From the Old world to the New; how America was found and settled

Front matter

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COFfi^icifl' DEPosrr.

Preface

The aim of this little book is to place before our younger graramar school children a simple connected account of the discovery and settlement of America. The day of the biographical primary history is passing. That of the book of disconnected " history stories " is already past. History is an ever lengthening chain of causes and effects. As such we must teach it. We must seek in the Old World the facts which will make possible our knowledge of the New. We must look far back of Columbus to find the real meaning of the discoverer's work. We must look upon that work as in its turn a cause of other movements, fraught with mighty consequences for us of to-day. We must teach our children not so much "what" as "why." Then only will the maze of facts become to them intelligible. Then only will they find in historical reading and study the joy which should be theirs.

Grateful acknowledgment is due those who have helped me in the work now completed. To Miss Anne Parmelee, of the Richards Library, Newport, N.H., who placed at my disposal the resources of the library ; to Mr. Lawton

Viu PREFACE

L. Walton, whose assistance in obtaining the ilhistrations has been invaluable ; to Mr. Carl Becker, of the department of History at Dartmouth College, who read and criticised the proof of the book ; to Ginn & Company, and to the American Book Company, for their courtesy in aiding my reference work ; and to my husband, who made the sketches for the maps which appear in the book, I extend my thanks.

MARGUERITE STOCKMAN DICKSON.

Contents

CHAPTEK PAGE

I. Foreword 1

II. The Norsemen 5

II

Fae away in the cold northern countries that we know as Norway and Sweden and Denmark, there lived a race of men who called themselves Vikings. They are often called Northmen or Norsemen, but I like best their own name for themselves. Viking means " son of the bay," and it helps us to know what kind of people they were — bold and hardy, fond of adventure, and full of love for the great blue ocean that crept up into the thousands of bays along their shores. They built many ships, and we hear of their daring voyages in almost every part of Europe.

It happened that in Norway during the year 872 a great war that had lasted for twelve years came to an end Fairhair won a splendid victory on the sea, and many a proud old Viking had to bend before his power. There was but one way to escape, and that to the Vikings seemed a very easy and a very pleasant way.

A Norse Sea King.

King Harold

6 FROM THE OLD WORLD TO THE XEW

They were soon on board their trusty ships, sailing away to make new homes far from King Harold and his hated rule.

If we could have followed these Viking sailors, we should have found some of them going to England and to France, where their kinsmen had already settled ; some to Ireland and the smaller islands near by ; but perhaps more than to any other place they went to build up a Viking colony in Iceland. Their settlements there grew rapidly, and we may read about their farms and hay crops, their sheep and cattle, and, as we should expect, about their ships and their trade with all the countries round about.

Would you like to see a Viking ship ? It would not look much like one of our ships to-day, nor would it travel so fast as ships do now. The bow and the stern rose high out of the water, but the middle was lower and had no deck. Each vessel carried from thirty to sixty rowers, who used oars twenty feet long. A single mast and but one sail, both of which could be taken down when not in use, completed Avhat would seem to us a strange ship. But they were well built, and in them the Northmen used to spend many weeks at a time upon the sea.

Only two years after Iceland was settled, one of these ships was driven westward by a storm till it reached what we now call Greenland. There, shut in by the ice, the crew passed the winter, going back to Iceland when the summer set the vessel free. Think of the stories they had to tell their children and grandchildren of that strange winter in the cold, icy country in the West.

Viking Ship.

More than a hundred years after this a Norseman, named Eric the Red, was ordered to leave Iceland because he had killed a man. He made up his mind to hunt for this western land he had heard about, and set out with his followers for a long voyage. They found the land, and after looking about for a good place in which to live, they settled in what was, perhaps, the pleasantest spot on the whole coast. It was during the short northern summer, and the green grass looked so beautiful to Eric that he called the place Greenland. Soon more people came to Greenland, and several settlements were made.

Then comes a story of a Viking ship, whose captain, after roving about on the sea for some years, came home to Iceland to see his old father. But he found his old home deserted, and his father gone to the new Greenland colony with Eric the Red. Away into the west sailed the son, steering by the sun and stars after the Viking fashion. But soon a thick fog came, and neither sun nor stars could be seen. On, on, sailed the Viking ship, with its bold young captain, who wanted to find Greenland and his old father.

After a time land was seen, but it was a woody shore with only low hills in the background, and not at all like the rough, snowbound country Greenland was said to be. So the captain knew that he had lost his way, and, turning the bow of the ship to the north, sailed back until he reached the Greenland shore. He had gone beyond Greenland, you see, a step nearer to this great America that was hidden beyond the ocean, waiting to be found. The young captain must have been very busy thinking of his father.

it seems to me, or he would have wondered more about the j)lace he had seen.

But there was a man who wondered about it, though the young captain did not. This was Leif, the son of Eric, or Leif Ericsson, as he is often called. He made up his mind to see what this new land was like, and in the year 1000 he sailed with thirty-five men in search of it. After sailing south from Greenland for a time, they came to a land covered with large flat stones. They called this Slateland and sailed on. A few days later they found another country where there were many forests. This they named Woodland. Again they went on, and after two days they landed once more. They decided to pass the winter in this place, and they named it Vinland, because of the great number of wild grapes there. Well pleased with the land they had found, they returned home in the spring.

" Where was Vinland ? " you would like to ask, and so should I like to answer if I could. That it was somewhere between Nova Scotia and Long Island Sound we may be almost sure, but just where we cannot tell.

During the next ten or twelve years several voyages were made to Vinland to obtain wood, which was abundant there, and at least two attempts were made to found a colony. Both of these failed because the Northmen began to have trouble with the natives. They described the savages as at first glad to trade with them, exchanging furs for little strips of scarlet cloth ; but after a while there were quarrels, and the natives became fierce and

Encocntek between Northmen and Natives.

warlike. Many of the Northmen were killed, and there seem to have been no more attempts to explore or settle Vinland.

The Vikings came and looked upon our land, but they never owned any of it, and in time came almost to forget that it was here. Indeed, after about four hundred years, even the colony at Greenland was deserted, and the New World left once more to its savage owners.

THE VIKINGS' SONG

The wind is blowing from off the shore,

And our sail has felt its force ; For our bark bounds forth o'er the crested wave,

Like a wild and restive horse.

And breaks them into spray, And they brightly gleam in the glad sunlight

As we speed upon our way.

To our oars we bend with a right good will,

And all sorrow leave behind.

Like the white-winged gulls that around us wheel.

We are racing with the wind.

Each day we'll pray to heaven,

Nor shall we pray in vain, For the gods will watch o'er our sturdy barks.

And will guide us home again.

Lords of the waves we are —

Kings of the seething foam — Warriors bold from the Norseland cold —

Far o'er the sea we roam.

— GIBNEY.

1. The Vikings or ISTorthmen lived in the northwestern part of Europe.

2. The Vikings were great sailors.

3. They made a colony in Iceland in the year 874.

4. Two years later they found Greenland. After many years some aSTorthmen settled there.

5. By chance a country southwest of Greenland was found.

6. In the year 1000 Leif Ericsson made a voyage to find this land again.

7. He found it and spent the winter there. He called it Vinland.

8. The Vikings tried to make a colony in Vinland, but did not succeed.

9. Vinland must have been somewhere on the northeastern coast of North America.

1. Legends of the Northmen — from Higginson's " Young Folks' Series," No. 1.

2. The Northmen — from Drake's " New England Legends," pp. 393-444.

3. Harald the Viking — from Higginson's " Tales of the Enchanted Islands of the Atlantic," pp. 168-185.

4. Sheldon-Barnes's " Studies in American History," pp. 6-12.

Consult United States histories upon this and other subjects treated in this book.

FilOM THE OLD WORLD TO THE NEW 13

1. Write an imaginary account of the voyage of Leif Ericsson, supposing yourself to be one of his men. The following topics may help you : —

I. The reason for our journey — leaving home — my feelings. II. Our captain — the ship.

III. What we saw as we sailed along — Slateland — Wood-

land.

IV. Vinland — what it was like — the people we saw there.

2. Make a map showing the following places : Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Iceland, Greenland, the part of America where Vinland must have been.

3. Make a little book about the Vikings. You can put into it your story of the voyage, your map, and a copy of the Vikings' Song.

4. Find the exact meaning of explore.

Ill

We may wonder how it happened that the knowledge of Vinland did not spread to the other countries of Eiu-ope, and why no other j)eople made voyages to explore and settle the new land. There were many reasons for this. One was that the Northmen, in spite of their many voyages, had little knowledge of geography, and so had no idea that they had found anything strange or unexpected.

Another reason was that in Europe this was a time of great confusion and many wars. People were not thinking much about exploring new countries. And still another was that Europeans did not care much what lay to the west of them. What little attention they had to spare from their troubles was turned toward the East; toward India, the land of spices and diamonds and pearls ; toward Cathay, the land of silk ; toward that mysterious island which they called Cipango, which, though none of them had been there to see, was believed to be the richest of them all.

There had been for many hundreds of years some trade with the East. Caravans from Asia brought goods to the shores of the Red Sea, the Caspian, and the Persian Gulf.

y —

A Caravan crossing the Desert.

There they were met by European traders, who brought the goods, partly by land and partly by sea, to Europe. Constantinople had become a great commercial city, the centre of much of this eastern trade. Her shij^s sailed up through the Strait of Bosporus and the Black Sea to meet the caravans which had come across the mountains and the deserts which lay between the people of Em-ope and those of the great East.

In the eleventh century a Turk.

Europe was threatened by a great danger, which made people think more than ever of the countries to the east of them. The Turks, a fierce and warlike tribe, began to come in vast companies from their homes in Central Asia, and soon took possession of the whole eastern end of the Mediterranean. The Holy Land, to which Christian pilgrims journeyed every year to worship, was no longer safe because of these intruders.

Christians everywhere throughout Europe became alarmed. Armies were formed, and the crusades or "wars of the cross" were begun, to drive back the Turks from the Holy Land, and to keep them from capturing Eiu-ope itself. One crusade followed another for nearly two centuries ; but the Christians never succeeded in really driving the Tm-ks away.

One of the great results of the crusades was to interest people even more in the East, and to increase the commerce with India. Venice and Genoa became great trade centres, and the Mediterranean was filled with richly laden ships. Great fortunes were made. Wealth and learning spread through Europe. There grew up much curiosity about the Indies and Cathay. The men who came with the caravans often told the traders strange stories about their countries in the East. Marco Polo, a man who had

A Crusader.

really been in these far-away countries, came home and told wonderful tales of the richness and splendor of what he saw. He told of beautiful rivers, with hundreds of great cities on their banks, of the rich products of the countries, and of a great ocean away to the east of Cathay, in which lay the lovely island of Cipango.

During all these years, while the stories about Asia were arousing more and more interest, the Turks had been gathering strength once more, and now, after hard fighting, in 1453 they captured Constantinople. This was a great blow to European commerce.

Just as people were beginning to find out something about the East the way was closed. They could no longer meet the caravans from India on the shore of the Black Sea ; they did not even dare to go by way of the Red Sea, for fear of the Turkish vessels always on the watch for them.

What should they do ? Must they do without gold and pearls and diamonds, without spices and ivory and silks ? Then some of the learned men began to wonder if there was no other way to India. Some one remembered about

Marco Polo.

the great ocean Marco Polo had told them of. What ocean was it ? How could they get to it ? Or could they perhaps sail around Africa, and so through the Indian

Ocean to India?

This was not an entirely new idea. The western coast of Africa had been explored for a short distance, before this time. Prince Henry of Portugal, afterward known as Henry the Navigator, had sent many ships down the coast to search for gold and to see if an ocean route Henuv thk Navigatuk. to the Indies could

not be found. Now he tried harder than ever. The story of the voyages would be a long one. It was slow worlv ; but year by year the ships crept a little farther south. The sailors were easily frightened and often wished to turn back. Many of the captains themselves believed that in the Torrid Zone the ocean was of boiling water and the air was filled Avith flame.

But still they went on, encouraged by Prince Henry, who was a great man, and one that we should honor for his zeal and steadiness of purpose. When he died, in 1463, the Gold Coast had been reached, and we find ourselves wishing that he could have lived to see the good work go on. Each year the ships sailed farther south. In 1471 the Equator was crossed, and in 1486 the Cape of Good Hope was discovered. The Portuguese seemed likely to be the ones who would answer the question, " How shall we reach the Indies ? "

1. At the time Vinland was found, most people in Europe were more interested in the East than in the West.

2. There was much trade with the East.

3. In the eleventh century the Turks captured the Holy Land.

4. During the next two hundred years the crusades against the Turks took place.

5. People became more interested in the East than ever.

6. In 1453 the Turks took Constantinople.

7. Commerce with the East was stopped.

8. It became necessary to find a new route to India.

9. Henry the Navigator sent ships down the coast of Africa. 10. These ships passed the Equator in 1471 and the Cape of Good

Hope in 1486.

1. About Marco Polo : —

Extracts from his stories — Sheldon-Barnes, pp. 12-16.

Towle's "Heroes."

Shaw's " Discoverers and Explorers," pp. 16-23.

Harper''s Magazine, Vol. 46, p. 1.

New England Magazine, Vol. 6, p. 803.

1. Find the exact meaning of caravan, commercial, Christian.

2. Find ont what years mark the beginning and the end of the eleventh century.

3. Find out what you can about the Turks.

4. Make a map showing the routes of trade with India before Constantinople was taken.

5. Write about Marco Polo, using the following topics : —

I. Where he had travelled.

II. His book — what it was about.

III. Some of the wonderful things he described.

IV. What people thought of his stories.

IV

Just when the idea that the earth is round came into men's minds we cannot tell, but we know that it had been believed by learned men for many years before the times of which we have been reading, although the common people probably had no idea of such a thing. There had been men, too, who had thought that if the earth is round, Cathay might be reached by sailing west. After 1471, when the Portuguese ships succeeded in sailing beyond the Equator, and it began to be seen that the voyage around the coast of Africa would be a long one, more men took up these ideas of a western route.

Portugal was the great gathering place for those who were interested in these questions, and there we find a man who grew to be very sure that sailing west was the best way to reach Asia. This man was Christopher Columbus.

He was a native of Genoa, and had come from his home in Genoa to Lisbon, where we hear of him making his living sometimes by voyages on the sea, and sometimes by making maps for other sailors. We do not know much about his early life. He was fairly well educated, and had a great love for geography, probably because he had S23ent so much of his life on the ocean.

He was the first of those who believed in the western route to think of really trying it himself. It took a good

Columbus.

deal of courage to be willing to do such a thing. There were many difficulties to be overcome. The ships of that time were small and easily wrecked. The fear of the unknown ocean, which was called the " Sea of Darkness," was great, and the distance to be travelled seemed almost endless. No one knew, of course, how far it was, but the geographers had reckoned, as nearly as they could, the size of the earth, and some of their estimates were not far from the actual distance.

Columbus thought the earth smaller than it really is. He believed that by sailing west only twenty-five hundred miles he would come to Japan. The actual distance from Portugal to Japan is more than twelve thousand miles. Perhaps if Columbus had known how large the earth is, he would not have been so eager to start on his voyage.

The king of Portugal was anxious to know of a shorter route to India, so Columbus applied to him for assistance in getting money and ships. The king became interested, and perhaps might have helped him, if Columbus had not asked for such great rewards in return for what he might discover. These the king refused, and, I am sorry to say, tried to play a trick on Columbus besides.

After getting copies of the maps and charts by which Columbus meant to sail, the king sent out secretly a ship of his own to try the route, and so find out whether Columbus was right or not. But he did not gain anything by it after all. The sailors were frightened by the great ocean, and soon came back, saying, " You might as well expect to find land in the sky as in that waste of waters ! ''

Columbus soon heard of the trick the king had played upon hhai, and he was so angry that he at once left Portugal. This was in 1484. He determined to apj^ly to the king and queen of Spain, and we soon hear of him travelling with his little son on his way to the Spanish court. It was a long time before he could get the king and queen, who were busy with a great war, to pay much attention to him. The years slipped by. AYhile he was still waiting and hoping, the news that a Portuguese ship had sailed around the Cape of Good Hope and into the Indian Ocean came in 1487. Can't you imagine how impatient Columbus must have been to show people that his way was a better one than this ?

It was more than four years later, however, that his time came. In 1492 the war that had kept the king and queen busy came to an end, and Queen Isabella became interested in Columbus and his plans. He came very near losing this chance, as he had lost the one in Portugal, by wanting too much in return for his work. But at last the matter was arranged, and preparations for the voyage were begun.

It was hard work to find sailors who were willing to go upon the ships the queen provided. The queen forced some to go whether they wished to or not. She released criminals from prison also to helj) form the crew. At last all was ready, and Columbus set sail from the little i

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Spanish town of Palos, on the morning of August 3, 1492, with ninety sailors on board the three ships that composed the fleet.

Of these three ships the Santa Maria was the largest and was the flagship. The Pinta and Nina were smaller,

Thk Fleet of Columbus.

and had no decks. They were not much, if any, larger than many of our pleasm^e boats of to-day, but Colmnbus was glad to have any ships at all, so I do not believe he found any fault with his fleet.

It was a strange voyage. First, the little ships were headed for the Canary Islands, where they remained until September 6, repairing the rudder of the Pinta, and putting new sails on the Nina. Once more they started, and were soon out of sight of land. Then it was that loneliness and terror of the great waste of rolling waters took possession of the j^oor sailors. Nothing but sea and sky — the sea glittering in the sunlight by day, or rolling black and awful by night ; the sky filled with far-away stars, or glaring with the hot rays of the pitiless sun.

Columbus did not dare to tell the sailors how far they were fi'om home, so each day he gave the number of miles they had sailed as less than it really was. Anxiously, as the days went on, did the admiral look for signs of land. Sometimes he saw weeds floating in the water, sometimes birds flying overhead, sometimes a crab, once a whale ; always something to keep up his corn-age, and something to tell the sailors as a sign that land was near.

Twice they were disappointed, finding what they had believed to be land to be only banks of clouds. They had been on the great ocean a month. But there were always new signs, — floating logs, a branch with berries on it, a stick carved by human hands. Late one night Columbus thought he saw a moving light. Every eye was strained, gazing out into the darkness, every sailor intent upon securing the reward offered to him who should first see land.

The signal agreed upon was the firing of a cannon on the ship where the sharp-eyed sailor should prove to be. It was two o'clock. The moon was nearing its settmg.

The Pinta was ahead. Boom ! sounded her great giin. How the hearts must have beat when the sound was heard. Land at last ! To the homesick sailors that meant that the weary voyage was over, that they would soon be on their homeward way. To Columbus it meant success ; it meant wealth, power, and fame !

With hearts filled with happy thoughts they furled the sails of each little vessel, and lay down to wait the coming of the dawn, and the long-sought land.

THINGS TO EEMEMBER

1. After 1453 many people became interested in geography.

2. Portugal was the great gathering place for such people.

3. Some men believed the earth to be round and that Asia could be reached by sailing west.

4. Christopher Columbus was one of these men.

5. Unlike the others, he wished to try it for himself.

6. He needed help in getting money and men.

7. He asked the king of Portugal to help him. The king refused.

8. Columbus went to Spain. At last Queen Isabella gave him three ships and ninetj'' men.

9. He set out on his voyage August 3, 1492. 10. On October 12, his ships reached land.

1. Pind pictures of Columbus at the court of Queen Isabella, of Columbus's ships, and of Columbus on the deck of the Santa Maria.

2. Write about Columbus, using the following topics: — • I. Who he was — where he lived.

II. What he believed — what he wanted to do.

III. Whom he asked to help him — the result.

IV. Who did help him at last.

V. The voyage.

V

Early in the morning preparations were made for going ashore. Cohimbus, with a small company of officers and seamen, carrying the royal banner of Spain, set off in a little boat to take possession of the land for the queen. What land was it ? Columbus could hardly tell v^s^^^^^i^il^^i' so soon. It seemed to be a l^eautiful little island, with green trees and wonderful fruits, with silvery streams, and away in the distance a little lake. There were no towns nor great buildings to be seen. A few strange-looking men had been seen among the trees. It must be some island a little to the north of Cipango, thought Columbus.

Reaching the shore, the company fell upon then- knees, thanked God for their success, and, holding high the royal banner, proclaimed this land a part of the dominion of Queen Isabella. A crowd of natives had gathered near, watching the strange movements of the newcomers, and the Spaniards soon made friends with them. They gave them beads and bits of colored cloth, and tried to talk with them about the country. It must have been hard for them to understand one another. Indeed, we know that Columbus often misunderstood what they tried to tell hun.

He called them Indians because he beheved he had found the long-sought Indies. This was not, to be sure, much hke the land of riches and splendor he had expected to find, but surely Cipango was not far away, and there he would see the great cities, and find the pearls and the gold.

For three months he sailed about among the islands, which we know now to have been the Bahamas. He touched upon the shore of Cuba ; he explored Hayti, and named it Hispaniola. They were all beautiful, and Columbus found many strange things to carry home with which to astonish the king and queen. But there were no spices, no gold, and no place that seemed to be quite like Cipango.

At last the Santa Maria met with an accident. She struck a sand bar, and it was found impossible to save her. The commander of the Pinta had disobeyed orders, and had sailed away with his ship some weeks before. This left Columbus with only the little Nina, and he began to think it was time to start for home, before anything should happen to her.