A long black boat, floating a red flag with a large black raven upon it,
glided through the fjords and out to the open sea. At its prow stood a
dragon’s head; at its stern was the animal’s tail. Along its sides,
which looked like the body of a huge beast, were rows of big round
shields painted red, black, and white. Behind those shields, on each
side of the long boat, sheltered from the sprays of water, sat forty men
who rowed the boat.
So the old ship of the sea kings which now stands in the museum had
glided in the long, long ago.
Those old kings of the seas who sailed such boats are sometimes called
Vikings. They got that name from the waterways which are now called
fjords, but which were called _viks_ in the early days. The Northmen who
kept their boats along the viks were called _Vikings_.
Nearly every Northman in those early days had a boat. They needed boats
to go about on the fjords, but they also loved the open sea and sailed
out upon it. Finding the material with which to make a boat was an easy
task, for many great trees grew on the mountainsides of their lands.
Some of the ships that sailed on the seas reached the shores of other
lands. In those lands the Vikings saw shining gold and silver and sharp
weapons of bronze. The Northmen had no such treasures in their land.
After hearing about such riches, the Vikings were not content without
them. Some of the braver ones said, “We will sail our boats to those
lands and take the rich treasures for ourselves.”
So the Vikings became sea rovers, or pirates, as sea robbers are often
called. Those early Vikings believed that the riches of the world
belonged rightly to the people who were strong enough to take them for
themselves.
During the long winters, the Vikings stayed at home. In the daytime,
they mended their boats, or built new boats. In the evenings they
gathered around the feast table and listened to tales of adventures at
sea. But when the warm days of sunshine came, they hastened to plant
their crops and then to sail away to rob their neighbors.
The Vikings had no instrument with which to tell the direction they were
sailing. They had no glasses through which to sight land. They took big
birds, called ravens, with them on their boats to help them. When they
wanted to find land, they would turn loose one of the birds. The raven
would fly to land. By following the bird, the seamen too found land.
[Illustration: THE OLD VIKING SHIP REBUILT]
When one of the dragon-like ships came near the shores of another land,
the people on the shores were filled with fear. Sometimes they tried to
keep the robbers from landing on their shores. Then the Vikings would
get their battle axes and their shields and fight their way into the
land. They were cruel fighters. Often they left whole towns in
ruin—people dying, and homes and crops in flames. For years the Vikings
kept up their life as sea robbers.
After a time, some of the Vikings thought, “We will take our families
and build new homes for ourselves in the rich lands we have visited.”
So Viking boats sailed away from the northland carrying whole families.
Some went to nearby lands where the English live. Others went to live on
lands that belong to the French. But many others sailed farther away and
built homes on an island which is called Iceland. Other families
followed them to Iceland. Before many years there were more than a
thousand Vikings living on the island.
Some of the Vikings who had gone to live in Iceland still liked to sail
the seas. Stories say that one of them, a very daring seaman called Lief
Ericsson, sailed and sailed a very long way from his home. He found a
land with many green trees and green grass and grapevines loaded with
fruit. Lief called the land Vinland because of the grapes. But now
people believe that the shores which Lief Ericsson found were really the
shores of our land, America. Lief’s voyage to Vinland was made about
five hundred years before Columbus found the new world.
Some people have said, “The story that Lief Ericsson found America
cannot be true. A Viking ship could not have crossed the big ocean.”
But there was still a “Viking” living in Norway. He was a young Captain
Andersen. He believed that the old Viking ships could cross the ocean.
Even as a boy he had dreamed of how fine it would be to cross the ocean
in a real Viking ship like those of the old Viking days.
About the time Captain Andersen was dreaming his dream, one of the old
Viking ships which now stands in the museum was found buried deep under
ground. Captain Andersen saw that ship. A few years later, the young
captain heard of a World’s Fair to be held in Chicago, a city in
America. Then he got an idea. He thought, “I’ll build a ship that will
be a true copy of the old Viking ship—I’ll build it the same size as
that old ship and will sail it with the same equipment across the
Atlantic Ocean to America. I’ll sail the ship through the waters of
North America to Chicago and show it to the visitors at the World’s
Fair.”
[Illustration: CAPTAIN ANDERSEN’S SHIP _VIKING_ LEAVING OSLO]
And the young captain set about the task of building the ship. Of course
he had difficulties. He had to have money, but he got it. Finally the
ship was built. It was named the _Viking_ and Captain Andersen was made
its commander.
The _Viking_ set sail on April 30, 1893, with a crew of twelve men. On
June 13, it reached America. Captain Andersen’s dream had come true.
The _Viking_ was taken to Chicago. Thousands and thousands of visitors
at the World’s Fair saw the old ship.
The _Viking_ was left in Chicago. It still stands under a shelter in
Lincoln Park. On the old ship is a message which says that the ship came
across the ocean under its own sails. It came to carry a message of
good-will to the people of the United States of America.