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4<br />
<strong>The</strong> monks landed first on an island of<br />
plenty, where the people marked their faces<br />
with tattoos. <strong>The</strong>y sailed further east and found a<br />
land with rocky coasts. <strong>The</strong> people there were<br />
mild and peace-loving.<br />
Next the monks came to a land they called<br />
Fu-Sang. <strong>The</strong>y found trees with green flesh<br />
and thorns instead of leaves. <strong>The</strong> people wove<br />
"silk" from tree bark and used it to make their<br />
clothes. Fu-Sang may have been the coast of<br />
present-day British Columbia.<br />
Hoei Shin spent 41 years wandering in the<br />
strange new lands. <strong>The</strong>n he returned to<br />
China, where his story was written dpwn. Hoei<br />
Shin may have been the first non-Native to visit<br />
North America.
Afamous Irish legend tells of the travels of<br />
Saint Brendan, a devout Irish monk.<br />
According to the legend, "Brendan the<br />
Bold" sailed across stormy seas, tamed sea<br />
monsters, and found new lands. Many believe he<br />
may have reached the coast of North America.<br />
Saint Brendan was a real man, who lived and<br />
died in the west of Ireland. He started a monastery<br />
in 558, with rules told to him by an angel in a<br />
vision. In 565, he set sail in a small animal-skin<br />
boat to find the ''blessed isles of the saints." <strong>The</strong>n<br />
he and his men gave themselves up to the winds<br />
and currents of God.<br />
Brendan had many strange and wonderful<br />
adventures on his travels. Some may have been<br />
imaginary, brought on by fasting and prayer.<br />
Others may have been real.<br />
Brendan described a gigantic sea monster that<br />
"ploughed up the surface of water and shot out<br />
spray from its nostrils." Perhaps he was describing<br />
a whale. He also saw "floating pillars of crystal the<br />
colour of silver and hard as marble." <strong>The</strong>se may<br />
have been icebergs, common in the waters off<br />
Newfoundland and Nova Scotia.<br />
On shore, Brendan saw strange creatures<br />
with "cat-like heads, boar's tusks, and spotted<br />
bellies." <strong>The</strong>se may well have been walruses.<br />
Brendan found a new land and explored it for<br />
40 days. He found it spacious, with many fruit<br />
trees. <strong>The</strong>n he sailed south to other lands; possibly<br />
Bermuda and Florida. He returned safely to<br />
Ireland with the story of his adventures. Over 300<br />
years later, his story was written down.<br />
Brendan the Bold<br />
<strong>The</strong>re is no real proof that Brendan and his<br />
monks sailed to North America so long ago. We do<br />
know, however, that his journey could have been<br />
made. In 1976, an Englishman named Tim<br />
Severin built a boat just like Brendan's. He sailed<br />
it across the Atlantic and landed at Quidividi,<br />
Newfoundland near St. John's.<br />
This map was drawn in the Middle Ages by monks. It shows Brendan saying<br />
Mass on the bac.k of a giant sea monster.<br />
5
6<br />
It was a cold winter night in the wild northern<br />
lands of the Igloolik Inuit. In a cozy snow<br />
house, Howya sat teaching a game to her little<br />
brother, Pitseoluk. Mother and Grandmother sat<br />
nearby, mending sealskin boots by the flickering<br />
light of their oil lamps.<br />
Howya's father and the other hunters had<br />
just finished two good days of hunting. Now the<br />
family were content. <strong>The</strong>ir storeroom, a small<br />
snow tunnel-leading off the main part of the igloo,<br />
was filled with seal and walrus.<br />
Howya showed Pitseoluk how to play with<br />
the small animals carved of caribou bone. She<br />
dropped the animals on a piece of hide, and tried<br />
to make them land right-side-up-facing her. As the<br />
children played, their father carved another little<br />
bird to add to the set.<br />
When Mother finished her mending, she and<br />
Grandmother began to entertain the family with a<br />
game of "face pulling." Each woman tried to make<br />
a funnier face than the other. Mother and Grandmother<br />
wiggled their eyebrows, puffed out their<br />
cheeks, and bobbed their heads from side to side.<br />
<strong>The</strong>y looked so silly that Howya laughed until<br />
she rolled on the floor.<br />
Sudde,nly the dogs began to bark and a voice<br />
called out. Howya recognized the voice of Akavik.<br />
He and his family had come to spend the rest of<br />
the long winter evening. Howya's family wel<br />
comed their guests, and Father closed the igloo<br />
entrance again with a block of ice.
Father went to the storage tunnel and<br />
brought out a large chunk of frozen seal meat. He<br />
put it beside one of the lamps, along with a large<br />
flint knife. <strong>The</strong> guests knew they could help<br />
themselves and eat as much as they wanted.<br />
As the guests settled down, the women and<br />
children began to play neat's cradle." <strong>The</strong>y passed<br />
around a sealskin string and made figures that<br />
looked like caribou, rabbits, and birds.<br />
Through the long winter evening, the two<br />
families played games, made up songs, and told<br />
stories. <strong>The</strong> igloo became warmer because there<br />
were more people than usual inside it. When a<br />
part of the ceiling began to melt a bit, Mother put<br />
chunks of snow over the drips. Grandmother put<br />
out her warm seal-oil lamp.<br />
Just as Howya was wishing Akavik would tell<br />
one of his stories, he moved away to the side of<br />
the igloo. He sat down in the storytelling manner,<br />
with his back turned to everyone in the room.<br />
Akavik then told Howya's favourite story, about<br />
how the raven got its black feathers.<br />
As the hours passed, everyone began to grow<br />
sleepy. Outside, a strong wind was blowing. <strong>The</strong><br />
dogs shuffled about and then crawled into the<br />
entrance tunnel to get out of the cold. <strong>The</strong> wind<br />
was too strong for anyone to go outside. As was<br />
the custom, Howya's father invited Akavik and<br />
his family to stay for the night.<br />
Both families rolled up their outer clothes to<br />
use as pillows. Everyone climbed between layers<br />
of warm caribou hides, and Mother put out her<br />
lamp. As Howya drifted off to sleep, the only<br />
sound she heard was the howling of the wind.<br />
Another long winter evening had ended.<br />
7
8<br />
"Ericsson Discovers the New Land on the Coast of Nova Scotia" by G. A.<br />
Reid.<br />
Bold Viking Explorer<br />
Leif the Lucky was just a boy when he sailed blown off course in a storm. He had sighted lands<br />
on his first great adventure. In 986, he left far to the west of Greenland.<br />
Iceland with other Viking settlers to start a Around the year 1000, Leif bought Bjarni's<br />
new colony in Greenland. Leif's father, Eric the ship. With a crew of 35, he struck out bravely into<br />
Red, had discovered Greenland only a few years unknown seas. After several days, he sighted land<br />
before. and went ashore. Leif found giant glaciers and a<br />
As Leif grew older, he longed to discover new huge slab of rock. He named the place Helluland,<br />
lands of his own. One day he heard the story of or Land of Flat Rock.<br />
Bjami, a trader from Iceland. Bjarni had been Leif sailed further south and came to a land<br />
of forests and white, sandy beaches. He called this<br />
place Markland, which means Woodland. He may<br />
have reached the coast of present-day Labrador.<br />
Leif and his Vikings kept sailing south. <strong>The</strong>y<br />
soon reached another land, where the weather<br />
was warm and nature bountiful. Leif decided to<br />
spend the winter there, so he ordered his men to<br />
build houses. He may have reached the coast of<br />
Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, or New England.<br />
Leif was delighted with the new land. <strong>The</strong><br />
winter was mild, and the water teemed with<br />
salmon. Leif called the place Vinland, which may<br />
have meant "land of vines" or '1and of pastures."<br />
Leif sailed for home in the spring, his ship<br />
laden with timber and grapes. Soon after he<br />
reached Greenland, Eric the Red died. Leif took<br />
over as leader of the colony and gave up his life of<br />
adventure.<br />
Leif's travels became famous and were<br />
described in songs and legends. Other Vikings<br />
visited the new lands. Over 200 years later, Leif's<br />
adventures were written down as part of the great<br />
Viking Sagas.
<strong>The</strong> Vikings reached Vinland and landed at a<br />
place they called Straumsfjord. A few<br />
months later, Gudrid gave birth to a baby boy,<br />
Snorri. This was the first European child to be<br />
born in North America.<br />
<strong>The</strong> Vikings were forced to abandon the<br />
colony when fighting broke out with the<br />
Native people. Gudrid and Karlsefni took Snorri<br />
to a new home in Iceland. In later years, Gudrid<br />
travelled throughout southern Europe. Wherever<br />
she went, she was hailed for her courage and<br />
spirit of adventure.<br />
9
10<br />
<strong>The</strong>re are so many legends about Dekanawida<br />
that it is hard to know which are true. We<br />
are not even sure which century he lived in.<br />
We do know, however, that he is honoured as the<br />
founder of the great Iroquois League.<br />
Dekanawida was born near present-day<br />
Kingston, Ontario. He belonged to the Huron<br />
tribe. When he was only a baby, his mother saw in<br />
a dream that he would cause the ruin of their<br />
people. She tried to drown him, but he survived.<br />
Hundreds of years later, the Iroquois League did<br />
force the Hurons to disband.<br />
Dekanawida grew up dreaming of peace, not<br />
war. For hundreds of years, Indian tribes had<br />
fought wars and raided each other's camps.<br />
Dekanawida longed to end these wars and unite<br />
all the peoples of the world.<br />
Dekanawida grew into a man and left the<br />
home of his family. He built a white stone canoe<br />
and crossed Lake Ontario to the south. He began<br />
to spread his dream of peace among the Iroquoia<br />
peoples.<br />
Dekanawida's first convert was an evil murderer<br />
called Hiawatha. According to one legend,<br />
Dekanawida went to Hiawatha's lodge and<br />
found it empty. He climbed up on the roof and<br />
looked down through the smoke-hole. <strong>The</strong>re he<br />
saw a large pot of water sitting on the fire.<br />
Just then, Hiawatha came home. Looking in<br />
the pot, he saw the reflection of a face he thought<br />
was his own. <strong>The</strong> strength and beauty of the face<br />
made him feel ashamed.<br />
<strong>The</strong> <strong>Great</strong> <strong>Peacemaker</strong>
I n<br />
Irish mythology, the Isle of the Blest was also<br />
called Hy-Brasil. This legendary island was<br />
said to appear once every seven years. It arose<br />
somewhere in the mists far to the west of Ireland.<br />
Robert Thome was a bold merchant seaman<br />
from Bristol, England. He and other Bristol<br />
merchants badly wanted to find Hy-Brasil. Unlike<br />
Saint Brendan, they did not want to find the saints<br />
and ask them for blessings. <strong>The</strong>y simply wanted<br />
to find new fishing grounds across the sea.<br />
Thorne may have sailed with the Bristol ships<br />
that set out to find Hy-Brasil in 1480. That voyage<br />
ended in failure. Fierce storms drove<br />
the ships back to the coast<br />
of Ireland.<br />
Seeker of Hy-Brasil<br />
Thome probably set out again around 1494.<br />
This time, he sailed with a partner, Hugh Eliot.<br />
Thorne and Eliot may well have reached the coast<br />
of Newfoundland. <strong>The</strong>y may have fished on the<br />
Grand Banks off Newfoundland's shores.<br />
No one knows for sure whether Thorne<br />
actually reached the New World. However, in<br />
1497, the merchant John Day wrote a letter<br />
describing John Cabot's voyage to Newfoundland.<br />
Day wrote:<br />
It is considered certain that this same point of<br />
land at another time was found and<br />
discovered by those of Bristol who found<br />
Hy-Brasil. ..<br />
In 1527, Thome's son Robert also wrote a<br />
letter. He claimed that his father,<br />
with another merchant of Bristol named<br />
Hughe Elliot, were the discoverers of the<br />
Newfound Landes.<br />
Many historians believe Thorne's son was<br />
telling the truth. If so, then Robert Thorne the Elder<br />
discovered Canada at least three years before<br />
John Cabot. Thome probably also went<br />
along on Cabot's first voyage of<br />
discovery to the New World.