Antiquities of America, the first inhabitants of Central America, and the discovery of New-England, by the Northmen, five hundred years before Columbus. With important additions. A lecture delivered in New York, Washington, Boston ..

05

.D3I

ANTIQUITIES OF AMERICA,

THE FIRST INHABITANTS

OF

CENTRAL AMERICA,

AND THE

DISCOVERY OF NEW- ENGLAND,

BY THE NORTHMEN,

liPIVEHUNDEED YEAES BEFORE COLUMBUS,

WITH IMPORTANT ADDITIONS.

A LECTURE,

DELIVERED IN NEW YORK, WASHINGTON, BOSTON AND OTHER

CITIES J ALSO, IN SOME OF THE FIRST LITERARY

INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNION,

BY A. DAVIS,

^-«

Corresponding Member of the JV*. Y. Historical Society, and formerly Chaplain
of the Senate, <$•<;., New York.

SIXTEENTH EDITION, FROM THE TWELFTH BOSTON EDITION.

BUFFALO, N. Y.:

CLAPP & M'CREDIE'S POWER PRESS.
1846.

t !

r

TO THE PUBLIC.

The generous patronage received for the delivery of the following lecture I*ads tc
its publication. Though faint the ray of knowledge it may impart, yet I trust it will
be seen and its benefits rewarded, while exhibited in a different medium.

The circulation of fifteen editions shows that this hope of success- has not been
disappointed.

Together with original matter, the lecture is a compilation from various important
works. Facts have been obtained from the first libraries in Boston, Worcester, Phila
delphia, Washington and Georgetown.

The continued encouragement received from distinguished sources like the following,
encourages me in issuing another edition.

From the Ornithologist.

BUFFALO, N. Y., August 1, 1844.

I have read the "Antiquities of Central America, iind the Discovery of New England
by the Northmen five hundred years before Columbus," by A. Davis, Esq. with extreme
pleasure and satisfaction ; and I feel much indebted to that learned gentleman for all
that he has said on this most interesting subject, in his memorable lecture above
mentioned, and I trust that it will be as highly appreciated by all who may peruse it
as by myself.

I take this opportunity to offer to Mr. Davis my sincere thanks for his goodness to me
and have great pleasure in subscribing myself his friend and respectful humble servant,

JOHN J. AUDUBON.
To A. DAVIS, formerly Chaplain of the Senate, &c., N. Y.

From J. M'Caul, D. D., LL. D.

KING'S COLLEGE, TORONTO, May 30, 1845.

My Dear Sir, — I have read with great interest your brief condensation of the proofs
which may be advanced of the discovery of America before the voyages of Columbus,
and the evidence afforded by the ruins, recently discovered in the Southern part of this
continent, of the existence of a powerful and civilized nation previous to the arrival of
the Spaniards.

The subject is one not merely calculated to excite the attention and reward the
researches of antiquarians, but is also capable (as per testimonials fully demonstrated)
of being rendered highly attractive in a popular lecture.

Believe me, yours faithfully,
REV. A. DAVIS. JOHN M'CAUL.

From the Hon. G. Furman, Brooklin, N. Y.

" My Dear Sir , — You will please accept my thanks for a copy of your interesting
lecture on American History anterior to Columbus, which has been to mo in its perusal
a source of high gratification. It is now several years since my attention was first
called to your valuable labors in this important branch of American history, and am
pleased, from this fourteenth edition, that they are becoming properly appreciated by
the reading world ; and permit me to say, it is only necessary for any person having
the least taste for such inquiries, to cast their eyes over your work to become satisfied
the public are under great obligations to you for the labor, care and judgment which
you have manifested in treating the subject, at the same time so highly interesting, so
intricate in its facts and difficult in their attainment."

1-3 G

Bancroft Library

BANCROFT

ANTIQUITIES OF AMERICA,

While the beauties of the visible creation fade on the eye, while
nature reposes under the mantle of night, it is pleasant to leave
the haunts of business, or the domestic scenes, and come up to the
lecture room to survey the dark regions of the past, under the
mild light of history,

If the age of Leo X. was characterized by great attention to
the fine arts, so the present is remarkable, not only for its devotion
to the embellishments of life, but for progress in historical and
antiquarian researches. The most gifted minds of either sex are
interested in these studies. The crowned heads of Europe, instead
of imbruing their hands in the blood of their fellows, are spending
mints of money in unfolding the early history of the world. That
spirit of enquiry which awoke, perhaps, in the East, folds not its
wings in apathy in crossing the Atlantic; for here its developments
astonish both hemispheres. Knowledge is spreading over the earth
not like the morning beams, which gild only the mountain tops,
but like the noon-tide rays, that penetrate the deep valleys ! *

The active mind of man instinctively surveys the dark regions
of the past, and would gladly break the unfathomable silence of
the nations of the dead, and raise the veil where their beauty and
glory have slept for ages. This strong desire to learn something
of those who Jived when time was young, leads the antiquary, too
often, to adopt groundless theories. But if there are counterfeit
antiquities, there are those also that are genuine.

It will be recollected that the avaricious Spaniards discovered
and conquered Mexico on the North, and Peru and Chili on the
South of Central America, in the first place. But at length the
solitude of the latter was broken; and there was discovered the
" El Dorado," about which the whole Spanish nation had so long
been dreaming.

*The following just tribute of praise was given by Mr. Davis, in his lecture, University Chapel,
N. Y.. to the Historical Society, in speaking of the progress of antiquarian research:

" And are there not more stars in the Northern than in the Southern hemisphere? So there are more
constellations of intellectual light in the former than in the latter. And one of the most conspicuous is
the Historical Society of New York. The light beams afar, and by its influence prominent men from
foreign countries are being enrolled among the names of its distinguished members."

4 A LECTURE ON THE

The appearance of these ruins shows that a nation once existed
there, highly skilled in the mechanic arts, and in a state of civili
zation far beyond anything that we have been led to believe of the
aborigines, previous to the time of Columbus.

The antiquities of America may be divided into three classes,
left in succession by nations more or less enlightened; as the ruins
of Central America, of Mexico and Peru, and of regions farther
North.

The first knowledge of the ruins, South, was derived from
accounts given by straggling hunters.

In 1787, the Spanish government sent out Captain Del Rio to
survey the ruins.

Waldcck, in 1822, published in London an account of Rio's
discoveries.

Capt. Dupaix was sent on a mission to Central America in 1805.
He supposes the ruins were left before the deluge. Lord Kings-
boro" gave an account of Dupaix's researches. His work I saw
in the library of a distinguished historian, Wm. H. Prescott, Esq.,
Boston. This splendid work, at $400 a volume, cost the author
his fortune.

Waldeck visited Central America in 1832, and spent four years
in that region. He took many drawings of the ruins, but on his
return they were seized by the perfidious Mexicans.

On losing the fruits of his long toil, he must have felt like Antony
on being betrayed by Cleopatra:

"All is lost!

This foul Egyptian hath betrayed me j
My fleet luith yieltled to the foe ;
Fortune and Antony part here; even here
Do we shake hands,"

The late Governor Galindo, of Peten, in Central America, has
corresponded with the late Lieut. Governor Winthrop, Boston,
relative to the antiquities of that region. For the great discoveries
made, he has received a premium from one of the literary societies
of Europe.

He, in speaking of one of the cities in the vicinity of Palenque,
says that a gigantic Massica, or bread-fruit tree, grows on one
of the altars, encircling it with its powerful roots. The most
remarkable trees growing over the ruins, are the mahogany, cedar,
chocolate, &c. One of the squares of the city is surrounded with
six handsome obelisks, the highest of which is more than six yards
high. They all bear, in basso relievo, gigantic figures. One temple
has eighty such figures.

The temple of Copan was 653 feet by 524 feet in dimensions.
It must have been as large as St. Peter's Church in Rome. Let
us gaze on this mighty structure for instruction. It stands as a
landmark on the broad field of time, — it reminds us of the remote

DISCOVERY OF AMERICA.

origin of a great empire. Centuries must have rolled away, dynas
ties must have succeeded each other, before orders of architecture
were introduced; and a long time must have elapsed before an
empire would become so luxurious as to erect the stupendous
temple of Copan.

Among the vast pile of ruins, is found an architrave of black
granite, finely cut. Six granite columns are seen, each of a single
piece, seventeen feet high, and three feet in diameter.

The Mayon architecture in Yucatan is said to be superior to
that of Palenque. It is wrought in stone, and finished with great
elegance

Gen. Santa Anna says, that the antiquities of Central America
are worthy of being placed in parallel with the pyramids of Egypt.

Palenque, which lies 240 miles from Tobasco, lat. 17° N.. is
among the most remarkable cities of the South. Palenque is a
Castilian word and means " lists for fighting."

This city has emphatically been called the Thebes of America,
In surveying its ruins, the traveler is led to believe that it was
founded at as early a period as the renowned cities of Egypt.

How immense the city ! It is supposed to have been sixty miles
in circumference, and that it contained a population of nearly three
millions

Palenque, lying about one thousand miles from Mexico, and
being elevated five thousand feet above the ocean, enjoyed a climate
almost unequalled for its pleasantness. The natural beauty of the
scenery was unrivalled, the soil rich and fertile beyond any other
portion of the globe.

One of the principal structures revealed to the eye of the
antiquarian, is the Teoculi, or temple. Its style of architecture
resembles the Gothic. It is rude, massive and durable. Though
resembling the Egyptian edifices, also, yet this and the other build
ings are peculiar, and are different from all others hitherto known*.

The entrance to this temple is on the East side, by a portico
more than one hundred feet in length and nine broad. The
rectangular pillars of the portico have their architraves adorned
with stucco work of shields and other devices. The temple stands
on an elevation of sixty feet. Among the ruins, different objects
of worship have been found; and in particular, an idol of pure gold
about six inches long. Amid this wilderness of ruins, are now to
be seen fourteen large stone buildings, with many of their apart
ments in good condition.

The antiquity of this city is manifest not only from its nameless
hieroglyphics and other objects, but from the age of some of the
trees growing over buildings where once the hum of industry and
the voice of merriment were heard. The concentric circles of
some of these trees were counted, which showed that they were
more than 900 years of age. Mr. Brown, who lives in the vicinity

C A LECTURE ON THE

of Palenque, has a table, the entire leaf of which was made from
a tree, growing over these ruins.

Similar beautiful and majestic ruins extend 1000 miles. Hum-
boldt visited a splendid building, 800 miles from Mexico, that forty
years since was seven stories high. The Spaniards have demolish
ed it mostly to get materials for building dwellings and sugar-houses.
Have not the Vandals of the New World made desolation more
desolate 1

Mr. Stephens' new work on " Central America/' confirms the
statements of other travelers, while it hightens our wonder by the
graphic description of the ruins of the desolated cities, especially
of those found in Copan and Palenque. There, he says, "architec
ture, sculpture, painting, and all the arts that embellish life, had
flourished in an overgrown forest,"

Among the specimens of the arts, he found massive obelisks,
bearing on their sides sculptured images, and medallion tablets — .
large altars, ornamented with hieroglyphics giving a record of
those who reared them — spendid temples, adorned with human
figures executed in stucco and bass relief — walls built of hewn
stone. The specimens of sculpture equalled any thing he saw in
Egypt

In his second work he says, "These ruins are skeletons rising
from their graves, wrapt in their shrouds, claiming no affinity with
the works of any known people." Long will these works of art
Stand alone in majesty and beauty,

" A-ad gorgeous as the sun at midsummer."

The Chavalier Frederichal, attache of the Austrian legation,
lately spent nine months at the South. He found, in a place hith
erto untrod by modera travelers, a majestic group of pillars. There
were ten rows, and in each row there were forty-eight columns.
With his Daguerreotype apparatus he took a great number of
excellent impressions. From these, when magnified, he has made
drawings, which show the original, by their richness, elegance and
finish, to be the work of a highly cultivated people.

It is natural that we should linger around these inanimate objects.
They remind us of splendid cities that, like Troy, once " were."
But, above all, they teH us of the illustrious of other days. What
are ruins to us, but as they remind us of the enterprise and wisdom
of those who reared them. What were Carthage without the
recollection of the ill-fated Dido, or the daring deeds of Hannibal ?
And what will Mount Vernon be centuries hence, to our posterity,
but as it will remind them of the valor, patriotism and virtues of
the Father of our Republic 1

The monumental history of Central America tells us that this is
not a New World. And we awake with astonishment that there
was once the seat of a great empire, before David reigned over

DISCOVERY OP AMERICA.

the twelve tribes of Israel, or Octavius waved his sceptre over the
civilized world

But alas ! the foundation of cities as magnificent as those that
adorned the banks of the Nile, have vanished like the generations
before the flood.

"Every house is buildedjby some man," but who erected the
splendid temples of Palenque, none can tell, save " He who made
all things." Unnumbered centuries have passed away since the
noon-day of Palencian glory. There the wing of endless night-
broods ovef all that was once beautiful and grand —

" Where senates once the weal of nations planned
Hisseth the gliding snake, through the hoary weeds
1 hat clasp the mouldering columns,"

1 have seen an original representation in stucco of the following
Palencian head, possibly a representation of their gods, in the
possession of the late Professor Dod, Princeton College. Such
are found on the palace walls :

Shade of Spurz-
heim, tell, if thou
canst, what quali
ties such a formed
head as this im
plies !

This helmet is
said to resemble
those described
by Homer.

Oh ! that some mighty genius, like that of Belzoni, would arise
and remove from'Uhis city of the world called new, the veil that
conceals1 its origin,

It is supposed by Stephens and Norman that the hieroglyphics of
the South will, like those of Egypt, at length be developed. In
anticipation of those developments, well may we exclaim, " visions

A LECTURE ON THE

of glory spare our aching sight." Deep shades rest on the anti
quities of America, yet a few feeble rays of light enliven the gloom.

It is supposed that this city was destroyed by some internal
convulsion, or, like those of the South of Europe, was overwhelm
ed by the barbarians of the North.

Possibly famine or pestilence might have desolated that fair
region.

It is not singular that it should have been concealed from view
for ages when we recollect that cities of the eastern continent
have, in like manner remained in oblivion till of late. We allude to
the ruins of Pa3stum, in Campania, of Italy, and those of Petra of
Idumea, in Asia. A new forest hid for centuries — the former from
the degenerate sons of Rome, while the splendid structures of
Petra were known only to Bedouins for over a thousand years.
Who does not delight to read about the roses of Paestum'? Yet
they still unfold their inimitable petals .amid the ruins of palaces,
and beside the dilapidated temples.

Do we admire the boundless forests, the lofty mountains, and
the majestic rivers of our hemisphere'! The vast wilderness of
ruins, once enlivened by intelligent beings, should demand a higher
claim to our admiration.

The antiquities of America stretch from the great lakes of the
North and West, to the southern parts of Peru on the South; from
the Allegany mountains on the East, to the Rocky mountains on
on the West; and even from the Pacific to the Atlantic ocean.

The Mexicans hold the next place in the scale of civilization to
the Central Americans.

The Toltecs probably came into Anahauc, or the vale of Mexico,
at the close of the seventh century. They flourished four centu
ries, and suddenly disappeared. They were an enlightened and
amiable people. Though pagans, they did not, like the Aztecs,
who took possession of the country in 1325, offer up human
sacrifices.

Although the Aztecs, .or Mexicans, excelled in astronomy,
architecture, the fine arts, agriculture, legislation, jurisprudence,
and the display of many of those social virtues that dignify hu
manity, yet their theology cast a dark shade over all the attractions
their history otherwise displays.

They believe in one Supreme God, in thirteen subordinate deities,
and over two hundred inferior ones. The god who received the
most devotion was Mars, their god of war. On his altar human
victims bled. To this Moloch of the West twenty thousand at
least were offered annually! Such is man where he sees not the
attributes of God in the " things that are made." Yes, all nature

DISCOVERY OF AMERICA. 9

is but the reflection of the true God. The modest violet, fresh
from the sleep of winter, tells him there is a God, and that He is
great and good. [See Rom. 1 , 20.] Nought but the bright beams
of the "Sun of Righteousness" can dissipate the darkness with
which man has enshrouded his moral nature.

Remarkable was the progress of the Mexicans in the science of
astronomy Their year was divided into eighteen months of twen
ty days each; and five unlucky days. As the year is composed of
nearly six hours more than three hundred and sixty-five days,
there still remained an excess, which they provided for by interca
lation. At the expiration of fifty-two years, the end of a cycle,
they interposed twelve and a* half days, the number which had
fallen in arrear. Time was marked on their calendar stones with
as much accuracy as is evinced by the modern improvements of
astronomy, into two minutes and nine seconds in the year. I have
seen in the museum of Mexican antiquities belonging to the Philo
sophical Society, Philadelphia, a beautiful representation of a large
calendar stone to be seen in the city of Mexico.

If the Carthagenians excelled in navigation, the Mexicans were
pre-eminent in sublime pursuit. Nature impresses on the multitude
of minds a various bias. To the Mexicans

" she taught the fabric of the spheres 5

The changeful moon, the circuit of the stars,
The golden zones of Heaven."

How magnificent must have been that temple at Mexico, at
whose altars five thousand priests officiated ! But the city of
Tezcuco, on the opposite shore of the lake, was still the seat of a
higher advance in civilization than was displayed in Mexico It was
the capital of a splendid kingdom of that name. It was the Athens
of the Western World. The king erected a magnificent pile of
buildings. It extended from east to west 1234 yards, and from
north to south 978. Innumerable were the attractions that met
the eye on wandering through the courts of this majestic structure.

As walls incrusted with alabasters and richly tinted stucco,
tapestries of variegated feather work, gardens with baths, and
sparkling fountains overshadowed by groves of Cyprus and cedar.
There nature seemed ever dressed in her bridal robes; there light
and shade combined to perfect the landscape.

While America excels the eastern continent in the magnitude of
its rivers and mountains, it can present also the largest pyramid on
the globe,— that of Cholula, six miles from Puebla, Mexico. It
covers 44 acres. It is 180 feet high. Its top includes one acre.
On this lofty eminence, in days of yore, stood an altar where human
victims were immolated to appease the wrath of the angry deity,
whose image stood near. And, strange to tell, their bodies were
afterwards devoured as a religious rite !

10 A LECTURE ON THE

Ah, could those "morning stars" that sang together at the birth
of a fair creation, weep, would they not shed tears on witnessing
the barbarity of those "who have sought out many inventions."

In contemplating the Mexicans, we are reminded of the impor
tance of revelation; for though enlightened, yet "by wisdom they
knew not God."

If the Central Americans came from the plains of Shinar, it is
supposed the Mexicans emigrated from the North- West. Baron
Von Humboldt says the Mexicans had many traditions of the fall
of man, and of the flood, and he thinks they came originally from
Aztland, lat. 42° north.

John Delafield, Jr., Esq., has published an interesting work on
the antiquities of Mexico. He thinks the Mexicans "emigrated
from the North, and on their way constructed the various tumuli,
embankments, fossa, &c., found in western North America." Ar>
"Aztec map," some 14 feet in length, accompanies the volume,,
and explains the travels of this race through America.

Much has been learned in relation to Mexican history, but much
must remain forever concealed, as the first Archbishop of Mexico
caused a mountainous pile to be made of the first MSS. of that
country, and ordered them to be burnt in the market place. Such
was the loss effected by the Omar of the West.

We know less of the antiquities of Peru than of those farther
North. They may be ranked with the Mexicans in point of civili
zation.

The antiquities of North America consist of fortifications, mounds,,
pottery, metallic instruments, &c. They must have been left by
intelligent nations at an early period. This is evident from the
remark of the late President Harrison. He observes that it would
take the trees growing where a forest was cut down fifty years
since, five hundred years to equal in height the surrounding woods,
and that a forest of the largest trees at the mouth of the Great
Miami, consisting of fifteen acres, covers the ruins left by former
races.

There are the remains of a fortification, 60 miles west of Mil-
waukie, including an area of 30 acres of land. Large trees are
growing on the walls. I have a piece of the burnt brick of which
they are built. This place is called Aztland.

I have also a piece of a pillar found fifteen feet below the surface
of the earth in Chautauque county, N. Y. Nameless are similar
antiquities the curious and intelligent are bringing to light from
various parts.

The people of Ohio, living in a land of monuments, are much
interested in the study of antiquities.

DISCOVERY OP AMERICA. 11

Mr. Squier, of Chilicothe, has found some remarkable antiquities
in mounds of that vicinity. He has penetrated a large number of
the ancient tumuli. He divides them mainly into three classes.
The first were erected for sacrificial altars, such being found under
the different strata. The second were built as burial places, and
the third for places of look-out. An account of his researches has
been published by the Ethnoligical Society, N. Y.

FIRST INHABITANTS OF AMERICA. — We will not say, as the
Athenians said of their nation, that the first inhabitants of America
were created when the sun was first lit up in the sky; but we must
presume they early reached this continent from the old world.

The learned Dr. Clarke says that the continents were once
united, but that, by the force of winds and waves, the isthmuses
were broken up and formed into islands along the coasts. Easy,
however, is the transition from the East to the West, by the way
of Bhering's straits, when we consider that they are only thirteen
leagues wide.

Adverse winds, also, might have driven the frail vessels of the
ancients to the region lying on the gulf of Mexico, and elsewhere.

But, as tropical animals found in America could not have crossed
over by Bhering's straits when frozen, they must have come by
land that once extended from Asia, or Africa to America in the
torrid zone. Should it be asked why certain animals, as the horse
and the cow, not found originally on this continent, did not cross
by this continuous range of lands, we answer, because the original
continent was divided as possibly in the days of Peleg, (Gen. 10,
25,) before such animals had a opportunity to migrate.

I am inclined to believe that the land that united the now two
continents, was the Atlantis, spoken of by Plato, Homer and
Hesiod. Plato saw an account of this land which disappeared, in
the hieroglyphics of Egypt. I saw in the Jesuit's College, George
town, an important article on this subject. It was stated that there
were the remains of a sunken tract of land once lying between
Brazil and Africa — that such are seen also in the islands of Cape
Verd and Ascension, and others, and in the numerous sandbanks
observed by Bauche in particular, who sounded that part of the
Atlantic with great accuracy.

Extract of a letter from Rev. Mr. Heyer to Rev. Dr. Van
Vrankin, New Brunswick . " Mr. Davis advocates the theory that
I met with more than 20 years ago, in " Calcott on the Deluge,"
that America was peopled by land soon after the flood; that at that
time America was united to the eastern continent, and that in the
days of Peleg the earth was divided. The Hebrew word NEPELE-
GEH, divided as by the coming in of the sea; from the Greek word
Pelagos, and the Latin word Pelagus, being derived.

I'^J A LECTURE ON Till!

I think from the plains of Sliinar, men and animals diverged in
all directions. As it is said in Gen. II, 8, "So the Lord scattered
them from thence upon the face of all the earth."'

As the Europeans on coming here found none or few animals
peculiar to the eastern continent, I think only a part of the various
species preserved by Noah migrated west. Those left behind ever
remained different from those found in the New World by the
Spaniards. If this idea is new to others, I hope it may be consid
ered more reasonable than the infidel opinion that men and animals
were distinct creations here from those of Asia.

I found this idea corroborated by Buffon, as quoted by Clavigero
in his work on Mexico.

Think you they would have transported venomous serpents from
the old to the new world 1

Ogilby, cosmographer to the English sovereign, 1671, thinks that
men and animals came, immediately after the flood, from Armenia
to Tartary; and from the latter place to this continent, by a con
tinuous range of land extending from Asia to America by Bhering
straits .

I think with Georgii Hornii, who published his views, 1629, in a
Latin book, that this migration to this continent took place immedi
ately after the confusion of tongues at Babel.

By this primitive people, the cities of the South rose probably
simultaneously with those that adorned the banks of the Nile.

The traces of an extinct race of men about nine feet in length,
are to be found in various parts, as in Ohio, Kentucky, Pennsylva
nia; Rhode Island and New York.

And is it strange it should have been said in the sacred volume,
" and there were giants in those days'?"

The lights of science and revelation commingle, forming one
broad stream of light that is not lost but amid the radiance that
encircles the throne of the Eternal. As to the red men, clouds of
obscurity conceal their origin. Mr. Schoolcraft, late Indian Agent,
thinks they are of Asiatic origin. Many suppose they are the
descendents of the Israelites. Vague are their own tradition as to
their origin. Some Indians say they come from the East, some
from the West; some from the North, and some from the South.
Some think they came from beneath the earth; others suppose they
came from the skies.

Mr. Norman has published a valuable work, "Rambles in Yuca
tan," lat. 20° north. I have seen some of his remarkable antiqui
ties, as Penates, hieroglyphics in lime stone, the material of these
buildings. He kindly gave me a piece of Zuporte wood from
lintels found amid the ruins. It is hard, fine, heavy and as last
ing as time. Beautiful were the architecture and paintings he
saw. The latter was in fresco, and as fresh apparently as if
recently executed, Mr. N. thinks the cities of the South are of

DISCOVERY OF AMERICA. 13

very remote origin; that they were antiquities before the Christian •
era.

After a brief survey of American antiquities, well may we, like
the old patriot of Rome, ascend some lofty eminence and look over
the wide space of desolation ! Where once nations met in the
noon-day of their glory, now wild beasts roam and venomous
serpents wend their way. To gaze upon the past, we must cross
the melancholy flood

" Unto the kingdom of per; etual night."

So pass away the glories of the world, with man its lord ! There
is nothing permanent, save in the Spirit's land, and if there be any
change there, it is Eternity's rich drama of bloom and perfection.

The eyes of mankind, from the time of Pythagoras, have been
turned to the West, in anticipation that here new discoveries were
to be made; and hither were the adventurers at length led.

Seneca, Diadorus Siculus, Aristotle, as well as others, speak of
regions west of the Atlantic.

It is thought Virgil alludes in the following lines to places West.
In speaking of Augustus, he says that —

" He shall his power to India extend,

Beyond the annual circle, and beyond

The sun's long progress, where great Atlas bears,

Laden with golden stars, the glittering spheres."

FIRST KNOWN DISCOVERIES OF AMERICA. — It is thought Biarne
was accidentally driven by fierce winds on the coast of Newfound-*
land, before Lief sailed to the West.

The discovery of America by the Northmen, excites a vast deal
of curiosity. And is it not a laudable curiosity that leads one to
ascertain what white men first trod regions in which the modest
wild flower wasted its sweetness on the desert air 1

As Geography is one of the eyes of History, it would be well
at this time to direct the attention to the map of North America,
and to those of Massachusetts and Rhode Island in particular.

The Royal Society of Northern Antiquarians, in Copenhagen,
have lately published an important work. While the contents of
this massive work are invaluable, its mechanical execution reflects
great honor on the society that published it.

This work is called, as translated from the Latin, "American
Antiquities, or Northern Writings of Things in America, before
the time of Columbus."

The determination was formed some years since by the Royal
Society of Antiquarians in Copenhagen, to publish the authorities
on which these accounts rest, in the original documents, accompa
nied with full commentaries and illustrations. The text is in the
Icelandic tongue."

14 A LECTURE ON THE

The inquiry is often made, "who were the Northmen ?" They
were the descendants of the Scandinavians, who, it is thought
sprang from the Thracians mentioned by Homer — a nation now
extinct. The Danes, the Swedes, the Norwegians and the Ice
landers, all come under the name of Northmen or Norsemen.
Their literature has been compared, in extent, to the literary
remains of Greece, and Latinum. This opens a new fountain of
research, where the scholar may often

" Return and linger, linger and return."

This great work contains two Icelandic documents, now for the
first time published accurately, in a complete form, purporting to
be histories written by or for persons who discovered and visited
the North American coast early in the eleventh century, confirmed
and illustrated by extracts from no less than fifteen other original
manuscripts, in which the facts set forth in these histories are either
mentioned or alluded to. The Royal Society has already collect
ed two thousand Sagas, or works of Scandinavian or Icelandic
history.

In this work, in particular, is found Adam of Bremen's account
of the discovery of America, communicated to him in the eleventh
century, by Sweyn Estrythson, king of Denmark,

1. Are these documents genuine?

2. If so, why have they not been heard of before ?

The work itself contains evidences of the antiquity and authen
ticity of the manuscripts, from which the publication has been made,
sufficient to raise them above any just suspicion.

These documents, as Professor Rafn says, have been known to
Icelandic scholars; but these have been so few, comparatively, and
the means of those few so limited, that they have not been able to
give them a suitable examination, much less to be at the expense of
publishing them.

How long did the ancient classics, for instance, lay concealed in
the monasteries of Europe, for the want of some one to exhibit them
to the public view] These Icelandic documents may have been hid,
in like manner, in the libraries of priests. And we may say that
the society of antiquarians, in Copenhagen in bringing these docu
ments to light, resembles the conduct of the poet laureat, Petrarch,
in the fourteenth century, who, at his own expense, had the valua
ble manuscripts of antiquity dragged from the dust of the cloisters,
transcribed and exhibited to the world.

Who does not admire the lovely scenery, where the, beautiful
and sublime are blended, displayed in the succession of falls at
Trenton, N. Y.? Yet these were concealed for ages, till a master
spirit revealed them to an admiring world. And does not iho rnvcn
wing of night hide the works of art, also, till disclosed in a similar
way? The learned of Iceland, though like the generality of poets,

DISCOVERY OP AMERICA. 1 5

poor; yet they were not disposed, like Milton, to sell their manu
scripts for a paltry sum.

It is well known the Norwegians have long claimed the honor of
discovering and colonizing America be^pre the time of Columbus.

Instead of this discovery being a new-fangled theory, as some
say, there have been several works published in Europe upwards of
a century, which speak of these facts. Wormius speaks of this
discovery in a Latin translation, published in the University of
Oxford, in or about 1716. In Adam of Bremen's account, published
1629, he uses the following striking language: " Non fabulosa
opinione, sed certa relatione Danorum;" that is, in a free traasla-
tion, " This is not a fabulous opinion, but a true narrative given by
the Danes themselves." Dr, Franklin, in a letter to a distinguished
antiquary formerly of Switzerland, says positively that the Danes
came into New England before the time of Columbus. Dr. Mather
published an account, also, of this discovery in 1772.

The celebrated Dr. Henderson, who travelled in Iceland, says-
that the fact of this early discovery was well known to the Iceland
ers — that it was authenticated by Northern historians. It is a
remarkable fact, that Iceland, where these documents relating to
the early discovery were preserved, was the Athens of the North,
during the Dark Ages.

During the Middle Ages, the Icelanders were the most intelligent
people in the North. Even now, as Henderson says, youth can1
repeat passages from Latin and Greek authors, who have never
been but a few miles from the place of their birth. Truly, the
hardy Icelanders were our librarians and historians.

Iceland appears to have been a medium of communication be
tween Norway and Greenland, — a stepping stone, as it were, from
one continent to another.

Iceland, thought by some to be the " Ultima Thule " of Virgil,.
%vas discovered by the Norwegians in 861 . The oppression of
king Harold Harfaga drove them there for an asylum.

But the restless spirit of the Northmen would not allow them to
be idle . They made incursions in. every direction, and discovered
Greenland in 984.

In 986, a colony was begun by Eric the Red. This was at length
destroyed. By the exertions of the Danish Society, the ruins of
this settlement have been discovered. It was located on the
West, near Cape Farwell. It is seen in the remains of churches?
and buildings.

Leif the son of Eric, commenced a voyage of discovery in the
year 1000. His crew consisted of thirty-five men Leif was the
first to introduce missionaries into Greenland.

After sailing sometime south-west, they made land. They an
chored and went ashore. This place was destitute of grass, and
was covered with a slaty rock, which they called Helluland. This

16 A LECTUIE ON THE

is supposed to be Labrador. Fishermen and travellers of the-
ent. day give a like description of that barren region.

From thence they sailed southwardly; and after holding on for
some time, they again made^ land and went ashore. This country
was level, had a low coast, presenting here and there, bluffs
of white sand, and was thickly covered with wood. This they
named Markland or Woodland. This is thought to be Nova
Scotia.

Leaving Markland, they sailed south-westerly, with a fair wind,
two days before seeing land again, when they passed down a prom
ontory, probably the east side of Cape Cod, stretching east and
north; and then turning west between an island, (Martha's Vine
yard) and the main land, they entered a bay (Naragansett Bay)
through which a river (Taunton River) flowed, when they came to
anchor and went ashore. Resolving to spend the winter here they
called the place Leifsbuthir, or place of booths. Here, finding grapes
very plenty, they called the place Vinland or Wincland the good.
This land, to those coming from the remote North, appeared as
nature in the ''world's first spring."

Early in the season they returned to Greenland. Leif s return
became the principle subject of conversation.

The next adventure was Thorwold his brother. And you will
observe that he and the other navigators gave the same account of
places they visited. Were not this the case, who could believe any
of their reports 1

Thorwold, thinking the country had not been sufficiently explor
ed, set sail in 1002, and proceeded to Leifsbuthir, where he lived
till 1004.

In the spring of 1004, he sailed from Leifsbuthir. After pass
ing along the shore of the promontory, east and north, they sailed
round a sharp point of land, called K jar lanes. This must have
been Cape Cod. Kjarlanes implies Keel-cape. For Cape Cod at
the extremity, is in the shape of the keel of ancient vessels, which
curved inward.

These Northmen were peaceable men. They were not like
Phaston, who would gladly have seized the reins of the chariot of
the sun to set the world on fire. It must not be denied, however,
that the second great navigator, Thorwold, assailed the natives
without cause; but in using the sword he perished by the sword.
On receiving a mortal wound, he requested that after his death,
crosses might be placed at either end of his grave.

The Catholic ministers < in giving an account of their first mis
sionary labors in this country, speak of the custom of the natives
in wearing crosses. Such must have been introduced by the North
men Christians.

I mentioned this circumstance, lately to the librarian of the
American Antiquarian Society, Worcester; and he said that a

DISCOVERY OF AMERICA. 17

Cross had been sent to that institution by a gentleman of Ohio. I
saw this emblem of the Christian faith. It must have been hid
from the light of heaven for centuries. This silver cross is about
two and a half inches long. It was found on the breast of a female
skeleton, one of which was dug from a mound at Columbus, over
which a forest of trees had grown. On this cross the capital letters
I S. are perfectly visible. And what can these letters imply, but
the initials of the sacred name, IESUS SALVATOR I

Who can doubt, then, that the "Sun of Righteousness" cast his
bright beams on the land west of the dread Atlantic, long before
the time of Columbus.

In 1006, Thorfins or Thorfin commanded one of the three
ships that came from Iceland to Greenland. He was of royal
lineage.

In the spring of 1007, Thorfin, with three ships and one hundred
and sixty men, besides cattle and all necessary materials for estab
lishing a colony, set sail for Vinland.

They sailed to Helluland or Labrador; from thence to Markland
or Nova Scotia; and from thence to Kjarlanes, or Cape Cod. —
Sailing south by the east side of the promontory which terminated
at Kjarlanes, they passed along beaches or trackless deserts of sand.
How descriptive of this bleak and sterile coast !

Those who have sailed from Boston to Narragansett Bay, are
ready to say that I am not drawing an ideal picture.

Continuing- their course they arrived at an island. They called
it Shaumey. This is supposed to be Martha's Vineyard. Nine
men went away in one of the ships and never returned. It is said
they were driven on the coast of Ireland, where they were seized
as slaves.

In the spring Thorfin and one hundred and fifty others went to
the main land. They called the place Hop, the residence after
wards of King Phillip. Here they found large numbers of skrel-
lings or natives. Thorfin carried on a traffic with them, by ex
changing bits of colored cloth for furs. In consequence of their
frequent attacks, in 1009 they returned to Greenland. Then, it
will be recollected, the Northmen had not the use of fire-arms with
which to defend themselves against the assaults of the savages. —
These lords of the wilds had a rude kind of engine, by which they
hurled large stones against their foes; and it is possible that the
white man would never have driven the red man from the Atlantic
to the Rocky mountains, *but for the invention of gunpowder.

I cannot forbear to speak of the valor of one of this crew of the
Northmen, a female. When all the rest were disposed to flee before
the savage foe, she exclaimed: "If I only had a weapon, I ween I
could fight better than any of you." Ah ! when we consider the
patriotism of the females at the seige of Carthage, who cut their
locks to make ropes for engines of war; and when we recollect the
3

18 A LECTURE ON THE

courage of Isabella of Castile, who, at the conquest of Grenada,
though in ill health, led on her veterans to conquest and glory, have
we not reason to suppose that this Scandinavian was sincere in her
declaration ? Truly valor and benevolence are but parallel streams
in the female heart. We would not applaud courage, however
unless under the control of a high and holy principle.

Thortin married Gudrida, the widow of Thorstein, third son of
Eric. She accompanied her husband to Vinland. Snorre their son
was the first white child born in America. From him descended
the distinguished associate of Proffessor Rafn, Finn Magnusen. —
The late great Sculptor, Thorwalsden of Denmark, was of this
family. Bishop Thulock Rudolfson, was a descendant of Thorfin's
and it is supposed that he wrote or compiled these documents.

A distinguished geologist from Denmark has lately found the
remains of an Icelandic city in Brazil. He discovered Runic in
scriptions on flagstones. Above all, he found a statue of the North
man god of thunder. Thor, with his attributes, the magic girdle
and hammer.

Thorfin, the most distinguished of these returned to Iceland,
where he ended his days, living in great splendor

The editor of the American Antiquities, Professor Rafn, and
his associate, Professor Finn Magnusen, think that Vinland was
situated in the east part of Rhode Island, and in the south part
of Massachusetts, on or about Narragamsett Bay and Taunton
River.

The points in the Icelandic doctrments alluding to the locality to
Vinland, may be reckoned the Geography, Natural History, Astron
omical Phenomena, and vestiges of Residence of Northmen in that
place. All these, in the opinion of the editor of the American An
tiquities, point to the head of Narragansett Bay, or Mt. Hope Bay,
as the locality of Hop, the central part of Vinland.

As the Royal Society have held correspondence with several
learned societies in this country for some1 years, they are well qual
ified to form a judgment on this subject. Dr. Webb now of Bos
ton formsrly Secretary of the Rhode Island Historical Society,
and J. R. Bartlett, Esq., of New York, have been very efficient
agents in aiding the Royal Society in presenting this great work
to the world.

The following letter from the late General Holstein, Professor
in the "Albany Female Academy," will show the care taken to ac
quire information relative to American Antiquities:

" In proof the great exertions made by the Northern Antiqua
rian Society, in Copenhagen, to acquire a knowledge of Scandina
vian Antiquities in America, I hereby state that, several years since
a letter of inquiry, sealed with the seal of the Society, was sent to a
professional gentleman of Geneva, in this State, a translation of
which I made from the Danish tongue."

I
DISCOVERY OF AMERICA. 19

THE GEOGRAPHY OF VINL AND.— Concerning the situation of
Helluland there can be no doubt, as it was the first land southwest
of Greenland. Where else could this have been, unless the coast
of Labrador.

Markland was situated south-west from Helluland, three day's
sail, or three hundred and sixty English miles. This is supposed to
be Nova Scotia.

The distance of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick agrees with
.the account the Icelanders gave of Markjand.

Vinland was situated two day's sail, or about two hundred and
forty English miles to the south-west of Markland; and if Mark-
land has been properly located, must be sought in or the near
south part of Massachusetts.

In the Icelandic documents, it is said that Hop, the residence of
T.borfin, was situated on an elevation of land, near a river which
flowed south, through a bay into the ocean. From this the land
stretched east; and, turning north, formed a promontory, which
terminated in a point or cape, which they called Kjarlanes. The
east side of the promontory was bound by long, narrow beaches,
or sand hills. To those who, like myself, have often viewed the
Atlantic, from these sand hills, this account appears peculiarly
striking.

NATURAL HISTORY OF VINLAND. — Vinland was remarkable for
its beautiful vines, maple trees, maize, and a great variety of wild
animals. The waters abounded with fish, and were occasionally
visited with whales. Birds were numerous. The eider duck was
seen about the islands in large numbers.

As to vines, they are said to be numerous even now; and this is
more particularly true of the country around Narragansett Bay. —
And was not an island called Martha's Vineyard, on account of the
multiplicity of vines growing there?

The celebrated Bishop Berkly, who attempted to establish a the
ological seminary in Rhode Island, says, in his letter to his friends
in Europe, that vines were as plenty on the Island as in Italy. Gos-
inald, who visited the Elizabeth Isles in 1602, say, that vines were
in great profusion there.

In the documents it is said that, in that region, are the red, sugar
and bird's-eye maple. The Northmen cut down the trees; and,
after they were dry, they loaded their ships with the timber. It
is supposed that the bird's-eye variety was made an article of com
merce.

As to Indian corn or maize, it seems our pilgrim fathers found
some in what is now called Truro, near the end of the Cape. It
was buried in the earth to preserve it. Indian corn has never been
found North of 45° North latitude.

It is needless to remind the reader of the multiplicity of fish that
still abound in the waters of this region. The sportsman, may, at

•JO A LECTURE ON THE

this day, toll his friends, in the language of Capt. Smith, of James-:
town, who described this quarter, * 'of the pleasures to he derived
from angling, and crossing the sweet air, from isle to isle, over the
silent streams of a calm sea."

As to whales, I have occasionally seen them spouting around the
sandy shores of the Cape.

In regard to the eider duck, in the Latin translation it is called
"anas mollissima," a duck with the finest feathers. The real eider
duck of Iceland, is. at this day, frequently seen around Martha's
Vineyard, Wild fowl must have been numerous there, as an
island is still called Egg Island, from the quantity of eggs they
desposited.*

THORFIX DESCRIBES THE SOIL AND CLIMATE. — The winters of
of Vinland are said to be remarkably mild, but little snow falling,
and cattle subsisting out of doors, through the winter.

This account does not agree with the description of New Eng
land winters at this time. Still, however, it has been the practice
of the farmers on Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard, to let their
sheep and cattle lie out during the winter. But the cold winters of
New England, compared with those of Greenland, are as the mild
ness of spring. They speak, however, of a snowy winter.

But there have been great changes in the face of the earth and
in the climate in different ages. Change is the law of nature.
Has not one of the bright clusters been blotted out from the map
of heaven? Such changes also take place on the face of the
earth.

The Dead Sea, was, in early times, sixty miles long. It is now
only thirty. And even old Ontario and Erie have receeded from
their former bounds, leaving to the present generation a rich tract
of land, several miles wide, and a beautiful ridge-road. Who does
not admire the everlasting rock, rising in stern grandeur, on either
side of the Mowhawk, at the Little Falls, N. Y.? Yet, the lovely
vale above must once have been the bed of a vast lake. This is
manifest from the fact, that there are "pot holes" found at an ele
vation of sixty feet above the river, at these falls.

These circular excavations were made ages since, by the circum
volution of stones, driven by the rapid descent of the waters. You
can see a demonstration of this fact, by looking at the high falls of
Black River or Trenton.

And what a mighty labor was that for the waters of this lake to
have found their way, gradually through the high and continuous
wall of granite where now the Mohawk murmurs as it rolls along
its new channel.

*Mr. Audubon, whose letter to me is on the second page, sayg he has seen in Labra
dor, twenty -seven nests of the eider duck within a very small compass

DISCOVERY OF AMERICA. 21

Geological facts prove that it was much warmer, formerly, in the
North than it is now.

Large forests once flourished in Lapland.

It is not to be disputed that, in former ages, Iceland produced
timber in abundance . Large trees are occasionally found there in
the marshes and valleys, to a considerable depth in the ground —
Segments of the fossil-trees have lately been exported, in proof of
the alleged fact.

It is asserted in the ancient Icelandic records, that when Ingulf
the Norwegian, first landed in Iceland, 879, he found so thick a
cluster of birch trees that he penetrated them with difficulty.

Henderson, in his travels in Iceland, says that the climate has
deteriorated there, from the fact that it was once shaded with for-,
ests,

When the first Norwegian colony settled in Greenland, about
1000 years ago, they found no difficulty from ice in approaching
the coast, and a regular correspondence was supported by their
people for many years.

ASTRONOMICAL PHENOMENA. — The learned editor and his asso
ciate deduce from the astronomical data, lat. 41° 24' 16", which is
the latitude of Narragansett Bay, and Mount Hope. There, at the
winter solstice, December 22, the day is nine hours.

That the Northmen were capable of taking latitudes, is evident
from the circumstance, that at that period they speak of eclipses,
which have lately been calculated by Sir David Brewster, and the
distinguished Norwegian astronomer, Hanstein, and found correct.

The reading, however, that leads to the above calculation, has
been disputed The whole controversy turns upon the meaning of
two words. From what we can understand, we presume the editor
is correct in his exposition.

But suppose we were to reject all history on account of some
apparent or real discrepancy in narration? *In such a case, some
future reader might declare that the history of the American revo
lution was neither credible nor authentic, for it is said' that the
distinguished battle of the 17th June, 1775, was fought on Bunker's
Hill, instead of Breed's. Who does not know that Bunker's Hill,
rising back of Breed's, is more elevated than the latter on which
the monument is rising? [Yes, and by the patriotism of the ladies
of 1840, now towers to the stars.]

LITTLE CAN BE SAID OF THE VESTIGES OF THE RESIDENCE OF THE
NORTHMEN IN THIS COUNTRY. — There is a large rock at the junc
tion of Smith's creek with Taunton river, with a singular inscription
on it. It was evidently made with an iron instrument. Passing

#2 A LECTURE ON THE

the particular remarks of the editor on these letters, I would

give his supposition as to their meaning.

rxxxi

fORFINS

Thorfins, with one hundred and fifty-one men took possession of
this country. The first figure on the second line is wanting in the
rook. It is supposed it was made as above for TH. While Mr.
Schoolcraft believes in the discovery of the Northmen, he thinks
this inscription was left by the Indians.

Professor Rafn has deciphered an inscription on^the Paradisic
rock of Iceland, which he says proves beyond a doubt the Euro
pean origin of the inscription on this in Massachusetts.

John R. Bartlett, Esq., copied the inscription. He found the
characters permanently imbedded in the rock called Gneiss.

There are similar inscriptions on rocks in the vicinity of Mount
Hope Bay.

The people of the North of Europe were fond of making in
scriptions on rocks on the borders of lakes and rivers; for such are
found in Norway, Sweden and Scotland. They are called Runes.

The Northmen originally used sixteen of these Runic characters.

One of these inscriptions, found on a rock in Sweden, has been
deciphered by Professor Finn Magnusen. The inscription relates
to a battle fought about A. D. 680 between the kings of Norway
and Sweden. Accounts of this battle were given by authentic
historians. In a work just issued in Denmark, it is proved that
there are several other inscriptions found in the neighborhood of
Taunton like the one above. Also, that the old stone building at
Newport, R. I., was erected by the Northmen; for it is exactly
like the stone houses of Norway, built as baptisteries. The oldest.

ople of Bbode Island know nothing of the origin of that curiously

. Gibbs, of R. L, owns it, and believes it was erected by
the Northmen. Rev. Mr. Kip, of Albany, tells me he saw at the
residence of the Duke of Tuscany, a Swedish Count, who spake of
this building as the work of the Northmen. He was perfectly
familiar with the discoveries of those whom he proudly called his
people. Mr. K. also saw in Italy the famous painting of Leutze,
representing the landing of the Northmen in America. This large
painting has been brought to New York, where I saw it lately
among other grand specimens of living masters.

The light of evidence constantly flowing in from every quarter,
confirms fully the fact that the men of the North crossed the At
lantic before the day of Columbus, Objections to this theory are
now few, and, like angel's visits, "far between."

DISCOVERY OP AMERICA. 23

1'he late Noah Webster, Esq., told me he examined the subject
forty years since, and came to the above conclusion

W. H. Prescott, LL. D., advances the same opinion in his late
splendid work on Mexico.

Bishop Hawks has written a valuable little work on " lost Green
land, in which he speaks of 17 bishops, who successively presided
in that country. The colony suddenly disappeared in or near 1614.'
The present colony was established in 1721. The son of a Danish
bishop told me he lately saw the Governor of Greenland, an old
school-mate of his, who showed him a book published in Greenland,
giving an account of these discoveries. If had a rude map of Cape
Cod and Boston Harbor.

Were the Northmen capable of making discoveries, and of
recording them? The rude children of our forests could not per
form a work so mighty.

The Roman historian, Tacitus, spake of the invasion of the
North before the Christian era. He says of Cimbri, that they were
not a small tribe, but mighty in fame; that the vestiges of their
ancient glory still remained in their fortifications; that no other
nation had so often given them cause to dread their arms — not the
Carthagenians, or Spaniards or Gauls.

In later times the Northmen made incursions upon Germany,
France, England, the Orkney, Farroe and Shetland Isles.

The French were in such fear of the Northmen, that they in
serted in their Liturgy, UA. furore Normanorum, libera nos, O
Domine."*

In the ninth and tenth centuries, the Danes or Northmen invaded
England, and seated one of their favorite princes, Canute, on the
throne of Alfred.

They were a daring people — the sea was their home — the
mountain wave was the scene of their sport — far and wide did
they wander without compass to guide.

Their vessels were built of timber that is now eagerly sought by
the first maritime nations of the earth.

A people, some of whose leaders boasted of never having slept
by a cottage fire, became the dread of Christendom. They ruled
the waters from the Arctic ocean to the Azores — they passed
between the pillars of Hercules — they ravaged the coasts of Spain
and France — sacked the cities of Tuscany — drove the Saracens
from Sicily. They desolated the classic fields of Greece — pene
trated the walls of Constantinople. Yes, in rescuing the Holy
Sepulchre, they led the van of the chivalry of Europe. Mark
their valor and their success; for one hundred Northmen knights,-

* From the rage of the Northmen, good Lord deliver us.

24 A LECTURE ON THE

with one aid or squire each, drove ten thousand Saracens from
Sicily. Scott gives a beautiful description of this remarkable
people, in speaking of the Western Isles:

" Thither came in times afar

Stern Lochlin's sons of roving war;

The Northmen, trained to spoil and blood,

Skilled to prepare the raven's food;

Kings of the main, their leaders brave,

Their barks the dragons of the wave."

In describing king Harold's ship it is said:

" And dragon's heads adorn the prow of gold,"

Seest thou the tiny fleet of some school-boy, launched on an
isolated sheet of water? And such were the greatest armaments
of the famous nations of antiquity, compared with those of the
Northmen .

The present illustrious Queen of England, is a direct descendant
of the Northmen. It will be recollected that Rollo, the Norman,
invaded France in 912, and enthroned himself in the North. In
1066, William of Normandy conquered England. These sove
reigns were Northmen, and from their family the pride and glory
of Great Britain descended.

At the beginning of the eleventh century, the Danes and Nor
wegians were converted to Christianity, and thereby received a
new impulse, that led him to extend the blessings of the Gospel.
And who but this people could ever have established missions in
Greenland?

What shall we say of the ability of the Northmen to record in
cidents of their voyages?

In the year 1000, on their conversion to Christianity, they
adopted the Roman alphabet. This was their Augustan age. The
thirst of the Icelanders for learning, is seen in the conduct of Ulfi-
jot, their supreme legislator, who, in 925, undertook a voyage to
Norway, in his sixtieth year, to acquire a more perfect knowledge
of the legal customs and institions of the parent country.

In Iceland the learned were called Skalds and Sagamen.

The former were poets and historians. Skalds denote '-'smooth
ers and polishers of language."

The Sagamen recited in prose, with greater detail, what the
Skalds had recited in verse.

By the recitations of the Skalds, the real and traditionary history
of the country was transmitted from generation to generation.

Memory is, perhaps, the most improvable faculty of our nature.
Deprived of books it depends upon its own resources. Its strength

DISCOVERY OF AMERICA. 25

is seen in the following instance : An Icelandic Skald sang sixty
different lays in one evening, before King Harold Sigurdson; and
being asked if he knew any more, declared that these were only
the half he could sing,

Their traditionary histories were written down and preserved.

As poetry is among the antiquities of all nations, the events it
records have ever been preserved by the recitations of Skalds,
Minstrels or Bards.

And whom does the conqueror of Wales cut off from the land?
Does not Edward the First, of England, destroy the minstrels of
Wales, lest they should, by their recitations, awaken that spirit of
liberty in the breasts of the vanquished, which would lead them to
throw off the yoke of the British monarch? — . — ^ UB

These Skalds wer& distinguished men — the companions or Kings.
They sometimes were kings, as in the instance of Regnar Lodbrok.

The Sagamen made their recitations in public and private, at
convenient opportunities.

If Augustus delighted to have Virgil and Horace on either hand,
so the Scandinavian monarchs rejoiced to have Skalds and Saga-
men in their presence.

At solemn feasts the services of these men were required.

Saemund, in 1056, collected the different poems relating to the
mythology and history of the North. The collection was called
the "Poetic Edda." He was a man of learning, having been
educated at the Universities of Germany and France.

He performed for the ancient poems the same office which is
said to have been done by the ancient Greek rhapsodist who first
collected and arranged the songs of his predecessors, and reduced
them to one continuous poem, called Homer's Iliad.

Snorre Sturlson, judge of Iceland, was the most distinguished
scholar of his day. His principal work was the Prosaic Edda? It
treats in particular of Scandinavian mythology. He lived in 1 178.
His bath still attracts the attention of the traveler. The acqueduct
of it is five hundred feet long, and is composed of hewn stone, finely
united by cement. The reservoir is similarly constructed, and will
contain thirty persons. The water was supplied from one of their
warm springs.

The general characteristics of the Icelandic tongue are copious
ness, energy and flexibility to an extent that rivals every modern
language and which enables it to enter into successful competion
with the Greek and Latin.

Were not the Icelanders then capable of recording the events
incident to a voyage of discovery ?

The internal evidences found in these documents are in favor of
their authenticity.

Besides there are in existence a series of works from the time
when these voyages purport to have been made, down to the pre-
4

20 A LECTURE ON THK

sent time, which have been preserved, and which make mention of
these discoveries.

Distinguished men who have had superior opportunities of ascer
taining the merits of this question, have come to the conclusion that
the descendents of the^ Scandinavians were the discoverers of
America, prior to the time of Columbus. Among these are Dr.
Forster, Mr. Wheaton, our late Minister at the Court of Berlin,
and Baron Von Hurnboldt, also of the above city.

In a work sent from Denmark are the following important re
marks: "Alexander Von Humboldt, who of all modern travelers
has thrown the greatest light on the physical circumstances, first
discovery and earliest history of America, has admitted that the
Scandinavian Northmen were the true original discoverers of the
New World. He has also remarked, that the information which
the public as yet possesses of that remarkable epoch in the Middle
Ages, is extremely scanty ; and he has expressed a wish that the
Northern Literati would collect and publish all the accounts relating
to that subject."

The Society of Northern Antiquarians has complied with his re
quest, in publishing the great work I before mentioned.

Besides Adam of Bremen's account of the discovery of Ameri
ca, this great work speaks of Bishop Eric's voyage to Vinland, in
1121. Although Thorfin's men were driven away at first by the
natives, yet it is reasonable to suppose, that they at length returned
and formed colonies in this quarter, together with others who visit
ed America, as named in the Icelandic MSS.

If voyages were made, from time to time, to different parts of
America, by the Northmen, is it not reasonable to suppose that some
parts of our country were inhabited by them for a long time, and
that Bishop Eric visited Vinland to perform Episcopal duties, and
that the Northmen left evidences of their arts, in the antiquities I
will briefly name?

How fond is man to linger around mouldering ruins — to fix the
eye on the mutilated column overgrown with ivy ! But are there
not antiquities as worthy as those of art 1 I mean those of our own
species.

I shall make a remark on a human skeleton I saw, not long since,
at Fall River in the vicinity of Narragansett Bay.

I had an extensive view of the region around Mount Hope, lying
on the west of Mount Hope Bay. How accurately is the scenery
portrayed in the Icelandic documents !

A skeleton was dug up, a few years since, in that place. It had
a breast-plate or medal hanging clown its neck, thirteen inches long,
and six in width at the top, and five at the bottom. It had also an
ornament of fillet work around its body, four and a half inches
wide. These ornaments are made of brass, or, as Dr. Webb says,

DISCOVERY OP AMERICA. 27

of bronze. A knowledge of the use of this artificial metal implies
a considerable advance in the arts.

I witnessed lately an object of interest in the state of New York.

Not long since, a large oak tree, cut down at Lyons, was taken
to Newark; and on sawing it there were found near the centre the
marks of an axe. On counting the concentric circles, it was dis
covered that four hundred and sixty had been formed since the cut
ting was made. It is well known that a circle is the growth of a
year. But the most striking circumstance is, that this Targe cavity,
now visible, was made by an edged tool. The rude stone axes of
the present race of Indians could never have made clefts so smooth
as those I saw in the block at the hotel of Gen, Barney, at Newark.
I have a report of a Historical Society in Ohio, describing a similar
cutting made with a metallic axe, about three hundred and fifty
years ago.

On further examination, I presume this skeleton, whose head is
different from that of the natives, was a Northman; and that the
cuttings in this tree were made by axes wielded by the descendants
of the Northmen. For I find that the Icelandic MSS, speak of
breast-plates worn by the Northmen; and to their axes, it is sta
ted that the natives tried them on wood", and afterwards on stone ;
but the instruments used by the former to cut down maple trees,
could not withstand the use made of them by the latter, upon stone.
If it be asked, what has become of the Northmen, and where are
their descendants 1 we answer : Like the mighty master-builders of
the splendid cities of Central America, and of the fortifications,
mounds, &c., of the United States, they have passed into oblivion.
Nations seem to vanish in a day : — like the 300,000 inhabitants of
Moscow, who left the city instantly on the approach of the mad
Corsican.

There have been discovered beyond latitude 60°, in Greenland,
upwards of 500 people, resembling those in the north of Europe,
probably descendants of the Northmen.

An important inquiry arises : Was Columbus aware of the dis
covery of the Northmen 1 From a letter preserved by his son, it
appears he visited Iceland in 1477. It is thought by the Danes that
he there obtained a knowledge of the discovery of Vinland. Allow
ing this to be the case, it is singular he should never have given any
intimation of such knowledge.

Instead of walking through Spain, leading his son by the hand,
would he not at once have rushed into the presence of the sover
eigns, and acquired patronage, wealth and honor, by telling them
that the obscure Icelanders'had discovered the region he wished to
unfold?

28 A LECTURE ON THE

His greatest enemies never accused him of having reached the
New World by information received from Iceland.

But as Columbus was rather artful, he might, from particular
motives, have concealed this knowledge from the observation of
mankind.

After all, let not the circumstance of this prior discovery, cause,
in our view, the laurels given to Columbus to wither on his brow.
Let us ever honor him for his perseverance and his virtues.

Let not Lief and his associate Northmen deprive him of what
the voice of nations has awarded, the merit of having given, not to
Ferdinand and Isabella only, but to successive generations, a New
World.

Iceland, though but a speck on the bosom of the Northern Ocean
is not unworthy of our notice. Though dark to the superficial
observer, yet it shines with a lustre brighter than the flame rising
from its volcano. It is the light of knowledge. That obscure island
is remarkable for the attention paid to learning. Even many among
the common class pursue the higher branches of study. Their long
nights are enlivened by the custom of every member of the family
gathering around the bright lamp, while one reads for the amuse
ment and instruction of all.

The sources of happiness are not, like those of mighty rivers, hid
from the view of most people. They are accessible to all. The
Icelanders, living in a remote island, and cut off from the privileges
that milder climates present, are naturally led to look for happiness
in the pursuit of knowledge.

If the celebrated Pliny could say his books were sovereign con
solers of sorrow, cannot the Icelander also declare that when moun
tain waves lash the shores he can find pleasure in the pursuit of
those studies that mend the heart and enlighten the mind ? Ah, yes!
fondness for books will create an artificial summer in the depths of
the most gloomy season.

The sunny Italy may boast of the beauteous tints that flush her
skies; but after all, her effeminate inhabitants may be destitute of
that happiness enjoyed by those who live where winter reigns un
controlled most of the year.

The benevolence of Deity is seen in the contentedness felt by
those who live in the higher latitudes, where, as a writer said of
countries north of the Alps, Nature seems to have acted the part
of a step-mother.

What a contrast between the condition of the Icelanders and
that of their forefathers ! They were the worshippers of the god
Wodin. And what were his attributes ! He was styled the Father
of Carnage ! His greatest favorites were such as destroyed most
of their fellow creatures in the field of battle.

But the Prince of Peace has broken the sceptre of the Father of
Carnage. The benign influence of his Gospel is seen in all the de-

DISCOVERY OF AMERICA. . 29

partments of Government. Observe its effects as seen in the differ
ence between the feelings of Lodbrok, a Northman King and Skald,
and those evinced by Peace Makers in Europe and America ! Those
who, when storms are rising in the political horizon, instead of
" letting slip the dogs of war," do all in their power to avert the
threatened dangers. Lodbroke in his death-song says: "Eight
Earls graced my Dwina's mouths. The crimson sweat of death
poured on the sullen sea." Yes, he exults in seeing his laurels dyed
in the blood of his fellow creatures. But the lovers of peace gaze
in rapture on those of the Great Pacificators of both continents
while verdant under a pacific sky.

Who would not award to such heroes rather than to Augustus
Caesar, a place among the stars'? (See Georgica, B. I. 34.)

Such is the influence of Christianity, where the Northmen found
those who heard the Great Spirit in the thunder.

This, as Cicero said of Rome, is the glory of all lands.

" Wisdom and knowledge are the stability of our times. All
classes become sensible that knowledge is the guardian of property.
In every place they eagerly seek after that wisdom which, as Iso-
crates says, is the only imperishable treasure. Who can stay the
progress of knowledge] You might as well think of " binding the
sweet influences of Pleiades, or of loosening the bands of Orion,"*
as to attempt to oppose the march of mind. To swell the tide of
improvement, it is pleasing to reflect that men of the first talents
are engaged ; and that, through the medium of those lectures,
which, if they are not the fountains of knowledge, are important
guides to them.

A word in praise of the Scandinavians. Like the patriarch, they
went in search of a region, they knew not where. We praise them
for their courage, we applaud them for their zeal, we respect them
for their motives ; for they were anxious to enlarge the boundaries
fof knowledge. They reached the wished-for land,

"Where now the western stm
O'er fields and floods, o'er every living soul,
Diffuseth glad repose."

The Scandinavians have opened to view a broad region, where
smiling Hope invites successive generations from the Old World.

Such men as a Caesar or a Tamerlane, conquer but to devastate
countries. Discoverers add new regions of fertility and beauty to
those already known. And are not the hardy adventurers, plough
ing the briny wave, more attractive than the troops of Alexander

*As Pleiades appear in Spring, and Orion, in Winter, Patrick gives the following
.exposition to the above passage, from Job, 33 ch., 31 v.

" Canst thou forbid the sweet flowers to come forth, when the seven stars rise in the
Spring, or open the earth for the husbandman's labor, when the winter season at the
rising of Orion, ties up his hands."

30 A LIU TIUF, ON THE DISCOVERY OF AMKRK \.

marching to conquer the world, with plumes waving in the gentle
breeze, with arms glit taring in the sunbeams'? Who can tell the
benefits the former confer on mankind 1

"To count them all demands a thousand ton.
A throat of brass, and adamantine lungs." "

APPENDIX.

It is possible that the plan of the buildings in Central America, was
derived from that of the Towei of Babel,

The following are the dimensions of one the large buildings in Pa-
lenque: —

Base 310 by 260 feet— 40 feet high. Building 280 by 180 feet—
25 feet high. The piers have stuccos, finely painted. The paintings
are like the frescoes in Italy,

The paintings Norman saw, were of light green and sky blue. He
speaks also, of walls 15 feet thick, composed of good stone finely
cemented.

In addition to the valuable essay, I heard Mr. Squier read in New
York, I lately saw the' following remarks on his discoveries, in Ohio,
from the New York Couirer.

"His specimens surprised the [Ethnological] Society, as they furnish
evidence of a skill and taste in sculpture, far surpassing anything exhib
ited by the existing Indian tribes. He found the figures of about 100
animals, of different species in all the departments of Geology, formed
with such accuracy, as to be readily distinguishable, and many of them
shaped with almost perfect accuracy, and finished in detail, as if by
superior workmen, showing a liveliness of expression, which would lead
to the conclusion that they were the portraits of birds, beasts, fish and
reptiles.'7

Mr. S. is inclined to think the people who left these remains of anti
quity, emigrated to Mexico.

in regard to the Northmen 'discovery, the following from the Dublin
Evening Post, speaks the opinion of distinguished Reviews relative to
the Danish work.

This is a very noble, a very curious, and in point of historical interest,
a most important volume. This publication has put the matter beyond a
doubt:

I saw in the State Library, at Albany, the History of New York, by
Moulton and Yates, in which it is fully acknowledged.

32 APPENDIX.

In the Museum of Copenhagen Denmark, is to be seen a large piece,
of a church bell, found in Gieenland. It was among the antiquities,
left by the Northmen who lived there before the days of Columbus.

The following is from the beautiful Ballad of Professor Longfellow,
on the •' Skeleton in Armor," found at Fall River: —

Speak 1 speak ! thou fearful guest !
Who, with thy hollow breast,
Still in rude armor drest ;

Comest to daunt me !
Wrapped not in Eastern balms,
But with thy fleshless palms
Stretched as if asking alms ;

Why dost thou daunt me ?

,

ffl

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