Loptson another, when they fought with 
 Gyrd, son of Sigvald Jarl. Gyrd lost an eye in that 
 encounter. 
 
 " It happened, towards the close of the reign of king 
 Olaf the Saint*, that Gudleif made a trading voyage to 
 the west countryf, — to Dublin. On his return to Iceland, 
 sailing from the western part of Ireland, probably Lim- 
 erick,) he fell in with north-east and east winds, and was 
 driven far into the ocean towards the south-west and west," 
 
 * Olaf II., king of Norway, — commonly called Saint Olaf, from his 
 zeal in the propagation of Christianity, in which he imitated Olaf 
 Tryggvason, already mentioned, (p. 80,) — was chosen king in 1015, 
 and was killed in battle by Knud Svcndson, commonly called Canute 
 the Great, A.U. 1030. This date, as will be subsequently seen, is im- 
 portant. 
 
 f It has been already seen that Ireland was always spoken of by the 
 Icelanders and other Northmen as " the west. 1 ' See p. 52, &c. 
 
258 THE NORTHMEN 
 
 — mark the direction, doctor, — " so that no land was seen, 
 the summer being now far spent. Many prayers were of- 
 fered by Gudleif and his men, that they might escape their 
 perils ; and at length they saw land. It was of great ex- 
 tent, and they knew not what land it was. 
 
 " They took -counsel and determined -to make for land, 
 judging it very unadvisable to struggle any longer with 
 the perils of the ocean. They found at length a commo- 
 dious harbour. Soon after they had gone ashore, several 
 men came down towards them. They knew none of these 
 natives, however, but thought their language resembled 
 the Irish.* In a short time such a number of men ga- 
 thered round them as amounted to many hundreds. These, 
 having attacked them, bound them all with fetters, and 
 drove them into the country. They Were then brought 
 before an assembly, and a discussion was held as to what 
 should be done with them. They gathered that some were 
 for slaying them, others for distributing them among the 
 different villages and making slaves of them. 
 
 " Whilst the debate was going on, they saw a large body 
 of men riding towards them, with a banner elevated in the 
 midst, whence they concluded that some one in authority 
 was among the company. When the company drew nearer, 
 they saw a man, riding under the banner, tall and of mili- 
 tary deportment, aged and gray-headed. All present treated 
 this man with the greatest deference and honour. 
 
 " Gudleif and his men presently perceived that their 
 case was referred to the decision of this man. He com- 
 manded that Gudleif and his men should be brought before 
 him, which being done, he addressed them in the Norse 
 
 * Little solid ground of argument can, however, be taken on the 
 score of their thinking the language of these natives resembled some- 
 what the Irish. The very mode of expression shows that the resem- 
 blance was only slight, probably more fancied than real ; and they do 
 not. appear to have understood any of the spoken language in the sub- 
 councils of the natives. 
 
IX AMERICA. 259 
 
 tongue, and asked them what countrymen they were? 
 They replied that the greater number of them Mere Ice- 
 landers. He asked which of them were Icelanders ? Gud- 
 leif said that he was an Icelander, and saluted the old man 
 respectfully. The old man returned his salutation courte- 
 ously, and asked from what part of Iceland he came? 
 Gudleif stated that he came from the district called Bor- 
 garfiord (west coast of Iceland, and near adjoining 
 Breidafiord, in which were situated Froda, Kamb, and 
 Helgafell). He asked who lived in Borgarfiord ? to which 
 Gudleif replied in detail. The old man then inquired 
 particularly concerning all the principal men in Borgar- 
 fiord and Breidafiord ; and, of these, he inquired with a 
 special interest into every particular relating to Snorri 
 Godi, and Thurid of Froda, his sister. 
 
 " Meantime the natives grew impatient that some deci- 
 sion should be come to, as to the fate of the strangers. 
 Then the venerable old man left Gudleif and his com- 
 panions, and, taking with him twelve of the natives, talked 
 with them apart for a long time. At length he returned. 
 Addressing Gudleif and his companions, he said, — 
 ' We have had some discussion concerning you, and the 
 natives have left the matter to my decision. I will now, 
 therefore, permit you to depart whithersoever you desire ; 
 and, although the summer is now far advanced, yet I 
 recommend you to depart immediately ; for these people 
 are faithless and difficult to deal with, and they think that 
 they have now been deprived of their just right.' 
 
 " Then Gudleif inquired, — ' Who shall we report, if we 
 ever reach our native land again, to have done us this 
 great favour ? ' " That I will not tell you,' answered he ? 
 ' for I am unwilling that any of my relations and friends 
 should come hither.' " You must let me pause here, to 
 remark that the expressions thus made use of are worthy of 
 attention, since they show that the speaker, — whom you 
 
260 THE NORTHMEN 
 
 must necessarily have already perceived to have been a 
 Northman himself, — considered that it would not only be 
 very probable, but most likely, that his kindred would 
 make the voyage to those coasts, when they heard of him. 
 He must have spoken with the knowledge that expeditions 
 to coasts not far distant had been made already. To 
 proceed : — " < I am unwilling that any of my kindred or 
 friends should come hither, and meet with such a fate as 
 you would have done, had I not saved you. Age creeps 
 upon me now so fast, that I may almost expect each day 
 to be my last. Although I may yet live a little longer, 
 there are, in this land, men of greater power than myself, 
 though now at some distance from this place, and these 
 would not grant peace or safety to any foreigners.' 
 
 " Then that old man himself superintended the fitting 
 out of their ship, and remained in the neighbourhood until 
 a fair wind sprung up, so that they might sail. 
 
 " Before their departure, he pulled a golden ring from 
 off his finger, and gave it to Gudleif, saying, — ' If fortune 
 grant that you reach Iceland, give this ring to Thurid of 
 Froda.' Gudleif inquired, — ' Who shall I say was the 
 sender of this precious gift?' He answered, — < Say that 
 he sent it, who loved the lady of Froda, (that is, Thurid,) 
 better than her brother, the Godi of Helgafell. And if any 
 one shall thence infer that he knows from whom this gift 
 was sent, you must repeat my words, that I forbid that any 
 one should seek me, for the expedition will betide the ad- 
 venturer ill, unless others shall meet with the same fortune 
 as yourselves. This country is extensive, but has few good 
 harbours ; and dangers threaten strangers on all sides from 
 the inhabitants, unless it shall chance to happen to others 
 as to yourselves.' 
 
 " Then Gudleif and his companions put out to sea. 
 They reached Ireland the same autumn, and passed the 
 winter in Dublin. In the following spring they sailed to. 
 
IX AMERICA. 261 
 
 Iceland, and Gudleif delivered the ring. It was generally 
 thought that there could be no doubt the man they had 
 seen was Biorn Breidvikingakappi. Nothing else was 
 ever heard of him but that which has been thus narrated." 
 And that is the conclusion of the whole matter. 
 
 A most lame and impotent conclusion, quoth the doctor, 
 in a tone of dissatisfaction. 
 
 Doctor, methinks you are a man hard to please. What 
 would you have ? 
 
 Why, I would have something definite about Huitra- 
 mann aland. 
 
 Well, said Mr. Xorset, surely you find something definite 
 about Huitramannaland in these accounts. You will re- 
 member that Biorn Asbrandson left Iceland with a north- 
 east wind, the same wind prevailing during the whole 
 summer. He was driven then to the south-west. Gudleif 
 Gudlaugson left the western coast of Ireland, and was 
 driven by north-east and east winds, that is, of course, 
 north-east by east, till he came to land, where he found 
 Biorn Asbrandson. Now take the map, and draw a line 
 north-east to south-west from Iceland, and another north- 
 east by east to south-west by west from the west of Ireland, 
 and see where they would intersect.* 
 
 They would intersect about Carolina and Georgia, 
 answered the doctor. 
 
 That, then, must have been the land on which Gudleif 
 Gudlaugson landed, and where he found Biorn Asbrand- 
 son. There can, in my opinion, be no hesitation about the 
 matter. 
 
 Stay a moment, said the doctor, looking round him with 
 
 * See their tracks laid down in the chart. It is obvious that Biorn's 
 ship would strive against the wind, towards the east, for some time, and 
 would only he driven to the south-west, at length, when overcome by 
 the continued and increased opposition of the wind. 
 
262 THE NORTHMEN 
 
 a very self-complacent air ; this may be very true, accord- 
 ing to these accounts ; but I want some evidence of the 
 authenticity of these accounts. You have given us none 
 of your internal evidence, or incidental coincidences, in this 
 matter. 
 
 I might have done so, doctor, very fully, had I thought 
 it worth while, but I considered that it would only have 
 been wearisome. I have already gone so deeply into the 
 internal evidence of the other narratives, that I did not 
 consider it necessary here. 
 
 Let us have one or two points of internal evidence ex- 
 hibited, at any rate, said the doctor, in order that we may 
 see whether this is not merely a way of escaping from a 
 dilemma. 
 
 Certainly, if you wish it. I will give you a few strong 
 ones. We will take two points which are, at the same 
 time, the strongest and the most important, namely, geo- 
 graphical allusions, and allusions to dates. It is stated, 
 quite incidentally, in the narrative, that " the country is 
 extensive, but has feiv good harbours." Now we all know 
 the country is pretty extensive. As to the " few good 
 harbours," I will bring you an authority which you will not 
 despise, — one which I have before quoted with reference 
 to this same southern and eastern coast, and which is the 
 more valuable, as coming from one strongly prejudiced 
 against the Northmen. In the same account of Verrazza- 
 ni's expedition that I quoted before, Ave read the follow- 
 ing : — " But no convenient harbour was found, though the 
 search extended fifty leagues to the south"* (of Wilmington, 
 North Carolina). It would be impossible to find a more 
 striking case of coincidence than this, — so exceedingly in- 
 cidentally, yet naturally, mentioned in the speech of Biorn 
 Asbrandson, and yet agreeing so precisely with the fact, 
 
 » : — ■ 
 
 * Bancroft's Hist. U. S., fourth edit., (1838,) vol. i. p. 16. 
 
IN AMERICA. 263 
 
 as described by the French navigator in the sixteenth cen- 
 tury, and recorded by one who would be most unwilling 
 knowingly to aftbrd any means of corroboration of the 
 truth of the expeditions and discoveries of the Northmen. 
 If ever there was internal evidence of truth, you have it 
 here. What say you, doctor ? Does not this identify the 
 locality, as well as prove the truth of the narrative ? 
 
 The doctor looked in no slight degree surprised at this 
 point of internal evidence. He sought to evade express- 
 ing the conviction which it necessarily carried, by in- 
 quiring,— 
 
 What was the point about dates to which you alluded ? 
 
 In the account of Biorn Asbrandson, it is stated that he 
 joined the knights of Jomsborg, and that he was present 
 in the battle of Fyrisvall. The time of Gudleif Gudlaug- 
 son's voyage, which is recorded in a totally distinct docu- 
 ment, is stated to have been in the latter part of the reign 
 of Olaf the Saint, king of Norway. It is stated, too, that 
 when Gudleif saw Biorn Asbrandson, the latter was aged 
 and gray-headed. Again, Snorri Godi is brought into the 
 narrative, and it would appear, from the same narrative, 
 that he was alive when Gudleif last left Iceland before 
 seeing Biorn. Sigurd, Jarl of the Orkneys, and his expe- 
 dition to Man, are also introduced. Now it is self-evident 
 that it is morally impossible all these matters of fact and 
 date could have been found to accord, if these narratives 
 had been a fabrication. All the facts mentioned, with the 
 exception, as we will assume for your satisfaction in the 
 argument, of Biorn's own existence and deeds, are histor- 
 ical and well-known facts, the dates of which are also 
 known. The time of the birth and death of Snorri Godi, 
 (964—1031,) and of the death of Sigurd Jarl, (1013,) are 
 also known. We might have expected to find some blun- 
 der, in the consistency of all that is related of Biorn As- 
 brandson with the dates of the historical events thus casu- 
 
264 THE NORTHMEN 
 
 ally mentioned ; but no : — we find it mentioned that he 
 was, in the prime of his life, at Jomsborg ; that he left 
 Jornsborg on the death of Palnatoki,* having remained 
 there some years ;t and returned to Iceland in 996. He 
 must necessarily, therefore, have been arrived at middle 
 age when he thus returned to Iceland. Two years after- 
 wards he left Iceland, and was never heard of again, until 
 a period which we are happily able to fix by the merely 
 incidental mention that Gudleif left Iceland, on his voyage 
 to Ireland, " in the latter part of the reign of king Olaf 
 the Saint." This must necessarily have been about 1028 
 or 1030.+ Gudleif found Biorn, it is also incidentally 
 stated, old and gray-headed. This, the account being true, 
 Biorn would necessarily be, since it was nearly or quite 
 thirty years since he had left Iceland, being then in his 
 full middle age. Thus we see that there is a remarkable 
 agreement between the facts stated with respect to Biorn, 
 and those known facts to which we can refer for compari- 
 son. We find the two agree precisely,, though merely in- 
 cidentally brought together, and that, too, in two docu- 
 ments perfectly distinct in origin and authors. It is 
 morally impossible that this should have been the case in 
 a fabrication. What say you, doctor ? 
 
 O ! well, well ! it 's all very fine. But we are not told 
 that this is Huitramannaland in which Biorn was seen ; so 
 that I do n't see that you get much the forwarder after all. 
 
 We are not expressly told this, doctor, it is true ; and 
 here is another proof of the authenticity and truth of the 
 narratives. Had they been fabricated, we should not have 
 been left to examine, and search out closely for the means 
 of determining, what land it was, or whether or not it was 
 Huitramannaland. It would all have been straight-forward 
 
 * See note, ante, p. 250. f See note, ante, p. 251. 
 
 t See note, ante, p. 257. 
 
IN AMERICA. 265 
 
 and clear enough, depend upon it. It can, however, easily 
 lie shown that this must have been part* of, or adjoining 
 
 * The expression " part of, or adjoining to, what was known," &c. 
 is employed here by the author advisedly. He must differ from the 
 learned editor of the Antiq. Am. in considering the coast to which Ari 
 Marsou was driven and that touched by Gudleif as the same. See 
 reason given in note to p. 243, ante. The author is inclined to the 
 belief that Iluitramannaland lay nearer to Vinland, — including, per- 
 haps, the shores of Maryland, Virginia, and North Carolina, — while the 
 laud visited by Gudleif adjoined Iluitramannaland, and included South 
 Carolina, Georgia, and perhaps Florida. All the geographical allusions, 
 — which, though brief, are peculiarly designative and important, — in 
 all the accounts of these parts, seem to favour this conclusion. Hui- 
 tramannaland lay " beyond Vinland," — but still " near to Vinland," — in 
 the western ocean, and west of Ireland by many days' sail. This com- 
 pletely identifies the locality just designated. The land visited by 
 Gudleif is as clearly and exactly designated by the accounts given of 
 the course of the two vessels (of Biorn Asbrandson, and of Gudleif 
 Gudlaugson) to it, and remarkably so also by the casual mention of 
 there being few good harbours. It would appear that Thorvald's west- 
 ern and southern exploring party reached as far as Carolina. The an- 
 cient Icelandic geographers were well aware that the whole coasts were 
 continuous, and also of their vast extent, as has been already, and will, 
 in note A, in the Appendix, be more fully shown. It appears, to the 
 author, also, that the country alluded to by the natives taken by Thor- 
 finn, and »»'xundcrstood by him to be Huitramannaland, was, as before 
 stated, note to p. 236, Mexico, and that the Mexican power probably 
 extended to these southern coasts touched by Gudleif. The state of 
 civilization apparent there, and the use of banners, seem to correspond ; 
 and Biorn alludes to the more powerful chiefs at a distance, — that is, 
 far in the interior, near the seat of Mexican power in the time of the 
 Spaniards. This last point, however, is obviously not so clear as the 
 former as to the locality of Iluitramannaland and Biormland (as it 
 may be termed). 
 
 It is well worthy of being added here, that, since the first edition of 
 this work, some highly interesting facts have come to light, as to the 
 great probability, if it may not be said absolute certainty, of ancient 
 Scandinavian settlements in South America. — Ruins, inscriptions, and 
 other antiquities of clear Scandinavian origin have been found in the 
 province of Bahia in Brazil. What an interesting confirmation is here 
 found of all that was stated and argued by the author in the first edi- 
 tion as to the Southern explorations of the Northmen ; and also of the 
 N 
 
266 THE NORTHMEN 
 
 to, what was known to the Icelandic geographers by the 
 name of Huitramannaland. Tn all the allusions which we 
 have had to Huitramannaland, geographical and other- 
 wise, — and they have been numerous, and many more 
 might have been quoted, — we have seen its situation laid 
 down as beyond Vinland, though on the same continent and 
 continuous coast, in the western ocean, many days' sail west 
 of Ireland. 
 
 But we have no evidence to show that there ever were 
 any white men inhabiting the land which you pretend to 
 be Huitramannaland, or White man's land. 
 
 You are decidedly wrong there. We do not know the ori- 
 gin of the term. It might have arisen from various different 
 circumstances : the natives taken by Thorfinn expressly 
 told him that the natives wore white garments. This cir- 
 cumstance may have originated the name *. It might have 
 been so called simply because white men, Northmen or 
 Irish, touched upon it : or, lastly, it is possible that a crew 
 of white men might have been wrecked there, and remained 
 there, and thence the name arisen. The last supposition 
 seems to be supported, indeed, by the allusions to the occa- 
 sional voyages thither, and by other evidence. 
 
 By what other evidence ? asked the doctor. 
 
 authority of the chart hereafter given ! See before, p. Ill, 167, and 
 after, pp. 270, 332, 334, 338, &c, and the very curious plate to p. 478 
 of the " Rymbegla" (Havnise, 1780, 4to). The only references which 
 can at present he given as to the facts discovered in Bahia, are to differ- 
 ent articles which appeared in the " Berlingske tidende" in the course 
 of 1841. The subject is not therefore followed out in the text. 
 
 * See ante, p. 236. It would originate in this way : — Thorfinn would 
 know of the explorations of Thorvald. He would know, therefore, that 
 the coast extended far south. Hearing the description of these peo- 
 ple, he would designate their land Huitramannaland. The land would 
 thence go by that name, simply as distinctive from other parts, Vin- 
 land, &c, and that name would be commonly applied to it before the 
 time of the committal to writing of the account of Thorfinn. 
 
IN AMERICA. 267 
 
 There are, or were, two remarkable and ancient tradi- 
 tions existing among the Shawanoese Indians,* who for- 
 merly inhabited Florida, near adjoining the region of which 
 we have been speaking, but who, eighty-five years ago, 
 (that is, about 1754,) went westward into Ohio, which seem 
 to bear directly upon the present subject. The first of 
 these is, that their ancestors came from a land across the 
 ocean,f which, of course, had they been Irish or Northmen, 
 they must have done. The second is, that Florida was for- 
 merly inhabited by white men J who made use of iron in- 
 struments. Black-Hoof, a very old Indian of this tribe, who 
 was born in Florida, remembered (in 1819) that he, as a 
 boy, used to bathe in the sea, and that he often, when a 
 boy, heard his parents relate that, in their time, pieces of 
 wood were sometimes found, cut with iron axes.§ What 
 think you of these traditions, doctor ? 
 
 The doctor hesitated. He appeared surprised to hear 
 the traditions, and yet not fully satisfied. 
 
 * Archaeologia Americana, i. pp. 273, 276. 
 
 f It is proper to observe, however, that this tradition does not carry 
 nearly so much force as that mentioned in relation to the neighbour, 
 hood of Assoonet, (ante, p. 171,) inasmuch as that we know the na- 
 tives did formerly, as well as now, employ canoes, and might, without 
 any great improbability, have been carried to Florida from some of the 
 West India isles. ' 
 
 % Whoever has seen Mr. Catlin's valuable Indian gallery, and heard 
 his description of the Mandans, must know that there exist, even at 
 the present day, tribes among the natives, nearly approaching to white, 
 many individuals being quite fair. The origin of the Mandans is in- 
 volved in mystery, and they are now extinct. Mr. Catlin has secured 
 all that is known concerning them. 
 
 § This part of the tradition is somewhat mysterious. It is difficult 
 to believe that they could have seen any wood cut with the axes of 
 either Northmen or Irish visitants, since it is hardly probable that any 
 timber could exist which had retained the marks of the axe for six 
 hundred years. It is more probable that some timber, cut by Spanish 
 axes, had drifted from Cuba or elsewhere. 
 
 n2 
 
268 THE NORTHxMEN 
 
 Well, said he at length, they are singular, but I want to 
 know something more about the matter before I give any 
 opinion. 
 
 I'll tell you what, doctor ; it seems to me that you and I 
 come, after all, to pretty much the same conclusion, in one 
 respect; namely, that we should like to know something 
 more definite about the ancient inhabitants of these regions. 
 But I will hardly, doctor, pay you so ill a compliment as 
 to imagine that you can remain any longer in the slightest 
 doubt as to the truth of the proposition which it has been 
 my main object in our discussion this morning to establish, 
 namely, — that the Northmen were acquainted, not only 
 with the existence, situation, and extent of New England 
 and the northern parts of the American continent, but also 
 with the existence, situation, and extent of the regions of 
 the same continent to the south-westward of those parts 
 with which, as we have seen, they were more familiar. 
 
 Was there not, asked Mr. Cassall, some tradition among 
 the Mexicans, before the time of the Spaniards, of land and 
 powerful kingdoms to the east ? 
 
 It is well known, answered Mr. Norset, that there did 
 exist such a tradition, and the fact may not be unworthy 
 of observation. It shows that they must either have them- 
 selves had intercourse with some from these eastern king- 
 doms, or have received accounts from those who had.* In 
 either case, the visits of the Northmen to the southern 
 shores of the continent of North America explain the 
 source of the tradition. 
 
 Still, said the doctor, I am not satisfied. You do not 
 profess to have shown any more, by all this about Huitra- 
 mannaland, than that the Northmen visited the land, and 
 
 * The existence of this tradition seems to confirm the idea, alreadv 
 expressed in previous notes, ' that the Mexican empire formerly ex- 
 tended to the eastern coast. 
 
IN AMERICA. 269 
 
 were acquainted with its situation and connection with the 
 continent — 
 
 And, pray, doctor, interrupted Mr. Norset, is not this 
 something to show, when you ridiculed so much, at first, 
 all idea of the discoveries of the Northmen ? 
 
 A shade passed across the doctor's countenance at that 
 allusion, and he continued, in rather a sharp tone : — But 
 we find very little definite, precise, and detailed, as in the 
 case of the expeditions to Vinland. 
 
 You know, doctor, that there is an old saying, that we 
 must walk before we can run. So it is necessary, before a 
 subject can be thoroughly investigated and understood in 
 all its branches, that a glimpse of its bearings or of its pro- 
 bable bearings should first be seen. Here is a case in point. 
 You acknowledge that your interest is excited with respect 
 to Huitramannaland ; that it has been shown that the 
 Northmen were acquainted with the existence, situation, 
 and extent of the southern as well as northern shores of the 
 continent of North America ; but you complain that you 
 want more information as to the expeditions to these south- 
 ern shores. I am delighted to hear it. You have thus got 
 your cue; follow it out. Who knows but you may your- 
 self go over to Iceland some day, and search among old 
 dusty parchments and time-worn manuscripts, and make 
 some wonderful discoveries, touching the matter in ques- 
 tion ; and then we shall have announced, — " A Chorogra- 
 phical, Geographical, Historical Account of the most an- 
 cient Country of Huitramannaland ; compiled from authen- 
 tic documents, by Melchisidec Dubital, M.D., M.N.K.W.S., 
 &c. &c." 
 
 I'll present you with the first copy, said the doctor, 
 something like a smile being forced upon his countenance. 
 
 I am obliged to you, doctor. You have now heard all 
 the contents of the most important and interesting of the 
 
270 THE NORTHMEN 
 
 manuscript documents which have been published in this 
 volume. 
 
 What ! does this Huitramannaland story bring us to the 
 last of them ? 
 
 Even so, doctor ; or at least the last which it will be ne- 
 cessary for us to examine thus in detail ; for it cannot be 
 disputed, I think, that it has been now demonstrated, be- 
 yond the possibility of controversy, and by all the evidence 
 which can establish any point in the most authentic history, 
 ■ — that America was known to Europeans at least five cen- 
 turies before the time of Colon's alleged discoveries ; that 
 the western hemisphere was discovered and settled by the 
 Northmen in the ninth and tenth centuries (Iceland in the 
 ninth, Greenland in the tenth); that the coasts of the 
 continent of North America south of Greenland were disco- 
 vered by Biarni Heriulfson, in 985 ; that these parts of the 
 continent were subsequently visited many times by the 
 Northmen, for the express purpose of exploration ; that we 
 have positive authentic records of the residence of the 
 Northmen on these parts of the continent, at different times, 
 for periods of some years' duration, during which time the 
 birth of one individual is recorded to have taken place,-— 
 the ancestor of many well-known and illustrious characters, 
 some of whom are still living ; that it is very probable a 
 permanent colony was settled, not only in Iceland and 
 Greenland, which is certain, but within the borders of New 
 England; and, moreover, that not only were Greenland and 
 the other northern portions of this continent, as far as New 
 England, well known to, and explored by, these Northmen, 
 but that they also made expeditions to, and were well ac- 
 quainted with, the existence, situation, and extent, absolute- 
 ly and relatively, of the more southern portions of the con- 
 tinent, at least as far as Florida. To examine further the 
 evidence, which we have already seen to be so abundant 
 
IX AMERICA. 271 
 
 and so overwhelming as to the positive certainty of these 
 discoveries and expeditions, would, I think, be needlessly 
 occupying our time. What say you, doctor? 
 
 But the doctor was anxious, as usual, to avoid reply to 
 a question, any direct answer to which must involve him 
 in some compromise, either of the necessary correctness of 
 his expressed opinions, or of the convictions which evidence 
 had forced upon him, but which he esteemed that it would 
 be an acknowledgement of his fallibility to confess. He 
 therefore evaded all direct reply, by remarking, — You 
 must remember, Mr. Norset, that there is another class of 
 documents which you said existed. I fancy you want con- 
 veniently to forget all about these. 
 
 Not at all, doctor ; you are quite mistaken there. I shall 
 be glad to allude to them, and they will not require any 
 very lengthened discussion. 
 
 What is it that you pretend they do towards establish- 
 ing the evidence of the authenticity of these discoveries 
 and visits of the Northmen ? 
 
 Why, to tell you the truth, doctor, I care very little, and 
 shall therefore trouble you very little with inquiring, how 
 far they tend to establish this evidence. This evidence 
 has already been shown to be thoroughly demonstrative, 
 and any body who is not satisfied with that which has been 
 already adduced, can be satisfied with no human testimony. 
 I do not pretend, therefore, to adduce these other docu- 
 ments, — the monuments remaining in the countries visited, 
 — as distinct evidence of the truth of the accounts we have 
 had, excepting in one case, — that of the inscription from 
 the island of Kingihtorsoak,* — in which case much labour' 
 and argument may be saved by taking an incontrovertibly 
 authentic inscription as evidence. 
 
 For what, then, do you adduce them ? 
 
 * See ante, p. 56. 
 
272 THE NORTHMEN IN AMERICA. 
 
 On two accounts. First, as corroborative testimony to 
 that which has already been adduced, in the various points 
 of external and internal evidence, as to the truth of the 
 narratives themselves ; and, second, as highly interesting 
 records, existing in these distant lands, of the deeds of men, 
 — whose nation and language, and the authentic written 
 records of whose expeditions hither, still exist, — who visit- 
 ed and dwelt within these shores at a period so long ante- 
 rior to the origin of the existing permanent colonization of 
 these parts of the continent, and so long anterior to what 
 has hitherto been commonly supposed to have been the pe- 
 riod when a European foot first trod on transatlantic soil. 
 
 Well, said the doctor, since that is the ground you take, 
 we shall not occupy much time, I suppose, in the discus- 
 sion of the subject. Shall we proceed with it at once ? 
 
 I propose, answered Mr. Norset, that we leave it till the 
 afternoon ; and that, after dinner, we walk down to an 
 ancient ruin in the neighbourhood, which I have a strong 
 idea these Northmen knew more about than any body 
 else. We can talk over the other matters connected with 
 this branch of the subject as we walk there and home 
 again. 
 
 Agreed, said the doctor. 
 
 Will this arrangement suit your convenience, Mr. Cas- 
 sall? 
 
 Quite so. 
 
 We will start at half-past three o'clock, then; so pray be 
 within call at that time. 
 We will not fail you. 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Remains of Northmen existing in America. — Buildings and Inscrip- 
 tions in Greenland, and in New England. — Body found at Fall 
 River. 
 
 Shalt, we proceed on our way to the old ruin? asked 
 Mr. Xorset of the doctor and Mr. Cassall, as he met them 
 in the hall at the appointed hour. 
 
 Quite ready, answered each in a breath. 
 
 The distance is not more than half or three quarters of 
 a mile, and so let us make the best use of our time, as we 
 thread the narrow crooked streets of the good old town of 
 Newport, in discussing the matters which relate to the re- 
 mains of the Northmen. 
 
 You talk of remains, said the doctor, as they proceeded 
 on their way, just as folks talk of committing a man's re- 
 mains to the grave. I suppose you do n't mean to imply 
 that we shall find a Northman grave-yard here ? 
 
 Not exactly that, doctor, certainly; at any rate, not just 
 in this part of the country. 
 
 Then, pray, let us have some definite idea what we are 
 to understand, when you talk of the " Remains of the 
 Northmen." 
 
 I do n't know how to give you any more definite idea 
 as to the character of these remains, than by stating that 
 they are of two kinds: ruined buildings and inscrip- 
 tions. Is that definite enough ? 
 
 Yes, we will take that. But you do n't mean to say 
 that ruined buildings and inscriptions are found, either in 
 Greenland or in New England ? 
 N 5 
 
274 THE NORTHMEN 
 
 Yes, I do. I mean to say that both are found in Green- 
 land in great numbers, and owing their origin to the 
 Northmen beyond the possibility of any doubt or cavil ; 
 and I mean to say that here, in New England, one build- 
 ing, if not more, exists, which it is very probable is the 
 work of the Northmen, though I will not assert positively 
 that such is the case ; and I mean to say, that inscriptions 
 exist here, the authenticity of which, as the work of the 
 Northmen, can admit, I think, of no doubt in any rational 
 and candid mind. 
 
 Well, exclaimed the doctor, this is certainly quite news. 
 We must hear something more about the matter. Pray, 
 what buildings are there in Greenland ? 
 
 You will remember, doctor, that the parts of Greenland 
 colonized by the Northmen were two, distinguished by 
 the names of Eastbygd and Westbygd,* or east and west 
 inhabited tracts. Eastbygd was always the most thickly 
 settled. Eastbygd was situated at the extreme southern 
 extremity of Greenland, where, from Cape Desolation to 
 Cape Farewell, as they are now called, the land lies almost 
 due east and west. If you look at the map,-]- when we 
 get home, you will see a settlement in that part called 
 Julianshaabs, (Julian's Hope,) which is the modern 
 Danish settlement in the same region where lay Eastbygd, 
 the principal seat of the ancient Greenland colony. You 
 will see, along the coast, to the north-westward from Cape 
 Desolation, several settlements marked, among which are 
 Frederikshaab, Godthaab, Sukkertoppen, and Holsteinborg. 
 
 * See p. 54, ante. 
 
 f See note, p. 93, ante, and the map of British North America, in 
 the Atlas of the U. K. Society. The author is aware of no other map, 
 in any common atlas, in which these parts are marked with any degree 
 of accuracy. The Penny Magazine for Oct. 1838, has already been re- 
 ferred to, as giving a very accessible account of Greenland. 
 
IN AMERICA. 275 
 
 These lay within the region of Westbygd. Of course it is 
 within these two regions that ruins, if any exist, must be 
 expected to be found. 
 
 I thought, said the doctor, that you stated that Green- 
 land had lain, for nearly three centuries, — from the be- 
 ginning of the fifteenth century to the year 1721, — un- 
 visited and unknown, or nearly so. How, then, can it be 
 discovered which are the regions to which these ancient 
 names belong? 
 
 There exist, answered Mr. Norset, ancient very exact 
 and minute geographical descriptions of Greenland, in 
 which the localities are mentioned and described. There 
 are three, in particular, of this character : the first is one 
 which I have already mentioned, as describing an expedi- 
 tion made far into the northern regions by some of these 
 Northmen;* the second is a brief chorography, as it is 
 termed, or, in more plain English, survey of Greenland,f 
 of very great antiquity ; the third is a mere detailed ac- 
 count of the course to and localities of Greenland, in 
 which the relative situations of each are described with a 
 precise minuteness.]: This document is likewise one of 
 great antiquity. Translations of it have several times 
 been published ; one of which, in English, is contained in 
 that curious and valuable work, " Purchas his Pilgrimes" 
 imprinted in London, (as the old title-pages say,) 1625. 
 So you see that we have the means of determining locali- 
 ties. In addition to which, the discovery of extensive 
 
 * Antiq. Am. p. 269. 
 
 t Antiq. Am. p. 296. It is worthy remark, that Ileriulfness (which 
 is known and many times expressly mentioned to have been in East- 
 bygd) is expressly stated in this document to have lain to the extreme 
 south of Greenland. This seems alone to settle the question of the 
 position of Easthygd definitively, while the ruins there discovered leave 
 no doubt about the matter. 
 
 X Antiq. Am. p. 301. 
 
276 THE NORTHMEN 
 
 ruins has itself been a guide in determining general locali- 
 ties, as of the position of the whole colony of Eastbygd. 
 
 Proceed, then, pray, and tell us what ruint ihere are in 
 these quarters. 
 
 Vast numbers have been and are continually being 
 found in each traet, but principally in Eastbygd or the 
 neighbourhood of JuKanshaabs. 
 
 Let us see, said the doctor ; I think we have heard more 
 about Eireksfiord and Brattahlid than any other places- 
 Pray, do you ascertain those localities, and find any ruins 
 there ? 
 
 Both, doctor. There is an arm of the sea in those parts,, 
 called, at present, Tunnulliorbik, which corresponds to the 
 description of Eireksfiord ; and there are in its neighbour- 
 hood very many ruins. It would be difficult precisely to 
 determine which of these are the ruins of the hall of Eirek, 
 in which it was that the festivities of Brattahlid were held? 
 and its hospitalities extended to all strangers. 
 
 Heriulf, said the doctor, was one of the first settlers, and 
 was the father of Biarni, who first saw the coasts of New 
 England. Can his residence be determined? 
 
 The promontory called at this day Ikigeit, near Cape 
 Farewell, would seem to be the ancient Heriulfness. Con- 
 siderable ruins exist there at the present time. 
 
 Are there any other remarkable ruins in those parts ? 
 inquired Mr. Cassall. 
 
 Yes, answered Mr. Norset, there are many others of 
 interest. I mentioned, I believe, before, that the Green- 
 land colonies increased so rapidly, after their first settle- 
 ment, that, in the year 1121, they were raised into an 
 Episcopal diocese.* The Episcopal station was at Gar- 
 dar,-)- which is described as being situated at the extre- 
 
 * Suffragan to the archbishop of Drontheim in Norway, 
 t See ante, p. 62. 
 
IN AMERICA. 277 
 
 mity of an inlet named Einarsfiord. Here there was erected 
 a magnificent cathedral, and, for three hundred years, the 
 Episcopal function was discharged there. At length, as 
 we have seen, in the beginning of the fifteenth century, the 
 colony was deserted, and the diocese Mas of course no 
 longer maintained. There is a creek in those parts, now 
 called Igaliko, which corresponds to the description given 
 of Einarsfiord. At the extremity of this creek have been 
 found many ruins, and, among the rest, very extensive re- 
 mains of a large church, on some of the tombs surrounding 
 which, legible inscriptions have been found. There can 
 be no doubt that this was the cathedral of Gardar. It 
 would, however, be impossible to detail all the various re- 
 mains, both in the way of ruins and of inscriptions, which 
 exist in Greenland. 
 
 I suppose no little pains must have been taken in the 
 search for these remains ? said Mr. Cassall. 
 
 A great interest is felt in them, and continued search 
 and fresh discoveries are being constantly made. The 
 Royal Society of Northern Antiquarians is about to pub- 
 lish a large work devoted expressly to this subject, which 
 will be full of interest. 
 
 When shall we come to this old ruin ? said the doctor, 
 with some impatience in his manner. We have been talk- 
 ing long enough about the ruins in Greenland ; but I want 
 to see this ruin in New England, which you tell us stands 
 here in Newport. 
 
 Do n't be impatient, doctor ; we have not been very long. 
 However, we have only to turn the corner of that street, — 
 Mill-street they call it, if I remember right, — and we shall 
 come immediately upon the old ruin. 
 
 I assure you, said the doctor, my curiosity is highly ex- 
 cited. I have seen many an ancient ruin in Europe and 
 Asia, but I never heard of any of this kind in America 
 before. 
 
278 THE NORTHMEN 
 
 I hope you will not be disappointed, then, doctor. This 
 ruin differs very much from most that you will have seen 
 in either Europe or Asia. 
 
 By this time they had turned the corner of the street, 
 and came full in view of the old ruin. 
 
 Now, doctor, behold ! said Mr. Norset, stopping short 
 and pointing to the ruin. 
 
 The doctor looked about him for some time, as if unable 
 to fix upon the object. At length he said, in a disappointed 
 tone, — 
 
 Is that all ? 
 
 That is all, answered Mr. Norset ; I told you that you 
 must not expect to see an extensive ruin, such as meets the 
 eye in the old world. Let us advance nearer. 
 
 When they reached the gate of the field in which the 
 ruin stands, — and where, at that time, some labourers were 
 at work, getting in the corn, — the doctor's eye fell upon a 
 white painted board, which lay just by the side of the gate, 
 and which had evidently been pulled off by violence, the 
 place where it had been affixed to the gate being very vi- 
 sible. The doctor picked up the board, and read aloud the 
 purport of its inscription. 
 
 "NO ADMITTANCE!" Humph,— added he, after 
 a moment's pause, as if to assure himself that he read aright, 
 —this is a pretty way of receiving one at the only object of 
 the kind which exists throughout the whole United States 
 of North America. So we must n't approach the building, 
 but must gaze at it from afar off, in mute wonderment, I 
 suppose. 
 
 It is, truly, rather a curious reception ; for, though the 
 mere physical appearance presented by this ruin falls far 
 short, indeed, of the most distant approach to that pre- 
 sented by a Kenilworth, or a Pomfret, or a Kirkstall, or 
 any other of these numerous and interesting remains of an- 
 tiquity, to which, in the " old country," access is undenied 
 
IN AMERICA. 279 
 
 and free to whomsoever listeth to approach, yet there must 
 necessarily be an interest attaching to this ruin not far 
 short of what attaches to any of those, if it is only on ac- 
 count of its singleness ; which interest must be doubly in- 
 creased if any connection can be shown to exist between it 
 and the Northmen, the first discoverers of the land. 
 
 Well, said the doctor, I do n't intend to be baflied in this 
 way; so suppose, — as some good soul, in honest indigna- 
 tion, has thrown down this notice where nobody need see 
 it, — suppose we take French leave, and walk in. 
 
 They did so, and approached the ruin, which is enclosed 
 immediately round about by a slight paling. The doctor 
 walked round the building once or twice ; then went in- 
 side ; — looked up, down, and all around, from top to bot- 
 tom ; — scanned each of the supporting columns separately, 
 and gazed steadfastly at each of the orifices in the wall, 
 which might be windows ; and at length said, in a tone of 
 mingled chagrin and disappointment, — 
 
 I never saw such an unsatisfactory ruin in my life. 
 
 That is a conclusion to which it is natural you should 
 come, doctor, said Mr. Norset. In old ruins in general, 
 such as Kenilworth Castle, you may spend days in looking 
 at the different parts, and still have something fresh to see ; 
 — you may climb one tower, enter one hall, mount one 
 chamber, or descend into one dark donjon cell after ano- 
 ther, and still fancy that something will presently be seen 
 to throw some light upon the matter. But here the case 
 is very different. An area of fifteen feet diameter, more 
 or less, contains all that is here to be beheld ; and you look 
 at these heavy columns, and the roofless, round, and mas- 
 sive tower which they support, and you may look as long, 
 and hard, and often, as you please, but nothing but eight 
 bare columns, and a supported tower, as bare, can you dis- 
 cover. 
 
 Certainly the structure is curious, remarked the doctor, 
 
280 THE NORTHMEN 
 
 going up to one of the columns. Why, these columns must 
 be a yard in diameter at least, and built as solidly as if the 
 stone and the cement were one. It would almost seem as 
 if a structure like this might last for ever. 
 
 Its actual durability seems proportioned to its apparent 
 strength ; for, though it is roofless, and the walls are per- 
 fectly bare, yet no mouldering stone is seen ; all seems solid 
 as a rock. It certainly is of prodigious strength. 
 
 Ha! exclaimed the doctor, I see bricks there: that tells 
 tales : what are those bricks ? 
 
 I am informed that the tower was used, during the last 
 war, as a magazine. A floor was put in, the remains of 
 which you see, and some of these windows, or whatever 
 they were, bricked up for a fire-place and what not. 
 
 The columns are most singular, again observed the doc- 
 tor: — why, the top of each of them, — for they have no 
 capitals, and are certainly of no order of architecture under 
 heaven, except their own, — projects considerably beyond 
 the lower edge of the tower which they support. I have 
 never, in all my travels, seen the like of this, that is cer- 
 tain. What is the height of the building? 
 
 I should say, said Mr. Norset, that the columns are 
 about ten feet high, and the tower twice the height, making 
 altogether, thirty feet ; — but here, Mr. Cassall, you have a 
 walking-stick, and the sun is shining ; we can measure by 
 the shadows easily enough. Your stick is three feet long ; 
 — come, stick it in the ground, if you please, and measure 
 its shadow. 
 
 Four feet and a half, said Mr. Cassall. 
 
 Now, then, let us measure the shadow of the tower. 
 It is about forty-five or six feet. Then, of course, the 
 tower is somewhere about thirty feet high, — just what I 
 measured by my eye. 
 
 Well, now, said the doctor, who built this tower ? 
 
 Ah, doctor, that is the very question. 
 
IV AMERICA. 281 
 
 Are there no traditions about it ? 
 
 Not the slightest. The oldest inhabitant knows no more 
 about it than you or I. There is no legend or tradition, 
 whatever. They commonly call it the " Old JIM," just 
 because they know nothing about it. So it has always 
 been called, and so it is called in old deeds ; but no one 
 ever heard of its being a mill ; nor is there any record of 
 its ever having been a mill ; and no one can look at it, 
 who has ever seen a mill of any kind, and think for a 
 moment that it is possible it ever was a mill. There is no 
 clue, whatever, in record, tradition, or report, to its origin 
 or purpose. 
 
 Let us see, said the doctor, what these men will say 
 about it, who are so busy talking, over yonder. That old 
 man seems to be very zealously announcing his opinion. 
 Surely politics must be the subject. I '11 go and speak to 
 him. 
 
 The doctor approached to where the men were busy 
 with the corn. One of them, a man apparently about 
 sixty years of age, tall and hard-featured, and whose whole 
 appearance showed that his present employment was an 
 accustomed one, was talking with much energy, and louder 
 than the rest. As the doctor approached, he caught these 
 words : 
 
 " I tell you they knows nothing about it; — they do n't care 
 for the people ; — thirty millions o' dollars ; — I tell you An- 
 drew Jackson 's ruined the country; — I knows all about it." 
 
 The doctor drew near, and addressed him : — Good af- 
 ternoon, my friend : — 
 
 I say Andrew Jackson 's ruined the country ; — thirty 
 millions o' dollars ; — augh, sir ; good afternoon, sir ; — I 
 say, sir, Andrew Jackson 's ruined the country. 
 
 To be sure, who doubts it ? He makes all the money 
 himself, you know, and puts it all in his own pocket, said 
 
2©Z THE NORTHMEN 
 
 the doctor, falling in with the old man, and winking his 
 eye, as he spoke, at Mr. Norset and Mr. Cassall. 
 
 Yes he has, sir, that he has. They do n't care for the 
 people. 
 
 You 're hard at work, my friend. 
 
 Yes, sir, we must work in these times. Thirty millions 
 o' dollars, cheated out of the people ! 
 
 Is this good land, friend ? 
 
 I guess it 's kind o' pretty middling, answered the old 
 man, in a tone which implied that he was thinking more of 
 politics than of the quality of the land. 
 
 That 's well, said the doctor ; you seem to have a pretty 
 fair crop ; now I want to ask you another question about 
 this place ; — I dare say you can tell me ? 
 
 I guess I can tell you any thing, answered the old man, 
 resting a moment from his work. 
 
 I thought so. I want to ask you about this " old mill," 
 here. Do you know any thing about it ? 
 
 That old mill, sir ! O, yes, that old mill ; — why, yes, sir, 
 that 'ere old mill, — the Indians built that. 
 
 O, indeed ; the Indians built it, did they ? I did n't 
 know they ever built mills of stone. 
 
 Yes, sir ; the Indians built that 'ere old mill. 
 
 Did you ever hear of its being used as a mill ? 
 
 No, I guess not; the Indians built that 'ere mill, a 
 many years ago. 
 
 Thank you, friend ; I wanted to know something about 
 it, said the doctor, finding further inquiry at this source of 
 information useless, and affecting to be satisfied. 
 
 You 're not a Jackson man, sir, I '11 be bound ? said 
 the old man, as the doctor was about to rejoin his compa- 
 nions. 
 
 I should think you 're not, friend, answered the doctor, 
 again turning to address the old man. 
 
IM AMERICA. t&V 
 
 To be sure I a' nt. I tell you, sir, Andrew Jackson s 
 ruined the country. 
 
 I suppose you did n't vote for him at his last election? 
 
 Yes, I voted for him then ; — that 's going seven years 
 since. 
 
 Why did you vote for such a bad man ? 
 
 Because they told us how he 'd do fine things for us. 
 
 And so he has n't done them, hey ? I suppose you 
 have to work a great deal harder now than you did then? 
 
 Why, I guess it's much about the same. But jest listen 
 what folks says about him now ! I tell you, sir, Andrew 
 Jackson 's ruined the country ; — thirty million o' dollars. — 
 Yes, sir, I knows all about it. 
 
 So I see, my good friend. Well, I hope we shall have 
 better times. Good afternoon, friend. 
 
 Good afternoon, sir. Yes, I say Andrew Jackson 's 
 ruined the country ; I knows all about it : a fine man that 
 is, I know, mumbled the old man to himself, as he applied 
 himself again to his work. 
 
 The doctor returned to his companions in high glee. 
 
 That comes of knowing human nature, said he, in a tone 
 of complete self-satisfaction. 
 
 Ah ! you parted good friends, doctor, said Mr. Norset, 
 and I dare say he thinks you know all about politics, — 
 next to himself. 
 
 I dare say be does, said the doctor, laughing; but he is 
 uncommonly mistaken, for I never trouble my head with 
 politics, I can assure you. One man 's just as good as 
 another to me, if he 's only an honest man, and does his 
 best for his country's happiness. The old man is a 
 simple-hearted, honest fellow, however, he added, what- 
 ever else he may be. But I understand human nature, 
 you see. 
 
 That is plain. But I hope you are much the wiser for 
 the information he gave you ? 
 
284 THE NORTHMEN 
 
 yes. He said the Indians built the old mill, replied 
 the doctor. 
 
 Ha ! ha ! The Indians, indeed ! Nobody ever yet 
 suspected them of building massive stone and mortar 
 columns and towers. 
 
 Then I suppose, Mr. Norset, said Mr. Cassall, the long 
 and the short of the matter is, that you think the North- 
 men built it? 
 
 1 cannot help having a strong opinion that such was the 
 case, indeed ; and my reasons are simply these : — We 
 know that no Indians ever did or could build it. It is cer- 
 tain that it has not been built by an Anglo-Saxon hand since 
 this country was colonized from England, else some record 
 must remain, — and none does exist or has existed within 
 the memory of man. It commands a full view of the har- 
 bour and of the opposite coast, thus forming a most admi- 
 rable place of lookout. We have seen it demonstrated from 
 the manuscript documents, the evidence of which we have 
 examined, that the Northmen resided in this immediate neigh- 
 bourhood for, at any rate, some years ; and it would cer- 
 tainly appear, from the manner in which it is stated that Leif 
 at first erected temporary habitations, but afterwards built 
 more permanent dwellings ;* and from the manner in which 
 each one,t after Leif, asked of him the use of the dwellings 
 which he had built, and which he agreed expressly to lend 
 but not to give them, — thus implying that they would be 
 available at a future day to himself, — that the buildings 
 erected by the Northmen here were substantial, most pro- 
 bably of stone, as dwellings erected by them are found to 
 
 * See ante, p. 95. 
 
 t See ante, p. 150. The same is related of Freydis in Antiq. Am. 
 p. 66, and it has been seen that Thorvald occupied the same erections, 
 (ante, p. 109.) Thus these buildings, erected in 1000, must have been 
 in good condition in 1012. 
 
IN AMERICA. 285 
 
 have been in Greenland* The strength and thickness of 
 these walls correspond precisely to the structure of the 
 ruins found in Greenland. These points, then, presenting 
 so many coincidences, and such difficulties existing as to 
 the origin of the structure, the question arises, to give 
 these coincidences additional force, — By whom can this 
 tower possibly have been built except by the Northmen ? 
 We know that they were capable of building it, because 
 we find structures of the same age, and equal strength, and 
 requiring as much skill, which are known to owe their ori- 
 gin to them. The obvious utility of such a building, as a 
 place of lookout for them, I need not state. 
 
 We must have some more testimony, before we can set 
 this down as the ruin of a Northman structure, said the 
 doctor, in a somewhat authoritative tone. 
 
 I grant you, answered Mr. Norset, that we cannot yet 
 positively determine the point. I think, however, you will 
 allow that there is great probability this was the erection 
 of the Northmen. 
 
 I will not pretend to determine any thing about it, 
 said the doctor, for I never heard of the old ruin, here, 
 before you mentioned it. What is said about it in the 
 book? 
 
 Nothing. The Northern Antiquarian Society were 
 ignorant of the existence of the tower when the book was 
 published, and are so to this day, although they will be 
 made acquainted with it in due time. When they have 
 determined what the probable character of buildings erect- 
 ed by the Northmen, for purposes of lookout, would be, 
 the existence and character of this will be announced 
 to them, but not before. Queries have already been ad- 
 dressed to them to this effect. 
 
 * The tower in question is built of the stone found in the immediate 
 neighbourhood. 
 
286 THE NORTHMEN 
 
 Are there any other ruins of any kind in this part of 
 the country, asked Mr. Cassall, which can be supposed to 
 be the work of the Northmen ? 
 
 None have, at present, been discovered. It is not, how- 
 ever, impossible that such may exist, for they have never 
 been searched for.* It is obvious that, as the Northmen 
 remained here so long, and appear to have always come 
 here with the idea of forming permanent settlements, they 
 would probably leave behind them many signs of their 
 presence here. How far these have all now decayed it is 
 impossible to determine. No careful search or examina- 
 tion has ever yet been instituted. 
 
 I suppose, however, said Mr. Cassall, that it is impossi- 
 ble to form any conjecture as to which party it was that 
 erected this particular tower. 
 
 Of course we cannot determine that point with certainty ; 
 but it appears to me most probable that it was erected by 
 Thorvald's party. You will remember that this party re- 
 mained here for three full years, and that only a part of 
 the number ever left the place at any one time. We have 
 no record of their mode of occupation during these three 
 years ; but the erection of this tower might well and use- 
 fully occupy a part of the time. 
 
 That idea appears probably correct, I think, observed 
 Mr. Cassall. 
 
 Well, said the doctor, whatever you may say, this ruin 
 is certainly something like those hints about Huitramanna- 
 
 * It is worthy of observation, that the principal seat of Metacom, 
 or king Philip, as he is commonly called, chief of the Wampanoags, 
 was in nearly precisely the same situation as Leifsbudir. It is well 
 known that, after his destruction, (1677,) everyplace in the neighbour- 
 hood which could afford shelter to the Indians was destroyed. It is 
 very possible that the dwellings erected by Leif there may have then 
 existed, but have been destroyed at that time. Any such erections 
 would afford a most advantageous position for the Indians. 
 
INT AMERICA. 287 
 
 land. It seems to give some cue, but leaves one unsatis- 
 fied. One wants to know more about it. It is certainly a 
 very remarkable ruin. But, since we seem able to get 
 little more satisfaction from the contemplation of it, sup- 
 pose we now leave it, and hear what there is to be said 
 about inscriptions, as we walk home. You said there 
 were several of these inscriptions in Greenland. What 
 are they ? 
 
 They are numerous, and of various kinds. Many are 
 monumental, merely. The most interesting and important 
 is the one to which I have already alluded, and which was 
 found, in the year 1824, on the island of Kikgiktorsoak, 
 in 72° 55' north latitude, and 56° 5' west longitude. This 
 inscription is in the possession of the Northern Antiquarian 
 Society, and an accurate engraving of it is given in the 
 volume published by them. It is a genuine Runic inscrip- 
 tion, and consists of plain, straight-forward Runic charac- 
 ters, with much fewer of the cryptographic characters than 
 we often meet with. 
 
 What do you mean by cryptographic characters ? asked 
 Mr. Cassall. 
 
 Monograms, or combinations of several letters into one 
 figure, so that it is not straight- forward reading, but re- 
 quires much skill, and great knowledge of the ancient 
 modes of combination, in order to be deciphered. 
 
 And what is the substance of the inscription found in 
 Kingiktorsoak? asked the doctor. 
 
 There were found in the immediate neighbourhood of 
 the spot where this inscription was found, — which is cut 
 on a small piece of polished stone, — three blocks of stone 
 placed in a regular triangular figure, one larger, the two 
 others smaller. There can be no doubt that the inscrip- 
 tion was formerly fixed into the larger one, but had fallen 
 out through the action of the weather. I copied the in- 
 scription before we started : it runs literally thus : — " Er- 
 
280 THE NORTHMEN 
 
 LING SlGHVATSSON, AND BlARNI THORDARSON, AND 
 ElNDRIDI OdDSSON, ON THE SEVENTH DAY OF THE 
 
 week, (that is, the Saturday,) before the day of Vic- 
 tory, (this was a feast-day known by that name, and in 
 use among the ancient Icelanders ; it fell on the 25th 
 April,) erected these marks, and explored (this 
 place) in the year 1135." I should remark, that this 
 date is not quite certain, though this interpretation is most 
 probably correct. The character of the inscription, how- 
 ever, absolutely proves that it could not have been later 
 than the twelfth century ; so that there can be little doubt 
 the date 1135 is nearly, if not exactly, the correct one. 
 
 Certainly that is a remarkable inscription, observed Mr. 
 Cassall ; and there can be no doubt that it does, as you 
 stated, establish, beyond the possibility of controversy, the 
 discoveries of the Northmen in those extreme northern 
 regions at that early period. 
 
 And how much, said Mr. Norset, ought we not to re- 
 spect and admire the enterprising spirit which led the 
 Northmen to explore these remote regions of the Western 
 Hemisphere ! If the eulogy bestowed by Bancroft upon 
 Cabot was deserved, who, in the year 1517, penetrated 
 to 67° 50' north latitude, how much more ought not the 
 same, and a much higher eulogy, to be applied to the 
 Northmen, who, nearly four centuries earlier, explored with 
 care as far as 72° 55' north latitude, and far beyond, as I 
 have shown ! * How well and truly may it not be said of 
 them, that " they boldly prosecuted their designs, making 
 their way through regions into which it was, long after- 
 wards, esteemed an act of the most intrepid maritime ad- 
 venture to penetrate ! "f 
 
 These remarks may be justly made, indeed, said Mr. 
 
 * Ante, p. 56, and see track laid down in the Chart. 
 f Bancroft's Hist. U. S. vol. i. p. 12. 
 
S 1 
 
 ^ 1 
 
 
 
IN AMERICA. 289 
 
 Cassall ; but are there no other inscriptions which bear 
 directly upon the discoveries of the Northmen in these 
 parts ? 
 
 There doubtless exist others, which will be published 
 in the work I mentioned. The inscription at Kingiktorsoak 
 is the most important one yet published. I must not for- 
 get to allude to one which exists in Iceland, in many parts 
 of which Runic inscriptions are found. It is in the south- 
 ern portion of the island, in a cave, called Paradisarhellir, 
 or the Cave of Paradise. This inscription is more ancient 
 than that found at Kingiktorsoak. At the time that the 
 " Antiquitates Americana; " was published, it had not been 
 deciphered ; but I have since learned from Professor Rafn 
 that Professor Magnusen has deciphered it, and that it is 
 found to relate directly to the discovery of the continent 
 of America. The Professor's reading has not, however 
 yet been published. 
 
 And, pray, asked the doctor, does this inscription bear 
 any resemblance to any of the inscriptions which you state 
 have been found in this country ? 
 
 It does. Many parts of it bear a great resemblance, in 
 character, to many parts of the inscription on the Assonet 
 Rock and — 
 
 Stay a moment ; where is the Assonet Rock ? * 
 
 You will remember, doctor, that we traced, on the map, 
 
 * Since the first edition of this work appeared, the author has made 
 a more narrow personal examination of the regions of country alluded 
 to in it. He was much struck hy observing that the ridge of rocks named, 
 p. 180, before, runs, on both sides of the river, immediately over against 
 the spot where the iiiscriytion is found, and runs about 8 or 10 feet 
 high, — just enough to give the protection needed. Well might the 
 Northmen leave an inscription here, — the scene of their renewed fortune 
 in the battle. The fact thus stated affords a strong evidence of the 
 truth of the narrative of that battle, and also of the Scandinavian origin, 
 in the same parties, of this inscription. 
 
290 THE NORTHMEN 
 
 the course of Leif and others, up to Mount Hope Bay, 
 through which runs the Taunton River, called, by the In- 
 dians, Cohannet, but, more anciently, Assoonet. This last 
 name a neck of land retains, which lies conspicuously on 
 the map, about four miles above Mount Hope Bay, and to 
 the westward of which runs the Taunton River, though a 
 small stream called (though erroneously) Smith's Creek*, 
 runs to the eastward. It is on this neck of land that the 
 Assonet Rock, more commonly termed the " Dighton 
 Writing Rock," stands. It stands on the west side of the 
 Assonet neck, and is about ten or twelve feet from the 
 water's edge at low tide, but at high tide it is completely 
 immersed in the water. It is certain, however, that the 
 water has been encroaching on the land in this part. 
 The shore, at high tide, has, within the memory of man, 
 become more distant from the rock than formerly, though 
 now only a few feet from itf. There is no doubt, there- 
 fore, that, at the distance of three or four centuries back, 
 the rock was completely out of the reach of the tide. 
 
 There is an inscription on this rock, then, is there ? 
 
 There is. 
 
 And do you say that it was made by the Northmen ? 
 
 I say that there can be little rational doubt that such 
 was the fact. 
 
 But I have heard it stated, observed Mr. Cassall, that 
 Mr. Catlin says it is an Indian inscription J. 
 
 * How the term creek came to be applied to an inland stream, is 
 difficult to discover. It need hardly be said that a creek means, only 
 and solely, an inlet of the sea or ocean. 
 
 f See Antiq. Am. p. 373, quoted from details stated by Lort in the 
 " Archaeologia." The present author has the testimony of residents in 
 the immediate vicinity to the same facts. 
 
 % Mr. Catlin has spent several years among the Indian tribes of 
 
IX AMERICA. 291 
 
 "What, in the name of goodness, has he to do with any 
 thing about inscriptions ? 
 
 I don't know; I am told that he says it is an Indian 
 inscription. 
 
 I always thought, said the doctor, that Mr. Catlin had 
 been an inquirer after Indian manners and customs. I 
 have examined his Indian Gallery with great interest, and 
 certainly think he deserves very great credit for the in- 
 dustry and labour and expense which he has bestowed 
 upon his subject. Few persons have so thoroughly pur- 
 sued their object, or so successfully, as he. But every man 
 to his vocation. All this gives him no claim whatever to 
 be an authority in any matter relating to inscriptions, 
 whether Indian or otherwise; and how any body could 
 seriously quote his authority with respect to an inscription 
 asserted to be Runic, is past my comprehension to under- 
 stand. 
 
 Well, doctor, I am told that he says it is like inscrip- 
 tions which he has seen. 
 
 Like inscriptions which he has seen ! exclaimed the doc- 
 tor, with his peculiar expression of mingled contempt and 
 self-complacency. 
 
 Let me put in a word there, interrupted Mr. Norset. 
 Mr. Catlin has never yet seen the Assonet Rock, — or at 
 least had not, at the time when these statements are as- 
 serted to have been made. That I know to be a fact. He 
 had seen no more than drawings of it. 
 
 Come, this is good ! continued the doctor. But sup- 
 posing he had seen it, — what does he mean by saying it is 
 like others he has seen ? Unless it is identically the same 
 in every line and figure, he can know nothing about its 
 
 North America, and has collected a valuable museum of objects relating 
 to them. It is his intention speedily to visit England with his " In- 
 dian Gallery." 
 
 o2 
 
292 THE NORTHMEN 
 
 likeness, without having made ancient inscriptions his long 
 and constant study, which we all know he has not. No- 
 thing, Mr. Cassall, — he proceeded, in his somewhat dog- 
 matic tone — nothing requires more profound skill and 
 practice and learning, than the deciphering ancient inscrip- 
 tions ; and a common eye may often fancy a likeness where, 
 in reality, and to the inspection of a practised eye, none 
 exists, and vice versa. Pray, what are these Indian in- 
 scriptions that Mr. Catlin has seen ? 
 
 They are at the Red Pipe Stone Quarry, answered Mr. 
 Cassall. This, as you know, is a sacred spot among the 
 Indians, and there every Indian is anxious to leave his 
 mark. These marks mostly consist of figures of animals, 
 and they are there seen in vast numbers. " Many have 
 the appearance," Mr. Catlin tells us, " of having just been 
 finished, and others appear so ancient as to have acquired 
 a high polish." 
 
 Mr. Catlin also expressly tells us, said Mr. Norset, that,* 
 " though some of these figures, in clusters or groups, may 
 have been registered as a record of some historical facts, 
 or traditions, yet I consider that the principal part of them 
 have been produced for another purpose, and with the same 
 meaning as our people cut or scribble their names in a 
 cavern or a cupola, or any other extraordinary or famous 
 place which they visit." They all exist confused together, 
 without any arrangement or connection. 
 
 Well, and is this the character of the inscription on the 
 Assonet Rock ? 
 
 Most distinctly and decidedly I answer, no, it is not. It 
 is diametrically the reverse. There is one pervading cha- 
 racter over the whole of the parts of the inscription on the 
 •Assonet Rock. There are several distinctly formed letters, 
 
 * Letter of Mr. Catlin, copied from New York paper into Boston 
 Transcript of Jan. 1, 1839. 
 
IN AMERICA. 293 
 
 so distinct that almost he who runs may read ; and there 
 are various figures, formed so regularly and symmetrically 
 as shows that they were carefully and deliberately done ; 
 that they must have been formed at the same time, if not 
 by the same hand ; and that there exists a meaning to, and 
 a relation between, all the parts. 
 
 And is there any other place where Mr. Catlin states 
 that he has seen Indian inscriptions on rocks ? 
 
 None. 
 
 This Red Pipe Stone Quarry, then, is peculiar, and is 
 marked on account of its sacredness, and from the desire 
 to leave, there in particular, some memorial? 
 
 Just so. 
 
 Do you say that on the Assonet Rock there is no jumble 
 of marks of animals ? 
 
 There is no jumble at all, though the figures are numer- 
 ous ; much less is there a jumble of figures of animals. 
 Only two animals can be traced ; one is a bird, — the 
 ancient emblem of navigation ; the other is apparently a 
 bullock, which is placed in a recumbent position, — ob- 
 viously the emblem of a settlement here, that animal being 
 anciently considered the most important means to the cul- 
 tivation of the soil. 
 
 Then what is the meaning of Mr. Catlin's saying that he 
 has seen inscriptions like the Assonet Rock made by the 
 Indians? I see no point of similitude. 
 
 You must not put too much into Mr. Catlin's mouth, 
 said Mr. Cassall. I do n't know that he ever said so. I 
 only know that his name has been frequently used in a way 
 that implies his having said so. 
 
 Certainly that caution is necessary, said Mr. Norset. 
 For my own part I do n't believe Mr. Catlin ever said or 
 meant such a thing. There is nothing like it in any 
 printed letters of his that I have seen. It appears plain 
 to me that there has been some misapprehension on the 
 
294 THE NORTHMEN 
 
 part of those who have used his name, as to what he really 
 has stated. I imagine the truth to be, that, having seen 
 rocks marked by the Indians, and, hearing that the Assonet 
 Rock is marked also in a peculiar manner, all that he means 
 in any thing he has said on the subject is, that he has seen 
 inscriptions made by the Indians like this, that is, simply, 
 also ;-— not that the same character, or any one point of re- 
 semblance, except the mere fact of being cut on a rock, 
 exists between the two. So a man who had visited St. 
 Peter's at Home, might say that the wooden church on the 
 hill yonder is like it, not meaning that the two resemble 
 each other in any one point, except in the fact of each being 
 a place wherein people assemble to worship. 
 
 I only know, said Mr. Cassall, that Mr. Catlin's authori- 
 ty has been quoted, certainly with little apparent reason, 
 to show that this is not an inscription of the North- 
 men. 
 
 Then it is little to the credit of the quoter, answered 
 the doctor, shortly. 
 
 Do n't condemn too hastily, doctor, said Mr. Norset ; it 
 is very evident that there must have been some oversight 
 committed by whoever has appealed to this authority. 
 No person of any acquaintance with literature could, cer- 
 tainly, have quoted Mr. Catlin's reports of Indian markings 
 as evidence in a matter of this kind, — 
 
 Perfectly absurd, interrupted the doctor, in a tone little 
 gentler than before. 
 
 — Upon deliberate consideration, continued Mr. Norset. 
 There must have been some oversight. I do n't pretend 
 to explain how it happened. I know Mr. Catlin is a man 
 of intelligence, and an honourable man, and I am certain 
 that he would not wittingly lend himself to any thing 
 which he did not esteem correct ; but, as the doctor has 
 justly observed, he has never studied Runic inscriptions, 
 or any other inscriptions, and can be of no authority 
 
IX AMERICA. 295 
 
 whatever with respect to them, although of the highest 
 with respect to matters within his own department. 
 
 Now, then, pray tell us, said the doctor, what is the 
 character of the inscription on the Assonet Rock, and 
 wherein it bears a resemblance to the inscription in the 
 Cave of Paradise. That resemblance will be a very im- 
 portant point in order to establish its authenticity as a 
 work of the Northmen. 
 
 In the Paradisarhellir, answered Mr. Norset, are found 
 many distinct and perfect letters, but a great portion of 
 the inscription is composed of cryptographs of a very 
 peculiar description. They are figures, of various kinds, 
 made up of different letters, joined together in various 
 modes of combination and contraction. They put me in 
 mind of a picture I once saw of the ruins of Persepolis, 
 which, at a little distance, appeared a good pen and ink 
 drawing, and had a fine effect ; but, approaching nearer, 
 you perceived that every mark and line in the picture was 
 in clear Italian writing ; and, if you could once make out 
 where to begin, and how to proceed, you found that this 
 writing comprised a description of the scene which, in 
 combination, it composed. So it is in the Paradisarhellir. 
 We there find various different figures, as of a boat, and 
 others less recognizable, which figures are made up of 
 letters contracted and connected together. Any one who 
 has studied Runic characters at all, will perceive that they 
 are Runic characters which are thus combined, though he 
 may not, and cannot, without great labour and study, be 
 able to decipher them. To a common eye, the whole 
 can certainly appear little else than a strange jumble of 
 outlandish marks. It is precisely the same with the As- 
 sonet Rock.* Here there are several distinct letters, re- 
 
 * It seems quite unnecessary to enter here into any proof that the 
 Northmen were accustomed to represent historical events on stone and 
 
zyo THE NORTHMEN 
 
 cording the name of Thorfinn and the numerals in the 
 manuscripts, CXXXI, which you will remember was the 
 number which, after the departure of Thorhall and his 
 companions, remained with Thorfinn and went to Hop. 
 A great portion of the inscription, however, is composed 
 of cryptographs, like those in the Cave of Paradise. There 
 are figures of various kinds,— such as a ship, &c. &e. — 
 obviously, to a person at all accustomed to the Runic cha- 
 racter, made up in a great measure of Runic characters. 
 Only a small portion of the original is discernible, much 
 having been broken off and much gradually worn away 
 since the tide has reached it, — but I doubt not that the 
 fragment of this inscription which remains will be capa- 
 ble of being deciphered by careful study. 
 
 Certainly, said the doctor, these facts are strong. I 
 most undoubtedly thought the inscription story savoured 
 of fiction. 
 
 You speak of those cryptographs, observed Mr. Cassall : 
 are they only found in Runic inscriptions ? 
 
 O no; we very often meet with them in Roman inscrip- 
 tions of the middle ages. The monks were fond of such 
 fantastic inventions. To give a single example of their 
 mode of perverting the common arrangement of letters, I 
 will cite one case which I happen to remember. In 1744, 
 the chancel of a priory, of the date of 1115, was opened 
 at Monkton Farley, in Wiltshire, in England. There a 
 
 otherwise, both in figure and by inscription. No one will be so hardy 
 as to dispute the point, when it is well known that many hundreds of 
 Runic inscriptions exist to this day in England, and in every other 
 country connected with the Northern race. The Paradisarhellir alone 
 is sufficient to prove the fact. It may be observed that there are many 
 Runic inscriptions in England which resemble precisely, in cryptogra- 
 phic character, the inscriptions in the Paradisarhellir and on the As- 
 sonet Rock. 
 
IN AMERICA. 972 
 
 tomb was found,* and on it the curious inscription,! of 
 which this is a tolerably correct representation. 
 
 This, in plain straight-forward letters, reads as fol- 
 lows : — 
 
 Hie jacet Ilbertus 
 
 De Chat bonitate refertus ; 
 
 Qui cum Brotona 
 
 Dedit hie perplurima dona. 
 
 Which may, if you please, be " done into English" 
 
 thus : — 
 
 Here Ilbert de Chat, he lies, 
 Renowned as a good man and wise ; 
 Brotona he gave, and other 
 Good gifts to the church, holy mother. 
 
 It is true, there axe not here any figures of objects made 
 up of letters, but you see the same tendency to secret and 
 obscure compositions of letters. There are, indeed, some 
 
 * Camden, (ut ante,) vol. i. p. 101. 
 
 t Many other much more complicated and curious illustrations 
 might have been introduced. This one is selected, because, in it, every 
 distinct letter is in fact given, while yet, by the great majority of 
 readers, probably not one word will be capable of being deciphered. 
 It will thus be more clearly seen how exceedingly difficult it must be 
 to decipher Runic cryptographs, all of which are composed of charac- 
 ters now out of use, and even those characters being contracted and 
 most artificially combined. It will be obvious that much learning and 
 long practice must be necessary, and that the casual opinion of any in- 
 different person must be utterly worthless, 
 o 5 
 
298 THE NORTHMEN 
 
 compositions of letters of this kind, which have only re- 
 cently ceased to have a common use. This is the cas 
 with the letters which comprise the word " THE." In 
 numberless instances both written and engraved, and occa- 
 sionally, though not so frequently, in type-printing, the 
 English definite article is represented by the letter " y," 
 with a little " e " over it.* It is hardly necessary to adduce 
 instances of a practice which probably still lingers in the 
 manuscripts of a few aged writers, — I will, however, on 
 our return show you my copy of " The Emblemes " of 
 Francis Quarles, bearing date 1639, wherein the text, 
 elucidatory of the 13th Emblem of the 4th Book, is thus 
 given : — 
 
 " It is good for me to draw neare to y e Lord ; I have 
 put my trust in y e Lord God." — Ps. lxxiii. 28. 
 
 What can be the origin of such a mode of contraction ? 
 asked Mr. Cassall. 
 
 It appears to me that it must have originated thus : — 
 Most ancient alphabets had a single letter to express the 
 sound th, which we express by two letters. Among the 
 rest we find this letter in the Norse and Saxon alphabets. 
 The small letter expressing this sound in those alphabets 
 bears a great resemblance to our common small y ; and 
 the letter e was probably generally joined in with it at 
 the top. When the peculiarities of the Saxon alphabet 
 fell into disuse, this composition of the still remained in 
 use, just as the marks " & " and " &c." do at present ; and 
 
 * So we find, very frequently, in old works and writings, the single 
 capital letter I used for the word eye. Thus the line in Shakspeare's 
 Hamlet, (a. i. sc. 2.) commonly printed, — 
 
 " I shall not look upon his like again," 
 is, properly, — > 
 
 " Eye shall not look upon his like again." 
 
IN AMERICA. 299 
 
 the writers, being ignorant of the meaning of the Saxon 
 letter expressing the sound tii, converted it into a Y, the 
 use of which, once introduced, soon became general. 
 
 That seems a satisfactory explanation. 
 
 And now, — to return to the inscription on the Assonet 
 Rock, — I must again ask you, doctor, if you do not see 
 every reason to presume this inscription to have been the 
 work of the Northmen ? It stands in a region which we 
 have seen that they frequented ; — it is of a character which 
 none of the natives have ever used, or ever sculptured ; — 
 it bears a great resemblance, in its mode of composition, 
 to the inscription (which has been interpreted) in the Pa- 
 radisarhellir ; and it exhibits several distinct letters, which 
 record the name of Thorfinn and the number CXXXI, 
 which was precisely that of his companions. What say 
 you? 
 
 I am sure I do n't know whether they made it, or not, 
 said the doctor, evasively. Perhaps there may be some- 
 thing in what you say. Are there any other inscriptions 
 in New England ? 
 
 Report has been made of several, but none others have 
 been positively ascertained to exist, except some in this 
 immediate neighbourhood.* One, however, has been 
 stated to exist on the opposite bank of the Taunton River 
 to that on which the Assonet Rock stands. Search will be 
 made after it. At present, it has not been inspected. 
 
 And what are the inscriptions in this neighbourhood ? 
 
 They lie near the shore, about seven miles from hence. 
 
 * It would seem rational to expect that some inscriptions may be 
 discovered on the shore of Buzzard's Bay, where Thorfinn dwelt for two 
 years. The author has marked this spot on the map with the name 
 of Thorfinnsbudir, (Thorfinnshooths or residence,) to distinguish it 
 from Leifshudir, the other place of permanent residence of the North- 
 men in New Eneland. 
 
300 THE NORTHMEN 
 
 They exist on several distinct rocks. They have, however, 
 suffered more injury from the action of the elements, than 
 even the Assonet Rock. Some of them are situated on the 
 coast of Narraganset Bay, in this island ; — others on the 
 shore of Seaconnet Passage, in Tiverton, on the main- 
 land ; both being about the same distance from Newport, 
 and exhibiting the same general character ; those at Tiver- 
 ton, however, having more frequent representations of the 
 human figure than the others. The Runic characters are 
 very conspicuous on all these rocks ; and they lie in regions 
 which the Northmen must have visited. Those in Tiver- 
 ton, especially, lie in the precise neighbourhood where we 
 have seen* that Leif landed, before proceeding up the 
 river ; and the habit of the Northmen, of leaving marks on 
 newly discovered or visited spots, is well known : we have 
 already seen it exemplified in the case of Kingiktorsoak. 
 It is, moreover, worthy of attention, that these rocks lie in 
 a region which would be particularly likely to attract the 
 navigator's attention ; and that the immediately next striking 
 object beyond, is Mount Hope.-)- You will acknowledge 
 that these facts tend strongly to confirm the proposition 
 that these inscriptions are the work of the Northmen. 
 
 Come, said the doctor, — anxious, as usual, to avoid any 
 direct expression of his opinion, — we are got close to home, 
 though we have walked so slowly ; and we seem to have 
 had enough about these inscriptions. But there is one 
 question I must not forget to ask you : — What was it that 
 you were saying this morning about a Northman found at 
 Fall River? 
 
 O, the Northman found at Fall River. Ha ! ha ! doctor, 
 you have not forgotten that story, then. Well, I really am 
 inclined to think there may be some truth in the idea which 
 I mentioned jocularly this morning. 
 
 * Ante, p. 93. t See Antiq. Am. p. 403. 
 
IX AMERICA. 301 
 
 Pray give us some account of the matter. 
 
 Well, doctor, you know, I suppose, how Fall River lies; 
 just between the extremity of the western arm of Watuppa 
 Ponds, and the extreme eastern point of Mount Hope Bay, 
 where the Taunton River falls into the Bay ; just, in fact, 
 about the place where we have seen that the dwellings of 
 the Northmen must have been erected. Well, they were 
 digging into a bank there, some time ago, when they came 
 to a hollow, and, digging on, they found a human skele- 
 ton, — 
 
 But how do you know that it was the skeleton of a 
 Northman ? 
 
 Let me proceed with one part at a time. That this 
 body was not that of an Indian was evident, both from the 
 shape of the head and bones of the face, and from the 
 remarkable fact of the remains of metal armour being 
 found upon it. All the flesh was destroyed, excepting 
 under this armour; in those parts the flesh still existed. 
 Round the body was a kind of chain, formed of little brass 
 barrels strung upon a string made of something like catgut. 
 It is stated that the body was found in a sitting posture, 
 but it was not seen by any body who knew any thing about 
 such matters until after it had been dug out, so that there 
 may be some mistake about the attitude. That, however, 
 is immaterial. A cpiantity of arrow-heads were found near 
 the body. Now you will remember, first, that in this im- 
 mediate neighbourhood were the habitations of the North- 
 men ; second, that here there was a great battle fought 
 between the Northmen and the natives ; third, that, in that 
 battle, it is expressly stated that two Northmen were killed; 
 fourth, that, as we have seen exemplified in the case of 
 Thorstein,* the Northmen were very particular about the 
 burial of their dead. Putting all things together, I think 
 
 * See ante, pp. 132 and 136. 
 
302 THE NORTHMEN 
 
 you will acknowledge the probability of this being the body 
 of one of these slain Northmen. 
 
 You do not pretend, then, absolutely to declare that it 
 is so? 
 
 I only say that there seems a rational probability that 
 such is the fact.* The skeleton, and all found with it, 
 are still preserved with care. Certain points remain to be 
 shown, by which it will be able to be proved, almost to a 
 certainty, whether or not this is the body of a Northman ; 
 though, if it is not so, it would puzzle a wise man to imagine 
 to whom it can have belonged, for this is certain, that it 
 is not that of an Indian. It must be shown what kind of 
 armour the Northmen wore ; what kind of ornaments, as 
 belts, &c, were common ; how those were usually buried 
 who had been slain in war ; and various other points. 
 These the Northern Antiquarian Society will doubtless be 
 able easily to answer, and their answer may enable us to 
 determine the point. 
 
 Then this is the last of the remains of the Northmen of 
 which you have any account to give ? asked the doctor. 
 
 It is, doctor. 
 
 * It is necessary to caution whoever would investigate this subject, 
 with the real aim of discovering the truth, against being too ready to 
 jump hastily to the conclusion that every remnant of antiquity in these 
 parts, must necessarily have originated with the Northmen. The proof 
 of the reality of the discoveries made by them rests on the internal 
 evidence existing in the manuscript documents already examined. That 
 evidence is thoroughly conclusive. Every thing else bearing on the 
 subject is interesting, but does not affect the reality and truth of those 
 discoveries. There can be little doubt that the inscriptions mentioned 
 were the work of the Northmen ; still we cannot have that absolute 
 testimony of tliis being the fact, that we have of the truth of the dis- 
 coveries themselves. The matter of this skeleton and others, (for others 
 have been found,) requires more cautious investigation still. It woidd 
 be impossible to determine to whom the skeleton could belong, unless 
 to one of the Northmen. 
 
IN AMERICA. 303 
 
 The doctor was silent. At length he muttered, half 
 aloud, — Singular, to be sure. 
 
 Highly interesting, I think, said Mr. Cassall. 
 
 All these parts of the subject require much further at- 
 tention and investigation, said Mr. Norset. I have no 
 doubt that future researches, both as to the remains al- 
 ready discovered, and as to the discovery of others, will 
 throw great light upon the matter. This has already 
 been seen to be the case with reference to the inscription 
 in the Paradisarhellir, which, as I have before stated, is 
 found to bear directly upon the discovery of the American 
 continent. 
 
 Well, well, said the doctor ; it 's all very well ; I do n't 
 know ; — but still — 
 
 But still you do n't like to acknowledge the impression 
 that has been made upon you by the evidence, though 
 you feel convinced that it is satisfactory. Now r I wonder, 
 doctor, that the very absurdity of such an objection as that 
 implied in the use of Mr. Catlin's name about the Assonet 
 Rock, — which absurdity you, as a man of letters, saw im- 
 mediately, though nothing overwilling to believe the in- 
 scription the Northmen's work before, — and the facts 
 which I have stated, in reference to that and other in- 
 scriptions, should not be sufficient to convince you of the 
 futility of all objections, and to make you acknowledge 
 the high probability of this being the work of the North- 
 men. 
 
 O, 't is all very well, sir, said the doctor, hastily ; I dare 
 say the Northmen made the Assonet inscription. 
 
 You do allow it, then? said Mr. Norset, professing to 
 take the last clause of the doctor's sentence as if said in 
 serious earnest; I thought candour would not allow you to 
 deny it. There can, indeed, be little doubt that such is 
 the fact, when all the other evidence is taken and placed 
 
304 THE NORTHMEN 
 
 by the side of the internal evidence contained in the in- 
 scription itself, as compared with other Runic inscriptions. 
 And the Portsmouth and Tiverton rocks, too ; there can 
 be little doubt, from the same evidence, as to the fact of 
 their originating in the same source. But again remember, 
 doctor, what I said this morning, that, whether these in- 
 scriptions be or be not the work of the Northmen, it can- 
 not affect, by one jot or tittle, the evidence of the authen- 
 ticity and truth of the narratives of the discovery and ex- 
 ploration of America by the Northmen, which I have 
 demonstrated to be true by the examination of their own 
 internal evidence. These remains can be nothing more 
 than corroborative testimony, though most interesting 
 monuments. They have nothing, in fact, necessarily to 
 do with the proof of those discoveries. The absurdity 
 must then be very evident, of the idea which some people 
 seem to entertain, that the whole history of the discoveries 
 of the Northmen is to be overthrown by weakening the 
 authenticity of the Assonet inscription as the work of the 
 Northmen. A parcel of crude notions, originating chiefly 
 in ignorance, are thus thrown out upon this particular and 
 unfortunate rock ; and these worthy individuals seem to 
 think the work is done. 
 
 That is folly. Of course, however, nobody listens to 
 them or believes them. 
 
 Yes they do ; and for the simple reason that they them- 
 selves know nothing about the matter, and it is impossi- 
 ble, therefore, that they should be able to distinguish this 
 spurious argument from that which is genuine and direct. 
 The detailed facts connected with these discoveries having 
 been hitherto locked up in foreign languages, are not gene- 
 rally known. It is necessarily upon these facts alone, and 
 not upon any rock-inscription, that the whole of the real 
 evidence rests. 
 
IN AMERICA. 305 
 
 Certainly the detailed facts ought to be generally known 
 and examined, in order to arrive at a knowledge of the 
 truth. 
 
 They should be so, indeed. The discovery of A" lerica 
 by the Northmen, in the tenth century, ought to be a topic 
 of at least as much interest as the discovery of the West 
 Indies by Colon, in the fifteenth. We shall find it gene- 
 rally esteemed so one of these days, I doubt not. 
 
 I should think so, remarked Air. Cassall. In fact, I must 
 freely confess that, though I was inclined to ridicule the 
 idea at first, and to imagine all relating to it dull and un- 
 interesting, I have found myself gradually become, notonly 
 convinced of the indubitable truth of the facts alleged, but 
 most deeply interested in all the details. New England 
 seems almost to become classic ground, especially the 
 shores of Massachusetts and Rhode Island. I shall cer- 
 tainly make a pilgrimage to the different spots presumed 
 to have been visited by Northmen in this neighbourhood. 
 I do not understand how any one can fail to be interested 
 in a topic of this nature, — the discovery of this great con- 
 tinent, and the first establishment of a connection between 
 it and Europe. The remains left here by the Northmen 
 add to the interest. These are indeed precious relics, and 
 every care ought to be taken for their preservation. 
 
 It will be a disgrace if it is n't, said the doctor, shortly. 
 
 So it will, doctor, said Mr. Norset; and I think, with 
 Mr. Cassall, that it is something like a disgrace to any 
 body not to take any interest in this subject, and not to 
 feel any desire to become acquainted with the facts con- 
 nected with it. 
 
 We have wandered considerably past our door, said the 
 doctor ; shall we now turn back ? W T e seem to have pretty 
 well concluded the discussion of the deeds and discoveries 
 of the Northmen, and it grows towards evening. 
 
 As you please, doctor. And you will not pretend to 
 
306 THE NORTHMEN IN AMERICA. 
 
 deny, — though you have thought it necessary to endea- 
 vour, but in vain, to discover flaws and signs of inconsist- 
 ency at every step, — that you have felt a great interest in 
 all these details of the discoveries and explorations of the 
 Northmen, — in all which has thus opened to us some view 
 and knowledge of America in the olden time ? 
 
 The doctor, though still unwilling to signify a positive 
 assent, gave that sure sign of acquiescence which is con- 
 veyed by silence. 
 
 I hope, then, continued Mr. Norset, that you will no 
 longer have any hesitation in declaring your conviction 
 of the authenticity of the records, and of the truth of the 
 narratives, which have been handed down to us, of the 
 
 DISCOVERY OE AMERICA BY THE NORTHMEN IN THE 
 TENTH CENTURY. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 NOTE A. 
 
 OX THE COMPARATIVE MERITS OF THE NORTHMEN AND 
 COLON (COLUMBUS).* 
 
 The influence of habit and education in implanting and fixing 
 ideas in the mind is well known. When these ideas take a direc- 
 tion which tends to gratify any of the predominant feelings, they 
 become still more deeply cherished, and still more difficult to 
 eradicate, however erroneous, and clearly proved erroneous, they 
 may be. Such is the idea which has been almost universally im- 
 planted in the minds of men that Colon was the first discoverer 
 of America.f As, in the case of the cardinals who had been 
 educated in the belief that the sun moved round the earth, and 
 who were horror-stricken at the broaching of the contrary idea, 
 so, the most extraordinary reluctance is felt by many to relin- 
 quish the idea of Colon's having been the first who opened the 
 new world to European intercourse. It may not be amiss, there- 
 fore, to examine, somewhat more in detail than could be done in 
 the body of this volume, the actual merits of that deservedly ce- 
 lebrated navigator, and to compare his merits with those of the 
 Northmen, in order that it may be fairly determined to whom 
 belongs, in truth, the greater real honour, — who was, in truth, 
 the discoverer of America. 
 
 Previously to doing this, it will be proper to allude, as briefly 
 as possible, to the remarks of two authors who have made allu- 
 
 * See Preface, and pp. 2, 12, 78, 1G7, 212, 234, 236, &c. &c. 
 t See ante, pp. 10 and 11. 
 
308 ON THE COMPARATIVE MERITS OF 
 
 sions to the Northmen, in connection with their statements of 
 the expeditions of Colon. It will be obvious that, although every 
 person anxious to ascertain the real truth will examine the ori- 
 ginal sources of information for himself, and not rely on the 
 opinions of any author, however high his reputation, there must 
 be many who will be led to pause, when they see statements or 
 conclusions made by those who, as they suppose, had every 
 means of information, neither of which they find warranted by 
 such personal examination. It becomes therefore necessary to 
 take some notice of the sentiments or conclusions contained in 
 the remarks which have been mentioned. 
 
 The works to which allusion is made are Irving's " History of 
 the Life, &c. of Columbus," and Bancroft's " History of the 
 United States." The latter shall be first examined. 
 
 It would, perhaps, be impossible to find, elsewhere, through- 
 out the range of historical literature, so great a number of errors 
 of statement, in respect of fact and connected circumstance, as 
 are here to be found in the compass of a single page ; for let it 
 be understood that these observations have reference only to the 
 remarks of Mr. Bancroft as to the discoveries of the Northmen. 
 These errors and misstatements are the more remarkable, inas- 
 much as the writer professes to have had access to, and to have 
 consulted, the original authorities on this subject. 
 
 With the design of exhibiting completely the nature of this 
 passage, the author at first took each clause separately, and ex- 
 amined it, at full length, with a view to showing its incorrect- 
 ness ; for, — incredible as it may appear, — out of the thirty (or 
 thereabouts) clauses of which the passage consists, there is 
 scarcely one which does not embody a misstatement. A detailed 
 notice of each was prepared, with the intention of insertion here. 
 Upon reconsideration, however, it was found to extend too far, 
 and it was thought that the selection of a few of the more pro- 
 minent points would be sufficient to show the value of the whole 
 passage, as authority, either for correctness of statement or in- 
 ference. The whole of the original passage shall be copied ver- 
 batim from Mr. Bancroft's work, (fourth edition, vol. i. p. 6,) 
 and divided into clauses as at first intended to be noticed. Those 
 clauses which are not noticed in detail, shall be merely desig- 
 nated by the addition " incorrect," or by reference to the passage 
 in the previous pages of this volume where the incorrectness 
 
THE NORTHMEN AND COLUMBl'S. 309 
 
 will be seen exhibited, or shall be passed over altogether without 
 notice. 
 
 " The enterprise of Columbus, J the most memorable maritime 
 enterprise in the history of the world, -'formed between Europe 
 and America the communication which will never cease. 3 The 
 national pride of an Icelandic historian has indeed claimed for 
 his ancestors the glory of having discovered the western hemi- 
 sphere. 4 It is said that they passed from their own island to 
 Greenland, s and were driven by adverse winds from Greenland 
 to the shores of Labrador ; 6 that the voyage was often repeated ; 
 r that the coasts of America were extensively explored ; 8 and 
 colonies established on the shores of Nova Scotia or Newfound- 
 land. 9 It is even suggested that these early adventurers anchored 
 near the harbour of Boston, or in the bays of New Jersey ; 10 and 
 Danish antiquarians believe that Northmen entered the waters 
 of Rhode Island ; u inscribed their adventures on the rocks of 
 Taunton River; 12 gave the name of Vinland to the south-east 
 coasts of New England ; 13 and explored the inlets of our country 
 as far as Carolina. H But the story of the colonization of America 
 by Northmen rests on narratives mythological in form, ls and 
 obscure in meaning; 1} ancient, yet not contemporary. 1; The 
 chief document is an interpolation in the history of Sturleson, 
 18 whose zealous curiosity could hardly have neglected the dis- 
 covery of a continent. 19 The geographical details are too vague 
 to sustain a conjecture ; 20 the accounts of the mild winter and 
 fertile soil are, on any modern hypothesis, fictitious or exagge- 
 rated ; 21 the description of the natives applies only to the Esqui- 
 maux, inhabitants of hyperborean regions ; - 2 the remark which 
 should define the length of the shortest winter's day has received 
 interpretations adapted to every latitude, from New York to 
 Cape Farewell ; 23 and Vinland has been sought in all directions, 
 from Greenland and the St. Lawrence to Africa. " 4 The nation 
 of intrepid mariners, whose voyages extended beyond Iceland 
 and beyond Sicily, 25 could easily have sailed from Greenland to 
 Labrador ; 2C no clear historic evidence establishes the natural 
 probability that they accomplished the passage." 
 
 1 This is denied : see subsequent argument. 
 
 2 Five hundred years after the Northmen had established the 
 same. 
 
 8 This is intended, of course, as an insinuation against the 
 
310 ON THE COMPARATIVE MERITS OF 
 
 credit due to the work of such a man. On this subject it may be 
 observed, that it must indeed be an extraordinary kind of national 
 pride which should enable any man to compose an account of 
 the discovery of a country, four hundred years before that dis- 
 covery was really made, in which account that country is accu- 
 rately described, and circumstances and facts stated which could 
 only have occurred if that account were true, but which must 
 have occurred if that account were true : — this would be much 
 more extraordinary than the fact of those discoveries themselves. 
 Particular attention is here requested to the observations on this 
 subject, ante, pp. 25, 71, 72, and 88. The only meaning which 
 can be possibly really attached to this argument or insinuation 
 is this : that the more opportunities and means a man has for be- 
 coming acquainted with the facts which he narrates, the less is 
 his narrative to be credited. Thus, the history of the discoveries 
 of the Northmen was first published, as compiled from original 
 records, still in existence, by Torfi, (Torfceus,) a Northman ; ergo, 
 that history is unworthy of credit ; — the history of the Pelopon- 
 nesian war was written by Thucydides, a Greek ; ergo, that 
 history is unworthy of credit ; —the "Annals of Rome" were 
 written by Tacitus, a Roman ; ergo, those Annals are unworthy 
 of credit ; — the history of England has been written by Dr. 
 Lingard, an Englishman ; ergo, that history is unworthy of 
 credit ; — the history of the United States has been written by 
 Mr. Bancroft, an American ; ergo, that history is unworthy of 
 credit. Be it observed, this is Mr. Bancroft's logic, not the 
 author's. 
 
 4 The fact that the Northmen passed from Iceland to Green- 
 land more than eight centuries and a half ago, (thus, in fact, so- 
 journing in the western hemisphere,) is at least as certain an 
 historical fact as that the Pilgrim fathers ever landed at Ply- 
 mouth. Whoever doubts the former fact will be no less unrea- 
 sonable if he doubts the existence of either Iceland or Greenland. 
 
 6 Wholly incorrect. Nowhere thus even hinted. See, for real 
 facts, ante, p. 63, &c. &c. 
 
 6 Necessarily, the last being incorrect, incorrect also. 
 
 s Incorrect. 
 
 9 As to first part, see p. 113 ; latter part, wholly incorrect. 
 
 J0 Misrepresentation : Danish antiquarians have published the 
 original records. 
 
THE NORTHMEN* AND COLUMBUS. 311 
 
 11 Incorrect, in fact ; see pp. 295, 299, 300, 303. 
 
 13 Incorrect. 
 
 14 What kind of a sfory this is, has been shown, ante, pp. 25, 
 71, 72, S3, &c. ; and see answer to 3. 
 
 So far from being "mythological inform," these narratives, as 
 even" reader of the previous pages must have perceived, are re- 
 markable for their straight -foric'ard, unostentatious simplicity. This 
 stands so much in contrast to any thing in the shape of mytho- 
 logical, as to have attracted the attention, in the way of contrast, 
 of an impartial, but very competent writer. See ante, latter 
 part of note, p. 7- Moreover, it is the fact, as noticed, ante, 
 pp. 30, 48, and 240, that all the prominent names appearing in 
 these narratives, as actors, are those of individuals well known in 
 the external history of the times. There is not the remotest ap- 
 proach, either in style, in subject matter, or in event, to any 
 thing mythological. There are no marvellous catastrophes, or 
 superhuman achievements. The whole is a simple, natural, un- 
 adorned recital of events, carrying in its very simplicity evidence 
 of its truth. Even the allusions to superstitions introduced, are 
 free from any thing mythological. They describe only what is 
 known to have existed and been practised among the people to 
 whom the whole refers. (See ante, pp. 137, &c.) The ruins 
 in Greenland, and the inscriptions at Kingiktorsoak, &c. must, 
 of course, be considered "mythological in form," if these narra- 
 tives are so. It is difficult to conceive that these narratives can 
 have been perused by any one who can write thus, and as fol- 
 lows, of them. It would be well if modern histories were cha- 
 racterized by the same simplicity of style which so strongly marks 
 them, and in which they differ so much from the style of Mr. 
 Bancroft's own historical narrative. 
 
 15 The clear simplicity, instead of obscurity, of the narratives, 
 has been already noticed, and must be obvious to every reader. 
 
 10 It is here seen that the antiquity of the records is not ventured 
 to be impeached. (See ante, pp. 22, 23, 24, and 47.) This 
 being admitted, the objection involves a contradiction. (See an- 
 swer to 3, and, ante, pp. 25, 71, 72, 88, &c.) The credit of the 
 narratives is attempted to be impeached by saying that they are 
 " not contemporary." It has been already shown (see ante, p. 
 19, also note 13) that they are, in fact, contemporary, — the just- 
 ness and correctness of which proposition and argument are 
 
SI 2 ON THE COMPARATIVE MERITS Of 
 
 clearly evident from the facts stated in answer to 3, and in pp. 
 25, 71, 72, 88, &c. 
 
 ir This is wholly, and in every part, a misrepresentation and 
 misstatement. See note, ante, p. 237. The perusal of a single 
 page of the Preface* to the Antiq. Am. is alone sufficient to 
 prove such to be the case. The " chief document" — which is 
 legion, for there are many equally important — is not found at all 
 in the pages of Sturleson, (always called, by his countrymen and 
 other authors, Snorri Sturluson). The documents relating to 
 these expeditions are found in works totally distinct from the 
 Heimskringla of Snorri Sturluson. (See ante, pp. 44 — 47-) 
 Of a large portion of the events detailed in these documents, no 
 mention is made in any edition of the Heimskringla. Mr. Ban- 
 croft learned, from the pages of the Antiquitates Americans 
 iTSELF,f that one passage which has appeared in some of the 
 editions of the Heimskringla, relating to these discoveries, was 
 most probably not inserted by Snorri himself, but was copied 
 from the original and distinct records of those discoveries which 
 still exist, — and which are published in the Antiq. Am. — and in- 
 serted by a later hand. The candour of the "Danish Antiqua- 
 rians" may here be contrasted with that of Mr. Bancroft. The 
 Heimskringla relates to events totally distinct and different from 
 these discoveries ; and it is therefore suggested by the Danish An- 
 tiquarians, that Snorri did not insert this passage in his history. 
 The authorities for these discoveries are as ancient and as au- 
 thentic as, though distinct from, the Heimskringla. It is espe- 
 cially worthy of observation, however, that a passage does occur, 
 in a portion of Snorri's work of which he was the undoubted 
 and undisputed author, in which distinct mention is made of Fin- 
 land, and of Leif Eirekson's expedition thither.% 
 
 18 The Heimskringla consists of a History of the kings of Nor- 
 tmy. The discoveries of the Northmen in Greenland, and other 
 parts of the western hemisphere, do not therefore belong in any 
 way to its subject. A man may go out of his way to relate facts 
 disconnected with his subject ; but it does not follow that those 
 facts should never have existed because he does not do so. As 
 noticed, however, under 17, " the discovery of the continent" of 
 
 * See Prsef. Antiq. Am. pp. via. and viii. 
 
 t See Antiq. Am. p. 6. J See Antiq. Am. p. 193. 
 
THE NORTHMEN AND COLUMBUS. 313 
 
 North America did not escape the "zealous curiosity " of Snorri 
 Sturluson. He distinctly mentions it in a portion of his work of 
 undoubted and undisputed authenticity, and precisely in the 
 manner which was to be expected ; namely, in a passing allu- 
 sion to Leif Eirekson, who appears briefly in the history of Olaf 
 Tryggvason, and who was closely connected with the discovery 
 of Vinland. (See ante, pp. 80 and 104.) 
 
 19 The geographical details are clear, precise, and distinct, 
 though brief; many incidental allusions occurring to render them 
 more precise and definite. (See, e. g. pp. 63, 67, 69, 70, 153, 
 154, 262, &c. &c.) It is impossible for anyone who examines 
 them, even hastily, to look at them as vague. Mr. Bancroft's 
 pages have themselves been more than once quoted to prove the 
 preciseness of these details. (See pp. 110 and 262.) This ob- 
 jection may well be placed by the side of that alluded to on p. 
 86, ante, of too great accuracy. The two compared, will serve 
 to show how wise men may differ in their opinions on the same 
 subject. (See also, as before, answer to 3, pp. 25, 71, 72, and 
 88.) 
 
 20 Wholly incorrect. (See ante, pp. 95, &c. and 175? &c.) 
 
 21 What would be thought of any foreigner who was, upon 
 hearing a description of the inhabitants of the United States at 
 the present day, to say that he did not believe there was such a 
 people living there, for " the description of the inhabitants ap- 
 plies only to the English, inhabitants of an island, far off, to the 
 north-west of Europe " ? Yet that objection would be exactly 
 corresponding in argument to, though more rational on many 
 accounts than, the one here advanced. Does it follow that, be- 
 cause the Esquimaux are now found only in the northern regions 
 of the American continent, they should never have been found 
 in more southern regions of the same continent ? On the con- 
 trary, is it not very probable that a change in their habitations 
 may have taken place in the course of nine centuries ? Strong 
 evidence exists, independently of the Icelandic documents, which 
 goes to prove that such change has actually taken place, and 
 that the same race did actually, at some former period, inhabit 
 regions still more southward than Vinland.* In addition to all 
 
 * The fact itself, that the colonies in Greenland were harassed, du- 
 ring the latter period of their existence, by the incursions of the na 
 P 
 
314 ON THE COMPARATIVE MERITS OF 
 
 this, it is not granted that these descriptions of the natives do, 
 necessarily, apply only to the Esquimaux. Of that the reader of 
 these pages can judge for himself. 
 
 22 This, and the following clause, would seem to have been 
 penned rather with reference to the composition of a well-round- 
 ed sentence, than with reference to fact. Neither of them has the 
 slightest foundation in fact. The remark alluded to, (see ante, 
 p. 98,) has never received an interpretation, by any Icelandic 
 scholar, adapted either to New York or Cape Farewell. The 
 mention of the latter point indeed involves an absurdity, which 
 it is wonderful that the writer did not perceive. It involves 
 the absurdity of supposing the narrator to say that the day 
 and night were of more equal length in Greenland than in 
 Greenland ! The Icelandic or Greenland writer is guilty of no 
 such absurdity. This remark has received two interpretations, 
 both mentioned in the previous pages, (ante, p. 98, &c.) where 
 the correct elucidation is given, and the cause of the error exhi- 
 bited. Both the latitude of Newfoundland, (see Thormod Torn" 
 [Torfcens] and his copyists,) and that of Rhode Island, (see Pall 
 Vidalin, Finn Jonsson,* Antiq. Am., Wheaton, Henderson, &c. 
 &c.) lie at a considerable distance from either Cape Farewell or 
 New York. Rhode Island is, without any doubt, the correct 
 locality. 
 
 23 This is the only instance, in the whole of this passage, in 
 which any reference is given in support of any assertion ; and it 
 is not a little remarkable that the references here given prove, 
 each one of them, the total incorrectness of the assertion made, 
 
 tives, looks very much as if some northward migration had taken place. 
 It would seem, also, from the mention, in several of the geographical 
 notices of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, of the Skrselings 
 dwelling in Helluland, (see ante, p. 243,) that the Icelanders were 
 aware of then change of residence. 
 
 * The first of these authors died in 1727, the other in 1789. Their 
 elucidation was not, therefore, made for the purpose of favouring the 
 41 belief" of the "Danish Antiquarians," who first published their " be- 
 lief" in 1837. The elucidation of these learned men, which, as before 
 stated, (p. 99,) is the one in which the great majority of Icelandic 
 scholars are agreed, was made without any reference to the position of 
 Vinland, or to the expeditions and discoveries of the Northmen. It is, 
 therefore, perfectly impartial. 
 
THE NORTHMEN- AND COLUMBUS. 315 
 
 and prove the direct opposite to that assertion to have been the 
 fact. See this noticed fully in note to p. 212, ante. Vinland 
 has never yet been placed, or sought, or supposed to have existed, 
 in either Greenland or Africa. It has been sought and supposed 
 to have existed in two situations only; one of which can be 
 clearly shown to be erroneous, and the other has been proved to 
 be correct. (See answer to 22, also pp. 69, 73, &c. 75, &c. 89, 
 &c. 99, and chaps, ii. and iii. passim.) Each of the authorities 
 cited by ^Ir. B. assigns to Vinland precisely the same situation as 
 is assigned to it by the descriptions contained in each of the 
 narratives translated in this volume. Those authorities afford 
 thus a remarkable confirmation of the truth of those narratives. 
 They will presently be referred to more particularly, and one of 
 them translated at full length. The passage from Adam of Bre- 
 men (ante, p. 32) must, it is presumed, have been forgotten, or 
 considered, with Dr. Dubital, to be an interpolation, by the 
 writer of this clause. 
 
 24 Very incomplete. (See ante, pp. 56 and 288.) 
 
 25 They could; (see ante, pp. 18 and 19;) and that fact should 
 nave made the writer hesitate, before denying, in such sweeping 
 terms, the truth of the contents of all the authentic documents 
 recording that they did do much about the same as what he him- 
 self acknowledges that they "could easily" have done. 
 
 " -° This is the writer's assertion.* If the external evidence of 
 authentic history is nothing ; if the known existing facts of the 
 present day are nothing ; if internal evidence of truth, existing 
 in eve^ line of the recording documents, is nothing ; if inci- 
 dental coincidences, discovered in the statement of every fact of 
 importance, are nothing ; if the confirmation drawn from refer- 
 ence to other documents of undoubted authenticity, but distinct 
 in authors, country, and age, is nothing ; if all human testimony 
 is nothing ; and the doctrines of Pyrrho, and the mode of argu- 
 ment adopted in the " Historical Doubts " (ante, p. 20)" are 
 sound and just ; — then, indeed, is that assertion well-founded 
 and correct. 
 
 * The remarkable manner in which Mr. Bancroft contradicts him- 
 self in the same -work, only two pages further on, has been already 
 pointed out in note to p. 224. 
 
 p2 
 
316 ON THE COMPARATIVE MERITS OF 
 
 The remarks on the same subject, contained in Mr. Irving's 
 " Columbus," must be next examined. That examination will, it 
 is hoped, be a more grateful task to the reader, as it has been to 
 the author, than the one which has been just concluded. Mr. 
 Irving neither professes to have had, nor is it possible that he 
 could have had, access to the original documents before the pub- 
 lication of his valuable and interesting work. But, notwith- 
 standing this, we do not find him making any egregious errors in 
 statement, or dogmatically declaring that the facts alleged are 
 untrue, because they might seem to affect the truth of ideas which 
 habit and education had implanted. His remarks are judicious, 
 considering the means of information which he had; and, though 
 he errs in his apprehension of the facts, that error is plainly owing 
 only to the same cause, — want of access to the true fountain- 
 head of information. There are no remarks made on this sub- 
 ject, in the " History of Columbus," which do discredit to the 
 judgment or candour of the highly talented and deservedly much 
 admired author of that work. At the same time, since errors do 
 exist in his apprehension of the facts, and, consequently, in the in- 
 ferences drawn from them, it is proper that those statements and 
 inferences should be here alluded to and examined. 
 
 The remarks made by Mr. Irving on this subject, occur in the 
 Appendix to his " History of the Life, &c. of Columbus," No. 
 xiv. In that article Mr. Irving gives a statement of some of the 
 facts connected with the discovery of the continent of North Ame- 
 rica. That statement, however, contains several errors, being 
 taken only from Forster's Northern Voyages; it is indeed ex- 
 pressly added by Mr. Irving : — "The author of the present work 
 has not had the means of tracing this story to its original sources. 
 He gives it on the authority of M. Malte Brun and Mr. Forster." 
 Thus Mr. Irving's knowledge of the facts was derived only from 
 fourth-rate sources, and not from any inspection of the actual re- 
 cords themselves. It is not wonderful, therefore, that he should 
 be inclined to doubt the authenticity of the facts. It thus only 
 becomes further evident how necessary it is that these original 
 documents should be made public, so that all may have access 
 immediately to them, and be enabled to examine directly into the 
 internal evidences of truth which they exhibit. Had Mr. Irving 
 been enabled thus to do, it is most probable that he would not 
 
THE NORTHMEN AND COLUMBUS. 317 
 
 have spoken of the "mysterious Vinland," nor have doubted of 
 the perfect truth of the accounts of the " voyages of the Scandi- 
 navians." 
 
 It is added to the above remarks, — " Forster appears to have 
 no doubt of the authenticity of the facts. As far as the author of ■ 
 the present work has had experience in tracing these stories of 
 early discoveries of portions of the new world, he has generally 
 found them very confident deductions, drawn from very vague 
 and questionable facts," &c. ; and he alludes to the idle stories of 
 St. Borondon, and the Island of the Seven Cities. It will imme- 
 diately be obvious that these remarks originated only in the same 
 want of reference to the original documents. Under such circum- 
 stances they are not unnatural. A glance, however, at the actual 
 contents of those documents, which are presented to the reader 
 in this volume, and at the accounts of the isles of St. Borondon 
 and of the Seven Cities, will suffice to show the total diversity- of 
 the two cases. In the case of the latter, there are no documents 
 at all ; nothing exists but rumours alluded to by various historians 
 of Europe. In these rumours the internal evidence is directly op- 
 posed to the probability of their truth, and no coincidences, geo- 
 graphical or otherwise, exist. In the latter part of the first chap- 
 ter of the present work (p. 35, &c), the story of Plato's Atlantis, 
 and the other allusions to an extra- European continent to the 
 westward, among the ancients, are examined and shown to have 
 no semblance, in point of evidence of authenticity, to the accounts 
 contained in the documents here detailed. The stories of St. Bo- 
 rondon, the Isles of the Seven Cities, &c. &c. rest upon a still 
 more sandy foundation than do these allusions among the an- 
 cients. In the case of the " voyages of the Scandinavians," how- 
 ever, we have no loose rumours or "deductions drawn from very 
 vague and questionable facts ;" but, on the contrary, we have 
 simple, unadorned narrations of the transactions themselves ; the 
 whole free from ostentation or art, and characterized by a straight- 
 forward plainness and simplicity : — there is no attempt to impose 
 a tale of wonders on the reader's imagination ; but we have a 
 brief narrative of unvarnished facts, told in a strain of conscious 
 truth: — there is no monstrous relation of marvellous adventures 
 which are adverse to all probability; but there is a detail given of 
 facts, which carry in themselves the air of truth, and which bear 
 on their very face marks of the highest probability ; — there is no 
 
318 ON THE COMPARATIVE MERITS OF 
 
 contradiction between these relations and other known facts, and 
 all external and internal evidence ; but there is a strict harmony 
 in all the parts of the narrative with the facts of known authentic 
 history; — while all external evidence testifies to the authenticity 
 of the documents, and all internal evidence testifies to the same 
 point, and to the truth of the narratives contained in those do- 
 cuments ; — in addition to which, there are incidental allusions, 
 in several ancient works of acknowledged authenticity, to facts 
 narrated in detail in these documents, which allusions can only 
 be accounted for on the supposition of the authenticity and truth 
 of these documents and narratives. All these points have been 
 sufficiently discussed and proved in the previous pages. (See 
 chap. i. passim.) 
 
 Thus much for any similitude between the histoiy of the dis- 
 coveries of the Northmen and the tales of St. Borondon, &c. 
 Mr. Irving alludes also to the alleged voyages of the Zeni. It is 
 nothing whatever to the present question whether they be true or 
 false. They only profess to have been made in the latter part of 
 the fourteenth century, four centuries after the discoveries of the 
 Northmen. The accounts of them are, however, wanting in those 
 evidences of truth which exist so strongly in the case of the nar- 
 ratives of the discoveries of the Northmen. (See ante, p. 218.) 
 
 Mr. Irving, however, candidly allows, — " There is no great im- 
 probability, however, that such enterprising and roving voyagers 
 as the Scandinavians may have wandered to the northern shores 
 of America, &c. ; and, if the Icelandic manuscripts, said to be of 
 the thirteenth century, can be relied upon as genuine, free from 
 modern interpolation and correctly quoted, they ivwld appear to 
 prove the fact." It has been seen that these manuscripts still 
 exist of the date alleged, and of course interpolation is therefore 
 impossible. (See pp. 22, &c. 47, 88, &c.) "But," continues 
 Mr. Irving, having had no means of inspecting these documents, and 
 ascertaining their contents, " but, granting the truth of the alleged 
 discoveries, they led to no more result than would the interchange 
 of communication between the natives of Greenland and the Es- 
 quimaux. The knowledge of them appeal's not to have extended 
 beyond their own nation, and to have been soon neglected and 
 forgotten by themselves." Several suggestions rise in answer to 
 these remarks. 
 
 First, — they did lead to more results than those thus stated* 
 
THE NORTHMEN AND COLUMBUS. 319 
 
 (See pp. 269 and 270.) Greenland and Iceland were colonized, 
 being a part of these discoveries. Greenland is certainly much 
 more a part of America and the western hemisphere, than any 
 region of the West Indies ; and Iceland is certainly as much an 
 American island as St. Domingo. The colonies of Greenland and 
 Iceland were very important ones, on account of literature, trade, 
 fisheries, &c. ; they were, in fact, as valuable to Norway by com- 
 mercial intercourse, and more so, in truth, than the Indies ever 
 really were to Spain. That the operations of nature and other 
 causes, over which the settlers could have no control, caused the 
 destruction of the colony in Greenland after it had existed in a 
 flourishing condition for nearly five centuries, (thus being far from 
 being soon forgotten,) does not affect the question. It was, in 
 fact, the memory of the former colonies which caused fresh co- 
 lonies to be established in 1721, so that the intercourse between 
 America and Europe, — the western and eastern hemispheres, — 
 has never been forgotten, even though Iceland be left out of the 
 question. 
 
 Second, — it is by no means clear that a colony was not esta- 
 blished in the more southern regions of North America, namely, 
 in Vinland, the present New England (pp. 216 and 217). It is 
 certain that the Northmen resided in that region for several years, 
 (p. 194 ;) that they had intercourse with that and the neighbour- 
 ing regions during several subsequent centuries, (pp. 214, 218, 
 220, &c. ;) and that the facts of their visits and explorations were 
 not forgotten, but entered into the general stock of knowledge of 
 the age ; were recorded in accurate traditions subsequently com- 
 mitted to writing ; and specified in the geographical treatises of all 
 subsequent times. Tliey were recorded also by the ivriters of other 
 nations, as witness the quotation from Adam of Bremen (p. 36). 
 
 Third, — at least one individual is known to have been born in 
 this Vinland (present State of Massachusetts) during the residence 
 of the Northmen here, (p. 164,) the ancestor of a long line of 
 celebrated characters. At least one other must have been born 
 in Vinland, since it is stated of Freydis (p. 180) that she was 
 unable to fly from the Skrselings on account of the state of her 
 health. That cause was pregnancy, (Antiq. Am. p. 154,) and, 
 as Thorfinn's company remained in Vinland at least a year after 
 that time, Freydis must, before their departure, have given birth 
 to a child. 
 
320 ON THE COMPARATIVE MERITS OF 
 
 Fourth, — it is probable as before stated, (p. 12,) that Colon's 
 own idea of reaching land, — Asia as he always imagined, — by 
 crossing the western ocean, received i±s chief confirmation during 
 his visit to Iceland. For Colon's own words, with reference to 
 his visit to Iceland, see Irving's " History," &c. b. i. ch. 6. On 
 this subject some important observations have been made by 
 Professor Finn Magnusen, which leave the fact of Colon's visit 
 to Iceland a matter of which there can be no possible doubt, and 
 render it almost certain that he must have seen and conversed 
 with those capable of informing him with respect to lands in the 
 west. (See Antiq. Am. note, Prsef. xxiv.) He would of course 
 allow the facts stated to favour his favourite idea only, and would 
 still imagine the lands described to be a part of the eastern coast 
 of Asia. It is known that his idea was first broached to Paulo 
 Toscanelli of Florence, in 1474. He went to Iceland in 1477 ; 
 and this idea then filled his mind, and would be certain to be 
 uttered in conversation with the learned there, which would in- 
 duce them to narrate some accounts of the western lands known 
 to them. It was soon after his return from Iceland that, his ex- 
 pedition was first proposed. 
 
 Fifth, — the result of an action is by no means always the sure 
 criterion by which to judge of its merit ; though, even judging by 
 results, the expeditions of the Northmen become at least as re- 
 markable as those of Colon. (See observation first.) The rea- 
 sons why the discoveries of the Northmen did not become gene- 
 rally hiotcn to Europe, (they were known to, and recorded by, 
 European authors, Adam of Bremen, &c.) have been already 
 shown (pp. 10, 11). But it must necessarily have happened, 
 as in fact it has happened, in the progress of events, that the re- 
 cords of those discoveries would be made public, and expeditions 
 be again made in quest of the lands mentioned. This would 
 obviously have occurred long ago by others, if Colon himself had 
 not acted on the hints given. The publication of Torfoeus, in 
 1705, would have aroused the enterprise of all Europe. It is 
 worthy of observation, also, that the greatest good that has re- 
 sulted in these latter days, from the discovery of America, has 
 resulted, and now exists, not in the West Indies, or in the re- 
 gions on the continent of America casually touched but not set- 
 tled by Colon, but in the very regions discovered and inhabited 
 by the Northmen. Are not the United States of North America., 
 
THE NORTHMEN' AND COLUMBUS. 321 
 
 and, it may perhaps be said, especially New England and the 
 immediately neighbouring parts, of more importance in the 
 world's scale, — do they not hold a higher rank, — are they not 
 more advanced in civilization, science, and the arts, than all the 
 rest of the continent of America, north and south, and all the 
 Indies, east and west, put together ? The United States, New 
 England in particular, were discovered and explored and inha- 
 bited by the Northmen five centuries before the time of Colon ; 
 and it has been by a race of North blood, and not of Spanish 
 blood, that these United States have been colonized, and settled, 
 and raised to their present position. 
 
 The whole of these remarks will have served to render it ob- 
 vious how necessary it is, in order to arrive at a just conclusion 
 as to the reality and nature of the discoveries of the Northmen, 
 that the actual records themselves of those discoveries should be 
 examined. This the present volume will, for the first time, afford 
 the means of being done by all. 
 
 Let the attention be now more especially directed to the ex- 
 amination of the comparative merits of the Northmen and of 
 Colon. .- In treating briefly of this subject two points shall be 
 considered : first, the merit attending the act of discovery ; and, 
 second, the correctness of the ideas entertained by the discoverers 
 of the nature of their discovery. 
 
 First, — as to the merit attending the act of discovery. This 
 must be determined by an examination of the general circum- 
 stances surrounding each party, and of the mode in which the 
 discoveries, or expeditions, were made. 
 
 What, then, were the general circumstances attending each 
 party ? In the case of Colon, the age in Avhich he lived was one 
 of high excitement, on account of discoveries recently made: am- 
 bition and avarice both operated as strong stimulants to ad- 
 venturous enterprise. Colon had obtained the idea (how, will 
 be presently examined) that he could reach Asia by a short west- 
 ward passage. Art and science were in an advanced condition ; 
 the compass and the quadrant had been invented, and nautical 
 skill highly cultivated and exercised. The historian of Colon 
 justly observes, (Irving's "Life," &c. b. i. ch. vii.) — "The ap- 
 plication of the astrolabe [quadrant] to navigation, was the one 
 thing wanting to facilitate an intercourse across the deep; and 
 v 5 
 
322 ON THE COMPARATIVE MERITS OF 
 
 it divested the enterprise of Columbus of that hazardous character, 
 which was so great an obstacle to its accomplishment. It was 
 immediately after this event that he proposed his voyage of discovery 
 to the crown of Portugal." Colon, with all these advantages, 
 and with the favour of princes, for, — though he persevered long, 
 and struggled with many difficulties in the attempt to gain this, 
 yet he did not undertake his enterprise till he had attained it, — 
 undertook his expedition. He crossed the Atlantic, touching at 
 the Canaries, and he reached ' Guanahani, or San Salvador. 
 Colon made three subsequent voyages ; discovered and coasted 
 many other of the West India Isles, and barely touched on a 
 small portion of the coast of America, about Honduras, which, 
 however, he did not explore, and never again visited. A settle- 
 ment was established in St. Domingo, Now this is all, whatever 
 may be said, that Colon did. He never reached the land of 
 which he went in search. It is not intended to detract from his 
 merit, — for his merit as an intrepid mariner was great, — but to 
 present his acts in a fair comparative light. Had it not been for 
 the favour of princes, Colon's enterprise would never, in. all pro- 
 bability, have been undertaken. Had it not been for the advance 
 of science, his enterprise would never have been undertaken. 
 This is undeniable. 
 
 Now what did the Northmen do ? In the first place, not one 
 of their discoveries or expeditions was made under the favour of 
 princes or men in power. They were entirely undertaken on pri- 
 vate means and enterprise alone. The Northmen had not t/ie com- 
 pass, or the quadrant. They had not the advantages of the advance 
 of science, either in the structure of their vessels, or in the ar- 
 rangements and fittings for their expeditions. Yet Iceland was 
 discovered and settled in the ninth century. (See p. 50.) And, 
 though Iceland is not the same number of leagues distant from 
 Norway that the West Indies are from Spain, yet it is, to all in- 
 tents and purposes, as distant : the broad ocean must be crossed, 
 — an ocean at least as unknown and dangerous to the Northmen 
 as the broad Atlantic was to Colon. This ocean was crossed, 
 and the distant island settled by the Northmen, nearly ten cen- 
 turies ago ; and how settled? not in the hope of gain, not in the 
 greedy search for gold, but in the noble aspiration of the soul 
 for liberty and freedom. The Norwegians fled from the tyranny 
 of native princes, and sought that distant and comparatively de- 
 
THE NORTHMEN AND COLUMBUS. 323 
 
 solate island as their home for freedom. A century later, one of 
 themselves, involved, through the spirit of the times, in trouble, 
 and compelled to quit the country, instead of returning to the 
 shores of Europe, and hiding his head in ignoble obscurity, 
 boldly determined to seek a new home in unknown lands still 
 further west, still unexplored. Eirek the Red landed on the 
 shores of America, in Greenland, A.D. 982, (ante, p. 54, &c). 
 Let us see what the spirit which actuated him was. He did not, 
 immediately that the land was found to be habitable, sit down, 
 content that he had found a home. He himself spent (wo whole 
 years in carefully exploring the land, (see p. 55,) and then re- 
 turned to Iceland to proclaim his discovery. Though the offence 
 for which he was compelled to quit Iceland w r as then pardoned, 
 and he might have remained in his former home in peace, he de- 
 termined to return to Greenland, and fix there his habitation. 
 He did so in 985, many others accompanying him. He made 
 the land the refuge of the distressed, and raised it to an import- 
 ant colony. The explorations of the Northmen were continued, 
 as has been seen, (pp. 56 and 288,) into the extreme northern 
 regions. In the discovery of Greenland it is utterly impossible 
 for any one to deny that the western hemisphere was discovered, 
 explored, and inhabited by the Northmen ; and the purposes 
 and ends of that discovery were nobler, and the circumstances 
 attending it far more striking, perilous, and adventurous, than 
 were those attending any of the discoveries of Colon and the 
 Spaniards. But the discoveries of the Northmen did not end 
 here ; although, as thus far made, and with all their disadvan- 
 tages, they exceeded, both in extent explored, and in distance 
 from their native home, all the discoveries ever made by Colon, 
 and all the settlements effected by him.* Land was discovered 
 to the south of Greenland by Biarni Heriulfson. Did the Nort - 
 men rest satisfied with simple knowledge of the fact of land ex- 
 isting there ? No ! It is expressly recorded, (see p. 80,) that, 
 when Biarni went to Norway and related the circumstances of 
 his voyage, — which, be it observed was a much more lengthened 
 voyage than any ever made by Colon, (see ante, p. 78,) — much 
 interest was excited, and he was much blamed for not having ex- 
 plored with greater care the newly discovered lands. The distance 
 
 * See chart of Tracks. 
 
324- ON THE COMPARATIVE MERITS OF 
 
 and the danger did not terrify his countrymen. Others of them 
 determined to explore the land. They went out, with no mag- 
 nified hopes of gain, without princely favour, urged by the de- 
 sire of exploring other lands, where, perhaps, colonies and ha- 
 bitations might be settled, — not for the sake of the yohl which 
 was there produced, but for the means of freely exercising the 
 powers with which nature had endowed them, which would be 
 there afforded. Leif Eh-elcson (pp. 79 and 83) undertook the 
 first exploring expedition. He crossed the ocean between Green- 
 land and Newfoundland,— to him an unknown, trackless depth, 
 — boldly pursued his course, exploring each land as he went, 
 and observing the qualities of the country ; and finally landed 
 and remained, for a full year, in Vinland. He carried home a 
 cargo, — of what? — of timber, an article most essential to the 
 real comfort and welfare of his native colony. But the explora- 
 tions of the land did not cease here. Even Leif was considered 
 (ante, p. 107) to have " too little explored the land," and Thor- 
 vald, his brother, determines to pursue the explorations. He 
 did so. We have unfortunately lost the full details of his ex- 
 pedition, since he lost his life in the course of it ; but we do 
 know that he explored the whole coast of North America, from 
 Newfoundland to Florida, or nearly so ; sending and accom- 
 panying expeditions for the express and sole purpose of explora- 
 tion ; and residing in Vinland for three full years. But even 
 this did not satisfy the Northmen. Thorstein Eirekson deter- 
 mined to follow his brother. He did so, but was driven by- 
 tempest on to another coast, and died there. Nowise dispirited, 
 however, the wife of Thorstein urged her second husband to un- 
 dertake the expedition ; and the shores of the continent south 
 of Greenland were yet again explored by Thorfinn and his com- 
 panions, who went out with a determination of forming a settle- 
 ment. They carefully explored the coast, and also the interior. 
 (see p. 187) note,) and resided there for three years, until they 
 found that the great numbers of the hostile natives rendered the 
 stay of their small number unsafe. Of course this was a cir- 
 cumstance which they could not control. Some, if not all, re- 
 turned. It is probable that a part remained, whom Freydis and 
 her husband, with Helgi and Finnbogi, subsequently joined, — 
 Freydis returning after a year's residence there. It is known 
 and certain, at any rate, that the countrv continued to be visited ; 
 
THE NORTHMEN AND COLUMBUS. 325 
 
 (p. 213 ;) and that bishop Eirek went there in 1121 ; as also 
 that Markland [Nova Scotia] was visited by merchant-ships for 
 timber, for many centuries later. 
 
 Can any one hesitate to acknowledge that, on the one hand, 
 the circumstances attending the discoveries of the Northmen 
 were more unfavourable and more perilous than those attending 
 the expeditions of Colon ; or that, on the other hand, the mode 
 in which the expeditions and discoveries made by the former 
 were pursued, was more complete and satisfactory than that in 
 which the expeditions of the latter were made ? 
 
 Many circumstances render the expeditions of the Northmen, 
 at first sight, less imposing than those of Colon. The narrative 
 of them is simple and brief; we have no details of all the anxi- 
 eties and cares, the difficulties, troubles, disasters, and distresses, 
 of the hardy navigators, to harrow up the feelings, and excite 
 the sympathies. Yet these must have been present to them, in 
 a degree far exceeding any that attended Colon. Imagine Biarni, 
 returning to Iceland, expecting to meet there a father's welcome, 
 and to find shelter from his sea- worn cares under the parental 
 roof. His father was gone, — gone he knew not whither, save 
 that it was to a strange land, far in the westward ocean. But he 
 boldly determined to follow him. For days and weeks, ay, 
 even months, was he tossed by tempest on the waste of waters ; 
 borne through trackless depths, of which, before, the existence 
 had been unconceived ; and carried within sight of regions of 
 which, before, no European had ever dreamed. What must 
 not have been the hardships which he underwent ? We have 
 some hints at the discontent and complaints of his seamen, (p. 
 65,) though the details are so brief. And were all the expedi- 
 tions of Leif, Thorvald, Thorstein, Thorfinn, and the others, 
 without peril and disaster ? Did not Thorvald lose his life ? Was 
 not Thorstein tossed by tempest, and carried to a distant shore, 
 where disease and death awaited him ? Did not Thorfinn meet 
 with discontent and mutiny, when Thorhall and others deserted ? 
 and did not famine and starvation stare him in the face during 
 a whole winter's residence at Straumfiord ? And did not contests 
 with the natives endanger the lives and safety of his company ? 
 And did not Biarni Grimolfson perish on his return, and find a 
 a grave only in the ocean's depth ? (See p. 1890 Here, surely, 
 were perils, and dangers, and disasters, equal to any which 
 
326 ON THE COMPARATIVE MERITS OF 
 
 awaited Colon ; and how many others must there not have been, 
 of whose presence no record has been kept ! Yet the enterprise 
 and ardour of the Northmen continued unabated. " Expeditions 
 to Vinland still continued topics of frequent consideration, for 
 that expedition was accounted both lucrative and honourable," 
 (p. 214 ;) honourable, because of the perils and dangers which 
 attended it. 
 
 Let the same point, of comparative merit, be now discussed 
 with reference to the correctness of the ideas entertained by the 
 discoverers of the nature of their discovery. 
 
 A few words first as to the immediate results of the discoveries. 
 Colon established a settlement at St. Domingo. Gold, gold, gold, 
 seems to have been the only object of all the Spanish expedi- 
 tions, settlements, and hopes. The sad history of the Spanish 
 settlements needs not to be followed. The Northmen founded 
 flourishing colonies, — the cradles of freedom, independence, 
 commerce, and literature, — in Iceland and Greenland. Ice- 
 land became the seat of learning, and of the purest government 
 which, perhaps, ever existed. She remains, to this day, identi- 
 cal in race, language, and manners, with her condition as at first 
 settled ; and, though she has, at various times, suffered, from 
 the operations of nature, the most terrible calamities, she still 
 exists, and exhibits, perhaps, a purer general moral and intel- 
 lectual atmosphere than is exhibited throughout the world be- 
 sides. Greenland became the seat of a most important colony. 
 Authentic records tell us that in Eastbygd there were one hundred 
 and ninety settlements, and in Westbygd, ninety * Probably be- 
 fore the desertion of the land, the number had increased. The 
 cause of that desertion has been already noticed (p. 220). Had 
 it not taken place, Vinland and other portions of the American 
 continent would have been held in constant intercourse from that 
 land, and Colon's enterprise, — a great and noble one beyond a 
 doubt, but which originated in error, and failed in its object, — 
 would have held now its proper place in the estimation of man- 
 kind. 
 
 In order to ascertain the ideas actually entertained by Colon 
 of his discoveries, we need have recourse only to the pages of his 
 ablest historian, Irving, in whose admirable work is embodied 
 
 * See Antiq. Am. p. 300, ex Grcenlandiae vetere Chorograplria. 
 
THE NORTHMEN' AND COLUMBUS. 327 
 
 all of interest or importance or authority which relates to the 
 modern western navigator. The task of ascertaining the same 
 facts with reference to the Northmen will not be so easy, but it 
 may be done by the careful examination and comparison of dif- 
 ferent passages and works. 
 
 The ideas entertained by Colon shall be quoted from Mr. 
 Irving's own abridgment* of his larger work, in order that the 
 whole may be given in that author's own words. " He set it 
 down as a fundamental principle, that the earth was a terraqueous 
 globe, which might be travelled round from east to west, and that 
 men stood foot to foot on opposite points. The circumference 
 from east to west, at the equator, he divided, according to Ptolemy, 
 into 24 hours of 15 degrees each, making 360 degrees. Of these 
 he imagined, comparing the globe of Ptolemy with the earlier 
 map of Marinus of Tyre, that fifteen hours had been known to 
 the ancients, extending from the Canary, or Fortunate Islands, to 
 the city of Thinae in Asia, the western and eastern extremities of 
 the known world. The Portuguese had advanced the western 
 frontier one hour more, by the discovery of the Azore and Cape 
 de Verde Islands : still about eight hours, or one third of the 
 circumference of the earth remained to be explored. This space 
 he imagined to be occupied, in a great measure, by the eastern 
 regions of Asia, which might extend so far as to approach the 
 western shores of Europe and Africa. A navigator, therefore, by 
 pursuing a direct course from east to west, must arrive at the 
 extremity' of Asia, or discover any intervening land. The great 
 obstacle to be apprehended, was from the tract of ocean that 
 might intervene ; but this could not be very wide, if the opinion 
 of Alfraganus, the Arabian, were admitted, who, by diminishing 
 the size of the degrees, gave to the earth a smaller circumference 
 than was assigned to it by other cosmographers, — a theory to 
 which Columbus seems generally to have given much faith. "f 
 " The grand argument which induced him to his enterprise .was, 
 that the most eastern part of Asia known to the ancients, could 
 not be separated from the Azores by more than a third of the 
 circumference of the globe ; that the intervening space must, in 
 a great measure, be filled up by the unknown residue of Asia ; 
 and that, as the circumference of the world was less than was 
 
 * In the " Family Library," No. xi. f P. 11. 
 
328 ON THE COMPARATIVE MERITS OF 
 
 generally supposed, the Asiatic shores could easily be attained by 
 a moderate voyage to the west. It is singular how much the suc- 
 cess of this great enterprise depended upon two happy errors, — 
 the imaginary extent of Asia to the east, and the supposed small- 
 ness of the earth ; — both errors of the most learned and profound 
 philosophers, hut without ivhich, Columbus would hardly have ven- 
 tured into the western regions of the Atlantic, in whose unknown, 
 and perhaps immeasurable, waste of waters he might perish be- 
 fore he could reach a shore."* " He died in ignorance of the real 
 grandeur of his discovery ! Until his last breath, he entertained the 
 idea that he had merely opened a new way to the old resorts of opu- 
 lent commerce, and had discovered some of the wild regions of the 
 east. He supposed Hispaniola to be the ancient Ophir, which had 
 been visited by the ships of king Solomon, and that Cuba and Terra 
 Firma were but remote parts of Asia." t 
 
 Thus, then, it is plain that Colon never had the remotest idea 
 of the real nature of the land he had discovered. It has been seen 
 that he did not explore the land so extensively or carefully as the 
 Northmen. It is now seen that he knew not that it was an un- 
 known land. Colon never conceived, or inferred, or reasoned, or 
 imagined, that any unknown land lay in the western ocean, though 
 there seems to be a kind of vague general idea that he did so con- 
 ceive, or infer, or reason, or imagine. He went upon erroneous 
 principles, and he arrived at an erroneous conclusion, namely, 
 that Asia, those parts of it known to the ancients, lay within a 
 comparatively short distance of Europe. It does not in the 
 slightest degree affect the question that there did happen to lie 
 another and distinct continent in the western ocean, upon which 
 he happened to touch. He went out to seek Asia, and Asia, as 
 he imagined, he had found. His touching on America was far 
 more accidental than that of Biarni Heriulfson, inasmuch as the 
 latter did go in search of a distinct though strange western conti- 
 nent. It may be correctly said to have been by mere accident 
 that America lay in Colon's way. He could not help touching 
 upon it. But, supposing America had not lain there, where would 
 the present fame of Colon have been ? Yet his merit would have 
 been as great. He would have framed a theory, but that theory 
 would have proved erroneous ; it was erroneous : he would have 
 
 * lb. p. 18. t lb. p. 353. 
 
THE NORTHMEN AND COLUMBUS. 329 
 
 made an enterprising and bold effort, but that effort would have 
 been recorded to have failed ; it did fail : he would have sought 
 Asia, — and never found it ; — and such was actually what he did. 
 He never had any, the slightest, idea of the existence of another 
 land, continent, or tract of country between Europe and /lsia ; and 
 when, in seeking Asia, he did find that land, he still mistook it for 
 Asia, and died in the belief that it was Asia. There is no wish to 
 detract from Colon's merit. His was an enterprising and deter- 
 mined mind. What he did as a bold navigator, in daring to cross 
 an ocean which none but the Northmen had dared to cross be- 
 fore, was much ; but it is necessary, and it is right, to place his 
 achievements on their proper footing. As a man of noble, enter- 
 prising mind, indomitable perseverance, and great skill in naviga- 
 tion, he can never sink in the world's estimation ; but he was not 
 tlie discoverer of America in any sense of the term. He did not 
 explore the American continent. He never claimed to have disco- 
 vered another or an unknown continent ; he never believed that 
 he had discovered another continent. A man can certainly never 
 justly be said to have discovered that of the actuality of whose 
 existence he has not the slightest idea. It may happen that a man, 
 in pursuing one thing, even an error, may light upon some other 
 thing, a great truth ; that he may perceive that it is a truth, and 
 follow it out. Then is all the glory of discovery due to him. But 
 Colon never knew, any more than Ptolemy or Pomponius Mela, 
 or any other of the ancients, that there existed any other conti- 
 nent or region besides Europe, Asia, and Africa. Colon's whole 
 theories were founded upon error ; in that error he made his ex- 
 pedition ; accident led him to something else, of the actual mode 
 of whose existence, extent, and nature, he was totally unaware, 
 and which he did not thoroughly examine ; he erred in imagining 
 it to be something else, and he died in the belief that that error 
 was truth. Can he, then, justly be called the discoverer of Ame- 
 rica ? — as compared, be it understood, with the discoveries of, and 
 knowledge possessed by, the Northmen, for that is the point 
 which is being here discussed, The alchymists, who sought the 
 philosopher's stone, hit, in the course of their investigations and 
 experiments, upon many things valuable and useful. Their per- 
 severance and labours, which are almost incredible, claim our 
 honour and respect ; but of their actual discoveries they were 
 mostly ignorant ; or, if they knew of their existence, they ima* 
 
330 ON THE COMPARATIVE MERITS OF 
 
 gined them to be something else, sometimes even the much- 
 longed-for elixir vitce. The honour of being the fathers of che- 
 mistry is not assigned to them, although their experiments and 
 accidental discoveries have led to some of the proudest achieve- 
 ments of chemistry in the present day. Colon stands in precisely 
 the same position as these alchymists. 
 
 What, now, let it be examined, were the ideas and knowledge 
 of the Northmen respecting the nature, extent, and situation of 
 the western hemisphere which they had discovered ? By collating 
 different accounts we may arrive at a correct view of their ideas 
 and knowledge upon this subject. We must take all the inci- 
 dental allusions which are any where made, and also such geo- 
 graphical notices as occur, and compare the whole together. 
 
 We find it stated that, " from Stadt, the most western point 
 of Norway, to Horn, (Eystra Horn,) the nearest point of Iceland, 
 was seven days' sailing,"* to the ancient Northmen ; that from 
 Snefelsness, in Iceland, which is the nearest point to Greenland, 
 it is four days' sailing to the nearest habitable tract of Green- 
 land, f This we may presume to have been on the eastern coast, 
 south-west from Iceland, at some distance from Eastbygd, and 
 near to where Eirek the Red first landed. (See ante, p. 54.) We 
 are further informed that it took six men, in a six-oared boat, 
 twenty-one days to row (not sail) from Eastbygd to the present isle 
 of Disco, % in 70° north latitude. It has been already seen that 
 the coasts of North America, in Greenland, were explored as far as 
 Kingiktorsoak, near 73° north latitude, and much further. (See 
 ante, pp. 56 and 288.) Thus this extensive region of the western 
 hemisphere, comprising a continent of much greater extent than 
 all, taken together, that was ever explored by Colon, was accu- 
 rately explored and known by the Northmen, and its relative po- 
 sition with respect to Europe was also well known. (See, also, 
 careful descriptions of the country noticed, ante, p. 275.) To go 
 no further than this, then, it is already clear that the Northmen 
 had a more correct idea and knowledge of the western hemi- 
 sphere, of the American continent, its extent, and actual position 
 and nature, than Colon. But we can go much further. Let the 
 
 * See " Descript. Groen. Ivare Bardi filio auctore." Antiq. Am. p. 302. 
 
 f Idem, and see note a to same page. 
 
 t See " Green. Vet. Chorog." Antiq. Am. p. 299, &c. 
 
THE NORTHMEN" AND COLUMBUS. 331 
 
 distance between Norway and Iceland, and the number of days' 
 sailing of that distance, be remembered, and compared with the 
 accounts we have of the number of days' sailing between different 
 parts of the American continent. Thence we may learn, even 
 without reference to the other particulars stated in the narrative, 
 (ante, p. 63, &c.) which serve distinctly to identify the land, to 
 how great an extent the continent south of Greenland was known 
 to the Northmen. We find it stated that, between Greenland 
 and Helluland, [Newfoundland,] that is, across Baffin's Bay, it 
 is, with very strong winds, four days' sailing, (ante, pp. 65 and 
 66, and cf. S4 and 85 ;) between Helluland, that island having 
 been coasted round, (see p. 65) and Markland [Nova Scotia] 
 with fair wind, three days' sailing, (pp. 65 and S9,) between 
 Markland and Vinland, two days' sailing, (pp. 65 and 89). It 
 is expressly stated in one account, that, between Greenland and 
 the part of the continent in which Vinland lies, is situated the 
 bay called Ginnungagap,* which of course corresponds to Baffin's 
 Bay. The Northmen, then, eight centuries and a half ago, five 
 centuries before the time of Colon, coasted the American shore, 
 south of Newfoundland, to the distance of at least six hundred 
 miles. (See ante, p. 76 ; and cf. above, distance and time of 
 sailing between Norway and Iceland.) 
 
 How clear and accurate an idea was possessed by the North- 
 men of the extent of the continent as far south as Cape Cod will 
 thus be very evident ; and w T e find no account in which a different 
 situation or relative position is assigned to any of these lands, 
 though Vinland, as the most esteemed, is more often mentioned 
 than any other land. The notices of the nature of the lands, 
 contained in the different narratives, show the knowledge pos- 
 sessed of the quality and aspect of the country thus far. 
 
 Let us now see what idea and knowledge the Northmen pos- 
 sessed of the extent of country beyond Cape Cod, or Vinland. In 
 the first place, — it will be remembered that Thorvald sent out an 
 exploring party in the spring of A.D. 1003, which went westward, 
 and south, not returning till the autumn, (p. 110, &c). The ex- 
 plorations of this party must probably have extended to Carolina, 
 if not further. Their description of the whole coast is accurate. 
 Secondly, — it is evident that a correct idea of the great extent of 
 
 * Gripla, Antiq. Am. p. 296. 
 
332 ON THE COMPARATIVE MERITS OF 
 
 the country was generally entertained by the Northmen, — pro- 
 bably owing to the reports which had been made at home of the 
 extent of the explorations of this party, — since it is expressly 
 stated of Thorfmn, (p. 167 ante,) that " he conceived there would 
 be a more extensive tract of country the further south they went." 
 Thirdly, — Thorfinn was expressly told that, beyond the country 
 of the Skraelings, lay another. It may not be amiss to notice 
 here the similarity of the rumours which thus came to the ears of 
 Thorfinn, of the distant empire of Mexico, (see p. 188, and notes 
 to pp. 236 and 266 ante, &c.) to those which came to the ears of 
 Colon concerning the same empire.* The former certainly as 
 much accord with the fact as the latter. Each must be simply 
 understood to mean, that there was a land in that neighbourhood 
 whose inhabitants were partially civilized. It is curious that we 
 learn from the rumours given to Colon, that the inhabitants rode 
 on horses, which is noticed to have been the ease with respect 
 to Biorn in the account of Gudleif Gudlaugson, (ante, p. 258). 
 Fourthly,— it is stated, in the several places in which Ari M arson 
 is mentioned, [Landnamabok, &c] that " Huitramannaland lies 
 in the western ocean, beyond Vinland the Good, west from Ire- 
 land," (ante, p. 241 ;) and that, " to the south of habitable 
 Greenland lie wild tracts ; f the country of the Skrselings beyond 
 these ; Markland beyond this ; and Vinland beyond the latter. 
 Next to this, and something beyond it, lies Huitramannaland," 
 which it is also stated that Northmen had visited, &c. (See 
 ante, p. 243.) Fifthly, — it has been clearly shown, in the fifth 
 chapter of this work, that the Northmen must have made several 
 voyages to the southern coasts of North America, even across 
 the broad Atlantic, and that the region upon which Gudleif Gud- 
 laugson touched, [Biornsland,} is clearly and indisputably to be 
 identified with South Carolina and Georgia. (See pp. 261, 262, 
 and 263.) Sixthly, — the inspection of the geographical works of 
 the Icelanders renders it clear that the idea was common among 
 them that the western continent extended smith from Vinland, as 
 far as Africa ; as also that there existed habitable land, as extensive 
 as Europe, Asia, and Africa, in the southern hemisphere. These 
 
 * living's Columbus, abridgment, ch, 37, p. 285 ; large edition, book 
 xv. chaps, ii. and iv. 
 
 f See note to p. 151. ante, 
 
THE NORTHMEN AND COLUMBUS. 333 
 
 ideas could only have been gained from the extent to which the 
 Northern navigators had explored the shores of this western 
 continent ; aided, perhaps, as to the latter idea, by some kind of 
 analogy which it was imagined must exist between the northern 
 and southern hemispheres. 
 
 It has thus been proved that the Northmen had a correct idea 
 of the existence, extent, and relative position, with respect to Eu- 
 rope, of the whole of the Western or American continent, [North 
 America ;] and also that they had a correct idea of the nature of 
 that continent. (See ante, p. 269.) It is not denied that their 
 knowledge of Greenland, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, and Vin- 
 land, was more accurate, as to climate and productions, than their 
 knowledge of the more southern regions ; but still they did pos- 
 sess a distinct knowledge of the south, and of the aspect of the 
 country in those regions. Thus, then, they were, beyond a doubt, 
 infinitely more correct in their ideas as to the existence, nature, 
 and extent of the western hemisphere, than was Colon. 
 
 But, it may be asked, did not the Northmen, like Colon, con- 
 sider these lands as portions of Asia ? To this it may be answered, 
 that, even if they had so considered them, their knowledge of the 
 land was much more exact than his ; but it is happily able to be 
 positively answered, that they never entertained such an idea at 
 all. It has been seen that they explored Greenland, westward, 
 to the extreme north, and thus discovered that it could have no 
 connection with Asia. In addition to this, however, there exist 
 ancient Icelandic manuscripts, of a date long anterior to the time 
 of Colon, in which the different quarters of the globe are described 
 and localized. In these we find the western continent mentioned, 
 and also correctly localized. In order that this may be rendered 
 thoroughly clear, one of these works, the existing manuscript of 
 which is of the actual date of the thirteenth century, shall be here 
 translated. In order to render the matter clearer, the author has 
 also carefully prepared a chart (post, p. 339,) of the world, ac- 
 cording to the geographical positions laid down in this manu- 
 script ; a few additions being made from reference to other ma- 
 nuscripts, either as ancient, or more so. In this chart all the 
 names are given in the Icelandic language, but the translation of 
 them will be found upon reference to the following translation 
 of the ancient manuscript whence the chart is formed. It is par- 
 ticularly worthy of observation, that, on the very manuscript 
 
334 ON THE COMPARATIVE MERITS OF 
 
 which contains this geographical description, is depicted a rude 
 chart of the world, in which the southern hemisphere is expressly 
 marked as containing a "habitable tract/' {Synnri Bygd,) almost 
 equal in size to Europe, Asia, and Africa. This idea has, it need 
 hardly be said, been since remarkably confirmed in the discovery of 
 South America, Australia, and Polynesia. It probably originated, 
 as before noticed, in the extent of country which the explorations 
 of the Northmen had opened to them in the south. 
 
 It must be remarked that the ancient Icelandic geographers 
 seem to have entertained exaggerated notions of the extent of Asia 
 eastward, in comparison with what we now call Europe. They 
 speak of three Indias, of Babylon, of Asia Minor, &c. as being in 
 Asia. It was thus that, although they included their discoveries 
 in the western ocean within Europe, they did not esteem it out of 
 proportion to Asia. It is obvious that the fact of their including 
 those discoveries in the name of Europe, affects, in no way, the 
 correctness of their ideas of the situation of those lands, which is, 
 indeed, in that very manuscript, clearly identified with their actual 
 position. The Icelanders themselves coming from Europe, and 
 being closely connected with it, and it having been, from the re- 
 motest antiquity, the habit of geographers to speak of the world 
 as divided into three parts, — Europe, Asia, and Africa,— it may 
 be said to have been almost necessary that they should include 
 those western lands in the description of Europe. The bold but 
 correct idea which they originated, of the existence of habitable 
 lands in the southern hemisphere, was obviously that of a tract 
 distinct from any of these three parts of the northern hemisphere. 
 Such tract could not, therefore, be included in any of them. 
 
 The chart will serve more clearly to show how it was not un- 
 natural for them, having no distinct idea of the actual extent of 
 Africa, to imagine that the western continent might be connected 
 with that region. 
 
 As to the uninhabitable tracts supposed by them," as will be 
 seen, to lie between the extreme north of Russia and Greenland, 
 it may be observed that this idea has been entertained by many 
 comparatively modern geographers. The existence of Nova Zem- 
 bla and Spitzbergen seemed to warrant the conclusion ; and how 
 far north the "uninhabitable tracts" of Greenland do actually 
 extend, has never yet been shown. There is nothing, therefore, 
 absurd or irrational in the idea thus entertained. 
 
THE NORTHMEN AND COLUMBUS. 335 
 
 The following is the translation of the original manuscript :* 
 "The earthf is usually considered as divided into three parts. 
 Of these, one is called Asia, and extends from north-east to south- 
 west, and occupies the middle region of the earth. In the eastern 
 part lie three different regions, called Indialand [India]. In the 
 furthest India, the apostle Bartholomew preached, and there, also, 
 he gave up his life for Christ's sake. In the nearest India the 
 apostle Thomas preached, and in the middle India he died for the 
 same cause. In Asia is. the city of Ninive, the greatest of all 
 cities. It is three days' journey in length, and one day's journey 
 in breadth. There is also the city of Babilon, [Babylon,] ancient 
 and extensive : there formerly reigned king Nabugudunusor, 
 [Nebuchadnezzar ;] but now is that city so completely destroyed, 
 that it is altogether uninhabitable by man, on account of serpents 
 and all manner of noxious animals. In Asia is Jerusalem, and 
 also Antiochia. In this last city the apostle Peter founded an 
 Episcopal seat ; and there he, the first of any man, chaunted 
 mass. Asia en Minni [Asia Minor] is a region of great Asia. 
 There the apostle John preached, and there also, in the city of 
 Effesus, exists his sepulchre. It is said that four rivers flow out 
 of Paradise. One is called Phison, or Ganges. This empties 
 itself into the ocean which surrounds the world. Phison rises 
 near a mountain called Orcobares. The second river flowing out 
 of Paradise is called Tigris, and the third Eufrates : both these 
 empty themselves into Midjardarhaf [Mediterranean Sea] near 
 Antioch. The Nihis, [Nile,] otherwise called Geon, is the 
 fourth river which flows out of Paradise. It divides Asia from 
 Affrica, and flows through the whole of Eyiptaland [Egypt] . In 
 Egiptaland is Babilon in Nyja, [Cairo,] and the city called 
 Alexandria. 
 
 " The second part of the earth is called Affrica, which extends 
 from south-west to west and north-west ; [this form being given 
 to it under the supposition of its extending to, and joining, the 
 western continent]. 'There are SerMand, [land of the Saracens, 
 being Morocco, &c.,] and three regions called Blaland, [land of 
 
 * A facsimile of the whole of this document is engraved in the 
 Antiq. Am. 
 
 f See " Totius orbis brevis descriptio," Antiq. Am. p. 283. 
 
336 ON THE COMPARATIVE MERITS OF 
 
 black men or negroes] . Midjardarhaf [the Mediterranean Sea] 
 divides Affrica from Europa. 
 
 " Europa is the third part of the earth, extending from west 
 and north-west to the north-east, [such being its extent and form, 
 including the western continent of North America within it]. In 
 the east of Europe is Gardavelldi [Russia.] There are Holmgard 
 and Pallteskia and Smalenskia. To the south of Gardavelldi lies 
 Grikjakonungs velldi, [empire of the Greek kings ; that is, the 
 eastern Roman empire, which was then in existence, Constanti- 
 nople not having been taken by the Turks till A.D. 1453]. Of 
 this kingdom, the principal city is Constantinopolis, which our 
 countrymen call Miklagard. In Miklagard is a church, which 
 the inhabitants call Agiosophia ; but the Northmen call it JEgisif. 
 This church exceeds all other churches in the world, both in 
 structure and size. Bolgaraland [Bulgaria] and a great number 
 of islands, called Griklands Eyjar, belong to the empire of the 
 Greeks. Krit [Crete] and Kipr [Cyprus] are the most celebrated 
 of the Grecian islands. Sikiley [Sicily] is a great kingdom in 
 that part of the world called Europa. Italia is a kingdom to the 
 south of a great ridge of mountains called by us Mundia [Alps]. 
 In the furthermost part of Italy, is Apulia, called by the North- 
 nun Pulsland. In the middle of Italy stands Romaborg [Rome] . 
 To the north of Italy is Langobardia, which we call Langbarda- 
 land. To the north of the mountains, towards the east, is Sax- 
 land [Germany] , and to the south-west, Fracland [France] . Hy- 
 spania, which we call Spanland, [Spain,] is a great kingdom which 
 extends south, to the Mediterranean, between Langbardaland and 
 Fracland. Rin [Rhine] is a great river which flows to the north 
 from Mundia, between Saxland and Fracland. Near the mouths 
 of the Rhine lies Frisland, northwards from the sea. To the 
 north of Saxland is Danmork [Denmark]. The ocean is poured 
 into Aiistrveg [the Baltic Sea] near Danmork. Svithjod [Swe- 
 den] lies to the east of Danmork ; Noreg [Norway] to the north. 
 To the north of Noreg is Finnmork. Thence the shore bends 
 towards the north-east, and thence to the east, till it reaches 
 Bjarmaland, [Permia,] which is subject to the kings of Garda. 
 From Bjarmaland uninhabitable tracts [lond obygd] extend to- 
 wards the north, until they even reach so far as Greenland. Be- 
 yond Greenland, towards the south, lies Helluland ; beyond that, 
 Markland ; beyond that it is not far to Finland, er sumir menn 
 
THE NORTHMEN AXD COLUMBUS. 337 
 
 atla at (jancji af Affrica [which some men think to be extended 
 even from Africa] .* England and Scotland are one island ; but 
 each of them is a separate kingdom. Ireland is a great island ; 
 Iceland is also a great island, to the north of Ireland. All these 
 regions lie in that part of the world which is called Europe." 
 
 It will thus appear very clearly that no connection was in the 
 slightest degree conceived by the Northmen to exist between Asia 
 and the western continent. Asia extended from north-east to 
 south-west; Africafrom south-west to west and north-west, — thus 
 extending, according to their idea, further out, northward and 
 westward, into the Atlantic than it actually does, and so joining 
 the western continent ; — and Europe from west and north-west, 
 — that is, from the western continent, — to north-east, w T here it 
 joined Asia. The tract of Greenland was considered as connected 
 with Europe proper by extensive uninhabitable tracts to the ex- 
 treme north. Helluland, Markland, and Vinland extended south- 
 wards below Greenland. There was, then, nothing unnatural, 
 knowing as they did the great extent of the region of wdiich Vin- 
 land formed a part, in supposing that it might be connected with 
 Africa. 
 
 It can no longer be a matter of the slightest doubt, which party 
 had the most accurate idea of the existence, nature, extent, and 
 position of the western continent, — Colon, or the Northmen. It 
 has been already proved that, as to the merit, and honour, and 
 enterprise, attending the act and mode of discovery, the Northmen 
 stand far before Colon. 
 
 Can it then any longer remain matter of doubt that, contem- 
 plated in ever} 7 aspect and mode, the true honour of the discovery 
 of America, of the Western Hemisphere, belongs to the North- 
 men, and to the Northmen alone ? that to them is due a far higher 
 honour and a far greater share of merit than to Colon ? The merit 
 of Colon w r as great, in daring to cross an ocean which none in 
 his country had crossed before ; and none admires him, for his 
 daring enterprise, more than the author of this work ; but let him 
 take his fair place in the niche of fame : let him not be elevated 
 to the place which does not, in any way, really belong to him : 
 
 * This is one of the passages quoted by Mr. Bancroft to prove that 
 Vinland is in Africa ! All the other passages quoted by him are in ex- 
 actly the same words, in this part, as this one ! 
 Q 
 
338 ON THE COMPARATIVE MERITS, ETC. 
 
 let him not usurp the honours due to others. He was not the 
 discoverer of America ; he was not the first visitant to her shores ; 
 his act was not so perilous, or complete, or adventurous a one as 
 the oft-repeated acts of the Northmen ; nor was his actual know- 
 ledge of the country in any degree so exact, while all his ideas 
 concerning it were purely erroneous. The Northmen crossed 
 the broad Atlantic, without any of his advantages, five centuries 
 before him. They discovered, and explored, and dwelt upon, the 
 continent of North America eight centuries and a half ago. They 
 founded important colonies in the northern parts, (in Greenland,) 
 and were well acquainted with the more southern regions, where 
 also, if they did not found colonies, they at any rate dwelt for 
 several years. The regions with which they were best acquainted, 
 south of Greenland, were the regions which have since assumed 
 the most important rank of all the regions of the western conti- 
 nent. Shall the Northmen be deprived, then, of the well-deserved 
 meed of honour and glory which is so justly due to them, for their 
 bold and enterprising achievements, for their often -repeated ex- 
 plorations, and for their early but accurate knowledge of these 
 distant regions ? 
 
 

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NOTE B.* 
 
 OX THE TRADITIONARY RECORDS OF THE NORTHERN 
 NATIONS. 
 
 Since those who have paid little attention to the subject of 
 the antiquities of the Northern races, may be unaware of the ex- 
 tent of historical tradition among them, it may be well to add a 
 few remarks on that subject in this place. The Northern na- 
 tions are rich in ancient historical literature, which is able to be 
 clearly proved, by its internal evidence, to be remarkable for ac- 
 curacy and truth in the main details. This historical literature 
 owes its existence to the profession, as it may properly be termed, 
 of Scalds and Saga-men which existed among them, and was 
 always held in peculiar honour, and esteemed of a sacred im- 
 portance. In illustration of this subject, it may not be amiss to 
 quote some of the remarks of one who has studied the antiqui- 
 ties of Iceland and the north with care and attention, and whose 
 remarks are made without the slightest reference to the subject 
 of this volume. The following passages occur in Wheaton's 
 " History 7 of the Northmen," in the two chapters on Icelandic 
 literature. " The Icelanders cherished and cultivated the lan- 
 guage and literature of their ancestors with remarkable success. 
 * * * In Iceland an independent literature grew up, flourished, 
 and was brought to a certain degree of perfection, before the re- 
 vival of learning in the south of Europe. This island was not 
 converted to Christianity until the end of the tenth century, 
 when the national literature, which still remained in oral tradi- 
 tion, was full-blown and ready to be committed to a written 
 form. (p. 49-) * * * Like those of most other barbarous nations, 
 the Scandinavian learning and history were, as has already been 
 remarked, 'preserved in oral tradition long before any attempt was 
 made to reduce them to writing, (p. 50.) *' * * The Scalds were 
 at once poets and historians. * * * A regular succession of this 
 order of men was perpetuated, and a list of two hundred and 
 thirty in number, of those who were most distinguished in the 
 
 * See ante, pp. 19, 72, 108, &c. &c. 
 
342 ON THE TRADITIONARY RECORDS 
 
 three northern kingdoms, from the reign of Ragnar Lodbrok to 
 Vlademar II., is still preserved in the Icelandic language, (p. 51.) 
 * * * The ancient literature of the North was not confined to the 
 poetical art. The Scalds recited the praises of kings and heroes 
 in verse, whilst the Saga-men recalled the memory of the past in 
 prose narratives. * * * The memory of past transactions was 
 thus handed down from age to age in an unbroken chain of tra- 
 dition, and the ancient songs and Sagas were preserved until the 
 introduction of book-writing gave them a fixed and durable re- 
 cord, (p. 57-) * * * The recitations were embellished with poeti- 
 cal extracts from the works of different Scalds. Story and song 
 were thus united together, and the memory was strengthened by 
 this constant cultivation, so as to be the safe depository of the na- 
 tional history and poetry. * * * The power of oral tradition, in 
 thus transmitting, through a succession of ages, poetical or prose 
 compositions of considerable length, may appear almost incre- 
 dible to civilized nations, accustomed to the art of writing. But 
 it is well known, that, even after the Homeric poems had been 
 reduced to writing, the rhapsodists who had been accustomed to 
 recite them, could readily repeat any passage desired. And we 
 have, in our own times, among the Calmucks, [Persians, &c. &c] 
 esamples of heroic and popular poems [and narratives] of great 
 length, thus preserved and handed down to posterity. This is 
 more especially the case where [as in Iceland and the Northern 
 nations] there is a perpetual order of men, whose exclusive em- 
 ployment it is to learn and repeat, whose faculty of the memory 
 is thus improved and carried to the highest pitch of perfection, 
 and who are relied upon, as historiographers, to preserve the 
 national annals. The interesting scene, presented to this day in 
 every Icelandic family, in the long nights of winter, is a living 
 proof of the existence of this ancient custom. No sooner does 
 the day close, than the whole family * * * [being assembled,] 
 one of the family takes his seat near the lamp, and begins to read 
 some favourite Saga. * * * In some families the Sagas are recited 
 by those who have committed them to memory, and there are still 
 instances of itinerant orators of this sort, who gain a livelihood 
 during the winter, by going about, from house to house, repeat- 
 ing the stories they have thus learnt by heart. About two cen- 
 turies and a half after the first settlement of Iceland by the Nor- 
 wegians, [that is, about A.D. 1100,] the learned men of that re- 
 
OF THE NORTHERN NATIONS. 343 
 
 mote island began to collect and reduce to writing these tradi- 
 tional poems and histories, (p. 59.)" This was near the period 
 which all evidence points out as having been the date of the 
 manuscripts, the originals, or copies of the originals of which we 
 possess, as to the expeditions of the Northmen to the continent 
 of North America. Of the same date, or later, are all the au- 
 thentic ancient histories of these northern kingdoms. 
 
 The same author says, in another place, (p. 94,) " Some of 
 the ancient Sagas which now exist in the Icelandic language, re- 
 mained for a lony period in oral tradition, before they were re- 
 duced to writing ; — " and, again, " One general remark, made by 
 a learned and ingenious writer who comes fresh from reading 
 these w T orks, is applicable to them all, — that the ancient poetry 
 and romance of the north deals more in reality, and less in fiction, 
 than that of the south. He explains this by the well-known fact, 
 that the history of the middle ages of the south of Europe was 
 written exclusively by the clergy ; and the lay poets, having only 
 the field of fiction left to them, could distinguish themselves in 
 no other way, than by giving a higher colouring to the marvellous 
 stories they found in the monkish chronicles. In the north, on 
 the contrary, the Scalds, who were attached to the courts of 
 kings, and to the most distinguished families of the country, were 
 the sole depositories of its historical traditions, which it was 
 their interest, as icell as glory, faithfully to preserve." Remarks 
 to the same effect might be quoted from the pages of every au- 
 thor who has written on northern history and literature, though 
 without the remotest allusion to the discovery of the Western 
 Hemisphere. No point, indeed, can be more clearly established, 
 than the credibility of the ancient traditions, as committed to 
 writing in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. 
 
 The great historian of the north; Snorri Sturluson, declares, 
 in the preface to his valuable Heimskringla, that it is a history 
 compiled "from the traditions of wise men," &c. It has been 
 seen (ante, pp. 108, 182, 191, &c.) that, in the documents dis- 
 cussed in this volume, allusions are often made to traditions. 
 
 We find, in every one of the documents of any length trans- 
 lated in this volume, that sure sign of remote antiquity to be 
 present, — the intermixture of scraps of poetry with the prose. 
 The existence of this is well known to indicate the great anti- 
 quity of the document in which it is contained. 
 
344 ON THE TRADITIONARY RECORDS, ETC. 
 
 It will be remembered that Caesar, in his Commentaries, 
 ing of the Druids in Britain, alludes expressly to the great num- 
 ber of verses, which it was unlawful to commit to writing, but 
 which the Britons, even in his time, committed to memory. 
 Some pupils required twenty years fully to acquire the whole. 
 (See Ccesar, de Bcllo Gallico, lib. vi. § xiii.) 
 
 A moment's consideration will render it sufficiently obvious, 
 that, if, at the present day, the physician can keep constantly in 
 mind, and record, the nature and qualities of that intricate struc- 
 ture which occupies his study, — can remember, so as to be apt 
 for every occasion, the nature and qualities of infinite diseases ; 
 if the lawyer can remember all " his quiddits, his quillits, his 
 cases, his tenures, and his tricks ;" if even the merchant can re- 
 tain constantly ready in his mind for application, all the various 
 items of information necessary for his business ; — there can be 
 nothing extraordinary in the fact of those, whose whole, and 
 especial, and particular, and sacred office it was, anciently, to 
 record historical events, remembering, and handing down cor- 
 rectly, the brief records of those events. The records contained 
 in this volume, are, as must have been perceived by the perusal 
 of them, precisely of that condensed, extremely brief character, 
 which was to be expected in oral traditions. There is every 
 thing in their mere style, language, and manner, which marks 
 them as the faithful written records of simple, unadorned, accu- 
 rate, oral traditions. There is very little adornment ; brief sim- 
 plicity is their chief characteristic. They were precisely the Jcind 
 of traditions which were likely to be recorded, and eagerly list- 
 ened to, relating, as they did, to the first discovery, and to the 
 adventures of the first discoverers, of the land in which the list- 
 eners dwelt, or of the lands situated beyond it, with which they 
 had commercial or other intercourse and connection. 
 
 Printed by R. and J. E. Taylor, Red Lion Court, Fleet Street. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 A. 
 
 Adalbrand and Thorvald visit 
 Newfoundland, A.D. 1285, 224. 
 
 Adam of Bremen names Vinland, 
 6,31. 
 
 jElian, supposed allusion to Ame- 
 rica by, 37. 
 
 America, discovered five centuries 
 before Columbus, 2; first dis- 
 covered by Eirek the Red, A.D. 
 9S2, 57 ; further discoveries, see 
 Biurn't, Lei/, Thorvald, Thor- 
 finn, Ari Marson, &c. Ideas of 
 Northmen as to extent of, 333 ; 
 and see Southern and Extent. 
 
 " Antiquitates Americana," 14. 
 
 Arctic regions explored by North- 
 men, 56. See Kingiktorsoak. 
 
 Ari Marson's voyage to Huitra- 
 mannaland, 241. 
 
 Aristotle, supposed allusions to 
 America by, 37. 
 
 Assonet rock in New England, 
 • Runic inscription on, 289-300. 
 
 Authenticity of narratives : see 
 J/.W., Coincidences, &c. 
 
 B. 
 
 Ballad, ancient Farroish, in which 
 
 Vinland is named, 199; what it 
 
 proves, 211. 
 Bancroft's History of the United 
 
 States, errors in, exposed, 212 
 
 note, 237 note ; in detail, 307, 
 
 &c. 
 Battle of Thorfinn with Skrx-lings, 
 
 179. 
 Biarni Grimolfson, 144, 147 ; his 
 
 remarkable death, 189. 
 Biarni Heriulfson, discoverer of 
 
 the continent of North America, 
 
 A.D. 9S5, 3, 59, 01 ; details of 
 
 his voyage, 63-06. 
 Biarni fhordarson, 28S. 
 Bjarney, 151, 153. 
 
 Biorn Asbrandson Breidvikinga- 
 kappi, adventures of, 215, Sic. 
 
 Biornsland, 265 note. 
 
 Births of Northmen in New En- 
 gland, 164, 319. 
 
 Blue Hills, 186. 
 
 Body found at Fall River in New 
 England, 301. 
 
 Brattahlid, S3, 145. 
 
 Chart of world from ancient Ice- 
 landic MSS., 334, 339. 
 
 Christianity introduced into Ice- 
 land, A.D. 1000, 58. 
 
 Coincidences, value of, in different 
 narratives as proofs of their au- 
 thenticity, 26, 33, 45 ; instances, 
 60, 65, 72,77, 82,91, 100,103, 
 10S, 165, 176, 180, LSI, 192, 
 214, 237, 263, 290, &c. 
 
 Colonies established in Vinland bv 
 the Northmen, 150, 215-217", 
 228. 
 
 Columbus not the discoverer of 
 America, 2, 12, 328. 
 
 Course of Biarni Heriulfson's ship, 
 67-72 ; of Lief Eirekson's, 
 S9-94 ; of Thorfinn's, 150-163. 
 
 Cryptographs, 287. 
 
 D. 
 
 Date of first discovery of Western 
 Hemisphere bv Eirek the Red, 
 58 ; of Biarni Heriulfson's voy- 
 age, 79; of Leif Eirekson's voy- 
 age, 81 ; of Thorvald Eirekson's 
 voyage, 108 ; of Thorfinn Kail- 
 sefni's voyage, 194; of Ari Mar- 
 son's voyage, 240 ; of Biorn 
 Asbrandson's voyage, 256 ; of 
 Gudleif Gudlaugson's voyage, 
 264. 
 
 Discovery of America by the 
 Northmen little generally known 
 
346 
 
 hitherto, and why, 10; but the 
 facts long published, 5, 11. 
 
 Documents proving the discovery of 
 America by the Northmen : — 
 their nature, 16, 240 ; and see 
 Minor, MSS., and Ruins. 
 
 Door-posts held sacred by the 
 Northmen, 51 note. 
 
 Duneyjar, 225. 
 
 E. 
 
 Eastbygd, 54, 274, 326. 
 
 Eindridi Oddsson, 288. 
 
 Eirek the Red, his narrative, 50; 
 early life of, 50, 51, 242; dis- 
 covers America, A.D. 982, 54 ; 
 his children, 62. 
 
 Eirek (Bishop) goes to Vinland, 
 A.D. 1121, 218. 
 
 Eireksey, 54. 
 
 Epicurus de Natura, 4. 
 
 Erling Sighvatsson, 288. 
 
 Extent of explorations by North- 
 men : — see Southern, also pp. 
 243, 265 note, 323, 324, 330, 
 332. 
 
 Eyktarstad and dagmalastad, 9S. 
 
 Finn the Fair, old Farroish ballad 
 
 of, translated, 199. 
 Finnbogi, 138. 
 Frequency of voyages to America 
 
 by the Northmen, 214, 220, 229; 
 
 and see Interest, &c. 
 Freydis, 138, 180, 319. 
 Furdustrandir, 153. 168. 
 
 Gardar, 62, 276. 
 
 Geography, physical, evidence 
 from, notices of, 64-66, 73-75, 
 84-98, 110, 113,154,155,174, 
 262. 
 
 Geographical MS., ancient, trans- 
 lation of, 335. 
 
 Greeks and Romans, any know- 
 ledge of Western Hemisphere 
 among, 35-40. 
 
 Greenland discovered by Eirek 
 the Red, A.D. 982, 54; fate 
 
 of colonies in, 221 and note ; 
 
 ruins in, 276; extent of settle- 
 ments in, 326. 
 Gudleif Gudlaugson, his voyage 
 
 to and adventures in America, 
 
 257-264. 
 Gudrid, wife of Thorstein. Eirek- 
 
 son and of Thorfinn Karlsefni. 
 
 story of, 121-128. 
 Gunnbiorn, rocks of, 53. 
 
 H. 
 
 Heimskringla, 312. 
 
 Helgi, 138. 
 
 Helluland, 84, 152, 243. 
 
 Henderson quoted, 6, 217, &c. 
 
 Heriulf, 58, 61, 62. 
 
 " Historical Doubts," Whately's, 
 
 20. 
 Hop, 170. See Ness. 
 Hope's nose, 172 note. 
 Huitramannaland, 188, 233, 236, 
 
 241; its position, 243, 255, 261, 
 
 265, 266. 
 
 I. 
 
 Ice, northern ocean gradually 
 blocked up by, 53. 
 
 Iceland discovered by Naddodd, 
 A.D. 861, 51 ; colonized by 
 Ingolf in 875, ib. ; high rank in 
 literature, &c, 326. 
 
 Ingolf first colonized Iceland, 50. 
 
 Inscriptions : see New England, 
 and Kingiktorsoak. 
 
 Interest taken in the discovery of 
 America by Northmen them- 
 selves, 80, 107, 146, 150, 164, 
 214, 226, 323 & 324. 
 
 Jomsborg, knights of, 250. 
 
 Irish in America, 232. 
 
 Irland it Mikla, 233. 
 
 Irving, Washington, statements of, 
 examined, 316. 
 
 K. 
 
 Kialarness, 112, 153. 
 Kingiktorsoak, 56, 287 ; inscrip- 
 tions on, 288. 
 Krossaness, 117. 
 
3-t: 
 
 Landnamabok, 52, 241. 
 Leifsbooths, 109, 111, 150, 170, 
 
 284. 
 Leif Eirekson, SO ; introduces 
 
 Christianity into Greenland, 81 ; 
 
 voyage to America, 83 ; returns 
 
 home, 105 ; is called Leif the 
 
 Lucky, 106. 
 Live stock taken to Vinland by the 
 
 Northmen for the purpose of 
 
 settling there, 150, 175, 178. 
 
 M. 
 
 Madoc, 235. 
 
 MSS., their authenticity, external 
 evidence, 19-25 ; internal evi- 
 dence, 25-34, 192 ; their nature, 
 47, 194 ; and authors, 47, 240, 
 242. See Coincidences, Geogra- 
 phy, and Time. 
 
 Maesur, wood so called brought 
 from Vinland by the Northmen, 
 191. 
 
 Markland, 89, 152, 220, 243. 
 
 Mela, Pomponius, supposed allu- 
 sions to western world by, 38. 
 
 Merit of Northern discoverers of 
 America, 78, 222, 227, 2SS ; 
 compared in detail with merit 
 of Columbus, 307, &c. ; particu- 
 larly 318 to 33S. 
 
 Minor narratives, 232 ; their au- 
 thenticity, 240, &c. 
 
 N. 
 
 Naddodd discovers Iceland, 51. 
 
 Narratives, original, of the disco- 
 very of America, principal of 
 them, 44, 40. See Minor and 
 MSS. 
 
 Ness, meaning of word, 172. 
 
 New England discovered, 89, 139 ; 
 ruins of Northmen in, 277-286 ; 
 Runic inscription in, 289-300. 
 See Vinland. 
 
 Newfoundland first visited, 84 ; 
 revisited, 226 ; Cabot's visit, 
 223. See Hellulaud. 
 
 Nordrseta, 56. 
 
 Nova Scotia first visited, S5. See 
 Markland. 
 
 Ordericus Vitalis names Vinland, 
 31. 
 
 Paley quoted on nature of internal 
 evidence, 26, 33. 
 
 Palnatoki, 250. 
 
 Papae in Ireland, 52, 239. 
 
 Pinkerton names discovery of 
 America by Northmen, 7. 
 
 Plan of argument, 49, 50. 
 
 Plato, supposed allusions to west- 
 ern world by, 36. 
 
 Probability, prima" facie, of reality 
 of discover}' of America by 
 Northmen, 18, 5S, 23S. 
 
 R. 
 
 Remains of Northmen, ruins and 
 
 inscriptions, 273, 276, 277, 289. 
 Repetition, frequent, and copying 
 
 a narrative does not add to its 
 
 authenticity, 45. 
 Result of discoveries of Northmen 
 
 and Columbus, comparison of, 
 
 326. 
 Rolf (Landa-) sent out to explore, 
 
 226. 
 
 Scalds and Saga-men, value of their 
 traditions, 19, 341-344. 
 
 Seneca, supposed allusions to a 
 western world by, 39, 40. 
 
 Shortest day, length of, in Vinland, 
 9S. 
 
 Skra;lings, 116, 177, &c, 187. 
 
 Snorri Godi, 246, 253. 
 
 Snorri Thorfinnson born in New 
 England, A.D. 1007, 164. 
 
 Southern regions of America, ideas 
 of Northmen as to extent of, 110, 
 167, 244, 265 note, 266, 270, 
 331-333,337. See also Extent. 
 
 Straumfiord, 163. -* 
 
348 n 
 
 Straumsey, 157. 
 
 Summary of points established, 
 139, 194, 19G, 226, 228, 244, 
 268, 270, 324, 331, 3.t2, &c. 
 
 T. 
 
 Thorbiorg the " litt'e witch," her 
 incantations, 12/>. 
 
 Thorbiorn, 122; quits Iceland, 
 124. 
 
 Thorer, 106. 
 
 Thorfinn Karlsefni, 143 ; his voy- 
 ages and explorations, 147, &c. ; 
 reaches Vinland and explores, 
 153, &c, 164, 181; fights Skrse- 
 lings, 179; leaves for Greenland, 
 181 ; end of his history, 191; 
 descendants, 48, 164. 
 
 Thori all, 148, 168. 
 
 Thorstein Eirekson, 118; his voy- 
 age and death, 130-136. 
 
 Thorstein the Swarthy, 131. 
 
 Thorvald, see Adalbrand. 
 
 Thorvald, father of Eirek, 50. 
 
 Thorvald Eirekson, voyage to Vin- 
 land, A.D. 1002, 108; his explo- 
 rations east and west, 109, 111 ; 
 death of. 116; great merit of, 
 117. 
 
 Thorvaldson (the sculptor) de- 
 scended lrom Thorfinn Karlsefni, 
 761; 
 
 Timber, a staple article of traffic 
 with America among the North- 
 men, 104, 220, 324. 
 
 Times occupied in sailing, proof 
 
 from, 76-78, 261, 330 & 331. 
 Torfceus wrote on discovery of 
 
 America by the Northmen, 5, 9. 
 Towns washed away by the ocean, 
 
 161 note. 
 Tracks of Northern navigators to 
 
 America: see the Chart of tracks, 
 
 and Eirek, Biarni, Leif, &c. 
 Traditions among Indians, 171, 
 
 267, 268 ; value of ancient, in 
 
 general, 341. 
 Tyrker, 84 ; discovers grapes in 
 
 Vinland, 101. 
 
 Vinland, 7, 104, 243; first ex- 
 plored, 95, 1 00 ; and see Leif, 
 Thorvald, Thorfinn, Eirek, &c. ; 
 erroneous position assigned to, 
 8, 99, 212. See also Ballad, 
 Tyrker, &c. ; and Leif, &c, for 
 situation of and discoveries in. 
 
 Uniped, 185. 
 
 Utility of examining this subject, 
 41, 42. 
 
 W. 
 
 Westbygd, 54, 274, 326. 
 
 Wheaton names discovery of Ame- 
 rica by Northmen, 6 note. 
 
 Winds, direction of, evidence from, 
 63-69, 89, 255, 257, 261, &c. 
 
 Wormius names Vinland, 6 note. 
 
 Printed by Richard and John E. Taylor, Red Lion Court, Fleet Street. 
 

 
 
 
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