American biography Author:F. M. Hubbard, Jeremy Belknap Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY. I. BIRON. The ancient inhabitants of Norway and Denmark, collectively taken, were distinguished by the name of Normans. Their situation... more » near the coast of the sea, and the advantages which that element presented to them beyond all which they could expect from a rough soil in a cold climate, led them at an early period to the science and practice of navigation. They built their vessels with the best of dak, and constructed them in such a manner as to encounter the storms and billows of the Northern Ocean. They covered them with decks, and furnished them with high forecastles and sterns. They made use of sails as well as oars, and had learned to trim their sails to the wind in almost any direction. In these arts of building ships and of navigation they were superior to the people bordering on the Mediterranean Sea, who depended chiefly on their oars, and used sails only with a fair wind. About the end of the eighth and beginning of the ninth century, -the Normans made themselves famous by their predatory excursions. England, Scotland, Ireland, the Orkney and Shetland Islands, were objects of their depredations; and in one of their piratical expeditions (A.D. 861) they discovered an island, which, from its lofty mountains covered with ice and snow, obtained the name of Iceland. In a few years after they planted a colony there, which was continually augmented by migrations from the neighbouring countries. Within the space of thirty years (889) a new country, sifuate on the west, was discovered, and, from its verdure during the summer months, received the name of Greenland. This was deemed so important an acquisition, that, under the conduct of Eric Raude, or Redhead, a Danish chief, it was soon peopled. The emigrants to these new regions were still i...« less