The Final Chapter Of Road Trip Into The Unknown: The Greatest American Mystery.

“In fourteen hundred and ninety-two, Columbus sailed the ocean blue.” Do you remember that little ditty? You should, if you are an American and you went to public, private or home schooled that rhyme was drilled into your skull until it became a mantra. It is an excepted historical fact that Christopher Columbus, the gentlemen businessman from Genoa, Italy had a burning desire to open up a quicker and easier trade route to India to get his hands on the beautiful and exotic wares they had to offer. For years he shopped around at practically every royal court in Europe searching for Kings and Queens who would want to invest in his venture, let’s face it this shit ain’t cheap. Finally he found a captive audience in Queen Isabella, of Spain who was all to willing to give him the funds he needed to make his historic trip. And off he sailed in the Nina, the Pinta and the Santa Maria but instead of finding India, Chris stumbled upon a whole new world, a continent he had not anticipated and the rest is history. Or is it?

Over the last forty years Columbus being the first denizen of the old world to walk the shores of the new has been called into question due to some archeological discoveries that have been made and Native American Legends that some are now wondering if they should be taken seriously. Yes, Christopher Columbus did land on the shores of the new world but he was not the first, he may have merely been the first European expedition that was funded by a government, our shores may have been discovered years and centuries earlier not out of conquest or religious fanatacism but merely by accident.

For years the 11th century Norse sagas were regarded as myth or legend and some considered to be propaganda written by a people who wanted to make themselves look strong. The Sagas consisted of tales of bravery and exploration of father and son team, Eric The Red and Leif Ericsson, who were said to have traveled from Greenland and discovered a strange land they referred to as Vinland, the land of grapes. The stories tell of their exploration of the new land and battles with a fierce people they called the “Skrellings” who lived as savages and killed many of their men. Leif left the land and journeyed back his home turf of Greenland not because he feared these vicious Skrellings but because he really was not that impressed with the new land.

Until 1960, these stories and tales were considered to be nothing but bunk by the mainstream scientific community that was until a shocking discovery was made that would make the entire world sit up and take notice. In the summer of 1960, a Swedish archeology student who believed the Norse Sagas, traveled to Newfoundland and made an amazing discovery. In the winswept plains of L’Anse Aux Meadows, he found what appeared to be a Norse Settlement buried under years of dirt and overgrowth. And in a single day it was proved that there was indeed a Norse settlement in the North American continent centuries before Columbus’s historic Voyage. But did the Norse, actually make it to what would become the United States? Read on and see.

In 1898, Olof Ohman a Swedish farmer in Douglas County, Minnesota discovered a strange stone sticking out of a newly acquired piece of land. After digging up the stone Olof realized their was some kind of strange script written on the stone, thinking that he had made some kind of historic find, old Olof submitted the stone to a local university for analysis. And the wow factor kicked in.

When researchers received the stone and deciphered the script, which was written in an ancient Norse Runic language, they discovered that the script on the Kensington Rune Stone read, “I have ten men at the inland sea to look after our vessel. Fourteen days travel from this wealth. Year of our Lord, 1362.” The stone appeared to be a marker left by a Norse explorer over a century before Columbus arrived and the state of Minnesota is well inland. It would appear that this stone discovered by a simple farmer would be instrumental in rewritting the history books.

It would appear that there was a Norse presense and settlement on our shores years before Columbus however, some believe that an explorer from the Emerald Island, Ireland, may have arrived on our shores centuries before the Norse. In 512 AD, Brenden of Clonfert a Monk, set out from his native Ireland on a voyage to find a land that he had tales about from sailors a land he referred to as the “Island of the Blessed.” Brenden, ever the servant of God wanted to make it to this land and tell it’s inhabitants, if there were any, the good news of Jesus Christ. Brenden and five of his closest friends set sail in a leather bound boat called a Curragh, and after many adventures which are written down in the Navagatio De Brendoni, Brenden and his companions found what they were looking for a new land rich with vegetables and fruit and people to spread the gospel to. Some feel that the place where Brenden landed is modern day New Hampshire and there may be some proof to back the story up.

Nestled away in the forests of New Hampshire sits what appears to the ruins of what appears to be a series of structures that has come to be known as Mystery Hill or America’s Stonehenge. For years archeologists have believed that the ruins were built by early colonists or perhaps by local Native American tribes and used as root cellars. However there is evidence that the structures may be much older and may have had a much different use.

Dr. Barry Fell in his great book, “America BC” suggests that strange markings found on some of the stones comprise the script of an ancient Celtic language called, Ogham, a written language that would have still been in use during Brenden’s time. Unfortunately mainstream researchers reject this theory saying that the marks were made by the tools and plows of colonists. I guess tools and plows are capable of accidently making the markings of an ancient language. Some feel that these structures were built as a settlement and a church by Brenden and his men to bring the good news of the gospel to the natives. If you ever get a chance to read the works of Dr. Barry Fell, I highly recommend them they are pretty awesome.

If pillaging Vikings and Irish Holy men do not convince you try this one of for size, America was discovered by the 12th century pasafist son of a Welsh King. Madoc, crown prince of the Welsh royal house of Gwynned, felt disturbed by the constant warfare his land was constantly involved in and wanted to get away before it engulfed his whole country. Madoc had heard tales of a great land to the west and desired to sail away to this country where war was virtually non-existent. Madoc and 100 of his followers, men, women and children boarded a ship and sailed west to a land that lived only in myth.

When the crown prince never returned from his voyage it was believed that he either discovered this fabled land or he and his followers perished in the vastness of the oceans. However some researchers believe that Madoc did make it to the North American continent and may have landed either in Florida or Mobile Bay, Alabama. The reason for this belief comes from the legends of the Cherokee and the now extinct Tuscarosa tribe who claimed that they had dealings with these white men and they were eventually absorbed into the tribe. Which could explain why some Cherokee are a little lighter skinned and lighter eyed than other tribes.

In 1669, Reverend Morgan Jones an early American colonist found himself the prisoner of a now defunct tribe called the Mandan who to him seemed awfully strange and appeared different from the surrounding tribes. The had lighter skin and some of the men sported beards. But it was not until Jones heard them speak that he realized he had something truly out of the ordinary on his hands. The language of the tribesman sounded like Welsh. When the good reverend spoke up in the Welsh tongue the chief could not believe his ears this stranger spoke their language. The chief decided to let the Jones go and made him a member of the tribe. Jones lived among the Mandan for years and converted many to the christian faith. Unfortunately no Mandan exist today they were wiped out by an outbreak of Small pox in the early 19th century however those who had dealings with this tribe remarked that they lived more like the white man than any other tribe.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, has long maintained that in the distant past the ten lost tribes of Israel sailed to the new world and eventually became the Native American Tribes. They chronicle this curious tale in the Book of Mormon and a discovery in a burial mound in 1889 in Knoxville, Tennessee meay just back this theory up. While unearthing a burial mound in Bat Creek, researchers discovered the remains of nine skeletons that were buried in a strange fashion. The remains proved to be that of eight men and one woman all buried facing the east and it was the woman who had a story to tell. On the wrist of the woman they found a silver bracelet with markings on it that appeared to be ancient Hebrew. When the bracelet was analyzed by researchers they declared that the writing was definately a language of Semitic origan but how it and the skeletons got there is a great mystery. When colonists first arrived in Tennessee and Alabama they felt that the language of the local tribes sounded a bit like Hebrew but somewhat debased and changed. Could our country actually have been discovered by ancient Jewish folks escaping from a diaspora? I know a few douchebags who would find that theory to terrible to think of.

Mainstream science views these theories as being nothing more than the ramblings of psuedo-science however one can not deny the fact that these discoveries have been made and should be taken seriously unless they are proven to be complete rubbish. For the most part the mainstrean archeological community will not even look at these discoveries, and why? Basically they are afraid if the theories and discoveries prove to be legite then they could lose funding, their jobs and their reputations not to mention all the history books will have to be rewritten to reflect the truth of these ancient voyages. Chris, was not the first but a successive arrival and colonization from the old world appears to be what really happened in America’s ancient past.

I sincerely hope you enjoyed this series it is so difficult when you consider all the weirdness our great nation has to offer to compile all the stories. Perhaps one day we will revisit our great nation and make another Road trip. Thank you.

Rick E. Hale

t_seeker@hotmail.com