[crystalk]

I had never heard that suggested, but a year or so ago in Ancient American there was an article on a Wisconsin Indian Mound that was excavated some 120 years ago, and had a horse's head in it at least, if not the whole animal, from a clearly pre-Columbian date.

It is becoming thinkable in other words, to argue that some horses were here in America before the Spanish lost a few in the 1500's...I always did think that very large herds indeed of wild horses were in the West awfully soon, to have arisen from just the few the Spanish could have lost...

[Free Trapper]

A quick google search(when did the horse get to america)has 2 horse skulls in mounds,one a hoax,the other must be your reference.I've not had time to read the sight yet (later),but it looks interesting.Their basic premise looks like horses being brought in by Scandinavians,Celts,or Asians.Sorry,I don't know how to link,computer illiterate,and can't type,but I'm learning. Oxen could have been handy too. Think about how Lewis and Clark managed their little trip,using different size boats,horses,and footmen.

[Free Trapper]

Sometimes my family(4 homeschoolers,wife,myself)takes large boats as far as we can,then we each take a canoe or small boat into different areas with shallower water.After filling a canoe,back to a(freight)boat to unload,then back out.When a large boat is filled a(crew)takes it in to unload. If our Norsemen got along with the locals and could split into small parties with a similar system they could cover a lot of territory.Imagine what they could do with a few pack animals going overland to rendezvous with their watermen up or downstream. If they were going to make their trip pay they would have come as well prepared as possible to explore the land and carry home anything of value.