The Native Races [of the Pacific states], Volume 5, Primitive History

'Markland was situate to the south-west of Helluland, distant about three days' sail, or about from eighty to ninety miles. It is therefore Nova Scotia, of which the descriptions given by later writers answer to that given by the ancient Northmen of Markland.' Id.

221

'Vinland was situate at the distance of two days' sail, consequently about from fifty-four to sixty miles, in a south-westerly direction from Markland. The distance from Cape Sable to Cape Cod is stated in nautical works as being W. by S. about seventy leagues, that is, about fifty-two miles. Biarne's description of the coasts is very accurate, and in the island situate to the eastward (between which and the promontory that stretches to eastward and northward Leif sailed) we recognize Nantucket. The ancient Northmen found there many shallows (grunnsæ fui mikit); modern navigators make mention at the same place "of numerous riffs and other shoals," and say "that the whole presents an aspect of drowned land."' Id., pp. 121-2. 'The leading evidences serve to attest that Vinland was the present very marked seaboard area of New England. The nautical facts have been carefully examined by Professors Rafn and Magnusen, and the historical data adapted to the configuration of the coast which has Cape Cod as its distinguishing trait. All this seems to have been done with surprising accuracy, and is illustrated by the present high state of the arts in Denmark and Germany.' Schoolcraft's Arch., vol. i., p. 111.

222

'Kialarnes (from Kiölr, a keel, and nes, a cape, most likely so named on account of its striking resemblance to the keel of a ship, particularly of one of the long ships of the ancient Northmen) must consequently be Cape Cod, the Nauset of the Indians, which modern geographers have sometimes likened to a horn, and sometimes to a sickle or sythe.' Id., p. 122.

223

'The Straumfiördr of the ancient Northmen is supposed to be Buzzard's Bay, and Straumey, Martha's Vineyard; although the account of the many eggs found there would seem more precisely to correspond to the island which lies off the entrance of Vineyard Sound, and which at this day is for the same reason called Egg Island.' Id.

224

See Abstract of Hist. Evid., in Lond. Geog. Soc., Jour., vol. viii., p. 114, et seq., and De Costa's Pre-Columbian Disc. Amer., p. 11, et seq.

225

In the year 983, according to Abstract of Hist. Evid., in Lond. Geog. Soc., Jour., vol. viii., p. 125. De Costa makes it 928. Pre-Columbian Disc. Amer., p. 86.

226

'Professor Rafn in, what seems to the author, his needless anxiety to fix the locality of the White-man's land in America, says that, as this part of the manuscript is difficult to decipher, the original letters may have got changed, and vi inserted instead of xx, or xi, which numerals would afford time for the voyager to reach the coast of America, in the vicinity of Florida. Smith in his Dialogues, has even gone so far as to suppress the term six altogether, and substitutes, "by a number of days sail unknown." This is simply trifling with the subject. In Grönland's Historiske Mindesmœrker, chiefly the work of Finn Magnussen, no question is raised on this point. The various versions all give the number six, which limits the voyage to the vicinity of the Azores. Schöning, to whom we are so largely indebted for the best edition of Heimskringla, lays the scene of Marson's adventure at those islands, and suggests that they may at that time have covered a larger extent of territory than the present, and that they may have suffered from earthquakes and floods, adding, "It is likely, and all circumstances show, that the said land has been a piece of North America." This is a bold, though not very unreasonable hypothesis, especially as the volcanic character of the islands is well known. In 1808, a volcano rose to the height of 3,500 feet. Yet Schöning's suggestion is not needed. The fact that the islands were not inhabited when discovered by the Portuguese does not, however, settle anything against Schöning, because in the course of five hundred years, the people might either have migrated, or been swept away by pestilence. Grönland's Historiske Mindesmœrker, (vol. i., p. 150), says simply, that "It is thought that he (Are Marson) ended his days in America, or at all events in one of the larger islands of the west. Some think that it was one of the Azore islands."' De Costa's Pre-Columbian Disc. Amer., p. 87.

227

Abstract of Hist. Evid., in Lond. Geog. Soc., Jour., vol. viii., p. 125; De Costa's Pre-Columbian Disc. Amer., p. 89, et seq.

228

See Schoolcraft's Arch., vol. i., pp. 110, et seq., for plate and discussion of Dighton Rock.

229

It bore the following inscription: Elligr. Sigvaps: son: r. ok. Bjanne. Tortarson: ok: Enripi. osson: laugardag. in: fyrir gagndag Holpu: varda te. ok rydu: M. C. XXXV; or, Erling Sighvatssonr, ok Bjarne Pordarson, ok Endridi oddsson laugardaginn fyrir gagndag hlodu varda pessa ok ruddu 1135; 'c'est-à-dire: Erling Sigvatson, Bjarne Thordarson, et Endride Oddson érigèrent ces monceaux de pierres le samedi avant le jour nommé Gagndag (le 25 avril) et ils nettoyèrent la place en 1135.' Warden, Recherches, p. 152.

230

'We have noticed the discovery of a place called Estotiland, supposed to be Nova Scotia, in 1354, the inhabitants of which were Europeans, who cultivated grain, lived in stone houses, and manufactured beer, as in Europe at that day. Now, from the year 1354, till the time of the first settlements made in Onondaga county, by the present inhabitants, is about 400 years. Is it not possible, therefore, that this glass bottle, with some kind of liquor in it, may have been derived from this Estotiland, having been originally brought from Europe; as glass had been in use there, more or less, from the year 664, till the Scandinavians colonized Iceland, Greenland, and Estotiland, or Newfoundland.' Priest's Amer. Antiq., pp. 260-1.

231

'Malgré les réclamations que mes suppositions soulevèrent de divers côtés et les sourires incrédules qu'elles appelèrent sur les lèvres de plusieurs de nos savants dont je respecte et honore les connaissances, je persiste plus que jamais dans l'opinion que j'exprimais alors; plus j'avance dans mes études américaines plus je demeure convaincu des relations qui existèrent, antérieurement à Christophe Colomb, entre le Nouveau-Monde et les contrées situées à l'orient de l'autre côté de l'océan Atlantique, et plus je suis persuadé que les Scandinaves ont dû, à une période même plus reculée que celle dont vos (Prof. Rafn's) intéressants mémoires rapportent le souvenir, émigrer vers le continent américain.' Brasseur de Bourbourg, in Nouvelles Annales des Voy., 1858, tom. clx., pp. 261-92.

232

'Il est impossible de ne point être frappé de l'analogie qui existe entre les idées bramaniques sur la divinité et les passages du Popol-Vuh cités plus haut. Mais si nous consultons les traditions beaucoup plus récentes, conservées même après l'établissement du christianisme en Suède, nous trouverons encore, entre les coutumes religieuses des populations de ces contrées et celles qui nous sont retracées dans le Popol-Vuh, plus d'un rapport.' Viollet-le-Duc, in Charnay, Ruines Amér., pp. 41-2. See farther concerning emigration to America from north-western Europe: Mitchill, in Amer. Antiq. Soc., Transact., vol. i., p. 341, et seq.; Priest's Amer. Antiq., scattered notices, pp. 88-9, 234-329; Robertson's Hist. Amer., vol. i., pp. 278-80; Schoolcraft's Arch., vol. i., pp. 110-11, 120-4; Brasseur de Bourbourg, in Nouvelles Annales des Voy., 1855, tom. cxlvii., pp. 157-8; Viollet-le-Duc, in Charnay, Ruines Amér., pp. 11, 18-19, 23-4, 42-3; Warden, Recherches, pp. 146-54; Montanus, Nieuwe Weereld, pp. 28-30, 117; Tschudi's Peruvian Antiq., pp. 3-7, 21-2; Malte-Brun, Précis de la Géog., tom. i., pp. 197-8; Davis' Discovery of New England by the Northmen; Baldwin's Anc. Amer., pp. 279-85; Davis' Anc. Amer., pp. 13-31; Tylor's Anahuac, pp. 278-9; M'Culloh's Researches on Amer., pp. 21-2; Brinton's Abbé Brasseur, in Lippincott's Mag., vol. i., p. 79, et seq.; Smith's Human Species, p. 237; Deuber, Geschichte der Schiffahrt; Hermes, Entdeckung von Amer., pp. 1-134; Foster's Pre-Hist. Races, pp. 399-400; Hill's Antiq. of Amer.; Wilson's Prehist. Man, pp. 394-420; Kruger's Discov. Amer., pp. 1-134; Domenech's Deserts, vol. i., pp. 53-64, 404, 411-12; Beaufoy's Mex. Illustr., p. 322; Brasseur de Bourbourg, Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. i., pp. 18-22; Id., Popol Vuh, pp. li. – liv., lxxxix. – xcii.; Hist. Mag., vol. ix., pp. 364-5; Gondra, in Prescott, Hist. Conq. Mex., tom. iii., p. 15; Humboldt's Exam. Crit., tom. ii., pp. 83-104, 105-20; Irving's Columbus, vol. iii., pp. 432-40; Humboldt, Vues, tom. i., p. 239; Klemm, Cultur-Geschichte, tom. v., pp. 164-71; Rafinesque, The American Nations; Brasseur de Bourbourg, Quatre Lettres, p. 17; Williamson's Observations on Climate; Zesterman's Colonization of America by Northwestern Europeans; Farcy, Discours, in Antiq. Mex., tom. i., div. i., pp. 48-9; Simpson's Nar., p. 159; Schoolcraft, in Amer. Ethno. Soc., Transact., vol. i., pp. 391-6.

233

About 1169-70.

234

'All this is related in old Welsh annals preserved in the abbeys of Conway and Strat Flur… This emigration of Prince Madog is mentioned in the preserved works of several Welsh bards who lived before the time of Columbus. It is mentioned by Hakluyt, who had his account of it from writings of the bard Guttun Owen. As the Northmen had been in New England over one hundred and fifty years when Prince Madog went forth to select a place for his settlement, he knew very well there was a continent on the other side of the Atlantic, for he had knowledge of their voyages to America; and knowledge of them was also prevalent in Ireland. His emigration took place when Henry II. was king of England, but in that age the English knew little or nothing of Welsh affairs in such a way as to connect them with English history very closely.' Baldwin's Anc. Amer., p. 286. See also Humboldt, Exam. Crit., tom. ii., pp. 142-9; Farcy, Discours, in Antiq. Mex., tom. i., div. i., pp. 49-50. 'Before wee passed these ilands, under the lee of the bigger iland, we anchored, the wind being at north-east, with intent to refresh ourselves with the fowles of these ilands. They are of divers sorts, and in great plentie, as pengwins, wilde duckes, gulles, and gannets; of the principall we purposed to make provisions, and those were the pengwins; which in Welsh, as I have beene enformed, signifieth a white head. From which derivation, and many other Welsh denominations given by the Indians, or their predecessors, some doe inferre that America was first peopled with Welsh-men; and Montezanna, king, or rather emperour of Mexico, did recount unto the Spaniards, at their first comming, that his auncestors came from a farre countrie, and were white people. Which, conferred with an auncient cronicle, that I have read many yeares since, may be conjectured to bee a prince of Wales, who many hundreth yeares since, with certaine shippes, sayled to the westwards, with intent to make new discoveries. Hee was never after heard of.' Hawkins' Voy., in Hakluyt Soc., p. 111.

235

Written in Welsh, translated into English by Humphrey Llwyd, and published by Dr David Powel in 1584.

236

Dedicated to Prince Charles, and published in 1613.

237

See Warden, Recherches, pp. 154-7.

238

They are 'made of raw-hides, the skins of buffaloes, stretched underneath a frame made of willows or other boughs, and shaped nearly round, like a tub; which the woman carries on her head from her wigwam to the water's edge, and having stepped into it, stands in front, and propels it by dripping her paddle forward, and drawing it to her, instead of paddling by the side.' Catlin's Amer. Ind., vol. ii., p. 261.

239

See comparative vocabulary. Id.

240

As a good deal of importance has been attached to it, it will be as well to give Jones' statement in full; it is as follows: 'These presents certify all persons whatever, that in the year 1660, being an inhabitant of Virginia, and chaplain to Major General Bennet, of Mansoman County, the said Major General Bennet and Sir William Berkeley sent two ships to Port Royal, now called South Carolina, which is sixty leagues southward of Cape Fair, and I was sent therewith to be their minister. Upon the 8th of April we set out from Virginia, and arrived at the harbor's mouth of Port Royal the 19th of the same month, where we waited for the rest of the fleet that was to sail from Barbadoes and Bermuda with one Mr. West, who was to be deputy governor of said place. As soon as the fleet came in, the smallest vessels that were with us sailed up the river to a place called the Oyster Point; there I continued about eight months, all which time being almost starved for want of provisions: I and five more traveled through the wilderness till we came to the Tuscarora country. There the Tuscarora Indians took us prisoners because we told them that we were bound to Roanock. That night they carried us to their town and shut us up close, to our no small dread. The next day they entered into a consultation about us, and, after it was over, their interpreter told us that we must prepare ourselves to die next morning, whereupon, being very much dejected, I spoke to this effect in the British [Welsh] tongue: "Have I escaped so many dangers, and must I now be knocked on the head like a dog!" Then presently came an Indian to me, which afterward appeared to be a war captain belonging to the sachem of the Doegs (whose original, I find, must needs be from the Old Britons), and took me up by the middle, and told me in the British [Welsh] tongue I should not die, and thereupon went to the emperor of Tuscarora, and agreed for my ransom and the men that were with me. They (the Doegs) then welcomed us to their town, and entertained us very civilly and cordially four months, during which time I had the opportunity of conversing with them familiarly in the British [Welsh] language, and did preach to them in the same language three times a week, and they would confer with me about any thing that was difficult therein, and at our departure they abundantly supplied us with whatever was necessary to our support and well doing. They are settled upon Pontigo River, not far from Cape Atros. This is a brief recital of my travels among the Doeg Indians.

Morgan Jones,

the son of John Jones, of Basateg, near Newport, in the County

of Monmouth. I am ready to conduct any Welshman or others

to the country.

New York, March 10th, 1685-6.' Gentleman's Mag., 1740.

241

Chambers' Jour., vol. vi., p. 411.

242

'These accounts are copied from manuscripts of Dr. W. O. Pughe, who, together with Edward Williams (the bard of Glamorgan), made diligent inquiries in America about forty years ago, when they collected upwards of one hundred different accounts of the Welsh Indians.' Id. 'It is reported by travellers in the west, that on the Red River … very far to the southwest, a tribe of Indians has been found, whose manners, in several respects, resemble the Welch… They call themselves the McCedus tribe, which having the Mc or Mac attached to their name, points evidently to a European origin, of the Celtic description… It is well authenticated that upwards of thirty years ago, Indians came to Kaskaskia, in the territory, now the state of Illinois, who spoke the Welch dialect, and were perfectly understood by two Welchmen then there, who conversed with them.' Priest's Amer. Antiq., pp. 230-2.