reached Panama in 1561, on his way to fight against him; but Aguirre had just been deposed and killed, and Ercilla, after a long and dangerous illness, returned to Spain in 1562. After travelling extensively through Europe, he entered the service of the Emperor Rudolph, of Austria, as one of his chamberlains, but about 1580 returned to Madrid, where he passed the rest of his life in retirement, almost forgotten, and in extreme poverty. When Ercilla began his seven years' campaign in Chili he conceived the idea of making it the subject of a poem; and in the intervals of active duty, mostly at night-time, he composed the first part of “La Araucana,” writing his verses on scraps of paper, and often on bits of leather. The third and last part of the poem he finished after his return to Spain. “La Araucana” is one of the most celebrated of Spanish epics, and one of the best ever written in any language. It not only possesses the merit of pure diction, vivid description, and majestic style, but it is also a true history of the Araucanian war, in which the author was personally engaged, and as such has been used by the most conscientious historians. The first fifteen cantos of “La Araucana” were published in Madrid in 1569, the second part in 1578, and the third part, completing the thirty-seven cantos, in 1590. Its best editions are those of Madrid (1776 and 1828). A portion of the poem, translated into French by Grainville, is found in vol. vii. of the “Quatre Saisons du Parnasse.” An analysis of the poem, with translations of parts of it, has been made in Hayley's “Essay on Epic Poetry” (London, 1782).
ERIC, bishop, b. in Norway in the 11th century,
he was active in the conversion of the natives
of Greenland, and was the first bishop that
exercised jurisdiction in America. As soon as the
Norwegians under Thorwald began to form settlements
in Vinland, Eric followed his countrymen from
Greenland to the newly discovered continent. Here
he labored among the natives for several years. He
returned to Norway in 1120, gave an account of
the progress of religion in Vinland and Greenland,
and advised the establishment of a bishopric
in the new colonies. The bishop of Scandinavia
erected the new see of Garda in Greenland, and
recommended Eric as bishop. He was consecrated
at Lund, in Denmark, in 1121, by Archbishop
Adzar, and sailed for Garda with a body of missionaries,
but, after a short stay, visited the new colony
in Vinland. The situation of Vinland has been
fixed by some in southeastern New England. Some
have gone so far as to place it about Narragansett
bay; but such conjectures are supported by inadequate
evidence, and have little historical value.
ERIC THE RED, Scandinavian navigator.
He was the son of a jarl of Jadar, and was called
red from the color of his hair. In 982 he was
one of the Northmen who braved the dangers of
the Atlantic ocean to settle in Iceland. During
the following year he set sail from Bredifiord in
search of land seen by Gunnbjörn, of which a
tradition still lingered among the Northmen. He
doubled Cape Farewell, and sailed up the west
coast to the present site of Julianeshaab, where he
saw large herds of reindeer browsing on the meadowlands.
The country pleased him, and he named it
Greenland, and the inlet Ericfiord. In 985 he
returned to Iceland, but soon again set sail with
twenty-five ships loaded with emigrants, and the
means of founding a colony. He reached
Ericfiord with but fourteen of his vessels, the remainder
having been lost or forced to put back, and he
built a settlement far up the fiord. The town grew
and prospered, and in time the coast was explored
and new plantations founded. As no trees grow in
that region now, it is probable that the land was
far more habitable than at present, and very little
mention of ice is made by the early chroniclers.
About 1000, an exploring party sent out by him,
under the command of his son Leif, discovered the
continent of North America, part of which they
called Markland, and another part Vinland. The
latter appears to have been southeastern New
England. He is supposed to have established a colony
in that neighborhood, but the evidence on which
this supposition is made is not satisfactory. See
Bryant and Gay's “Popular History of the United
States,” and Rev. Benjamin F. De Costa's
“Pre-Columbian Discovery of America by the Northmen”;
also, Laing's “Heimskringla,” which contains by
far the ablest discussion of the subject.
ERICH, Augustus Frederick, physician, b. in
Eisleben, Germany, 4 May, 1837. He was
educated at the gymnasium in Eisleben, and came to
the United States in 1856. He was graduated in
medicine at the University of Maryland in 1861,
and began to practise in Baltimore. In 1868 he
was elected a member of the Baltimore special
dispensary, and was assigned to the charge of diseases
of women. He became professor of chemistry in
the College of physicians and surgeons in Baltimore
in 1873, and was afterward elected to fill the
chair of diseases of women in the same institution.
He is a member of numerous medical societies, and
in 1871 was president of the Medical and surgical
society of Baltimore. His contributions to medical
literature have been important, and are chiefly
composed of papers on his specialties.
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ERICSSON, John, engineer, b. in Långbanshyttan, province of Wennland, Sweden, 31 July, 1803; d. in New York city, 8 March, 1889. His father, Olof, was a mining proprietor, and his brother, Baron Nils Ericsson, was chief of the Swedish railways. As a boy, John had ample opportunity of watching machinery connected with mines, and his mechanical talent was early developed. He received his earliest instruction from a Swedish governess, and a German engineering officer who had served under Bernadotte. Before he was eleven years of age he had constructed with his own hands, and after his own plans, a miniature saw-mill, and had made numerous drawings of complicated mechanical contrivances. These efforts having attracted the attention of Count Platen, this celebrated engineer appointed him a cadet in the corps of mechanical engineers, and, after six months' tuition, he was made a leveller at the grand Swedish ship canal, then in course of construction. Two years later, at the age of fourteen, he was employed to set out the work of a section employing 600 soldier operatives, and occupied his leisure in making drawings of every implement and machine connected with the canal. He entered the Swedish army as ensign in 1820, and was rapidly promoted to a lieutenancy.
