Great Events in the History of North and South America - Charles A. Goodrich

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of the profane, they have forfeited the dear blessings of their inheritance; and they deserve to be cast out from this fair land, without even a wilderness for their refuge. No! let us still keep the ark of God in the midst of us; let us adopt the prayer of the wise monarch of Israel: "The Lord our God be with us, as he was with our fathers; let him not leave us nor forsake us; that he may incline our hearts unto him, to walk in all his ways, and to keep his commandments and his statutes and his judgments, which he commanded our fathers."

      Such a regard for God—his laws—his institutions, and his service, is obligatory upon the present generation, aside from those blessings which may be justly anticipated as the reward of such reverence and obedience. It is due to the memory of the Pilgrim Fathers. Never can we so worthily and appropriately honor them, as to cherish the pious sentiments which they cherished, and perpetuate the civil and religious institutions which they founded.—It is due to the generation of our Revolutionary era, which, impressed with a sense of the value of the inheritance transmitted to them, periled life and fortune that they might transmit that inheritance in all its fullness and in all its richness to their posterity. We are the children of patriot heroes, who prayed and then fought, and fought and then prayed.—It is due to ourselves, as we would secure the admiration and gratitude of the generations which are to follow us.—It is due to those generations which, by the blessing of God, are to spread over and occupy the vast territory which now constitutes the American republic.

      Those generations! I see them rising and spreading abroad, as future years roll on! What shall be their character—their regard for civil and religious liberty—their peace, order, happiness, and prosperity, may depend upon the example which we set, and the principles which we inculcate. We are living and acting not only for the present, but for the future. We are making impressions for all time to come. If, then, our history for the future shall be as our history past—filled up with divine blessings, and signal providential interpositions—if the noble work begun, centuries since, is to go on—if the "fullest liberty and the purest religion" are to prevail as time rolls on—if this vast continent is to be inhabited by enlightened and happy millions—we, who are now on the stage of action, must imitate the example of that pilgrim band, which first landed on Plymouth Rock.

      Under the influence of such an example transmitted from generation to generation, we may hope that our beloved country will ultimately become, if she is not already,

      "The queen of the world, and the child of the skies."

      Impressed with the importance of such sentiments himself, the author will make no apology for offering them as, in his own view, an appropriate introduction to a work chiefly designed for the benefit of the rising generation.

       Table of Contents

       Table of Contents

       Table of Contents

Columbus and Cabot

      I. Northmen. Claims for the Northmen—Voyage of Biarné—Leif—Thorwald—Thorfinn—Helge and Finnboge.

      II. Columbus. Birth and Education of Columbus—Unsuccessful application to several European Courts—Patronized by Isabella—Sails from Palos—Early Discontent of his crew—Expedients by which they are quieted—Discovery of Land—First appearance of the Natives—Cuba and Hispaniola discovered—Columbus sets sail on his return—Incidents of the voyage—Marks of consideration bestowed upon him—Second Voyage—Further Discoveries—Complaints against him—Third Voyage—Discovery of the Continent—Persecuted by Enemies—sent home in Chains—Kindness of Isabella—Fourth Voyage—Return and Death.

      III. Sebastian Cabot. Discovery of the North American Continent by Sebastian Cabot.

       Table of Contents

      No event, in the history of modern ages, surpasses in interest the discovery of the American Continent. It has scarcely any parallel, indeed, in the annals of the world; whether we consider the difficulty of the undertaking or the magnitude of its consequences. Without any serious question, the honor of the discovery belongs solely to Christopher Columbus. Mankind, hitherto, have so awarded it, and posterity will doubtless confirm the judgment. As, however, a claim to a prior discovery by the Northmen has been brought forward in recent times, it becomes the impartiality of history to notice it, and to give such an account of the circumstances on which the claim is founded, as they may appear to deserve. Whether or not, at the distance of some four or five centuries, the trans-Atlantic continent had been discovered by the Scandinavian voyagers, the merits of the great Italian are far from being affected by the fact.

      Northmen leaving Iceland.

      The prominent incidents in this alleged ante-Columbian discovery, it seems, are given on the authority of certain Icelandic manuscripts, the genuineness, and even the existence of which, have formerly been doubted by many; but which, there is now reason to suppose, are entitled to credence. The general story may be received as probable. In the details, there is often something too vague, if not too extraordinary, to entitle it to any historical importance. The adventurous spirit, and even the naval skill of the Northmen, are not a matter of doubt with any who are acquainted with the history of the times to which reference is here made. The seas and the coasts of Europe were the scenes of their exploits—their piracies, their battles, or their colonization. According to the Icelandic statements, Eric the Red, in 986, emigrated from Iceland to Greenland, and formed there a settlement. Among his companions was Herjulf Bardson, who fixed his residence at a place which was called after him, Herjulfsness. Herjulf had a son, whose name was Biarné, who, with his father, was engaged in trading between Iceland and Norway. Biarné was absent on a trading voyage, when his father accompanied Eric, on the emigration of the latter to Greenland. The son returning to Iceland in a few months, and finding that Herjulf was absent, sailed in pursuit of him. In the course of the sail, having been enveloped in the fogs, he was carried to some unknown distance; but after the fogs were dispersed, land was seen. As, however, it did not answer the description given respecting Greenland, the party did not steer for it. During a sail of several days, they came in sight of land at two different times in succession; and at last, tacking about, and carried by brisk and favorable winds in a north-west direction, they reached the coast of Greenland. This tradition of Biarné's voyage, allowing it to be authentic, would seem to indicate that he was carried far down on the coast of America, and passed on his return the shores of Newfoundland and Labrador.

      Discovery of Labrador.

      In consequence of this adventure, and the interest which the account of it excited, a voyage of exploration was projected, and at length put into effect. It was conducted by Leif, a son of Eric the Red, an adventurous rover, who selected a company as adventurous as himself, among whom was a German named Tyrker. It was in the year 1000 that the voyage was made. After finding a shore in a direction similar to

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