Leonard Almeidu, age 15, of Boston, Mass., for his question:

Did the Vikings visit America before Columbus?

Columbus, that bold mariner, found the New World in 1492. But Leif Ericson, that bold Viking, found the Now World in about the year 1,000, almost 500 years before. What's more, Lucky Leif, as he was called, set foot on the mainland of the continent, a thing Columbus did not do. However, the discovery of Columbus led to the settlement of the Now World. During 350 years, the bold Vikings made many visits and tried to settle here but they were always forced to leave.

There were written records of the discoveries of Columbus and of the settlements which followed him. All of it can be proved by on‑the‑spot reports. But when Leif found America, his people could not even write. There is no written record made at the time. But there is a mountain of evidence to prove it.

The Vikings were great tellers of tabs. When they returned home from a voyage, the whole story was told in detail. This was their way of keeping records for future voyages. These records had to be accurate. The Vikings were men of achievement ‑ they did things. They knew that the truth is merely the accurate reporting of facts. And if facts are inaccurate, then nothing works out.

The story reports of the voyages are called sagas. They were told and retold, handed down from generation to generation. Suppose a story teller made an error saying, "The ship sailed west three days." There was always and old timer to correct him saying, "No, the ship sailed west five days." Every Viking learned and depended on the old sagas. He went to sea knowing everything his ancestors had discovered before him.

One of the Norse Sagas tells of Leif Ericson's voyage to the Now World. From the many details, we have a fair idea of where he landed, what he saw and what he did. Other sagas tell of more Viking voyages to the New World. A settlement was tried and a boy named Snorri was born here, the first Old World Baby to be born in the New World.

The Vikings were forced to abandon their settlement and return to Greenland. For the few brave Norsemen were unable to cope with the wild natives whom they called Skrelings. Some 500 years later, Columbus called these native Americans ‘Indians’.

The sagas were recorded some 150 years later, when the Horsemen learned to write. Most people accept them as true. But in 193,1 a discovery was made which just about proved that the Norsemen had come to the New World a thousand years ago. Some rusty iron relics were unearthed near Beardmore in Ontario north of Lake Superior. These, said the experts, are old Norse weapons. They were made sometime between 1000 and 900 A.D. Here is proof that the bold Horsemen were born long before Columbus.

We can put together a real life story from those rusty iron weapons, a shield, an ax and a sword. From the sagas, we know how a fallen Viking was buried. His friends tenderly laid him to rest in the ground along with the weapons he carried. Yes, the Vikings were here long, long before Columbus found the New World.