Great Epochs in American History, Vol. I
Great Epochs in American History, Vol. I
Voyages of Discovery and Early Explorations: 1000 A.D.-1682
Edited by Francis W. Halsey
Book Excerpt
of the Icelandic
sagas with some reservation, we learn that a wind-tossed vessel was
thrown upon a coast far away, which was called Iceland the Great.
Then, again, we read of a young Norwegian, Eric the Red, not
apparently averse to a brawl, who killed his man in Norway and fled to
Iceland, where he kept his dubious character; and again outraging the
laws, he was sent into temporary banishment--this time in a ship which
he fitted out for discovery; and so he sailed away in the direction of
Gunnbiorn's land, and found it. He whiled away three years on its
coast, and as soon as he was allowed, ventured back with the tidings.
While, to propitiate intending settlers, he said he had been to
Greenland, and so the land got a sunny name.
The next year, which seems to have been A.D. 985, he started on his return with 35 ships, but only fourteen of them reached the land. Whenever there was a habitable fiord, a settlement grew up, and the stream of immigrants was for a while constant and considerable. Just at the end
FREE EBOOKS AND DEALS
(view all)Popular books in History
Readers reviews
0.0
LoginSign up
Be the first to review this book
Popular questions
(view all)Books added this week
(view all)
No books found