The Norsemen in the West (Annotated)

BIOGRAPHY ROBERT MICHAEL BALLANTYNE (24 April 1825 – 8 February 1894) was a Scottish author of juvenile fiction who wrote more than 100 books. He was also an accomplished artist, and exhibited some of his water-colours at the Royal Scottish Academy. EARLY LIFE Ballantyne was born in Edinburgh on 24 April 1825, the ninth of ten children and the youngest son, to Alexander Thomson Ballantyne (1776–1847) and his wife Anne (1786–1855). Alexander was a newspaper editor and printer in the family firm of "Ballantyne & Co" based at Paul's Works on the Canongate, and Robert's uncle James Ballantyne (1772–1833) was the printer for Scottish author Sir Walter Scott. In 1832-33 the family is known to have been living at 20 Fettes Row, in the northern New Town of Edinburgh. A UK-wide banking crisis in 1825 resulted in the collapse of the Ballantyne printing business the following year with debts of £130,000, which led to a decline in the family's fortunes. Ballantyne went to Canada aged 16, and spent five years working for the Hudson's Bay Company. He traded with the local Native Americans for furs, which required him to travel by canoe and sleigh to the areas occupied by the modern-day provinces of Manitoba, Ontario, and Quebec, experiences that formed the basis of his novel Snowflakes and Sunbeams (1856). His longing for family and home during that period impressed him to start writing letters to his mother. Ballantyne recalled in his autobiographical Personal Reminiscences in Book Making (1893) that "To this long-letter writing I attribute whatever small amount of facility in composition I may have acquired." WRITING CAREER In 1847 Ballantyne returned to Scotland to discover that his father had died. He published his first book the following year, Hudson's Bay: or, Life in the Wilds of North America, and for some time was employed by the publishers Messrs Constable. In 1856 he gave up business to focus on his literary career, and began the series of adventure stories for the young with which his name is popularly associated. The Young Fur-Traders (1856), The Coral Island (1857), The World of Ice (1859), Ungava: a Tale of Eskimo Land (1857), The Dog Crusoe (1860), The Lighthouse (1865), Fighting the Whales (1866), Deep Down (1868), The Pirate City (1874), Erling the Bold (1869), The Settler and the Savage (1877), and more than 100 other books followed in regular succession, his rule being to write as far as possible from personal knowledge of the scenes he described. The Gorilla Hunters. A tale of the wilds of Africa (1861) shares three characters with The Coral Island: Jack Martin, Ralph Rover and Peterkin Gay. Here Ballantyne relied factually on Paul du Chaillu's Exploration in Equatorial Guinea, which had appeared early in the same year. The Coral Island is the most popular of the Ballantyne novels still read and remembered today, but because of one mistake he made in that book, in which he gave an incorrect thickness of coconut shells, he subsequently attempted to gain first-hand knowledge of his subject matter. For instance, he spent some time living with the lighthouse keepers at the Bell Rock before writing The Lighthouse, and while researching for Deep Down he spent time with the tin miners of Cornwall. In 1866 Ballantyne married Jane Grant (c. 1845 – c. 1924), with whom he had three sons and three daughters. LATER LIFE AND DEATH Ballantyne spent his later years in Harrow, London, before moving to Italy for the sake of his health, possibly suffering from undiagnosed Ménière's disease. He died in Rome on 8 February 1894, and was buried in the Protestant Cemetery there. LEGACY A Greater London Council plaque commemorates Ballantyne at "Duneaves" on Mount Park Road in Harrow. –––––––– Table of ContentsTITLE About Chapter 1 - The Curtain Rises and the Play Begins. Chapter 2 - Strong Emotions are Succeeded by Supper, and Followed by Discussions on Discovery, which End in a Wild Alarm! Chapter 3 - Dark War-Clouds Lower, but Clear away without a Shower—Voices and Legs do Good Service. Chapter 4 - Important Events Transpire, which end in a Voyage of Discovery. Chapter 5 - Freydissa Shows Her Temper and a Whale Checks it—Poetical and Other Touches. Chapter 6 - Changes in Wind and Weather Produce Changes in Temper and Feeling—Land Discovered, and Freydissa Becomes Inquisitive. Chapter 7 - Songs and Sagas—Vinland at Last! Chapter 8 - A Chapter of Incidents and Exploration, in which a Bear and a Whale Play Prominent Parts. Chapter 9 - The First Night in Vinland. Chapter 10 - Taking Possession of the New Home, an Event which is Celebrated by an Explosion and a Reconciliation. Chapter 11 - Settling Down—Hake Proves that his Arms, as well as his Legs, are Good—A Wonderful Fishing Incident, which Ends in a Scene Between Freydissa and Krake. Chapter 12 - Sage Converse Between Hake And Bertha—Biarne Is Outwitted—A Monster is Slain, and Savages Appear on the Scene. Chapter 13 - A Great but Comparatively Bloodless Fight, Which Ends Peculiarly, and with Singular Results. Chapter 14 - The First American Fur Traders—Strange Devices—Anxious Times and Pleasant Discoveries. Chapter 15 - Greenland Again—Flatface Turns up, Also Thorward, who Becomes Eloquent and Secures Recruits for Vinland. Chapter 16 - Joyful Meetings and Hearty Greetings. Chapter 17 - Treats of the Friendship and Adventures of Olaf and Snorro, and of Sundry Surprising Incidents. Chapter 18 - Anxious Times—A Search Organised and Vigorously Carried Out. Chapter 19 - New Experiences—Difficulties Encountered and Overcome—Thorward and Tyrker Make a Joint Effort, with Humbling Results. Chapter 20 - Remarkable Experiences of Olaf and Snorro—The Former Suffers the Pangs of Remorse. Chapter 21 - Reinforcements Sent off to Karlsefin—Foes Discovered in the Woods—A Night Attack, and other Warlike Matters. Chapter 22 - Hake Makes a Bold Venture, but does not Win—The Norsemen Find that There is Many a Slip ’twixt the Cup and the lip. Chapter 23 - Difficulties Regarding Intercommunication—The Power of Finery Displayed—Also the Power of Song and Sentiment. Chapter 24 - The Burning on the Fortress—A Threatened Fight Ends in a Feast, Which Leads to Friendship—Happy Reunion and Proposed Desertion. Chapter 25 - The First Congress and the Last Farewell. Chapter 26 - Changes in Brattalid—The Scots Continue to Plot and Plan. Chapter 27 - Disappointment Terminates in Unlooked-for Success, and the Saga Comes to an End. Chapter 1