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e fact that he officiated in the cathedral at Gardar in 1409.

LOST GREENLAND FOUND.

It remained, therefore, for Hans Egede, in 1721, to reopen communication, and demonstrate the reality of the previous occupation. Columbus himself did not meet with greater trials and mortification than did this good man for the space of eleven years, during which period he labored to persuade the authorities to undertake the rediscovery. But his faith and zeal finally overcame all hostility and ridicule, and on the second day of May, 1721, he went on board the Hope, with his wife and four young children, and landed at Ball's river in Greenland on the third of the following month. Here he spent the best portion of his life in teaching the natives Christianity, which had been first introduced seven centuries before, and in making those explorations the results of which filled the mind of Europe with surprise, and afforded a confirmation of the truthfulness of the Icelandic Sagas.

THE CHARACTER AND ACHIEVEMENTS OF THE NORTHMEN.

Let us now return to the consideration of the Icelandic voyages to the American Continent, though not without first seeking a better acquaintance with the men by whom they were performed.

We have already seen that the Northmen were a people of no inferior attainments. Indeed, they constituted the most enterprising portion of the race, and, on general principles, we should therefore view them as fitted even above all the men of their time for the important work of exploration beyond the seas. They had made themselves known in every part of the civilized world by their daring as soldiers and navigators. Straying away into the distant east from whence they originally came, we see them laying the foundation of the Russian empire, swinging their battle-axes in the streets of Constantinople, carving their mystic runes upon the Lions of the Areopagus, and filling the heart of even the great Charlemagne with dismay. Says Dasent, when summing up their achievements: "In Byzantium they are the leaders of the Greek emperor's body guard, and the main support of his tottering throne. From France, led by Rollo, they tear away her fairest province and found a long line of kings. In Saxon England they are the bosom friends of such kings as Athelstane, and the sworn foes of Ethelred the Unready. In Danish England they are the foremost among the thanes of Canute, Swein and Hardicanute, and keep down the native population with an iron heel. In Norman England," he continues, "the most serious opposition the conqueror meets with is from the colonists of his own race settled in Northumbria. He wastes their lands with fire and sword, and drives them across the border, where we still find their energy, their perseverance, and their speech existing in the lowland Scotch. In Norway they dive into the river with King Olaf Tryggvesson, the best and strongest champion of his age, and hold him down beneath the waves so long that the bystanders wonder whether either king or Icelander will ever reappear on the surface. Some follow Saint Olaf in his crusades against the old faith. Some are his obstinate foes, and assist at his martyrdom. Many follow Harold the Stern to England when he goes to get his 'seven feet' of English earth, and almost to a man they get their portion of the same soil, while their names grow bright in song and story." And finally, "From Iceland as a base, they push on to Greenland and colonize it: nay, they discover America in those half-decked barks."

THE SHIPS OF THE NORTHMEN.

The Northmen were excellent navigators. They were, moreover, it has been claimed, the first to learn the art of sailing on the wind. They had good sea-going vessels, some of which were of large size. We have an account in the Saga of Olaf Tryggvesson of one that in some respects was remarkable. It is said that "the winter after King Olaf Tryggvesson came from Halogeland. He had a great ship built at Ledehammer, which was larger than any ship in the country, and of which the beam-knees are still to be seen. The length of the keel that rested upon the grass was seventy-four ells. Thorberg Skafting was the man's name who was the master builder of the ship, but there were many others besides; some to fell the wood, some to shape it, some to make nails, some to carry timber, and all that was used was the best. The ship was both long and broad and high sided, and strongly timbered.... The ship was a dragon, built after the one that the king had captured in Halogaland, but it was far longer and more carefully put together in all her parts. The Long Serpent had thirty-four benches for rowers. The head and arched tail were both gilt, and the bulwarks were as high as in sea-going ships. This ship was the best and most costly ever built in Norway."

THE DISCOVERY OF AMERICA.

We find that the Northmen were well acquainted with other parts of the world, and that they possessed all the means of reaching the continent in the west. We come, therefore, to the question: Did the Northmen actually discover and explore the coast of the country now known as America?

It might also be argued, if it were at all necessary, that, if these Sagas were post-Columbian compositions drawn up by Icelanders who were jealous of the fame of the Geneose navigator, we should certainly be able to point out something either in their structure, bearing, or style by which it would be indicated. Yet such is not the case. These writings reveal no anxiety to show the connection of the Northmen with the great land lying at the west. The authors do not see anything at all remarkable or meritorious in the explorations, which were conducted simply for the purpose of gain. Those marks which would certainly have been impressed by a more modern writer forging a historical composition designed to show an occupation of the country before the time of Columbus, are wholly wanting. There is no special pleading or rivalry, and no desire to show prior and superior knowledge of the country to which the navigators had from time to time sailed. We only discover a straightforward, honest endeavor to tell the story of certain men's lives. This is done in a simple, artless way, and with every indication of a desire to mete out even handed justice to all. And candid readers who come to the subject with minds free from prejudice, will be powerfully impressed with the belief that they are reading authentic histories written by honest men.

THE LITERATURE OF ICELAND.

Before speaking particularly of the substance of the Sagas it will be necessary to trace briefly the origin and history of Icelandic literature in general.

But in the beginning of the sixteenth century the literature of Iceland ultimately reached the period of its greatest excellence and began to decline. Books in considerable numbers always continued to be written, though works of positive genius were wanting. Yet in Iceland there has never been an absence of literary industry, while during the recent period the national reputation has been sustained by Finn Magnussen and similar great names. One hundred years before the Plymouth colonists, following in the track of Thorwald Ericson, landed on the sands of Cape Cod, the people of Iceland had set up the printing press, and produced numerous works both in the native language and the Latin tongue.

It is to this people, whom Saxo Grammaticus points out as a people distinguished for their devotion to letters, that we are indebted for the narratives of the pre-Columbian voyages to America. Though first arranged for oral recitation, these Sagas were afterwards committed to manuscript, the earliest of which do not now exist, and were finally preserved in the celebrated Flat? collection nearly a century before the rediscovery of America by Columbus.

But it is no longer necessary to spend much time on this point, since the character and value of the Icelandic writings have come to be so generally acknowledged, and especially since scholars and antiquarians like Humbolt have fully acknowledged their authenticity and authority.

It is proper to notice here the fact that not a few have imagined that the claims of the Northmen have been brought forward to detract from the fame of Columbus; yet, nothing could be farther from the truth, since no one denies that it was by the discovery of America by Columbus that the continent first became of value to the Old World. The Northmen came and went away without accomplishing any thing of lasting value; yet, because the world at large derived no benefit from their discovery, it is certainly unjust to deny its reality.

THE NARRATIVES.

It now remains to give the reader some general account of the contents of the narratives which relate more or less to the discovery of the Western continent. In doing this, the order followed will be that which is indicated by the table of contents at the beginning of the volume.

The next narrative relates to the rediscovery of Greenland by the outlaw, Eric the Red, in 983, who there passed three years in exile, and afterwards returned to Iceland. About the year 986, he brought out to Greenland a considerable colony of settlers, who fixed their abode at Brattahlid, in Ericsfiord.

Then follows two versions of the voyage of Biarne Heriulfson, who, in the same year, 986, when sailing for Greenland, was driven away during a storm, and saw a new land at the southward, which he did not visit.

Next is given three accounts of the voyage of Leif, son of Eric the Red, who in the year 1000 sailed from Brattahlid to find the land which Biarne saw. Two of these accounts are hardly more than notices of the voyage, but the third is of considerable length, and details the successes of Leif, who found and explored this new land, where he spent the winter, returning to Greenland the following spring.

After this follows the voyage of Thorvald Ericson, brother of Leif, who sailed to Vinland from Greenland, which was the point of departure in all these voyages. This expedition was begun in 1002, and it cost him his life, as an arrow from one of the natives pierced his side, causing death.

Thorstein, his brother, went to seek Vinland, with the intention of bringing home his body, but failed in the attempt, and was driven back, passing the winter in a part of Greenland remote from Brattahlid, where he died before the spring fully opened.

The most distinguished explorer was Thorfinn Karlsefne, the Hopeful, an Icelander whose genealogy runs back in the old Northern annals, through Danish, Swedish, and even Scotch and Irish ancestors, some of whom were of royal blood. In the year 1006 he went to Greenland, where he met Gudrid, widow of Thorstein, whom he married. Accompanied by his wife, who urged him to the undertaking, he sailed to Vinland in the spring of 1007, with three vessels and one hundred and sixty men, where he remained three years. Here his son Snorre was born. He afterwards became the founder of a great family in Iceland, which gave the island several of its first bishops. Thorfinn finally left Vinland because he found it difficult to sustain himself against the attacks of the natives. They spent the most of their time in the vicinity of Mount Hope Bay in Rhode Island. Of this expedition we have three narratives, all of which are given.

The next to undertake a voyage was a wicked woman named Freydis, a sister to Leif Ericson, who went to Vinland in 1011, where she lived for a time with her two ships' crews in the same places occupied by Leif and Thorfinn. Before she returned, she caused the crew of one ship to be cruelly murdered, assisting in the butchery with her own hands.

After this we have what are called the Minor Narratives, which are not essential, yet they are given that the reader may be in the possession of all that relates to the subject. The first of these refers to a voyage of Are Marson to a land southwest of Ireland, called Hvitrammana-land, or Great Ireland. This was prior to Leif's voyage to Vinland, or New England, taking place in the year 983. Biorn Asbrandson is supposed to have gone to the same place in 999. The voyage of Gudleif, who went thither, is assigned to the year 1027. The narrative of Asbrandson is given for the sake of the allusion at the close.

Finally we have a few scraps of history which speak of a voyage of Bishop Eric to Vinland in 1121, of the rediscovery of Helluland in 1285, and of a voyage to Markland in 1347, whither the Northmen came to cut timber. With such brief notices the accounts come to an end.

THE TRUTHFULNESS OF THE NARRATIVES.

There will also, in certain cases, be found contradictions. The statements of the different narratives do not always coincide. The disagreements are, however, neither very numerous nor remarkable. The discrepancies are exactly what we should expect to find in a series of narratives, written at different times and by different hands. The men who recorded the various expeditions to New England in the eleventh century agree, on the whole, quite as well as the writers of our own day, who, with vastly greater advantages, undertake to narrate the events of the second colonization in the seventeenth century.

THE ABSENCE OF MONUMENTS AND REMAINS.

That the Northmen left no monuments or architectural remains in New England is true, notwithstanding Professor Rafn supposed that he found in the celebrated Dighton rock and the stone mill at Newport, indubitable evidences of the Icelandic occupation. Any serious efforts to identify the Dighton inscription and the Newport Mill with the age of the Northmen can only serve to injure a good cause. If Professor Rafn could have seen these memorials himself, he would doubtless have been among the first to question the truth of the theory which he set forth.

In regard to the structure at Newport, Professor Rafn says that he is inclined to believe "that it had a sacred destination, and that it belonged to some monastery or Christian place of worship of one of the chief parishes in Vinland. In Greenland," he says, "there are to be found ruins of several round buildings in the vicinity of the churches. One of this description, in diameter about twenty-six feet, is situated at the distance of three hundred feet to the eastward of the great church in Igalliko; another of forty-four feet in diameter, at the distance of four hundred and forty feet to the eastward of the church in Karkortok; ... a third, of thirty-two feet diameter amongst the ruins of sixteen buildings at Kanitsok." He supposes that all these ancient remains of the Icelanders, which are to be seen in Greenland to-day, are baptisteries, similar to those of Italy.

According to this view, there must have been a considerable ecclesiastical establishment in Vinland, which is not clearly indicated by the Sagas, from which we learn no more than the simple fact that Bishop Eric sailed on a voyage to this place in the year 1121. But is it probable that the Northmen would have erected a baptistery like this, and, at the same time, left no other monument? It seems hardly reasonable. Besides, whoever examines this ancient structure must be impressed by its modern aspect, so especially apparent in the preservation of the mortar, which does not bear the marks of seven centuries. The displacement of a portion of the masonry might perhaps reveal some peculiarity that would effectually settle the question of its antiquity to the satisfaction of all.

In treating this subject we shall run into needless errors and difficulties, if we attempt the task of discovering monuments of the Northmen in New England. In Greenland these evidences of their occupation are abundant, because they were regularly established on the ground for generations, and formed their public and private edifices of the only material at hand, which was well nigh imperishable. But their visits to New England were comparatively few, and were scattered over many years. Owing to the weakness of their numbers, they found permanent colonies impracticable. Thorfinn Karlsefne deliberately gave up the attempt at the end of a three years experiment, saying that it would be impossible to maintain themselves against the more numerous bands of natives. Their habitations were temporary. The various companies that came into Vinland, instead of building new houses, took possession of Leif's booths, and simply added others like them when they afforded insufficient quarters. To ask for monuments of the Northmen is therefore unreasonable, since their wooden huts and timber crosses must soon have disappeared. The only memorial we have a right to expect is some trifling relic, a coin or amulet, perhaps, that chance may yet throw in the antiquarian's way. In the meanwhile among scholars the Icelandic narratives are steadily winning their way to unquestioned belief. This is all the more gratifying in an age like the present, in which large portions of history are being dismissed to the realms of hoary fable, and all the annals of the past are being studied in a critical spirit, with true aims and a pure zeal.

THE MAJOR NARRATIVES.

PRE-COLUMBIAN DISCOVERY.

Snaebiorn , called Galte, owned a ship that lay in the mouth of Grimsar . Rolf, from R?desand, bought a half of the ship. Each of the parties mustered twelve men. With Snaebiorn, was Thorkel and Sumarlide, sons of Thorgier Red, son of Einar, from Stafholdt.

Snaebiorn also took Thorod from Thingness, his step-father and his five sons, and Rolf took Staerbiorn. The last named recited the following verse, after he had a dream:

Both ours dead I see; all empty in Northwestern Sea; cold weather, great suffering, I expect Snaebiorn's death.

They sought Gunnbiorn's Rocks and found land. Snaebiorn would not permit any one to go ashore in the night. Staerbiorn landed, notwithstanding, and found a purse with money in an earth hole, and concealed it. Snaebiorn hit him with an axe so that the purse fell down.

They built a cabin to live in, and it was all covered with snow. Thorkel Red's son, found that there was water on a shelf that stood out of the cabin window. This was in the month of Goe. They shovelled the snow away. Snaebiorn rigged the ship; Thorod and five of his party were in the hut, and Staerbiorn and several men of Rolf's party. Some hunted. Staerbiorn killed Thorod, but both he and Rolf killed Snaebiorn. Red's sons and all the rest were obliged to take the oath of allegiance to save their lives. They arrived on their return at Helgeland, Norway, and later at Vadil in Iceland.

FIRST NARRATIVE.

There was a man named Thorvald, son of Osvald, son of Ulf-Oexna-Thorerisson. Thorvald and his son were obliged to leave Jardar and go to Iceland, on account of manslaughter. At that time Iceland was generally colonized. They first lived in Drangey, where Thorvald died. Then Eric married Thorhild, daughter of Jorund and Thorbiarg Knarrabringa, whom afterwards Thorbiorn of Haukdale married. Eric moved from the north, and fixed his abode in Ericstad opposite Vatshorn. The son of Eric and Thorhold was named Leif. But after Eyulf Soers and Holm-Gang Rafn's murder, Eric was banished from Haukdale. Eric went westward to Breidafiord and lived at Oexney in Ericstad. He lent Thorgest his seat-posts, and he could not get them again. He then demanded them. Then came disputes and hostility between him and Thorgest, which is told in the history of Eric. Styr Thorgrim's son, Eyulf of Svinoe, the sons of Brand of Aptelfiord and Thorbiorn Vifilsson plead the cause of Eric; Thorder Gellurson and Thorgeir of Hitardale plead for Thorgest. Eric was declared outlawed by the Thing, and prepared his ship for sea in Eric's Bay. Styr and the others went with him beyond the island. Then Eric declared it to be his resolution to seek the land which Gunnbiorn, Ulf Krage's son, saw when driven into the Western ocean, where he found Gunnbiorn's Rocks, saying, that if he did not find the land he would return to his friends. Eric set sail from Snaefellsjokul, and found land which from its height he called Midjokul, now called Blaaserk. Thence he sailed along the shore in a southerly direction, seeking for the nearest habitable land. The first winter he passed in Ericseya, near the middle of the east district. The following year he came into Ericsfiord, where he fixed his seat. The same summer he explored the western desert, and gave names to many places. The following winter he passed on a holm opposite Rafnsgnipa, and the third year he came into Iceland and brought his ship into Breidafiord. The land which he found, he named Greenland, saying that men would be persuaded to go to a land with so good a name. Eric stayed in Iceland that winter, and the summer after he went over to the land which he had found, and fixed his abode in Brattahlid in Ericsfiord. Men acquainted with affairs, say, that this same summer in which Eric went to settle in Greenland, thirty-five ships sailed from Breidafiord and Bogafjord, of which only fourteen arrived, and the rest were driven back or lost. This event took place fifteen winters before the Christian religion was established in Iceland. The same summer, Bishop Frederick and Thorvold Kodranson went from Iceland. Among those who emigrated with Eric and established themselves, were Heriulf Heriulfsfiord who took Heriulfsness, and abode in Heriulfsness, Ketil Ketilsfiord, Rafn Rafnsfiord, Solvi Solvidale, Helgi Thorbrandson Alptafiord, Thorbjornglora Siglefjord, Einar Einarsfiord, Hafgrim Hafgrimsfiord and Vatnahver, Arnlaug Arnlaugsfiord; and other men went to the west district.

And when the sixth winter had passed since Eric Red went to live in Greenland, Leif, son of Eric, went over from Greenland to Norway, and in the autumn arrived in Throndheim and came north to King Olaf Trygvesson, from Hegeland. He brought his ship to Nidaros and went at once to King Olaf. The king commanded Leif and some other pagan men to come to him. They were exhorted to accept religion, which the king having easily arranged with Leif, he and all his sailors were baptized, and passed the winter with the king, being liberally entertained.

SECOND NARRATIVE.

Thorvold the son of Usvold, son of Ulf, son of Oexne-Thorer, and his son, Eric Red, left Jardar in Norway on account of manslaughter, and took possession of a piece of land on Hornastrand , and lived there at Drangey. There Thorvold died. Eric then married Thorhild, daughter of Jorund Atleson and Thorbiarg Knarrabringa, who was then married to Thorbiorn of Haukdale. Then Eric went from the north and ploughed the fields in Haukdale. Then he lived in Ericstadt by Vatshorn. There his thralls let a piece of rock tumble down over Valthiof's house in Valthiofstadt. But his relation, Eyulf S?irs, killed the thralls at Kneide-Brinke above Vatshorn. For this cause, Eric killed Eyulf S?irs. He also killed Holm-Gang Rafn at Leikskaale. Geirstein and Odd at J?rund Eyulf S?irs relations brought a suit against the slayer. Eric was then banished from Hauksdale, and took possession of the islands, Brok? and Oexno, but lived in Todum at Sydero, the first winter. Then he loaned Thorgest his seat-posts. Then Eric moved to Oexno and lived in Ericstadt. Then he demanded his seat-posts, but did not get them. Eric took them thereafter from Bredobolstad, but Thorgest followed him. They fought near the house at Drangey. Two sons of Thorgest fell, and some other men. Thereafter they both kept their followers with them. Styr, Eyulf of Svino, Thorbrand's sons of Alptefiord, and Thorbiorn Vifilsson, were of Eric's party. But Thord Gelleirson, Thorgeir from Hitardale, Aslak of Langedale, and Illuge's son helped Thorgest. Eric and his party were sentenced to be banished at Thorsness Thing. He fitted out a ship in Ericsfiord, but Eyulf concealed him in Dimonsvaag, while Thorgest and his men sought after him on the highlands. Thorbiorn, Eyulf and Styr followed with Eric out to sea beyond the islands. He said that he meant to seek the land Gunnbiorn, Ulf Krage's son, saw when he was driven by a storm west from Iceland, and found Gunnbiorn's Rocks; though he said at the same time if he discovered the land he would return to his friends. Eric laid his course to the west from Snaefieldness, and approached from the sea to land at Midjokul, in that place that is called Blaesark. From thence he went along the coast to the south, to see if the land was fit to live in. The first year he stayed all winter in Ericks?, nearly in the middle of the west bygd. In the next spring he went to Ericsfiord, and there found a dwelling. Next summer he went to the western bygd, and gave certain names to many places. The second winter he lived in Ericsholm, at Hvarfo Fiedspidae, and at the third summer he went north to Snaefield, inside of Rafnsfiord. He thought then that the place where Ericsfiord bent was opposite the place where he came. He then returned and spent the third winter in Ericks? opposite the mouth of Ericsfiord. The next summer he went to Iceland, and landed at Breidafiord. The next winter he stayed at Holmstater, with Ingolf. Next spring he fought with Thorgest and lost the battle. That summer, Eric began to settle the land which he had discovered and which he called Greenland, because he said that the people would not like to move there, if the land did not have a good name. Learned men say that twenty-five ships went that summer to Greenland from Breidafiord and Borgafjord, but only fourteen arrived. Of the rest, some were driven back and others were wrecked. This happened fifteen winters before Christianity was introduced into Iceland.

THIRD NARRATIVE.

The land some call Greenland, was discovered and settled from Iceland. Eric the Red was the name of the Breidafiord man, who went from here to there, and took possession of that part of the land, which later was called Ericsfiord. He named the land and called it Greenland, and said it would encourage people to come there, if the land had a good name. They found there, both east and west, ruins of houses and pieces of boats, and begun stonework. From which it is to be seen what kind of people have lived in Vinland, and which the Greenlanders call Skraelings and who had been there. He began to settle the land fourteen or fifteen years before the introduction of Christianity in Iceland. Afterwards this was told of Greenland to Thorkel Gelleirson, by a man who had himself followed Eric Red.

FIRST NARRATIVE.

May he whose hand protects so well The simple monk in lonely cell, And o'er the world upholds the sky, His own blue hall, still stand me by.

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