The Iron Star

胘
The Iron Star (And what It saw on Its Journey through the Ages)

The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Iron Star, by John Preston True Copyright laws are changing all over the world. Be sure to check the copyright laws for your country before downloading or redistributing this or any other Project Gutenberg eBook.
This header should be the first thing seen when viewing this Project Gutenberg file. Please do not remove it. Do not change or edit the header without written permission.
Please read the "legal small print," and other information about the eBook and Project Gutenberg at the bottom of this file. Included is important information about your specific rights and restrictions in how the file may be used. You can also find out about how to make a donation to Project Gutenberg, and how to get involved.
**Welcome To The World of Free Plain Vanilla Electronic Texts**
**eBooks Readable By Both Humans and By Computers, Since 1971**
*****These eBooks Were Prepared By Thousands of Volunteers!*****
Title: The Iron Star And what It saw on Its Journey through the Ages
Author: John Preston True
Release Date: July, 2004 [EBook #6030] [Yes, we are more than one year ahead of schedule] [This file was first posted on October 23, 2002]
Edition: 10
Language: English
Character set encoding: ASCII
*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE IRON STAR ***

Produced by Rose Koven, Juliet Sutherland, Charles Franks and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team.

THE IRON STAR And what It saw on Its Journey through the Ages
From Myth to History
By
JOHN PRESTON TRUE Author of "Scouting for Washington," "Their Club and Ours," "Shoulder Arms," etc.
Illustrated by Lilian Crawford True

PREFACE
This is a wonderful old world of ours, the one we live in. It is wonderful to think how it has grown, day by day, year by year, century by century, and by each step of Time just a little better worth living in. It is like a beautiful fairy story, with the great advantage of being true.
Of course none of us were here when the world began, so we did not see the beginning of it, but some of us have worked the problem backward through the years to find out what the beginning was like; and starting from a good dry spot, if you follow the wanderings of my Iron Star, I believe you will at no time be very far from the truth of the way in which girls and boys and their elders lived in the days now long ago. Will you make the journey with me?
J. P. T.
SEPTEMBER, 1899.

CONTENTS.
SPARK I.
HOW THE STAR CAME INTO THIS WORLD.
SPARK II.
HOW THE STAR AGAIN BEGAN TO TRAVEL.
SPARK III.
HOW THE STAR WAS CARRIED ON THE WARPATH, AND WHAT CAME OF IT.
SPARK IV.
HOW THE STAR WENT TO THE NORTHLAND.
SPARK V.
HOW THE STAR FLEW INTO MANY PIECES AND WHAT CAME OF IT.
SPARK VI.
HOW FRAGMENTS OF THE STAR TRAVELLED TO A FAR COUNTRY.
SPARK VII.
HOW THE STAR HELPED ULF THE SILENT TO WIN A GREAT NAME.
SPARK VIII.
HOW THE IRON STAR VISITED A GREAT KING.
SPARK IX.
HOW THE STAR HELPED TO WIN A THRONE.
SPARK X.
HOW THE STAR SANG A SONG OF FREEDOM TO A CAPTIVE KING.
SPARK XI.
HOW THE STAR WAS PRESENT AT THE GREAT GIFT OF THE BARONS.
SPARK XII.
AND HOW IT WENT HALF ROUND THE EARTH, YET CROSSED AGAIN AT LAST THE TRAIL OF LEIF ERICSSON.

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
THE FALLING OF THE STAR
STONE AGE SPEARS AND POTTERY
KNIVES, FROM THE BRONZE AGE
THE STORIES OF UMPL'S HUNTING
UMPL'S PICTURE-BOOKS
"JARL SIGURD, THRALL AM I, YET A CHIEF'S SON ALSO"
HOW EDITH FAIRHAIR SPUN THE SNOW-WHITE YARN
ULF, THE YOUNG VIKING
THE STATUE OF LEIF ERICSSON
THE HUNTING OF THE BEAR
THE GHOSTS AND WOLVES THEY SAW BEYOND THE FIRE
THE FLAG OF THE WHITE BEAR'S HEAD
WHERE LOUIS FOUND THE ARMOUR OF THE VIKING
THE IRON HAND ON THE MAGNA CHARTA
THE TENT POLE OF THE SARACEN
IN THE CAMP OF THE ARABS
CAPTAIN MYLES STANDISH

SPARK I.
HOW THE STAR CAME INTO THIS WORLD.
To begin with, it all happened a very long time ago,--some say five thousand years, some say ten thousand years, and one wise man says it never happened at all; but even the wise are not wise at all times, and I am inclined to believe that it was in one of those unwise times that the doubt was raised; for I believe it happened, although I am not sure about the date.
One thing is certain: there was a time when Europe was about all forest, where it wasn't water or bare rock. There were no cities, so of course there were no policemen. There were not even kings and queens, although the present kings and queens don't like to be reminded that there ever was a time when the world got along without any. They think it is impolite. Of course, sometimes it is impolite to tell the truth, and then one can only say nothing, or talk of the weather. So any young king or queen