If Knutson had
been with the expedition he would certainly have seen to it that his
presence was recorded.
Otter Tail Lake, just north of the place where the stone was discovered,
was one of the points marking the boundary between the Ojibway and
Dakota country. The position of the runes on the stone is precisely what
it would be if the inscription had been finished, or nearly finished, as
a guide to future exploration, and the account of the massacre added as
a warning.
A song commonly sung at the time of the Black Death contains the lines:
"The Black Plague sped over land and sea
And swept so many a board.
That will I now most surely believe,
It was not with the Lord's will.
Help us God and Mary,
Save us all from evil."
THE NAVIGATORS
We were Prince Henry's gentlemen,--
His gentlemen were we,
To dare the gods of Heathendom,
Whoever they might be,--
To do our master's sovereign will
Upon a trackless sea.
We were Prince Henry's gentlemen,
And undismayed we went
To fight for Lusitania
Wherever we were sent,--
The stars had laid our course for us,
And we were well content.
We were Prince Henry's gentlemen,
And though our flagship lie
Where white the great-winged albatross
Came wheeling down the sky,
Or black abysses yawned for us,
We could not fear to die.
Pages:
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54